A Shocking Reunion
Yu Yeong-a jumped in surprise and looked back. Sa Hwigyeom had already returned, and he was grabbing her mouse and shaking it vigorously.
“When did you come back?”
“You must have been really excited thinking about going to Jeju Island. You couldn’t even notice people coming in.”
Sa Hwigyeom said while staring at the monitor. Yu Yeong-a quickly turned her eyes and put on an act.
“That’s not it.”
“Is that so? But if we consider the remodeling expected period, there’s no way this is the first place.”
It was a sharp remark. Yu Yeong-a quickly adjusted her posture and sat up straight.
“Yes, Manager-nim. Since solving the site is the biggest problem, it would be best to go to Sokcho and Yanggu first. And then after that, how about going to Gijang and Andong, then Mokpo and Jeonju, and finally Jeju?”
Sa Hwigyeom was a boss she couldn’t afford to overlook, even more so now.
“See? Even if you think about it, Jeju should be last, right?”
“Yes. Plus, the buildings don’t need much work, there are many companies, and it should be easy to find a chef.”
Sa Hwigyeom lightly flicked his fingers as he tapped his desk.
“Sokcho and Yanggu next, then Jeju.”
“But……”
Even though she pretended otherwise, Yu Yeong-a couldn’t hide her smile at the mention of Jeju being next.
“Go eat your meal and come back.”
“Can I not eat with Manager-nim?”
Her face lit up even more at the immediate question.
“Unfortunately, Team Leader-nim already ate.”
“Ah, yes!”
Yu Yeong-a took out her phone, and Sa Hwigyeom suddenly leaned in.
“Are you eating with those oddballs?”
“I was thinking about calling them first.”
Since Sa Hwigyeom had told her he’d come by during lunch, Yu Yeong-a had assumed she’d eat with him. She excitedly opened her contact list.
“Hey, Oppa. I was wondering if we could eat lunch together.”
“Huh? With the Manager? I thought Chaemi wasn’t in the mood, so we’re heading to that place for street tteokbokki instead of the company cafeteria. Come with us. I’ll send you the address.”
Suho had said they could eat together, but after the morning incident, Yu Yeong-a was starving. Tteokbokki wasn’t the most nutritious choice.
“Oppa, I’ll just go to the company cafeteria. I had tteok for breakfast.”
The tteok the landlady had given her was still full in the freezer, so Yu Yeong-a had been eating it every morning lately.
“Oh? That’s too bad. Let’s catch up after work if our schedules match.”
“Yeah, call me!”
After hanging up, Yu Yeong-a turned on the floor map on her phone and called out to Sa Hwigyeom.
“Do you know where the company cafeteria is?”
“I’ll go with you.”
Sa Hwigyeom slipped his jacket back on.
“You said you ate, right?”
“Even though it’s a growing period, it still doesn’t fill me up. I’ll have one more.”
“Thank you!”
Until now, Yu Yeong-a had truly been grateful to Sa Hwigyeom.
“I’ve searched for company cafeteria food photos often, but I’ve never seen a menu board on every table.”
Yu Yeong-a chose the Chinese course with sea cucumber soup, Sichuan beef, yusunssal rice, and tofu dessert.
“The company has money to spare.”
Then, a strange voice suddenly cut in behind Sa Hwigyeom’s.
“I wonder if it would’ve ended up like this before the material stocks tanked because of someone.”
Yu Yeong-a startled and looked up. It was Sa Hwigyeom’s older brother, Sa Jae-yeong.
Behind him, several adults who looked older stood in line. Yu Yeong-a stood up quickly and greeted them.
“Nice to meet you. I’m the new employee, Yu Yeong-a.”
“Yes. The executive dining room shouldn’t be too bad. Eat a lot and go.”
Sa Jae-yeong and the adults behind him disappeared, and Yu Yeong-a looked around again. Now that she thought about it, she didn’t even see a senior she had greeted that morning, let alone someone her age.
“Is this the executive dining room?”
Then the food arrived. Sa Hwigyeom had a rib steak and rice set with clear bean sprout soup on the side.
“Huh. Not bad.”
Watching Sa Hwigyeom sip the broth casually, Yu Yeong-a let out a low sigh of frustration.
“I’m an employee, and you’re the Manager-nim!”
Especially with Sa Hwigyeom standing right there, it was only a matter of time before the whole company saw them together.
