Chapter 32: Chapter 32.

Chapter 32.

Woojin’s mother asked him on the phone, “Woojin, are you eating well? Did you eat today?”

“You asked me that a minute ago.”

“I ask because every time I see you, you look thinner. Dr. Yoon is worried about your weight as well.”

“Are you doing well, Mother?”

“No.”

Woojin remained quiet. He was sitting in the VIP lounge talking to his mother on the phone. He looked outside and watched the planes.

He wondered if he was so emotionless because he resembled his mother. He always thought this was a strong possibility because his mother was indifferent about any kind of relationship.

Well, she did have one relationship she was obsessed about and it was with Woojin’s father, her husband. She was much younger than him and she was deeply in love with him. Her joy in life was her love for her husband. Woojin may have been her son, but she saw him only as a vague extension of her husband.

Woojin’s mother didn’t know how to be a mother. She was an easily scared woman. After his father’s death, she never returned to Korea.

“It will be the first time we meet in three years, Woojin. I still don’t like the fact that you live in Korea.”

Woojin listened to her with a blank face. He massaged his temples with his fingers and nodded as he replied, “I think I don’t like living here either.”

“Then you should come back to Germany.”

“…”

“Do you think that it is safe for you to live in Korea?”

“Yes.”

“Make sure you don’t get close to anyone, especially for non-business purposes. You need to always keep your distance from everyone.”

“I know.”

Germany was always cloudy. Sunny days were rare.

Woojin graduated from a university located near the city of Dusseldorf. When he lived in Germany, his day consisted of taking naps and reading books while drinking coffee.

It was not a bad thing to live apart from his mother, but the treatment he received could be very agonizing. Woojin never enjoyed any social interactions, but on some days after treatments, he craved some warmth from another person.

Some days were so bad…

Suddenly, Shin’s face crossed his mind.

Woojin said to his mother on the phone, “I am about to get on the plane.”

“Did you remember to bring your medication?”

“Yes.”

Woojin suspected Dr. Yoonil probably gave his mother the recording of their last session. He felt a bit thirsty. Woojin took a sip of the cold coffee that was sitting on the table in front of him.

“Make sure you get here safely, Woojin.”

Safely. Safely.

It was the word Woojin’s father said the most to him. Whenever Woojin saw Shin, the word “safety” seemed to disappear from his mind. This made Woojin feel frightened. He knew that during the last month, he had not been staying safe as he should’ve.

“Alright.”

The reason why he looked away from Shin today was because Woojin felt blinded by him. His heart refused to stay safe whenever he saw Shin.

After hanging up, Shin grabbed a small square case from his briefcase. He took out two blue pills and swallowed it with the cold coffee.

This was going to allow him to sleep for 14 hours straight. He hated flying.

***

“Is the PPT ready?”

“It will be done in about 10 minutes, I think.”

“The presentation will be in an hour, so please hurry up.”

Woojin asked politely and finished his cup of coffee. This was the second day in a row of working through the night. The three men didn’t get to see the city of Hamburg at all since they arrived. They went to their hotel immediately after landing and had been working to get ready for the upcoming meeting.

Eejun was responsible for the presentation, Woojin the data compilation, and Shin the report. In an hour, their meeting with the next client was going to start.

They took turns taking short 1-hour naps early in the morning and took hot showers. It wasn’t a good quality hotel, so the water pressure was terrible.

The three men, in their suits, typed like mad men in the hotel room.

Eejun said to Shin, “Mr. Shin Kim, this is so much work, isn’t it? It’s your first international business trip, and all you get to do is work.”

“It’s not just me working here. All of us are doing it, so please don’t worry about me.”

Woojin glanced at Shin who didn’t look tired at all. Shin had such great stamina.

But for some reason, Shin looked a bit sharper. After they reunited at the Hamburg airport, Shin never once looked at Woojin. At his sudden change in attitude, Woojin felt hurt. Woojin was afraid that he may have to give up soon.

He put on his glasses again. He needed to check the data once more.

Eejun said to Shin, “Mr. Kim, please take this down to the lobby to get it printed.”

“Ok.”

“As soon as it gets printed, please read the contents and cross check them.”

“Of course.”

Shin took the USB from Eejun and left the room. Eejun watched the door close for a while before returning to his laptop. He said to Woojin, “This is too much. Three meetings in one day is unreasonable, Assistant Manager.”

“It was your own team leader who requested this schedule.”

“My boss is the worst.”

“It’s because of our poor recent quarter.”

“And Assistant Manager Woojin is so blunt.”

Eejun turned to Woojin. They went on European business trips often together. Woojin Choi was known for his quality of work and Eejun was an excellent salesman with good English due to his education in England. They were a good pair.

Eejun asked, “Why did you speak in English during yesterday’s meeting, Assistant Manager Woojin?”

“…”

“You speak excellent German, right?”

“Sometimes, it’s good manners to not speak a language when it is not called for.”

“By the way, how’s your health? Are you feeling ok?”

Woojin looked up to find Eejun smiling sweetly at him. Eejun continued easily, “Isn’t it weird that we are talking so formally?”

“You started it, Mr. Bae.”

“Of course, my queen.”

Eejun bowed sarcastically and then laughed. He stretched his arms loudly and asked, “Why didn’t your puppy follow you this time?”

“…”

“I mean Jihoon Kang, obviously. Where is he?”

Eejun was the son of Woojin’s grandfather’s lawyer and best friend. Eejun Bae and Woojin knew each other well since their childhood.

Woojin frowned at Eejun’s question. Eejun asked, “Are you angry? Did I upset you just now?”

“…”

“Well, I guess recently, Shin Kim replaced Jihoon Kang.”

“… There is nothing between him and me.”

“My grandfather told me that our CEO is very worried about you…”

“Just shut up!”

Woojin stood up, grabbed the documents in front of him, and threw it everywhere angrily. Eejun shrugged his shoulders as he looked up at Woojin. He said quietly, “I think I haven’t seen you get angry like this in 20 years… right?”

“…”

“Calm down. Oh, and…”

“…”

“I told Shin Kim the truth about you. That you own this company.”

“…!”