I don’t know why but recently every board meeting I have been to seems to be getting more and more confusing. What the hell does any of the topics covered in the meeting have to with application development?
Price gradients, competitor analysis, JSE indices…
All of it seems to be a bunch of made up terms. I wouldn’t put it past the people in this room to make up a bunch of words just to sound smarter than everyone else.
Pink slip…
She said that. She literally just said "pink slip property would be best".
I stare at her. Mrs Randrana. CEO.
I didn’t think she would be one to make up words too. Is this what they do all day long is this room? Sit around and trade made up words, while the rest of us work our butts off trying to make sure this company is able to succeed like it’s supposed to.
I wonder if they even know how much work we put in to make sure D² Designs stays afloat. In this day and age companies just like ours pop up every few months and we need to have the cutting edge just to keep our clients. I want to get out of here, but the meeting keeps dragging on. The last time I’d left before the meeting was over Mrs Randrana called me to his office the next morning.
Apparently it’s against boardroom etiquette to leave before the major stakeholders. And I, with my 5% shares, am definitely not a major stakeholder.
To be honest, I’d gladly go back to just being a random worker with a minimum share, than one of the board members in this room. I miss just sitting in my tiny cubicle working on coding on my computer. These days my workload has been halted and almost all my time at work is spent in one meeting or another.
That is what is tripping me up.
Why am I here?
Including me, there are twelve board members, if you ask me that is more than enough. They don’t need my presence especially since I hardly know anything about business management. Not even the online classes I’ve been taking have been much help.
I’m considering making up some excuse about a family emergency, when suddenly one of the board members says something that catches my attention.
“We could do just as well with only half the number of code workers. Why do they insist on having so many people working on one project? The size of the teams are ridiculous.” He says, arms folded over his protruding beer belly.
“You must be joking, right?” I laugh out loud, only stopping when I notice I’m the only one doing so. “Please tell me that you aren’t serious.”
He doesn’t say anything, just turns to the woman in a pants suit sitting next to him and gestures towards me, as if to say this kid, what can you do. I frown and look around the table at everyone else. They too, seem to be finding my words humourous.
“Do any of you have any idea what goes into creating software?” I meet the eyes of everyone at the table, surprised to find that half of them aren’t even paying me any attention. “Do you think it’s just simply opening up the program and typing in code?”
A few of more of them look over at me, curious. I continue on, now that I have their attention.
“Each team has been specifically designed with people that perform their own separate roles. To upset that order will not only ruin team morale, but also result in the projects taking twice as long to complete.” I pause, and after making sure everyone is listening I continue.
“You can’t seriously think cutting lose a few employees won’t have a drastic impact on the company’s income. Not only will the time taken to complete projects increase, leading to the loss of clients, but it will also give our competition the upper hand they need to run us to the ground.”
It’s only once I’ve finished speaking that I realise I’d stood up during my speech. I considered sitting down, but realised that would look like I was backing down, or something.
So I remained standing.
And it was even more awkward than what you’re thinking.
Finally the CEO stood up, gesturing for me to take a seat which I quickly do. Mrs Randrana smiles at me and slowly her opens mouth to speak. I wait dreading what’s coming next.
“Mr. Park,” She says. “Last week you came to my office and asked me why I wanted you to sit in on the board meetings.” She pauses and it takes me a while to realise that she is waiting for my response. I nod, not wanting to say something I’d regret later. She waits for more, but when I remain silent she continues.
“You were right about what you’d said. We don’t know just what goes into making an application. Just as you don’t know what it takes to run a company.” She stops, and rubs a hand across the expensive watch on her wrist. “That’s why.”
She looks at me smiling as if she’d just made sense.
I don’t want to but I feel like I have to, “That’s why what? I don’t understand.”
“Mr. Park. That is the reason we appointed you as a board member.” She pulls on her lapels, seemingly proud of her dramatics. “We need someone with actual experience in the service we provide to be in a position to make decisions. Out of all the previous stakeholders, you were the only one to have been an actual expert in software development. The others wouldn’t know Java from iOS.” I’m too surprised by the joke to actually laugh at it. I am quiet for a moment as I try to piece together what exactly this means.
“So what you’re saying is that even though I am only a minor stakeholder, I’ll be able to make decisions that could benefit the workers? You want me to be your adviser on everything you don’t know about software development.”
