Ji Yeon Woo, who had been pacing around the room after hanging up the phone with Nam Sung Hun saying he would come, opened the door when she heard a sound.

As she opened the door slightly and met Nam Sung Hun’s gaze, Ji Yeon Woo’s face flushed red to the tips of her ears.

“Oh, Executive Director, this is…”

Not knowing what to do, she gripped the door tightly. As Ji Yeon Woo stood holding the door with just her face peeking out, Nam Sung Hun pushed the door open and stepped inside.

As Ji Yeon Woo stepped back to create distance, Nam Sung Hun’s lips parted slightly.

Thud. In that moment, the door closed.

“This, I’m wearing it but it seems too flashy and stands out too much. This, it didn’t seem this bad when I saw it at Domyeongjae, but looking at it again…”

Ji Yeon Woo’s outfit was excessively elaborate as she rambled on. Nam Sung Hun surveyed her entire body with a look that seemed to say “What am I looking at right now?”

The gaudy bright blue dress hugged her body so tightly it was almost comical. The skirt flared out from below the knees like a mermaid tail, rustling with the sound of cheap fabric every time she moved.

The haphazardly sewn cheap sequins were dizzying to look at. Unable to move comfortably, her face flushed bright red.

Witnessing such an outrageous outfit for the first time in his life, Nam Sung Hun slowly closed and opened his eyes. When he remained silent, Ji Yeon Woo’s embarrassment skyrocketed and she clenched and unclenched her fingers as she kept making excuses.

“I’m sorry, this doesn’t seem right…”

“…”

“I should have asked sooner, I was thoughtless. I’m sorry.”

“Director Moon. Hah…”

Hah… A long sigh escaped Nam Sung Hun’s lips. Ji Yeon Woo bit her lip hard and lowered her gaze, while Nam Sung Hun pressed his forehead and let out a hollow laugh.

He had overlooked too many things. Having never asked someone to prepare women’s clothing before, he had assumed an evening dress would naturally be appropriate for a formal event. The kind of outfit that businesswomen he had accompanied always wore, that kind of formal attire.

But what was this? It looked like she was about to embark on a Southeast Asian tour, no, these days even Southeast Asian tours probably wouldn’t use outfits like this.

This is ridiculous. A wry laugh escaped involuntarily.

“Ah… I’m sorry…”

As the chuckle burst out, Ji Yeon Woo looked like she was about to cry. Her attitude showed she felt like she had ruined things before even starting the job.

Huff. Nam Sung Hun closed his eyes tightly for a moment, lost in thought, then lifted his eyelids again to look at Ji Yeon Woo. Taking a bit of time to look slowly, it seemed remarkable that Ji Yeon Woo could pull off such an outfit.

“Well, it’s surprising but not bad the more I look at it.”

“Pardon?”

Ji Yeon Woo raised her head in shock. As if asking if he was mocking her, Nam Sung Hun unconsciously gave a small smile.

It was quite an endearing expression.

“Not bad, you say?”

“Isn’t it fine as long as the person wearing it can pull it off?”

“Ah… well.”

“Turn around once.”

“Yes.”

Flustered, Ji Yeon Woo slowly turned in a circle. The dress with its mercilessly low back revealed her hip line, and only then did Nam Sung Hun’s brow furrow terribly.

Her spine and shoulder blades stood out prominently against her paper-white back.

“What is this? It’s the worst.”

Just earlier he had said it wasn’t bad, but seeing her exposed back, tightly-fitted hips and hip line, a curse-like assessment slipped out. Ji Yeon Woo bowed her head even lower, and this time even her nape turned bright red.

Unlike the relatively modest front, the wide-open back muddled Nam Sung Hun’s gaze, and as the thought of other men seeing her like this crept in, he judged it unacceptable.

The gaudy dress that was tacky enough to cause nausea wasn’t the issue. The harshly exposed back and clinging lower half were the problem.

“How could you wear such an outfit…”

A series of harsh criticisms poured out.

Ji Yeon Woo’s eyes welled up with tears as if she might cry at any moment. Looking at Nam Sung Hun’s somewhat fierce expression, she felt things had gone terribly wrong.

“I’m sorry…”

This is a disaster.

“I think I made a big mistake. I’m sorry. I probably should stay in the room today…”

“Hello? It’s me.”

Before she could finish speaking, Nam Sung Hun took out his phone and called someone, cutting off her words.

Who could he be calling? Ji Yeon Woo quietly raised her head.

“Something urgent came up. I need Hwang’s help.”

It seems he found someone to smile on his behalf. Ji Yeon Woo lowered her gaze again.

“I’ll send you the address, so connect with a nearby store and get a formal dress. It’s for a dinner event, for a woman to wear.”

…Ah. Ji Yeon Woo closed her eyes tightly then opened them. His voice seemed to reverberate slightly.

“Size?”

She could feel Nam Sung Hun’s gaze on her. A dizzying sensation crept up from her toes as his eyes slowly swept over her from head to toe.

