Chapter 24: The Company's Terms

Min Gitae did not hurry.

He took off his gloves one finger at a time and laid them on the nearest table.

He nodded to Odette, and she nodded back.

"A charming place," he said. "I'm told the lasagna is remarkable."

"It's Thursdays," Odette said. "Today is Wednesday."

"Then I'll come back."

Chan stepped in front of Hyunjin.

He did it without thinking, and then he thought, and he didn't move away.

"Manager Min," he said. "You said you'd call."

"I did. You hung up on me."

"I did not."

"Ms. Larkin did." Min smiled at me. "It was the lady's phone, so I'm sure she had her reasons."

"I had one," I said. "You threatened a woman in her own kitchen."

"I mentioned legal exposure. It's only fair that everyone knows the shape of the ground."

He turned to the café.

There were nine people in the Driftwood.

The Legion ladies had a table under the shelf of used paperbacks.

A man from the ferry sat by the window with a cold coffee.

They were all very busy with their cups, and every one of them was listening.

"May I sit?" Min asked.

"It's a café," Odette said. "That's rather the point."

He took a chair at the long table by the counter.

Chan sat across from him, and Hyunjin sat beside Chan.

I stayed on my feet with my arms folded.

Min put a slim black folder on the table and opened it.

"I will be brief, because I know you are tired," he said.

"Vancouver was a failure. The company is sorry. I am sorry.

"There will be a security team of four, a private flat in Seoul and a doctor.

"Hyunjin gets a leave of absence of three months, with pay."

"And the police report?" Chan said.

"The company's counsel will file it in Seoul, quietly. Not here."

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