The Surety

“Come again?” I asked.

“I am the surety for Chun,” the man said again. I stood there with a blank face. This was news to me. Chun never said anything about this.

“Um… why are you here?” I asked. The surety pushed his glasses up on his nose.

“I have come to collect,” he said.

“I’m not following,” I said.

“Want to go inside?” he asked.

“Okay…” I said. My stomach turned.

---------

Where do I begin with this? I hadn’t gone over the paperwork yet. I had no idea there was a debt to collect. Chun didn’t tell me about this.

“Okay,” I said. The man sat in front of my desk. I took a breath.

“What is this about? Why are you here?” I asked. He pushed up his glasses.

“Twenty years ago, Chun sought out a loan from his benefactor. I am here to collect the final payment,” he said. I had more questions.

“How much is this debt?” I asked.

“I have the amount right here,” he said. He pulled out a small black book. I watched him thumb through the pages. He turned the book over to me. I looked down. My eyes widened.

“What… What is that?” I asked. I had seen so many zeros before in my life. My mouth hung open. I lifted my head. The surety had no emotion on his face.

“How am I supposed to pay all of this?” I asked.

“Look down on the page,” he said. I looked at the book again. Most of the numbers had been crossed out. Oh.

“Chun paid off most of the debt. You just need to pay off the last part,” he said. The surety pointed down to the bottom of the page. I looked down at the page. The amount looked payable. But still, I had questions.

“Who was this benefactor?” I asked. “Am I allowed to know?” He didn’t speak at first. I frowned. Something told me that was none of my business. Okay then.

“He didn’t tell you?” the man asked.

“No…” I slowly shook my head. He pushed up his glasses.

“It’s his mother.”

“What?”

“He didn’t tell you, did he?”

“No…”

“Anything?”

“Anything.”

“How much time do you have?” It was going to be one of those stories.

“I have time,” I said. He broke down and told him everything about Chun. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I didn’t know who Chun was. I still didn’t know. However, a debt was a debt. I had to pay it off. Chun had the money ready in his old desk drawer.

“Thank you and have a good day,” the surety said. He bowed his head and walked out the door. I waved at his back. That was the last time I saw that man. I don’t think I knew what his name was.