Chapter 07
Kanghyun finally took his eyes off the tablet PC and looked at the glass window behind Secretary Hwang. Reflected behind Kanghyun was a figure that looked like Seobin.
It seemed that the Seobin that dirty man had mentioned was indeed Lee Seobin, the one he knew.
On top of that, the man continued spouting nonsense about how Seobin had deliberately touched him during the company dinner.
Fine. He should have stopped there.
But then he went so far as to mention parts of Seobin’s body and sexually harass her with his words.
The moment the patience disappeared from Kanghyun’s face, shock also flashed across Secretary Hwang’s face.
Not only was the name Seobin uncommon, but even if the man had not been talking about the woman Kanghyun had seen at the hotel last time, the fact that there were men having such vulgar conversations in the company café was more than enough to break Kanghyun’s patience.
“Why are people like that even working at the company?”
Kanghyun stood up, speaking coldly.
Secretary Hwang’s face went pale as he shook his head desperately at Kanghyun.
When Kanghyun reached for the coffee he had been drinking, Secretary Hwang hurriedly stood up and grabbed his hand.
Kanghyun’s cold gaze fell on him.
In that brief moment, Secretary Hwang realized that there was no way he could stop him.
Kanghyun always seemed indifferent about everything, but when it came to injustice involving the company or his family, he was someone who simply could not let it go.
“T-Take this one… instead!”
Then he snatched away Kanghyun’s hot coffee and replaced it with his own iced coffee.
As Kanghyun was about to start walking again, Seobin appeared in front of him, walking over while breathing heavily.
He passed her and walked straight toward the man who had been speaking in that unpleasant voice.
Then he poured the coffee over him.
“Gasp!”
Seobin’s breathy scream and Manager Choi’s startled cry came at the same time.
“Ugh! Ah, shit! What the hell—hey! I’m completely soaked, damn it!”
Manager Choi wiped the coffee running down his face with the back of his hand and tried to stand up.
Kanghyun briefly looked at Seobin.
Her face was as pale as if she had seen a ghost.
“O-O-Oppa…?”
When Manager Choi had fully stood up, Kanghyun moved the flustered Seobin, who could barely speak while looking at him, behind himself.
Then he stepped in front of her and approached Manager Choi.
“Hey, you bastard!”
Manager Choi glared at him and shouted angrily.
“Are your eyes just decorations?! Huh?!”
“They seem to work fine, so I guess they aren’t decorations.”
Manager Choi laughed as if he could not believe what he was hearing.
“Then why the hell did you pour coffee all over me?!”
“My hand slipped.”
Manager Choi’s face turned bright red.
“N-No! If your hand slipped and you spilled coffee on someone, shouldn’t you apologize?!”
Unable to control his anger, Manager Choi poked Kanghyun in the chest with his finger.
“You! State your rank and name! Where the hell did you sell your employee ID card?! What team are you in? Are you a new recruit? Why aren’t you wearing your ID card when you’re a new recruit?!”
In an instant, everyone in the café turned to look at Manager Choi and Kanghyun.
Kanghyun brushed the spot Manager Choi had touched as if something dirty had gotten on him and said,
“Really. Why are you fondling another man’s chest in broad daylight?”
Manager Choi’s mouth fell open.
“You’re old enough to know better.”
Manager Choi, who had instantly become a sexual harasser, stammered.
“W-What? No. What—”
“Don’t stammer. You just sexually harassed me.”
As more people began gathering around them, Manager Choi’s mouth fell open again.
Kanghyun looked at the employee ID worn by one of Manager Choi’s companions.
“Assistant Manager Kim Gyeong-gu from Development Team 2?”
Despite seeing Kanghyun for the first time and not knowing who he was, Kim Gyeong-gu instinctively spoke politely when Kanghyun called his name in such a heavy tone.
“Y-Yes?”
“You saw it, right? This man was touching my chest.”
“Ah… uh. Yes. Yes?”
Kanghyun gave a mocking smile.
“Thank you, Assistant Manager Kim. You can give the exact same statement later.”
Under the unprecedented pressure, Assistant Manager Kim and Manager Choi could do nothing but stammer without saying anything meaningful.
When the café manager belatedly came running over with a mop and said he would clean up, Manager Choi stepped backward and shouted loudly as if he had been waiting for the chance.
