Chapter 17

“Things are getting wild right from the start.”

Manager Kang burst into laughter when he spotted a bright yellow daycare van. The others coming out of the station followed suit. Assistant Manager Choi, who was into photography, diligently snapped pictures to document the occasion.

Department Head Go, who had been waiting in front of the station, rolled down the window all the way and beckoned them over.

“Jaeyang kids! Welcome to the land of apples!”

Even as they climbed into the van one by one and exchanged greetings, another round of chaotic laughter erupted.

A straw hat. A checkered shirt. Elastic-waist pants with a faded logo. Wet three-stripe slippers. Go Ja-young, the very embodiment of a sophisticated city woman, had shown up in a yellow minivan instead of her usual sedan, dressed like a friendly neighborhood big sister. It was enough to set off the entire team’s laughter.

“Who’s the student?”

Kang Jin-sung, who had been clutching his stomach from laughing so hard, spotted a middle school girl in the passenger seat and asked. The girl knew he was talking to her, but she said nothing, merely re-rolling the pink hair curler wrapped around her bangs.

“My niece. Say hello, Jeon Ju-yeon.”

Department Head Go’s niece apparently suffered from an extreme case of middle school syndrome. As if she couldn’t be bothered to do more, Ju-yeon tilted her head toward the seats behind her in a halfhearted greeting. Then her eyes widened, and she twisted her shoulders around. Her gleaming eyes landed squarely on Kim Ju-shin.

“Whoa. He’s freaking hot.”

“Freaking?”

Choi Sookyeong answered Kang Jin-sung’s question. Apparently, kids these days used “freaking” as an intensifier in place of the usual Korean slang equivalent of “damn.”

The person in question, however, couldn’t have cared less. He was merely pretending to help Jung Woojung, who was struggling to open the window, while actually holding it in place to keep it shut. “That’s strange,” he remarked with feigned innocence, playing along.

He seemed to find the whole act quite amusing. The corners of his lips remained tilted upward in a crooked grin. His childishness was perfectly suited to the original passengers of the yellow minivan.

“Ugh!”

Trapped by Kim Ju-shin’s arm as he leaned against the window, Woojung struggled with all her might. Maybe they’d fastened the windows shut because the van was meant for children. She entertained such an innocent theory as she fought to open it.

Kang Jin-sung didn’t miss a thing. He made a fuss, urging everyone to look.

“If that isn’t romance, then what is? A literal middle schooler just bestowed the title of ‘freaking hot’ on him, and he isn’t even listening! Right, Assistant Manager Ha?”

Ha Yun-sang, who had been sitting by the window in the row ahead, suddenly twisted his body around and pressed his knees against the seat. He reached back and placed his hand over Woojung’s, pulling the window open for her. At the same time, Ju-shin loosened his grip, and the window slid open smoothly.

“Who knows? I think the intern is just being a little mischievous.”

His voice was as calm as ever, but a trace of irritation showed on his face. Woojung beamed at him, saying that her dear assistant manager could do anything, and he returned her smile. But the moment his eyes met Ju-shin’s, his brows drew together in an unmistakable frown.

Woojung’s hair fluttered in the breeze, tangling around Ju-shin’s long fingers and twisting into little coils. Maintaining eye contact with Yun-sang, Ju-shin leisurely twirled his fingers. Then he flashed a grin and tipped his chin toward him, as if to say, If you’re done here, get lost.

Watching the scene unfold in the rearview mirror, Department Head Go let out a sly smile. Thirteen years in the workplace had sharpened her instincts, and her radar had never failed her.

It was one thing for Ha Yun-sang, the sweetheart who was kind to everyone, to look after his junior. That was practically routine. But what about a fourth-week intern picking a fight with a senior colleague who had been in the company for ages, all over a junior employee? There was nothing ordinary about that.

She’d expected as much, but now that she was seeing it with her own eyes, he was practically marking his territory in broad daylight. And the one on the receiving end didn’t even seem to realize he was being marked.

Grinning mischievously as she looked forward to a youthful office romance between an officer and an intern, Ja-young turned the steering wheel and briefed them on the work they had ahead over the next two days.

“First, we’ll have lunch.”

Unclogging blocked drainage pipes. Patching cracked concrete around the outdoor faucet. Applying waterproof paint to the rooftop. Taking down the bare light bulbs that had been hanging there since winter.

When she reached that point in the list, Yun-sang confidently spoke up. He said that since he came from the countryside, he’d handled just about every kind of household maintenance there was. Wasn’t it amazing how he’d turned out to be such a valuable asset here, too? He shrugged proudly.

His loyal follower, Jung Woojung, grabbed the headrest of the seat in front of her and kept exclaiming, “Wow! Wow!”

Ju-shin watched her with a look of disdain, as if she were too pathetic for words. She was practically over the moon, blissfully unaware that she was a fish being managed by someone else.

He turned his head toward the opposite side.

Sensing an uncomfortable mood creeping toward her from right beside her, Woojung glanced sideways. What’s his problem? she whispered under her breath, but her voice was drowned out by the engine as the van went over a speed bump.