It was maddening. To the point where nothing could be contained.

“Height about to my shoulder.”

Her heart seemed to drop.

“Thin.”

Or perhaps leap.

“Pretty.”

It felt as if all the blood in her body was drying up. Feeling her legs might shake if she closed her eyes, Ji Yeon Woo quickly lifted her eyelids.

“Choose something appropriate. We’re short on time, so within an hour and a half at the latest.”

Nam Sung Hun ended the call with those final words. A terrible silence fell for a moment, and Ji Yeon Woo pressed her lips tightly shut, afraid her heart might leap out of her mouth.

Putting his phone back in his jacket, Nam Sung Hun looked at Ji Yeon Woo. After gazing at her quietly for a moment as if appreciating her, Nam Sung Hun lifted his chin.

“You heard the details, so let’s wait a bit.”

“Yes. Understood.”

As Nam Sung Hun turned to leave the room, he glanced back while grabbing the doorknob and added a few words.

“How are you feeling? Are you alright?”

As the question fell, Ji Yeon Woo blankly raised her gaze. Her muddled mind unable to form thoughts, she just nodded as if entranced.

At that, Nam Sung Hun left the room with a slight smirk.

Thud. As the door closed, Ji Yeon Woo sank to the floor. The cheap dress made a rustling sound as it followed her movement.

Ji Yeon Woo had no way of knowing that he had come down to the room just to ask that one question about how she was feeling.

*

“Oh my, who do we have here?”

It was well past lunch time on Saturday. Ji Yeon Woo’s mother, Mrs. Shin, who was lying in bed at the rehabilitation hospital, opened her eyes wide.

The sliding door opened and Director Moon entered.

Director Moon slowly walked in carrying a box of small orange juice bottles in one hand and a box of soy milk in the other. Mrs. Shin looked at Director Moon as if seeing an apparition.

“What brings you here? You didn’t even call ahead, elder sister.”

“What call, you fool. Since when have I needed your permission to come and go?”

Director Moon set down the drink boxes under the bed and sat in a folding chair. Mrs. Shin raised her upper body, propping herself up with pillows behind her back.

“Why did you buy those things? Who’s going to drink them?”

“Just leave them be. Let them rot or feed them to the dogs.”

Neither the words going out nor coming in were kind. Mrs. Shin just pouted her lips and ran her fingers through her messy hair.

Seeing this, Director Moon clicked her tongue.

“You could squeeze out a barrel of oil. Don’t you even wash your hair?”

“Try lying in bed sick yourself. You think it’s so easy to wash your body?”

“That’s why you need to get your act together and work. Who pushed you, who tripped you? You were eating well and working well, so why did you fall?”

This old woman came all the way to visit yet still nags. Mrs. Shin turned her head sharply with a cold expression, as if she didn’t want to hear it.

Her close friend Ja Young, who lived nearby, would stop by the hospital room after finishing work at Domyeongjae to help with various things. Through Ja Young, she had been hearing news about Ji Yeon Woo.

She had been furious to hear that the main building staff were working her daughter to the bone. Director Moon would be at the forefront of that, and that detestable Eun Ja would be throwing her weight around.

“Why are you sticking your lip out like that? Did you hurt your mouth when you fell too?”

So Director Moon was hardly welcome.

Mrs. Shin conveyed with her whole body that she was ‘extremely angry’ before seeming to reach her limit and looking at Director Moon. Her face was full of indignation.

“Really, why are you all so desperate to mistreat someone else’s precious daughter?”

“What are you talking about? Who’s mistreating who? You mean Ja Young?”

“It doesn’t matter who’s doing it. Tell me why you’re all working my Yeon Woo so hard.”

“It’s the same for all new employees. Wasn’t it the same for you and Ja Young? Should we give extra points because she’s your daughter?”

“You could treat her a little better. Right or not?”

“Not right.”

When Mrs. Shin questioned accusingly, Director Moon bent over and took out an orange juice from the drink box. As if telling her to be quiet and drink this, she opened the cap and handed it over. Mrs. Shin took it, and Director Moon made a dry expression.

“Besides, is it good for a young person to come work in the countryside? No matter how hard it is to find a replacement, what fool would push their daughter into Domyeongjae?”

“…”

“They say it’s hard to get jobs in the city, so you should tell her to go to Seoul quickly and find a new job. Age is critical, how can she waste time rotting away here?”

As Director Moon spoke reprovingly, Mrs. Shin’s eyes widened as if to say “What on earth are you talking about?”

“Elder sister, I don’t understand a word of what you’re saying right now.”

“Did you hit your head too? Did your brain fall out?”

“No, that’s not it, did our Yeon Woo find a new job? For what reason?”

“What do you mean for what reason? Don’t you know?”

When Director Moon asked back, Mrs. Shin tilted her head with a still puzzled expression.

“My daughter is on company leave, isn’t she?”

At Mrs. Shin’s words, Director Moon raised her eyebrows.