CHAPTER 40……………………………………………
Gunwoo opened the menu and said,
“What do you want to eat?”
Hana paused for a moment before answering.
“Um… I’ll have the grilled fish set meal.”
“One grilled fish set meal and one Korean beef bulgogi set meal, please.”
A short while later, the meal was served with neatly arranged side dishes. The subtle colors of the ceramic bowls shone with an elegant glow.
“Let’s eat.”
Gunwoo picked up his chopsticks and said.
“Okay.”
Hana quietly nodded. For a while, the two ate in silence. The only sound in the quiet space was the clinking of chopsticks.
Then, Gunwoo broke the silence.
“When do you think we’ll start expanding into Southeast Asia?”
“If everything goes well, preparations might start as early as next month.”
Gunwoo nodded briefly.
“Then you’ll be pretty busy for a while.”
“Yes. It’ll probably be hectic.”
Hana smiled and put down her chopsticks.
“Don’t overdo it.”
Hana shook her head slightly.
“This much is fine.”
Gunwoo seemed lost in thought for a moment, putting down his chopsticks and taking a sip of water.
A brief silence passed. Then, Gunwoo suddenly looked up.
“Shall we go see the sea this weekend?”
“Huh?”
Hana blinked in surprise. It was the first time she had heard such a suggestion from him.
“You said not long ago that you wanted to go to the sea.”
Gunwoo added casually.
“…Who said that?”
“Is there anyone else?”
“Nayeon?”
“Yeah. I kept asking what you liked, and she ended up telling me.”
Gunwoo shook his head with a smile.
“Well, she didn’t exactly make it easy, so I had a bit of a hard time.”
Hana chuckled softly. She could picture Nayeon clearly—annoyed by Gunwoo yet gradually telling him one by one the things she liked.
Gunwoo continued gently.
“If it’s uncomfortable, we don’t have to go. I just thought of it and mentioned it.”
He spoke casually, but a faint trace of shyness lingered at the corners of his eyes.
It was as if he had made the suggestion and was silently worried it might be too much.
Hana hesitated for a moment. Her mouth felt slightly dry. Being alone with Gunwoo, spending the entire day together—it was still unfamiliar.
But strangely, she didn’t feel reluctant. On the contrary, the words naturally came out.
“No, it’s fine. I’d like that. Let’s go.”
Gunwoo’s eyebrows lifted slightly, as if surprised by the unexpected answer.
“…Really?”
“Yes.”
She couldn’t exactly explain why she gave that answer. Maybe she just wanted to see the sea.
“Then let’s leave Saturday morning.”
“Okay.”
Her answer blended gently into the air. Gunwoo nodded as if satisfied, a subtle look of anticipation in his eyes.
After that, the two focused on their meal again. The light clinking of chopsticks against bowls, the sound of soup being sipped, the chewing of rice. It wasn’t an awkward silence, but a strangely comfortable calm.
The office door swung open abruptly. Nayeon had come in.
“…How many times do I have to tell you to knock first?”
Sooho, still looking at his documents, spoke with a hint of irritation.
“Knock?”
Nayeon tilted her head and then slipped back out of the doorway.
Then—
Knock knock—
“Better?”
She came in again. Sooho looked up, glared at her, and let out a sigh of disbelief.
“Ah, it’s fine. We’re family.”
Nayeon responded while striding to the sofa and plopping down. She crossed her legs and draped her arm over the back of the sofa.
Sooho shook his head and returned to his documents.
“Let’s go eat.”
“Busy.”
“No matter how busy you are, you have to eat! Since Secretary Shin already has plans, I don’t have a lunch companion today.”
Nayeon patted her stomach, grumbling.
“Eat with Deputy Choo.”
“Ah, no. Uncomfortable. It’s always about work. I want to eat with oppa. Let’s go, hurry.”
Sooho’s eyebrows furrowed more at her constant urging.
“Be quiet. I can’t concentrate.”
Nayeon pouted. Sooho sighed deeply.
“Wait. Let me just finish reviewing this.”
“Okay!”
Nayeon’s face brightened, leaning back on the sofa. She shook her leg rhythmically, staring at the ceiling, then suddenly spoke.
“But oppa.”
“What now?”
“Isn’t Jung Gunwoo acting a bit weird?”
Sooho’s pen stopped. He looked at Nayeon.
“What about Gunwoo?”
“He’s your friend, right?”
“You’d call him that only if he’s really like a friend.”
Nayeon waved her hand while explaining. Sooho leaned back, crossing his arms.
“What’s weird about him?”
“Well, he called me out of the blue this morning.”
“Gunwoo?”
“Yeah.”
Nayeon nodded and continued.
“I wondered what it was about, and he just talked about Hana for several minutes straight.”
“Hana?”
“Yeah. Her taste in food, favorite colors, perfume, flowers… he asked everything in detail.”
She counted off each item on her fingers.
“Even her favorite movies, songs she’s been listening to… I thought I was doing an interview or something.”
Sooho chuckled.
“Well, he’s asking about his wife, so it makes sense.”
“No, it’s not that…!”
Nayeon leaned forward.
“Usually, he’d only ask simple things like if she has dinner plans or lunch together, but today… it was really weird.”
“Ah, really?”
“When someone who normally doesn’t act like that suddenly does, isn’t that suspicious?”
“Not at all.”
Sooho answered nonchalantly.
“What? Why are you so calm? There’s definitely something going on. I had a strong intuition.”
“Does your intuition ever turn out right?”
“Sometimes?! Very occasionally….”
Nayeon pouted and waved her hands, while Sooho swallowed a laugh.
“Enough. Mind your own business and just decide what we’re eating.”
“Sushi.”
“Sushi?”
“Yeah. That’s okay, right?”
“You’d go even if I said no, so what’s the point.”
Sooho closed his documents and stood up, stretching and adjusting his clothes.
Nayeon quickly got up and grabbed her bag.
“Next time, really knock before coming in.”
“Then I’ll knock really loudly?”
“Then I’ll lock the door.”
“Wow, oppa, you’re really caring.”
Sooho couldn’t help but chuckle. Laughing like this, they headed out for lunch.
After finishing the meeting and lunch, Hana returned to the company and headed straight to the chairman’s office to report the results in person.
The elevator doors quietly opened.
Hana walked down the corridor with composed steps and stopped at the chairman’s office. She exchanged a glance with the secretary and knocked.
Knock knock knock—
“Come in.”
A low, deep voice called from behind the door. Hana opened it immediately. Chairman Kihoon was reviewing documents spread across his desk.
As soon as Hana entered, he looked up.
“You’re here.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
Kihoon gestured to the sofa across from him.
“Sit.”
Hana nodded slightly and sat carefully where he indicated. Kihoon closed the documents and sat across from her.
After a brief silence, his low voice spoke.
“How was the meeting?”
“It ended smoothly without issues.”
Hana took the documents from her bag and placed them on the table. Kihoon picked them up, and Hana calmly explained the meeting results.
“We agreed on a 50-50 revenue split. Also, both sides will share marketing costs equally.”
Kihoon raised his eyebrows.
“50-50?”
“Yes.”
“Are you saying the agreement was really finalized under those terms?”
“Yes.”
Kihoon studied the documents carefully and soon a satisfied smile spread across his face.
“This… is amazing.”
He placed the documents on the table and looked at Hana again.
“Legal support and logistics support too?”
“Yes. We got a definite confirmation.”
“With this, the initiative is completely in our hands.”
