The salesman nervously shifted his feet while sitting beside Jinyoung. He was much older than Jinyoung; yet he had full respect for the younger as the manager. What would happen to his job when he saw the CEO, which was going to be just in a few minutes, Joonseok did not know.
Jinyoung looked at the watch; the secretary had told him that Mark would be able to meet him after the meeting with the board of directors, as Jinyoung had requested to see him.
"Will it be okay? Possibly, I'll be fired?"
The salesman looked at Jinyoung, with the helpless eyes and hoping for some reassuring words from Jinyoung.
The latter shook his head, with a sigh. "I can't say for sure. It only depends on his decision."
Jinyoung had been angry with him yesterday. But after hearing the salesman's difficulties, Jinyoung now felt he could somehow understand him.
After a while, they saw the secretary coming towards them, and stood up off their chairs.
"Finished now?" asked Jinyoung to the secretary, who nodded and gestured them to follow her.
The secretary led them to the room till they both were seated inside. Mark seemed to be expecting them and as soon as they were seated, he asked, "You are Nan Joonseok?"
"Y-Yes, sir."
Mark took a careful look at him, and spared a glance at Jinyoung.
"Well, who's going to talk?"
"I'll explain first in short," started Jinyoung. "We had a talk yesterday, and he did not deny that he had been cheating the company money. But, sir, we aslo should listen to the employees' difficulties and make a decision that will benefit both the company and the employees. Besides, he always had a clean record, and this can be said to be the first time of his deceit."
"So what're your problems? What made you to do so, to cheat the company money?" The question was directed to the salesman, who looked at the CEO with the pleading eyes.
"S-Sir, to be honest, there are financial problems in my family. My eldest daughter is joining the college and I had no more idea what to do with the tight situation, and last week, my son was also ill, and was admitted to hospital. I had no desire to misuse the company money. One thing I always kept in my mind was to never follow an unethical way at work. But sir," the salesman paused, rubbing his forehead with the sudden emotions.
Mark waited patiently but the salesman continued, after gaining some composure, "I could find no other way but this. It was all against my will, I can assure you, sir."
Silence fell, Mark weighing up the situation, and the salesman and Jinyoung waiting for the answer.
"I can understand why you did this. But the thing you did wrong was not discussing this, your problems, with the HR manager or your salesmanager, and trying to get help, but instead driving yourself into doing this kind of act."
"I really want to apologise, sir. I'll not do that again, sir. Please, sir, please don't fire me," pleaded the salesman.
"This is the first time of the warning. I'm not planning to fire you. But, this time is the warning, and next time, you are most likely to be fired. Do you understand?"
The salesman at last let out a relieved sigh and told the CEO once again that he would keep his promise.
"You can leave now," said Mark, and both Jinyoung and the salesman got up to leave the place.
"Not you," said Mark, looking at Jinyoung.
"Nan Joonseok, you can go now. You, Mr. Park, sit down."
The salesman bowed at Mark and left the room.
Jinyoung sat down as Mark ordered him to.
"Well, sir."
He was not nervous, but Mark's gaze was too much for him. Perhaps, Mark was judging him again. The secretary was still standing beside Mark.
"I want to say sorry to you," said Mark, surprising both Jinyoung and the secretary.
"F-for what?"
"For this case. I think I talked to you unfairly yesterday. Sorry, I was just angry when I suddenly found that out," said Mark, gravely.
"I understand that, sir," said Jinyoung, "I could have reacted the same way if I were in your place."
Their eyes met; in that moment, both felt that they could understand each other completely. Seconds passed but none of them broke away their eye contact, and the atmosphere got intense, as if both of them losing track of time.
"Aham," the secretary had to clear her throat, which caused them to turn their eyes away from each other in an instant.
"W-well, if that's all, I can go back now?" asked Jinyoung, his eyes trying not to meet Mark's.
"Right, you can," said Mark, his eyes held on Jinyoung again and a smile slowly appeared on his lips, seeing Jinyoung getting all nervous suddenly and standing up immediately to leave.
As soon as he got to the entrance, Jinyoung hissed at the unexpected rain and mostly certain, he had not brought the umbrella today.
There was no other choice but to run to the car parking in this rain.
Taking off his coat, he covered the brief case with the coat as it was the most important with the files inside, and he stepped into the rain in a hurry and ran to the direction of the car parking.
"Jinyoung hyung!" Leesung called Jinyoung but the latter did not hear him with the heavy sound of the rain.
"Jinyoung hyung, wait! Jinyoung hyung!"
Opening the umbrella, he ran after Jinyoung; and he could catch him up and held the umbrella up for both of them. But it was no use, Jinyoung was already drenched.
"What're you doing here? Go yourself, you'll also get wet," said Jinyoung, when Leesung covered both of them with the umbrella.
"No, I don't care. Hyung, let's go together."
As it would be even worse to be standing and arguing in the rain, Jinyoung gave in and nodded at Leesung, who wrapped his hand around Jinyoung's upper body as to squeeze themselves under the not very large umbrella, and they hurried towards the car parking.
Standing at the entrance, whatever was happening in the rain in front of the company was within the clear sight of Mark. Everything was vivid - that boy hurrying after Jinyoung, and his hand around Jinyoung's body; Mark saw everything of that and gazed at them till they disappeared from his sight. A frown settled on his face and he felt his temper rising again at that disappearing sight in the rain.
