dkrc Chapter 11 The Gamble
Chapter 11 The Gamble
When Sana Minatozaki woke up, the sun had already shone through the gap in the curtains, leaving a strip of light on her face.
It's a bit dazzling.
Sana Minato took off her nightgown and rummaged through her suitcase for clothes that fit. She found a white oversized short-sleeved shirt, denim shorts, and sneakers. It was a pity she was missing a navy blue baseball cap, otherwise it would have been perfect.
As for accessories... wait?
She picked up the orange bear keychain hidden in the corner, examined it in her palm for a moment. It was a free gift she had recently received for spending 60,000 won at a convenience store, but it felt so unfamiliar.
There was a strange sense of familiarity mixed with the unfamiliarity; something felt off, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.
As she got up to look at herself in the full-length mirror, Sana Minatozaki looked at the mirror in the mirror and, for a moment, had a similar feeling.
She seemed to be in good spirits and her skin looked great, probably because she slept very well last night, having not slept at all.
Why do I feel so empty inside? Is it because I've been taking too much melatonin?
I must be hungry. Oh no... it's already 9:30, I'm going to miss the hotel breakfast.
When Sana Minatozaki jogged into the restaurant, there were hardly any people left. Mina, however, was sitting in a corner, slowly munching on an egg tart while tapping and drawing on the screen with her index finger.
"You're even so engrossed in idle games?" Sana Minatozaki got herself a bowl of coconut rice and a bowl of oxtail soup, and sat down opposite her. "You haven't even noticed me yet."
"I saw it a while ago." Mina slightly raised her eyes. "You've had a good rest?"
"What do you mean, 'what do you mean, ''?"
"Don't bother arguing with me."
Mina is always like this; she likes to make jokes that aren't very funny in a subtle way.
Sana Minatozaki ignored her, simply resting her chin on her hand and taking a bite of the coconut rice. How to describe the taste...
It's sweet but not cloying, with a slightly sticky texture. It's a dish I've never tried before, but it unexpectedly gave me the feeling that nasi lemak should be like this.
The same applies to oxtail soup.
"Speaking of which, Mina, have you bought your plane ticket yet?" Sana Minato opened the booking app and scrolled down to find a direct flight from Jakarta to Tokyo. She couldn't help but feel a little troubled. "It seems like I won't be able to buy a ticket today."
"Why are you in such a hurry to buy a plane ticket?" Mina finally finished her daily tasks and emptied her stamina bar before she could finally raise her eyes to look at the person opposite her.
"Why not?" Sana Minatozaki blinked her big eyes. "Of course, it's to fly back to Tokyo to run my schedule."
"You haven't even gotten your passport back yet, what's the rush?" Mina casually opened a two-dimensional game and continued her "work" of emptying her stamina bar.
"Didn't Prime Minister Jeong Do-hoon go to the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to negotiate? I heard from others on the way here that he set off very early."
"You think he can definitely get it back just because he negotiates? You really believe in his abilities that much?"
Sana Minatozaki was speechless for a moment; to be honest, she couldn't answer.
If you really want to count the number of times she met Zheng Daoxun, it was only three times.
I encountered him drunk for the first time at my doorstep;
The second time was outside the hotel, she held onto the man's hand and forgot to let go;
The third time I caught a glimpse of him outside the conference room, he was preparing materials for the meeting.
He's so young, why does Sana Minatozaki think Jung Do-hoon has the ability to get a passport?
"He's a clerk at twenty-five, he must be very capable."
"It's hard to say whether they're connected through connections."
"Do people who rely on connections have to work so hard?" Minatozaki Sana pouted. The current situation has nothing to do with whether Jung Do-hoon has the ability or not, but that Mina always wants to go against Minatozaki Sana!
"Who knows if they came for something else, like someone... Sana, why are you blushing?"
"Where am I blushing?" Sana Minatozaki touched her cheek, quickly trying to cover it up. "You're just thinking too darkly of people."
