Chapter 3 Just The Same - Kyungsoo (2)

It's like a new day every day and yet the same process in Triary. A housekeeper comes into my room and silently taps me on my shoulder. I groan silently, picking up a pillow with one hand and using it to cover my head. I truly hate waking up early. Look, if the sun isn't fully up yet, neither am I so leave me alone. I crawl further down into my sheets, wanting to disappear.

"Sir? It's time for you to wake up. Your father has requested to see you." The housekeeper whispered gently, so as to not irritate me any more than I already was.

A part of me wanted to screech, but instead, I stifle the need and do a mental groan, getting out of bed and grabbing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt - nothing too fancy. I felt somewhat tempted to run around the office building in a hoodie and sweatpants, but my dad would have had a thing or two to say about it... or a thousand, I guess.

Most days, I tolerate going to see my father, but on days like these, I hate going to see him. Actually, who am I trying to kid? I can't even tolerate seeing him, in fact, most of the time I won't. We haven't been on good terms lately, as he's forcing me to take his position as owner of our business once he retires. I've never had an interest in business nor finance and my dad's attempts to make me like it when I was younger just pushed me further away from that sort of career path.

I finish shimmying myself into my jeans and shove on my t-shirt over top - untucked, just to annoy my dad. I head to the doorway of my room and reach for a pair of shoes from the rack. After putting my sneakers on, I take to my father's office right away, mainly because I don't want to give him any more reasons to be mad at me than I'm intentionally giving.

As I walk through the corridors, I see housekeepers, servants and workers, all from the Kanen ghetto, bustle about their day. My dad likes hiring people from the Kanen ghetto. It's not out of the goodness of his heart to provide jobs for the people of the region but because he can easily underpay them since they most likely won't be able to find another job. He thinks he's being slick but that sort of con business disgusts me. If I need to do stuff like that to stay the top company, I don't want any part in it. It's not like my dad cares though since he clearly lacks any emotion whatsoever.

Lost in thought, I snap back to reality and turn to my left to see a glistening glass wall that overlooks Kanen. To the right, the view is of Triary. Sometimes, I think about how strange it is to me that the country is split like this, but it is 'none of our concern' as my father says. I don't get why Triary doesn't do anything about Kanen. If it's not out of empathy for the people of Kanen, then at least can they do it for a better view from skyscrapers? I scowl to myself for a bit for even suggesting that.

I continue down the hall of the corporate building to see labelled offices. Each office is the office of an important key to our company. 'Keys' meaning they are basically people who are useful or have contributed to the company. Each doorway is a reminder to me of the number of people who think my father doesn't have mental problems and instead, is the smartest man alive. Just thinking about it alone is enough to make me shudder.

I walk down the stretch of doors, reading each individual label: Mrs. Lee, Mr. Jung, Mr. Kim, Mrs. Kang... I read the labels as I walk by until I reached my father's office. Here we go again.

I sigh and open the door. There, I see my father sitting at his black office chair behind a long glass table with paperwork sprawled about the table like baby vomit. The cabinets in the back seem torn through and more disorganized than usual. He gestures for me to sit on the chair opposite his. I hesitate before taking my seat, my father beginning to speak as I do so.

"Listen, you're already 18 so it's time to give you more responsibility in managing the business."

Already cutting straight to the chase, I see. I'll admit, I almost flipped out until my father cut me off.

"You're going to be interviewing and selecting applicants for our business."

Anger was boiling under my skin. He, as always, ignored me and continued.

"There are currently 46 applicants. I suggest you get started now, as they are all waiting in the lobby."

Yeah, I can somehow manage through dealing with 46 people's shenanigans while still having any bit of sanity left. Yeah, easy ask.

I try not to, but I rolled my eyes so hard, they felt as if they were going to pop out of my eye sockets and bounce across the table. All my father does is look at me with disdain and wave his hand to me, signalling to me that I needed to get started right away. Trying hard not to complain, I head for the door to take the elevator.

My own father treats me as if some sort of troubled child. It's gotten to a point where, for me, I try to annoy him as much as possible, especially in front of his employees. I think it's hilarious seeing him try to excuse my actions in front of others knowing he can't do anything to me in the moment. Call me evil, but I think my actions are well justified most of the time.

I spot the elevators at the end of the hallway and quicken my pace to it. I swear the length of hallways will be the death of me one day. I manage to catch an open elevator and rush to it before it closes. Waiting for an elevator is just dumb most of the time, especially if the building is large and busy, just like this office building. If you miss the elevator, it's good luck to you until another one comes in what feels like forever.

Getting in the elevator, I press the button to the lobby. Now it's just going to be awkward silence all the way down. Great. I'd propose to my dad to install a music system, but I already know what he'd say about it.

While in the process of taking the elevator down, a girl enters midway through. I honestly could use some alone time but I'm not expressing that to a stranger. Brushing off the thought, I examine her closely, trying to rack my brain to see if I have ever seen her around the building. I'm not great with memorizing faces so I wouldn't be surprised if I forgot.

"Excuse me, do you know where the company is holding its interviews?" The girl asks me, seeming lost. "I'm sorry, I've never been in a building this large before."

"It's fine, the interviews are in the lobby. I'm actually heading down there right now." I reply.

"You're applying for a job too?" She inquires.

"No, I'm the one interviewing people."

"Oh, I'm so sorry for not realizing. My name is Hyewon"