Chapter 108

108 The Fear

Everyone kept staring at Nivritti and Chung-Ho. Just two days ago the new girl scolded everyone and made the CEO scold them too. And today the first thing she did after coming to the office was getting Chung-Ho in the conference room. What was she going to discuss with him? Were they supposed to get another scolding?

Chung-Ho too was worried. Why did she ask him to get inside the conference room? What was it that she could not discuss in front of everyone? Did something happen? His mind was full of questions and his heart was racing fast.

“What is the problem, Ritti?” Chung-Ho asked concernedly as soon as they both entered the conference room.

“What? Why would there be a problem?” she was taken aback.

“You are late, and you want to talk to me in private,” explained Chung-Ho.

Nivritti scoffed, “What? I am late because I overslept, no other reason. And I called you here because I wanted to give you this.” She lifted the bag and presented it to him.

“What is this?” asked Chung-Ho, surprised.

“A present for you to say thank you,” replied Nivritti.

“A present? And why, thank you?” asked Chung-Ho.

.....

“CH! You ask a lot of questions. Just accept it,” scolded Nivritti. “I have to leave soon. JH is waiting.”

“Ritti!” Chung-Ho stared at her seriously.

“You stood by my side. I just wanted to show a little appreciation for that. That’s why I brought you this. I got my bonus yesterday,” she winked at him.

“And you spent your bonus on me?” inquired Chung-Ho, perplexed.

“Not all of it, a small amount,” replied Nivritti.

“You didn’t have to,” Chung-Ho was too overwhelmed with gratitude.

Nivritti grabbed his shoulder and comforted him, “since the day I arrived, you have been taking care of me. Every time you stood with me.”

“Not every time,” Chung-Ho lowered his head with guilt.

“CH!” said Nivritti, sweetly. “You stood with me every time. Stop feeling guilty. You are my boss and as a good boss and good friend, you always helped me. Thank you. Now open it and see. I hope you like it.”

“Okay,” Chung-Ho opened the bag and took out the box. A beautiful hanbok appeared before him as soon as he opened the box. “A modern hanbok shirt!” he exclaimed.

“You don’t like it!” Nivritti face had disappointment written all over it. She thought that he might like her gift but that was not his expression.

“What? I love it,” shouted Chung-Ho.

“Your face does not say that,” informed Nivritti.

“I am old. I cannot jump with excitement with these old bones,” teased Chung-Ho.

“Who said you are old? You are younger than my dad,” shouted Nivritti.

“Really comparing me with your father??” Chung-Ho tilted his head and commented.

“Ha-ha, but you liked it for sure?”

“Yes, I love it,” replied Chung-Ho. “Thank you.” He pulled Nivritti into his arms and hugged her sweetly.

“You are welcome.”

He broke the embrace, placed his gift inside the box, and said, “Okay, Johan is waiting for you. Go.”

“Yes, sir,” saluted Nivritti, teasingly. Chung-Ho smiled at her cuteness.

Nivritti walked out where Jae-Hwa and Dae were standing with Him-Chan waiting for her.

“Ready?” asked Jae-Hwa.

“Let’s go,” replied Nivritti.

Dae looked at Chung-Ho who had a packet in his hand and then looked at Him-Chan who was surrounded by bags all around him. What was in that bag and all the other bags around Him-Chan? What did Nivritti want to talk to Chung-Ho about? The new girl was getting popular day by day. She even was friends with the most famous boyband in the world.

Thae who berated her, always brought gifts for her when he came to get the scripts. Her very first idea was selected for one of the major events of K&Q. Either she was extremely lucky or had some connection with the CEO. Never had he scolded every single employee of K&Q collectively. Maybe she too was a product of nepotism like Jae-Hwa, that’s why these two were friends. Dae kept his facial expression neutral trying to hide his jealousy.

“What did you bring, Johan?” asked Dae.

“These are not mine, Seong-ssi. These are Ritti’s,” replied Him-Chan.

“What are these, Nivritti?” asked Dae.

“Surprise, Seong-ssi, surprise,” interrupted Jae-Hwa. Dae smiled faintly at her reply.

“Choi-ssi! Please send today’s script on our emails,” requested Him-Chan.

“Okay.”

