Chapter Four

I groaned as the elevator bell dinged. I leaned onto the nearest wall as I dragged myself out of the damned elevator. Thankfully, this was the last time I was going to deliver files to other floors.

I let out a sigh as I stepped into our production floor. But I was caught by surprise when I saw that there was no one there. I passed by the conference room but it was empty as well.

I checked my watch and I couldn't believe what I saw. I spent most of my day delivering files! I rushed over to my laptop and was horrified that I had forty voicemails. I sat down and was about to listen to them when the glass door opened.

It was one of my lady co-workers. She froze right on the spot as our eyes met. She checked her watch and immediately walked over to me.

I fixed myself and answered with professionalism, "Hi, there. Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Her brows furrowed. She replied, "I think I should be the one asking that."

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"You've been away for the rest of the morning. And it's already lunch break and you're still at your workstation," she said, worried.

I sighed with a smile as I pushed myself a bit from the table. "I guess that's what's included in being a secretary here," I remarked.

She sighed. "What you did wasn't even a part of your job description. Don't overwork yourself, especially when you did something that isn't your responsibility," she protested. She mumbled, loud enough for me to hear, "That Chun Minju is getting braver by the minute."

I was taken aback by her sudden remark. Baffled, I asked, "What do you mean by that?"

She glanced back to me and sighed. She fully turned to me and answered, "You can resume work later. Right now, it's lunch break. It's best that you come with me and join me in the cafeteria."

"I have so many missed calls--"

"At this point, I don't care about your missed calls. What I care about is your well-being and that includes your health," she argued. She added, "I almost lost a friend because of a similar incident. I'm not going to let that happen again."

"Okay, your side comments are scaring me. Mind explaining to me what you meant by that?" I repeated my previous question.

"I'll answer them only if you join me downstairs at the cafeteria."

I looked to my laptop screen then back at her. I repeated this action a few times before I finally grabbed my bag. She smiled triumphantly at me as we headed downstairs.

---------*---

After I got my food for lunch, we finally sat down at the nearest table. Thankfully, the staff and my fellow co-worker were kind enough to tell me that the food was free. I wasn't told that employees here were given a free meal during lunch. But it was such a big help.

As we sat across each other, we were sitting in an agonizing silence for about five minutes. Until I realized that I never asked for her name.

I gathered up the needed strength and asked, "I hope you don't mind me asking. But what is your name? We've been together for the past few minutes and we never properly introduced ourselves."

"The name is Soyoung, Ya Soyoung. I'm in charge of the marketing department of its company," she replied as she opened her juice box. "Welcome to the family, Mingyu. I hope Minju didn't give you a bad impression of how this company runs. Our boss is the kindest person that there is."

"No, not at all," I shook my head. "It's been a tiring morning but I just accepted the fact that it's part of my job."

She chuckled before she replied, "What you did wasn't a part of your job." She then took a sip from her juice box.

"What did you say that's not part of my job?" I immediately jumped to my main concern.

Before she could reply, someone spoke from behind me, "Did you deliver the files well?"

I turned around and it was Minju and her friend group. With a smile, I nodded and said, "Yes, everything was delivered accordingly."

"Awesome! Thank you so much for helping me out," Minju giggled. "If you don't mind, there are still a few piles left on my desk. Mind helping me out with those as well?"

"Do you mind doing your work instead of passing it to other people, Minju?" Soyoung snapped.

Horrified, I turned back to her.

Minju snapped back, "Do you mind staying out of matters that don't include you?"

"I would like to do that. However, you're not doing your work properly again. I thought you forgot your job description so I might as well remind you," Soyoung answered before she smiled sarcastically.

"Mr. Kim and Mingyu herself said that if I needed anything, I could tell her. I needed help with the files so I told her," Minju explained.

Soyoung shook her head and said, "There's nothing wrong with that if you don't do the same thing with every other co-worker on our floor. There's also nothing wrong with that if you didn't do that to every secretary that we had."

Minju chuckled. "You're pretty brave for someone who started from the fax room." Her comment made her friend group laugh.

"And you're pretty bold for someone who only got her job because of your connections," Soyoung replied.

"Jealous?"

