Chapter 8

As Ju-shin took his seat, the atmosphere heightened.

“Who were you on the phone with just now? A lover, right?”

The eyes directed at him glistened oppressively.

“Hmm…”

“Whoa. Look at our intern, testing the waters with his seniors.”

Unresponsive to all the urging, he tilted his back as if in deep thought. Since it was a stool without a backrest, his back came into contact with Woojung, who was sitting behind him. At that, her roundly curved waist flinched and straightened tightly.

As soon as her warmth was transmitted, the dry back moved away. Thanks to Jung Woojung pulling her chair back so he could be comfortable.

How very kind of her. Pressing down on his molar with a faint smile, Ju-shin hummed hmm, ratcheting up the tension.

“None…”

“Oh!”

“I have one.”

“Huh…?”

The bettors exchanged ambiguous glances. Asking what kind of hot iced Americano kind of nonsense this was.

“I’m an intern, you see. It’s time for me to date the company.”

“Booo!”

Jeers rained down fiercely. Despite the commotion right behind her, Jung Woojung remained engrossed in mixing somaek, gripping a bottle of soju in one hand and beer in the other.

Sensing the mood and casting a cautious glance her way, Yang Soyoung figured this was her chance and asked Ju-shin which direction he lived. She added a proposal that they go together since their directions happened to be similar. She figured she could just ignore the unpleasant glares flying from all around.

Kang Jin-sung, who had been pricking up his ears, laughed as if dumbfounded.

“Dating the company, my foot. People who can’t work always have nothing but bark.”

“Hey now! Manager Kang, you’re drunk!”

At the provocative sneer, the nearby table went as cold as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on it. A startled Department Head Go tried to dissuade him, telling him to tone it down, but blinded by jealousy, Kang Jin-sung didn’t stop.

“Isn’t that right? Frankly speaking, how is draining a salary while causing harm to colleagues any different from a parasite? From the company’s perspective, it’s zero return and high risk.”

“Manager Kang Jin-sung. I said stop it.”

Department Head Go scolded him in a deliberately stern tone.

Amidst the increasingly menacing atmosphere, the condemning gazes directed at Kang Jin-sung occasionally checked Ju-shin’s reaction. Tilting his head slightly and apathetically looking at his untouched glass of soju, Ju-shin spun his body around in his seat. Facing the table he had previously turned his back on.

Reaching out an arm, he brushed past Woojung’s back as if wrapping around it and braced his hand against the table she was seated at. His gaze was directed straight at Manager Kang diagonally opposite.

Having been inevitably trapped within Ju-shin’s embrace, Woojung hunched her shoulders like a mimosa plant. Even so, the area of contact didn’t decrease. For some reason, the feeling that the more she tried to avoid him, the more she was being pressed against him was chalked up to drunken illusion.

“Your company loyalty is truly impressive, Manager. If Chairman Kim knew, he’d be delighted.”

Speaking casually and withdrawing his gaze, Ju-shin admired the crown of the woman trapped against him. Jung Woojung, who was now much smaller than him, still smelled of sweet scents. Was it a vanilla fragrance? It also felt a bit like a sweet, sugary floral aroma.

Watching that scene, Ha Yun-sang’s brow narrowed imperceptibly. He felt that the emotion reflected in those eyes was far too impure to be the gaze of a junior looking at a senior.

Sensing the sharp gaze, Ju-shin subtly met his eyes and lowered his chin a fraction. As if he was about to press his lips against the woman’s hair at any second.

Whether he noticed or not, Kang Jin-sung, genuinely dumbfounded, twisted his face into a fierce scowl.

“Chairman Kim? The Chairman is your friend?”

“Oh, hardly. Unless he’s my dad.”

“Whoa… what on earth is this guy?”

A hair-trigger moment. Jung Woojung abruptly shoved herself up from her seat.

Having exceeded her alcohol limit and with her intoxication reaching its peak, her body lost its balance and swayed violently. As if waiting for that very moment, Ju-shin naturally pulled her slender waist into an embrace. You need to be careful, grab onto me. He added the customary pretext.

Naturally resting her hands on his shoulders, Woojung giggled, as though tickled on the gripped waist, and pried off his long fingers one by one. For some reason, her muttering of oh dear, as if annoyed by the sucker-like fingers that clung no matter how many times she pried them off, lasted only for a moment. Remembering why she had gotten up, she abruptly lifted her head.

Soon after, a slurred, cheerful voice cut through the air.

“YO!”

……What on earth is this again?

Her busily moving hand jammed a spoon into an empty soju bottle to make a microphone. Naturally, the nearby attention, as well as the gazes from the distant tables where people had been noisily exchanging drinks, turned toward Jung Woojung.

Cheers and applause burst out immediately. As if trying to live up to the enthusiastic response, her small shoulders began to sway and ride the rhythm.

