SMS 07

SMS

Chapter 7

Territorial Disputes in the Cafeteria

“Just an office worker.”

Surprisingly, Junseo answered politely.
No matter what, he probably wouldn’t tell these ladies to get lost.
Still, I thought he might ignore them or be a bit rude.
At his answer, the middle-aged women made understanding noises, then straightened up, impressed.
He’s more handsome than a celebrity, or something like that.
I agree.

“Are you finished eating?”

Junseo asked.
Since his plate was already empty, I quickly asked the staff to pack up my remaining half-sandwich and stood up.
Lunchtime was just barely over.
If we went back to the office now, we probably wouldn’t be late.
I headed to the counter to pay.
Since he came out with me from the office and even bought me clothes, I should pay for the meal.

But when I held out my card to pay, the employee said with a smile,

“It’s already been taken care of.”
“Huh? When?”
“It was paid for when you ordered earlier.”

What? I looked at Junseo, who was already standing by the door.
He was looking back at me with a nonchalant expression.

“Is he your boyfriend?”

The middle-aged women waiting behind me to pay asked.
They were the same ones who had asked if he was a celebrity.
I glanced at Junseo and said,

“Ah, no. He’s just a colleague from work.”
“Oh my, really?”

The women’s faces brightened.
While one was paying, the other three approached Junseo.

“Do you have a girlfriend?”
“You should ask if he’s married first.”

I could see Junseo looking down at the women expressionlessly.
The woman who asked first spoke again.

“My daughter is really a good kid. If you don’t have a girlfriend…”

So it wasn’t for themselves; they wanted to introduce their daughters.
Don’t people usually ask which company he works for first?
Stifling a laugh at the middle-aged women’s aggressive questioning, I walked over to Junseo.
As I did, Junseo, who had been looking at the women, turned his head to me.
At that moment, a smile appeared on his face.

Huh, what? Was it night until now?
It was as if someone had suddenly turned on a light, brightening the surroundings.
The middle-aged women who had been firing questions also paused.

Junseo reached out his hand to me and said,

“Honey, let’s go.”

What?
I wasn’t the only one bewildered by the sudden turn of events.
The women gathered around Junseo were also confused and looked at me.

“But you said earlier you weren’t dating…”

One of the women said to me.
Then, Junseo pulled me closer and said,

“Are you still mad? I said I was sorry.”

Then he bent down and kissed my cheek.
Whaaaaaat?

“Oh my, oh my.”

This time, the women were more flustered than I was.
Frozen stiff, I was pulled out of the restaurant by Junseo.
What just happened?

Dazed, I touched my cheek. Junseo said,

“You can’t just throw me to the hyenas as bait and run away by yourself.”

No, no, that’s…
I was so flabbergasted I was speechless.
My mouth was hanging open when the women coming out of the restaurant passed us and said,

“Just forgive him already.”
“Yeah. I don’t know what he did wrong, but if it were me, I’d let it slide unless it was really bad.”
“As long as he didn’t cheat.”

No, no, I told you we’re not even really dating!
With a bewildered expression, I watched the women pass by.

Junseo took my hand again and said,

“I won’t do it again.”

By the time I collected myself, the women were already gone.
I shook off his hand and asked,

“Are you having fun?”
“Much more than I thought.”

He certainly looks like it. Ugh.
Even after we returned to the office, he ignored my offers to send him money for the food.
I guess I’ll have to buy him something next time.

“Ah, that’s right. Who cleared my tray yesterday?”

The next day at lunch, as we were leaving the office to eat, I asked Jimin.
Seunghyeon‘s call was running long, so Junseo said he would come up with him later and stayed behind.
After we sent up the first packed elevator, Jimin said,

“Assistant Manager Chae.”
“Huh? Didn’t Assistant Manager Chae take Assistant Manager Lee’s tray too?”

He did that and then took me out of the cafeteria?
At my question, Jimin shrugged and said,

“Yes. Assistant Manager Chae took care of Assistant Manager Lee’s too.”

He cleared three trays? With two hands?
I was about to ask if Seunghyeon had three hands, but Jimin‘s use of “took care of” bothered me, so I asked,

“What do you mean, ‘took care of’…”
“He ate it. He seemed really happy about the three pork cutlets.”
“Ah.”

Now that you mention it, Seunghyeon did say the company cafeteria pork cutlets were delicious.
I was wondering why opinions were so divided.
Luckily, there was space in the third elevator.

I got on the crowded elevator and asked again,

“Did he eat all the side dishes too?”
“Yes. He probably just left a little rice.”

Incredible.
I recalled Seunghyeon coming to work this morning perfectly fine—no, with a much more energetic face than usual.
Now that I think about it, Junseo also finished his sandwich in the blink of an eye yesterday.

Ding.
The elevator stopped on the 10th floor where the cafeteria was, and the doors opened.
Without thinking much, I stepped out of the elevator, then stopped short when I smelled the food.
I was worried about running into Shin Jung-ah and her group again.
Even though I stood up to them yesterday, I don’t like raising my voice or fighting.

Noticing my uneasy expression, Soobin asked,

“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. It’s just…”

It felt a bit silly to say now that I was scared of running into Jung-ah.
But Jimin spoke as if she had read my mind.

“Assistant Manager Shin Jung-ah? Don’t pay too much attention to them.”
“Is it because of Assistant Manager Shin? You handled it well yesterday.”

At Soobin‘s words, my face felt a little warm.
I answered honestly,

“It’s only because I was with our team. I’m not usually good at that sort of thing.”
“Assistant Manager Lee Junseo is like a reliable mountain at your back, right?”
“And about as tall as one too?”
“With Assistant Manager Chae, it’s like having twin peaks!”

The joke from Jimin and Soobin eased my tension.
As I laughed, Soobin grabbed my arm and said,

“Just ignore them. They act like that to all the women close to Assistant Manager Lee.”
“Did they do that to you and Team Leader Jimin too?”
“They didn’t just do it, they still do it. We just ignore them, that’s all.”

So it wasn’t just because I was new and seemed like an easy target.
I nodded at their advice to ignore them.
Ironically, it was a slight relief to know it wasn’t just me they targeted.
At the same time, it made even less sense.

“My, look who it is.”

As I was picking up a tray in line, a sharp voice called me out.
I heard Jimin whispering to Soobin next to me.

“Do you think they were waiting somewhere to ambush us?”

Exactly.
I agreed with Jimin.
Otherwise, how could we run into them right at the entrance like this?
Shin Jung-ah was standing behind us with her friends, just like yesterday.
One of her friends said,

“Be careful. Ms. Park Chaewon might flip her tray again.”
The people in front of me and in the next line looked over to see what was going on.
Following Soobin and Jimin‘s advice, I ignored them and started putting food on my tray.
“Kimchi stains don’t come out easily, you know.”

At another friend’s comment, the two of them burst out laughing.
Oh, really? I was picking up kimchi with the tongs when I stopped and stared intently at the kimchi.
Then I turned my head to Jung-ah‘s group and said,