Chapter 11: “I Called, But You Didn’t Answer”
Neatly groomed eyebrows.
A high, straight nose.
Well-shaped lips pressed together.
A perfectly sculpted jawline.
A long neck that matched his small face—
And beside his Adam’s apple…
A tiny black mole.
“Huh? Oppa, when did you get a mole here?”
“Where?”
“Right here. It wasn’t there before.”
The moment Yoon-kyung noticed the small mole beside his Adam’s apple, she remembered a conversation from long ago, when she’d been lying beside Do-heon with his arm as her pillow.
The face looking down at her now overlapped perfectly with the face from her memories.
Nothing had changed…
Except his eyes.
“…Ah.”
Meeting Do-heon’s gaze, Yoon-kyung hurriedly came to her senses and quickly stepped away from him.
As if following the moisture gathering in her eyes, Do-heon stepped out of the elevator after her.
“O-Oppa, what are you doing here…?”
“What exactly were you doing standing so dangerously in front of the elevator?”
His cold eyes settled on Ji-hyun.
“There was something on Ms. Yoon-kyung’s shoulder. I was just trying to brush it off, but I guess I startled her and she moved away. Isn’t that right?”
As if she’d never been flustered, Ji-hyun smiled brightly and looked at the employees beside her.
They eagerly nodded in agreement.
“You surprised me. You should’ve called before coming.”
Ignoring Ji-hyun’s greeting entirely, Do-heon looked only at Yoon-kyung.
Feeling his gaze, she slowly lifted her head.
He was staring directly at her.
“Were you busy?”
“…Pardon?”
“I called, but you didn’t answer.”
“…Ah.”
Still staring blankly at him, Yoon-kyung reacted a beat too late before hurriedly pulling her phone from her pocket.
Looking again…
She found his number sandwiched between Sung-hee’s repeated calls.
“We’ve met now, so it’s fine.”
“Let’s go.”
Pressing the elevator button, Do-heon reopened the elevator that had just stopped on their floor.
“Where are we…?”
“Where else would people go during lunch break?”
He stepped inside.
“It’s a little early for lunch, but that’s okay, right?”
“I… I don’t mind, but…”
“I was actually on my way to the first floor to pick up today’s mail.”
“Is it urgent?”
Technically, she was supposed to collect it that morning.
Yoon-kyung nodded slowly.
“I see.”
“Get in first.”
With his eyes, Do-heon indicated the space beside him.
His expression clearly said, Hurry.
After hesitating for a moment, Yoon-kyung stepped into the elevator.
“If it’s that urgent, then Ms. Kwak Ji-hyun can collect it instead.”
Every woman there—including Yoon-kyung—turned to look at him.
“Why?”
“It’s a simple task.”
“Surely you can manage even that?”
“I…”
“Sorry, but I’m busy.”
“I’d appreciate it.”
Leaving Ji-hyun speechless, Do-heon pressed the Close Door button.
“Enjoy your lunch.”
“Order whatever you want.”
Do-heon handed Yoon-kyung the menu the server had just brought over.
They were at a Japanese restaurant near the company.
“Don’t you like Japanese food?”
he asked while wiping his hands with a wet towel.
Yoon-kyung still hadn’t turned the page of the menu.
“…No.”
“I like it.”
She had run into Do-heon in the elevator.
Followed him outside.
And somehow ended up here under his lead.
Now…
Kwon Do-heon sat directly across from her.
And she was staring at the menu he had handed her.
Her mind couldn’t quite process what had happened.
So she silently replayed everything in chronological order.
“Then why can’t you decide?”
At his question, she lowered the menu—
Only to begin flipping through it with intense concentration.
The problem was…
She was trying far too hard.
“Is it because there’s nothing you want?”
“Or because everything looks good?”
“…It’s my first time here.”
“So I don’t really know what’s good.”
“Anything you can’t eat?”
“I don’t eat seafood.”
At her answer, Do-heon pressed the call button.
When the server returned a moment later, he placed the order himself.
His voice…
It was just as pleasant as ever.
If anything about him hadn’t changed over the past three years—
It was his voice.
“Kang Yoon-kyung.”
She had loved hearing him say her name.
More than anything.
“Yoon-kyung.”
And even now…
She still did.
“I ordered the dishes I thought were good, so—”
Feeling her gaze on him, Do-heon stopped mid-sentence and looked across the table.
She was staring straight at him.
Normally, she avoided eye contact as though meeting his eyes would cause some terrible disaster.
So why…
Did she look as though she were about to cry today?
“Ms. Kang Yoon-kyung.”
When she still didn’t respond, Do-heon lightly curled his hand into a fist and tapped the table.
“…Ah!”
