Chapter 16
. Chae Su-hwa Catches a Whiff
Chae Su-hwa fully expected to call Si-wan three times, as usual, before he picked up.
But to her surprise, he answered the call right after the ringtone started.
A bright smile spread across Su-hwa’s face.
“Oh! My dear Si-wan oppa. What’s going on? You answered on the first try? Were you waiting for my call or something?”
[…]
“Hello?”
[…]
Why did he pick up the phone if he wasn’t going to say anything?
Tilting her head in confusion, Su-hwa checked her phone screen. The call timer was ticking up, which meant the line hadn’t been cut.
“What the heck? Hello? Si-wan oppa?”
[…]
“Hey! Do Si-wan! If you picked up, say something!”
She snapped, raising her voice. Then she heard an announcement through the speaker: [Next stop is…]—a subway announcement.
Su-hwa scowled and shoved her earphones in. Then she turned the call volume to max.
“What is he even doing?”
She focused all her attention on the call—and then she heard a woman’s voice.
[It’s because of my dad.]
‘Huh? Who’s this chick now?’
Then came Si-wan’s familiar, smooth baritone voice.
[Your father? Why?]
[He was so rude to the director that day. I really want to apologize properly.]
Su-hwa felt like someone had smacked her in the head with a frying pan.
The thought that Si-wan might be seeing someone had never crossed her mind. But from the conversation, it sounded like he’d already met the girl’s father.
“Wow, I can’t believe this.”
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, and focused on the rest of the conversation.
[Ah, I was a little taken aback at the time. But you don’t need to apologize. He seemed like a nice man—very lively. Haha.]
A vein twitched on Su-hwa’s temple.
She had known Si-wan for quite a long time. And not just casually—they were close.
The Si-wan she knew was, by nature, prickly.
The only time he smiled was when he had to—when a smile was necessary. In other words, most of his smiles were “for business.”
In all the time she’d known him, she could count on one hand the times she’d seen him smile naturally and genuinely.
But now—he was smiling for real.
That wasn’t a business smile. That was the real deal.
“What the… He never smiled like that when he was with me…!”
It sounded strange even to her, but Su-hwa couldn’t recall a single memory of him smiling at her or laughing.
Always expressionless, annoyed, or lethargic.
Still, the reason she stayed by his side was because he treated her better than other women—softer, more accommodating.
Even when he made it clear he wasn’t thrilled, he still did most of what she asked, and even listened to her complain.
Naturally, Su-hwa was convinced that if Si-wan ever fell for someone, it would obviously be her. She had no doubt that she was the only one who could ever have him.
So the fact that someone else—this so-called assistant manager—was hearing a laugh she herself had never heard was downright infuriating.
[I was so embarrassed. I’m really sorry. Please forget everything that happened that day!]
The woman apologized again, and Si-wan replied in a gentle voice.
[No, really, I actually enjoyed it. And it was clear how much your father cares about you.]
[Thank you so much for saying that.]
The sweet, warm atmosphere coming through her earphones grated on Su-hwa’s nerves like sandpaper.
Do Si-wan—the prickly prince of attitude—was acting like a caring gentleman. And not even to her, but to another woman.
Her temple vein was about to burst.
She was just about to end the call when she heard Si-wan mutter:
[Huh? Did I hit reject by mistake instead of block?]
Ah. It seemed he’d finally realized he was on a call.
Su-hwa quickly composed her voice and greeted him with an overly cheerful tone.
“Oppaaa~!”
[…]
Click.
Just as she tried to sound as cutesy as possible, the call was cut.
“Wow… This jerk!”
Fine. Maybe he didn’t realize they were connected before. But after realizing it, shouldn’t he at least respond?
And now he just hangs up without saying a word?
She started biting her nails in frustration.
“Who the hell is this ‘Assistant Manager’? It’s not like there’s only one assistant manager in the whole company!”
It wasn’t even 6 AM yet—way too early to call Do Myeong-jin and say something like, ‘Hehehe, Father! I think our Si-wan oppa might be seeing someone these days!’ You had to have some manners.
