SSOTA
Ukraine tried to figure out what his grandma meant by that statement, but it didn't ring a bell,
"I don't mean to sound rude, but I see no difference. You're here as the head of the mission but not my grandma?", he asked, acting like he lost his sense of reasoning,
The grandma's evil smile vanished. She wasn't expecting him to behave like that, she expected him to humble himself like how Song always did, but instead Ukraine displayed insanity.
"Ukraine, I'm not a fan of crazy", with clenched jaws, she said,
"No, I know, really. But if my grandma and the head of this mission are different, then I guess I'm not your grandson but a member of your team",
"What the hell are you_",
"I only allow my family in my house and especially my bedroom. Since you're currently not my grandma, please get out of my house and knock again, I'll decide whether to open the door for you or not",
"UKRAINE_",
"The mission is strictly formal but popping inside people's houses and sitting in their beds is not. If you wanted to ask me about the mission, you would've called me and asked me to meet you, not this",
"Where did you get the audacity to talk to me that way? Where? I have power over you, power to do anything I want to you_",
"I know, but as long as you can't kill me, that's fine. Or wait, don't tell me you can",
Vida wasn't prepared for that; it was humiliating her. She inwardly questioned if she had been too soft towards him, maybe that was the reason for him not to fear her.
She returned the photo on the pillow and put her hands behind her back. She began walking towards him, wearing a wistful smile,
"I guess I spoiled you, Ukraine. I guess I displayed myself as a bunny. But I know why I was so soft towards you, it's because you grew up without a mother! You were motherless from the moment you came into Earth, that's why I pitied you, you poor unfortunate soul",
She watched as Ukraine's mood changed after piercing a needle through his fresh wound with her words. She could now see him bothered, the confidence wearing off him, just exactly like she wanted. She waited for his comeback, but he couldn't,
"Next time you try to anger me, think about where you came from.", Vida continued, "You're just a mistake my son made when he was drunk, and you're alive now thanks to my pardon. This is the first and last time I'm letting your behavior pass unpunished. There will be no mercy next time",
She walked past him and left his room. Still standing at the door, he could hear her walking out of his house.
There was no point for him to fume, in fact he was relieved that she left without asking for the file. It was the first time he saw the dark side of his grandma. So, she was crueler than he thought. He could now understand what his father meant all those times.
...
Monday
CC HEADQUARTERS
The headquarter was busier than ever now that they were approaching the release of the two products. Each team was getting serious with the tasks, it was rare finding someone sitting idly doing nothing. Even the break alarm didn't sound as good as it was before. Nobody really paid attention to it.
The marketing team had to order lunch delivery, and Ukraine volunteered to go get it from the lobby. He carried 4 bags as he waited for the elevator. He explicitly saw how the lobby was hectic, the whole building was raining task.
"I wonder if she even had the time to eat yet", he inwardly thought,
The elevator doors slid open, and he hopped inside. He pressed the 15th floor button and waited for the elevator to go upwards,
In no time he was on the CEO's floor. He walked towards Kro's office. He found the secretary busy printing the documents, her hair tied in a rough bun with a pencil,
"Good afternoon, Mariana", greeted Ukraine from the door,
Mariana took a quick glance and went back to printing,
"Oh Ukraine, Boss isn't here", she politely told him,
"She left in the morning to meet all the store managers, after that she'll go check the venue and also see how the production is going, so I don't think she'll come back here today, did you need anything?",
"I just wanted to drop by and give her lunch, no big deal. Keep up the good work",
"You too",
He closed the door and proceeded to the marketing department.
When he entered, he found Misaki grabbing both their bags in a hurry. Sue was standing next to her, finishing to write something in a piece of paper. Ukraine put the lunch bag on the table and approached the ladies,
"What's going on?", he asked,
"Thank God you're here, I was about to call you!", sighed Misaki, "We need to go meet the packaging designers, there are bottle samples that we need to choose and count. If we go now, we'll be done by 9 pm",
"I know this is new to you, but this is how the office gets when we're approaching the release date. You'll get used to it in no time", said Sue, assuring them. She also handed the folded piece of paper to Misaki, "I wrote things you should consider when choosing the best packaging",
"Yes MD!", they both answered in sync then left the office,
"Whose car are we taking?", asked Ukraine
"Yours", Misaki answered,
"Okay",
.....