“Yes. That’s exactly what we need. However, we will still have the final say in all the changes you think needs to be made. So, what do think? Are you up for the challenge.”
The words need no thought as they leave my mouth, “Yes. Of course.”
★★★
An hour later I’m rushing down to the underground parking lot, pulling my phone out as I struggle to keep hold of my laptop bag. I’m almost two hours late to pick Seo-yun up from the cafeteria and I can already hear her annoyed voice in my head as I dial her number. I press the phone between my neck and shoulder as I struggle to get out my keys.
The dial tone beeps off as I’m taken to her voicemail. I throw my stuff into the backseat and climb into the driver’s seat. I sit with my car in idle as I redial her number. Once again it goes straight to voicemail. I sigh, and throw my phone into the cupholder next to me. Her phones battery has probably run out, or maybe she’s ignoring me for making her wait.
It’s going on nine o’clock as I exit the underground parking and head into the highway. As I make the short drive between D² Designs’ office building and Central University, I try to wrap my mind around the fact that now not only am I a board member, but I will also be advising the other board members.
Even though it might not seem like much to them, to me the chance to make things better for the other developers that work at D² Designs is more than I’d hoped for. I smile as I realise something else. I don’t have to keep taking those boring online classes anymore. I’m still smiling as I pull into the campus.
As I make my way towards the cafeteria I notice how empty the university grounds are. I guess not many students want to stick around this long after classes have ended. I used to leave immediately after my last class too, although that was because I’d had Seo-yun waiting for me at home. The nanny my grandparents had contracted had a way of making me feel uneasy about leaving my baby sister with her for long periods of time.
I think I always had that fear that one day I’d come back to find that my sister had stopped breathing without the nanny even noticing. Irregular breathing was one of the problems she had as a baby. As a micro preemie she suffered from a number of problems, due to only been 24 weeks into development. When she was born she’d been covered with lanugo, which was fine hair that kept her warm, due to the fact that she hadn’t yet developed brown fat. Her skin had seemed too thin and delicate to be real, as if it would tear right open at the lightest touch.
During the time I’d watched her in the incubator, I’d been terrified for her life. Her face wasn’t the sweet chubby thing you’d expect from new born babies, rather her eyes had still been fused shut, although she did have eyebrows and eyelashes. I remember sticking my finger in the incubator and rubbing her extremely tiny hands, her tiny fingers and even smaller fingernails.
Due to how early she had born, her respiratory system hadn’t completely developed yet. Her lower airways were only beginning to develop, so she needed respiratory support for a long time.
Ever since my parents had died, my father’s parents; the only other living relatives we had, had been supporting us financially. Although they had told me on numerous occasions to just move in with them, I couldn’t bring myself to impose on them. They were staying in a tiny one bedroom cottage in a retirement village and that is not the kind of place I wanted to raise my sister.
So after I’d sold our house and started renting a much smaller two bedroom flat, they made sure to support us financially in anyway they could. Although their retirement fund wasn’t as big as they made it out to be, I always felt grateful for whatever help they offered.
I pull up in front of the cafeteria, and press the hooter. I wait a while and Seo-yun doesn’t come out. I press it a few more times, and when she still doesn’t exit I get out of the car and walk over to the cafeteria. As I get closer I’m able see through the windows and I notice that I can’t see her inside. I continue on and enter the cafeteria, finding it completely empty.
It’s only then that I start to worry. Where is she? She wouldn’t have left without me would she? I make my way back to the car, intending to try and call her again. Why was her phone off? I try not to let my imagination get the best of me, but dread still forms a cold pit in my stomach.
I pull open my door I take a look around, wondering if someone around saw her. Maybe she was waiting in the dorms of one of her friends on campus or something. I reach into the car and take out my phone, calling Cassidy as I straighten up. While I’m waiting for her to pick up, I head in the direction of the music department.
It’s as I’m crossing the field that I notice something from the corner of my eye.
“Jin! Where are you? Why haven’t you and your sister returned home yet? I was worried—” I hang up, cutting off Cassidy.
I walk over, and pick it up. It’s only when I have Seo-yun's black beanie in my hands that I notice something else.
It’s wet. It never rained today, why is it wet?
I look down at my wet fingers.
They’re red.
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