Don't Get Any Foolish Ideas
It was the very moment Yu-won flinched and twisted her body on pure reflex.
"Oops, careful."
An arm cut between her shoulder and the structure, bringing with it the familiar scent of fabric softener.
"You didn't get hurt, did you?"
The one looking her over with a bright smile was Manager Kim Jun-woo. Sweat beaded on his forehead and his hair was a complete mess, speaking clearly of a hard day, yet his eyes alone sparkled with unusual light.
"Yes, thanks to you. Thank you."
"It's chaos, right? Still, once the CEO shows up it suddenly feels like everything's falling into place. Earlier it was absolute pandemonium."
Haha. Scratching the back of his head with a laugh, Kim Jun-woo's face lit up with a childlike pride.
"At first, when I heard the pop-up location was underground, I was worried sick. But not only did it get moved above ground—we even snagged this prime of all prime spots. I'm already getting excited thinking this pop-up is going to be a huge hit."
Yu-won quietly watched Kim Jun-woo as he excitedly shared stories she hadn't even asked about. She felt she understood all too well just how much affection he held for this company.
"You really care about Moment, Manager Kim."
"Isn't Secretary Shin the same?"
"Me?"
"That's how it looks to me. More than anyone."
Kim Jun-woo nodded with utter conviction. Yu-won forced a change of subject, desperate to ignore the guilt spreading through her heart like ink in water.
"You must be exhausted."
"Do I look it? Honestly, I'm pretty much about to run dry."
With an awkward smile, Kim Jun-woo swept his sweat-soaked bangs up. In the process, the gray dust on his hand left a clear mark across his forehead.
"Ah, Manager. There's something on your forehead."
"My forehead?"
He rubbed it with the back of his hand. But the more he rubbed, the more the stain only spread.
"No, not there—a little higher."
"Here? Or here?"
Kim Jun-woo looked at Yu-won with a helpless face. The way he floundered, so at odds with his solid build, was so much like a lost puppy that Yu-won let out a small pfft of laughter.
"I'll get you a tissue."
Yu-won rummaged through her shoulder bag and pulled out a portable pack of tissues. She was about to hand him the tissue along with a compact mirror when he suddenly bent his knees and lowered his height.
"Could Secretary Shin help me out a little?"
Kim Jun-woo brought his forehead down to where her eyes could reach and looked up at her with a gaze half full of mischief.
"Ah…"
Hesitating, Yu-won raised the hand holding the tissue. It was the moment she caught a glimpse of the tips of Kim Jun-woo's ears turning bright red.
"Manager Kim! What are you doing over there?"
Team Leader Seo Ju-eun's irritable voice rang out. Turning, Yu-won saw her standing side by side with Woo-jin, glaring their way. Apparently with something urgent, she flapped her hand impatiently.
Kim Jun-woo's shoulders sagged as he straightened up.
"I should get going. Secretary Shin, see you later then."
"Um, at least the tissue—"
Yu-won hurriedly held out her hand, but Kim Jun-woo hurried off toward Seo Ju-eun and Woo-jin without a chance to take it.
They were a little too far for the conversation to carry, yet every time Woo-jin's lips moved with cold precision, Kim Jun-woo's head bowed deeper and deeper.
What could he have done wrong to be scolded like that? Yu-won clicked her tongue softly in pity. Then she slowly surveyed the site.
The interior renderings she had studied before coming here overlapped with the actual scene in her mind. She found herself looking forward to how splendidly this place would transform.
And to everything Woo-jin had done to reclaim this spot—and even to that hot, fierce night.
Thinking of Woo-jin now, a hollow ache spread through her as if by habit.
Please, let Moment rise again.
Let him spread his wings brilliantly from this place and soar.
As she repeated the fervent wish to herself, her phone vibrated briefly.
Had he been watching her somehow? The message that arrived with such perfect timing made every fine hair on her body stand on end.
Clack-clack-clack.
Every time Hak-yeon moved his fingers, the interlocking plastic friction rang out in a steady rhythm.
