Chapter 8
Seminar
“Why was the lobby so noisy this morning?”
Once the busy morning had passed and a slight lull settled in, I asked Jimin.
By the time I had arrived, things seemed to have calmed down, with people just gathered in small groups, whispering.
At my question, Jimin, who had just finished a busy task of her own and was leaning back in her chair, looked at me.
“This morning? Ah, you mean around arrival time?”
Jimin arrives earlier than me, so I thought she might have seen something.
That’s why I asked, but the answer came from an unexpected place.
“I heard someone was having an affair, and the husband chased them here.”
It was Seunghyun.
Next to him, Junseo asked.
“Wasn’t it the wife?”
“Probably the affair guy’s girlfriend.”
What a mess.
I shook my head in disbelief.
Next to me, Jimin spoke with a hint of regret.
“That’s what they said. I didn’t see it live, though.”
I was about to ask how you ‘see’ something if not live, when Soobin suddenly emerged from the team leader’s office.
The gazes of everyone in the office turned toward her.
Soobin, as if accustomed to this, ignored them and asked me,
“Chaewon, are you busy by any chance?”
“Right now?”
Usually, when a superior asks if you’re busy, the answer is always ‘yes’.
But I answered honestly.
“I have a bit of breathing room at the moment. Is there something you need me to do?”
I figured she was about to assign more work.
Soobin approached me and said,
“Director Song wants you to come up and see him for a moment.”
“Again…”
I almost blurted out ‘Again?’.
I only let the ‘A-‘ sound escape before closing my mouth.
It was that Director Song, the one I met when I first joined the company.
He had suddenly called me in for a chat just two days ago.
I wondered why the Director was summoning me, and it turned out he’d heard about the incident in the cafeteria.
He asked if everything was okay, having heard there were some issues with existing staff. I had no choice but to say it was fine.
It had been a few days since the clash with Shin Jung-ah and her group in the cafeteria, and we hadn’t crossed paths since.
The three of them hadn’t just avoided spilling anything on me—they hadn’t even approached me.
I even saw one of the friends at a cafe outside the company once, and she didn’t even acknowledge me.
“He probably just wants to check if you’re settling in well.”
Since Soobin said that and told me to go, I hesitantly got up from my seat.
I suppose so. Last time I visited, I heard Director Song was the one who pushed for hiring me.
I heard there was someone with similar experience, but he actively recommended me, thinking I’d be better at the job.
So, it made sense he might be concerned upon hearing that existing employees were giving me a hard time.
“No problems with the team?”
Sure enough, Director Song asked if there were any other inconveniences, if I was getting along with the team members, and so on.
No. Everyone treats me well.
I gave the standard answers, but he still looked unconvinced.
“The other employees aren’t making things uncomfortable for you? I had a firm talk with your team leader about it.”
What is he talking about? I quickly replied.
“The Team Leader treats me the best.”
“Is that so? What about Assistant Manager Lee Junseo? I heard his temper is a bit short.”
I couldn’t possibly lie and say that wasn’t true.
When I just smiled silently in response, Director Song seemed to ponder for a moment, then asked,
“How is your relationship with Assistant Manager Lee Junseo? I heard you’re quite close.”
How does gossip in this company even reach a Director’s ears?
I stated firmly,
“We’re not that close. It hasn’t even been a month yet.”
“But you young people become friends quickly these days.”
It seemed there really were rumors circulating about me and Lee Junseo.
I actively denied it.
“We’re on the same team, so we probably just look closer than we are from the outside.”
“Still, Assistant Manager Lee is quite handsome, isn’t he? Don’t women like that kind of face?”
Ah, well, of course. Did you think we’d prefer an uncle like you?
The words nearly shot out of my throat.
I barely managed to swallow the words circling my mouth and said calmly,
“Well, he is handsome.”
“But work is more important right now?”
It’s not just ‘right now’; it’s always been that way.
What does it matter to me if Lee Junseo has a god-given, crazy handsome face?
That face isn’t going to magically inflate my paycheck.
I nodded.
“Yes. That’s right.”
“That’s a relief.”
What is? I looked at Director Song, wondering what he meant.
As he leaned back into the sofa, his bulging stomach became more prominent.
