Zico returned to his office, his anger still blazing. He slammed the door shut behind him. Fortunately, Jo, who had been right behind him, managed to dodge before the door nearly struck him in the face.
“Jo, who’s responsible for accepting new employees?” Zico asked.
“Mr. Hartawan, sir,” Jo replied.
“Handle him!”
“Yes, sir.”
Jo immediately bowed before leaving Zico’s office. He then asked one of his staff members to summon Mr. Hartawan to his office.
A few minutes later, a man around thirty-seven years old arrived at Jo’s office, looking nervous.
Knock! Knock!
“Secretary Jo, it’s me, Hartawan.”
“Come in!” Jo called back.
Hartawan entered fearfully. He wondered whether he had made some serious mistake for Secretary Jo to summon him.
“You called for me?” Hartawan asked after stopping in front of Jo’s desk.
“Do you already know why you were summoned here?” Jo asked in return.
Hartawan looked even more confused. Usually, the people summoned to Secretary Jo’s office were those who had made mistakes. However, he was certain he hadn’t done anything wrong. He always completed his work properly and according to company regulations.
“I’m sorry, Secretary Jo, but I don’t know why I was summoned here,” Hartawan replied nervously.
“I’ll give you two minutes to think about what mistake you made. But if you don’t realize your mistake within two minutes, you’ll be fired,” Jo said in his cold voice.
Zico had entrusted Jo with nearly all the company’s affairs. He had even given Jo the authority to make decisions second only to himself.
Jo understood almost everything Zico wanted and thought. That was why, even though Zico hadn’t said it directly, Jo was carrying out exactly what his boss wanted.
Hartawan was shocked when Jo told him to think about his mistake. But he genuinely felt that he hadn’t done anything wrong. So how could he figure out a mistake he didn’t even realize he had made?
Hartawan thought as hard as he could. He had to find his mistake somehow. After all, he didn’t want to lose his job.
But the thoughts of the boss and his secretary were truly impossible to read. They seemed to possess a sixth sense that allowed them to detect employees’ mistakes—even tiny ones the employees themselves and everyone around them hadn’t noticed.
But it was useless.
No matter how hard Hartawan thought, he still couldn’t find any mistake he had made.
“Beep, beep. Time’s up. You’re fired!” Jo declared, his voice and expression growing even colder.
Jo made the decision immediately. He knew the man standing before him still hadn’t realized what mistake he had made. So there was no need to ask whether Hartawan had found the answer. Jo could already guess that the man would give the same answer—he didn’t know.
“Se-Secretary Jo, please give me one more chance to think about what I did wrong.”
“Get out!” Jo shouted, his eyes sharp.
“Secre—”
“Are you arguing with me?”
Hartawan fell silent at once. He no longer dared say anything. Jo’s sharp stare was enough to make it clear that no protest or plea could change his decision.
With a heavy heart, Hartawan bowed and then walked out of Jo’s office.
Hartawan returned to his office with dragging steps. However, on the way, he overheard several employees gossiping.
“Hey, did you hear that Santi got fired?” one of the employees asked.
“How did you hear about that?” another replied.
“You didn’t know? Mr. Zico fired her in the conference room earlier. He even kicked her out right then and there. Apparently, she couldn’t give her team’s presentation properly. Mr. Zico got angry and fired her on the spot.”
“Wow, I feel so bad for her.”
“Yeah. Mr. Zico also warned all the employees that he only accepts people who are qualified. If we don’t meet his standards, Secretary Jo will fire us immediately.”
Hartawan fell silent after hearing the female employees’ conversation. He tried to remember the name of the employee who had just been fired.
“Santi? I feel like I’ve heard that name before,” he muttered.
A moment later, his eyes widened.
“Oh, my God! Santi?”
Hartawan suddenly remembered.
“Isn’t she the employee I accepted into this company?”
He stood there silently for a moment before finally realizing something.
“Huh... so that’s the mistake Secretary Jo was talking about.”
Hartawan’s face turned panicked.
“How could I have been so careless when accepting an employee? And now I’m the one who has to suffer the consequences of that employee Santi’s mistake.”
Hartawan clenched his fists in frustration.
“Damn it! Damn it!”
Meanwhile, at Zico’s residence.
Nara sat on the floor beside her bed. Her back rested against the side of the bed, while she stared straight at the enormous glass window revealing the bright blue sky.
But no matter how beautiful the sky was, it couldn’t illuminate her heart, which felt so dark right now.
As she gazed at the sky, Nara remembered what her mother had told her about a person’s fate. Her mother had once said that a person’s lines of fate were written on their palms. Nothing could change the lines of fate that had already been decided. As human beings, all they could do was accept the fate God had given them.
Nara opened both her palms and studied the lines formed across them.
Her tears began falling again, landing directly on her palms.
“Mom... are these Nara’s lines of fate? Is this the fate God gave Nara?”
Her voice trembled.
“Does God hate Nara that much, to give her a fate like this? What did Nara do to God, Mom? Was Nara’s mistake that big?”
Her tears flowed even faster, soaking her cheeks.
“Is God angry because Nara used to live happily with all of you? Is that why He took you and that happiness away from Nara?”
Nara sobbed.
“Why is God so cruel, Mom? Why... hic...”
Knock! Knock!
“Miss, it’s lunchtime. Would you like to eat now? Please come out and eat, Miss. You haven’t had breakfast this morning, either.”
Sari, the maid, called out to Nara again. She had been trying to persuade her mistress to eat for some time. Nara hadn’t eaten since the night before, and seeing how weak she still was made Sari even more worried.
“Miss, please answer me. At least have mercy on me, Miss. If you don’t eat and don’t follow Sir’s orders, I’ll be fired. Please, Miss. I’m begging you,” Sari pleaded in a soft voice.
Click!
The bedroom door finally opened.
Nara stood directly in front of Sari, her face pale and her body still visibly weak.
“Miss, thank goodness you came out. You must be hungry, right? Come with me to have lunch. If your body still hurts, I’ll help you.”
Sari immediately supported Nara’s weak body. Nara hadn’t eaten anything since the night before, and with her body still aching, she barely had any strength left.
But Nara didn’t feel hungry at all.
She left the room and agreed to eat only because Sari had begged her. After all, she didn’t want Sari to lose her job because of her.
Deep down, Nara was certain that the demon named Zico really would fire Sari if she failed to follow his orders.