Between Us is X - Chapter 6

“What bad luck.”

Sun Eun Soo, who had inadvertently blurted out her inner thoughts, made an apologetic gesture. Kim Joo Han nodded with a face devoid of any impact.

Suddenly struck by an unnecessary curiosity, Sun Eun Soo asked further.

“Then what are you going to use it for?”

“Does it have to be used for something? Isn’t its mere existence meaningful and touching enough?”

“You’re more serious than I thought, kid.”

Sun Eun Soo turned away decisively, with an expression that said she shouldn’t mingle words anymore.

“You two are really close friends.”

Lee Jae Rim, who had been giggling, said seriously.

“But sir, wouldn’t it be a profitable business if ten pieces of furniture sold together with one face?”

“If that’s what we’re aiming for, why don’t we sell your face?”

“My face is okay, but the boss’s face isn’t?”

“Yeah. If you’re okay with it.”

As Lee Jae Rim looked dumbfounded, Sun Eun Soo placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Not bad. You okay with it?”

“I’m not sure if I’m okay with it, but let me think about it for a moment.”

“What’s there to think about? You’re fine.”

“Really? I’m okay? Actually, I put a little more effort into my appearance today because I heard we’re having the company dinner at Bomridan-gil. This shirt is even its first outing today. It was hard to get even through direct purchase, so I asked a friend living in England…”

“Alright, I get it. Take the camera and go stand over there naturally.”

“Oh my… Like this?”

Lee Jae Rim entered the warehouse, subtly striking a pose. At first, she pretended to be reluctant, but as her poses gradually became more exaggerated, Kim So Min, who had been watching, clicked her tongue.

“You came dressed all fancy again today, probably planning to make a fuss about sawdust and oil stains on your clothes later…”

Just then, Sun Eun Soo burst out laughing. It seemed Lee Jae Rim had played a prank.

“This is amazing. Are you really okay with this photo?”

“No, manager, this is going too far.”

“You went too far, not me.”

Kim Joo Han’s gaze quietly moved between Lee Jae Rim, who was pleading to delete the photo, and Sun Eun Soo, who was laughing so hard she could barely breathe.

Kim So Min, realizing that Kim Joo Han was too quiet, turned her head and hesitated. There was a strange expression on Kim Joo Han’s face that she had never seen before.

However, as if she had seen wrong, Kim Joo Han instantly returned to his usual face. He muttered while brushing his hair back as if annoyed.

“I think we could cancel the company dinner. It seems the employees are already getting along well enough.”

As soon as she heard those words, Kim So Min slammed her hand on the table. Kim Joo Han flinched.

“That’s not possible, sir. I’ve been preparing since yesterday because of today’s dinner.”

Whatever she had prepared, Kim So Min’s eyes were fierce.

Kim Joo Han smiled awkwardly, feeling as if he was facing Kim So Min in a judo uniform on a mat, something he had never actually seen.

“My joke went too far. Let’s try to bond more over food.”

[This is the timeline separator]

That evening, there was a long-awaited company dinner for .

As soon as he landed at Incheon Airport, Kim Joo Han had thought about grilling samgyeopsal. Sun Eun Soo ate everything well except cucumbers, Kim So Min showed her athlete’s appetite, Oh Sun Kyung ate more than she appeared to, and Lee Jae Rim, who seemed to have a small appetite at first, became frighteningly voracious once she started. When they all gathered, the food bill for just the first round exceeded 15 servings.

After that, saying they were too full and needed to digest, they moved to a nearby pub for the second round.

“Come to think of it, it’s already been two years since started.”

While each holding a mug of beer and chatting about various things, Sun Eun Soo casually brought up the topic.

Although Kim Joo Han’s father had established more than 10 years ago, for those present, the time around two years ago when the CEO changed and the company reopened felt more relatable.

After sharing some memories for a while, Lee Jae Rim suddenly said,

“Oh right, I wasn’t going to bring up such a mood-killing topic, but…”

“Then don’t.”

Kim So Min cut her off abruptly. She had clearly reacted sensitively to the mention of ruining the mood.

Lee Jae Rim quickly changed her words.

“I’ve already decided to talk about it. We’re not just drinking for the taste anyway, so let’s all talk about it together. It’s about Jang Hyun Man.”

“Ugh.”

Sun Eun Soo frowned in disgust.

