Ukraine kept everything in, hiding his anger in the palms of his hands. The look on his father's face sent shivers running through his spine. He had a bad feeling about it. The mission seemed to be jeopardized.
Song was in a whole new world, his eyes now blessed with the girl in a black dress sitting on the table with her legs crossed. He couldn't believe that they were in the same room again after so many years, and without a single difference in her. She was just like he saw her 30 years ago. His heart was having a bloody celebration.
Kro had no idea who he was. She got off the table and followed him. She wasn't expecting anyone, but since she was free that time, she became ready to listen to him
"Welcome, please have a seat", she said as she walked back to her desk
"Thank you", said Mr. Song and followed her.
He finally pulled the chair back and sat, without even giving his son a side stare. Uk was extremely curious to know what his father went there to say, but at the same time worried to death.
"First of all, I have to apologize for coming here without making an appointment, but secondly, thank you for agreeing to see me", he said with a breathily smile on his face. His eyes stared at Kro like she was a miracle in front of him
"It's okay, I was free anyway. So, how may I help you?", she asked without wasting a single second
"Ah yes! Um _ I'm here to thank you for giving my child a job! He'd been really trying to get a job for years, but nobody saw his potential, I personally came here to show you how grateful I am!",
"I'm really surprised, I can't believe you have a son old enough to work for me, I mean you look like you have a 10-year-old daughter or something", exclaimed Kro,
Song laughed proudly. He was surely happy to hear those words from her. That was the only reason for him to exercise and maintain his physique, he wanted to look young in front of her. And it happened,
"I hired a number of men, I have to say, I'm really curious to know who your son is. What's his name?",
Ukraine held his breath. He could see the end approaching him. He wished to just zip his father's mouth and throw him out, far out! He felt so done with everything. The only thing he waited for now was for his father to spill the beans and face the consequences.
"My name is Fang, Mr. Fang", he straight up lied, "But I can't tell you who my son is, I'm really sorry. The fact that I'm here thanking you will really piss him off",
That was a mega confusion in Ukraine's brain. His father was making him lose his mind. He had no idea what his father was doing there. He just lied in front of everyone about his name, first of all
"I understand. Thank you for being very grateful and coming here to tell me that, unlike other parents who came here to threaten me for giving their babies the job", said Kro, brushing it off
"What? Some parents did that to you? Why? I mean, this is the best company in Knnew Republic, who doesn't want his child to work here?",
"Them I guess",
"Some parents, right?",
"Right!",
Song waited for Kro to recognize him, but she had no idea. He had to go back to step 1 again.
Ukraine couldn't sit and watch them stare at each other like that. He quickly took his tablet, got up the chair and walked to Kro's desk, interrupting whatever was going on
"Uh boss? It's time for your next appointment", said Ukraine, his gaze fixed on Kro
"We were still talking", said Song, scornfully
"(GODAMN!) I know sir, but how about we schedule this for next time? Also, make sure you make an appointment before showing up here, it's protocol",
Kro surprisingly looked at Ukraine. He didn't sound like the Ukraine she was used to. He sounded shaken for some reason. Returning her gaze back to Mr. Song (Fang) she found him with a smirk on the corner of his lips
"Your assistant?", he asked
"Yes, and he's right. You have to do as he said next time, okay?", she said with a polite smile
That hit a nerve!
Song expected her to take his side, but she didn't. He had to go recharge again. He stood up proudly
"It was nice talking to you, I'll take my leave now, hope I see you again sometime, outdoors",
"Yeah sure! It can happen",
Song nodded and slowly walked out of the office.
Kro looked at Uk and he still looked tense. She decided not to talk about it as it wasn't a good time.
.....
AZARADAN
The Palace
Kro stood with the general in front of the king and the crown prince. They had no idea on what they were summoned for. They remained standing with their heads bowed down. Buk didn't look at anything else but her in that room. All he wanted was to get her closer to him, he had everything planned out in his head.
The king cleared his throat and began
"General Qin, captain Kro, I know you weren't expecting my call, but here we are. I hope I didn't interrupt anything serious", said the king,
"No, my king, you're always our priority", answered Kro,
Buk smiled just hearing her voice.
