Approaching noon.
Ji-Heon was frozen, his wrist caught by the woman who had appeared as if she’d dropped from the sky.
He had completely forgotten what he was doing moments ago.
His body felt strange. His mood felt strange.
A name as scorching as the midday sun. A woman with a name that boiled with fever.
Jeong-o Lee. It was her, again.
She wore an expression that was both provocative and resigned, as if she had stepped straight out of his dreams.
That was all it was.
“How could you throw that away?”
She was simply holding a grudge against him.
Yet, the mere fact that she was standing right in front of him made Ji-Heon want to pull her waist firmly toward him—regardless of where they were.
He wanted to pull at the neatly fastened buttons of her blouse. He wanted to confirm the curves hidden beneath. He wanted to touch the white skin inside her sleeves.
He wanted to swallow her whole.
That shallow, escaping breath of hers.
*Am I crazy? Have I truly lost my mind?*
It was a strange, bizarre impulse he had never harbored before.
This must all be because of that damn dream.
Resisting the odd sensation, Ji-Heon twisted his arm to break her grasp. He didn’t know why his movements felt so sluggish when he should have shaken her off roughly.
After a fluid rotation of his hand, he caught her slender wrist. Just as she had done to him.
He had reversed the situation with ease.
Her startled expression was interesting.
*What next?*
Looking down at her as if studying her, he said,
“Shall we talk about it?”
*Now, what are you going to do?*
“Uh, uh, uh!”
At that moment, the elevator door opened, and a man shouted. It was Ji-Heon’s friend, Seung-gyu Park, the HR manager.
Having witnessed a shocking scene the moment he stepped out, Seung-gyu couldn’t finish his sentence. He stood there, mouth agape, pointing at the two of them.
His friend was holding the wrist of a newly hired female employee. A director of the company. An executive director.
“Director! What are you doing here!”
Only after he finally snapped out of it and shouted did Ji-Heon release Jeong-o’s hand.
Why were they like that?
Just yesterday, Ji-Heon had asked him about Assistant Manager Jeong-o Lee, saying she looked pale.
Seung-gyu had laughed it off and teased him, asking if she was pretty, but he hadn’t been serious.
That was one thing, but this was a situation he couldn’t just laugh off.
What should he do now? Interrogate Ji-Heon Jeong? Ask Assistant Manager Jeong-o Lee what happened?
“Assistant Manager Jeong-o Lee!”
Seung-gyu put on a bright expression and took a step toward her.
“I was on my way to find you. There was something I couldn’t tell you earlier.”
Seung-gyu gave Ji-Heon a slight glance and hurriedly led Jeong-o away.
Once inside a quiet conference room, Seung-gyu carefully closed the door and asked seriously,
“Might I ask if something happened?”
“…….”
“You can tell me the truth.”
Hesitating, Jeong-o finally found her voice.
“The children who came to the company today—the Director received gifts from them, but as soon as the kids left, he threw them away.”
*Oh my god…* Seung-gyu gripped his forehead.
“So I grabbed the Director’s wrist to tell him not to do that, and then…….”
“And then you were the one who got grabbed instead.”
“Yes.”
“Even though he’s the one who was wrong.”
“Yes… yes?”
“What a terrible guy.”
When Seung-gyu insulted Ji-Heon, she looked vacant.
*She’s a decent person,* Seung-gyu felt a little relieved.
“I will tell the Director to apologize.”
“You don’t have to on my behalf. It’s a matter for which he should be sorry to the children… and come to think of it, I was just being a busybody.”
*She really is a decent person.*
Seeing her hang her head, seemingly ashamed that she had interfered, made Seung-gyu feel sorry for her.
Influenced by her character, Seung-gyu added a side note.
“Assistant Manager, this is a bit personal, but actually, Director Ji-Heon Jeong and I have been friends for 16 years. Our illustrious Director can’t even remember it properly, though.”
“…….”
“So I can say a few harsh words to him. I have the guts for that. At least for now.”
Jeong-o lifted her bowed head.
If they had been friends for 16 years, he would know the Ji-Heon Jeong of seven years ago as well.
*’Then, could he know who I am?’*
However, she couldn’t detect any sign of recognition in Seung-gyu Park’s eyes. The same went for his earlier questions.
Ji-Heon Jeong had never told his close friend about Jeong-o.
“If Ji-Heon Jeong, no, if Director Jeong does anything weird again, come find me. I will file a claim on your behalf. Definitely.”
Jeong-o nodded slowly. It felt like a stone made of heavy sorrow was pressing against her chest.
“But it looks like you’re going to eat lunch early today?”
*Oh, that’s right! Jajangmyeon!*
Only then did Jeong-o remember her forgotten mission.
“Then I’ll be going!”
Jeong-o hurriedly bowed and headed out.
After Jeong-o left, Seung-gyu hurried toward Ji-Heon’s office.
Fortunately, Ji-Heon was there.
“Hey! You gave me a heart attack!”
Seung-gyu shouted as soon as he saw him.
“You’re going to be in big trouble if you keep this up. How can you grab a female employee’s wrist? Even if you’re the one being grabbed, even if you’re being tied up, you shouldn’t be grabbing an employee’s wrist.”
“That woman.”
“Not ‘that woman,’ it’s Assistant Manager Jeong-o Lee! Watch your mouth.”
Feeling like his friend still didn’t get it, Seung-gyu kept raising his voice.
“She spoke to me informally.”
“……You grabbed her wrist because she spoke informally?”
*Oh, this crazy guy.*
Should he be relieved that there didn’t seem to be any malice toward Assistant Manager Jeong-o Lee?
