The Third Day's Commute and Unfinished Business

"Really, why did you do that?"

Yu Yeong-a shot him a look full of resentment and turned away.

Sa Hwigyeom smiled gently at her and made a shushing gesture with his finger to his lips.

At the same time, Jo Suho's voice boomed loudly from the speakerphone.

"......Yeong-ah?"

"H-hi, oppa."

"I thought you weren't picking up."

"No. What's up?"

"You're not at work yet? I was thinking of having coffee together."

"Um, yeah. I'm on my way right now."

Yu Yeong-a wondered if this was some kind of setup, but she already knew Sa Hwigyeom was aware of everything.

"I see. Can we go out together after the meeting tonight? I usually finish early."

"But oppa, you said you get a stomachache from drinking beer lately, right?"

She had only heard that story from Jo Suho the day before.

"Huh? Well, yeah, but today is Friday."

"Oppa, you're planning to study on the weekends now, aren't you? You should sleep early."

"R-really?"

She would have to do it for Suho's sake, but deep down Yu Yeong-a was secretly glad for his suggestion.

"Then how about just one drink?"

That should be fine.

"Okay. See you later."

Ring! The call ended abruptly, and a loud tsk-tsk sounded from behind her.

"You kicked Suho the angel with both feet."

"No way? I said it all for the sake of oppa."

"But your name is Suho, so you're Suho the angel? Your face is adorable, but your naming sense is a little off."

After the interference, the evaluation followed.

Yu Yeong-a was already in a foul mood.

"That's not what I meant at all. You don't even know."

"I don't know? You're like Yu Yeong-a, who never dated, right?"

What a big deal.

Yu Yeong-a let out a snort.

"I've heard around that lots of people do it, but it's not always a good thing."

"That's right. You talk a lot. Get straight to the point, Yu Yeong-a!"

The light turned red and then green.

Yu Yeong-a pouted and stepped on the gas.

That same evening, the Sahan Hotel held a full employee reception.

This year, ten new employees including Yu Yeong-a were joining.

Ten people took turns greeting the staff filling the large Korean BBQ restaurant.

The reception officially began.

It was a day when company funds could be spent freely.

Everyone grilled meat at lightning speed and downed drinks.

But Yu Yeong-a was the exception.

She had a family-like senior sitting right next to her.

Park Dong-yeong, who had been greeting staff, spotted Sa Hwigyeom and came over to their table.

"What? How did the manager get here?"

Sa Hwigyeom answered with a subtle smile.

"It would be a shame for a precious manager to miss such a humble place."

The staff burst into laughter.

But Yu Yeong-a didn't smile.

It was because Sa Hwigyeom and Park Chaemi, sitting a little apart, looked too close.

It wasn't just her imagination.

A female staff member sitting across from them glared and questioned them.

"Are you two really nothing?"

"We're just brother and sister who've known each other since childhood. That's why oppa takes care of me like this."

Park Chaemi laughed with sparkling eyes, but the head of the legal team, whose face was already flushed, suddenly interrupted.

"Then you're turning oppa into a dad."

"Ah, really why?"

Unlike Chaemi, who was waving her hand in denial, Jo Suho simply smiled and didn't object.

Then when Chaemi spilled her drink, he quickly pulled out a napkin and wiped it up.

The legal team head pointed at him as if to prove his point.

"Look at this. You're saying no while doing this?"

People continued teasing them, and Suho shyly smiled and downed his soju in one go.

How many glasses had he had now?

Yu Yeong-a glanced sideways at him and whispered to Sa Hwigyeom.

"Manager, if you haven't eaten, you shouldn't stay here. Go home."

She wanted to pour her own soju, but she couldn't because her senior was glued to her side like a magnet.

Even so, Yu Yeong-a was in a hurry.

She needed to get Sa Hwigyeom home early so she could have that beer with Suho right away.

But her senior crossed his arms in the most leisurely way.

"It's not polite to leave first."

Yu Yeong-a snorted.

"At a reception, it's polite for the senior to leave first, isn't it?"

And Sa Hwigyeom hadn't even touched his chopsticks, let alone his drink.

She had no idea why he was acting like that.

"Since when has the communicative leader been in fashion?"

She lowered her voice to a whisper only he could hear and kept pressing him.