NIGHT
10 pm
Every single bone in Sue's body was exhausted. She could hear the cracking sound with every stretch she did. She arrived at her house, looking forward to throwing herself in bed. Since it was already late, she couldn't phone Kro to speak with her daughter, Zoe was probably asleep by then, and she was about to do the same thing after shower.
She was perplexed after switching the lights on and finding her living room destroyed and messy. Her house was wrecked, everything was on the floor.
She unconsciously dropped her bag and rushing from room to room, but every room was in the same condition as the living room, a total mess. The person who did that seemed to be uncaring, everything was wrecked, even the most valuable things.
What alerted her was the fact that nothing was stolen. All the expensive jewelry were just thrown on the floor, not one of it was taken, meaning they were looking for something else. Still looking around, she worked her exhausted brain to think of who would've done that, and that was when it hit her, nearly giving her a heart attack,
"Zoe! She came to look for Zoe, she's here", Sue gasped,
There was only one person who would do something that despicable to her, and that was the mother-in-law.
....
SSOTA
"Should I call her? Should I not call her? Should I call her? Should I not call her?",
Ukraine was laying in his bed, facing the ceiling with his phone over his face. His ears craved to hear her voice,
"But it's late, she's probably sleeping by no_",
He was interrupted by the sudden ringing of his phone, and the name 'President Kro' right on the screen. He nearly dropped the phone on his face. He quickly sat up straight, cleared his throat before picking up,
"Hello", he answered, the coincidence seeming so unreal.
"What are you doing up so late? You should be sleeping", casually, Kro spoke, sounding like she was getting in bed herself,
"But you're the one who called first",
"Yeah, but you still answered. Today's been a really exhausting day, I expected you to be deeply asleep by now",
He smiled,
"Well, I was about to call you myself to see if you're okay and all, but you're one step ahead of me",
"Gosh, Ukraine. You sound like you're talking to your girlfriend or something. You don't need to check on me every time, I'm a grown-ass woman who can take care of myself pretty well",
"I know, I know you can, but I keep finding myself worried about you, and guess whose fault that is",
"Who?",
"You. You keep making me worried",
"And why is that? Is it about yesterday?",
"Yeah, did I remind you of someone",
Kro dug her feet inside the blanket and rested her head on the pillow,
"You did remind me of someone, yes", she said,
"Who was that?",
"Mariana said you dropped by the office today",
"Yes, yes I did, but don't change the topic please.", he chuckled,
A few seconds of silence passed between them,
"Ukraine?", Kro called,
"Yes",
"Why're you so interested in me? You don't happen to have a crush on me, do you?",
Uk opened the drawer where Kro's photo was kept, he took it out. He stared at it keenly as he thought of the answer to give her.
At first, the silence didn't bother Kro, but it was how long it lasted. The silence was longer than she expected. She needed to know if he was still there
"Ukraine? Are you asle_",
"I'm interested in you because I want to know the reason", he finally said, his eyes still locked in that photo,
"The reason? What reason?",
"The reason why you have that look in your eyes. You once told me that the only thing I can do for you is to care, even a little. That's why I have this question in my head",
"I said you should care a little, but I think you're doing too much",
"I keep wanting to do everything to change it, but this one question puts a break every time",
"What question?",
"Can I trust you?",
Thinking he'd ask a stupid question; the real question took her aback. She started to wonder why he suddenly became serious. She couldn't hang up on him since that won't answer his question. She was the one who called him, and as Ukraine said, she had to take responsibility of her action.
"Ukraine, I can't tell you to trust me, it's you who should decide whether to trust me or not. If this was about food, I'd just say 'trust me, I'll feed you', but it sounds like you're referring to something more serious, and I can't guarantee you anything",
"If I tell you that I'm on my knees, will you give me the answer? Please, I'm begging you, answer the question for me, can I trust you?",
She could feel desperation in his voice.
"Okay, here's my answer; Don't trust me, that way you won't be disappointed", she waited for him to say something, but he didn't, and she understood why, "I have to wake up early tomorrow, so goodnight.",
She couldn't wait for him to reply, she hung up.
Ukraine was left staring at the photo, alone. He decided to just go to sleep after the impromptu talk. He returned the photo in the drawer and laid back in bed. His eyes closed, but his thoughts weren't.
"Right. You're right Kro", he said to himself.
*****