The One He Tried To Forget | 18+ |

2

"Jin!"

Kim Seok Jin looked up at the sound of his name. His hand stilled in the middle of buffing the black limo in front of him. Though the car's finish already gleamed under the bright fluorescent lights in the garage of Jung Limousines, Jin took pride in making sure that his ride remained smooth, pristine, and immaculate.

His efforts paid off because he was the only chauffeur on the roster who had a set clients list that requested him, and only him, to drive them to wherever they needed to go. Thanks to word of mouth, more customers began requesting for Jin that his boss had to place an indefinite moratorium on new clients so as not to overwhelm his best employee.

Jin waited as he watched his employer, Ho Seok (or Hobi as he preferred to be called) approach him. There weren't many people in the garage at this time because it was still early but Jin knew that Hobi lived and breathed the business so it wasn't surprising to see the man already busy checking schedules in his office when Jin started his day at 7:00 AM.

"You have a pick-up from the airport at 2:30 PM to be dropped off at the new condos downtown. It's a new client so I've prepared his list of preferences in advance because I know you like to have this information," Hobi announced.

"A new client, boss?" Jin was surprised. He hasn't had a new client in over a year because he was kept busy with the ones he had.

"Yes. He's an old uni mate and he's changing car services. His current one apparently tried to hit on his spouse," Hobi explained, his cheeks pink with embarrassment. "I'm assigning him to you because I know you're respectful and will take good care of him."

"Okay, boss."

Jin tucked the buffing cloth into a pocket on his overalls, and moved towards his employer to take the information packet on his new client. The plastic folder was light and not as thick as usual which made Jin curious.

"I already have a sign ready and made up so he knows you're there for him," Hobi continued. "Make sure your uniform is pressed and your shoes polished. We want to give him a good first impression."

Jin took the summary sheet out of the folder and glanced at the paper in his hands quickly, picking out the relevant bits for now. He planned on perusing the remaining contents carefully afterwards so he would not miss any important information about his new client.

"Which car will I be using?" he asked, frowning when he noticed a detail that he didn't see often. "It says here that he doesn't like stretch limousines. Will our town car be enough to impress?"

"Oh my goodness! I didn't even catch that! He's a perfectionist and I totally missed that part," Hobi exclaimed as he scanned the document in his employee's hand. "I was right to appoint you to him!"

Jin blushed. Even though it has been almost ten years since he started working for this man, it still thrilled him every time he received a compliment from him. Jin hoarded every one of them.

"Take the town car that I usually drive. There's something in it that I'm sure will either make him laugh or roll his eyes," Hobi chuckled.

Jin quirked an eyebrow. He was intrigued by the statement and wondered what was different about the car. Every vehicle in Jung Limousines had the same standard amenities to ensure uniformity. Uniformity made it easy for the staff to maintain the cars assigned to them, and guaranteed that when something needed replenishing, there would always be available stock.

"Boss?"

"A joke from when we were at uni together. I only just remembered that I bought it to tease him when I showed him my first car after I started this business. Nothing to worry yourself about," Hobi waved his hand to dismiss the subject.

Jin took his employer's action as his queue to leave so he smiled and bowed before making his way to the locker room at the back of the building to change into his uniform. He had to pick up a female client in an hour and he needed to stop at a coffee shop on the other side of town to get her favourite chocolate croissant and latte macchiato.

There was also a bottle of her preferred brand of sparkling water already chilling in the limo's mini refrigerator because Jin knew that the client liked the cool feel of the distinctive glass bottle in their hand when they exited. It apparently centred them and always put them in a better frame of mind to tackle long hours managing hedge funds.

This was the secret to Jin's success -- the little things that he remembers about his clients. In the cutthroat world of large corporations and mighty conglomerates, the simple gesture of a limo driver remembering what you liked was a breath of fresh air in a cloud of toxic fumes.

Many of Jin's clients had tried to poach him from Hobi but Jin always said no. Powerful men and women, captains of industry, and even foreign royalty had tried to lure Jin away with offers of a lucrative salary and a generous living allowance, an expensive apartment, a healthy stock portfolio, and yearly all-expense paid holidays but Jin would simply smile and politely decline.

When asked why he remained so faithful to an employer who could not provide such spoils, Jin would reply, "Because he is a good man." But only Jin knew the true reason why he stayed when others would have leapt at the better opportunities.

As long as Hobi would have him, Jin will never leave the man. He will never leave his employ because Hobi gave him his first job. He was the first person to take a chance on a young man who was barely out of his teens with no job experience and yet he believed in him. He gave him a secure and stable home -- something that Jin always longed for. But more importantly, Hobi saved his life.