“Does it have to be today? Having a dinner on the same day…”
“Did I ever force you to attend a dinner? It’s just that we need more than half of the team members to use the team funds, that’s all.”
Team leader Uk opened her fishlike eyes and nodded. With her quicktempered personality, Uk believed that if there were any extra funds, they should be used up completely without leaving a single penny. As someone with such principles, she wouldn’t just let the team funds, which would disappear if not used within this week, go to waste.
“Oh, why today of all days…”
Hyeju quickly scanned the empty seats. There were seven employees in the business department, and three of them were absent. Hyeju found out this morning that two of them were on a business trip, and the other person took a day off. In other words, it meant that Hyeju had to attend in order to use the team funds.
“Why, is it impossible?”
At this moment, two conflicting thoughts fiercely clashed in Hyeju’s mind. Should she stubbornly refuse to attend the dinner with her eyes closed, or should she obediently go along with it?
“Are the rest of you available?”
Hyeju asked with an awkward expression. Myunghwan and Ruby, who had tidied up their seats, answered one after another.
“It has to be today for me. The project starts from tomorrow.”
“I’m fine with today too.”
Ah…
The fate of the team funds, amounting to hundreds of thousands of won, was in her hands.
Hyeju hesitated like an indecisive puppy and reluctantly replied, “Okay, then I’ll try to adjust my appointment.”
“You thought well. To use six hundred thousand won with the four of us, we’ll need at least two horns, right?”
“Oh, Hanwoo beef is always right! I’ll call and see if there’s a private room available right away!”
Excited, Myunghwan took out his mobile phone.
Hyeju glanced at the representative’s office with drooping shoulders.
My boss, who was within arm’s reach, was waiting, but she couldn’t go… Damn it.
“I have to cancel the appointment today. It’s an urgent team dinner.”
Hyeju quickly sent a message and put her phone in her bag. Seeing Hyeju, who was greatly disappointed because the anticipated appointment fell through, Ruby felt a little guilty.
“You look really disappointed. Was today really the Dday?”
Ruby, who had completely forgotten about the team funds, felt a bit awkward for organizing the dinner and poking the side of Team Leader Uk, who had been neglecting it. Although she felt sorry when she saw Hyeju’s slumped shoulders, she believed that she had done the right thing.
“I can’t just stand by and watch my beloved sister become a mistress, no way!”
Ruby firmly believed that Hyeju was caught between Seungwon and Dahee and hoped that Hyeju would come to her senses as soon as possible.
Without even dreaming that the person who felt disappointed after receiving the cancellation message was Kang Juwon, not Kang Seungwon.
It was a predictable dinner.
Talks about the clients, performance, and which employee recently bought a house were brought up in the dinner, just as expected.
Among them, there were also talks about Seungwon and Dahee. As Hyeju was close to both of them, there was a cautious atmosphere in choosing the words, but isn’t office romance a regular topic that can’t be missed at a dinner gathering?
Listening to the conversations from the development team, it seemed that Seungwon had been in a low mood lately. However, when asked indirectly, it was said that they hadn’t broken up, and various stories were poured out by everyone, making it almost an hourlong discussion about the two of them.
“Don’t you know anything? You’re the closest to both of them.”
Myunghwan poked her side.
“Everyone has been busy lately, so we couldn’t have our Friday gathering. Let’s catch up next time, haha!”
Hyeju smiled happily and smoothly escaped from the questions. Myunghwan, who likes talking about guys, felt disappointed, and Team Leader Uk also showed a subtle expression of disappointment. Ruby puckered her lips like a goldfish, as if she had something to say, but in the end, she didn’t add anything.
The four of them, who devoured a 12person portion of prime beef at the first round, immediately moved to a nearby wine bar. Originally, Hyeju had planned to only stay for the first round and leave, but it was already past nine o’clock, so she gave up and decided to stay. It was a pity not being able to meet Juwon, but since she wasn’t going anywhere immediately, she thought she could create another opportunity.
“Since the appointment was canceled anyway, let’s just enjoy ourselves!”
Once she let go of her regrets, the dinner gathering became more enjoyable. With alcohol in their systems, their spirits were lifted, and they even went to a karaoke room.
Before they knew it, it was already eleven o’clock.
“Great job, everyone!”
“Please take care on your way home!”
From the first round to the third round, after completely wiping away the team’s expenses, the dinner gathering finally came to an end.
Hyeju said goodbye to her team members and headed home.
Late at night.
Hyeju strolled leisurely to catch the bus. The buildings towering in the distance still illuminated the night, but the office workers who filled the buildings during the day had all returned to their homes.
The street was eerily quiet, with the humid air of summer.
The gentle breeze brushed against her skin, providing a pleasant sensation of cooling down the heat on her body. Hyeju walked down the street, humming a tune.
“I really mustered up the courage to ask for a date today, but I don’t know if I’ll have the courage tomorrow.”
As she walked alone on the streets at night, Juwon came to mind. Hyeju quickly took out her phone from her bag, remembering that she had sent a message but hadn’t checked her phone.
What would the response be?
“Huh…?”
Hyeju’s pupils widened as she checked the message.
“I’ll wait for you.”
That’s what the message said, sent five hours ago.
I’ll wait? Why should I wait? How am I supposed to know when it’ll end and wait?
Feeling flustered, Hyeju quickly made a call. Before the phone could even ring twice, Juwon answered.
“Is it over now?”
His voice sounded a bit hoarse.
“Yes, it just ended. I’m sorry for checking the message so late.”
Hyeju, who thought he must have waited for a while and went home, bowed her head in an empty space. A faint laughter could be heard from the other end of the receiver.
“Is it enough?”
“To miss a promise with the skylike CEO and not check the message for six hours, I have committed a grave sin.”
“Apologize with both hands folded politely. Bend your waist 90 degrees. Got it?”
“Ah, why do I have to go that far… Huh?”
How did he know that I greeted the empty space?
Beep beep, beep beep.
The sound of the pedestrian signal mixed with his voice rang right next to her. Hyeju looked around anxiously with trembling eyes.
“Where are you?”
“In front of you.”
Juwon was not far away.
Leaning against the parked car, he raised his hand. With a slightly lifted corner of his mouth, as if greeting someone for the first time today.
“Hello.”
That place, that moment became a sparkling fragment in her eyes.
Like a piece of time.
She felt like tears would well up, so happy to see him.
lu lu lo la ▪️ net (lululola.net)
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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