Chapter 34
Public is Public, Private is Private
Siwan entered the conference room and placed a drink carrier and his notebook on the table, then paused for a moment in thought.
Something had been bothering him since he first walked in.
‘I don’t like the seating arrangement.’
Specifically, he didn’t like seeing Gudong-geun sitting next to Hana.
No, it wasn’t just a matter of dislike—it made him genuinely uncomfortable.
Of course, Siwan knew that the issue was himself. In meetings, it’s normal for the supervisor receiving the report to sit opposite the staff delivering it.
That is, unless they’re using a projector to view the same screen—then the layout should change.
Running a quick mental simulation, Siwan smiled and handed a cup to Hana.
“This one’s on me.”
“Oh, thank you!”
Hana opened the lid slightly to check her drink.
A rich, nutty aroma wafted up.
Oat Grain Latte!
Startled, Hana widened her eyes and looked at Siwan, who winked at her.
She wasn’t exactly sure what the wink meant, but it seemed like a silent request to stay quiet about something. So, Hana shut the lid and sat up straight.
Then she stole another glance at Siwan.
Oat grain latte was her favorite.
Coincidence? Normally, when someone brings drinks without asking, it’s just Americano by default, right?
Just then, Siwan placed another cup opposite Hana and addressed Gudong-geun.
“Let’s put the report up on the projector. Dong-geun, please sit over here. By the way, your drink is an Americano. Is that okay?”
“Yes, Director. Americano is perfect. Thank you.”
Gudong-geun got up and began gathering his things.
Hana finally understood the meaning behind Siwan’s earlier wink.
‘Only yours is the oat grain latte. Let’s keep that a secret.’
The oat latte cost 1,500 won more than an Americano. Not a huge difference, but petty enough to cause offense if someone made a fuss.
Hana formed a little O with her mouth to show surprise, then gave Siwan a sweet smile and nodded slightly in gratitude.
It wasn’t about the money. It was the thoughtfulness that mattered.
Siwan thought her reaction was utterly adorable.
Clearing his throat lightly, he picked up the “Director’s version” of the report and dragged his chair to sit squarely in front of the projector screen.
Meanwhile, Gudong-geun shuffled to the opposite side, grumbling internally.
‘What’s the big deal? We could’ve just used the printouts. Such a fuss.’
Giving up the seat next to Hana left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Still, he had to sit where the Director told him to.
Watching Gudong-geun take his new seat, Siwan ran a satisfied hand through his hair.
With Hana at his left diagonal, Dong-geun on the right, and himself in the center—
He had successfully detached Dong-geun from Hana’s side. A tactical win.
Hana quickly grabbed the remote, turned on the projector, and connected her laptop. Technically, the youngest team member, Gudong-geun, should’ve handled this, but Hana didn’t even bother expecting that.
She could’ve ordered him to do it, sure. But watching him bumble around would just stress her out. It was faster and easier to do it herself.
While she set everything up, Gudong-geun sipped his Americano with all the leisure in the world.
Watching him, Hana thought:
‘I should talk to the team leader about handling this project just with the Director. If I keep working with that guy, I’ll just end up cursing more.’
And of course, “that guy” was referring to Gudong-geun.
Back at his desk, Siwan closed his eyes and recalled yesterday’s meeting.
‘Deputy Manager Joo Hana was seriously cute.’
Wearing her large round glasses that covered half her face, and pouting like a goldfish as she delivered her report.
Since it was the first meeting and they were setting the tone for the project, Siwan had naturally asked her many questions.
Each time, she’d begin her answers with a polite, “Yes, Director,” in a tone that was calm and collected—surprisingly seasoned for such a youthful face.
And something about that contrast made his heart flutter.
Like expecting basic soy-braised beef and biting into premium marinated short ribs—that sudden thrill.
While speaking, Hana would occasionally widen her already round eyes and look at him, as if to silently ask:
‘Are you following?’
