APOS 06

Chapter 06

The sarcastic tone was so blatant that an insult rose to the tip of her tongue, but she pressed her lips together as hard as she could and swallowed it down.

How could that man make even the way he spoke so irritating?

She had never done anything to harm Manager Choi, and since she was also higher in rank, she had always been polite despite having many things she disliked about him.

Even so, he never stopped looking down on people and making them uncomfortable.

“Unlike some people….”

Seobin was briefly surprised that the words had slipped out of her mouth without her realizing it, but soon her thoughts returned to Kanghyun.

He had responded like a gentleman even after she had done something terrible to him.

Come to think of it, Kanghyun had always been like that.

She first met Kanghyun when she was in the first year of middle school.

Dojun had once told her that he needed to focus on the college entrance exam, so she should log into his game account and hunt monsters for him.

Apparently, he had to keep hunting to level up.

He offered her 1,000 won per hour, so young Seobin made it her job to come home after school and spend several hours hunting with Dojun’s character.

That day was no different. She heard the sound of the door opening.

“Oppa. I thought about it, and this is seriously hard labor. I think you should pay me 2,000 won an hour.”

Tap, tap. Tap, tap.

She kept furiously hitting the keyboard without even turning around as she spoke to Dojun.

“Since you’re not answering, I guess you have no intention of raising my pay. Right? Huh?! I’m asking if that’s true!”

Pew pew! Tap, tap!

“Ah.”

“What? I can’t hear you! If you’re not going to raise my pay, then go get me a Coke from the fridge! I can’t kill these goblins!”

She had been so focused on the game that she unintentionally ordered Dojun around.

The moment a hand suddenly appeared in front of the monitor and placed a Coke down, she was startled.

The hand was far paler than Dojun’s tanned hand.

“Where did you get that makeup—ugh!”

She froze in surprise when, instead of Dojun, a handsome young master suddenly appeared before her.

That was her first meeting with Kanghyun.

As it turned out, Dojun had realized too late that there were no instant noodles at home. He had only opened the front door for Kanghyun before immediately running to the convenience store.

Because of that, Kanghyun had entered the house alone. Since Seobin kept talking to him and asking him to run errands, he said he had missed the chance to introduce himself.

And even then, he had brought her the Coke.

Such sweetness.

He had gotten his peppers beaten up, yet he never even got angry once. Such a gentle puppy.

Ah, this wouldn’t do.

Today, she should call Oppa and tell him once again that she would take responsibility.

If he didn’t answer the phone, she would find out where he lived and go there herself.

How much must he have endured all this time with such a kind personality?

I’ll take care of him.

“Assistant Manager!”

It happened then.

Sujin clapped her hands in front of Seobin.

“Why are you smiling all by yourself? I saved us a seat!”

Coming out of her memories, Seobin realized that she had been standing in front of the pickup counter with a satisfied smile on her face.

Looking around, she saw that Manager Choi had already gone to another table and was deep in conversation.

With a sigh, Seobin headed toward the seats the interns had saved.

Then she suddenly stopped.

Behind Gyeongsik, who was sitting directly in front of her, she noticed a man wearing a luxurious jacket with fairly broad shoulders.

His posture was perfectly straight, as if someone had nailed him into place. He had a long neck and broad shoulders.

His presence was so overwhelming that she could already imagine he was handsome without even seeing his face.

“Assistant Manager, what are you looking at?”

When Sujin looked back curiously, Seobin panicked and quickly sat down.

“No. Let’s hurry and drink. Aren’t you thirsty?”

Seobin took a sip of her coffee. Just as she opened her lips to speak to the interns—

“Bwahahahaha!”

This time, an unpleasant laugh came from behind Seobin.

The laugh alone told her it was Manager Choi.

“Still, compared to those interns over there, our team’s interns are much more worth looking at, right?”

Seobin tried to ignore him and was about to drink her coffee again when she suddenly stopped.

……Could he possibly be talking about Sujin?

Fortunately, Sujin seemed not to have heard him because she was talking to Gyeongsik.

“Manager! Everyone can hear you!”

Then came the voice of Assistant Manager Kim, who was always with Manager Choi.

“I can’t hear you, I can’t hear you~ Ah, what’s wrong with our Assistant Manager Kim? A man shouldn’t be this timid!”

“That’s not it, Manager. I heard that these days, if you say the wrong thing and get reported for sexual harassment, it’s hard to even find another job.”

