Nickson B. Park (Final)
(Eight years ago) I am writing this part in the past tense since this is a memory from Nickson.
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"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to hear about your results and the progress of our company." I rested my hands on the surface of the table while eyeing everyone's facial expression. The tension created by my sentence brought terrors in their eyes as they listened to my words.
"I had posted my files, and I think we stabilised our products inside the sheets, Seo-jun." The Chief Administrator Officer was the first person to speak up as he slid the envelope to my side for me to see.
The documents had unnecessary scribbles and whatnot, painted with bloody-red dots beside their numbers. I even discerned the arrows from the graph also descended to the ground, showing that we were losing our business.
I studied this data presented in my books for the past four months. All those efforts were because of my butler, Chung-hee, who had helped come this far. If it were not for him, then I would never know what was happening inside my company.
"Who told you to call me by my first name?" I narrowed my eyes and leered at the person who answered my question.
"My apologies, sir Seo-jun," After witnessing my mood, the CAO hurriedly corrected himself.
My face frowned after gawking at the numbers flattened like the table. It was my poor leadership as the Chief Executive Officer that caused this decline of my corporation.
As I peered through the sheets, I saw the numbers dropping low about unrelated stuff for the company. The papers never specified what fees my company paid using my account, but that deducted our shares.
"Where is the Chief Financial Officer?" My voice echoed through my ears as I slammed the documents back to the board.
Suddenly, the CFO stood up from her seat and brought dozens of papers to me.
"Sir Seo-jun, we had evidence of corruption and misuse of our funds for the last six months." Without hesitation, the lady in charge of managing the company's finance claimed the news to me.
Few of the board members jerked their hands upon hearing the statement. They all glared at the woman before me as she pointed them in one sweep.
One man called out for my attention as he rose from his seat. "With all due respect, Sir Seo-jun, but everything is working fine. We handled the goods well, and we are selling our products."
He was the Chief Operations Officer who handled the organisation.
I raised my brow because of my suspicion, thanks to the girl who professed her thoughts. The man in question averted his gaze to me and knew what was coming. Despite his reason, I forced myself to look for any holes in the paper and review it soon.
After a few minutes of studying the contents, I found out that there was something fishy about the expenses. The paper stated we have a 23 million won budget for purchasing the products. But the number of products bought did not match the price of our funds.
We were missing 10 million won in the account.
"Can you tell me the people involved with this matter?" I directed my question to the girl who shared this information. It was a risky interrogation, but I would not let this matter slip from my hands.
The first person who reacted was the man who spoke before.
"It was a mistake, sir Seo-jun! I checked it myself and knew we owned all the products. The data you received must have been outdated." He stood up and waved his hands, telling me to move on to the next topic.
The CFO-who handled the money, turned her head to me and looked like she was asking for my help. Upon noticing her response, I trudged toward her and saw the man's hand wrapped around her waist. My eyes widened from the sight, unaware of this scandal.
"You are just a mere kid!" The enraged man freed his hand and attempted to hit me with the other. I was in breadths away until he realised I obstructed his hand using mine.
"You are fired." I released his fist off from my hands and commanded him to leave. I wanted to include the other corrupted members of our team and kick them for good. But that was not an effortless job for me to do alone.
The CHRO stormed out of the room, slamming his hand on the door to open it. Karma hunted him back and injured himself from the sliding gate. It was embarrassing to watch the scene since we almost fought during the meeting. But now, I was thankful for the guy who had stirred up a fight as it broke the tension in the room.
"You, the girl with the blue necktie. What's your name?" I marked my finger at the girl who brought the corruption topic to me. It was because of her we got rid of the man who fiddled with the budget.
The office worker nervously shuffled her hands, fixed her suit, and replied, "Yeona Kim, Sir Seo-jun,"
"Starting for today, you will work for me as the COO, got it?"
...…
"How was your day, Master Seo-jun?" Chung-hee entered the room and offered me a set of tea and biscuits for me to settle inside.
I gave him a nod and helped myself with the snack on the table. My hand found its way on the light meal and dropped it inside my mouth. The sweetness of the biscuits touched my mouth, making me feel as if I was in my euphoric state. I chugged down the tea and felt the flavoured-filled herbs mixed with citrus sliding through my oesophagus.
"I have never felt such stress in my life, Chung-hee." I perched myself on the chair and stared at the galactic night beaming from the sky. The round moon illuminated from miles away as if paving me a path for me to take.
"Do I have to do this all day, Mr. Butler?" I stirred my glass and took a sip of my tea. Chung-hee never let me drink alcohol, so I forced myself to xertz with this liquid instead.
Chung-hee rested himself on the settee, surveying both me and the window. He felt the mesmerising night sky bathing us with its moonglade coming from the nearby lake.
"I think it is about time you have yourself an English name." The butler plodded towards me, with his wine glass gripped in his hands. He turned his head towards me, who was still staring at the outside.
"Why do I need an English name?" I tilted my head in confusion and asked the old man.
"You will need it once you make partnerships with Americans soon, Master Seo-jun." The butler made his way across the room and took something inside. As soon as he reappeared in front of me, he held an enormous box with two of his hands and waved it at me.
"And I have a present for you once you have thought of a name." Chung-hee flashed me a smile, paired with his eyes winking at me. He was having fun with the situation, knowing he would use it to tease me.
"Hmmm, how about Nickson? I am victorious about my problem, am I right?" I grabbed the gift box away from him and unfolded the ribbon on top. As soon as the strip fell off, a digital tablet greeted my eyes.
"Very well. I will simultaneously call you Nickson or Seo-jun. Try to keep track of what names I would use for you." Chung-hee hid his chuckle beneath his fingers while watching me untangle the box in my hands.
"You can call me Wilson if you wish. That is my English name when I was still a traveller," Chung-hee yet again presented me with a wink as he added to his sentence.
I touched the smooth surface of the screen and fiddled with my pen clipped on the gadget. It was the first time for me to see such a thing, considering I was unaware of these gadgets. If I would be honest with myself, I hardly use any electronic devices throughout my age. I chose to not rely on these things and did everything within my grasp.
Turning the gadget on, I saw the screen flared before me, welcoming another user. After some time, the device flickered to the home screen and guided me through the application store.
"What is this for, Wilson?" I locked my eyes on the tablet without daring to look at my butler seated beside me. The gadget was fun to play it, given that this was my earliest appliance given to me.
"Your brother wants to be a comic artist. If I remember the terminology he had used, he wanted to become a mangaka." Wilson stood up from his chair and opened the lights switch in the room. "You can communicate with your brother through art, Sir Nickson."