Echo || NCTau ||

2 - About bridges

"Hello, good morning! Thank you for contacting Bernstein & Collins bank customer service, my name is Kathy. All of our calls are recorded to ensure the quality of our service. How may I help you today?" preppy woman answered the call in English after Yeoreum had entered her passcode to the automated robot service.

Recognizing the voice and fake name immediately, Yeoreum rubbed her forehead while waiting for the traffic light to turn green. She had hoped that anyone else but Alex would've taken her call. "Yes, hello. I'm interested in your investment portfolios, could I arrange a meeting sometime this week?"

"Do you have an account with us?" the woman asked. "If yes, could I ask for your full name and account number?"

"I've been your customer for five years." It was good that Alex was going through every step of the identification process but the doctor woman had used most of Yeoreum's patience and knowing the passcode and most of the code language would've been enough for most of the call service workers in the NYC office. "My name is Kim Yeoreum and my account number is 1849ROK."

"Thank you, Ms. Kim. Could you please spell your name for me so that – "

"Alex, you know already that it's me", Yeoreum snapped. "It's like 7am there, don't you seriously have anything better to do but nitpick my call? I need to speak with the director."

"Ms. Kim!" Alex sounded offended. "I'm trying to confirm your identity, so there's no need for you to be upset. I need you to confirm the spelling of your name and tell me which branch you've been in contact with before contacting us today."

The traffic light turned green and the sea of people around Yeoreum started moving across the street, towards Tamsui river. She followed the crowd without paying much attention to where she was going. The tall buildings with bright billboards hid most of the sky that was slowly turning dark blue due to sun setting behind the city.

"I'm being serious, Alex. I just had a meeting with a client who knew way too much about me and I need to figure out why."

The line fell quiet for a bit. Yeoreum knew that Alex hated it when people didn't follow the protocol down to the T but, frankly, she didn't care.

Finally, Alex let go of the façade. "I don't see a call appointment for you in his agenda."

"That's because I don't have one but I still need to speak with him. I want to confirm that everything is okay." Yeoreum only barely avoided running into a group of loud tourists that appeared to be drunk. She envied them. "So, please Alex, just connect me now."

It was early morning in the East Coast of the US but since director Barros Carvalho was an overworking early bird, he should already be at the office.

"Director is currently out of office", Alex replied through her teeth. It was probably driving her mad that Yeoreum didn't follow the rules. "Mr. Kim is your handler, isn't that correct? Did you already discuss the meeting with him? And did you confirm the details of the mission with the customer?"

"You already know that Yeowoon is my handler." Yeoreum was quite certain that she and her brother were the only siblings in the entire organization and they had been cooperating with Alex for years.

"Did you speak with Mr. Kim?" Alex was persistent.

Yeoreum exhaled through her nose. "Yes, I did, okay? He was the one to convince me to take the case when I was planning to get rid of that smug bitch for knowing too much."

Alex tutted at her tone. "Your aggression is unwarranted, Ms. Kim. While I understand your concern, your handler is the one who is supposed to contact director about any issues you might run into with your customer. You know the protocol."