Chapter 6
Territorial Disputes in the Cafeteria
“Wasn’t it you, Shin Jung-ah, who got sauce on Assistant Manager Park’s back yesterday?”
Just then, Jimin spoke up.
Huh? Wait. Is she implying it was done on purpose?
I looked over, startled, and saw Jung-ah and her friends making faces of utter disbelief.
“Jimin, did you see me spill it?”
“Yeah. Do you have proof?”
At their retorts, Jimin made an expression of disbelief.
Then, Soobin stepped in.
“Maybe not yesterday, but today it was you, Shin Jung-ah. You should apologize.”
“Shouldn’t you pay for the dry cleaning too?”
Once Seunghyun chimed in to support Soobin, Jung-ah and her friends turned their glares on him.
Seunghyun flinched under their gaze and looked at Junseo.
“Dry cleaning? For a little sauce?”
“Right. You can just wash it out by hand.”
“There’s a coin laundry around here.”
Having said that, the three women burst into laughter as if it was all a big joke.
At this point, I wasn’t even angry.
I was just curious why they were singling me out like this.
“Assistant Manager Shin Jung-ah, you really should apolo—”
Soobin began, sounding like she was about to issue a warning to Jung-ah.
I quickly walked up to Jung-ah.
Then, I dipped my finger in the pork cutlet sauce on my tray and smeared it across the sleeve of her blouse.
“What, what are you doing?!”
Jung-ah shrieked in alarm, but it was too late.
Her left sleeve was now stained with pork cutlet sauce, just like mine.
“Mine wasn’t an accident.”
I said, taking a few steps back.
Someone behind me let out a short laugh.
“You can just wash it out by hand, right? And there’s a coin laundry nearby.”
At my follow-up attack, the faces of Shin Jung-ah and her friends hardened.
The three of them looked around, noticing people staring to see what was happening.
“You’re the worst.”
With those words, the three turned and left.
How old are you, really?
I sighed and walked back to our table.
I heard Seunghyun grumbling next to Soobin that he was supposed to be the one to say that.
“Are you okay?”
Junseo asked. He had been standing right beside me the whole time.
What kind of question is that? Of course I’m okay.
Except for the fact that the smell of the sauce on my sleeve was making me feel sick.
I can’t tell if it’s the sauce or the fight that’s bothering me.
“Shall we get out of here?”
Junseo asked again.
Was he offering to leave with me?
I looked at my teammates still seated at the table.
Honestly, the smell of the food was starting to make me nauseous.
“I’ll go out alone. You should finish your meal.”
I said that to Junseo and picked up my tray.
To think I have to throw away perfectly good food like this.
A wave of guilt made me feel twice as sick.
Just then, Jimin grabbed my arm and whispered.
“Go out with Assistant Manager Lee. I think they’re acting like that because of him.”
What?
I didn’t understand Jimin’s words and stared at her.
Jimin took my tray, saying she’d clear it for me, and whispered again.
“Those girls, they have a thing for Assistant Manager Lee.”
Then why take it out on me?
While I was still processing this absurdity, Junseo—who had handed his own tray to Seunghyun—approached me again.
He took my arm and said.
“Let’s go.”
As I was led out of the cafeteria by Junseo, I saw Jung-ah and her friends watching me from their table in the distance.
“Where are we going?”
I asked once we were outside the company building.
Junseo stood in front of the main entrance for a moment, as if breathing in the outside air.
He made quite a picture; I could see passersby glancing our way.
One man, crossing the street, was so distracted staring that a car had to honk at him.
“First, let’s do something about your clothes.”
He said this and led me across the street toward a side street.
Clothes? What did he mean, ‘do something’ about them? Before I could ask, he ducked into the first clothing store we saw.
He asked the woman who seemed to be the owner for clothes in my size.
“Wait, it’s fine, really.”
I protested, but my objection was overruled two-to-one.
Whether it was because of Junseo’s face or the unexpected sale, the owner beamed, brought out a selection of clothes for me to try, and Junseo looked at me and said.
“Pick one.”
“No, really, it’s okay! It’s just a dirty sleeve…”
“I’ll take them all.”
