[Eli]
I was anxious to get off of work. I've been preparing for this moment for the last ten years. I couldn't help but keep my eyes on my watch and phone. My eagerness prevented me from sitting still, so I went out. On my way out the door, my secretary stopped me.
"Mr. Maverick, I have a few things for you to sign off on," she said.
"Thank you, Miss Lo. If anyone calls, please let them know I will be out of the office for the day." I said as I signed the papers on the desk.
"Yes, sir, I will. Also, don't forget Your meeting with Mr. Mong is today. He should be arriving at your home at 6 pm."
I looked down at my watch.
"Okay, looks like I have enough time. Thank you, Miss Lo."
I didn't want to meet with Mr. Mong today. It was a special day; I only wanted to celebrate with my family and friends. However, I was concerned about my old friend after I received an unexpected call from him. He said it was an emergency, so I met him out of goodwill. From what I knew, Mr. Mong had been doing quite well for himself over the last few years. So why the sudden call after so long?
I didn't want to worry about it since I would know the reason soon, so I pushed the matter back into my mind. I didn't want any thoughts to distract me today.
Especially not today.
I made a few stops and then headed home. I pulled into the driveway and then walked inside. At the entrance stood my wife, Mee, who greeted me with a kiss. Looking into her eyes always brought my world to a standstill. She was petite with soft pale skin, dark brown eyes, and long jet-black hair. I met her a year after I moved back to Seoul. I fell madly in love with her; I married her six months later. Some say it was too fast, as for me, I couldn't tie her down fast enough.
"Welcome home, my love. Everything is almost prepared, and I've laid your clothes on the bed." Mee said happily.
"Perfect, I picked up a few things," I said as I handed her the bags. "Place them in her room."
We began to walk up the stairs.
"Do you think she will like me? I mean, I haven't spoken to her," Mee said nervously.
"Don't worry; once she gets to know you, she will love you just as much as I do."
"She barely tolerates you; I doubt she would want to be bothered with me."
Her words made me stop. We stood at the entrance of our bedroom door. I turned and looked at her with reassuring eyes.
"Love is strong enough to change any heart. All you have to do is love her unconditionally. She's going to need it."
Mee let out a sigh as she held her head down. She knew this situation would be difficult but still wanted to try. That made me want to love her more. I bent down to kiss her lips softly. She threw her arms around my neck and kissed me back. We were lost in the moment someone shouted "Ewww" from down the hall. We turned around to see our son Jae. We couldn't help but laugh as he came running towards us. Suddenly Liz, our housekeeper, appeared.
"Sir, Madam, Mr. Mong, and his family have arrived. I've sat them in the living area."
"Okay, Liz, I will greet them shortly," Mee said.
Liz nodded her head and walked back downstairs.
Mee kissed me again and smiled before signaling Jae to follow her. I watched her as she walked away. I admired her strength and courage to face what was ahead of us.
If only I had that strength and courage.
********************************************
[Ji]
I was curious about who Mr. Maverick was. I'd never heard of him before, so I was anxious to know how he could help. I had already begun preparing to deal with the situation in-house. I was confident we could handle the case without any outside assistance. However, my father and mother insisted that Mavericks' help was crucial.
Something didn't feel right.
"Mr. Mong, we will be arriving soon," said the driver.
My father sighed long, and my mother placed her hand on his. It's been quite a few years since my father had talked to Maverick. He said there was no bad blood between the two; however, Maverick warned him this could happen, and now his heart was filled with regret.
"Don't stress, everything will be fine." My mother said.
"I messed up. It's my fault."
"No, it's not; you had no control over the actions of Chen." She said, trying to ease his mind.
"But I had the opportunity to stop it, and I didn't!" He retorted.
My mother and I looked at him, confused.
"Sir, we have arrived." Said the driver.
"Just forget it."
The look in my father's eyes made it clear that something was eerie about this situation.
The driver opened the door, and everyone got out. My father looked disappointed as we made our way to the front door. On the inside, I was furious at Chen. Everything my father put his blood and sweat into came crashing down. There was no way I could let him get away with this. No way possible.
We reached the door, and a middle-aged woman opened it before my father could knock.
"Welcome, we have been expecting you. My name is Liz. Please follow me."
We walked in and followed her into the living room.
"Please sit, and Mr. and Mrs. Maverick will be with you shortly." Then she walked away.
