THE CULPRIT'S VERDICT

"You don't eat a lot."

"I have a small stomach that's why." Silence followed after I countered my boss's remarks. It had been minutes since we stayed at the National Park after the dinner he sent for the two of us. And here he was, commenting how little I eat. Suddenly, he broke the silence and called, "Nam, look!" pointing in the opposite direction.

My eyes adjusted as the lights from the string bulbs, hanging loosely on the branches of the robust trees, struck my eyes. There was nothing new as it was already there when we strolled this place. Confused, I drifted my gaze and threw him a cranky look, but it was quickly replaced with awe as he revealed a pink rose.

"W-where did you get that?" If I could remember it clearly, he wasn't bringing any earlier and there wasn't any rose plant nearby.

"From my heart to you." Crinkles on my forehead waved their mighty objection at the words he just said. Though hesitant, I still accepted it. "W-what is it for?"

He smiled and said, "Pink roses symbolize happiness. I hope you find it real soon."

I countered, "Why would you think I need happiness? It's already in me." To convince him, I stretched my lips to my ears and flashed him my widest smile.

"Really?" he asked, half assured. "Then why is it that whenever I look at you, it's as if you are always carrying a mountain of problems? Mine don't even stand an inch when compared to yours," he joked, but I knew it was half baked.

I attempted to read the emotion he tried to hide from his smile. We had shared time together for the nth time because of the nature of our work, but we hadn't been close to being expressive as this before.

He leaned his hip on the grill behind us, balancing with his two hands sideways, and marveled at the sight of the close alignment of Jupiter and Saturn on a stary night.

Instead of dropping me directly at home, he brought me to a fine restaurant and after that, we strolled at the park. Things didn't seem right about this. He seemed to be keeping something for himself and I wasn't even aware why I became concerned about it.

"Is it so or the opposite? I believe you need this pink rose better than me." He glanced at me with an unbelievable look, then glued his eyes on the night sky once again. "Pink rose for a boy? Tsk," he mocked.

"Why? Pink suits boys!" I asserted. But instead of arguing, he just sneered at me. "If you have any problems and you feel the need to disclose it, I'm just here." For a moment, he kept tight-lipped.

"Nam-," he was hesitant to continue but I made him feel that I could be trusted.

Anticipating a response, I looked at him with delightful eyes, but he answered, "N-nothing."

I glared at him. At some point, I realized we weren't that close to demand disclosure and explanation from each other.

Still eyeing the night sky, he broke out, "What if someone dear to you is the cause of your pain? If that person did something horrible and you find it difficult to forgive?"

I bit the inside of my cheek and breath heavily.

"Forgiveness is not a cube of banana that you'll swallow when you feel a thorn on your neck. If you push it through, it might just choke you. Sometimes you need not do something, at times, you just need your system to work it out and wait for it to heal itself." I blurted out. It would be easy to think about it, but it was a tough thing to do. Even I couldn't live with such a mindset. "But it is not always the case. To make it up to you, you must make it even."

This time, he shifted his gaze on me. "Giving me opposing choices?"

"Yeah. Which one would you take and which one would please you? The choice is yours."

As for me, I preferred the latter.

He kept his mouth shut for a while as if he was thinking deeply. What could this guy's problem be? Was it related to Claudia? "Why? Is there someone you are holding grudges against?" I inquired.

He fixed his posture, inserted his hand in the pocket of his black trousers, and responded, "None."

I eyed him, assessing the lie he had created. To my surprise, he messed up my hair. "What should I do to convince you?" he said with a grimace on his face.

It was quite confusing how he easily shifted from having a gloomy face to a positive one.

He chuckled and messed my hair even more, so I threw him a deadly look. "Sir, do you know how much I spent just to have silky straight hair? How could you mess it up!"

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"Oh, my fault," he said and surrendered his palms up. "If you want, I can treat you to a salon tomorrow."

"You should!" I exclaimed but not intending it. Besides, I wasn't sure whether he was a hundred percent serious.

"But in one condition..." I pursed my lips and raised an eyebrow. How could he offer something and at the same time, ask for a condition?

"Don't call me sir outside of the company, Ryle would be fine. I'd appreciate it if you can call me that."

"But why si-"

"I don't have friends," he cut my words. "So basically, everyone calls me sir. I just think my name will sound more like a name if you call me that." "How about your parents? Aren't they calling you by your name?"

Silence engulfed the area once more, I realized I had asked the wrong question. With a despicable gaze, he answered, "I don't leave with them."

Crinkles danced on my forehead and he saw it. I had read from the expression on his face that he didn't want to expand his words nor to be interrogated about the topic. So when he proposed to bring me home, I just kept tight-lipped and nodded.

There were lots of things I didn't know about my boss. Up to this day, he still appeared to be a mystery to me.

~~~~weeks later~~~~

Silence filled the wide, spacious hall as we all glanced at the fruit of our labor.

The subtle blend of red and black colors oozed the sophistication of the venue. It was put in striking places and created a magnificent ambiance.

"Oh my gosh! The long wait is almost over! I think the directors and spectators will love this year's product launch event," Gregg exclaimed in deep excitement.

"As always. Let's hope that everything turns the way we anticipate it, or else Mr. Ryle will turn our head upside down," Ms. Coi said.

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"Oh, gross!" the other staff reacted.

"I guess that won't happen, Ms. Coi. The venue is just an appetizer. Once the program started, the dresses we will display and IU's surprise guesting will definitely keep everyone's jaw-dropping!" Ezra said.

"Not to mention the 3D opening effect Dubie had conceptualized. It'll make everyone's eyes grow in bulk. Why are we so brilliant-minded?" Praised Gregg.

"We did our best, but too much of anticipating what's to come. Let's just hope everything goes smoothly tomorrow," I cut and shifted my eyes to the guy watching silently at the venue. "Anyway, Dubie. Did you try to run a test on the effects and other technicalities?" I asked with hopeful eyes.

"Y-yeah, of course," he responded and automatically took his eyes off me. He then started a conversation with Nora who was standing close to him.

I had noticed that for the past weeks, he was keeping a distance from me. I thought he wanted me to help him, but on why there was a sudden change in his behavior, I didn't know. "Don't worry, Nam. Mr. Val already went here yesterday to check..." Ezra said. "While you were with Mr. Ryle," she continued with a tease.

"We just went there to check the stalls and to meet the branch manager for a deliberation of the proposal, nothing else."

"We aren't blind to believe there isn't something going on between you and him." And there they were, starting to build romance in their head again. I just couldn't phantom the idea that it was Mr. Ryle and I they were talking about. I explained that we just went there for a weekly check-up and observation, but no amount of explanation and defense had convinced them to believe me. Hence, I was left with no choice, but to release a deep, excruciating sigh.

"Don't push Nam if she isn't ready yet to spill the thing between him and sir Ryle, we'll know it soon. For now, since we are done with the preparations, let's all go home and take advantage of the remaining hours to beauty rest and prepare ourselves for the event tomorrow."

I was just thankful that Ms. Coi was there to cut their fantasies short.

"I'll definitely take that time to nap! Oh, I'm so tired." Gregg said in between his yawn.

Everyone moved and collected their things. I, on the other hand, approached Dubie.

"Hey, Dub-"

"I-I h-have to go now, b-ye." I was quite surprised that he didn't even let me talk with him. He exited and I was left with my mouth ajar.

Did I say or do something bad to him to be treated as an ill person?