Chapter 36
Oh Ah-young Knows!
Oh Ah-young glared sharply at the clock hanging on the office wall.
10:00 a.m. sharp.
Only an hour had passed since she arrived at work. How cruel.
Today was one of those days where she had wanted to go home even before arriving at the office. Maybe that’s why time was crawling slower than ever.
Was Oh Ah-young idle?
Not at all.
Reports submitted by her team members were stacked on her desk.
Nowadays, everything was done via electronic approval systems. But Oh Ah-young was slightly “old-fashioned”—she could only fully process the documents if they were printed.
For some reason, she couldn’t catch typos or numerical errors on a monitor, but they jumped out when she read them on paper.
The reports on her desk had already been reviewed.
She had even kindly emailed each report’s author with notes for revision or improvement.
She’d tackled her tasks with such enthusiasm!
And yet only an hour had passed?!
Doing your job too well had its downsides.
She had time to spare.
With a scowl, Oh Ah-young let out a deep sigh.
“Ugh… Is that clock broken? Are the batteries dead? It feels like time’s stopped.”
Her irritated complaint was met with a prompt response from Koo Dong-geun, who raised his hand.
“Team leader! I changed the batteries yesterday before leaving!”
“Great, good job. Keep it up.”
She flashed him a forced smile and muttered under her breath.
“Ju Assistant Manager’s been in there a while. Hm.”
She quietly rose from her seat, grabbed her tumbler, and headed for the water dispenser outside the partition.
Truth be told, she wasn’t thirsty.
Her tumbler was still full.
The real reason she’d come to the water dispenser? From there, she had a perfect view of the director’s office.
She narrowed her eyes and stared.
The blinds were fully raised, so she had a clear view inside.
Do Si-wan, the division director, sat with his back to her. Facing him, she could see Ju Hana’s bright, animated face bobbing like a dog figurine on a dashboard.
“What in the world is Do Bon (Director Do) saying that has our dear Hana so fascinated?”
Seeing her like that made Oh Ah-young inexplicably happy.
Hana was always cute and fresh-faced. But right now, sitting across from the division director, she radiated a vibrant, juicy energy that went beyond adorable.
Smiling like a proud aunt, Oh Ah-young murmured,
“So cute.”
Just then, Koo Dong-geun suddenly stood and looked around.
“Huh? Where’s Ju Assistant Manager? I have something to ask her.”
Only then did the team, buried in report revisions, realize that Hana wasn’t at her desk.
But none of them really cared. The reports in front of them were far more urgent and important.
Getting no response, Koo Dong-geun pulled out his phone, likely intending to call Hana.
Clicking her tongue at the sight, Oh Ah-young called out loudly,
“Dong-geun.”
“Yes, team leader?”
“You done with the research?”
“I needed to ask Ju Assistant Manager something about it…”
He gave an awkward smile, a bit sheepish.
To older women, it was a charming and endearing grin. But it did absolutely nothing for Oh Ah-young.
Arms crossed, she tilted her chin upward.
“Dong-geun, what part of research needs questions?”
“Uh, well… I just wanted to make sure I was on the right track…”
“Instead of asking ‘Is this what I should be researching?’ just go ahead and research.”
“Ah… yes…”
Startled by her curt tone, Koo Dong-geun looked flustered.
‘Did I do something wrong?’
Judging by her attitude, he must have—but he had no idea what it was.
Looking deflated, he was met with another jab from Oh Ah-young.
“What? Afraid you’ll waste time researching the wrong thing? So it’s okay to waste your mentor’s time instead of yours?”
“S-sorry, that wasn’t my intention…”
“Dong-geun, any materials or reports for Ju Assistant Manager—send them via email. No messenger. And always CC me. Got it?”
CC: Carbon Copy.
It meant she wanted to be looped in on every work-related email he sent to Hana.
Dong-geun, now thoroughly deflated, mumbled,
“Yes, team leader…”
Everyone in the planning team stiffened at the unexpected scolding.
They thought Oh Ah-young must be pissed off at the team’s subpar reports, and poor Dong-geun had become the scapegoat.
But they were completely wrong.
In fact, Oh Ah-young was very pleased with their work. It was better than expected.
There were minor issues, sure, but overall it exceeded expectations.
So why had she suddenly gone after Koo Dong-geun?
Because of Hana.
Oh Ah-young and Hana were fairly close. They didn’t eat lunch together, but often shared dinner.
And when people share dinner, they sometimes share drinks.
One time, at a skewer joint while drinking soju and beer, the topic came up.
⋮
Oh Ah-young had noticed Hana being cold—sometimes even physically aggressive—toward Dong-geun.
She would hit his side hard or slap the side of his neck with a loud whack.
Some team members and employees from other departments thought she was being too harsh. Oh Ah-young agreed, so she cautiously brought it up over drinks.
—“Hey, Ju Assistant Manager. Can’t you treat Dong-geun just a bit nicer?”
Hana let out a deep sigh and suddenly looked on the verge of tears.
—“Team leader… I think I’m a terrible person…”
Alcohol made Hana more affectionate and more foul-mouthed. Her sudden self-loathing made Oh Ah-young regret bringing it up, so she rushed to reassure her.
—“No, Hana! You’re a good person!”
—“I wish I were. But every time I see that round-headed jerk, I get so annoyed. I hate him. I seriously hate him!”
Oh Ah-young was the team leader.
Mediating team conflicts was her responsibility. She needed to stay neutral.
—“Why Dong-geun?”
—“He sends me annoying morning texts. Every. Single. Day. And constantly asks me to lunch. If I say no, he asks for coffee instead.”
—“…Ah.”
Now she understood why Hana would look genuinely irritated whenever Dong-geun spoke to her.
—“He always finds excuses to talk to me face-to-face instead of using the messenger. Sometimes he even taps on my desk or hovers around me. I turn around and—bam!—there he is! Ugh, I hate it!”
Remaining neutral, Oh Ah-young blurted out,
—“Dong-geun’s a total psycho!”
Try as she might, she couldn’t keep her neutrality. Her genuine irritation made her curse.
So that night, they vented all their frustrations about Dong-geun over drinks and skewers.
As they parted ways, Hana earnestly pleaded with her,
—“I only told you because you’re the team leader. Please don’t tell anyone.”
—“Why? We should spread the word and shut him down!”
But Hana let out another sigh.
—“He’s just a new hire. If that kind of rumor spreads, it’ll ruin him.”
—“But still! It’s stressing you out.”
Hana raised a fist and grinned.
—“If he annoys me again, I’ll just hit him harder. So hard it’ll hurt just watching.”
⋮
The secret stayed safe until the infamous “Dong-geun Agreement” was drafted.
After that night, Oh Ah-young started noticing all of Dong-geun’s behavior.
She’d originally planned for Hana to be the main representative at the food fair, with a borrowed assistant from another team.
Or if that didn’t work, she’d hire a short-term temp.
But then, suddenly, Division Director Do Si-wan sent an extremely short email:
Food Fair Oversight: Division Director Do Si-wan
Main: Assistant Manager Ju Hana
Assistant: Staff Member Koo Dong-geun
Oh Ah-young was caught completely off guard.
Do Si-wan wasn’t the type to make such one-sided declarations.
Now here’s the part Oh Ah-young doesn’t know.
The reason Si-wan sent that message so out of character—
Was because of a private meeting that happened a few days earlier.
Only two people were present at that meeting:
Si-wan, and the smooth-talking snake from the business division—
Cha Min-hwan.