No one here had any good feelings left for Jang Hyun Man, who had been a long-time employee of but quit the company after a conflict with Kim Joo Han, causing all sorts of trouble. Now he was running .

“A few days ago, I went to the hair salon and was reading a newly released magazine, and there was an interview with that person. He was now openly talking as if he was the pioneer of the vintage furniture market in our country.”

Everyone glanced at Kim Joo Han’s reaction.

It was actually a bit ambiguous to determine who was the pioneer or originator, but Kim Gyeong Hun was undeniably one of the implicitly acknowledged first-generation collectors.

However, after he passed away, the problem was that Jang Hyun Man kept subtly trying to claim Kim Gyeong Hun’s achievements as his own through media play, saying things like “He was just the CEO in name, but in reality, I…”

“If he’s taken everything and built it bigger, that should be the end of it. I don’t understand why he keeps picking on us.”

“He probably expected us to go bankrupt quickly without him, but we’re not going down as easily as he thought.”

Sun Eun Soo retorted, slightly raising one corner of her mouth.

After a few words of agreement, Lee Jae Rim turned to Oh Sun Kyung.

“But, Manager Oh. That guy wouldn’t have let a talent like you go, so why didn’t you follow him?”

Oh Sun Kyung answered without a moment’s hesitation.

“Because there was no reason to follow. Actually, I was grateful that he left first. If he hadn’t, I might have thrown my resignation letter in someone’s face for the first time in my life someday.”

Everyone burst into laughter simultaneously.

“Manager Oh, you’re usually quiet, but you show such intensity once in a while.”

As Lee Jae Rim said, Oh Sun Kyung seemed quiet and unobtrusive, but she diligently did her share of work and accurately expressed her opinions in a small but clear voice.

Even after two years, she maintained a puzzling aspect of keeping her distance by not speaking casually to anyone, yet not missing any gatherings.

“But then… Ah!”

Sun Eun Soo, who was about to say something, accidentally knocked over the beer glass in front of her. Kim Joo Han, sitting next to her, reached out with incredible reflexes and caught the glass that was about to fall under the table. He managed to prevent the glass from breaking, but couldn’t stop the liquid from splashing.

“Ugh, it’s all wet!”

“My hand is even wetter. Are you drunk? If you’re drunk, go home.”

“I didn’t spill it because I’m drunk, it was an accident. You’re being quite harsh.”

Sun Eun Soo pouted, looking at her wet, clinging blouse and stained pants. Kim Joo Han, who had quickly pulled out some napkins and handed them to Sun Eun Soo, shook his hand a couple of times and said,

“Anyway, because of you, my hand is wet too, and if it wasn’t for me, your clothes would have been even wetter. No sorry or thank you?”

“I was going to, but now I’m not in the mood.”

“Since when do you apologize and thank people based on mood?”

“If I say I won’t, then I won’t.”

Sun Eun Soo glared at Kim Joo Han and stood up from her seat.

“I’m going to the bathroom for a moment.”

Just as Sun Eun Soo was leaving the table, Kim Joo Han’s phone rang.

“I’ll be back after taking this call.”

Kim Joo Han also stood up from his seat.

As he was walking briskly while answering the phone, Sun Eun Soo, who had gone ahead, turned around and suddenly grabbed the back of Kim Joo Han’s shirt. They couldn’t hear the conversation, but it seemed like Sun Eun Soo was asking Kim Joo Han to take off his clothes, and Kim Joo Han was saying, “Let go, woman.”

Oh Sun Kyung, who had been watching the two bickering as they walked away, spoke seriously.

“There really can be true friendship between a man and a woman. I don’t have any male friends I could call real friends, maybe just classmates or acquaintances, so I find it a bit fascinating to see the CEO and the manager.”

Lee Jae Rim nodded.

“To be honest, I always ended up dating female friends I thought I particularly got along well with, so I was of the opinion that there’s no such thing as friendship between men and women in a different sense. So when I first saw the CEO and the manager, I suspected there might be something between them, but seeing nothing happen for two years, maybe not?”

Lee Jae Rim rubbed her chin with a suspicious look. Kim So Min, who had been tilting her head along, said,

“Well, I don’t know. Maybe I’m just simple-minded, but… the look in their eyes when they find each other pathetic seems genuine.”

Oh Sun Kyung and Lee Jae Rim laughed in agreement. Kim So Min added,

“Anyway, I think it’s good that the two of them are friends. Working part-time at various places, I found it tiring when the higher-ups genuinely disliked each other, and even more tiring if they were dating.”