Nivritti, Jae-Hwa, and Him-Chan distributed the bags among themselves and all four moved towards the parking area and reached the VIP section where all the cars of idols and upper management were parked. Nivritti helped Him-Chan to load all the bags in the trunk of the car. After that, they all sat in his car and went to the dance practise room.

Carrying all the bags, they moved to the practise room. The moment Him-Chan opened the door, Thae shouted, “what? You are back? So soon!”

“Nice way to greet, TK!” taunted Him-Chan.

“No, you don’t understand...” before he could complete his sentence, Nivritti, Jae-Hwa, and Dae entered the room. Thae immediately ran to the end of the room, picked something up, and hid it behind his back.

All found his action extremely bizarre.

“What just happened?” asked Nivritti.

“I have no idea,” said Him-Chan.

Thae looked at Nivritti with fear. “Could you step outside for a minute, Ritti?”

“Huh... what? Why?” asked Him-Chan.

“Yeah, why?” asked Nivritti, again.

“Please!” pleaded Thae.

“Trust him, Ritti, leave,” nodded Jung-Hwa.

“What is happening?” asked Jae-Hwa.

Jeong-Eun who was looking at all the drama went behind Thae, snatched the thing from his hand, and showed it to Nivritti. It was Yong, Thae’s dog. Nivritti saw the white Japanese Spitz and screamed loudly. She let go of every bag in her hand and threw herself at Him-Chan, involuntarily.

She wrapped her arms around him and hid her face in his chest. She was shivering vigorously. Unknowingly, tears started streaming down her face.

The moment she hugged Him-Chan, all the bags dropped from his hand. His heart skipped a beat and he instantly stopped breathing. The girl he had a crush on was in his arms and he had no idea what to do next. Involuntarily his hands lifted up and wrapped themselves around her shivering body. When he touched her soft hair, he finally exhaled loudly.

The sweet smell of lavender hit his nose and he breathed deeply. A shiver ran down his spine, but her warm body made him comfortable again. He tightened his grip and pulled her closer.

“No, no, no,” she kept murmuring and sniffling on his chest. Thae’s heart broke after seeing her like that again. He knew she was coming and planned to send Yong back home. But before he could do that, she arrived. And now he had no idea what to do.

Kyung-Soo who had to receive a call went outside the room. He stood near the large window that looked outside on the street and waited for Him-Chan’s car to arrive. He waited and waited but no car arrived.

Suddenly, he heard a scream. He excused himself from the phone call and ran to the practice room. The moment he arrived he saw the door was blocked by so many people. He could see Jae-Hwa, Dae, and Him-Chan but Nivritti was not there. He stepped forward and the wind was knocked out of his chest.

He forgot how to breathe after he saw Nivritti in Him-Chan’s arms. His whole body heated up with jealousy. Every single pore of his body was oozing envy. He wanted to pull Nivritti away from Him-Chan. He knew Him-Chan had a crush on Nivritti and he was not liking the scene before him.

“What is happening?” shouted Kyung-Soo and looked at Nivritti who never heard what anyone was saying. She was a prisoner of her fear at that moment.

“This!” Jung-Hwa pointed at Yong.

“Kang Thae!!” shouted Kyung-Soo.

“I was about to send him away Hyung but before I could do that, she arrived,” Thae hung his head low with guilt.

“Send him home, now,” scolded Kyung-Soo.

“Go!” Jeong-Eun nudged Thae.

Thae took the dog from him and started walking towards his dog’s caretaker. He handed the dog over to him and told him to take him home.

The moment the caretaker passed by Nivritti, Kyung-Soo stood before her to shield her from the dog. He saw her shivering badly in Him-Chan’s arms.

“He is gone,” informed Kyung-Soo. “You can calm down.”

Thae ran to the end of the room where water was kept for everyone and brought a bottle of water for her. He slowly approached her and touched her head. “Ritti! Drink this.”

Slowly her breathing slowed down and she stopped crying. Jae-Hwa who was looking at everything silently, feeling bad for Nivritti, approached Him-Chan, pulled Nivritti away from him, and made her look at herself.

“Yong is gone. Calm down! Drink this water,” she pointed at the bottle in Thae’s hand.

Nivritti raised her eyes and looked at Thae who was looking scared and concerned. With shivering hands, she took the bottle and gulped the whole bottle in an instant.