“The delivery will be here soon. Lie down and rest. When the groceries arrive, I’ll make you a delicious porridge.”

Seon Ah said as she closed the front door of Se Hee’s officetel and entered.

“Thank you so much, Manager.”

It was Manager Kim Seon Ah who had become Se Hee’s mentor when she first joined as a new employee.

With her friendly appearance and comfortable personality, Seon Ah began to take even more care of Se Hee after learning about her family circumstances.

Like an elder sister, she helped Se Hee adjust to the company with careful attention to ensure there were no difficulties.

She was the only person who took Se Hee’s side in the situation with Hyo Jun.

“Who else would take care of you if not me?”

Seon Ah patted Se Hee’s shoulder as if to say she was talking nonsense.

“How could you not contact me once during your month-long vacation? I called you worried on Cha Hyo Jun’s wedding day, but you didn’t even answer. Do you know how anxious I was that day? What if I hadn’t tried contacting you this time too?”

Seon Ah glared as if feeling hurt.

“I’m sorry. That day, I… had something special going on.”

Se Hee gave a faint smile.

“Sweetie. Are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital? They say that psychological shock can last longer than you think. What do they call it these days? Post-traumatic stress disorder. That’s it.”

Seon Ah emphasized, raising one eyebrow.

“It’s not that serious. You’re here with me now, Manager. I’m really fine. I’ll make sure to eat the porridge well, so please go ahead. Manager Park is waiting for you, right?”

Se Hee was acquainted with Manager Park, Seon Ah’s husband, who was part of a famous office couple.

“My husband? He’s not in Seoul. He’s been exiled. I didn’t tell you?”

Seon Ah took out kitchen utensils to prepare the food.

“Ex-exiled?”

Se Hee asked with a surprised expression.

“Yes. He said one wrong thing to that fox Yoon Ye Ri and was immediately sent out. To the Samcheok hotel.”

Manager Kim made a bitter expression.

“You have no idea how things are going at the company these days, do you? There have been tremendous changes in the past month.”

Just then, the officetel doorbell rang.

The groceries Seon Ah had ordered arrived.

“Perfect timing. These stories are best told over a can of beer each.”

“Sounds good. It’s been a while since I’ve had a beer with you, Manager.”

“What are you talking about? Patients can’t drink! I bought this to drink alone.”

Seon Ah glared at Se Hee with fire in her eyes.

“Come on, I collapsed because I wasn’t eating well. I should eat anything to get better, right?”

Se Hee said nonchalantly.

“…Something doesn’t seem quite right, but I’ll let it slide for now.”

Se Hee burst out laughing at Seon Ah’s playful expression.

With Seon Ah by her side, her heavy heart seemed to lighten a bit.

“Now, the menu is vegetable porridge and seasoned whelk. How about that?”

“Beer and seasoned whelk are the ultimate combo.”

Se Hee gave a thumbs up in response to Seon Ah’s question as she approached the kitchen.

“You’re having vegetable porridge. And go sit on the sofa or lie down on the bed right now. Your elder sister will call you when it’s ready, don’t worry.”

Seon Ah said with a concerned expression.

“You’re a guest in my home. I can’t let you do all the work like this.”

“I’m not a guest, I’m family. Just go inside.”

After finally chasing Se Hee away, Seon Ah quickly prepared the porridge for Se Hee and some delicious side dishes.

Only after finishing the table setting beautifully did Seon Ah call for Se Hee.

“Thank you for the meal.”

Se Hee took a spoonful of the steaming vegetable porridge.

A mild and nutty flavor spread in her mouth.

It was a taste that conveyed Seon Ah’s sincerity all the way to her heart.

“It’s so delicious.”

Se Hee quickly lowered her head, feeling like she might cry.

“I’ll make a whole pot for you. Finish it all before you go back to work.”

“…Okay.”

Se Hee’s voice grew small as she choked up.

* * *

Se Hee quickly finished the vegetable porridge.

Meanwhile, Seon Ah had already emptied three or four cans of beer.

“So, does Manager Park only come on weekends?”

Se Hee was worried about Seon Ah, who had been dating for a long time but was still a newlywed.