Department Head Go continued explaining the next day’s schedule. They would head to the orchard early in the morning to prune the branches and pollinate the apple blossoms.

At that, Manager Kang, who had been quiet until then, clicked his tongue and launched into a joking complaint.

“Wow. Department Head Go, you’re kind of scary.”

“Hehe. Thanks for the compliment.”

By then, the yellow minivan had reached the entrance to the village and stopped in front of a house with a blue roof. It was an impressive home with a spacious yard and a magnificent old tree.

Starting with the front row, everyone got out in turn, stretching their limbs and complimenting the house. Woojung was the last to set foot on the ground, and it was her turn to do the same. But just as she was about to stride forward, something tugged on her bag, making her falter.

It was obviously Kim Ju-shin.

She hadn’t even turned around to ask what he wanted this time when his lips suddenly descended toward her ear. The timing was so close that, had he moved just a little faster, their lips might have touched.

What’s with him lately…?

What’s with him…?

“Officer Jung.”

Distracted for a moment by the strange flutter in her chest, Woojung jolted one shoulder at the low voice ringing in her ear. His warm breath brushed against her delicate skin, tickling her enough to make her eyes crease instinctively.

“Look over there.”

Moistening his increasingly dry lips with a subtle swipe of his tongue, he pointed in a direction. She followed his gaze.

“What is it?” she asked lightly, deliberately acting as though nothing was wrong.

At the end of his gaze stood Ha Yun-sang, his back turned toward them.

Woojung could hardly move. She only blinked, and then his pleasingly deep voice rose a little in volume as he whispered.

“Looks like Assistant Manager Ha’s going bald.”

It was ridiculous how he was whispering so secretively about something that was apparently obvious from the amount of scalp showing through the top of Yun-sang’s head. The corners of Woojung’s lips twitched before she finally burst out laughing. She wanted to protest that there was no way their beloved assistant manager could be going bald, but she couldn’t even find the chance to do so.

Even as she wheezed until her lungs hurt, Kim Ju-shin kept nudging her with his elbow, adding, “Could he actually be bald?”

Jung Woojung was practically on the verge of suffocating from laughter.

Maybe it was the clear, sunny weather. Maybe it was the excitement of being on a trip. Whatever the reason, Woojung’s laughter refused to die down, just like a high school girl giggling hysterically over a tumbling leaf.

The others, standing a few steps away, watched the officer and intern fooling around in a daze.

Manager Kang kept insisting that everyone look at them. First Kim Ju-shin had nearly laughed himself to death on the train, and now Jung Woojung was acting like this. They had to get to the bottom of the truth!

Department Head Go told him to just pretend he hadn’t noticed.

Assistant Manager Choi Sookyeong, who was taking pictures of the scene, was brimming with enthusiasm. The moment they returned to Seoul, she was going to set up a blind date for herself.

The only one who looked unhappy was Ha Yun-sang, who had suddenly found himself designated as a potential balding man. His stiff expression made his displeasure painfully obvious, like someone who had just had something that belonged to him stolen away.

And the group watching the two of them wasn’t limited to the Hurrah, Farming Volunteer Corps.

There were also three middle school girls wearing the same uniform as Department Head Go’s niece, Jeon Ju-yeon.

The moment Ju-yeon uploaded a secretly taken photo of Ju-shin to their group chat, her friends from the neighborhood had rushed over.

Woojung spotted the girls standing in a row, staring at the freaking hot oppa and barely managed to contain her laughter before giving Ju-shin a pointed look.

“Give them a greeting. They’re cute.”

Only then did his gaze finally break away from Woojung, whom he’d been staring at the entire time. His expression turned so blank that it was hard to believe he’d been laughing at all just moments ago. When he turned toward the girls, the middle schoolers clasped their hands politely in front of their chests and swallowed nervously.

His eyes lingered on them for a moment.

“Hi.”

Kyaaaah! Oh my God, oh my God!

Their reaction to a single greeting sounded like a flock of pterosaurs screeching.

As the girls shoved each other’s shoulders and made a huge fuss, Department Head Go stuck her fingers into her ears and let out a groan. Those little brats had completely lost their minds, she complained.

Kim Ju-shin, the eye of the storm, remained unfazed. He merely gave Woojung’s bag a little tug before lowering his head at an angle.

There. Happy now? his gesture seemed to ask.

Woojung scratched the back of her neck, looking bewildered. Was he always this obedient? It felt strangely unfamiliar. Then she let out a soft, breathy laugh and gave him a thumbs-up. She rather liked the feeling of being some almighty figure who could control an idol the girls were going crazy over.

Ju-shin took off his cap and slowly ran a hand through his hair.

His throat was parched.

Looking at the woman smiling so innocently beneath the spring sunshine made an intense thirst surge through him. It was a desire far more ferocious than anything he’d felt the last time.

Something savage and impure, something that wouldn’t be satisfied until he pulled her into his arms and took her into his mouth, tasting and sucking her until he could have his fill.

He couldn’t put a name to the reason for this ravenous hunger.

There was no need to rush.

He could keep her by his side and take his time.

He had all the time in the world to figure her out, little by little.