“My, name, is, Jung, Woo, Jung, even backwards, it’s, Jung, Woo, Jung!”

“……”

……My goodness. How wonderfully versatile she is.

Ju-shin pressed the bridge of his nose with his knuckles, as if he couldn’t bear to watch. Judging by the atmosphere, this wasn’t the first time Jung Woojung had pulled such a stunt.

“Say Jung Woojung!”

When Woojung shouted vigorously and passed the microphone forward, the employees who had become her audience chanted “Jung Woojung” and willingly joined in on her antics.

Having hyped up the atmosphere to the max and finishing with a shout of Thank you, thank you!, Jung Woojung cackled and flopped back down. Then, leaning her head sideways to secretly make eye contact, she scrunched up the bridge of her nose. Must be a victory celebration for defeating Manager Kang.

That little stunt just now was surely her own way of trying to break the desolate atmosphere. To think she’d step up to protect him even while utterly wasted.

It’s truly tear-jerking. Back then and now alike.

With her performance as the finale, the company dinner came to an end. When a group left saying they were heading to a second round, only a few remained, waiting for taxis or designated drivers.

“Shall we be on our way, too?”

Yang Soyoung, who had been guarding Kim Ju-shin’s side, cautiously asked. Since it was supposedly spring, the night air was quite chilly, causing her open-toed high heels to tap restlessly against the paving stones.

As he occasionally did, there was no answer from him. He merely kept his head turned this way and that, as if looking for something. It was a natural indifference, as though he hadn’t heard a thing. Soyoung waited quietly. She couldn’t afford to miss the chance to go along with him.

“Oh my… Officer Jung! Jung Woojung!”

Just then, Department Head Go called out as she walked toward the restaurant entrance.

There stood Jung Woojung, swaying and being supported by Ha Yun-sang. Her eyes were half-closed, and a man’s jacket was draped over her shoulders.

Gazing quietly at Woojung, who had lost her wits and let her body go limp, Ju-shin slightly pulled down his tie. A hint of annoyance faintly surfaced on his expressionless face.

“Say… Jung… Woojung…”

“Our Jung Woojung is drunk. Woojung-ssi! Can you make it back alone?”

“I’m planning to take her home. I’ve been there a few times so I think I can find it.”

Department Head Go, who had been worried, beamed at Ha Yun-sang’s offer. Proclaiming him once again to be the light and hope of the PR team.

Yang Soyoung, watching from a step behind, tilted her head. It must have been her imagination, but she felt like she had heard a low curse word dropped right above her head. Even though there was no one next to her except Kim Ju-shin.

In front of the restaurant where everyone who was leaving had already departed, the wind was exceptionally biting. It even felt as though a chill was radiating from somewhere. It was right at that moment.

“No.”

Simultaneously with the indifferent voice, Woojung swayed heavily. Her arm was grabbed by a large hand, and her body, freed from Yun-sang, darted toward the side of Ju-shin, the source of the force. Pulling her right in front of him, Ju-shin stripped the jacket draped over her shoulders and handed it right back to Yun-sang. His action was as swift and streamlined as clearing away something filthy.

“I should do it. She’s my senior.”

Ju-shin folded the corners of his long eyes into a bright smile. Before she knew it, Ju-shin’s jacket was draped over Woojung’s shoulders.

Department Head Go, who had been anxiously looking back and forth between the two men engaged in a strange battle of nerves with a troubled expression, stepped in to sort things out.

“Yes, yes! Best of all, a junior is the best! The intern should see her home.”

“Oh! Then what about me!”

Yang Soyoung, left all alone amidst the PR team cluster, approached with a tearful expression. If she had known this would happen, she should have just chugged drinks to her heart’s content.

Soyoung, who had been dreaming of a modest public-transit date, looked up at Ju-shin with resentful eyes. He cast his gaze toward the building entrance and spoke.

“Manager Kang. Could I ask a favor of you?”

Kang Jin-sung, who had gone to the restroom and just returned a moment ago, wore a bewildered look.

“U-uh? Huh? Uh… well… As for me, I, it’s good—no, it’s fine. It’s possible.”

Yang Soyoung, turning pale as a sheet, couldn’t even bring herself to refuse. Since she had been complaining up until now, she couldn’t immediately show a displeased expression just because the person escorting her had changed.

Stating that he would be going ahead now, Ju-shin readjusted the jacket draped over Woojung’s shoulders and gave a single wink to Kang Jin-sung, who still wore a blank expression. Whether that wink served as a signal or not, the corners of Kang Jin-sung’s mouth twitched noticeably.

A beautiful night with a tingling rising intoxication and a blowing spring breeze.

Walking side by side with Yang Soyoung, Kang Jin-sung thought to himself. Kim Ju-shin might actually be a much more decent guy than he’d thought.