“Yes. He comes Friday evening and leaves again early Monday morning.”

“That must be tough.”

“Don’t worry. Being a weekend couple has its own charm. It’s become even more passionate, you could say?”

Seon Ah smiled meaningfully.

“We had a long dating period, you know. So we can manage. If we had a short courtship and a passionate newlywed period, we might have died.”

Seon Ah poured a newly opened can of beer into her mouth.

“The company has changed a lot these days.”

As if about to bring up a heavy topic, Seon Ah’s expression darkened.

“Is something going on at the hotel?”

Se Hee hadn’t had the chance to worry about the hotel’s situation.

“They’re breaking urgent news every day. Hey, hey. You have no idea, do you? Our company is being sold.”

“S-sold?”

Se Hee opened her eyes wide in surprise.

The reason being, due to embezzlement by the owner’s family that shook the hotel’s finances, shareholders rose up in protest, ultimately leading to the decision to sell.

Foreign private equity funds that had already caught wind of this were quickly latching on, and given the hotel’s high value, there were no domestic companies readily submitting bids.

“If it’s sold to a private equity fund, it’s clear as day the hotel will be broken up. Experienced employees are already planning their escape.”

Seon Ah shook her head as if it was a big deal.

“My goodness… How could they decide to sell the hotel so easily? Our hotel is one of the most solid in Korea. Hasn’t the union said anything?”

Se Hee asked worriedly about this unexpected development.

“Who has loyalty to the company in this situation? It’s hard enough to take care of yourself. Oh, and Yoon Ye Ri’s father, Director Yoon, seems to be trying to secure a position by siding with the Wheilance Group that submitted a bid.”

“Wheilance?”

“Yes. The global company that would have dominated the world hotel industry if not for the Evans Group. You know them, right?”

“Huh? Y-yes… I know.”

Just hearing the name Evans made Se Hee startle.

It seems she now reacts this way just from hearing that word.

“It looks like they’ve also applied to bid for our hotel now. Everyone is hoping Wheilance will acquire us, but even if they do, it’s on the condition of reducing personnel by over 30%. Anyway, there’s a lot of talk.”

Manager Kim furrowed her brow deeply.

“…Restructuring seems unavoidable.”

Se Hee’s face hardened as well.

“It seems that way. Their people will probably come over to our side too. But that’s not the problem right now.”

Irritation seeped into Seon Ah’s voice.

“Because of Director Yoon acting like some vanguard for Wheilance, Cha Hyo Jun is getting cocky now. He thinks he’s a director riding on his father-in-law’s back. I think Assistant Manager Lee should know about this.”

Seon Ah looked at Se Hee with worried eyes.

“Even Director Yang is watching Cha’s every move now. It’s really ridiculous.”

Seeing Manager Kim’s expression contort in displeasure, it was obvious what kind of things Hyo Jun had been up to.

“It must have been hard for you. Thank you for letting me know.”

“Don’t thank me. This is all I can do for you. Well.”

Looking frustrated, Seon Ah opened a new can of beer without a word.

“Think about changing jobs too. You have skills, so it might actually be easier for you.”

Seon Ah subtly emphasized the idea of changing jobs.

“Yes. I’ll look into it carefully.”

Se Hee nodded.

She hadn’t even sorted out her feelings for Kyle yet, and now this huge storm as soon as she returned to the company.

Se Hee let out a deep sigh.

“By the way, did you go on a trip somewhere?”

Seon Ah said, looking at the suitcase left unattended by the entrance.

“Yes. I went on a cruise trip.”

Suddenly, Seon Ah spat out the beer she was drinking.

“C-cruise?”

Wiping the beer that had sprayed onto her mouth, Seon Ah looked at Se Hee with a startled expression.

“Yes. I went on a Mediterranean cruise. I was able to travel to quite a variety of places like Santorini in Greece, Naples and Rome in Italy.”

As memories of the trip came to mind, Se Hee’s face was enveloped in a wistful air as she naturally thought of Kyle.

“Don’t tell me… on that trip?”

Seon Ah asked as if to confirm whether what Se Hee had said in the emergency room was true.

