Chapter 16
The Third Day at Work.
Dallae said the company cafeteria food was pretty good, so she took Haru along.
As they sat down, she introduced a teammate who was just coming over with a tray.
“Hello, I’m Nari Chae, in charge of Operations.”
“We’re in the Flex team, in charge of Spring.”
Ah, Forsythia and Azalea.
Haru, nodding in understanding, smiled politely in greeting.
It seemed the two weren’t just in charge of Spring but also in charge of brightening the atmosphere.
“Oh? That’s PD Kang Inhyuk from GNT.”
“As expected of GN’s top visual. But I heard he’s leaving soon, after receiving a scout offer?”
“Yeah. Such a shame to lose one of the few handsome ones.”
The two muttered with visibly regretful expressions.
Seeing Haru clueless about their conversation, Dallae belatedly explained.
“There are a handful of guys at GN Media who are considered really handsome. He’s one of them, but apparently he’s quitting.”
“Ah…”
Haru suddenly felt a sense of kinship.
So there were people who cared about looks just as much as she did.
But their conversation didn’t end there.
“Still, no one can top our CEO.”
“Oh gosh, that’s a name too sacred to even utter lightly.”
Yet again, the talk shifted to praising the CEO’s looks.
Since joining the company, Haru realized she hadn’t gone a day without hearing something about the CEO’s face.
Then she remembered what Dain had said yesterday and asked,
“But your CEO doesn’t show up in the media, right?”
“That’s right. There isn’t a single photo of him online. Rumor has it the higher-ups block everything.”
Haru couldn’t help but wonder—just how handsome could he be, for everyone to make such a fuss?
Not being able to see him herself and only hearing rumors made her even more curious.
Even by her own very strict standards, was he someone worth acknowledging?
But still, what was the point if there wasn’t a single photo?
Just as she set aside her curiosity and began eating, Nari suddenly lifted her chopsticks and exclaimed,
“Oh! I do have a photo of the CEO!”
“Really?”
“Yes! From the company’s 20th-anniversary workshop. It was two years ago.”
Nari immediately grabbed her phone and started scrolling through her gallery.
She explained while swiping through the photos.
“They told us not to upload any photos with the CEO’s face on social media, so I’ve just kept them.”
“Hurry, show us! Let’s show it to the translator.”
Haru, secretly curious too, put down her spoon as Nari thrust the phone toward her.
The moment Haru took the phone, Nari spoke up.
“See the person in the front row, center, with that glowing aura?”
The photo was a big group shot, so it wasn’t easy to immediately spot who she meant.
Haru zoomed in to get a better look at the faces.
“The one who clearly stands out as good-looking—that’s the CEO.”
As Nari said, there was indeed one person who instantly caught the eye.
But Haru was taken aback—why did the face look so familiar?
That was Cha Seungjae. What on earth was he doing in someone else’s company workshop photo?
“Right next to him is the CEO of Midas Entertainment. He’s handsome too, right? They’re business partners and close friends, so he came to our workshop as well.”
Ah, that explained why she had seen them together at the hotel bar last time. They must really be close.
Haru’s lingering questions now started to make sense.
Maybe that’s why she had run into Cha Seungjae in the elevator on her interview day.
But there was still one thing bothering her—honestly, to her eyes, Cha Seungjae looked more handsome than the so-called CEO.
She needed to confirm.
“This person here is the CEO, right?”
Haru pointed at the man with the bright smile.
Just as Nari lowered her gaze to confirm, her screen lit up with an incoming call.
“You’ve got a call.”
Haru quickly handed the phone back, and Nari answered.
“Yes, Team Lead. Oh, today’s meeting? Yes, I remember. …What? The CEO will be there too? Okay, I’ll be on time.”
After hanging up, Nari turned to them.
“We’d better finish eating quickly. There’s an important meeting this afternoon, and the CEO’s attending. We need to be fully prepared.”
“Wow, so you’ll get to meet the CEO today?”
“Yes. I’ll get to see that gorgeous face in person.”
Blushing with excitement, Nari quickly gulped down her soybean paste soup.
After work, Haru’s destination wasn’t home.
She was meeting Ihan.
As she stepped out of the office, her white dress fluttered in the wind like petals.
Their meeting place wasn’t far from the company.
She hailed a cab easily enough, but the roads were jammed with rush-hour traffic.
Watching out the window, worry clouded Haru’s face.
Though the morning sky had been bright and clear, now dark clouds gathered.
Moments later, heavy raindrops began pelting against the window.
“Huh, the forecast didn’t say anything about rain.”
The taxi driver quickly switched on the wipers, muttering to himself.
Haru, equally unprepared for the sudden downpour, looked flustered.
“Miss, do you have an umbrella?”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“Then I’ll drop you right by that bus stop shelter over there. Run for it, okay?”
“Thank you.”
As promised, the driver pulled up by the shelter.
After paying the fare, Haru thanked him and dashed under the cover.
Thanks to him, she barely got wet.
But with the sudden rain, the bus stop was packed—both with commuters and people just trying to stay dry.
Haru got jostled to the edge, precariously balanced on the curb, just one step away from the rain.
It suddenly started raining. I’ll wait for you at the bus stop.
She texted Ihan that she’d wait there and lowered her phone.
Splash!
A car sped past without slowing, drenching her with dirty puddle water.
“Ah!”
Startled, Haru threw her hands up and looked down at her dress.
Her once-white dress was now covered in muddy, splattered patterns.
Like an abstract canvas of dirt.
She glared after the culprit, but the car had already turned the corner and vanished.
“Ha…”
Maybe she could pretend this was a patterned dress?
But the wet fabric was the real problem.
What rotten luck.
Only a minute ago, she’d been glad to escape the rain. Now it felt like the skies were mocking her.
Onlookers gave her pitying glances.
Her heart, once light, grew as heavy and stained as her dress.
What should I do? Should I go home to change?
As she fretted, her phone buzzed.
It was a call from an old college friend.
“Hey, Minji.”
—Haru! Are you really not coming to the gathering?
Her friend Minji had been organizing a couple’s get-together.
Last time, Haru had jokingly said she’d come once she got a boyfriend.
—I thought I’d check in, in case you had good news. It’d be nice to see you again—it’s been a while.
The situation had changed since then. She did have a boyfriend now.
The only problem was—he wasn’t a real one.
“You mean that couple’s gathering?”
—Yeah. But if it makes you uncomfortable, you don’t have to bring your boyfriend. We can just hang out, us friends.
“Ah, well…”
Haru trailed off, not sure how to answer.
Just then, a familiar scent suddenly filled the air.
“Tell her you’re coming—with your boyfriend.”
A voice answered for her, as Ihan appeared, holding an umbrella over her head.
