Chapter 9
- You Spoke Informally to Me 2021.05.29.
As noon approached, Jeong Ji-heon froze when a woman suddenly appeared as if from the sky and grabbed his wrist. He completely forgot what he had been doing. His body felt strange. His mood was strange. A name as hot as midday. A woman with a name that made his blood boil. Lee Jung-o. It was her again. She had a provocative yet resigned look in her eyes, as if she had lived somewhere in his dreams. That was all.
“How could you throw that away?”
She was just resenting him, but the mere fact that she was in front of him made Ji-heon want to pull her close, regardless of the place. He wanted to pull at the front of her blouse, to undo the neatly fastened buttons. He wanted to see the hidden curves. He wanted to touch the white skin inside her sleeves. He wanted to swallow it all. That shallow breath she was letting out. Was he crazy? Was he really going crazy? It was a bizarre impulse he had never felt before. It must be all because of that damn dream. Ji-heon resisted the strange feeling and twisted his arm to pull his hand out of her grip. He didn't know why he was moving so slowly when he could have shaken her off roughly. He turned his hand deftly and grabbed her slender wrist, just as she had done. He easily reversed the situation. He was intrigued by her flustered look. What next? He looked down at her, as if exploring her, and said,
“Let’s talk it over?”
What are you going to do now?
“Uh, uh, uh!”
At that moment, the elevator doors opened and a man shouted. It was Ji-heon's friend, Park Seung-gyu, the head of the HR department. Seung-gyu, who had witnessed the shocking scene as soon as he got off the elevator, couldn't speak right away. He just gaped, pointing at the two of them. His friend was holding the wrist of a newly hired female employee. The director of the company. The head of the division.
“Director! What are you doing here!”
Finally regaining his senses, he shouted loudly, and Ji-heon let go of Jeong-o's hand. Why were the two of them doing that? Just yesterday, Ji-heon had told him about Assistant Manager Lee Jung-o. That she looked pale. Seung-gyu had laughed it off and jokingly asked if she was pretty, but he hadn't really meant it. But this was a situation he couldn't laugh off. What should he do now? Interrogate Jeong Ji-heon? Ask Assistant Manager Lee what was going on?
“Assistant Manager Lee!”
Seung-gyu put on a bright expression and took a step towards Jeong-o.
“I was on my way to find you, Assistant Manager. There was something I didn't get to tell you earlier.”
Seung-gyu gave Ji-heon a quick wink and quickly led Jeong-o away. Seung-gyu led Jeong-o to a quiet conference room, carefully closed the door, and asked seriously.
“Can I ask if anything happened?”
“……”
“You can tell me the truth.”
Jeong-o, who had been hesitant to speak, quietly spoke up.
“The children who came to the company today… The director received gifts from them, but he threw them away as soon as the children left.”
Oh, my God… Seung-gyu rubbed his forehead.
“So I grabbed his wrist to tell him not to…….”
“But instead, you got grabbed.”
“Yes.”
“He did something wrong.”
“Yes… Yes?”
“What a terrible guy.”
Jeong-o looked blank as Seung-gyu cursed at Ji-heon. Seung-gyu felt a little relieved that she seemed like a decent person.
“I’ll make the director apologize to you.”
“He doesn’t have to apologize to me. It’s something he should be sorry to the children for… And when I think about it, it was also my meddling.”
She really was a decent person. Seung-gyu felt sorry for her as she lowered her head, looking embarrassed as if she thought she had interfered unnecessarily. Influenced by her kind heart, Seung-gyu added a superfluous remark.
“Assistant Manager, this is a bit personal, but actually, Jeong Ji-heon and I have been friends for 16 years. Although our wonderful director doesn't even remember properly.”
“……”
“So I can say some harsh things to him. I have the guts to do that. At least for now.”
Jeong-o raised her head, which had been lowered deeply. If they had been friends for 16 years, he would know Jeong Ji-heon from 7 years ago too.
‘Then could he know me too?’
But she couldn't read any sign of recognition in Park Seung-gyu's eyes. And the question he had asked earlier. Jeong Ji-heon had never told even his close friend about Jeong-o.
