To Be or Not To Be A Family - Chapter 107

Monday Night *****

Ashma tucked Young-Jae in after feeding him dinner and medicine. She switched off the light and noticed the lit screen of the laptop. She looked at the screen. Some presentation was running over and over. Then came a graph. It was just drawings, no words were written on the graph. She understood that the presentation was incomplete. A lot of papers were scattered all over the table.

She closed her eyes and thought for a second. She looked at Young-Jae and then at his laptop. She exhaled and decided to help him. She disconnected the charger of the laptop and carried it with her to her room. She placed it on the desk and sat on her chair.

She was staring at the laptop. The presentation was incomplete. She bit her lower lip thinking about how to proceed. She realised that she needed those papers. She ran to his room. A lot of papers were dispersed on the table. His phone was kept on the table too. She grabbed all the papers and his phone.

After coming back to her room, her phone was ringing. She talked to Yong-Sun and told him everything about Young-Jae. She asked him Young-Mi’s number but he was furious after hearing her number. She laughed and enjoyed talking to him though she was ready to break his heart. They talked and smiled at each other and disconnected the phone.

She again started working on the presentation. She matched every paper with the presentation. She worked for hours on the presentation. She kept yawning but didn’t stop with the presentation. At last, it was over, but she had no idea if it was right or wrong. She didn’t want any figures to be misleading.

Tuesday Morning*****

She woke up late. She wanted to sleep in. As she was working the whole night, her eyes were red and swollen. She kept yawning all day. There was a knock at her door which forced her to wake up. In-Ho informed her that Young-Jae was asking for her. She thought maybe he wanted his laptop back.

But he greeted her nicely. It was something she never expected from him. And he informed her about his fever. She took his temperature and found out that he was right. His flu symptoms increased. In addition to hoarse voice, cough and sneezing he was now having a fever.

She wanted to take him to a hospital but he refused. No matter how many warnings she gave him, he never budged. At last, she was defeated. She agreed to call a doctor at home. Again he was fed breakfast and medicine and she came back to her room.

The next instant she called Yong-Sun and asked him to help her. He thought she would again ask for Young-Mi’s number. Little did he know that she already had all the contacts of Young-Jae on his laptop as well she had his phone but it was locked.

He agreed to bring his friend with him for Young-Jae. After talking to him, she ran to the bathroom, brushed her teeth, took a shower and waited for Yong-Sun to come.

He helped her and brought his doctor friend to take care of Young-Jae. He was asleep when Seung took his temperature and gave him medicine and left. Yong-Sun left Young-Jae in Ashma’s care and left.

She had the whole day to her. Young-Jae was still sleeping. In-Ho and Iseul were busy packing to go to the village as well as making lunch for Ashma and Young-Jae.

Ashma opened the contacts folder and searched for Young-Mi’s number. She dialled the phone and talked to her

“Hi! Is this Bang Young-Mi?” questioned Ashma.

“Yes, may I know who is calling?” inquired Young-Mi.

“I am Ashma Dewan. I am a guest of the Park family,” informed Ashma, politely.

“Oh yes, I know who you are. I am a big fan,” said Young-Mi, in dilemma. She was happy that her favourite designer was calling her but was jealous that Yong-Sun preferred her.

“Ah thank you for your kind words,” said Ashma kindly.

Her kindness and politeness made Young-Mi get rid of her jealousness. “How many I help you?” she asked.

“You guys have an important meeting tomorrow, right?” asked Ashma.

“How do you know?” Young-Mi was surprised.

“Have you called Mr Park?” inquired Ashma.

“No, he left us specific instructions that he must not be disturbed. He is making a presentation for the clients,” educated Young-Mi.

“I am sorry to inform you that he has fallen ill,” informed Ashma.

“What? What happened?” shouted Young-Mi, shocked.

“He has the flu. This morning he even got a fever,” stated Ashma.

“Oh no, will he be able to attend the meeting?” asked Young-Mi.

“I don’t think so.”

“No, don’t say that,” pleaded Young-Mi.

“Hey! Don’t worry the meeting will happen and Mr Park will attend?” comforted Ashma.