“What kind of crazy bastard is that?! You don’t avoid shit because you’re afraid of it! You avoid it because it’s filthy! Ptooey! Ptooey!”
Then he hurriedly left the café.
All that remained in the café was the curiosity of the people watching.
And at some point, Secretary Hwang had come close and was looking at Kanghyun with a desperate expression.
On top of that, Seobin was frozen in place, apparently so shocked that she could not even speak to him again.
Kanghyun looked first at Seobin, who had her eyes wide open like a fish and was only opening and closing her mouth without saying anything.
“Funny meeting you here.”
The expression on Seobin’s face clearly showed what she was thinking: Why on earth are you greeting me so calmly in a situation like this?
Kanghyun narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled as he awkwardly gave her an explanation.
“I had something to do nearby.”
She still seemed too stunned to respond.
“I ended up showing you something you shouldn’t have had to see. Someone sexually harassed me.”
“No, that’s not something I shouldn’t have seen, Oppa…”
“There are too many eyes watching. See you again.”
And he walked past her and left the café.
Secretary Hwang hurried after him and called out in a despairing voice.
“Director…!”
“Yes.”
“Phewww… Never mind.”
“Okay.”
As Kanghyun immediately cut off the conversation, Secretary Hwang hurriedly stopped him.
“No, Director.”
“You said it was nothing. Please be consistent.”
“Sexual harass—cough.”
Secretary Hwang seemed unable to get the words out. He took a deep breath before continuing.
“Phewww… Yes. You did well. At least you didn’t hit the man. That’s what matters. And you’re not officially taking office yet. I’ll investigate the employees who were in the café and order them to keep quiet.”
“They’re witnesses to the vice president being sexually harassed. Why bother?”
Secretary Hwang thought about it and realized that was true, so he quietly followed behind Kanghyun.
They soon reached the elevator.
As Secretary Hwang watched the floor numbers change, he asked once again,
“So, what should we do with that man?”
“Leave him alone. I’ll deal with him after I take office. More importantly, I can’t believe someone like that still exists in the company.”
“I… can’t believe it either. We should make the personality test more difficult. Our group prides itself on being pretty clean in that regard.”
“Yes. And of all people, Seobin had to be his target. That bastard.”
“…Excuse me?”
“The elevator has arrived.”
Secretary Hwang pressed the open button while rubbing his temple as if he already had a headache.
After confirming that Kanghyun had entered, Secretary Hwang followed him inside and asked,
“By the way… Does Miss Seobin still not know who you really are?”
“That I’m scheduled to take office here?”
“Yes, that.”
“She probably doesn’t.”
She probably doesn’t?!
Secretary Hwang felt a burst of irritation at Kanghyun’s indifferent way of speaking, but he could not show it. He took a deep breath and barely calmed himself down.
At that moment, a deep vibrating sound was heard.
It was a call from Seobin.
Perhaps Dojun had told her, because she had been calling him since the day after they parted at the hotel.
Kanghyun remembered her number, which he had only briefly seen on her business card, but he had not answered her calls.
He did not know how he should respond to her sudden marriage proposal.
But the situation that had just happened was different.
She must have been surprised to suddenly run into him at his own company.
“Yeah. Seobin.”
—O-Oppa…! I was so surprised earlier that I couldn’t even greet you properly. Where are you interviewing nearby?
“…Huh?”
At the sight of Kanghyun suddenly turning into a gentle lamb, Secretary Hwang opened his mouth in disbelief.
Kanghyun subtly avoided Secretary Hwang’s gaze and focused on the phone again.
“What did you say, Seobin?”
—Didn’t you come here because you had an interview nearby? You were dressed in a suit, so I thought you were.
“Ah.”
—Did you interview at our company?
“No.”
Was it because of Dojun’s brainwashing? Kanghyun instinctively answered with a firm no.
—Ah~ Somewhere else! What time was your interview?
“Uh, the interview… I already had it.”
Technically, his inauguration was the day after tomorrow, so he could consider it an interview.
—Ah… Then are you going home now? About what happened last time… You never gave me an answer. Can you meet me tonight?
“Sure. Let’s meet after work.”
After hanging up, Kanghyun looked down at Secretary Hwang, who was staring at him persistently.
“Let’s hurry and take care of the next schedule. I need to come back here around quitting time.”
