Under The Veil of Night

"Thank you, Boss."

Misae looked around. "Where’s Tara? Doesn’t she want to eat?"

"There’s some business he has to take care of back home, so he went home earlier," Neo answered.

Misae nodded her head. She felt that there was something off from the way Neo called Tara, but she couldn’t pinpoint what it was. In the end, the matter was thrown to the back of her mind.

Kanae also recalled that she forgot to tell Misae that Taro was, in fact, a guy. In her heart, she silently prayed that the girl wouldn’t blame her as she couldn’t find the perfect opportunity to bring it up.

"There is too much food for all of us, right?"

"Don’t worry. We can finish it one way or another."

When they finished eating, Neo couldn’t move from his chair since he overate. Mike and Misae played on the beach while Kevin and Kanae rested in their chairs. It was still afternoon, so there were a lot of people around who enjoyed their time lounging around too.

"Taro should have stayed behind to eat lunch. We ate too much," Neo complained.

Kanae laughed. "Occasionally is fine, Neo. You will feel better in a few more minutes."

"That’s what you say!"

Kevin ignored the two quarrelling people and looked towards his own laptop. There were some matters that he needed to finish for work and his own clan. His eyes narrowed when he received a text.

"What is it, Boss?" Neo asked cautiously.

Kevin threw the hand phone to Neo. The latter immediately caught it and read the content of the message. His face turned solemn as he knew that the city was going to experience some unrest in the next few days. After he finished reading, he returned the phone back to Kevin.

Looking at their expressions, Kanae was curious too, but she didn’t try to pry deeper into their business. In any case, it might be a matter of their clan and not be something she could interfere in.

"Kanae, finish the report I sent to your email."

"Yes, President," Kanae immediately opened her email.

On the side, Neo got the feeling that he was going to be eliminated from being Kevin’s secretary in their work for the company. Although it meant he would be able to spend more time practicing his hacking skills, he still wanted to work with his Boss.

"Boss, is there anything I can work on too?"

"Just watch that," Kevin pointed his chin towards the phone.

Neo sighed and opened his laptop too. He better do as Kevin said or he would be in for a big trouble.

While these three were busy working, Mike and Misae played on the beach. Misae refused to wear swimming suit and merely wore a short-sleeved shirt with short pants as she made sandcastles like a kid.

"You’re quite good at making them," Mike praised with a smile on his face.

"I loved to play on the beach when I was a kid," Misae grinned. She scooped another batch of damp sand and placed them on top of the sandcastle that she was building before molding its shape to look better.

"You still look like a kid," Mike joked.

Misae pouted. "I just love to make them. There’s no rule that says that adults can’t play in the sand."

"I know," Mike laughed. He watched the girl as she made the sandcastle seriously. She had a serious expression when she was making them, which made him want to tease her further.

After a few minutes, he pointed to the water. "Do you want to play there too? Not swimming, just near the shore."

"Sure."

The two of them waded into the water. They didn’t go too far and stayed only by the shore as they tried to splash the water towards each other. The one who started it was Misae, and Mike decided to play along.

"Are they kids?" Neo commented when he heard the sound of their laughter.

"It’s fun to play occasionally," Kanae laughed.

"Don’t you want to play too? You can finish the work later if you want," Neo pointed to the beach.

"No need," Kanae answered calmly. She focused her attention back on her work and finished it as fast as she could. After checking it once more, she sent it back to Kevin’s email.

"Is there anything else I have to do, President?"

"No, it’s enough for today," Kevin answered. He turned off his laptop too as he ordered a drink. It was nearing sunset, so he chose to rest a bit.

"Neo, can I borrow your phone?" Kanae asked.

"What for?"

Kanae pointed towards the two people on the beach. "I want to take a photo of them in the sunset and send it to Misae’s phone."

Neo wanted to say that she should have used her own phone when he recalled that she didn’t have a phone. His hand reached for his phone when Kevin already handed his to Kanae.

"You can use mine."

"Thank you, President," Kanae smiled happily and took the phone before taking some pictures of Misae and Mike splashing water to each other.

Kevin was looking at Kanae’s face. When he saw her smile, he felt that she was truly beautiful. The moment he saw her side profile as she was busy taking a picture, he got the feeling that it was a lovely sight. After a few seconds, he looked away.

Why did he think about her that way? She was only his secretary, nothing more. He silently took the drink the servant brought to him as he tried to convince himself that he saw wrong. There was no way he could allow himself to have this feeling.

Kanae finished taking the picture and straightened her back. Her eyes noticed Kevin’s side profile and for a moment, she was stunned. Although she had seen his side profile a few times, under the sunset rays, it looked slightly different.

Her mind drifted to the question Misae asked her before, but she quickly erased it from her head. He was only her superior and she was his subordinate. There was no need to think further about it.

She finished sending the picture to Misae’s email before deleting it from Kevin’s phone.

"Thank you for lending it to me."

"You’re welcome."

On the side, Neo watched their movements curiously. Could it be they have started to realize it? Not bad! Here he thought that they were incredibly slow, but it turned out, they just needed some change of atmosphere.

His mind thought about how to bring these two closer, but he felt that it was unnecessary. They met each other almost every day for work. Unfortunately, their discussion was always about work and nothing else.