"Nope," Soyoung answered with a firm smile. "I'm just trying to remind you that since you have 'connections', you might as well be mindful of your actions before it reaches other people." She leaned in closer and lowered her voice, "Don't you have a reputation to uphold? Wouldn't want to disappoint our family now, do we?" She winked before she leaned back and returned her food.

I looked back to Minju and she was furious. Her friends, on the other hand, were horrified at what would happen next. But instead of prolonging the argument, Minju scoffed and walked away with her group.

"People and their money," Soyoung remarked after a chuckle. I turned back to her and she continued, "Just because they have all the money, the latest cars and tallest penthouses, they forget what it's like to be a regular human being. Money truly does turn someone into a monster."

"I'm sorry but I'm confused. What just happened?" I asked.

She took a sip from her juice box and said, "I assume you finished college, right?"

I nodded.

"Well, to put it simply: Minju is our queen bee and her friend group is her squad. She got her job in this company because her father's company is a partner of ours. That's why she acts superior to others," she explained. "People on our floor have forgotten to remind her of her place. I just did it for everybody today."

"But why are you so against me helping her out?" I asked another. "Isn't that a part of my job?"

She sighed. "Mingyu, your main job here is to be a secretary, not a delivery man. Minju has done that to everybody on the floor, including me. And with every person who stepped in as a secretary, they were abused and ridiculed by her," she continued. "What she did to you was a bit lighter than what she used to do before. Perhaps, she was already given a warning for her absurdity."

I was taken aback by what Soyoung said. When Minju approached me, I didn't see her as the manipulative person that Soyoung described as. She and her friends seemed welcoming. I wasn't expecting to know that she had a whole different persona behind that charming smile.

"Want my advice?" Soyoung asked.

I snapped out of my thoughts and nodded immediately.

She looked directly into my eyes and replied, "Don't trust anybody on our floor, especially the ladies. And don't get too friendly with the guys, either. The only ones that you can trust is Mr. Kim and me." She added, "Not to toot my own horn. But I will never disrespect you or go against you. I've done it for every secretary that was hired and I always feel like I never did enough. I'm not going to fail this time."

My brows furrowed. "Why shouldn't I trust the others?"

She took out her utensils and said, "The guys are stuck-up people. Show them your kind and friendly side too much, they would either think you're flirting or it's easy to get into your pants." She continued as she stirred her ramen, "As for the ladies, they drool over our boss. Technically, they are at each other's throats. They just.play niceties to see who's going to win in the end."

"And you're not a part of all the because?"

"Why would I waste my time on mundane and idiotic things? I started from the very bottom of the food chain. I was one of the very few who had luck on their side and reached the forty-ninth floor. I will never do something to jeopardize what I worked hard for," she explained.

She added, "Most of the people on our floor are either children of successful business people, have connections or rich family backgrounds. And if what I heard was true, some of them had to sleep their way to the top."

My eyes widened in horror. I didn't want to judge them if that was true. But I could never imagine myself taking such measures in order to get a higher position. I would gladly resign to regular, everyday work instead of selling my soul just for a seat in the conference room with the higher ups.

"Never think that they are better than you. Because in the first place, they don't know the meaning of hard work," Soyoung continued her rant. "Their positions are given to them on a silver platter. And because of that, they expect everyone to bow down to them and do whatever they want. Which is something I'm always against."

She remarked, "Maybe that's why I don't have friends within our small team."

"Well, you have me now. I'm your friend," I replied with a low voice.

She looked at me and smiled. She said, "You're so quick to trust others. Don't you have any trust issues from the world?"

I shrugged and replied, "This world has disappointed me in a lot of ways. However, as much as I can, I try to see the light in everything. That's what my father taught me."

"Well, that's a bit unusual," she answered. "Most fathers would teach their kids to be strong and stern against the world. Your father is a special one."

I smiled as I looked down at my food. "He is."

"I'd love to stay and chat for a longer time. But we only have an hour and a half left for lunch. So, we might as well enjoy ourselves," Soyoung said, which caused me to look back at her. She opened her other juice box and offered it to me.

"Thank you," I accepted.

"Those juice boxes are a lifesaver. If you still want more, don't be afraid to ask me. I have a lot of those in my drawer," she replied before she winked.

I giggled and nodded. It would seem like this day wasn't a bad day, after all.