“That’s right. I met him there. We’ve broken up now though.”

Se Hee said in a voice full of lingering emotion.

“It was real?”

Se Hee quietly nodded in response to Seon Ah’s surprised question.

“Our Assistant Manager Lee was secretly quite capable. Anyway, I’m glad it wasn’t because of Cha Hyo Jun, but still, it’s not good to neglect your health just because you got dumped.”

Seon Ah admonished as if telling her to take care of herself.

“I was the one who ended it, I’m telling you.”

Se Hee emphasized that she wasn’t dumped.

“What? Why did you end it?”

“Well… um…”

“Do you have any photos? What kind of man was he? Hm?”

Seon Ah kept asking questions, curious about Se Hee’s new relationship.

“He was a perfect man. In every way.”

As she said this, Se Hee’s expression was already tinged with longing.

“A perfect man? Show me a photo. You have one, right? Hm? You do, right?”

Seon Ah pressed Se Hee as if extremely curious.

“I do have one, but…”

Since it was already an ended relationship, Se Hee couldn’t show it off proudly to Seon Ah.

“Well, if it’s not meant to be, there’s nothing you can do. Especially marriage. It really seems like fate has to align. Just tell your elder sister everything and forget about it. Anyway, I’m glad you got over Cha Hyo Jun because of this.”

Seon Ah said loudly as if feeling relieved.

“How did you meet? Was he another traveler?”

Se Hee briefly considered whether she should answer all of Seon Ah’s questions truthfully.

“He was on board for business.”

But she gave a vague explanation about Kyle.

“For business? Not travel? Oh… so then?”

Seon Ah’s eyes sparkled as she moved closer to Se Hee.

Se Hee carefully searched for a photo on her phone.

Then she showed it to Seon Ah.

“Good heavens. This is the man? Am I really drunk? He doesn’t look human. Is he really breathing the same air as us under the same sky? You broke up with a man like this?”

Seon Ah rubbed her eyes as she looked at the photo on Se Hee’s phone, quite drunk.

Pfft, Se Hee burst out laughing.

“He’s really handsome, right? I thought my heart would stop when I first saw him too. I’ve never seen a man with such perfect looks in my life.”

When she first saw him, how surprised she was.

Remembering that moment, a smile naturally spread across Se Hee’s face.

“His eye color is a mysterious deep blue like the Mediterranean Sea.”

“Blue? Wow… that’s really amazing.”

Seon Ah looked more closely at the man in the photo as if she finally understood.

“His bone structure is different too. He must be really tall, right?”

“Yes. He’s more than a head taller than me. Maybe around 190 centimeters?”

“190 centimeters? That’s incredible. Look at those broad shoulders. His physique is top-notch.”

“He came to the pool party in swimwear, and all the women at that event pool were staring at him.”

“S-swimwear?”

Seon Ah got even more excited as she listened and imagined.

Gulp.

Huh?

Se Hee looked at Seon Ah, startled by the strange sound effect.

“A-and then? Swimwear, what happened next? Go on. Right now. Quickly.”

“What?”

Flustered, Se Hee moved away from Seon Ah a bit.

“Connect the story… Sigh. We’ve gotten to the swimwear part. What comes next?”

As if Seon Ah had decided to ask directly, she moved closer to Se Hee who had backed away.

“You said it yourself. That he was perfect in every way. And our Assistant Manager Lee is an adult, right?”

Seon Ah’s eyes flickered strangely.

Se Hee’s face turned red as she finally realized what Seon Ah wanted to hear.

“M-Manager. My head suddenly hurts. I feel dizzy and all.”

Se Hee tried to change the subject, uncomfortable with that gaze.

“Oh really? You felt dizzy and all back then?”

But Seon Ah wasn’t giving her a chance to escape.

Wanting to continue the adult conversation, Seon Ah smiled excessively and firmly held onto Se Hee’s arm as she tried to slip away.

“It’s okay. Assistant Manager Lee. No, Se Hee. I’m your elder sister. You can tell me comfortably. Okay? Comfortably. Tell me in detail without leaving anything out?”