I looked around at the well-designed home. My eyes came across a wooden carving that said "MAV," It had the same logo design belonging to a well-known architect in Seoul. I thought, "This couldn't be the same person?" My father couldn't be connected to a man like that. Suddenly, a woman and a little boy appeared.
" Mr and Mrs. Mong, it's been so long. How are you?"
"Ah, Mrs. Maverick, it's good to see you! We are well." My father said.
They stood up, bowed, then shook her hand.
"This is my son Ji." My mother said. Then she looked down and said, "Who could this young man be?"
"My name is Jae, ma'am; it's a pleasure to meet you. He bowed and then held out his hand to shake hers.
"Oh my, what a gentleman."
"Please sit down; let's catch up." Mrs. Maverick said.
We all sat down and began to chat. Then, a few moments later, a tall, dark-skinned man with locs appeared. He was well dressed in a suit with his locs neatly braided back. I couldn't believe my eyes. He was Eli Maverick, the Famous Architect of "Mav Co." and CEO of NAM Security & Technology. He had been my role model for years, and I followed his work closely. However, I never knew he and my father were close at one point in time.
"Eli, it's been a long time," My father said as he reached out to shake his hand.
"It sure has; it's been almost 12 years since I've seen you."
"You remember Minji, and this is my son Ji."
"Yes, how can I forget," he said as he shook my mother's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Ji."
"The honor is all mine, sir. I'm a huge fan of your work." I said nervously.
"Ah, if you know my work, you must be a genius. Please sit."
Everyone sat down. Mee whispered to Jae, and he excused himself.
"How can I help you today, Jin?" Mr. Maverick asked.
My father looked uncomfortable. He looked down at his hands and then back at Eli. "This matter is concerning the future of M&C."
Eli looked at his wife, and she nodded her head.
"Mrs. Mong, would you like to accompany me in the garden for tea?"
My mother looked at my father, and he nodded in approval. She hesitated and then stood up.
"Of course."
After the women left, Mr. Maverick got straight to the point. "So tell me what happened, and don't beat around the bush," he said in a strict tone.
My father tensed up. He didn't want to meet Mr. Maverick under these circumstances, which showed on his face. As he was hearing this, Eli had a disturbed look on his face. He didn't say anything for a while, and I began to worry.
This may be a bad idea.
Eli leaned back, crossed his legs, and calmly said, "What exactly am I supposed to do about this?"
I quickly spoke in defense of my father. "You have the resources to help us maintain the company while we clean up the mess Chen has made."
"You mean money?"
"In short, yes. But you also have various ways within your security company to track Chen. If we can cover our losses now, we can continue projects and pay back what's been taken from our investment partners. Then, once the money is returned, we can return what was loaned to us. While the money situation is being dealt with, we can use your scout program to track Chen."
Eli raised his brow and looked at Jin. "I see you have trained him well." He leaned forward. "But I'm not your bank. And although the scout program has become a huge success, it's still in its trial period and requires major improvements. Therefore, coming to me is pointless."
My father tried to speak. "If you can, jus_"
"No, I can't hear you out. I warned you, my father warned you, and yet YOU decided to work with Chen. I worked too hard to keep a clean image. I don't want to get involved in your scandal or fix your problem."
Humiliation crossed my father's face. But It was true that he was warned years ago. He told Mr. Maverick that he would never ask him for help if things went wrong with Chen. Yet here he was with his tail between his legs.
He lowered his head in shame. "I'm sorry to have bothered you with my problem. Thank you for taking time out of your day to meet with us. We will excuse ourselves." My father stood up and started to walk away.
I couldn't believe what I just heard. How could he be so heartless to someone he called a friend? I couldn't just sit by and let my father walk away in shame.
"Mr. Mav_"
Mr. Maverick put his hand up, and I immediately froze. It seemed as if he still cared for my father like a brother because the words that followed eased the situation.
"However," He said as he stood up.
My father stopped walking and turned around.
"I'm in a good mood today and still consider you family. You've always been stubborn, but I can't sit idly by and watch you fall," he said as he smiled. "So, of course, I will help you."
My father sighed in relief. Mr. Maverick walked over and patted him on his shoulder.
"Thank you, thank you so much," He said happily.
"No problem! Have your secretary send me all the details, and we will get to the bottom of this. So don't worry, we will figure it out. Now, we are having a party tonight, so I hope you all can stay and join us."
My father nodded his head. "Of course, we would love to."
Just like that, things began to look up. Then, there was a knock at the door.