Chapter 12
. Jumping to Conclusions
Faced with a baseless question, Siwan found himself flustered once again.
Then suddenly, he recalled something his father, Do Myungjin, had once said:
“Siwan, people should judge appearances silently. Out loud, just say, ‘She’s pretty,’ ‘He’s handsome,’ or ‘They look great.’ Especially when it comes to other people’s kids.”
The lesson that day had been simple: even a porcupine thinks its own baby is soft and cute.
Without hesitation, Siwan nodded.
“She’s pretty.”
“Ha! I like you more and more,” Ju Pyunghwa chuckled.
Before anyone noticed, Pyunghwa had dropped all formalities with Siwan.
Meanwhile, Hana’s face had gone pale watching the scene unfold.
If this continued, she had a bad feeling something terrible would happen. In a panic, she tugged on her father’s sleeve.
They were in the company lobby—right in front of the department head, no less—so she kept her voice low.
“Dad, what are you doing right now?”
“Hey now, Hana. I’m having a conversation here.”
“No, but that person is…!”
Without even glancing at her, Pyunghwa brushed her hand away and grinned at Siwan.
“Do you drink?”
“I don’t drink for fun, but I can if the situation calls for it.”
“Ha! What a perfect answer. There’s a fantastic grilled tripe place just around the corner. If you’re not busy—”
Seeing where this was going, Hana stepped forward and jabbed her father’s side with all her strength.
“Gah!”
Pyunghwa doubled over in pain.
In that moment, Hana bowed deeply.
“Director, I’m so sorry! My dad’s not usually like this…”
“No, it’s alright. No need to apologize. He seems like a fun and kind person.”
“Kind? I promise this won’t happen again. Please forgive us.”
She gave her father another sharp nudge as he clutched his waist.
“Dad, hurry up and apologize to the director!”
Di. Rec. Tor.
At that, Pyunghwa’s eyes went wide as he turned to his daughter.
“Director?”
“Yes, he’s the Head of the Food Development Division.”
“What?! Hana, he’s your boss?”
Finally realizing the situation, Pyunghwa bowed his head to Siwan.
“Oh dear, Director! I’m terribly sorry. I just assumed, since Hana packed you a lunch, that you were her boyfriend.”
“No, it’s fine, sir. Please, lift your head.”
Embarrassed, Pyunghwa slowly looked up again, but tilted his head curiously.
“But Director,”
“Yes, sir?”
“Why did you ask my daughter to pack your lunch?”
In this day and age, what kind of boss tells a subordinate to bring them a lunch? Pyunghwa couldn’t stand the injustice.
Losing his daughter’s first homemade lunch to some overreaching superior only added to his fury.
Hana gently held her father’s arm and smiled.
“He didn’t ask me. I just brought it on my own.”
“What kind of nonsense is that? You expect me to believe you packed a lunch for your boss for no reason at all?”
At his anger, Hana spoke in a soft but firm voice.
“If you say one more word, I’ll start looking for a new place online tonight and call the movers tomorrow.”
“Wha…”
Leaving her father gaping like a fish, Hana turned back to Siwan with another apology.
“I think my dad might’ve had a drink or something. He’s acting a bit strange today. I’m really sorry.”
It was a situation that could’ve easily offended anyone, but oddly enough, Siwan wasn’t particularly upset.
Even if he had been, he never would’ve shown it.
If he got on Hana—or her father’s—bad side, he might never get to taste that kimchi fried rice again.
Putting on the kind of pleasant expression he wore when eating in front of others, Siwan gave a warm smile. And today, it was easier than ever.
All he had to do was think about Hana’s kimchi fried rice.
“Don’t worry about it, Ms. Joo. I think your father came to pick you up after work, so you should head out with him.”
Just as Pyunghwa looked like he might say something, Hana clamped his mouth shut and dragged him away.
Siwan watched them go with a complicated expression.
‘So… to other people, it really does look like a boss made his subordinate bring him lunch.’
He crossed his arms and replayed the break room scene in his head.
“Can I try just one bite?”
