ENED 09

Chapter 09

“Phew… safe again today.”

Entering the break room, Sahyun let out a sigh of relief and pressed the button on the coffee machine.

Bzzzz—

A moment later, as she watched the coffee being brewed, a hollow laugh escaped her lips.

‘What on earth is wrong with me? At this point, isn’t this practically an illness?’

It had already been a week since the incident in the elevator. Sahyun had been doing everything in her power to avoid running into Yoo Hajun.

She felt that as long as she didn’t have to face him, she could go on living as usual.

Of course, even when she had been secretly in love with him, and even after that fateful company dinner, she had occasionally thought about him. But ever since what happened in the elevator…

It was as if her mind had become completely filled with Yoo Hajun.

He came to mind at the most unexpected times, and once the thoughts began, her imagination seemed to know no bounds.

‘What would have happened if I had accepted Director Yoo’s proposal?’

‘It might have been even more thrilling than I imagined. No one would ever suspect something between the two of us if it became a secret that only we knew about….’

She even found herself rationalizing Hajun’s proposal.

‘Should I go to Director Yoo and bring it up again? Should I suggest that we make that “mistake” a few more times?’

Sometimes she imagined herself going to him and making the proposal herself.

‘And then after that… Ah, I don’t know.’

Whenever she recalled all the things she had done with him, her face would flush red all by itself.

If she ran into Hajun just one more time, she feared her imagination might go completely out of control.

‘……I’m crazy. Kim Sahyun.’

That was why Sahyun had decided to avoid him altogether.

But avoiding him didn’t make her heart settle down. Even today, from the moment she entered the company lobby, rode the elevator, and finally reached the office, she had been anxiously worrying about whether she might run into him.

‘Thank goodness we work on different floors. If we worked on the same floor, I’d seriously have to quit….’

Just as Sahyun was sighing and turning the thought over in her mind, a voice came from behind her.

“What are you doing? Your coffee’s ready.”

Startled, Sahyun turned around.

Lee Sangwook, an assistant manager from her team, was standing there.

Although they held the same rank, he had considerably more years of experience than Sahyun. As always, he was impeccably dressed and carried the strong scent of cologne.

“Ah… h-hello, Assistant Manager.”

“What’s our Kim Assistant Manager thinking about so deeply?”

As he spoke, Sangwook held out her coffee to her. When she accepted it with a thank-you, he pressed the button on the coffee machine and casually asked,

“What is it? What’s bothering you? Tell your senior.”

Sahyun subtly stepped away from Sangwook as he approached her with unexpected familiarity.

“No, it’s nothing.”

“A man problem? Or a work problem?”

Lee Sangwook flashed a confident smile, as if he were an expert in either area.

“There’s no problem at all, Assistant Manager. I’m just a little tired and spaced out.”

Sahyun forced a smile and shook her head. Sangwook took a sip of his coffee, looking slightly disappointed.

“You’re great in every way, Kim Assistant Manager, but you do tend to keep people at arm’s length. We’ve worked together for quite a while, but you still speak so formally to me.”

“You’re much more senior than me in terms of experience. Of course I should speak respectfully.”

“I’ve never even seen you open up about what’s really on your mind. I know we’re from different generations and all, but it’s a little disappointing.”

“I’m sorry if I made you feel that way.”

“You don’t have to apologize. I’m just saying we should try to close that distance a little. It’ll make our teamwork stronger, too.”

“I’ll try.”

“Good, let’s try. We should make time to grab a meal together, maybe have a drink sometime. Okay?”

“Yes.”

Answering mechanically, Sahyun took a sip of her coffee. Lee Sangwook was so sociable that simply matching his energy left her feeling slightly drained.

As she wrapped up the conversation and turned to leave the break room, Sangwook gave her a casual once-over and said,

“Kim Assistant Manager, your outfit looks pretty today.”

Today, Sahyun was wearing a sky-blue shirt and beige pants. It was a neat, conservative office outfit with no revealing elements whatsoever. At most, one could call it clean and tidy—not particularly pretty.

But Lee Sangwook was known for being friendly toward female employees and frequently complimenting them, so Sahyun simply thanked him.

“Thank you for saying that, Assistant Manager.”

“No need to thank me. I’m the one who should be grateful.”

“Excuse me?”

“I mean, it’s nice working with a pretty colleague.”

He gave her a wink, looking somewhat over-the-top.

At that moment, something Yoonjeong had once told her flashed through Sahyun’s mind.