"You know him well? How many times have you met him?" Mina held her phone with both hands, scrolling through her daily tasks, her tone nonchalant. "Don't always think too highly of others."
"I……"
I haven't seen it many times.
Sana Minatozaki's tone softened, but then she thought for a moment, "You've never even met him!"
Mina didn't intend to mention their chance encounter outside the convenience store last night, but simply said slowly, "Do I need to remind you? He's a South Korean diplomat."
"so what?"
"So he can't get back the passport of the Japanese artist." Mina sighed softly, a little impatient, as if because of the game's tedious daily tasks, or perhaps because of Minatozaki Sana's naivety.
"He just can do it."
"I hope so," Mina responded faintly, glancing down at the time. "I'm going back to catch up on my sleep."
"How about we take a gamble?"
Mina shook her head: "If I get my passport back, it's good news for me. If I don't, I've won the bet with you, and the situation is good for me no matter what. Was such a bet even necessary?"
"Staying in Indonesia is too boring, let's have some challenges."
"You're just too serious." Mina rested her chin on her hand, her gaze lingering for a moment on the orange bear on Sana Minatozaki's bag. "How about this, I win, you give me this orange bear."
"And what if you lose?"
"What do you want to do with it?"
"Treat me to a meal..." Sana Minatozaki paused for a moment, then thought the bet was too boring. "I haven't decided yet..."
Mina nodded calmly: "Take your time to think about it."
Anyway, she won't lose.
As soon as she finished speaking, a commotion broke out at the restaurant exit.
The two arrived at the door together, only to see Zheng Daoxun with a cold face, leading a group of people back to the hotel and going straight into the conference room next door.
Lee Sang-won, the agent who squeezed out of the crowd, sighed as she wiped her sweat.
"Unnie, how is it? About the passport..." Minatozaki Sana accompanied Lee Sang-won to the rest area, pulling out a tissue and handing it to her.
Mina, with her tongue hanging out, listened silently from the side.
"I heard things didn't go very smoothly. Didn't you see that Secretary Zheng brought back several lawyers?"
"Going through legal proceedings?" Minatozaki Sana raised her eyebrows slightly in surprise, while Mina, standing next to her, pouted, looking completely unconcerned and confident of victory.
"I don't know. Secretary Zheng didn't tell us about the progress. I just waited for him at the hotel entrance."
"Sana, do you still want to bet? Before our bet starts..." Mina stared at Sana's orange teddy bear, "Don't say I'm bullying you."
It looks like a losing game... Minatozaki Sana's lips curled into a bitter smile. Mina's words made sense; he was a South Korean diplomat, while the two of them were Japanese citizens, so they were not compatible.
Things aren't going well right now, so it's even less likely that we can get Sana Minato's passport back.
But... anyway, it's just an orange bear, I'll bet!
"If you lose, go find Jung Do-hoon and ask him why you came to Indonesia. Was it for work or for someone else?"
Mina hesitated slightly, then asked, "What benefit would this bring you?"
"I..." Minatozaki Sana was stunned. Yes, what are the benefits?
But she did want to know Zheng Daoxun's purpose in coming to Indonesia, even though, rationally speaking, it wouldn't benefit her at all.
Lee Sang-won finally understood and patted Mina on the shoulder: "Mina, she just knows you're shy and wants to see how you talk to strangers."
"Deal." Mina shrugged.
Inside the meeting room, Jung Do-hoon watched as the lawyers took their seats, unlike Bae Dong-young beside him who looked so worried:
"Clerk, the situation is as you predicted. The contractor selected through bidding has tax issues. Director Mahsa is currently in dire straits himself, and he certainly wouldn't be thinking of negotiating with the tax bureau on our behalf."
Jung Do-hoon watched as the lawyers unfolded the documents he had prepared and slowly said, "Then let the tax bureau take the initiative to put pressure on Mahesa?"
Pei Dongyong suddenly raised his head, and most of the worry in his eyes instantly disappeared. Then he secretly clicked his tongue in amazement—the longer he followed this young clerk, the less he could figure out how many backup plans he had prepared in advance.