“If Jeong Ji-heon, no, if Director Jeong does anything weird again, come find me. I'll file a complaint on your behalf. Definitely.”
Jeong-o nodded slowly. A lump of sorrowful stone seemed to be pressing down on her chest.
“But it looks like you're going to lunch early today?”
Ah, that's right! Black bean noodles! Only then did Jeong-o remember her forgotten mission.
“Then I'll be going!”
Jeong-o quickly said goodbye and left. After Jeong-o left, Seung-gyu also left the conference room and hurried to Ji-heon's office. Fortunately, Ji-heon was in his office.
“Hey! You scared the crap out of me!”
Seung-gyu shouted as soon as he saw Ji-heon.
“You're going to get into big trouble if you keep doing that. How can you grab a female employee's wrist? Even if you're caught, even if you're tied up, you can't grab an employee's wrist.”
“That woman.”
“Not 'that woman,' but Assistant Manager Lee Jung-o! Watch your words.”
Seung-gyu kept raising his voice because it seemed like his friend still didn't understand.
“She spoke informally to me.”
“……You grabbed her wrist because she spoke informally to you?”
Ugh, this crazy guy. Should he be relieved that Assistant Manager Lee didn't seem to have any ill intentions? A crazy guy met a woman who was just as crazy. It felt a little satisfying.
* Jeong-o rushed to the Chinese restaurant that Team Leader Seong Mi-ran had mentioned. She was supposed to be there by 11:50, but it was 11:53. The restaurant was already packed with people. Then someone called out to Jeong-o.
“Assistant Manager Lee Jung-o. Over here.”
Song Gi-hun, a member of the same team, waved his hand with a bright expression. Jeong-o walked in the direction Gi-hoon was gesturing. She followed the restaurant hallway and found a room with a table set for five people.
“How is Gi-hoon here?”
“The team leader told me to come too. I went down the stairs to move secretly.”
Our team leader is serious about black bean noodles! She was embarrassed because she didn't seem to have completed her mission properly, but Mi-ran's obsession with black bean noodles saved Jeong-o.
“Ah, that's a relief!”
Jeong-o sat down and patted her chest.
“Oh? You came wearing white, Assistant Manager.”
Gi-hoon, who had been quietly looking at Jeong-o, got up again and brought an apron from somewhere and handed it to her.
“Everyone else is wearing black today. To come here.”
“Ah.”
“Every second Wednesday of the month is black. Please remember that, Assistant Manager.”
As Jeong-o put the apron around her neck, the other team members arrived. As Gi-hoon had said, everyone except her was wearing black.
“Team Leader, didn't you tell Assistant Manager Lee about the dress code?”
Gi-hoon asked Mi-ran.
“I was going to go somewhere else if Assistant Manager Lee said she didn't like black bean noodles.”
There was sincerity in her voice. Mi-ran sat down and asked Jeong-o.
“Assistant Manager Lee, did something happen with Director Jeong Ji-heon? I thought I saw you talking in front of the elevator earlier.”
Mi-ran said it as if she had only seen it in passing, but in fact, she had watched almost the entire scene. She had seen it through the glass door as she passed by the hallway. Jeong-o grabbed Ji-heon's wrist, then Ji-heon grabbed Jeong-o's wrist, and then Park Seung-gyu from the HR team took Jeong-o away. She had a feeling that something had gone wrong, so she quickly sent Gi-hoon to the Chinese restaurant first.
“No, it was just… a slight disagreement about trash. You don't have to worry about it.”
“Why? Does he just throw trash around carelessly?”
Go Eun-ju, the assistant manager who had been looking at her face in a hand mirror, turned her head and asked. Jeong-o couldn't answer clearly and nodded awkwardly.
“I had a feeling he would.”
Eun-ju snorted.
“He just looked so annoying.”