“Assistant Manager Lee Sangwook? I heard he’s supposedly a real yeomisae, even though he doesn’t act like it.”

“What’s a yeomisae?”

“A guy who’s crazy about women. Apparently he can’t resist a pretty woman. So you should be careful around him too, okay?”

Sahyun bit the inside of her cheek.

It made her uncomfortable, but… she shouldn’t judge a colleague based on a rumor.

Whether he knew what she was thinking or not, Sangwook opened the break room door for her and gestured grandly.

“Ladies first.”

‘Right. Maybe people just misunderstand him because he’s overly gentlemanly.’

Sahyun decided to be cautious but give him the benefit of the doubt.

She walked ahead, and Sangwook followed a short distance behind.

A moment later, when the two entered the office, they saw several employees gathered in small groups, peering at their laptops.

They were speaking in hushed voices, discussing something on their screens.

Seeing how unusually serious everyone looked, Sahyun was puzzled.

“Here she comes. Assistant Manager Kim Sahyun.”

Assistant Manager Hwang from another department raised his head from behind the partition and called out to her.

“Congratulations, Kim.”

“Congratulations?”

When Sangwook echoed the question, Yoonjeong approached Sahyun and said,

“Assistant Manager Kim Sahyun, you’ve been assigned to Executive Director Yoo Hajun’s TF team.”

“Assigned?”

“Assigned…? What do you mean?”

Sangwook and Sahyun spoke at almost the same time.

Yoonjeong lightly took Sahyun by the arm.

As the laptop screen came closer, Sahyun’s face went blank.

[Executive Director Yoo Hajun’s Direct Southeast Asia Development Strategy TF Team

– Assistant Manager Kim Sahyun, Overseas Sales Division]

Come to think of it, there had been rumors circulating around the company for some time that Executive Director Yoo Hajun was putting together a ‘Global Development Business Promotion TFT’ by selecting employees from the Overseas Sales Division and several other teams.

It was a massive project involving negotiations with local partners, reviewing bidding conditions, comparing domestic operating models, and financial simulations, all running simultaneously. Most employees in the relevant departments had secretly been hoping they would be selected for Hajun’s TFT.

And it wasn’t simply because the project was lucrative.

It was because Yoo Hajun was the one leading it.

The man especially favored by Chairman Yoo among the owner family’s children.

The executive who stood out more than anyone else in the company.

That was Yoo Hajun.

In other words, joining the project meant strengthening one’s position within the company—and becoming part of Hajun’s inner circle. That was why the assignment was considered such a coveted opportunity.

But to Sahyun, right now, the news was nothing short of a bolt from the blue.

A little later.

Manager Jo had gathered the members of the Overseas Sales Division in a conference room. He gave Sahyun a thumbs-up.

“Assistant Manager Kim, you’re incredible. How did you manage to win the Executive Director’s favor?”

“Excuse me?”

“Haha. I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Our Kim Sahyun is an excellent talent, so of course the Executive Director picked her. Isn’t that right?”

“Of course. Assistant Manager Kim Sahyun is excellent at her work and she has a great personality, too.”

Yoonjeong stepped in with the compliment, and Manager Jo laughed loudly as if she had given the perfect answer.

“Congratulations, Kim. And I’m jealous.”

“Thank you.”

Sahyun awkwardly responded to the slightly dejected congratulations coming from Sangwook.

There had been a widespread rumor that Assistant Manager Lee Sangwook would be the one selected for the TFT from the Overseas Sales Division.

Since he was her senior and had always excelled at everything he did, Sahyun had naturally assumed he would be chosen as well.

“Don’t just be jealous. She was chosen to represent our department, so everyone make sure to give her your full support.”

“Yes, Manager.”

Under Manager Jo’s direction, they briefly discussed who would take over the tasks Sahyun had been handling and how the workload would be divided among the team.

As everyone gradually dispersed, Yoonjeong approached Sahyun, made a tiny finger heart, and whispered,

“Assistant Manager. I respect you. You really are my role model.”

Sahyun forced a smile and accepted the compliment.

Everyone was celebrating, but Sahyun herself couldn’t quite bring herself to be happy.

From a career perspective, this was obviously good news.

But when she thought about the situation with Hajun…

She wasn’t sure she could handle it.

“Hm-hm.”

On the 25th floor of Daehong Group, Manager Jo repeatedly cleared his throat, apparently nervous.

He pulled a breath-freshening spray from inside his jacket and gave his mouth a quick spritz before lowering his voice toward Sahyun.

“You do know my promotion is riding on you, right?”