"As we all know, my son is back and soon he'll be crowned the king of Azaradan! When I asked him what his greatest wish was he said this, he needed a guard, one guard to stand by him, protect him and make him feel safe while in the kingdom. It's clear that one can't make productive decisions when he feels threatened and that's why Buk needed to feel the safety first",
"We are here at you service", said the general, "What is it that you want us to do to make our crown prince feel safe?",
"He wants Kro to be his guard",
"What!?", exclaimed the general as he raised his head, he couldn't believe what he just heard,
Kro, with extreme surprise remained bowing down. She left the discussion to the general and the royal family,
"My king, with extreme apologies I think it's not a good idea for Kro to leave the army and guard the crown prince. She's the captain, the best fighter! She needs to be training everyday, planning techniques, arranging the warriors. She can't _she can't leave her spot!", reasoned the general with emphasis and fear all over his tone,
"I have talked to my son about that and here is what we agreed on. Because Buk likes to take walks at night, Kro will be by his side from sunset to sunrise! All day long she'll be with the army, performing her duties as the captain", elaborated the king,
"How about when there's war? Every soldier plus Kro is going to leave! Are you saying she won't be fighting our wars?",
"She will! For now, since we're not expecting any war from any place let's just give this a go. What do you say my friend?",
General Qin took a look at the crown prince and caught him staring at Kro. That was a red flag! But despite being close friends with the king, he still had to comply to his orders. He nodded as he shifted his eyes back to king Bukka
"Let's give this a try, my king", he said and bowed
"I knew I could count on you!",
...
A few steps away from the palace, general pulled Kro to the corner. He looked so worried,
"Can you do it?", asked Qin
"Dad, I can. It just means I won't be coming home frequently, but I will be alright",
"I'm not supposed to say this, but I saw the way he was looking at you!",
"Who? The king?",
"The crown prince! I know that look and that is why I want to tell you not to forget who you are! You will be guarding him, you're a warrior, not a weak girl! You're born to hold a sword, not flowers! You hear me?",
"Yes father, I hear you. I won't disappoint you!",
"I trust you, Kro! And I love you!",
"I love you too, father",
The general nodded and walked away with the heaviest heart. He had to make sure his years of efforts don't go to waste. He was ready to do everything to achieve his dreams, everything!
...
PRESENT
Restaurant.
"What are you going to have?", Kro asked Ukraine, both holding the menus,
The waiter stood next to their table, waiting to take their order
"I'll have white rice, spicy walnut shrimp, steamed vegetable minus carrots and Mandu guk for appetizers", said Uk and handed the menu to the waiter
"Wow okay! I'll have a whole chicken soup, small white rice and lots of salad", Kro said and also handed the menu to the waiter
The waiter walked away.
"I didn't know you were such an eater", said Ukraine, surprised by her appetite,
"I'm just hungry. We'll share the appetizers if that's okay with you",
"It is",
Ukraine took a good look at the restaurant. He had never been there before. It looked so traditional but again very modern and pretty elegant. He was very impressed
"So, what was that this morning?", asked Kro, finally wanting to cure her curiosity
"Morning? You mean with that parent?",
"Yeah, you really gave me this new side of you",
"I was just doing my job, Miss Kro. If you think about it, he really showed up out of nowhere and it was time for your other meeting, so I just interrupted as I should",
"You looked irritated!",
"No, I looked impatient. I didn't want you to blame me for not alarming you earlier",
"You did a great job",
"Thank you!",
Later, two waiters came back to the table with their food.
Kro rubbed her hands excitedly as she looked at her food in front of her. She then closed her eyes, saying a silent prayer. That was a surprise to Uk.
