11. Because You Didn’t Answer When I Called

With neatly groomed eyebrows, a high, straight nose extending down between them, firmly closed lips, and a sharply defined jawline that looked as though it had been drawn by an artist. His long neck matched his small face, with a prominent Adam’s apple in the center.

‘Huh? Oppa, you have a mole here.’

‘Where?’

‘Here. It wasn’t there before.’

After noticing the black mole beside his Adam’s apple, Yoonkyung remembered a conversation they had shared long ago while she had been lying with her head resting on Doheon’s arm.

The face looking down at her now overlapped with the face in her memory. The only thing that had changed was his gaze.

“……Ah.”

Coming back to her senses under Doheon’s gaze, Yoonkyung hurriedly stepped away from him.

As if following Yoonkyung’s moist eyes, Doheon stepped out of the elevator after her.

“O-Oppa, what brings you here…….”

“What are you doing so dangerously in front of the elevator?”

Doheon stared coldly at Jihyun.

“There was something on Yoonkyung’s shoulder, so I was trying to brush it off. She must have been startled and moved away. That’s right, isn’t it?”

As though she had never been flustered, Jihyun smiled sweetly and looked at the employees standing nearby. They hurriedly nodded, agreeing with her.

“You startled me. You should have called before coming.”

Ignoring Jihyun, who was welcoming him, Doheon looked at Yoonkyung. Feeling his gaze, Yoonkyung raised her head and found him staring directly at her.

“Were you busy?”

“Pardon?”

“I called, but you didn’t answer.”

“……Ah.”

After staring blankly at Doheon, Yoonkyung belatedly reached into her pants pocket and took out her phone. Looking again, she saw Doheon’s number among the missed calls, not Seonghee’s.

“Now that we’ve met, that’s enough. Let’s go.”

Doheon pressed the elevator button, and the elevator that had been waiting on their floor opened again.

“Where are we……?”

“Where else would we go during lunchtime?”

He stepped into the elevator.

“It’s a little early for lunch, but is that okay?”

“……I-I don’t mind. I was actually on my way down to the first floor to pick up the mail.”

“Is it urgent?”

It was something she was supposed to receive that morning. Yoonkyung slowly nodded.

“Alright. Get in first.”

Doheon gestured toward the spot beside him with his eyes. His expression clearly said to hurry, so Yoonkyung hesitated before stepping inside.

“Since you’re going to lunch, Ms. Gwak Jihyun, could you pick up the mail instead?”

The women, including Yoonkyung, turned their eyes toward Doheon.

“Why? It’s a simple task. You can’t even do something like that?”

“No, I…….”

“I’m sorry, but I’m short on time. I’d appreciate it.”

Leaving Jihyun speechless, Doheon pressed the close button.

“Enjoy your lunch.”

“Order whatever you want.”

Doheon handed Yoonkyung the menu brought by the employee. The two were at a Japanese restaurant near the company.

“Don’t you like Japanese food?”

Doheon asked as he wiped his hands with a wet tissue. The menu in Yoonkyung’s hands hadn’t even turned to the next page.

“……No. I like it.”

She had met Doheon in the elevator, followed him outside the building, and ended up here at his insistence.

Kwon Doheon was sitting across from her, and she was staring at the menu he had handed her.

Her mind couldn’t keep up with the situation, so Yoonkyung was slowly arranging everything that had happened in chronological order.

“But why are you taking so long to choose?”

At Doheon’s words, Yoonkyung put down the menu, then began flipping through it earnestly.

The problem was that she was choosing far too earnestly.

“Can’t you choose because there’s nothing you want to eat, or because there are too many things you want to eat?”

“……It’s my first time here, and I don’t really know what’s good.”

“Anything you can’t eat?”

“I don’t have any problem with seafood.”

At Yoonkyung’s answer, Doheon pressed the call button.

A moment later, when an employee opened the door and entered, Doheon placed the order for Yoonkyung.

His voice was still so pleasant to listen to. If there was anything about him that hadn’t changed compared to three years ago, it was his voice.

‘Kang Yoonkyung.’

She had loved it. Loved it very much.

‘Yoonkyung-ah.’

Of course, she still did.

“I ordered things I’ve had before and thought were good, so…….”

Doheon stopped when he felt someone’s gaze and looked at Yoonkyung sitting across from him.

Her eyes were fixed on him.

Normally, whenever their eyes met, she avoided his gaze as though something terrible would happen. So why did she look as if she were about to cry today?

“Kang Yoonkyung.”

When Yoonkyung didn’t respond to his call, Doheon lightly clenched his fist and tapped the table.

“……Ah!”

The sound startled Yoonkyung back to reality. Flustered, she picked up the glass in front of her.

“That’s not water. It’s tea.”