And even if it wasn’t a timing issue, her pride wouldn’t let her ask that directly.
—
–I thought you were close with Si-wan, but maybe not, huh?
—
If she heard something like that from Do Myeong-jin, she would be emotionally crushed.
There were three things Chae Su-hwa couldn’t stand:
When she was curious about something.
When she wanted something.
And when someone tried to take what was hers.
Unfortunately, all three were being threatened at once right now.
If you can’t ask directly, there are other ways to find out.
She pressed speed dial 0.
Ring, ring…
Soon, her dad—the bondholder—answered, his voice full of worry.
Maybe because it was early in the morning, his voice was especially gravelly.
[Su-hwa! What’s wrong at this hour? Did a burglar break in? Is there a fire? Or is the building collapsing?]
“Jeez, do I only ever call you when something bad happens? I just wanted to hear your voice.”
[Huh? But you came home just yesterday.]
She had indeed visited her parents’ house for dinner the night before and taken some things she needed.
So for her to call first thing in the morning, it made sense that her dad would be surprised.
“Well… actually, I have a favor to ask.”
Her dad let out a sigh of relief.
Su-hwa was the kind of daughter who managed her image better than most people her age. She never caused the kind of rich-kid scandals that would require her father’s help to clean up.
So when she said she had a “favor,” it really was just that—a favor.
[Whew, that’s a relief. So, what is it?]
“Can you ask CEO Do Myeong-jin something for me?”
[Your uncle? What do you want to ask?]
“Can you find out if Si-wan oppa is seeing anyone lately?”
She was grateful this conversation was happening over the phone. Her face was probably bright red, and she was glad he couldn’t see it.
Her dad asked curiously:
[Huh? Si-wan has a girlfriend?]
“I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking you to find out.”
[Wait, you don’t know if he’s dating someone? I thought you two were close…]
“Stop! Don’t say another word.”
* * *
At the desk of Assistant Manager Joo Ha-na in the Food Planning Team.
As usual, Ha-na was wearing her round glasses and had her hair tied up messily while focusing on her monitor.
Then, Gu Dong-geun silently wheeled his chair over next to hers. As always, he was sharply dressed in a suit.
He looked at her with those innocent puppy eyes.
“Um, sunbae…”
She didn’t even look at him and answered curtly.
“Go away. I’m busy.”
“No, I just had something to ask you. It’s—”
“Turn it off and on again. Most electronics work after a reboot.”
“That’s not what I was going to ask…”
Still focused on the screen, Ha-na pushed his chair away with her foot.
“Go away. I said I’m busy.”
Dong-geun tiptoed like a swan gliding on water and smoothly wheeled himself back beside her.
“Come on, at least hear me out before you decide it’s nonsense!”
“It’s obviously nonsense.”
Whenever Dong-geun spoke to her in that syrupy, overly sweet tone while looking at her with those eyes, it was a 100% guarantee that whatever he was about to say was irrelevant.
And definitely not work-related.
Lowering his voice, Dong-geun leaned in.
“Sunbae, I saw you this morning.”
“Agh, go away already!”
“Eep!”
Ha-na frowned, and Dong-geun instinctively lifted his left shoulder and tilted his head to the right.
Whenever he crossed the line, she’d slap the side of his neck with the edge of her hand. It had become such a habit that he reflexively braced for it.
Which meant, of course, that this happened a lot.
And it also meant that despite all that abuse, Dong-geun never stopped pestering her.
Though he was cowering, he clearly had no intention of staying quiet.
“I-I saw everything. You and the director—coming up from the subway together!”
Ha-na let out a soft sigh.
“So what?”
“Did you two meet up and come to work together?”
She scratched her ear and thought for a moment.
They hadn’t arranged to meet, but they did end up coming together. They sat next to each other all the way to their stop. Same company, after all.
Since walking from the station to work together felt too awkward, she had let Si-wan go ahead and ducked into a coffee shop.
To avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, she’d have to add some explanations—but honestly, she couldn’t be bothered. She was too busy for that nonsense.
She answered in a casual tone, as if it were no big deal.
“Yeah, we came together.”
