Chapter 45

45 The Fear of Getting Fired

Hu Bong tried his best to be the mediator, but the boys were too angry at the PR team and legal team. He was concerned that a fight might break out.

“Guys! Calm down,” Bong stood up.

“Calm down!” chided Jung-Hwa. “You should throw everyone out as they are not needed. She single-headedly did their work and that too within minutes. There is no single piece of footage on the internet about what happened in that restaurant.”

“There are a few conversations on the communicator app,” the head of the PR team chimed in, carefully.

“Saying what?” shouted Young-Chul. He had enough of this nonsense. “That Jung-Hwa punched the daylights out of a man in a crowded restaurant?”

“No,” the head of the PR team lowered his head with shame. “They are calling the girl a hero for helping the other girl and saying that a CEO came to save her. #reallifekdrama is the talk of the nation.”

“Then why are your panties in a wad?” snapped Jung-Hwa.

“If the news gets out that you were ‘the CEO’ who saved them, they will start associating you with her and it won’t be good news,” said the head of the PR.

Immediately Jung-Hwa shouted, “Oh, now they will associate me with her. I know you guys heard what they were talking about me and Jae-Hwa. The girl was in tears and now you want to make another one cry. This whole office is a gossip hub. And how will the news get out? She destroyed all the footage. The only remaining footage we have is with her.”

.....

“Okay, okay, June, chill! Legal team, PR team, get out. It is clear that you are not needed. Moreover, you are pissing my boys off. But, PR team, keep an eye on the communicator app. Be on the lookout,” announced Bong. Everyone stood up and started moving out, dejected. In their eyes, they were just trying to help K&Q avoid a scandal, but ASD were working against them. No one understood why they were taking the side of a girl who was basically a stranger. After they were gone, Bong looked at Kyung-Soo and asked, “King! What do you want to do with that girl?”

“Do? I don’t want to do anything with that girl,” shouted Kyung-Soo abruptly. Jung-Hwa facepalmed. His gesture made Kyung-Soo aware that he said something wrong. He immediately corrected himself, “reward her, what else? Her quick thinking saved you a disaster.”

Bong, for a minute, was confused by Kyung-Soo’s first reply and Jung-Hwa’s gesture. But then he decided to pay no heed. “Well, you are not wrong.” He picked up the phone and dialled the number for the script department. Chung-Ho’s phone rang loudly.

They both talked for a minute. Chung-Ho took a deep breath and stood up. “Nivritti!” he said. She too stood up and faced him. “Yes, Mr Choi.”

“Follow me,” said Chung-Ho and started walking out of the room. Perplexed, Nivritti locked her screen and walked behind him. Jae-Hwa peered through the side of her cubicle and looked at Nivritti. Nivritti assured her with a show of her hand and followed Chung-Ho out of the room.

Following him, she entered the lift.

She took a deep breath and asked, “where are we going?”

“To see Bong-ssi,” replied Chung-Ho and pressed the button for the 21st floor.

“What? Why?” shouted Nivritti. A chill ran down her spine.

“No idea, he just asked me to bring you up,” replied Chung-Ho casually.

“Shit! They are going to fire me,” Nivritti rubbed her forehead, tensed. Another situation she was about to face that she wanted to run away from, but she was already inside the lift.

“What nonsense! Why would they fire you?” asked Chung-Ho, alarmed.

“Because...” she could not complete her sentence. She had no idea how to tell Chung-Ho. What if he too would get angry at her?

“Yes,” he nudged her politely.

She closed her eyes and blurted out, “Because JJ was in a fight because of me.”

“Excuse me!” he shouted back.

“That’s what happened in the restaurant.” Nivritti exhaled loudly and narrated everything that happened in the restaurant. Her narration was accompanied by Chung-Ho’s disbelief, gasping, anger, concern and sometimes disappointment. To her surprise, even he was happy that Jung-Hwa punched the man and protected the girls.

Softly he touched her cheeks and said, “I am sorry that you guys had to experience that. But why do you think you would be fired, none of this is your fault.”

“He was there to help me. He punched him because of me. If this gets out... I think I would be held responsible,” Nivritti lowered her head. Two small drops of tears fell down. She sniffled.