Jeong Ji-heon looked annoying? She could say he looked annoying right away, even after seeing his handsome face? Jeong-o's eyes widened, intrigued by Eun-ju's reaction. Go Eun-ju, whom she had observed for a full day, was a person with high self-esteem. Others called Go Eun-ju "Princess Assistant Manager." Some seemed to be making fun of her name, but Go Eun-ju didn't seem to dislike this attention. She didn't seem to dislike the fact that others treated her like a princess either. Mi-ran said to Eun-ju.
“Still, the director is handsome, isn't he?”
“Looks and personality are separate. I don't even think of a man who doesn't treat me well as a man. He's just a boss. If he wasn't my boss, he wouldn't even be worth dealing with.”
Eun-ju refuted Mi-ran's opinion mercilessly.
“Because no one in the world can harm my dignity.”
Jeong-o nodded her head vigorously because Eun-ju's argument was somehow persuasive. That's right. Everyone is dignified, but Jeong Ji-heon had thrown away the cookies that the children had made by hand, the gifts that even had cards in them, without even opening them.
“That's right. All humans are dignified.”
“No. Only I am dignified.”
But Eun-ju refuted Jeong-o's agreement. Eun-ju tilted her head haughtily and said,
“Why does anyone else matter besides me? Only I need to be dignified.”
Ah. Assistant Manager Go Eun-ju is this kind of person. Cool. Why is she so cool? Jeong-o was impressed by Eun-ju's audacity. The other team members also laughed cheerfully at Eun-ju's words. Eun-ju, however, maintained her aloof expression. She was gradually grasping the tendencies of her team members. Team Leader Seong Mi-ran is a thoughtful and responsible person, Chief Park Young-gwang is a man of few words and diligent, Assistant Manager Go Eun-ju is haughty, picky, and confident, and Song Gi-hoon is bright, kind, and polite. Yesterday, she thought company life wouldn't be easy, but today her mindset has changed a lot. It seemed like she had met good team members. Enough to look forward to future collaborations. The only ones that bothered her were Director Jeong Ji-heon and Manager Chae Eun-bi.
‘Ah, whatever, whatever. I'm just going to live recklessly too.’
Jeong-o, influenced by Assistant Manager Go Eun-ju's argument, thought to herself. The jjajangmyeon was so delicious that Team Leader Seong Mi-ran and her team members matched their dress code and risked their lives for it. Now that she knew about the delicious restaurant, Jeong-o was even less willing to quit the company. Mi-ran approached Jeong-o and spoke cautiously.
“Assistant Manager Lee.”
“Yes, Team Leader.”
“Was it serious with the director?”
Jeong-o blinked. She couldn't answer rashly because she didn't know what kind of seriousness she was asking about, or exactly what the question was.
“Actually, I saw you earlier when I was passing by. Assistant Manager Lee grabbing the director.”
Ah. Jeong-o secretly felt relieved.
“No, that's…”
Jeong-o explained the whole story to Mi-ran. Ji-heon seeing off the children who came for the tour, the children's teacher giving Ji-heon a cookie gift, and Ji-heon throwing away the gift without hesitation as soon as the children left. Mi-ran stroked her chin as if she was worried with her.
“I don't want to apologize for that. Of course, I was rude too, but the director shouldn't have done that.”
“Still, his reputation isn't that bad in the group. He might be a good boss if you get to know him.”
“He might be a boss, but I don't think he can be a leader.”
“Our Assistant Manager Lee has quite the personality.”
Mi-ran laughed and replied in a tone that wasn't exactly unpleasant. And she said in a more serious voice. As if it was a sensitive topic.
“I don't want to take the director's side, but the truth is, he's in a different situation than us.”
“What situation?”
“He was in a hit-and-run accident.”
Jeong-o's steps, which had been walking down the hallway, suddenly stopped. Mi-ran also stood still and continued.
“The group seems to be keeping it quiet. It's a story from about seven years ago, but it seems like it was pretty serious back then.”
A hit-and-run accident? Seven years ago? As if she had been in an accident, Jeong-o suddenly felt breathless.
“I somehow heard that he suffered brain damage in a car accident seven years ago and developed amnesia.”
“...Amnesia?”
Jeong-o asked in a trembling voice.
