BTUB 13

Chapter: 13

“I didn’t get a reply to my message, and you weren’t in the office, so I was wondering where you had gone.”

“…….”

“And what are you holding in your hand….”

Despite Eunjae’s desperate attempt to hide it with all her strength, Joo Taegeon easily snatched the bread from her hand. The salt bread, half gone from the bites she had taken, dangled pitifully from his fingers.

Why on earth had she avoided the office just to secretly eat it on the stairs?

The moment he looked at Eunjae again out of curiosity, he had to force down the laughter rising unconsciously and tighten the corners of his mouth.

“V-Vice President, it’s just that….”

The dejected expression on her face after having her bread stolen, the crumbs around her mouth, and those pitiful eyes!

Eunjae looked exactly like a rabbit that had had its food stolen. Perhaps because of that, laughter escaped him before he could even ask his question.

“Are you really going to eat it all by yourself? How selfish.”

With the teasing remark, the corners of Joo Taegeon’s mouth curved into a smile.

“What were you doing during lunchtime that you had to sneak off here to eat?”

“I-It’s not like that. It’s just….”

Eunjae’s eyes, which had been blankly repeating the same words, suddenly wavered greatly. Not only that, but when he looked closely, even the tip of her nose was beginning to turn slightly red.

After watching her for a moment, Joo Taegeon hardened his expression and frowned.

“Did something happen?”

“…….”

“Tell me.”

He placed the bread he had taken back into Eunjae’s hand himself, then naturally guided her toward the upper floor of the stairs. Eunjae was caught off guard as his arm gently urged her back upward, and she mumbled,

“I… couldn’t eat lunch.”

“Why?”

Joo Taegeon’s voice became subtly shorter, but she didn’t notice the change. Her mind was already too complicated simply because he had caught her in such an embarrassing situation.

“In the conference room….”

“In the conference room.”

“I got locked in.”

The moment she said it, Eunjae realized her mistake and instinctively covered her mouth with the bread. She had forgotten to mention that the door had malfunctioned, making the situation sound rather open to misunderstanding.

As expected, Joo Taegeon’s face twisted into a fierce expression.

“Did someone deliberately lock you in? Come with me right now! Workplace bullying in this day and age? How ignorant can they be—”

“No! No, it’s not like that!”

What kind of misunderstanding had he come to just now?!

Startled by the momentum with which he was about to rush off, Eunjae hurriedly reached out. She had merely grabbed his forearm with both hands, but he instantly stiffened all over and looked flustered.

Her grip was weak enough that he could have easily shaken her off with one hand. And yet, he stood completely still as though he had been tied up with the strongest rope in the world.

“Uh….”

Eunjae, too, stiffened in surprise at his reaction. Joo Taegeon seemed excessively conscious of her touch, and that made her feel awkward.

“Then explain exactly what happened.”

Fortunately, Joo Taegeon quickly regained his composure and returned to his usual expressionless face.

“Th-Then, more importantly!”

Taking advantage of the moment, Eunjae’s eyes sparkled as she tried to change the subject. She wasn’t brave enough to point out the problems with the company building right in front of the Vice President.

“Why are you here, Vice President? Ah, that question sounds a little strange, but… I heard you were visiting a department store today for an inspection….”

He was supposed to be at a department store, so why was he here?

After saying it aloud and thinking about it carefully, she realized it really was strange. As Eunjae tilted her head in confusion, Joo Taegeon ran a hand through his bangs. His neat, handsome forehead was revealed.

“That kind of thing doesn’t take long. And I asked you first, Assistant Manager Han.”

Ugh, how unfair. He was using her position against her.

Eunjae cautiously watched him while sneaking a glance downstairs. Some time had passed since she had secretly taken the bread and left, and she was beginning to feel anxious.

If someone came this way and saw the two of them together….

That was something she really didn’t even want to imagine. Surely some strange rumor would spread throughout the company in an instant!

“Vice President, I’m sorry, but if I’m away any longer, it’ll interfere with my work. I’ll definitely tell you later, so for now….”

Slowly moving her right foot backward, Eunjae squeezed her eyes shut and shouted,

“I’ll be going first!”