“Did I say something worth reporting?! I’m just objectively saying who looks better! What’s wrong with that?”

The café was packed, but by coincidence, the entire surrounding area became quiet just as Manager Choi said that.

Sujin and Gyeongsik also stopped talking and looked toward Seobin’s back.

However, the café soon became noisy again as if nothing had happened, and Manager Choi naturally continued speaking.

“Anyway, you know Assistant Manager Lee over there.”

“Yes?”

“You know, Seobin.”

Seobin’s eyebrows shot up.

“Ah, yes, Manager.”

“You know, at the last company dinner. The way you looked at me was pretty suspicious.”

“Excuse me?!”

“You even deliberately borrowed scissors from me, didn’t you?”

“What? Deliberately borrowed scissors?”

“Yeah! So I lent them to you, right? But then you lightly touched my hand. And your hand was so soft, too. Heh heh.”

Sujin and Gyeongsik seemed to have heard what Manager Choi said as well, because they began glancing at Seobin.

Seobin’s insides began to boil.

She couldn’t understand how that crazy bastard could possibly think he was whispering.

Unless he had developed hearing loss, there was no way he didn’t realize how loud his voice was.

“Ha~ But anyway…. You’d look really pretty in a skirt. Why do you keep wearing those wide pants?”

Seobin’s gaze briefly dropped downward.

She was wearing beige wide-leg slacks today.

“I don’t know. Maybe she has ugly legs? Is that why she hides them?”

Assistant Manager Kim’s voice was considerably quieter than Manager Choi’s, but Seobin’s ears were already wide open, and she heard every word spoken by the two pieces of trash.

“Young people these days are really a problem. Legs that are as thin as a crane’s don’t look pretty. They should be plump to look pretty. Good grief.”

I can’t take this anymore.

Seobin stood up with a determined expression.

Her reason told her to pretend she hadn’t heard anything, but her instincts wouldn’t let her.

She glared at the back of Manager Choi’s head as he excitedly continued talking with his back turned to her.

She was just about to take a step when—

Drrr-!

She heard the rough sound of a chair being dragged behind her.

Then came the quick, heavy sound of heels.

Someone passed Seobin and headed toward Manager Choi first.

Seobin froze in surprise for only a moment.

Whoosh—!

“Ugh! Ah, shit! What the hell is this?! Hey! I’m soaked! Fuck!”

At Manager Choi’s scream, Seobin’s lips fell slightly open.

20 Minutes Earlier

“Executive Director, the coffee beans here are excellent.”

Shinseong Electronics’ first-floor company café.

Secretary Hwang placed a tray with two cups of coffee in front of Kanghyun and spoke.

“I’ve been to all the cafés in our affiliated companies, you know? I don’t think there’s anywhere better than this place.”

Kanghyun listened to Secretary Hwang’s chatter with one ear and let it out the other as he took a sip of his warm Americano.

“Let’s change the beans.”

At Kanghyun’s emotionless, dry voice, Secretary Hwang quickly changed his words.

“But actually, changing the beans wouldn’t be a bad idea either. I only meant that this supplier gives good value for the taste. It’s not like the beans are amazingly excellent or anything, haha.”

Kanghyun took his eyes off his tablet and looked at Secretary Hwang.

“No.”

“Yes?”

“I meant to change the beans in the machine at my house to the same beans they use here.”

Secretary Hwang’s philtrum stretched downward as he quietly said that he understood.

“When someone speaks, shouldn’t you have confidence in what you’re saying for at least three seconds? Why does someone in your position act with so little conviction?”

Feeling embarrassed, Secretary Hwang said nothing and simply sucked on his straw.

Kanghyun smiled faintly and returned his gaze to the tablet.

His inauguration ceremony was the day after tomorrow, and today, he happened to have about two free hours between his various schedules.

Secretary Hwang had suggested that they visit the company building and take a look at how the employees were doing.

Kanghyun had thought it was actually a good choice, since he could observe the atmosphere among the head office employees, even from a distance.

Just as he was thinking that—

“Still, compared to those interns over there, our team’s interns are much more worth looking at, right?”

An unpleasant voice reached Kanghyun’s ears.

He doubted his own ears.

Was there really such an incompetent man who would say something like that in a company café rather than in a private place?

“Anyway, you know Assistant Manager Lee over there.”

“Yes?”