A crazy guy met a woman who was his match.
He even felt a little amused.
*
Jeong-o ran breathlessly toward the Chinese restaurant that Team Leader Miran Seong had mentioned.
She had been told to be there by 11:50, and it was already 11:53. The restaurant was packed.
Then, someone called her.
“Assistant Manager Jeong-o Lee. Over here.”
Gihun Song, a team member, waved with a bright expression.
Jeong-o walked toward the room he was gesturing toward, set for five people.
“How are you here, Gihun?”
“The Team Leader told me to come, too. I took the stairs to move quickly.”
*Our Team Leader is serious about Jajangmyeon!*
She had been worried because she hadn’t properly completed her mission, but Miran’s obsession with Jajangmyeon saved her.
“Ah, what a relief!”
Jeong-o sat down and exhaled.
“Oh? Assistant Manager, you wore white today.”
Gihun, who had been watching her, stood up and handed her an apron.
“Everyone else wore black today. Because we were coming here.”
“Ah.”
“It’s black for the second Wednesday of every month. Please remember, Assistant Manager.”
As Jeong-o put the apron on, the other team members arrived. True to Gihun’s words, everyone except her was wearing black.
“Team Leader, didn’t you tell Assistant Manager Lee about the dress code?”
Gihun asked Miran.
“If Assistant Manager Lee had said she didn’t like Jajangmyeon, I would have thought about going somewhere else.”
Sincerity permeated her voice.
Miran sat down and asked,
“Assistant Manager Lee, did something happen with Director Ji-Heon Jeong? I thought I saw you talking in front of the elevator earlier.”
Miran spoke as if she had seen it in passing, but in reality, she had witnessed the entire scene through the glass door.
Jeong-o had grabbed his wrist, he had grabbed hers, and then Seung-gyu Park took Jeong-o away.
Thinking something had gone wrong, she had sent Gihun to the restaurant first.
“Oh, just… a slight friction over some trash. You don’t need to worry about it.”
“Why? Does he just throw trash around randomly?”
Assistant Manager Eun-Ju Go, who had been checking her face in a hand mirror, asked.
Jeong-o nodded awkwardly.
“I feel like he would do that.”
Eun-Ju snorted. “He looked like a jerk.”
*He looked unpleasant?* She called him that the moment she saw that handsome face? Jin-seo opened his eyes wide, intrigued.
Go Eun-Ju, whom he had been observing all day, had high self-esteem. Others called her “Princess Eun-Ju.”
Some teased her using her name, but she didn’t seem to mind. She didn’t seem to dislike that others treated her like a princess, either.
Miran said to Eun-Ju, “Still, you have to admit the Director is handsome.”
“Looks and character are two different things. I don’t even consider a man who doesn’t treat me well to be a man. He’s just a superior. If he weren’t, he wouldn’t even be worth dealing with,” Eun-Ju retorted.
“Because no one in the world can ever violate my dignity.”
Jin-seo nodded vigorously; Eun-Ju’s argument was surprisingly persuasive.
*That’s right. Everyone has dignity, yet Ji-Heon had tossed the cookies the children made by hand—along with their card—straight into the trash.*
“You’re right. Everyone has human dignity.”
“No. Only *I* have dignity.”
Eun-Ju tilted her head haughtily. “What does anyone else matter? As long as *I* have dignity, that’s all that matters.”
*Ah. So that’s the kind of person Go Eun-Ju is. She’s cool.*
Jin-seo found himself admiring Eun-Ju’s nerve.
He was gradually grasping the personalities of his team members: Team Leader Miran Seong was thoughtful; MR. Yeong-gwang Park was quiet and diligent; Assistant Manager Go Eun-Ju was haughty and confident; and Gihun Song was bright and polite.
Yesterday, he had thought company life wouldn’t be easy, but his mindset had shifted today. It felt like he had met good team members.
The only things bothering him were Director Ji-Heon and Manager Eun-Bi Chae.
*Oh, whatever. I think I’ll just try living recklessly for once, too,* Jin-seo thought, inspired by Eun-Ju’s philosophy.
As he ate the delicious jajangmyeon, Miran approached him cautiously.
“Assistant Manager Lee.”
“Yes, Team Leader.”
“Were things serious with the Director earlier?”
Jin-seo blinked.
“Actually, I passed by earlier and saw you holding onto the Director.”
*Ah, I see.* Jin-seo felt secretly relieved.
“Well, about that…”
He explained the circumstances: the children, the cookies, and how Ji-Heon had discarded the gift without hesitation.
Miran rubbed her chin.
“I don’t want to apologize for that. I know I was rude, too, but the Director shouldn’t have done that.”
“Still, he doesn’t have such a bad reputation within the group. If you get to know him, he might be a decent boss.”
“He might be a boss, but I don’t think he can be a leader.”
“Our Assistant Manager Lee, you’ve got some spirit,” Miran replied with a smile.
Then, she lowered her voice, as if the subject was delicate.
“I don’t necessarily want to take the Director’s side, but the truth is, his situation is different from ours.”
“What situation?”
“I heard he was a victim of a hit-and-run.”
Jin-seo came to a sudden halt.
“The group seems to keep it quiet. It happened about seven years ago, and it sounds like it was quite serious back then.”
A hit-and-run? Seven years ago?
Jin-seo’s breath hitched in his throat.
“I only heard about it somehow, but they said he suffered brain damage from a traffic accident seven years ago and developed amnesia.”
“…Amnesia?” Jin-seo asked, his voice trembling.