The Woman Who Stole My Flower
Chapter 9
Chapter 9
#9.
“Sunbae-nim, is something going on today?”
Eun-jin, who had put on a full face of makeup, a nice dress, and a stylish scarf—completely unlike her usual self—whispered back.
“We’re having a team dinner with Kang Joo-heon today!”
Honestly, anyone looking at them would think they were going on a group blind date, not a company dinner…
Bewildered, Yeon-seo headed to the break room to grab her morning coffee. The powder room next door was in an even greater frenzy. Everyone had staked claim to a mirror, aggressively touching up their makeup.
“You really do live long enough to see everything. To think Kang Joo-heon is working at our company!”
One female employee said, enthusiastically patting her face with a cushion puff.
“What could have gotten into him?”
Another woman asked as she curled her eyelashes, to which the person next to her replied while winging out her eyeliner:
“He’s going through rehabilitation for his injury right now. Since he can’t play in matches, he must be thoroughly bored.”
It was absurd enough that he had asked to come into the office, but the company granting it was just as unbelievable. Yeon-seo had wondered how on earth this had happened, but the mystery was solved thanks to an insider tip.
“I overheard the department head talking on the phone with the CEO last night. In exchange for letting Kang Joo-heon come to work, he agreed to renew his contract at the exact same rate.”
“The same rate?”
Everyone gasped in shock. After winning the Champions League this year and claiming the top scorer title, Kang Joo-heon’s market value had skyrocketed to unprecedented heights at the very peak of his career. Competing brands were said to have offered multiples of his current fee eyeing the upcoming end of his endorsement deal, yet he renewed at the exact same rate.
“No wonder the department head was grinning from ear to ear.”
How much money did they save just by lending out an empty office and calling him Director a few times? For Bellator Korea, there was simply no reason to refuse.
Even after the questions were cleared up, the excitement and shock did not easily fade. To think they were working at the same company as the superstar Kang Joo-heon!
“By the way, did you see him in a suit yesterday?”
“The fit was insane, seriously.”
“Why hasn’t he come in yet today, though?”
“Apparently he trains in the morning and only comes in during the afternoon.”
Just then, an assistant manager spotted Yeon-seo hovering by the powder room and spoke with obvious disapproval.
“Manager Jung Yeon-seo, what is that outfit? It’s an important gathering today, you should’ve put some effort in.”
“Ah, yes…”
“Don’t tell me you’re skipping the company dinner today too?”
Right then, someone cut in.
“Still the same as ever, I see, Manager Jung Yeon-seo.”
The one chiming in was Manager Sung Hye-eun of the Management Support Office.
Though a manager, she was only a year older than Yeon-seo at twenty-eight. Making manager at that age meant her background was far from ordinary.
Indeed. Manager Sung Hye-eun was the only daughter of Bellator Korea’s CEO. Having grown up overseas due to her father’s career heading various multinational corporations, she was an elite talent educated at prestigious foreign universities. Universally recognized as the prettiest woman in the company, she was, in essence, the company’s princess.
Her fashion sense was equally exceptional. While everyone else had deliberately dressed to the nines, she stood out even more in a sleek, form-fitting black dress of simple design. It accentuated her best features without looking like she had tried too hard.
“Manager Jung Yeon-seo. Nobody here isn’t busy.”
Hye-eun hardened her pretty face as she lectured Yeon-seo.
“Nobody wants to attend company dinners, and everyone wants to go home early. But we endure it and show up because it’s part of work. Slipping away every single time like that, don’t you feel guilty toward everyone else?”
“I’m sorry, Manager.”
Under the sharp rebuke from a superior just one year her senior, Yeon-seo merely bowed her head. Not a single word of it was wrong.
To help out at the shop for her disabled dad, Yeon-seo always left right on the dot at clock-out time. As a rule, she avoided company dinners whenever possible. She compensated by working that much harder during office hours, and her own teammates understood her circumstances, but there was no preventing other people from looking at her with disdain.
She and Hye-eun had joined the company around the same time two years ago. Because Hye-eun was an experienced hire, she entered as an assistant manager and was promoted to manager this past summer, just a year and a half later.
Yeon-seo had never treated her casually just because they were similar in age. Their entry ranks had been different from the very beginning. Though Yeon-seo had always addressed her respectfully as Assistant Manager and Manager, for some reason, Hye-eun seemed to dislike her.