“That’s absolutely balderdash!” screamed Chung-Ho. He made her look at him and wiped her tears.

“CH! I am no one. I am expendable, I am a liability whereas JJ is an asset, the most loved Idol in South Korea.”

Chung-Ho placed her chin in between his thumb and forefinger and looked into her eyes. There was love and pride in his voice. “Ritti! You are now part of my team. No one, I repeat no one can fire you without my consent. Moreover, this Rencontre is your baby, you are going nowhere till you see it to its completion.”

Nivritti tilted her head and fought hard to keep her tears inside. “Why do I feel like hugging you?”

He opened his arms and said, “well, you should not stop yourself from doing things that you feel like doing.” He smiled at her.

She threw herself in his arms and held him tightly. Lovingly, he kept patting her back and her head. She was away from her family but in Chung-Ho she found a father figure, an elder brother.

Ding! The lift reached its destination. The doors opened and Nivritti broke the embrace. She wiped her tears and again followed him. Chung-Ho gave a look to the receptionist and walked into a cabin.

Nivritti gasped as she walked into an all-white cabin. The beautiful room has white walls, white chairs, a white table, even the couch was white. The blinds were slightly different as they were off-white. The only contrast that filled some colour in the room was the paintings. The beautiful, elegant paintings were beautifully complementing the room.

The moment she walked in Kyung-Soo gasped. “She was crying,” he murmured to Jung-Hwa. “Why was she crying?”

Even though only Jung-Hwa heard what he said, Bong noticed his expressions. He looked at Kyung-Soo, then at Jung-Hwa and his eyes then landed on Nivritti. He didn’t realise but he kept looking to and fro at Kyung-Soo and Nivritti. He noticed that Kyung-Soo was uneasy after looking at her.

He too noticed her red eyes and red nose. It was clear that she had been crying. Was he uneasy because he didn’t like her as Jung-Hwa was in a fight to save her? Or was he uneasy to see her cry? Bong’s mind was working overtime.

Nivritti tried her best to avoid looking at everyone, but Jung-Hwa came and stood before her.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I am fine,” replied Nivritti without looking at him.

“Ritti! Look at me,” he commanded. Slowly, Nivritti lifted her head. “If you are fine, why were you crying?” he asked.

“It’s nothing,” she answered.

“That’s not an answer,” shouted Kyung-Soo. He was extremely uncomfortable after looking at her red face. He wanted an answer. In his mind, he was the culprit as he kissed her hand.

His voice sent a shiver all over her body. Her mind went back to his kiss. She held her right hand with her left and caressed the part where he kissed. She had no answer after that.

“It’s my fault,” interjected Chung-Ho. “She was overwhelmed while telling me what happened in the restaurant. She is also under the impression that you are going to punish her,” he said to Bong.

“Punish her?” Bong was confused. First, he was surprised to see that Kyung-Soo could not keep his eyes off her and now Chung-Ho gave him a shock. Finally, it struck him like lightning. Why did Kyung-Soo give such a reaction when he asked what he wanted to do with the girl? Now, it was clear as a day to Bong that his boy, his King liked the girl.

“I’m getting fired. Aren’t I?” Nivritti lowered her head and spoke softly.

“What? Why would you say that?” shouted Kyung-Soo.

She still could not look into his eyes, so she turned towards Bong. “He got into a fight because of me.”

“Are you kidding? He didn’t get into a fight because of you,” shouted Kyung-Soo. His sentence shocked her to her core.

She instantly looked into his eyes. “What?” But his piercing look made her lower her eyes. Her mind could not get rid of the feeling she felt when he kissed her. For a second she felt loved, cared for but then she remembered his age, her past, and every feeling washed away.

Kyung-Soo closed his distance and walked up to her. “Yes, you and Jae-Hwa were his first priority, he threw the punch to save you but then chose not to fight because of you guys. He didn’t fight because you asked him not to fight. His fighting could have escalated the situation, so he took a step back. You know he is blackbelt in Taekwondo, right? He could have taken those men down in a jiffy. He wanted to get you guys out but ultimately you got him out.”