The poorly ventilated room was thick with cigarette smoke and the reek of alcohol. Amid the tangle of curses, shouts, and the sound of cards being shuffled and dealt, the table where Hak-yeon and Lee Min-gyu sat remained strangely quiet.
The dealer shuffled and dealt with practiced skill.
"That bitch's tail hasn't been stepped on, has it?"
Lee Min-gyu, not even checking the two cards dealt to him, irritably swirled his whiskey glass.
Club seven, heart two.
Hak-yeon carefully checked his own hand and cursed inwardly as he selected his chips. There wasn't a worse hand than this garbage.
"It shouldn't be. She's a smarter girl than she looks."
Hak-yeon carefully smoothed over the stiffening muscles of his face and pushed a single chip into the center of the table.
"Her mother's life is in our hands, so she absolutely won't do anything that would get her tail stepped on. If she were under suspicion, she'd play the perfect secretary even more carefully to blind Woo-jin's eyes."
"But that Woo-jin bastard is really unsettling. He keeps acting like he's figured something out."
Only then did Lee Min-gyu check his own hand and toss a fistful of chips into the center.
We're screwed.
Hak-yeon checked his remaining chips. The number, clearly reduced from the start, was now countable by eye.
His mouth was dry with anxiety. Even siphoning money by cooking the factory books had completely hit bottom now.
Hak-yeon hid the burning in his gut and put on a servile smile.
"He was probably just testing the waters."
"If he'd noticed, he wouldn't just sit still, but…"
"If that were the case, that girl would have given us a heads-up first. You can rest easy, Vice Chairman."
To Hak-yeon, the cards right in front of him mattered more than Woo-jin. At the thought that losing this hand too would truly be the end, cold sweat slid down his spine.
"Anyway, I think we should lay low for a while."
"But Vice Chairman, about that… that girl's mother's hospital bills have piled up a bit. If we settle that for her, the kid won't get any other ideas and will stay quiet…"
Hak-yeon rubbed his hands together with a servile expression.
Lee Min-gyu snorted and took out a cigar, placing it between his lips. Hak-yeon, like a well-trained dog, hurriedly flicked a lighter to life.
The acrid scent stung his nose. Yet until the light spread evenly at the tip of the cigar, Hak-yeon held the lighter with trembling hands.
"Hoo."
As he exhaled the harsh smoke, Lee Min-gyu reached out and pushed the chips in front of him toward Hak-yeon.
"Thank you, Vice Chairman. As expected of a great man!"
Hak-yeon grinned so wide his mouth nearly split and scraped the scattered chips together.
It had been five years since they had formed their connection at the gambling table.
Lee Min-gyu, Vice Chairman of Taekyung Group, had no qualms about dirty and illegal business beyond gambling—women troubles, assaults, all of it.
Hak-yeon needed gambling funds; Lee Min-gyu needed someone to clean up after him. From then on they had maintained a sticky symbiotic relationship.
Before long the gray ash at the tip of the cigar Lee Min-gyu held had grown as long as a finger joint. He slowly took the cigar from between his fingers and removed it from his lips.
"And you need to keep a tighter rein on your son, President Kim."
At Lee Min-gyu's suddenly cold tone, Hak-yeon's shoulders stiffened as he counted the chips.
It was because Seung-ju—who would run wild without knowing heaven from earth when it came to Shin Yu-won—had finally caused a disaster with one of his seizures. Unable to send his son to prison again, Hak-yeon had bowed his head to Lee Min-gyu with tears in his eyes to settle the matter.
There were big scores lined up one after another ahead. Hak-yeon resented a son who could go crazy over just one girl.
"…Yes. I have nothing to say even if I had ten mouths."
Tuk. The ash that could no longer bear its own weight fell onto Hak-yeon's pants. He couldn't endure the heat and twisted his face.
"Take care of that girl. It won't be fun if even that bitch goes wrong."
"I-I'll keep that in mind."
Lee Min-gyu picked up the next hand without even listening to the answer. Hak-yeon was only able to straighten his bent back a long while later.