Living With A Narcissistic Brother In-law

Cheodong Gallery.

Natalie clenched her fists tightly when the car pulled over in front of Cheodong Gallery. He took in a deep breath and turned to look at Mikael.

''Are you ready?'' Mikael asked her.

''Mm''

''Are you sure you don't need me to go with you?''

''No. You still have a lot of things to do. I can handle this on my own''

''Alright, I trust you. Call me if anything happens''

''Mm, bye'' Natalie smiled and got down from the car.. She walked the stairs leading to the gallery while Mikael watched. He was worried about her but this was something Natalie wanted to do on her own and he had to support her decision. After making sure she was inside, Mikael drove away.

Natalie entered the gallery showroom and walked around, looking at the artwork displayed on the wall. She stopped in front of one of the artworks and looked at it with a deep gaze.

''This is clearly an ugly drawing but why does it look appealing?''

''This is called the 'Family', it is an artwork from a Spanish native. A lot of people call it the Ugly Painting of a Son. It was first displayed at the Hill Gallery and then brought here from over there. Hi, do you like art?''

The man asked after talking for a while. He was drawn by Natalie's conclusion of the artwork and being the owner of the gallery, he decided to talk to her.

''I have never been to an art gallery before. This is my first time''

''I see. Then… what do you think of this artwork? You said it was ugly yet appealing''

Natalie smiled, 'well… at first glance, it looks ugly. The two men in the drawing must be a father and a song, right? The father looks old but the son looks even more older than the father. I feel that, it shows the complex nature of growth between a father and a son. The father's eyes, gazing on the son is deep which shows how hurt he is to see his son in such a pathetic state. My conclusion is that, the son must be an addict. He spends his time and money on things that are not important and the father looks on helplessly even though he knows that his son is losing it''

''Isn't that what a typical family looks like?''

''That's right but the son looks sadder than the father. He must be thinking, ''I am such a disappointment and can't be responsible for my father in his old age. People tend to do the things they don't like in order to escape from doing the things that they ought to do''

''That's right. You said you haven't been to a gallery before, but you seem to understand art very well. Sorry, let me introduce myself…''

''I know who you are. Mr. Frederick Choi. Hi, I am Natalie Jun from Janice, right, I am no longer a worker there. I am Natalie Jun''

''You are Natalie Jun?'' The man looked a little surprise.

''Yes, I am''

''I thought I would be seeing a grown woman but you are rather young''

''I see. I came in regards to what happened yesterday''

''That… my legal team is dealing with it''

''I know but I came because there are certain things, I need to make clear''

Frederick looked at Natalie with an interesting gaze. She seemed to be strong-willed and determined.

''Come with me'' Frederick said and led the way. As they walked towards his office, one of the curators saw them and looked at Natalie curiously. She turned and hurried to her office.

''Sit down, Miss Jun'' Frederick offered a seat.

''Thank you'' Natalie opened her bag and removed the samples that Susan had brought and laid them on the table, 'Mr. Choi, these are from your gallery, right?''

''Yes, isn't that the reason why we are suing you for plagiarism?''

''I just wanted to be sure. Mr. Choi, your company representative told the Press yesterday that I stole the samples from your gallery but I have never been to this place, well except now. You don't allow pictures to be taken in the gallery because you want to protect the work of your artistes. Now, how could I get my hands on these samples if I have never been to this place before? Isn't that strange?''

''Do you mean to say that someone from my gallery is messing with my artwork and using my art to make money?''

''You are very smart, Mr. Choi. Susan brought these samples to me to work on. She didn't tell me where she got them and of course it is my fault for not asking her about that. But how did she get her hands on samples of artwork that are yet to be displayed to the public from your gallery? I am not trying to get out of this and I will apologize for not looking into it before working with the samples but you need to also look into this from your side.

If at the end of the day, it is proven that all of this is my fault, I will apologize and also compensate the gallery on the loses. But the question is, how well do you trust your workers? Today, samples were brought out to the world, who knows. Something much more of significant value will go missing without you knowing'' Natalie paused when the door opened and the secretary came in with two cups of tea.

Frederick looked at Natalie and chuckled. He turned to the secretary and asked, 'are all the workers in today?''

''Yes, sir. Everyone is in'' the secretary said and looked at Natalie. Her hands quivered when she placed the cup of tea on the table in front of Natalie.

''Since Miss Jun is sure that the samples were stolen from my end and then sold to Miss Susan, I will look into it. But, if after that, we find that my workers are innocent, then you will also have to compensate them for the mental stress you put them through''

''What if I find the one behind it? Will your company tender an apology and also compensate me for my loss?''

''Yes, you have my word. Belinda, gather all the workers for a meeting. I will be there in a minute''

''Yes, sir'' the Secretary nodded and walked away. She stopped at the door and looked at Natalie before going out.

Natalie removed her phone and made a call to Xia, ''Xia, did you get your hands on what I asked?''

''Yes, I will send it to your phone right away. I even got the bank transfer list. Two of the workers at Cheodong Gallery received an amount of money from Susan's manager's account a month ago. The amount was $10,000 dollars each. But Miss Belinda received an amount of $100K from an unknown person five months ago. I'm sending all of that to you''

''Alright. Forward it to me, thank you'' Natalie hung up and her phone buzzed. She looked at the file Xia sent and opened it before showing it to Mr. Choi.

''What is this?''

''This is my evidence that someone in your company is messing with you and surprisingly, this isn't the first time they've stolen something from the gallery. A few months ago, this person received a 100K from another person. Now what sells faster in the market other than illegal drugs?''

''Artwork!'' Mr. Choi answered.

''Now, do you believe me? I will forward this to your email. You can assess it and make a conclusion for yourself. As for your workers, I don't think I need to meet them. I trust that you will know what to do. I will be waiting for your call, Mr. Choi. Right, that artwork, I want that as compensation''

''What?''

''That should suffice, right?''

''You want only that one?''

''Mm, only that one. We shouldn't burn the bridges that we cross, right? I might need your help one day. I will send you my address'' Natalie stood up and picked her bag.

''Thank you, Miss Jun''

Natalie smiled and nodded her head before going out.

….

Natalie let out a deep sigh when she came out of the gallery. She smiled and was about to walk down the stairs when she saw Lucy at the roadside.

''Lucy?''

''At least you still remember me?'' Lucy said.

''I'm sorry. I wanted to call you but I had to deal with this first''

''Then, you didn't see the Press Conference that William and Janice Yun made?''

''A Press Conference? What are you talking about?''

''William stepped down from his position as the CEO and Janice is looking to sell her shares. William said he was tired of managing the company. This time, the loss was too much so a lot of the shareholders are asking for their investment back''

''What? Where is William right now?''

''He is still at the company, getting things ready''

''Is that your car?''

''Yes''

''Let's go, then'' Natalie hurried towards the car with Lucy.