Chapter 24

The elevator heading toward the parking garage was awash in swirling darkness.

Ding. You have arrived at Basement Level 3.

At the arrival chime, the dress shoes stepped out of the elevator, only to stop a few paces later. A moment later, the head tilted at an angle as the man gazed up at the ceiling. His expression might have seemed gentle at first glance, but his sharp eyes were honed like a freshly sharpened blade.

“She’s having the time of her life.”

Should he offer up some rice as an offering to the gods? Maybe then that clueless little puppy would develop a better eye for people.

Jung Woojung had been grinning from ear to ear, humming to herself. A date, my ass. There was no way Ha Yun-sang was serious about her. Unless he was trying to show that insolent intern who held the upper hand.

Tsk. Ju-shin clicked his tongue and was about to resume walking when he heard a voice.

“PR Team? The skinny, fair-skinned girl?”

PR Team. The skinny, fair-skinned girl.

His indifferent gaze followed the voice. Two men carrying briefcases were heading toward a car.

“Her hiring year and job title match the clues perfectly. Whoever posted it must’ve really meant to cause trouble. Judging by the content alone, it could get her hauled before HR.”

“They say you can’t judge a person by their appearance. Scary stuff.”

“Why? She has that bright, smiling face, sure, but doesn’t she look a little sexy?”

The man chuckled as he pulled out his phone, searched for something, and showed it to his companion.

“Doesn’t she look like her? She’s a popular AV actress in Japan right now. Her figure’s nothing special, but her facial features are practically identical. Even her physiognomy matches. They say a mole near the eye is a gisaeng mole¹ too…”

His careless voice trailed off. As he rounded the hood toward the passenger seat, he’d spotted a large figure standing motionless just a short distance away, and the words caught in his throat. His companion rummaged through his pockets, claimed he’d left his keys at the office, and headed back.

The parking garage floor was soaked with water marks left by cars coming in from outside. Perhaps that was what made the atmosphere so ominous, sending a chill down his spine.

The man tried to act nonchalant and ignore the figure, but eventually he stole a glance at Ju-shin, who hadn’t moved an inch. His look seemed to ask whether Ju-shin wanted something.

Ju-shin withdrew his gaze from the man’s employee ID and smiled sweetly.

The man had checked Ju-shin’s ID as well, and his face clearly showed his displeasure. With such a youthful face, Ju-shin looked like a fresh graduate at best.

Even so, the gentle pressure Ju-shin applied with that smiling face was enough to intimidate him. All the man could do was try not to look cowed, silently cursing the colleague who’d abandoned him to go fetch the keys.

Ju-shin watched him as he nervously shifted his gaze from side to side, then strode right up to him. He asked in an utterly casual tone, “You’re talking about the company community board, right? The post says it’s Jung Woojung from the PR Team?”

“Y-yes? Ah… well, I think that’s what it said.”

“You think, huh?”

The contrast between Ju-shin’s fresh, sunny smile and his cold, condescending gaze was downright eerie.

“By the way…” He tilted his head slightly and spoke slowly. “When did you see the mole near Jung Woojung’s eye?”

The unexpected question caught the man off guard.

“Huh…? No, I mean… it’s, uh, it’s visible, so…”

“Wow. You must have incredible eyesight.”

His voice was light, but the chilling smile beneath it was anything but.

It was icy. Was this how a rabbit felt when cornered by a predator without even understanding why? Then, all at once, a post on the company community board flashed through his mind. The scandalous rumor about Miss A that had set the entire company buzzing that day. The unfortunate intern entangled in that sordid affair… Could this man be him?

Once he thought of it that way, Ju-shin’s behavior suddenly made sense. Honestly, that reckless mouth of his was always the problem.

The man gave an awkward cough and fidgeted, then finally fled the scene as though running for his life.

Left alone, Ju-shin ran a hand over his eyebrow out of habit.

His gaze tilted to one side as he stared at a car that presumably belonged to one of the two men.

“Flies keep gathering. What a nuisance.”

He unfolded the neatly folded side mirror, then slipped his hand into his trouser pocket. He lifted one foot slightly and smashed it in a single blow.

At the same instant, BEEEEEP! BEEEEEP! A piercing alarm reverberated off the walls of the parking garage.

Having finished what he’d come to do, Ju-shin leaned languidly against the car and lowered his eyelids.

“What can I do? Guess I’ll have to do some damn serious pest control myself.”

A faint smile lingered at the corners of his lips as he murmured the words under his breath.

Before long, the two men returned, and only then did the alarm finally stop. When the car’s owner hurried over in alarm, Ju-shin spread his palms in a gesture of surrender.

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

His face broke into a bright smile, not a trace of remorse in sight.

“My foot slipped.”

How could anyone’s foot slip in such a way as to break a side mirror? At a loss for words, the owner braced a hand against the hood and lamented his misfortune.

This was definitely a curse.