“Well, you know how those handsome guys can be sometimes, right?”
At Director Song’s follow-up comment, I made the same expression as before.
An expression that said, I have no idea what you’re talking about.
He got up from his seat and walked toward the door, saying,
“It’s because you’re someone I picked myself. I’m just giving you a heads-up so you don’t get hurt.”
I don’t know what kind of ‘hurt’ he’s referring to.
Seeing Director Song open the door, I stood up.
I guess that was my cue to leave.
“What did you talk about?”
A man standing outside the director’s office holding a file binder asked me.
I think he was standing there holding file binders last time I was summoned by Director Song two days ago, too.
Unsure how to answer ‘what we talked about,’ I hesitated for a moment before saying,
“Ah, just things like whether I’m settling into the company okay.”
“Director Song asked about that?”
The man made a face that said ‘that’s ridiculous.’
Is it that strange for Director Song to ask about an employee’s well-being?
Then why did he call me in twice to ask?
And what was all that about being careful of Junseo?
As I walked back to the office, I pondered Director Song’s intent in warning me about Junseo.
Did that man, with his face, sweet-talk women out of their money or something?
“Assistant Manager Park, you drink Americanos, right?”
The moment I entered the office, Seunghyun handed me a coffee cup and asked.
Americano?
I reflexively took the cup, then asked Seunghyun, who was heading toward the team leader’s office,
“What’s with the coffee?”
“Junseo bought it.”
“Why, why?”
“He lost at rock-paper-scissors with me earlier.”
Seriously?
Just then, Junseo slipped into the office, saw me, and put the coffee he was holding down on Jimin’s desk.
I was about to drink the coffee without much thought, but I paused.
Is he buying coffee with money he sweet-talked out of some girl with that face?
“Ah, Chaewon.”
Soobin emerged from the team leader’s office quite a while after Seunghyun had gone in and given her the coffee.
She must have finished her call.
Holding the coffee Junseo bought in her hand, she stood by her office door and said to me,
“You don’t have anything urgent on Thursday, right?”
Didn’t we just have a similar conversation?
When I checked my calendar and said no, she continued,
“You’ll need to attend a seminar on Thursday.”
A seminar? Out of the blue?
Puzzled, I asked what kind of seminar.
It is related to the work I’m currently handling.
But don’t we usually decide on these things when promotional emails encouraging attendance come around?
“Is Assistant Manager Park Chaewon going instead of me, or with me?”
Junseo asked then.
When I looked at him, our eyes met as he was sipping his coffee.
‘Going instead’ implied the seminar was originally decided for Junseo to attend.
I reflexively looked at Soobin.
“You’re going together.”
She said that and went back into her office.
What is going on?
Unable to understand, I looked around.
But Jimin was still away from her desk, and Junseo and Seunghyun had returned to their own work.
I shouldn’t be slacking off either.
I quickly sat down at my desk.
If I was attending a seminar on Thursday, I needed to power through today’s and tomorrow’s work quickly.
“Park Chaewon.”
I gave my name at the seminar hall entrance, and the staff handed me a lanyard with a name tag.
I put the lanyard around my neck and looked around inside.
They said dinner would be at the hotel hosting the seminar.
Hotel buffet or not, I just want to go home and collapse.
“Not the time for that.”
First, I needed to meet Junseo.
We agreed to meet at the entrance before it started.
I was taking out my phone to text him when people’s gazes started drifting toward one direction.
The room even grew momentarily quiet, and I was sure Junseo had arrived.
The only person I know who can create this phenomenon is him.
Sure enough, when I turned my head, there he was.
The moment our eyes met, he grinned.
He strode over to me and held out the coffee he was carrying.
“What’s this?”
“Coffee. You drink it every morning.”
Well, that’s true.
I looked down at the coffee he’d given me, then asked my second question.
“Is this Assistant Manager Lee’s?”
“I already had one earlier.”
I had no more questions to voice aloud.
Yet, for some reason, an unsettled feeling lingered.
The absurd hypothesis—Is he buying coffee with money he sweet-talked out of some girl using that face?—was gaining strength in my mind.
I cautiously asked,
“Are you rich?
