YLD 25

Chapter 25

– Biting the Bullet

Choking someone just for asking a few questions?
Without thinking, Gu Dong-geun glanced at Hana’s hand — slender, long, pure white fingers. With those she’d strangle him?
Actually, I like it! …Wait, no, that’s not right.
Clicking his tongue, Dong-geun quietly backed away.

Today, Hana seemed more on edge than usual. If he clung to her any longer, she really might kill him.
Dong-geun returned to his seat, quickly opened his phone, and typed out a message at lightning speed.

Psycho
Noona, Senior Joo Hana says she’s got lunch plans today.

“Noona” here referred to his cousin, Chae Soo-hwa.

Truth be told, Dong-geun hated — absolutely hated — being on the same side as Soo-hwa.
Others didn’t know, but her personality was downright nasty. And that was already putting it politely.
Being “on the same side” with her meant being treated like a slave. He could already see it happening.

But right now, Dong-geun had no choice.
If Director Do Si-wan really starts dating Hana-sunbae, it’ll be beyond repair!

Even if Hana didn’t end up dating Si-wan, there was still not a snowball’s chance in hell for Dong-geun.
Everyone around them knew it — everyone except Dong-geun himself.
No, it wasn’t that he didn’t know… he was just putting every ounce of energy into denying it.

At any rate, the best move now was to side with Soo-hwa and feed her every scrap of intel he could.
In other words — biting the bullet.

A moment later, a reply came.

Psycho
You moron, what do you want me to do if she’s got lunch plans?

Not the reaction he expected. Dong-geun felt a flash of irritation.
What the hell, I go out of my way to get you info, and you open with an insult?

Still, he didn’t have the guts to snap back at Chae Soo-hwa, who was practically Satan incarnate.
Instead, he calmly typed another message.

Psycho
No, but normally Sunbae brings her own lunch every day. If she’s eating out today, who do you think it’s with? Si-wan-oppa? Pretty high chance, right?
I’ll check and let you know.

Tossing his phone onto the desk, Dong-geun let out a small sigh.
He wanted to be wrong.
He hoped Hana’s lunch date would turn out to be with her parents, or maybe she had bank errands and no time to pack lunch.

Sure, Soo-hwa would chew him out for false info, but that was still better than the alternative.

Just then, his phone buzzed.
A message from Soo-hwa.

Please, please…

He opened it with desperate hope — only to sigh heavily, his expression one of utter defeat.

Psycho
Whoa, looks like it’s true. Si-wan-oppa says he’s got lunch plans. Thanks, Dong-geunie. We’ll launch the operation today!

Director’s Office.

Si-wan sat with a grave expression, bouncing his leg nervously.
Every minute or so, he glanced at the wall clock.

11:48 a.m.

“Huh… only a minute’s passed?”
The last time he’d checked, it was 11:47.
He swore at least ten minutes had gone by!

This was absurd.
A conspiracy!

He recalled some strange online post claiming the world was actually “programmed.” The logic was that such a complex system couldn’t possibly run so smoothly unless it was coded.
Phenomena humans couldn’t comprehend were supposedly “bugs.”

Maybe… maybe that ridiculous theory was true.
Whoever programmed this world must have messed with his clock to make time run slower.

—If you’re okay with it, I’d like to have the lunchbox for breakfast. And then, I’d like to have lunch with you, just the two of us. I’ll pay for what you eat, too. To be clear: we start eating together at the same table, finish together, and I cover the bill for both meals.

Honestly, it was a pathetic lunch invitation.
Even an AI would scold him: “What a foolish human!”

Any normal woman would reject such an oddly phrased invitation. No normal guy talked like that.

But Hana was not a normal woman.
Si-wan didn’t know it, but she’d actually been impressed — Wow, a man who states things so clearly!

And so, their lunch plans were set.

To avoid attention, Si-wan would slip out around 11:55 pretending to have business, and Hana would follow exactly at noon.
They’d meet in front of the coffee shop next to the office building.

Si-wan had been ready since ten minutes ago, staring at the clock.

Bzzz.

His phone vibrated.
The caller ID read “Secretary Seo Wan-goo.”

Feeling uneasy, Si-wan picked up.
“Yes, Secretary Seo?”

[Yes, Director. My work finished early, so I’m heading in now. Where will we be having lunch today…?]

Seo’s duties for President Do Myung-jin included many tasks, but the most important was “Make sure Do Si-wan eats.”

Because of an eating disorder, Si-wan usually substituted meals with supplements unless he had a scheduled lunch meeting.

Of course, the human body can’t stay healthy on supplements alone.
Medically, maybe it was possible — but to Do Myung-jin, it was absolutely unacceptable.

Even if it was unpleasant or difficult, he wanted his son to eat real food. That’s why he ordered Seo to “ensure he eats at least one proper meal a day.”

If Si-wan had anorexia or bulimia, it might have been different, but he didn’t vomit or suffer indigestion. He just found the act of eating unpleasant.

So Myung-jin believed firmly: If he eats, it’ll become blood and flesh. And so, with tears of frustration, he forced meals on his son.

After a pause, Si-wan spoke in his gentlest tone.
“Secretary Seo, why don’t you have lunch on your own today?”

[What?! No way. If the President finds out you only had supplements for lunch, I’ll be in big trouble.]

“Don’t worry. I’m eating today.”

[…You’ve said that before, and I’ve caught you skipping meals with supplements nine times.]

Indeed, Si-wan had already lost much of Seo’s trust.
No matter what he said now, Seo wouldn’t back down easily.

And if left unchecked, the worst-case scenario was Seo insisting on joining his lunch with Hana “just to make sure.”

Ah, I really didn’t want to say this…

Lunch with Hana.
What was wrong with two young adults sharing a meal?

Si-wan had eaten one-on-one with women his age before — even with Chae Soo-hwa — but those situations were never “like that.”

Back then, he’d told Seo exactly who he was eating with and where, just in case of emergencies.

But this time felt… different.
Mostly because Hana was a subordinate. People could easily see it the wrong way.

Especially Seo, his father’s closest aide. He might see Hana through a “colored lens” — as some female employee trying to seduce the company heir.

And then he’d report that straight to his father.

Si-wan would rather have his father and Seo misunderstand him as “the bad boss hitting on a subordinate” than have Hana labeled that way.

But having Seo present at their very first meal together? Absolutely not.

That left only one option — be honest.

Looking out, he saw Hana tidying her desk, probably getting ready to leave right on time.

Taking a deep breath, he spoke as calmly as possible.
“Secretary Seo, actually… I have a lunch appointment today.”

[Oh? Did I miss it on the schedule…?]

He could hear Seo’s shock through the phone. Missing a superior’s lunch appointment was a major mistake.

Knowing Seo’s personality, Si-wan quickly clarified.
“No, it’s a personal appointment made this morning. I didn’t tell you, so of course you wouldn’t know.”