Yoonkyung froze just before bringing the glass to her lips. She glanced at him drinking his water, then quietly placed the glass of tea back on the table.

An awkward and uncomfortable atmosphere filled the room. As her mouth grew painfully dry, Yoonkyung forced her lips to move.

Of course, she was the only one who didn’t know what to do. Doheon silently watched her as though observing her.

Leading a conversation wasn’t difficult for him, but he didn’t want to.

He felt somewhat sorry for her, but Doheon didn’t dislike this situation.

Watching Yoonkyung’s expressions change from moment to moment was rather entertaining.

Unaware that Doheon was enjoying the situation, Yoonkyung was organizing the questions she wanted to ask him in her head. Asking about the main issue right away would seem strange, so she divided her questions according to their importance.

“Director.”

Alright.

Having finally made up her mind, Yoonkyung called out to Doheon.

“I…….”

“Excuse me.”

But as if deliberately interrupting her resolve, the employee carrying their food stepped between them.

“Please enjoy your meal.”

Doheon gave a slight nod and picked up his spoon. After watching the employee leave, Yoonkyung gathered her courage once more.

“Director.”

“Eat before it gets cold.”

“There’s something I want to ask you…….”

“Kang Yoonkyung.”

Doheon raised his head while holding his spoon.

“I don’t really like talking about work while I’m eating.”

“Then what are we supposed to talk about?”

For a moment, the thought in Yoonkyung’s head slipped straight out of her mouth.

“…….”

“……Ah.”

Avoiding Doheon’s gaze, Yoonkyung quickly shut her mouth.

“L-Let’s eat.”

Yoonkyung hurriedly mixed her rice and took a large spoonful.

She hadn’t even mixed it properly, but she didn’t care. She hadn’t wanted to see the amused smile Doheon made when something struck him as ridiculous.

Right. She had come here to eat, so she would eat. Just eat.

Moving her mouth quickly at first, Yoonkyung eventually returned to her usual pace. She couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten a proper meal at an actual restaurant instead of a sandwich or kimbap.

She erased the prices she had seen on the menu from her mind and diligently moved her spoon.

“Does it suit your taste?”

“Yes, it’s delicious.”

It wasn’t fishy at all and was incredibly tender.

‘When you eat something delicious, your mood gets better right away.’

He had been right. Yoonkyung’s mood brightened almost instantly, and she smiled as she took another large spoonful.

“It must be really good.”

The moment her eyes met Doheon’s, Yoonkyung immediately wiped the smile from her face, but it was already too late. There was no way to hide her puffed-out cheeks either.

“Eat slowly.”

Yoonkyung’s mouth, which had been moving busily with her head lowered, suddenly slowed.

‘Eat slowly.’

Why did those words matter so much?

They were such ordinary words. Nothing special at all.

Yoonkyung deliberately picked up her spoon and needlessly stirred the rice that was already mixed. Memories always surfaced like this, appearing out of nowhere and leaving her helpless.

“I heard you joined the company at the same time as Manager Song Dahee.”

Around the time Yoonkyung’s bowl was nearly empty, Doheon spoke.

“……I thought you said we weren’t going to talk about work.”

“It’s not work.”

It’s personal conversation.

At his response to her muttering, Yoonkyung cleared her throat awkwardly.

“She seemed happy that you two met again at the company.”

It was highly likely that Dahee had told him they had joined the company together.

“Director.”

“We’ll be working together from now on, so get along well. You already know that Manager Song has a good personality, and she’s good at her work too, so you’ll be able to learn a lot from her.”

Listening quietly to Doheon, Yoonkyung picked up her spoon and hurriedly finished the remaining rice.

He noticed what she was trying to do but pretended not to and continued eating at his own pace.

“You seem to have a lot of questions.”

Once Yoonkyung’s bowl was completely empty, Doheon put down his spoon.

“Ask.”

“Why me? No, I mean, why isn’t it someone from Kwonseong…….”

“Your official affiliation is KD Health, but during the six months you’ll be part of the TF team, you’ll be working exclusively on tasks directed by Kwonseong. The work you’re currently handling will also be handed over to someone else.”

Most of what Yoonkyung was handling in the first place wasn’t even supposed to be her responsibility.

“You’re almost the only person who has an accurate understanding of how this company operates, including its current situation, and who actually has their head screwed on straight. The business ideas I thought were worth considering were also proposed by you. Honestly, there were quite a few things I thought were a waste to leave behind.”

Yoonkyung had been the one sending those proposals whenever the company’s attitude was so low-level that it was hard to understand how they could dismiss them without even reading them.

“I thought there were quite a few similarities between you and Kwonseong.”

Doheon looked at Yoonkyung.

“I didn’t know you had worked at Kwonseong.”