The curse of a rainy Monday.

Soft white lighting filled the interior as upbeat jazz played in the background. The traditional Korean tavern, distinguished by its interior converted from a detached house, was packed with people looking to enjoy makgeolli (Korean rice wine).

It was a Monday evening, and even the hum of conversation blending into the white noise had its own charm. Thanks to Ha Yun-sang’s thoughtfulness, Woojung had secured a window seat and was watching the rain pour down outside.

“That stain isn’t coming out.”

“Right? I should’ve grabbed him by the collar.”

Woojung glanced down at the grapefruit-colored stain spreading across the side of her pristine white blouse and laughed it off as though it were nothing.

It had happened about five minutes before the end of the workday. A flying clipboard had knocked over her grapefruit ade, sending the drink spilling all over her. The culprit was Kim Ju-shin.

That guy had the strangest streak of mischief. He’d been hanging around instead of going home today, for some reason. Had he left work yet? …Did he even have an umbrella? Well, he had a car, so he should be fine.

Her thoughts continued to spiral when a crisp tap-tap against the table snapped her out of them.

“What are you thinking about so hard? You’re going to hurt the feelings of the person who invited you to dinner.”

“Ah! I’m sorry! No, I just… the atmosphere is so lovely… Haha.”

Woojung immediately apologized at Yun-sang’s playful scolding, then patted both cheeks with her hands.

This was the moment she’d dreamed of and eagerly awaited for so long. Why on earth was her mind wandering off somewhere else?

Yun-sang smiled good-naturedly and told her it was fine, then naturally steered the conversation. They exchanged ordinary questions and answers. His kind, easygoing personality, which put people at ease, was one of the reasons Woojung liked him.

Perhaps he’d arranged this meal out of consideration for her, since she’d felt guilty about the rose incident. Someone as thoughtful as him would absolutely do something like that. Thinking about it that way made her feel a little embarrassed for getting carried away and assuming it was a date.

Soon, a mouthwatering plate of buchujeon (Korean chive pancake) and an expensive-looking bottle of makgeolli she’d never seen before were set on the table.

Wow! She was just about to take a picture when the phone in her hand vibrated briefly. The sender was Kim Ju-shin.

[Hiking club?]

A laugh escaped between Woojung’s teeth as she read the message.

When he’d asked what she was having for dinner and she’d told him she was going out for pancakes and makgeolli, he’d somehow connected that to a hiking club. Her phone vibrated again, and again, at such short intervals that she could’ve mistaken it for an incoming call.

Bzzzt,

[Spend some money for once]

Bzzzt,

[Getting a free ride, huh]

Bzzzt,

[Now I see why he’s bald]

Bzzzt,

[RUN AWAY]

Bzzzt,

Then came an emoticon of a dog sprinting at full speed, sweating profusely.

Woojung clamped a fist over her mouth and barely managed to suppress the laughter threatening to burst out, but she couldn’t hide the lingering traces of it. Clenching her teeth, she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, then opened them and shook her head slightly as she set down her phone. She’d become conscious of Ha Yun-sang watching her intently.

“Have you been here before, Assistant Manager? The food is amazing, and the atmosphere is so nice.”

“This is my first time. I looked the place up because I wanted to come here with you, PR Officer Jung.”

Her heart should’ve swelled with joy. She should’ve been thrilled. That was how she was supposed to feel.

If only the phone she’d turned facedown on the table would stop vibrating so persistently.

Somehow, the mood had turned strange. An awkward silence settled over the table, and the vibrations continued intermittently all the while.

Woojung nervously chewed on her lip, gauged his reaction, then lifted her glass toward him.

“Honestly, you’re the only one who looks out for me, Assistant Manager. No one else takes care of PR Officer Ju—”

“Is it Kim Ju-shin?”

Ha Yun-sang asked casually, his eyes fixed on the phone lying facedown on the table. Woojung looked slightly bewildered and could only nod instead of answering.

His low voice sounded so unfamiliar that she almost wondered whether it belonged to someone else. Perhaps he’d noticed her thinking that, because Yun-sang soon smiled and continued.

“I was just wondering if he’s bothering his senior too much outside working hours.”

“Ah… haha. I wouldn’t say he’s bothering me, exactly…”

“Want me to talk to him?”

“Oh, no! It’s really not that much of a bother.”

“Good. Then that’s a relief,” he added quietly before smoothly changing the subject. The phone stopped vibrating.

And that was when her attention really started to wander.

The moment Woojung realized she was focusing more on the phone’s vibrations than on Ha Yun-sang’s voice, she wanted to bring this long-awaited evening to an end and go home. She was dying to see the pile of messages that must have accumulated.

She looked at the bottle of makgeolli. Half of it was still left.

Half.

And considering the bizarre desire she’d developed to hurry back to work already, she must have gotten drunk on something…

“……”

It certainly wasn’t alcohol.