All the time I have known her, she always has this aura of confidence. She says what she thinks, and she always think it through before saying it. That was one of the admirable qualities that I liked about her. But that night, she was quiet. She avoided conversation with me. I was contemplating what I've done until I realized that she might have been surprise of my move in giving her a space at my place.
She looked lovely and stunning when I picked her up for the event. I would have wanted her to wear a little less revealing dress, but it doesn't look at all tacky. Although, she is dashing in her outfit, I can see there's something missing. Her aura is down, she doesn't look well.
"Are you feeling sick?" I asked.
"I'm fine. I'll just show up for my research hour and greet people…" her answers short, detached of any welcoming conversation.
The press is waiting for her statement. She handles it very well. She can pull a smile, but I know how she's feeling. She insisted on leaving alone but I needed to talk to her. I wanted to make sure that I am not rushing her in anything. But she is really dismissive. Maybe I needed to give her the time to think and breathe.
Most of the articles the next day are favorable. But the business page of the Korea Times is edgy. My dad will definitely read this. Between a politician's daughter and a foreigner, a Filipino at that, Namshin heir is showing us how to bury the past behind. Is Namshin finally moving on from the past that almost buried their company? This is exactly what I have been telling Jae-yin about. Stability, image not the control of shares but the impression of the public that gives Dad stress.
I called her but her phone is off. When I finally get through, she is not answering either. I am becoming uneasy. The problem is I don't know exactly what she is thinking or how she is feeling. You cannot fight the enemy you can't see, and in my case, I cannot defend or reason out to something I don't know about.
I look at the email again. The person I hired to look into her past finally made progress. I know I could just ask her about it, but we never have gotten far when she talks about her life, it was always the life when she is already in Copenhagen, when she'd been married. The life she lived before that is still vague.
-----Ara's Background-----
Name: Ara Charlotte Rivera, DOB: April 11, 1985. POB: Claveria, Cagayan Valley Philippines.
Graduated 2002- 2-year vocational training in Food and beverages.
Graduated 2007- (full scholarship), University of the Philippines-Diliman, BA in Philosophy with minor in English Language and Literature.
2007- au pair Copenhagen, Denmark
2011-2013- Double degree, Master of Arts in Philosophy and Cognition and Communication University of Copenhagen
2020-Graduated Open University Executive MBA – Copenhagen Business School
Member: Debate Society, Council of Filipino Philosophers, Swim Club, Bowling Club, Tennis Club, Judo Team, Red Cross Youth.
Parents: Father: Deceased (July 09, 2004), Mother: Maria Alicia Tamayo Rivera (teacher, retired) Address: Oning's Farm, Nagsabaran, Claveria, Cagayan Valley.
Siblings:
Ronnie Jay Rivera- (Computer Science, job: Unknown, unidentified) married. Address: Centro 6 Claveria, Cagayan Valley.
Marc Andrei Rivera- (Marine Engineer job: Unknown, unidentified) married. Address: Tomakomai City Hokkaido, Japan.
Katrina Rochelle Rivera-Deen (MBA) married: Dutch national. Address: Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Park James Rivera- (Agricultural Engineer) married, Address: Oning's Farm, Nagsabaran, Claveria, Cagayan Valley.
Brian Daniel Rivera (Chef) unmarried, Address: Manila, Philippines
Notes: Base on acquaintances Ronnie Tolentino Rivera worked in Korea between 1989-1996 but there is no confirmation yet. There seems to be different acoounts as to what the family really do. They own a farm in Cagayan and Oning's products are actually from their own farm.
----------end of the Investigation-------
That's why they decided to put up RTR's headquarter in the North of the Philippines, because that's where she came from. She mentioned about his dad's death, but she didn't really say that it was almost 20 years ago already. She was so admirable back then. The death of his father was indeed a turning point in her life. She went to Denmark as a means to help out her mother. Remembering the bitterness of her words back then when she told me about the reason of her marriage, I now understand why. She is full of dreams and full of potential before it was cut short, because of the sense of responsibility conferred upon her as the eldest. She wanted to be a lawyer back then.
How far might my uncle's investigation had gone? She never mentioned about her father working in Korea before. Did my uncle possibly find this out? I called the investigator to focus his search on the job and life of her father's when he came to Korea. There might be something to find out about it that we might uncover before my uncle will figure it out and handed over the press.
I tried calling to Soo-ah when I didn't receive any reply or call from her. One whole day of thinking should have been enough, isn't it? I'm beginning to worry. Did she finally decide that our relationship is too overwhelming? I knew she was overwhelmed. The fact that I am thinking about our future together might have scared her. Soo-ah assured me she's fine, I would take her word for it. I knew Soo-ah's work with her now, she had been task to be her therapist while she's here. Although, it has been 5 years since her psychological breakdown, she had episodes of panic and anxiety attack once in a while.
I thought that she will no longer contact me that night, but I was pleasantly surprised to receive her call. She still has a detached tone to her voice. I have a hard time understanding what she is trying to say. So, she had been biking and thinking. And she biked all the way to my apartment? It's not that far, it might take max 20 minutes, but it took her an hour to decide to come here in her bike. That was a long time to be thinking.