She sensed Hye-eun’s dislike, but she had never bothered to ask why. They weren’t on the same team, so their paths rarely crossed anyway, and above all, there were always people whose vibes simply didn’t match. Just as Yeon-seo had people like that in her life, she could easily be that person to someone else.
“Anyway, the department head ordered mandatory attendance today, so don’t skip out.”
At those parting words, Yeon-seo flinched in surprise. Today was clearly the Public Relations Office’s dinner, yet Hye-eun, who was in the Management Support Office, sounded as if she were attending too.
“Wait, Manager, how are you…”
Hye-eun lifted her chin and replied confidently.
“I’m attending on behalf of the CEO. As you know, he’s away on an overseas business trip.”
Even if she was his daughter, openly declaring herself the CEO’s proxy was a bit ridiculous, but Yeon-seo was hardly in a position to object.
Yeon-seo barely held back a sigh. In truth, today of all days was the day she had planned to make a run for it, but with Hye-eun outright warning her not to skip, her plan was utterly ruined.
“Yes, I understand.”
When Yeon-seo answered meekly, Hye-eun seemed to have nothing more to say; she cast one last disapproving glance before turning back to inspect herself in the mirror.
Seeing such a naturally gorgeous woman put in that much effort…
‘Is Manager Sung a fan of Kang Joo-heon too?’
Yeon-seo shook her head at the thought. Then again, it would be faster to find someone who wasn’t.
*
With Kang Joo-heon himself in attendance, security had to be taken seriously. Thus, an entire bar was rented out for the welcome dinner.
Every single person among the more than twenty members of the Public Relations Office attended without exception. The head of the Public Relations Office had ordered mandatory attendance, but even without such an order, everyone would have voluntarily shown up. After all, when else would they ever get to share drinks with Kang Joo-heon?
Some had canceled their scheduled annual leave, while others skipped ancestral memorial services. One female employee currently on maternity leave had even rushed over the moment she heard the news.
A long line of tables was set up in the center of the bar, with the Public Relations staff seated on both sides in order of rank. The star of the day, Kang Joo-heon, naturally took the seat of honor in the middle. Lacking departmental influence and outranked as an entry-level employee, Yeon-seo barely managed to take a seat at the very end. Of course, she didn’t have a single gram of complaint. After all, it was the farthest seat from Kang Joo-heon.
Her goal for tonight was simple: stay tucked away in the corner as far as possible to avoid making eye contact with Kang Joo-heon, then head home in one piece.
“Now, in welcoming our Director Kang Joo-heon, let’s all raise a glass. To Director Kang Joo-heon!”
The gathering officially kicked off with the toast from the head of PR.
“Cheers!”
After what had happened last time, she really wanted to avoid drinking, but just pretending to sip on the very first round would draw unwanted attention. Yeon-seo squeezed her eyes shut and downed the glass. As the sharp scent of soju spread through her sinuses, a wave of dizziness hit her head.
Suddenly, the head of PR clapped his hands loudly with a sharp smack, startling everyone.
“Ah, my apologies. There was a mosquito. Right around Director Kang Joo-heon of all places, tsk.”
Kang Joo-heon and mosquitoes. The combination immediately made everyone think of the same thing. Naturally, possessing basic tact, no one voiced it aloud—yet there was always a reckless wildcard in every crowd.
“Excuse me, Director Kang.”
A new recruit asked, her wide eyes sparkling brightly.
“That mark on your neck, was it really a mosquito bite?”
The room froze in collective horror. Everyone thought she had looked too innocent, that madness lurked behind those bright eyes, and now she had finally caused a massive disaster!
Surprisingly, however, Kang Joo-heon didn’t get angry.
“No, it was a person.”
Yeon-seo doubted her own ears. Has he lost his mind?
I don’t know anything. This isn’t about me. As she desperately engaged in a staring contest with her shot glass, Joo-heon’s next words struck her ears like a thunderclap.
“I was the one who begged her to leave it.”
For a split second, it felt as though the temperature inside the bar shot up by ten degrees. They had only just finished the first toast, yet all the female employees were noticeably flushed.
As for the actual culprit, Yeon-seo couldn’t even fathom it.
‘He begged for it? From me?’
She had no memory of hearing such a thing, and certainly no memory of doing it.
