Chapter 42
Startled by the sudden presence, Sua’s breath hitched. When she looked up, she saw a man smiling down at her.
It was Yoon Dam, the company’s CEO. Dressed in a casual yet stylish suit with his hair slightly tousled, he looked as charming as ever.
“Hello, Mr. Yoon. I didn’t do anything wrong, just got surprised while browsing the internet.”
She said, then paused.
Even though it was before work hours, was it not allowed to browse the internet at the company? However, contrary to Sua’s thoughts, Yoon Dam shrugged as if he didn’t care.
“You drank a lot at the dinner yesterday. Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“I bought this just in case you weren’t feeling well.”
He held out a red paper cup. It was slightly larger than a regular coffee cup.
“I’ll have it even though I’m fine.”
What’s this? Why did he buy it? Did he intend for me to have it since I arrived early?
As Sua hesitated, Yoon Dam chuckled and said, “I bought it for you, Sua.”
Surprised by Yoon Dam’s words, Sua widened her eyes.
“For me?”
“Yeah, I have something to discuss with you.”
“…Ah.”
Then Yoon Dam tilted his head.
“Wait, would you mind going to the meeting room with me to have a quick chat over this?”
What could it be about?
Feeling anxious, Sua followed him.
Yesterday, I wasn’t even drinking.
With a regretful sigh, Sua entered the meeting room and sat down. Facing each other, Yoon Dam handed her the paper cup.
“Here.”
It didn’t look like ordinary coffee inside. It was creamy and white. As Sua looked inside, Yoon Dam chuckled.
“Does it look suspicious?”
“Ah, no.”
“It’s soup. The café downstairs sells soup for breakfast. Sua, you’re quite cautious.”
With that said, he chuckled.
“Sorry. I should call you Sua. It’s just that… ever since I was young, I’ve been friends with a Sua who was always by my side.”
“It’s okay. Call me however you’re comfortable.”
As Yoon Dam had mentioned during the interview, everyone at Yoon Dam Publishing was quite familiar with each other, so they didn’t always use formal titles. People who were Yoon Dam’s juniors often referred to him not as the CEO, but as a senior.
“You can call me whatever you like.”
“But I should be careful. Have you had breakfast?”
“No.”
She shook her head.
After Sua started working at Yoon Dam Publishing, she had to reluctantly rely on a helper for household chores. Although someone who helped with chores prepared breakfast this morning, Sua didn’t have the appetite to eat. Due to the events of last night, she didn’t feel confident enough to have a proper meal.
Yoon Dam tilted his head.
“Haven’t you eaten?”
“…Ah, yes.”
“Then have this. The soup is really soothing. I often have it as a hangover cure.”
As if urging her to have the soup, he extended his hand.
Even though she didn’t have an appetite yet, Sua reluctantly brought the soup to her lips, thinking that he had bought it with her in mind.
But she still felt uneasy.
What does he want to talk about? It felt like the calm before the storm. Did I do something wrong at yesterday’s dinner? Or… maybe not, since he assigned me a task for today.
By the time Sua’s tension reached its peak, Yoon Dam spoke.
“I think you were quite tense yesterday.”
“Ah.”
“And you seemed to force yourself to drink.”
Then Yoon Dam’s gaze shifted to the office outside. Employees were gradually arriving. At the end of Yoon Dam’s gaze was Chae-young.
“Chae-young forced you to drink, right?”
“No, I wanted to drink.”
“Anyway, don’t be too tense. I was worried because you seemed so stiff yesterday.”
Surprised that he had been watching her yesterday, Sua widened her eyes.
“Don’t be too worried. You’ll do well. If anyone bothers you or if you’re curious about something, just let me know.”
At Yoon Dam’s words, Sua spoke up.
“Me.”
“Hmm?”
“Did you call me today because you wanted to talk about something?”
“Yeah. Why? Did you have other business?”
“No, not really. I just wondered if I did something wrong.”
At that, Yoon Dam burst into laughter.
“It’s only been a day, what could you have done wrong? Just relax. For now.”
“Thank you.”
Then, the sound of people moving outside made Yoon Dam stand up from his seat.
“It’s work hours. I’ll go out first, so finish that and come out.”
“Oh, okay.”
As Sua hurried to get up from her seat, Yoon Dam shook his head.
“Make sure you finish it before coming out. We have a long meeting this morning.”
“But…”
“It’s an order from the CEO. If you’re not feeling well, the CEO who invited you to dinner yesterday won’t be happy.”
Yoon Dam said that and was about to leave, but he stopped in his tracks.
“But, Sua.”
“Yes?”
As if suddenly remembering, Yoon Dam spoke up.
“…You’re married, right?”
“Ah… yes.”
Suddenly, a conversation about marriage?
It wasn’t a secret that Sua was married. Her marriage to the third-generation chaebol was covered in the newspapers, and she had mentioned it on her resume before joining the company.
Chae-young must have informed him about her when explaining things about her. Sua’s eyes widened at the unexpected question.
“Did you… not know?”
Yoon Dam raised the corner of his mouth in a smirk.
“No, I knew… I just wanted to hear it directly from you. Got it.”
Then he tapped his head with his finger.
“Han Sua is married. I’ll remember that.”
“Ah, okay.”
Yoon Dam chuckled again and left his seat.
Marriage becoming an issue? Well, she had seen discussions about married women with no children and no career experience being the most troublesome on various online communities.
A married woman with no children and no career experience. That was exactly her.
Even after Yoon Dam left, Sua sighed heavily. But as she looked at the monitor screen, she forgot about Yoon Dam’s words.
The information about her brother’s company that she had been looking at earlier was still on her mind.
The talks among the internal employees about how things weren’t going well.
Would it be okay? What if something really goes wrong?
What if her brother really contacts Hyun-oh?
Although she had threatened Jiheon so much yesterday, Sua couldn’t even predict how her brother would react or how she would respond.
Although she knew worrying in advance was pointless, anxiety filled Sua’s heart.
“Nothing is easy.”
Sua’s long sigh filled the small office.
—
It was a hectic day. With a lot of new things to learn and tasks to take over, Sua was on edge at work. By the time the workday was over, she received a text from Hyun-oh.
It’s not that far away.
Should I say it’s okay? But then, she remembered what Hyun-oh said before. That she didn’t need a ride. Sua was about to send a quick reply when her phone trembled in her hand. Instead of a ringtone, it was a vibration. She looked at the screen. At first, she thought it might be Hyun-oh, but it was her younger sister, Ji-soo.
What’s going on? These days, when her family calls, Sua’s heart races. She worries if something bad has happened or if there’s been another accident.
Sua got up from her seat and hurried out of the office to a quiet place, then pressed the call button on her phone.
― Unnie!
But contrary to her thoughts, her sister’s voice sounded cheerful.
“Yeah, Jisoo. What’s up?”
― What’s up? I just wanted to hear your voice, unnie.
Although Sua and Jisoo had a bit of an age difference and didn’t talk often, they were relatively close sisters.
“Yeah, really?”
Her voice was cheerful, making Sua feel relieved that nothing seemed to be wrong. She had been worried about a recent breakup with her boyfriend.
Then Jisoo spoke up.
― Unnie, do you have time today?
“Today?”