Startled by the sound, Yoon-kyung quickly grabbed the cup in front of her.
“That’s tea.”
“Not water.”
She froze just before taking a sip.
Sneaking a glance at him as he drank his own water, she quietly set the tea back down.
An awkward silence filled the private room.
Her mouth had gone completely dry.
She tried forcing herself to speak.
Of course…
She was the only one feeling uncomfortable.
Do-heon simply watched her in silence.
Almost as though he were observing something fascinating.
Starting a conversation wouldn’t have been difficult.
He simply didn’t want to.
He felt a little guilty…
But he wasn’t minding the situation at all.
Watching Yoon-kyung’s expressions change from second to second was surprisingly entertaining.
Completely unaware that he was enjoying himself, Yoon-kyung mentally organized the questions she wanted to ask.
If she jumped straight to the main topic, he’d think she was strange.
So she arranged them by importance.
“Managing Director.”
Good.
Having finally made up her mind, she called out to him.
“I…”
“Excuse me.”
At that exact moment, the server arrived with their food, interrupting her.
“Enjoy your meal.”
After giving a slight nod of thanks, Do-heon picked up his spoon.
Watching the server leave, Yoon-kyung gathered her courage once more.
“Managing Director.”
“Eat before it gets cold.”
“I have something I’d like to say…”
“Ms. Kang Yoon-kyung.”
Still holding his spoon, Do-heon looked up.
“I don’t really like talking about work while I’m eating.”
“Then…”
“What do you talk about?”
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
“…”
“…Ah.”
Avoiding his gaze, she hurriedly shut her mouth.
“L-Let’s eat.”
She quickly mixed her rice together and shoved a large spoonful into her mouth.
She hadn’t even mixed it properly.
She didn’t care.
Seeing the smile he wore whenever he found something amusing…
This wasn’t how she’d wanted to see it.
Right.
We came here to eat.
So just eat.
She focused entirely on her meal.
Soon, her pace naturally returned to normal.
How long had it been since she’d eaten a proper restaurant meal instead of surviving on sandwiches or kimbap?
Erasing the prices she’d seen on the menu from her mind, she continued eating.
“Does it suit your taste?”
“Yes.”
“It’s delicious.”
The fish wasn’t fishy at all.
It was incredibly tender.
“Good food always makes you feel better.”
Just as he’d once said.
Her mood improved almost instantly.
Smiling without thinking, she took another large bite.
“You must really like it.”
The instant their eyes met, Yoon-kyung hurriedly wiped the smile off her face.
Too late.
Her puffed-out cheeks full of food gave her away.
“Slow down.”
Still looking down, her movements gradually slowed.
“Eat slowly.”
Why did those simple words…
Carry so much weight?
They were nothing special.
Just an ordinary phrase anyone could say.
She deliberately stirred her already-mixed rice with her spoon.
Memories always surfaced like this—
Without warning—
Leaving her defenseless.
“I heard you and Manager Song Da-hee joined the company together.”
By the time Yoon-kyung had nearly finished eating, Do-heon spoke again.
“…Didn’t you say you don’t like talking about work while eating?”
“This isn’t work.”
“It’s just casual conversation.”
He answered her muttering matter-of-factly.
She coughed awkwardly.
“She seemed really happy to see you again at the company.”
The fact that they’d joined together had probably come from Da-hee herself.
“Managing Director.”
“We’ll be working together from now on, so do your best.”
“You already know Manager Song has a great personality.”
“And she’s very capable.”
“I’m sure you’ll learn a lot from her.”
Listening quietly, Yoon-kyung picked up her spoon and hurriedly finished the rest of her meal.
Do-heon noticed exactly what she was doing—
But pretended not to.
He continued eating at his usual pace.
“You seem to have a lot of questions.”
Once her bowl was completely empty, he set his spoon down.
“Go ahead.”
“Why me?”
“No… why not someone from Kwonseong…?”
“Officially, you’re still an employee of KD Health.”
“But for the next six months, while you’re assigned to the TF Team, you’ll be working entirely under Kwonseong’s direction.”
“The work you’re handling now will be reassigned to someone else.”
Most of the work she’d been doing…
Had never really been her responsibility in the first place.
“You’re almost the only person here who truly understands how this company operates.”
“And one of the very few people with a proper head on their shoulders.”
“Several of the business proposals I thought were promising…”
“Were yours.”
“To be honest…”
“It felt like a waste.”
He still couldn’t understand why proposals of that quality had been ignored without even being read.
Whenever he came across an idea that clearly didn’t belong in a company of this level…
The sender was always Yoon-kyung.
“I’d always thought you had a lot in common with Kwonseong.”
He looked directly at her.
“I just never realized…”
“…that you’d actually worked there.”
