Chapter 4

Taeyeon shut the car door with an impressive amount of force and rushed right into the office without acknowledging anyone.

"So what happened?" She settled down on one of the office chairs and hurriedly pulled out her laptop.

"As per your instructions, we reached there and handed her the list of interview questions. We told her that these are the exact list of questions that you were going to ask her about." Yuri tossed the stack of papers onto the desk.

"Then?"

"She insisted that the only person she would speak to is you. So we agreed to wait for you. After all, you said you were coming shortly after us. In the end she got fed up of wanting and left."

"Did you manage to arrange for a second interview?"

"Seok tried to. But she was so angry and left without even wanting to look at her."

Taeyeon rubbed her temples in frustration.

"I'll give her a call later when she simmers down."

Both Yuri and Jong Seok could only nod their heads.

"So...how's your girl?" Yuri spoke in hushed tones after Taeyeon dismissed Jong Seok and ended the impromptu meeting. They have eventually decided to contact the interviewee at a later time. This was an important lead that they could not afford to lose.

"What is this nonsense that you speak of? She sprained her ankle because of me. It's only right that I brought her to the clinic."

"How did she sprained her ankle because of you anyway?"

"I'm guessing she tripped over herself while trying to call for me. She found my fountain pen."

Taeyeon took her trusty pen from her pocket and gave it a rub.

"So she was your life saviour?"

"More like the other way round. She is so clumsy you wouldn't even believe it."

"Well, I would certainly hope to meet her somewhere in the future. It is so unlike the great Kim Reporter to miss an interview for a girl."

"Good for you. As for me, I hope I would never meet her again."

Yuri wrinkled her forehead. "So unlike you to make such sweeping statements. Seems like she left a deep impression on you."

"So deep that I don't want to see her ever again." Taeyeon proclaimed as determined as she could possibly sound.

"If you insist"

==

The very next morning, Tiffany woke up with an aching sensation on her right ankle. She frowned at the pain. Oh right. She sprained it yesterday. No thanks to that wood block. Examining the ankle, she realised it had swelled up. There was no way I can wear heels for the time being.

She got off the bed and tried to hop her way into her bathroom to wash up. She groaned at the dull pain that came with every step she took.

I should take a day off.

She was just about to change out of her pyjamas when her doorbell rang. Her first instinct was to ignore it. But the ringing didn't stop. Instead it intensified and was soon coupled with a couple of furious knocks.

"Coming" She shouted as she hobbled over to the door, cursing at the pain that came with every step.

She pulled open the door to see an elder lady smiling at her.

Tiffany scratched her head.

"Morning..?"

"Morning. Are you Tiffany? Taeyeon's friend?"

Friend?

"Yes." She bowed a little. "I am Tiffany."

"Ah." The older lady passed a flask and a lunch box over to Tiffany. "Taeyeon told me you've sprained your ankle so she asked that I prepare something nutritious for you since I live just a floor under you. I am her Umma."

Tiffany was certainly caught aback by the very kind gesture. Taeyeon actually asked her mom to take care of me?

The older lady pressed on a smile. "She was a little worried."

"Ah." The usual eloquent lawyer was at a loss of words. "C-come on in?"

"Maybe another day? Here, take them. Don't worry about returning them. I'll get Taeyeon to get them back when she comes for dinner tonight."

"That's too kind of you, Mrs Kim. How can I..."

"Aish. Taeyeon's friends are like my daughters too. This girl doesn’t seem to make friends easily. I should thank you for befriending her…Sorry I am rambling again.”

“It’s fine Mrs Kim. Thanks for the food, I will eat well.”

“Take good care of your ankle and try not to get it wet. Ankle sprains can be really troublesome.”

“I will.” Tiffany nodded.

“Alright, I should get going. See you around? I am really glad you are friends with Taeyeon.”

Tiffany let out her brightest smile as she bade the older lady off. She was extremely thankful for the home cooked food. And extremely touched at Taeyeon’s gesture.

So this piece of wood block isn’t as callous as she tries to make herself sound.

She took a sip of the chicken soup, letting it warm up her belly slightly. It was nice to have home cooked food. After all, Tiffany lived far away from home and it had been ages since she tasted food cooked by her father.

She was just savouring the side dishes that Taeyeon’s mother brought for her when her mobile phone rang, shattering the morning calm. As much as she didn’t want to, she knew it was most likely a phone call that she had to answer.

She hobbled over to her nightstand and picked up the call.

“Hello?”

“Unnie? Are you on your way to the office? Mr Huang is insisting that he needs to speak to you.”

“What?

“Yeah. He is sitting in the office lounge as we speak.”

“Can you tell him I took the day off today? I sprained my ankle, I can hardly even move.”

“B-but”

“But he is an important client that we cannot afford to lose? Seohyun ah, your Unnie can hardly walk from her bedroom to the toilet.”