Siwan always responded with affirmations like, “I see,” “Good,” “Got it,” “I’ll keep that in mind.” And whenever he did, Hana would smile softly and push her glasses up—a gesture that was impossibly endearing.
Yes, Gudong-geun had been present at the meeting too, but he hadn’t been helpful.
Out of courtesy, Siwan had thrown a few questions his way, but his responses were so lackluster that Siwan eventually stopped acknowledging him altogether.
This was supposed to be the kickoff meeting of a major project. How could he show up so unprepared?
It baffled Siwan that this guy was supposed to be Hana’s assistant.
‘Ugh, he’s just so irritating.’
Yes, Dong-geun was new. His performance and work ethic were unimpressive, but he could’ve chalked that up to inexperience and tried to be more understanding.
But it wasn’t just about work.
What really annoyed him was how Dong-geun hovered around Hana. The way he kept glancing at her throughout the meeting, instead of focusing, rubbed Siwan the wrong way.
Public is public. Private is private!
Even if you’re into someone, you still need to focus during meetings!
Siwan felt a bit guilty at that last thought.
‘I’m not like him!’
It’s true—he had been paying attention to Hana, but that didn’t mean he slacked off.
He’d read the report in advance, checked what support she might need, and figured out what he could authorize at the Director level versus what would need further approval.
He was fully prepared in every professional sense. He was just allowing himself to enjoy a bit of personal appreciation along the way.
Definitely not the same as Dong-geun.
“But still… where have I seen that guy before?”
Another reason Dong-geun irked him: he looked familiar.
It was like when something smells weird—you keep sniffing it, trying to figure out what it is, even though it’s unpleasant.
That’s what Dong-geun was like. He could’ve just ignored him, but his curiosity wouldn’t let it go. He knew he’d seen him before, but couldn’t remember where.
As he pondered, a [ding] came from his computer speaker.
It was a message from the internal company messenger.
The sender ID was: ONE.
“One? Who’s that?”
When he opened the chat, it all clicked.
ONE: Director, I’m heading out for external research on the Fair project.
“Ah, it was Deputy Manager Joo Hana.”
In the company messenger, users could set their display names. Hana had chosen “ONE” instead of her real name—matching the meaning of her name (“Hana” = “One”).
Realizing this, Siwan laughed out loud. It wasn’t that funny, but something about it made him laugh anyway.
A pseudo-TF team had formed. One of their unspoken rules: always report before going on a business errand—so others know where you are in case something urgent comes up.
Siwan carefully typed:
Siwan: Please include destination and expected return time.
Then second-guessed himself.
Was that too stiff? He’d never worried about tone before, but in written messages, tone was easily misunderstood. He figured he’d have to be more mindful.
ONE: I’ll stop by two large supermarkets. Should take about two hours, including travel.
Siwan: Will you be using a vehicle?
ONE: Nope! Planning to use public transport.
Siwan checked DK Foods’ intranet and frowned.
Siwan: That’s quite a distance. You didn’t book a company car? Two of the business-use vehicles are available right now.
“Available” meant they were unused and ready for booking.
DK Foods allows all employees to use company cars for work purposes. Booking is simple through the intranet, and current availability is shown in real time.
There were usually enough vehicles that unless it was peak season, one or two were always unassigned.
Siwan started typing ‘Should I book one for you?’—then paused, deleted it, and reached for the phone.
With slightly trembling fingers, he dialed Hana’s extension.
[Ring ring. Click.]
[“Yes, this is Joo Hana from the Product Planning Team.”]
“Deputy Manager Joo, it’s me, Do Siwan.”
[“Oh! Yes, Director.”]
Her voice tightened slightly, probably surprised by the sudden call after chatting online.
“I was wondering if you could stop by my office for a moment? There’s something I’d like to discuss about your business trip.”
[“Of course!”]
A perfectly legitimate reason to call her in.
Totally professional. Nothing shady!
Siwan insisted to himself.
But really… he just wanted an excuse to see her face one more time.
