Reasonable Loss - 31

Sensing the unusual atmosphere, Eunsoo and the team members stretched their necks and looked around. They soon noticed someone walking between the partitions and straightened up like disciplined soldiers.

“It’s Eunsoo—no, Team Leader Yoo.”

It was Myunghee. Myunghee, Dokwon’s mother and the chairman of the Seongjin Group. She exuded the aura of a chairman with her sleek suit and entourage of secretaries.

Thanks to that, the employees could hardly breathe. It was nerve-wracking enough that a company director visited daily, but now the chairman had appeared. It was clear that something was amiss on the 14th floor.

“Yes, Chairman.”

Eunsoo quickly went to stand beside her.

“Can I see you for a moment?”

“Yes.”

Eunsoo followed her without a word. The team members gaped at him with their mouths open. They would probably gossip about it after he and Myunghee left. He could guess that the gossip would be something like the pitiful Team Leader Yoo suffering from in-laws.

Eunsoo arrived at the top floor of the company. More precisely, to the chairman’s office on the top floor. It wasn’t his first time here. It had been about three months since he started dating Dokwon when Myunghee had called him.

He had been very worried at that time. He wondered if she would question him about her precious son or hand him a thick envelope of money and tell him to leave the country. He had thought of such melodramatic scenarios.

But it turned out to be unnecessary worry. Myunghee had looked at him like a curious alien or unicorn and had given him even more precious treatment. She had said she didn’t expect Dokwon to have a lover, and if there was anything he needed or if Dokwon ever hurt his feelings, he should let her know anytime.

He had visited occasionally since then. He had tea, chatted about trivial matters, and so on. Seeing the tea and snacks neatly arranged on the table, today seemed like it would be no different.

“Dear, I told you to rest more. Why did you come to work?”

Myunghee said with her sharply furrowed eyebrows. Eunsoo picked up a cookie coated in chocolate and smiled faintly.

“I’m fine. I’ve recovered, and work is piling up……. I don’t have any more leave left.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. Did you use your leave to rest? It was due to the accident, so you can rest more.”

“It’s really okay, Mother.”

Eunsoo chewed on the cookie. After all, he had been battling the subway all morning, so he was low on energy. The sweet cookie was incredibly welcome. He had never had the habit of eating breakfast, but it seemed that he was pregnant.

Eunsoo picked up another cookie after sipping his tea. At that, Myunghee wiggled her hips.

“Didn’t you have breakfast? How about I order you some warm soup? Or there’s a place on the corner that serves excellent galbitang. They might even be serving breakfast. Should we go there?”

“I had porridge for breakfast. If you give me the location of the galbitang place, I’ll go with the team members for lunch today.”

Eunsoo smiled and declined her offer. A moment of silence followed. Myunghee’s lips, painted with bright red lipstick, twitched. But no words came out.

Seeing this, Eunsoo tentatively spoke up.

“Did you call me to scold me for coming to work?”

“No. That’s not it……”

“Then what is it?”

Eunsoo picked up another cookie. It was delicious. He thought he should ask the secretary about the type of cookie on his way out. Just then, Myunghee hesitated and finally spoke a name.

“Dokwon……”

“Yes?”

“He’s being discharged today.”