The Air Turned Cold at the Table

At Woo-jin's words, the current of air that had been hanging over the dining table shifted in an instant.

The smile vanished from Lee Min-gyu's face.

"Well... rumors in this business travel awfully fast, don't they."

Lee Min-gyu lifted his water glass and gulped it down as if trying to erase the flustered look. Since it had never been a question that expected an answer, Woo-jin rose from his seat and fastened the buttons of his jacket. He left the meal almost untouched.

"Thank you for the meal."

"You brat—can't you see Grandfather is still eating?"

Perhaps ashamed of the brief fluster he had shown, Lee Min-gyu raised his voice. Woo-jin turned his gaze toward Lee Yeong-ho at the head of the table. The chairman, who had been ladling soup, gave a light nod of permission.

"Then I'll take my leave."

Woo-jin bowed his head respectfully and left the dining room.

"Father, it's because you keep treating him so soft that the bastard grows more arrogant by the day!"

Lee Min-gyu's agitated voice rang out behind him, but Woo-jin paid it no mind. His mother would have some trouble cleaning up afterward, yet it couldn't be helped. Woo-jin's attendance at this meal had been her ambition in the first place.

The wooden floors of the traditional house creaked with every step. Suddenly turning his gaze, he caught sight of the garden Lee Yeong-ho had cultivated with such care beyond the full-length windows.

It was a garden without a single flower. The man bought and planted only old evergreen trees. Specimens hundreds of years old he would acquire even at astronomical prices.

Things that never wither. Things that never change.

And thus, things that would eventually rot.

The morning sunlight just rising and shattering across the blue garden of the old house was quite beautiful—a landscape that clashed far too much with the naked face of this household. At that irony Woo-jin let out a hollow laugh and moved his steps once more.

Today it had become certain that the little rat Lee Min-gyu had planted was not on the Hansung side, but inside Moment. As suspicion hardened into certainty, a sense of displeasure rose. He yanked his tie loose.

As he stepped out through the heavy main gate of Yeongunjae, Chief Secretary Choi Jeong-hun, waiting beside the black sedan, bowed stiffly at the waist.

"I'll take you to the office."

Nodding, Woo-jin climbed into the back seat and suddenly realized his mood had improved a little.

Since when had commuting to Moment become not so bad?

The answer was not particularly difficult.

Shin Yu-won's skin was extremely fair. When she turned her head, blue veins showed through her slender nape. Recalling how that white skin had flushed red beneath his own body made the area below his waist grow taut. The urge rose to bend her over the desk in his office, hike up her skirt, and thrust himself into her to his heart's content.

Am I the bastard here?

With the corner of his lips pulled up at an angle, he turned his head toward the window. Choi Jeong-hun glanced at him through the rearview mirror and picked up speed.

"What is this."

Click, click.

Yu-won clicked the mouse rapidly in fluster, yet nothing on the screen changed. The trend report analysis materials and Moment customer data that had clearly existed on the shared server until just a few days ago had vanished without a trace.

To write the branding concept proposal Woo-jin had ordered, she needed the marketing team's materials. She had clearly confirmed only days earlier that the trend report analyses, multi-year Moment customer data, and the rest sat on the company shared server.

"Haa."

Yu-won sighed and loosened her grip on the mouse. Even without looking she knew Team Leader Seo Ju-eun had done it. Even if she went and asked, there was no chance the woman would hand the materials over.

Yu-won bit her lip.

Should I try Sales Support or CS?

Woo-jin was in a meeting with the Strategy Planning Team. Thinking to hurry back before it ended, Yu-won rose from her seat. But there too, what returned was cold refusals as if they had agreed in advance.

It seemed Seo Ju-eun had put her hand in there as well, yet there was no other way. Yu-won turned her steps weakly.

"Secretary Shin."

As she trudged down the corridor, a voice called her from behind.

"Ah, Manager Kim."

Confirming the person who had called, Yu-won bowed her head lightly. It was Manager Kim Jun-woo of the Marketing Team. With naturally wavy hair covering his forehead and overall soft, gentle lines to his face, they had exchanged eye greetings a few times coming and going at meetings.

As Yu-won tried to turn away again, Kim Jun-woo quickly caught up to her.

"Um, by any chance what are you doing after work today?"

"Pardon?"

At the unexpected question Yu-won paused for a moment. Then Kim Jun-woo stepped a little closer. From him wafted softly the scent of fabric softener well-dried in the sun. He lowered his voice and tilted his head near her face.

"Have you checked the shared server by any chance?"

When she stared blankly, unable to gauge the intent of the question, he continued.

"The materials that were in the shared folder—I gathered them separately."

"Why would you..."

"To give them to you, Secretary Shin. I saw Team Leader Seo clear them all out recently."

".......!"

"There absolutely won't be any harm to you. Let's meet after work at the Port Garden Cafe in front of the company. It'll only take a moment."

Kim Jun-woo put force into his words, speaking quickly as if whispering. Normally she would have refused without a second thought. She did not want to build any private closeness with anyone at Moment, and especially not with someone connected to Team Leader Seo Ju-eun, who was so hostile toward her.

But the problem was the proposal. She could not know what on earth Woo-jin had believed to entrust her with such a thing, yet in truth Yu-won wanted to do well. It was also an expression of her guilt toward Woo-jin and Moment. Every time she became aware of her own situation, it pricked as if a chestnut burr had been stuck in her chest.

"What time do you get off work?"

Kim Jun-woo asked again. Hesitating while chewing her lip, Yu-won finally opened her mouth.

"...Six o'clock."

As the answer that was as good as acceptance fell from her lips, Kim Jun-woo's face brightened at once. His round eyes arched like crescent moons.

"Then see you at six at Port Garden!"

Kim Jun-woo even waved his hand as if they were already close and drove the stake once more. Yu-won, flustered, ended up waving back without meaning to. The thought came belatedly that Kim Jun-woo's kindness might not be pure goodwill but a trap of Seo Ju-eun's—yet for now she had to grasp even at straws.

Leaving the dubious promise behind, Yu-won returned to her seat. Woo-jin was already back in his office, having finished the meeting sometime earlier. After a moment's hesitation her hand opened the drawer and took out the envelope that made her heart ache every time she saw it.

She had thought things were going well with Director Kang Ji-yoon, but that morning Cha Yeo-gyeong had visited. Letting out a long sigh, she had pinpointed and named the second matchmaking partner.

Yu-won knew Woo-jin's personality was not so lenient that he would sit facing a woman he did not even like for two whole hours. Then what on earth had happened that day? No matter how much she thought alone there was no way an answer would come. And even if she knew the answer it would be of no use.

After all, Woo-jin was not her person.

Woo-jin's next matchmaking partner was the second daughter of Dongyang Logistics. The woman who at a young age held the title of art museum director had majored in painting in America, it said. That glamorous résumé dragged Yu-won's own situation down to the bottom once more.

Just then Woo-jin's summons rang.

His voice was harder than usual. Had the meeting not gone smoothly? Yu-won hurriedly rose from her seat and entered the pantry. While extracting coffee from the machine she checked Woo-jin's remaining schedule for the day on her phone. Confirming the evening was empty, she took the cup and knocked on the office door.

"Come in."

As the short reply came through the door, Yu-won carefully turned the handle. Woo-jin's office, with just a single door between, had a density of air different even from the outside. After drawing a breath, as she moved her steps—

Woo-jin, who had been sitting at the desk looking over documents, slowly lifted his head, and then the corner of his mouth twisted as if it might or might not show.

"Is the secretarial office work that free?"