“How?”

“Not Park senior,” said Ashma. “Park junior.”

“Baek-Hyeon?” said Young-Mi, surprised.

“I am not talking about that idiot,” said Ashma with a smile on her face.

“Park Young-Soo?” asked Young-Mi, puzzled.

“Yes, if you help me, this can happen and it will be successful,” guaranteed Ashma.

“Are you sure? He never allows Young-Soo Sir to get involved in his business,” informed Young-Mi.

“And that’s where he is wrong. Just tell me if you will help me,” begged Ashma.

“How?”

I have completed the presentation. I want you to make all the necessary preparation and ask the JV team to take a look at the presentation for any mistakes,” said Ashma.

“And?”

“I will inform Mr Park Young-Soo about what he has to do.”

“You think this will work?” asked Young-Mi.

“Business is in his blood. I think my plan will succeed,” said Ashma, confidently.

“If not?”

“I will face his wrath alone. Your name won’t come out. I promise,” promised Ashma.

The other side went silent. Young-Mi thought for a minute.

“I don’t know if the JV team will accept this,” said Young-Mi after a minute.

“Tell them he is their boss, whether they want him to be or not. He has been handling his handicrafts business better than those morons,” chided Ashma after hearing the insult of Young-Soo. How could employees talk about her father like that?

“I don’t think the word moron will add to our benefit,” teased Young-Mi.

“Ha-ha, so should I think you will help me?” asked Ashma, happily.

“If you will bribe me,” said Young-Mi shamelessly.

Ashma smiled at her request. She knew what she wanted. “You want my creation?”

“Everyone does,” said Young-Mi.

“Fine. My latest collection, chose a dress. It will be yours,” said Ashma.

“Oh, my god! Oh, my god! Thank you! Thank you so much,” shouted Young-Mi.

“You are welcome and thank you for helping me,” said Ashma with gratitude.

“You too are welcome. Send me the presentation and I will forward them. Do you need my email id?” asked Young-Mi.

“Oh no, I have it.”

“Great!”

“Have a great day,” said Ashma.

“You too,” said Young-Mi and disconnected the phone. A beautiful smile was playing on Ashma’s face. One part of the plan was done.

Ashma immediately forwarded the presentation. She waited for hours to get it to proofread.

Meanwhile, she fed Young-Jae lunch. She kept checking up on him every hour for fever. Slowly his fever broke. The medicine worked. She let him sleep again and take a rest. In the evening after the effect of the medicine wore off, his fever came back. She fed him a light snack and gave him medicine again.

Flu broke his body, he was tired. He spent all day sleeping. He never asked for his phone or his laptop. He was not even sure what day it was.

Evening came and Young-Mi returned an email to Ashma. She send her a corrected presentation and the news that the JV team were on board with her plan. She was happy. Now she had to activate her next step. It was time to inform Young-Soo.

Hesitantly, she called up Young-Soo. She started talking to him but was still not close to him. They have some unseen force between them that was keeping them apart. She curled her lips in O and exhaled sharply.

Young-Soo’s phone rang. Within a few rings, he picked up the phone. The first thought in her mind was about her mother. Was she okay? In all this chaos she forgot to call her up. Was she behaving? Or plotting again? She knew she had to believe in her mother. She closed her eyes and discarded all the negative thoughts from her mind.

“Hello, Ashma! Are you okay?” asked Young-Soo instantly as soon as he picked up the phone. She never called him. This was the first time she called him. They were getting closer. She allowed him to call her his daughter but had not started calling him her father.

“I need your help but you cannot tell anyone,” pressured Ashma.

That shocked Young-Soo. What was she about to say? His heart started beating fast. Was she okay? Did something happen? But everyone was there except Young-Jae. Did he say anything to her? Did he do anything to her? “What happened?” he shouted.

“Is anyone with you?” asked Ashma.

“I can find a quiet corner,” signalled Young-Soo.

“Please do, I will wait,” said Ashma.

For a few seconds, no one spoke. Ashma could hear his breathing over the phone.. She waited for him to speak.