"You don't even communicate."

"Being good at listening rather than talking is the real skill of communication."

"Then the manager isn't one, are you? It's late at night and you're not busy?"

While they bantered, Yu Yeong-a didn't notice Park Chaemi staring at her.

"But the new head of the TF team is really attentive to his team members."

The HR team leader was speaking.

Only then did Yu Yeong-a lift her head.

Ten pairs of eyes from the table were fixed on her and Sa Hwigyeom.

Looking at her flustered face, Sa Hwigyeom smiled gently.

"Isn't that natural? For a team leader, team members are like his own children."

Right after he said it, cheers erupted from around them.

"Now that I think about it, it's really the look of someone seeing his own kids."

At that moment, the legal team head, who had been egging on Suho and Chaemi, chimed in again with his usual bluster.

"Huh? That's the scariest part, you know? If the other person looks at you like a daughter or son, it's completely over for you. No matter what, they're just cute."

Even though Sa Hwigyeom and the legal team head usually didn't exchange eye contact much, the team head was in an especially good mood today and kept dropping hints.

"Then this side is becoming oppa's kid and that side is becoming the team leader's wife?"

Forgetting she was in an awkward position, Yu Yeong-a spoke firmly.

"What are you talking about? That's never going to happen."

But the surrounding noise got even louder.

"Yeah, they always eat lunch together, so it makes sense."

"No, it's because the only team member there is me!"

Yu Yeong-a exploded with frustration.

Sa Hwigyeom gently patted her back and stepped in for her.

"Yeong-a is right. And it's inappropriate for me to be with such a young employee. I'm not that shameless of a senior."

While saying it differently, he looked at Yu Yeong-a with a gaze that said he was taking full responsibility.

"Ooooh! Let's drop the moral code!"

People who were already drunk cheered loudly.

Yu Yeong-a trembled inside.

Someone who still had morals would push a contract like that on you?

What a hypocritical person!

"Really, something like that..."

While Yu Yeong-a was waving her hand in protest, Park Chaemi glanced at her and whispered something in Suho's ear.

"......Really?"

Jo Suho, whose lips had formed that shape, blushed to his ears and opened his eyes wide.

He then folded his lips and leaned in close to Chaemi's ear to answer her.

A sly excitement showed on his face.

Yu Yeong-a had never seen this expression before.

Her large brown eyes trembled, but Sa Hwigyeom, who was still looking at Chaemi, didn't notice anything.

Yu Yeong-a, meanwhile, had been too busy defending herself against the teasing to look at Suho's side.

But it was fine.

Once the reception ended, she would have private time with Suho.

A couple of hours later, after the reception, everyone filed out together.

Yu Yeong-a followed Sa Hwigyeom and looked around busily.

But neither Suho nor Chaemi were in sight.

When they arrived at the company parking lot and were about to leave, Yu Yeong-a sent a message to Suho.

[I'm taking the manager home. Where should we meet?]

Even after arriving at Sa Hwigyeom's house, he hadn't checked the message.

Usually on days like this, Suho wouldn't reply until tomorrow.

"Please get out."

Yu Yeong-a stepped out of the car and greeted Sa Hwigyeom.

Still holding the door open, she stared blankly at the unreadable number 1.

'That's why I want just one more drink.'

Just as she was about to say it, she noticed Sa Hwigyeom standing in front of the door instead of heading straight inside.

Yu Yeong-a hesitated for a moment.

She didn't want to drink alone on a day like today.

But other than the person in front of her, she had no friends.

"Manager, how about one drink nearby?"

Sa Hwigyeom didn't answer and just stared at her.

Ah, was it strange for a subordinate to ask a senior out for a drink late at night?

Yu Yeong-a quickly added an excuse.

"I appreciate the gift you gave me this morning, so let me buy it."

"How did 'pay back' turn into that?"

Her senior never knew how to speak politely.

Suddenly, a huge wine cellar came to mind.

"I'll buy wine! Wine!"

It was a big decision for her, but she still got no answer.

In the end, Yu Yeong-a added a reluctant tone.

"The reception was for taking you home, manager. I haven't drunk yet."

Still giving her a displeased look, he pointed upstairs.

"Go up. I hate dirty bars."