Definitely not something you should say to someone you just met.
In the end, Secretary Seo had come in right after, and he didn’t get to eat it.
But later, once she realized he was the department head, she might’ve interpreted his words as:
“Bring me a lunch from now on.”
“Haa… She must’ve thought I was completely nuts.”
Honestly, that would’ve been fair.
Even an unhinged boss wouldn’t go so far as to demand homemade lunches from subordinates.
Later that night.
Ju Pyunghwa lay sprawled on his bed, stewing with anger.
“How dare he, in this day and age, make a subordinate bring him lunch!”
He let out a long sigh.
At the vanity, Jang Shinyoung was applying moisturizer. She gave him a look of exasperation.
“Can you stop sighing already? You’re polluting the air.”
Then she slapped her own cheeks repeatedly with moisturized hands.
Maybe it was her volleyball player past, but the sound of her slaps echoed loudly.
It was a warning of sorts—she never slapped that hard when applying cream.
‘Don’t irritate me with your sighing after I’ve worked all day and come home exhausted.’
Normally, Pyunghwa would’ve shut up right then, but not tonight. He lay on his back, staring at the ceiling with fire in his eyes.
“Just wait. I’m going to post about this workplace abuse on the company intranet.”
Shinyoung got up and rotated her shoulders as she walked over to him. Then, she spiked her palm down onto his chest.
Smack!
“Ugh!”
Sometimes, when pain is real, you can’t even scream.
Satisfied, she nodded.
“Much better. Finally some peace and quiet.”
“Ugh… That really hurt!”
“Maybe I should’ve hit harder. Still so noisy.”
“…Fine. I’ll be quiet.”
Pyunghwa covered his mouth with both hands. Any harder and he really might die.
Shinyoung sat beside him at the head of the bed.
She made a claw with her hand and gently ran her fingers through his hair.
“Dear, this isn’t something to get so worked up over. You know what today’s kids are like. Do you think she’d bring lunch just because her boss asked?”
“But Hana’s a good girl…”
To that, Shinyoung shook her head.
“She is. But she’s also tough as nails. If she doesn’t want to do something, she’d rather make someone beg than give in.”
“True…”
“So do you really think she’d cook and hand over her food just because a boss asked?”
Hana had loved cooking ever since she was little.
She was good at it, too—so good that they trusted her to handle meals half the week. But she’d never shared her food with anyone outside the family.
Pyunghwa paused, deep in thought.
“Come to think of it, we were the only ones who ever got to eat Hana’s cooking. Well, now it’s three, including that director guy.”
And suddenly, the irritation came rushing back.
Sensing it, Shinyoung gently patted his belly.
“She’s so attached to her cooking, and she gave a lunch to some man she barely knows. What do you think that means?”
“What does it mean?”
Seeing the clueless look on his face, she smiled sweetly.
“It means our Hana has a thing for her boss!”
“Huh?”
“You even said yourself he seemed like a good guy.”
“Oh yeah, I did.”
Aside from the slightly intense eyes, he was a really respectable man. Despite Pyunghwa acting like a lunatic, he had stayed polite and kind throughout.
Good-looking and sophisticated, too.
And his voice—so sweet.
“Father.”
Siwan’s honey-smooth voice echoed in his ears.
Pyunghwa suddenly snapped his fingers.
“Oh, right! That guy—er, Director Do—gave Hana jelly and chocolate milk. Said it was a thank-you for the lunch.”
At that, Shinyoung let out an admiring sigh.
“Aww, that’s so cute. Such youthful romance!”
“But… he’s a department head. Isn’t jelly and chocolate milk a bit childish?”
Smack. She slapped his chest again.
But this time, she was all smiles.
“You’re really hopeless sometimes. That boy likes Hana, too. It’s so sweet and romantic! Doesn’t it remind you of us?”
“I guess. I did buy you strawberry milk every day to win you over.”
“Exactly. So relax and go to sleep. If Director What’s-His-Name really likes her, he’s not going to let our Hana go.”
“Yeah… yeah. Imagine having a department head for a son-in-law. I like it.”