When she was done, she picked up the spoon and started tasting the soup. Uk was already having a second spoon full of rice
"I didn't know you prayed", he said, speaking from the nature of his mission
"I do pray, I always pray",
"To what god?",
"The one up above of course! Why are you surprised?", she scoffed,
"I mean, you really didn't look like a believer to me", he had to play it safe
"Well, I wasn't. But Loro was, so one day I took her to church, and she said, 'do what I do, and believe', so yeah, she knelt on a bench, I did too, she closed her eyes and I did too and she said, 'tell him what you want', so I looked up and saw this statue of a woman carrying a child and I told her what I wanted. Next morning, I did receive it",
"Oh wow! So since then, you started frequenting the church?",
"Every Sunday",
"I see", he nodded, impressed,
"Tell me, when is the last time you felt happy? Extremely happy", she asked him
"You want me to be honest?",
"No, I want you to lie",
Ukraine chuckled,
"If that's the case then I've always been happy, and I was extremely happy when I got a job at your company",
"How's working for me been for you? Is it hard?",
"Again, do you want me to be honest?",
"Yes, right now I want you to be honest",
He put the spoon down and looked at her, Kro had to do the same. She was ready to hear the truth from him, although his eyes said it all
"Working for you has been a rollercoaster. It's hard, nerve-racking, but most of the time it's fun. Except for the time when you split the butterfly in half!",
Kro laughed. She knew he'd bring that up, she just waited for him to
"It was very scary", he continued,
"I mean, it's just a butterfly", she said,
"Yeah, it's just a butterfly, why do you hate them so much",
The smile on her face slowly faded. She took the spoon and started stirring her soup again, without saying anything. It seemed like she remembered something she wanted to forget
"I _ I didn't mean to upset you_", said Uk after seeing that expression
"Someone used to love butterflies, someone who I cared for deeply",
"It's okay, you don't have to ta_",
"She broke my trust and broke my heart into a thousand pieces, the most painful betrayal. Whenever I see a butterfly, I feel as if it's her, and I just end up killing it. I'm so sorry for the scenario that time, let's just hope it doesn't happen again",
Her head was lowered so he couldn't see her face, but he luckily saw a tear dropping on the table. He could see why she had that face all those years. She had gone through something difficult, something painful, and he could feel that it wasn't the whole story.
...
MINISTRY OF ARCHEOLOGY
Akeshi was almost done for the day and in the process of leaving when his secretary walked inside
"Sir, your daughter is here", said the secretary,
"Misaki? Let her in",
"Sure",
She quickly walked outside the office and a few seconds later the door again fell open and Misaki walked inside. She closed the door behind her, hoping no one could be able to hear what she was about to say to her father.
Her face looked so disappointed and frustrated. Luckily, she knew where to start. She got to her father's desk, pulled the chair and sat. Akeshi was glad to see his daughter, but it bothered him to see her with that expression
"Misaki, you could have just come home_",
"I wanted to have this talk here", she said, her tone being very serious,
"Why here?",
"Why did you come at my office and make a scene? You could have just come home, right? Why did you make me look like an idiot? Why does me having a job bother you, dad?",
"Gosh! Is this why you're here_",
"You don't know how it feels, right? I'm here to make you feel how I felt",
"Misa_",
"I'm going to walk out of that door, stand in the lobby and pretend that I'm drunk. Everybody here knows who I am, I don't know how you'll feel when everyone sees your daughter drunk and making a scene",
"Misaki don't_",
"What? That's what you did at my job anyway, I'm just returning the favor",
She couldn't wait anymore. She got up and walked to the door
"Misaki, STOP RIGHT THERE!",
"Goodluck with the gossip, Minister",
She opened the door and stormed out of the office.
Mr. Akeshi could feel his heart escaping its chamber. His daughter was on her way to destroy his reputation, something he built all his life. He was sweating like a goat. Now caring less that he was a minister, he got out of his office and started running after her. When his bodyguards saw that, they ran after him too.
He impatiently waited for the elevator.
It took almost 2 minutes it to get there. He could already imagine his daughter dancing in front of everyone and laughing at every guy who walked in the lobby. He was losing his mind, wishing for the elevator to just pop on the ground floor. He kept calling her phone, but she wasn't picking up. He yelled insanely loud that his bodyguards almost took him for a psycho.
Elevator doors opening at the lobby never seemed scarier for him. He closed his eyes as he walked out. He was expecting to hear Misaki giggling and people murmuring, but to his surprise, it was calm. He slowly opened his eyes, only to find the lobby like the way it always was, without any sign of Misaki.
Before he thought of anything, a text message popped on his screen. He quickly checked it, and it was a text from his daughter. His hands trembled as he read it.
Now imagine how it feels when you embarrass me. Take care, I love you dad.
His whole body was on fire. He angrily threw his phone on the ground. Everyone who was at the lobby paused.
"So, after you gave her a job, now you're turning her against me? You asked for it, Kro! You just did!",
*****