With that brief cry, she hurriedly ran down the stairs. Even her retreating figure looked like a rabbit fleeing in panic, as though she were afraid someone might chase after her.

Joo Taegeon waited until she had completely disappeared from the stairwell before letting out a short laugh.

Of course, he had absolutely no intention of simply letting her go like this.

‘Not a chance, Han Eunjae. Are you planning to show me your back and disappear again?’

He had no intention of repeating the mistakes of the past.

“Phew. That was close.”

After returning from the restroom, where she had even brushed her teeth, Eunjae collapsed into her chair with a relieved expression.

“Yes?”

Assistant Manager Moon, sitting beside her, widened her eyes at Eunjae’s loud mutter. Eunjae was startled as well and hurriedly waved both hands.

“It’s nothing. Assistant Manager Moon, how far have you gotten with the work?”

“I think I just need to organize the documents now. And….”

Assistant Manager Moon suddenly handed her something.

It was coffee. The plastic cup was filled with ice, and droplets of condensation had formed all over its surface.

Because Joo Taegeon’s not-quite-threat had forced Eunjae to cut down on coffee, the drink looked like life-giving water to her.

“You wrote the first draft of the meeting summary for me, so I felt bad giving you only bread.”

“No, the bread was more than enough….”

“Bread is bread, and coffee is coffee.”

Eunjae smiled shyly and thanked Assistant Manager Moon.

“I’ll enjoy it!”

In any case, if it hadn’t been for Assistant Manager Moon, Eunjae would have suffered terribly while continuing to fight against her growling stomach. Although Assistant Manager Moon had played a part in how she ended up being locked in the conference room, a cup of coffee was enough to make up for that much trouble.

‘It’s okay because I didn’t buy this myself!’

Even though she had already brushed her teeth, she had eaten the bread only moments ago, so she was craving coffee even more. She had long since reached her daily coffee limit, but the moment she saw the new cup, all thoughts disappeared from her mind.

Just as she smiled brightly and was about to take the coffee into her hand, a large hand suddenly reached in from behind her.

“Here. This is confiscated.”

A strange sense of déjà vu swept over Eunjae.

She was sure something like this had happened earlier when her bread had been taken away….

As though proving that her anxiety wasn’t unfounded, she slowly raised her trembling head.

“Let’s start with an inspection. How many cups of coffee have you had today?”

Joo Taegeon had appeared behind Eunjae, resting one arm against the partition as he dangled the coffee he had confiscated from her.

“Oh my, Vice President!”

Assistant Manager Moon jumped up from her seat in shock.

Eunjae stood up at the same time.

Only then did they look around and realize that all the other employees were already standing.

Apparently, Assistant Manager Moon and Eunjae had been so absorbed in their conversation that they hadn’t noticed his arrival.

“Why, why is the Vice President here….”

While Eunjae stammered in confusion, Woo Seokhyun quickly approached from a distance.

“Vice President, what brings you here?”

Unlike the other employees, he calmly greeted Joo Taegeon and asked his question.

Eunjae’s face brightened as though a savior had appeared, only to turn gloomy again at his next words.

“I have something to discuss regarding the matter Assistant Manager Han is handling….”

Joo Taegeon lightly tapped Eunjae’s shoulder with his index finger.

Eunjae instinctively flinched.

“It’s an urgent matter, so I’ll take her with me for a moment.”

“May I ask what the matter is? If you need a more detailed explanation, perhaps it would be better if I came along.”

Yes! Exactly that, Team Leader!

Eunjae nodded repeatedly, showing her agreement with his words. Her newly appointed team leader was beginning to look like an angel.

“No.”

But as though deliberately betraying her hopes, Joo Taegeon refused with a smile.

“I happened to run into Assistant Manager Han earlier, and she said she had already finished all of her afternoon work. It’s also more accurate to ask her directly.”

“Ah… I see. Understood.”

Apparently, Woo Seokhyun didn’t sense anything strange. He simply bowed his head and stepped back.

Even when Eunjae desperately sent him a pleading look as if begging him not to leave, it was useless.

“Well then, shall we go upstairs together?”

Joo Taegeon stood where her last hope had disappeared and smiled broadly.