That’s ridiculous.
I insisted again that I didn’t need them.
Then, Junseo gathered all the clothes the owner had brought out, handed them to her, and said.
“Please wrap these up. I’ll just wear this one out.”
And he held out his card.
“Waaaait! Stop!”
He was serious, apparently.
Panicking at the thought of the owner actually packing all those clothes, I slapped Junseo’s hand down before she could take it.
Then I picked up the one he had pointed to first.
“This one is enough.”
The owner looked slightly disappointed but quickly put on her customer service smile and showed me to the fitting room.
By the time I changed and came out, Junseo had already paid.
“You’re so lucky to have a boyfriend like this.”
At the clothing store owner’s farewell, I almost said ‘he’s not my boyfriend,’ but stopped myself.
This man isn’t my boyfriend, and the fact that he bought me clothes is partly his own doing anyway.
“You really didn’t have to go this far.”
I said after we left the store and entered a nearby brunch cafe.
I wasn’t quite ready for a full meal, but since Junseo missed lunch because of me, I figured we should at least pretend to eat together.
“Go this far for what?”
Junseo asked, sipping the iced tea the staff had brought first.
Perhaps because lunchtime was half over, the cafe was only sparsely occupied.
The people who were there seemed to have finished their meals and were chatting over their remaining drinks.
I looked at the shopping bag placed on the seat next to him.
It contained my stained clothes.
“Buying me clothes. Yesterday, and today. And it’s not even because of you, Assistant Manager Lee.”
Shin Jung-ah and her friends are just strange people; it has nothing to do with Junseo.
There’s no reason for him to feel responsible just because someone he’s unaware of is causing trouble for others out of misplaced affection.
“I suppose you’re right.”
Junseo said that and grinned.
Just then, the staff member bringing our food paused upon seeing Junseo’s smile.
Now I understand why he doesn’t smile often.
I watched as the staff member, her face slightly flushed, set down our food.
She kept sneaking glances at Junseo even as she told us to enjoy our meal and retreated.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m doing it because I want to.”
“Buying me clothes?”
“And buying you lunch.”
He said this and took a big bite of his sandwich. He must have been hungry.
I took a bite of my own sandwich and then asked him.
“They say you’re the chairman’s son.”
Junseo, who had been eating his sandwich, froze mid-bite.
He looked at me once, then stuffed the last bite into his mouth.
Half a sandwich, gone in an instant.
“No, I’m not.”
He said, wiping his hands on a napkin.
He’s not? Then what was Jisoo talking about? Was she mistaken?
As I stared at him, puzzled, Junseo spoke again.
“If I were the chairman’s son, would you like me more?”
Huh?
I narrowed my eyes and looked at him.
I didn’t understand the intent behind this question.
Would I like him more if he were the chairman’s son?
“No.”
I felt like asking if my liking him was that important, but several people around us were sneaking glances our way.
I took another bite of my sandwich and continued.
“On the contrary, if you were the chairman’s son, it would be a mark against you.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s just obnoxiously lucky.”
Junseo’s eyebrows rose as he picked up the remaining half of his sandwich.
I paused before taking another bite and elaborated.
“To have all that and be from a rich family? That’s just way too much luck.”
At that, Junseo burst out laughing.
His low laughter was actually quite pleasant to listen to.
I was staring blankly at him laughing when I noticed everyone around us staring at us, and I snapped out of it.
“What if I were the son of an unfortunate family? Would you like me more then?”
“Ah, from that point on, it doesn’t affect my level of liking.”
Junseo laughed again at my answer.
He took a sip of his iced tea and said.
“That’s a shame.”
What exactly is a shame about that?
I snorted quietly and started eating my sandwich again.
Thanks to him, my appetite had returned a little.
“Excuse me, um…”
Around the time I finished my half-sandwich, the group of women sitting near us spoke up.
They were a group of four middle-aged women, seemingly friends.
All four were looking not at me, but at Junseo.
Of course. I wiped my hands with a napkin and picked up my coffee cup.
When Junseo turned his head, one of the women asked in a small voice.
“Are you a celebrity?”