“Oh, I totally agree with that.”

Lee Jae Rim agreed vehemently.

“At a company I worked at briefly before, my supervisor was dating someone in the same office, and whether they were getting along or fighting, they always showed it, making me unnecessarily nervous. Ugh. I really hated it.”

Oh Sun Kyung nodded in agreement, saying, “That’s right,” and smiled slightly.

“In many ways, I think our CEO and manager are just right.”

[This is the timeline separator]

The next day was a day off. After sleeping in and waking up, Sun Eun Soo took a shower, had a quick breakfast, and then cleaned.

The house was just the right size for living alone, so it didn’t take too long to clean. With 11 years of experience in housework since starting to live alone at eighteen, her hands were quite quick.

After finishing the cleaning, Sun Eun Soo rummaged through her closet with a serious expression.

There was a wedding to attend at 2 PM. It was the wedding of a senior colleague she had been quite close to when working at the magazine company.

Although it was a bit embarrassing to see those people again due to her rather dramatic resignation process, it was already two years ago. Thinking about it, since the senior had also changed jobs a few months ago, it seemed like not many people from the former company would attend.

‘Honestly, the others are whatever… I just hope I don’t see Team Leader Gye.’

After contemplating, Sun Eun Soo pulled out a dress she rarely wore, almost exclusively for attending weddings.

There were quite a lot of people at the wedding venue. As Sun Eun Soo had guessed, there were more unfamiliar faces than people from her former company.

On her way out after congratulating her senior in the bride’s waiting room, she ran into some familiar faces. It was people from the PR agency where she had worked as a freelancer for a few months.

“Wow, Sun Eun Soo, it’s been so long!”

“It really has been a while, Team Leader. Have you been well?”

After exchanging pleasant greetings, the team leader playfully asked,

“Any wedding news for Sun Eun Soo, other than attending others’ weddings?”

“Come on, how could there be already? I don’t even have a boyfriend, so it’s still far off.”

I might never get married at all. Sun Eun Soo added silently to herself as she smiled brightly.

“By the way, where are you working these days, Sun Eun Soo?”

Sun Eun Soo pulled out a business card from her bag as if she had been waiting for this question.

“I’m at now.”

“Oh, really? But isn’t that…”

The team leader trailed off with an expression of realization.

She seemed about to say something like, “Isn’t that the place that suddenly became uncertain when the CEO changed after doing well?” Sun Eun Soo had expected this, but she smiled as if she didn’t know anything.

“If you need any vintage furniture, feel free to contact me anytime. We can also provide sponsorships for studio props, photoshoots, and so on.”

After smoothly wrapping up the conversation and greeting a few more people, Sun Eun Soo entered the main ceremony hall.

Watching the familiar sequence of events – the lighting of the unity candle, the groom’s entrance, the bride’s entrance – Sun Eun Soo quietly crossed her arms.

Marriage.

There was a time when she had such fluffy, flower garden-like expectations that something like this might happen in her life too. It was a happiness that could only be enjoyed briefly at that age.

But the more she learned, the more bitter reality became.

That moment from a few years ago suddenly flashed through her mind.

When yandere male lead believes she loves him — but she never did

“How dare you!”

“How dare you make me love you, only to cast me aside as nothing more than a friend?!?

“I will never accept that.”

“I will never let you return to him.”

“Even if I have to burn myself to ashes.”

“Even if I must shatter my purity, my dignity, my very soul.”

“I will never let you escape me!”

This was the first novel that introduced me to the matriarchal genre. I’ve read it three times already!

At first, the male lead despised the female lead. Later, he misunderstood that she liked him, so he condescendingly and reluctantly reciprocated her feelings.

Then, he suddenly discovered that she was kind to everyone in the same way, and there was already someone she cherished in her heart, and that person was not him.

The male lead couldn’t believe it, he became angry and crazy. He was determined to capture her body and heart by any means necessary.

Synopsis:

Want to see how a green tea bitch male lead falls in love with the female lead?

Want to see how he flirtatiously pursues the female lead?

Want to see how he gets slapped in the face repeatedly?

The male lead is a green tea bitch, a poisonous lotus, jealous, ruthless, unscrupulous, with a venomous heart, and he’s also a delusional maniac.

The female lead is righteous, positive energy-filled, kind, a holy mother.

Let’s see how two people with extreme personalities come together~

_____

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