“The chairman’s grandson should be fine, right?”
Watching Sa Hwigyeom scoop rice from the pot and call a staff member to pour hot water into the rice cooker, Yu Yeong-a made up her mind.
I will never bow to this person again!
***
After that, the days passed uneventfully. Yu Yeong-a, who always arrived early, greeted most of the people on the same floor and chatted with them.
There weren’t many tasks in the morning office besides the detailed instructions. Cleaning had already been completed the night before.
When they signed the contract, Sa Hwigyeom had threatened to make her clean the house, but when she said she’d go, he told her to wait until after work if she wanted to rest.
As Sa Hwigyeom had said, she solved two places at once before work and after. Compared to her worries, it wasn’t bad, so lately Yu Yeong-a felt a bit happier.
For her superior’s perfect work-life balance, Yu Yeong-a set up the coffee machine and played BGM at the very quiet volume he had specified.
Classical music, especially with violin, had a warning not to play it, so Yu Yeong-a played a healing video that matched the day’s weather.
After putting the large 100-inch screen up, she opened the windows to ventilate the room and turned on all three air purifiers. After taking her own sweet coffee, Sa Hwigyeom arrived.
“Good morning, Manager-nim. By the way, I finally found a common point between me and you! It must be really comfortable to wear the same clothes every day, right?”
“This is the first time I’ve been blatantly rude like this.”
Yu Yeong-a didn’t know, but Sa Hwigyeom had no history of wearing the same outfit for two days straight. Even clothes he hadn’t worn once were all over the place. But to her eyes, it was a three-piece suit, a dress shirt, a tie, and shoes, so it looked the same.
“Rude? When have I been?”
“You should just stay glued under me. It seems you’re not cut out for social life.”
“Me? Why?”
Yu Yeong-a was getting annoyed, but Sa Hwigyeom refused to answer until the end.
“Prepare for the meeting.”
There was a group meeting for team leaders in the morning. It said only the team leader and one team member would attend, but Yu Yeong-a would definitely be going every time.
When they reached the meeting room, Suho was with the accounting team leader. Suho smiled pleasantly when he spotted her.
“Oppa!”
Yu Yeong-a called him with her mouth and waved slightly. Whether this was adult flirting, they weren’t even dating yet, but anyway.
Yu Yeong-a sat in the designated seat with a fluttering heart. The meeting started under the chairmanship of the business unit head of the management support division, Sa Doyeong.
As he introduced himself, he mentioned that he and Sa Hwigyeom were the same age and cousins.
After Sa Doyeong gave a brief briefing on the first-quarter results and the overall second-quarter plan, the team reports followed.
It was Yu Yeong-a’s turn. She stepped forward and stood in front of the screen, feeling quite nervous.
“It’s my first time greeting everyone in this meeting. I’m the new employee of the newly established Resort Planning TF Team, Yu Yeong-a.”
Suho smiled brightly when their eyes met for a moment. Yu Yeong-a’s lips also lifted. Her nervousness seemed to ease a little.
With a lighter heart, she looked at the roll screen. The presentation flowed smoothly after that. After that, she had frequent eye contact with Suho, and Yu Yeong-a safely finished the briefing.
Sa Hwigyeom had been glaring with axe eyes the whole time, but since that was just how he looked, she ignored it. Thanks to the expected questions Sa Hwigyeom had prepared, Yu Yeong-a didn’t get flustered.
When she returned to her seat and smoothed her chest, she suddenly felt someone staring at her. It was the business unit head, Sa Doyeong.
When she awkwardly bowed, he immediately turned his head.
Finally, Sa Doyeong wrapped up the meeting and announced there would be a welcome party for new employees tomorrow evening on Friday. He got up first, and everyone else filed out.
Yu Yeong-a wanted to say hello to Suho in the meantime, but somehow Sa Hwigyeom stood up last.
Following the slow footsteps of Sa Hwigyeom, Yu Yeong-a cautiously asked.
“Manager-nim, did I do anything wrong in that meeting?”
“Huh. No. But why?”
Yu Yeong-a was about to frown at the strange answer, but she held it back and asked her question anyway.
“It’s just that Sa Doyeong-nim kept looking at me the whole time.”
“Don’t worry about other people. Just focus on your boss.”
“Huh?”
At the mysterious words, Yu Yeong-a’s eyes widened. The meeting room door opened again. Her gaze snapped over.