REGulate
Year: 20XX
Location: Seoul
Looking out at the pedestrians below, Sungho's gaze is fixed on them. "Ants, they all look like ants," he thinks as he steps away with an unamazed sigh. He's approaching 50 now but could pass for early 30s. An advantage, more so in today's world. Retirement was on the horizon, but he was still on the grind to stay busy. The idea of a family was long gone, he had made due with his steady partner.
Sunhgo put his career first, which, though some may not agree with it, was his choice. Being VP of compliance and regulations carried a lot of weight and power. Other businesses had to adhere or face fines and penalties. Sungho was cutthroat, drawing much ire but also upholding an industry standard. Now he had almost encyclopedic knowledge of law, business, and human resources; he was a living book able to consult on these matters. Though he preferred to audit since it dealt less with legal matters or being accused of having a conflict of interest.
"Sir, the meeting will start soon,"
"i hope they're prepared this time," he replied, checking over the folder. There was more he could say, but he didn't. More so now that he was doing away with that roundabout speech. Sungho was softer with his partner, they were part of his personal world, not the one of business. He clicked the pen in his hand, a habit he formed long ago. The rumor was that it was for show, being made of gold, and it really didn't work.
______________________
The meeting lasted for 4 hours, a chore to get through. The company representatives wanted to block a merger from going through, but through legal means, there was little chance of them stopping it. Sungho was annoyed at the previous meeting since they had no plan to consider the worst, business was about feelings. At the very least, the company could admit that it would gain leverage from the merger to increase its own intellectual property. He advised that they have some members on the board with equal power so that even with layoffs, they wouldn't be totally shut out. There was a follow up meeting later that week to finalize their proposal, which gave off time to comb through it for any loopholes.
The documents were in a closed folder on his desk. Sungho was burnt out already, having tried to work on it, passing the time playing with the gold pen. He toyed with the idea of retiring early, but then what he do? He could be a university lecturer with more than enough experience, but he's been down that road. Consulting? He was an introvert at heart. He looked at his schedule, seeing a round of less intense meetings. He honestly wanted to go home, but work must be done. The knock at the door made him prop up and appear like he was busy before his assistant appeared.
"Sir, you have a call on line 3," they informed him.
His eyes narrowed for a moment, seeing the subtle nervous energy of his assistant, "Thank you," he replied as he picked up the phone as they left. What was this about? He didn't speak first, putting the pressure on.
"H-hello? Is this Reed?" the voice spoke in a shaky tone. His eyes widen, knowing this wasn't a business call. "Reed, Dad needs your help." Sungho dropped the phone trying to process hearing his merfolk name. Dad!? Does that mean the person is a sibling of his? Their voice did sound young. Why trouble was going on? He quickly composed himself hearing the person panic on the other end. “There is no Reed here. Don’t call again.” he replied then hunug up the phone. A cop out, but he knew that wasn’t going to be end of this. Sungho’s went to back to othe window. When he left Hanjeong it was on rather messy terms but he had no concern as he promised himself he would never return. When the truth of his origin was revealed, Sungho was in denial for a long time thinking it was a sick joke but over time the proof came making him realize he was part of species he was wholly ignorant about. “No, I’m not going back there . . .no matter what.”
