3. Find Them

It had been a week since Alexander took the helm of the Libason family-owned El Group's company. Since then, he has been keeping track of the people who have been included in his plan while continuing to act as a substitute for the chairman. The time he had planned was taking a very long time, so he would not waste his time just relaxing and enjoying. This was nothing compared to all the plans he had made. There was still quite a long way to go and Alexander was trying hard not to take too much time to get the results he wanted.

It was exactly one o'clock in the afternoon, during break time. Alexander left his room for lunch and also saw one of the people in his plans. He was... one of Jeremy's trusted men who also worked for the company, but specialized in production and only left the room during meal times. Alexander had calculated everything from the start, and he was right. The person he wanted to meet had just left the room to go to the company cafe that was provided.

Alexander walked over. He watched the figure from behind before finally saying hello first.

"Good afternoon, Master John."

The man turned his head as soon as someone called his name. He smiled as he realized that it was his leader and the son-in-law of Jeremy, his boss. "Ah, good afternoon too, Mr. Lemos."

"Are you going to have lunch? If so, I think there's no harm in us eating together."

John nodded approvingly with a big smile. "What a great idea. I didn't realize you were such a polite and kind man. I don't pay enough attention to my surroundings."

Alexander only responded with a smile. They continued walking towards the company café and occasionally talked about work. When they were about to start eating, Alexander cleared his throat which made John look at him.

"I want to tell a story while we eat. Can I?" Alexander asked John who nodded in agreement.

Alexander smiled and started spooning his food. "I thought this was a stale story because I heard it a long time ago too but since there's nothing to discuss between us, I thought it wouldn't hurt to tell it."

Alexander was still uncomfortable with what he was about to tell John, while the man who was much older than Alexander waved. The intention was for Alexander not to feel uncomfortable and just relax.

"Just tell me. There's no need to feel embarrassed. After all, we need to get closer as superiors and subordinates. Isn't that right?"

Alexander nodded in agreement. He then spooned his food and began to eat slowly. He looked at John who had also started eating.

"It was a long time ago when I met my friend. I met her when I was ten years old and we met in a park."

Alexander began his story with the occasional return to eating, and John listened willingly.

"He told me that he no longer had parents because of an incident. I just sat there and listened. He told me that his parents were killed by a group of people in the house when he was playing with his friends and found them lying on the floor with a lot of blood."

John stopped what he was doing. Paying attention to Alexander who seemed to be calmly telling something like this and also John who remembered something about himself and some people at that time.

"He looked so sad that even when I offered him a loaf of bread he just looked at it without intending to take it, even though at that time he looked hungry and unkempt. He also told me that since the incident he has been homeless and living as he pleases. He has no one to listen to his complaints because he has no other family. His grandmother and grandfather are long dead and his parents were also killed by a group of people."

John bowed his head. Feeling guilty even though he wasn't sure if Alexander really had a friend like this or if Alexander was just making it up. It was just that John felt familiar with this story and what he had done in the past. If this story that Alexander told was the story of the child of two people, John felt guilty. After all, he still had feelings for that poor boy.

Alexander looked briefly at John and the man who kept his face down. Alexander gave a lopsided smile and resumed his story.

"I asked him to come with me so that my parents could take care of him, but he refused because he couldn't stop thinking about the reasons behind his parent's murder. He only had the house that his parents left behind and didn't want to leave it just for the memories of his parents. After that, he got permission to leave and I asked her to bring the bread he had seen. It's very sad, but I can't do much about it because I've never felt that way myself."

"What's your friend's name? How is he?" asked John trying to hide his curiosity because he felt sorry for Alexander's story.

Alexander shook his head. "I don't know who he is or where he is. I only met him once at a playground. He was so sad and I didn't know what to do because I didn't experience anything like that myself. It's just that I feel that if I were his friend then I would avenge those people's actions on his family despite the many risks he has to go through."

John looked at Alexander in disbelief. The look on his face was one of fear, but also an attempt to hide the truth. He couldn't imagine that Alexander's thinking could be the same as the boy's. It was possible that the boy could reappear and avenge their actions back then. John... he had to be careful from now on even though it wasn't necessarily the case that the boy Alexander told him about was a victim of his past.

Alexander shrugged his shoulders and joined John's gaze. Looking at the man who looked so scared of something Alexander didn't care. He averted his eyes.

"I think he's doing well now. I don't know for sure after our brief encounter," Alexander said and turned back to John.

John cleared his throat and took another drink. He took a rough gulp and then asked Alexander's permission to go to the toilet. Meanwhile, Alexander was silent and watched John's sudden departure. He smiled sarcastically as his eagle eyes continued to stare ahead. His brain began to surf with plans for what he would do after this.

Alexander sighed softly before finally leaving. Leaving the café area and walking towards his office as the break time was almost over. Ignoring John who was probably thinking about the boy he told him about with all his guilt. Alexander could see for himself that the man looked scared and regretful, but the rice was already cooked. Alexander's plans had to be carried out no matter what.

Alexander entered his room again. He sat down on a chair and opened a box that had always been neatly tucked away. The smile he continued to show faded as his eagle eyes stared at the paper in his hand.

"I found them."