Don’t go.

That’s what Yoon Seo Ha initially thought, of course. Having dinner with Ryu Kyung Joon and Lee Seung Oh? It would be a blessing if she didn’t feel sick and have to count her fingers and toes one by one while eating.

Then, inadvertently feeling a sharp gaze, she turned her head and saw Lee Ji Soo staring at her. She wasn’t looking kindly; she was glaring.

“Seo Ha, you seem surprisingly free. You even have time to chat on the phone.”

At the words thrown by Lee Ji Soo with a fake smile, the already tense office atmosphere froze. Everyone was busy pretending to work and avoiding eye contact, but only Seo Ha answered innocently.

“No, you know I’ve gotten busier, team leader.”

Lee Ji Soo’s mouth twitched upwards, trembling.

“They say that the more ripe the rice, the lower it bows. I guess that doesn’t apply to our Seo Ha.”

“Huh? I’m not rice.”

“Ha.”

Lee Ji Soo tapped her head. She faintly heard her muttering something about short bag straps.

Becoming a team leader thanks to a secret boyfriend while not even having the skills to join the company, and now she’s talking about bag straps. It’s not even funny.

Seeing her like that, Seo Ha changed her mind about going to the dinner, wondering if it would be a meal or a punishment. When the blocks of that love Jenga, which seemed to stand forever, began to fall one by one, how would her expression change?

That’s why she went. To a hidden Japanese omakase restaurant in an alley of Gangnam.

“…”

After getting out of the car, Seo Ha struggled to control her expression as she looked at the inconspicuous sign.

“The exterior isn’t as luxurious as you thought, right?”

Misunderstanding her anxiety, which couldn’t be concealed, as disappointment, Lee Seung Oh chuckled.

“Despite how it looks, only people who know the direct phone number can make reservations here, as it doesn’t appear on the internet. I guarantee the taste. Secretary Ryu had made a reservation at another place, but I didn’t like it, so I contacted here directly. Oh, and since Secretary Ryu will be coming late after finishing work, we can start eating first.”

That’s right. This place was only available for reservations by people who knew the direct number, and sameday reservations were almost impossible.

Nevertheless, the reason Lee Seung Oh was able to make a reservation for today was because he was a regular customer.

Not Lee Seung Oh. Yoon Seo Ha.

“Wow.”

Seo Ha quickly returned her expression to its original state and made an impressed gesture.

“It seems that our CEO is a regular here.”

“Well, yes.”

Pretending to be gentle, Lee Seung Oh shrugged his shoulders and took the lead into the restaurant.

The interior was just as Seo Ha remembered. A small, narrow space with a private room separated by a sliding door at the very end.

If anything had changed, it was the number of Polaroid pictures of customers that covered one wall, which had increased quite a bit?

“There are a lot of customer photos.”

Seo Ha didn’t bother to look at the photo of her and Lee Seung Oh, which was still attached to the second row below the ceiling.

“Please, have a seat here.”

A friendly staff member guided the two to the only available private room. When Seo Ha sat in the middle, Lee Seung Oh took the seat across from her.

“When I first came here, there were hardly any photos. As I kept eating here, the number gradually increased like that. The steady accumulation, little by little, felt just like our company, which I liked.”

This place was somewhere Seo Ha had discovered by chance during her college days. Not long after it had opened, and before word of mouth had spread, she used to come here with Seung Oh at least twice a week.

“I like how the photos gradually increase. The steady accumulation, little by little, is just like our parents’ company.”

She still remembered those words. And she had used them while pretending to be lost in admiration. Damn that murderer.

Despite coming to a restaurant she used to enjoy, her appetite suddenly dropped. The salmon salad with peanut sauce couldn’t revive her lost appetite either.

“Do you know the saying, ‘If you wish for it earnestly, it will come true?'”

When she had barely managed to put the last piece of lettuce in her mouth, Lee Seung Oh asked.

“I always wanted to bring a girl I liked here. And now, it’s happening.”

“Have you never brought Team Leader here?”

“Wouldn’t it be nice if I hadn’t?”

Lee Seung Oh leaned his chin to one side and smiled slyly while looking at Seo Ha’s face. The words “it’s none of your business” rose to the tip of her tongue. To swallow those words, Seo Ha took a spoonful of warm soup.

“Secretary Ryu hasn’t arrived yet. I’m not that hungry, so let’s save the rest for when Secretary Ryu comes.”

“Is Secretary Ryu important?”

“Well, you asked for it. Successfully seducing Secretary Ryu would benefit you.”

“That’s true, although I am a little jealous.”

Lee Seung Oh pressed the call bell to summon a staff member. The thin sliding door opened as if it had been waiting.

“…”