Penta Ent. | JungHo ✅

34

"Jinho~" I closed the door to his office then tiptoed my way to his desk. "You only act like this when you want something." "It was only one time." "Twice if you count now. What is it?" "Not much. Just...the entire next week off." I had expected a negative response, but his face had beat him to the punch. "An entire week...?" "What? You can't operate this company without me? Yet you were doing just fine before I was hired." I was probably making things worse, but this was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

I cheered as I made my way back to my office. I quickly called my dad as I opened the door. "Can you go?" "I got the okay!" "This is great! Your mother just might die of happiness." "God forbid." "It's been so long since we had a family outing." "Yeah..." I turned side to side as we reminisced about the past. I hadn't gotten to see my dad lately, so this trip meant everything to me. "Oh, quick question." "Yeah?" "Will you being absent for a week really be okay?" "Yeah. Mr. Jo is strong on his own. I'm probably like extra baggage."

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~Time skip: 1 week~

"Woo!" "Hey m- oof." Her hug was pretty tight this time around. "Kim Jungwoo. Look at my son." "Dad." My mom moved to make room for my dad. It felt nice to be with them both again. "So, shall we get moving? Time waits for no one." "Are you okay driving, dad?" "Are you calling me old?" "You know that wasn't what I meant." He started laughing then patted my shoulder. "Don't worry so much. My eyesight is still good."

I sat back with my eyes closed as the car zoomed down the highway. "Is everything going well at work, Jungwoo?" "Yep. The books department is doing much better than before." "What about Mr. Jo? Is he treating you well?" "Yeah. He's been kind from the start." I heard a chuckle which caused me to open my eyes. "What's funny?" "Nothing, close your eyes." I eyed my mother as she was acting strange. "Love, don't tease him so much." "Can't I be interested in my son's life?" "There are some things people want to keep private." "You know if anything happens, you two are the first to know. I don't mind telling you things." They didn't pry into my personal life the rest of the ride there.

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"So many people..." "Come on, get your stuff. The ferry's gonna leave without us." "Ah, I'll get that mom." I closed the trunk then quickly joined my mother up ahead. "So, is there a structured plan like always?" "No." "No?" "No." It was strange. They always had our outings planned out. "What's with the sudden change?" "Doesn't hurt to try something new, right?" She wasn't wrong. I used to dislike the structured plans, but as I got older, it started to make sense. "Ah, we're moving. I'll go find your father." I nodded then took out my phone. I took a few photos then felt my phone slip out of my hands.

A cool breeze blew past me as I hung my head over the railing. My phone was now one with marine life. "Woo? Is everything okay?" "If by okay you mean I now have a valid excuse to say I didn't know, then yes, everything is okay." I felt pain on my forehead and was faced with an upset mother. "I dropped my phone into the water." They both looked at me in silence. "It wasn't your work phone, right?" "No." "Then where's the problem?" I felt my eye twitch then let out a sigh. "It was expensive, dad." "And that's why we don't carelessly handle them on ferries." It twitched again as he obviously wasn't going to let me win this one. "Whatever...."

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I blankly stared at the lock screen of the business phone wondering what I was going to do regarding my personal phone. Was anyone trying to text me? Call me? I silently hoped that there wasn't anything urgent and someone was trying to contact me through my personal phone. "Woo." I looked up and saw my mother take a seat next to me.

"Why so glum? We're finally all together. Is it because of your phone?" "I'm just worried. What if someone needs me? No one knows the business phone's number but Jinho and the contacts in it." She gave my arm a squeeze while smiling. "I'm sure they're smart enough to approach Jinho." "But Jaehyun and those who don't know him." "Hm, that is a problem. But I'm sure Jaehyun would call your father." I weakly smiled then noticed I had received a message. My hopefulness had faded as I saw it wasn't from Jinho. "Is it important?" "Nah." I simply forwarded the message then sighed.

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We arrived at the hotel and I was surprised to learn my parents had gotten a separate room for me. We had always stayed in one room. They were clearly up to something, and I wanted to know what. "Mom. Dad." They faced me with innocent looks. "What are you planning?" "Planning?" My father had continued walking to their room. "Yeah, planning." "We aren't planning anything. Stop being so skeptical, Woo." She turned on her heel and went to catch up with my father. Maybe they really weren't planning anything. Perhaps I was simply on edge from losing my phone.