“Unnie…”

“Tell me I will personally give him a call later today.”

“But he—“

“No more buts. I wouldn’t be coming in to the office today. Direct any calls to my personal number. I don’t think I have got any meetings today so there’s that.

“Okay. I will. Rest well Unnie. Do you need me to get you anything? I can pop by after work.”

“It’s fine, I can call for chicken delivery if I get hungry. You go do your work.”

She put down the phone, her appetite already half gone by the reminder of a very difficult case. Together with Park Dong-bin’s case, she was handling two sticky cases simultaneously. Life would have been so much easier if she had stayed in the States, but she knew she had to return to Seoul. Her mother would have wanted her to.

On the other end of the city, Taeyeon barely slept last night. She had to finish up the article for the Park family case and submit it for editing in order for it to be published in time for today’s paper. She rubbed the sleep off her eyes and poured herself a cup of coffee. It was the start of another long, long day.

She keyed the number into her phone and waited for the other party to pick up the phone. She took sips of her coffee while waiting.

“Hello?”

“Morning. Is this Madam Hong?”

“You are…?”

“Ah. I am Reporter Kim from Seoul Daily. Is it convenient for us to have a talk now?”

“You can still call me after making me wait for more than two hours yesterday?”

“I understand your frustrations Madam Hong. I was caught up by some personal matters yesterday. I am so sorry I failed to turn up despite making a promise with you.”

“Educated people are like that. Always thinking they can get away with sloppy excuses. I may not be well educated but at least I know the value of a promise.”

Taeyeon could only sigh.

“I am truly sorry for yesterday. Allow me to make it up to you? Let me listen to your side of the story. This is the only way you can help yourself and your family right now.”

“…”

“I am just asking for one meeting. I can meet you at your place if it is more comfortable for you.” Taeyeon offered.

There was a lengthy pause in between before the woman finally relented. “I guess that is the only thing I can do right now. You’re the only one that I can trust now, I hope you understand this.”

“That I do. I will come by your place later?”

“Sure.”

She exhaled, glad that she was able to make up for her lapse of judgement yesterday. That chatterbox nearly cost me to lose a precious lead.

==

Taeyeon took a deep breath to calm herself down before knocking on the door.

“Is anybody home?”

The door creaked open soon after and Taeyeon stepped into the rundown apartment. It was barely furnished, save for a small wooden table and an old TV in the middle of the living room.

“Come on in, Reporter Kim. I am sorry our house is in this sad state.”

“No worries, shall we begin the interview now?”

The woman took off her apron and the pair settled down at the low wooden table in the living room.

“I would have to set up a recording device and a camera to record our interview. Would you be comfortable with them?”

“I am ready for this, Reporter. I have nothing more to lose.”

Taeyeon nodded rigidly.

“So tell me, what exactly happened to your husband?”

“He worked for the company for nearly 20 years. He almost never took a day off unless he was so sick he couldn’t get off the bed. He slogged so hard just for the company to fire him without a proper explanation.” The older lady paused, wiping her wet eyes.

"How can they just do that to him? To us?" She broke into tears at the thought of the extreme injustice.

"My husband was a good man and a hard worker. He spent his whole life slogging for the company just for them to kick him aside like a piece of trash."

Taeyeon willed herself to maintain her professionalism. This was the part of the job that she hated.

"What am I going to do now? I can't even afford to pay for my rent, let alone my son's college. The old just left me all alone. Sometimes I wish I had joined him instead. Please help us Reporter Kim, please."

Tears of desperation were streaming down the older woman’s wrinkled face and Taeyeon found it hard to maintain her usual composure.

She inhaled in an attempt to steady her voice. "Were you aware that your husband had depression or any emotional issues prior to the firing?"

"Of course not! My husband was perfectly healthy. It was the company that drove him crazy. They did this to him. They fired him unfairly."

"So you're saying he was emotionally stable prior to that?"

"Of course! Why wouldn’t he be?"

"Has he spoke of any hardships or difficulties at work?"

"No. We rarely talk about his work."

Taeyeon nodded. "I think we are done for today. If there's anything else that I need from you, I will give you a call.”

"Please help us to spread the story. The company cannot be allowed to continue this that. You're the only one that can help us now. How can they just do that to him? To us?" She broke into tears at the thought of the extreme injustice. "My husband was a good man and a hard worker. He spent his whole life slogging for the company just for them to kick him aside like a piece of trash. Reporter Kim, you’re the only one that can help us now."

And that exactly was Taeyeon's least favourite part of the job. The weight that rest upon her shoulders sometimes got too overwhelming. She simply gave a cursory nod before slipping silently out of the house.

Damn the society.

Her phone rang just as she got into her car.

"Hello?"

"Taetae, are you on your way home?"

"Yes I am."

"I will heat the soup up and wait for you then."

"Yes Umma."

Taeyeon rubbed her aching head as she drove quietly to her mother's home for dinner.