When Min Hae Yeon arrived at Dali Coffee’s headquarters building, she entered the lobby which, along with the second floor, was open to the general public. As a result, many people besides employees were coming and going. Hae Yeon’s gaze naturally turned to the people wearing employee badges around their necks.

The areas she would be entering from now on were not disclosed to outsiders and were strictly secured, so Hae Yeon, who didn’t have an employee badge yet, had to contact the relevant personnel.

Shortly after informing them of her arrival at the headquarters, a female employee in a neat suit walked over.

“Miss Min Hae Yeon?”

The woman smiled brightly in greeting.

“Hello, I’m the new employee Min Hae Yeon.”

“I’m Lee So Jung, an assistant manager in the Business Support Team who will be your mentor starting today.”

After exchanging warm greetings, the two began touring the company here and there with So Jung’s explanations. As they walked around, So Jung didn’t forget to introduce Hae Yeon to the people they met.

“Ah, by the way. We’ll stop by HR later and if you give them your photo, they’ll make your employee badge.”

She added that it’s embarrassing to get it reissued if you lose the badge, so be careful managing it. Hae Yeon listened attentively, not wanting to miss any of her mentor’s various tips and explanations.

Since she was hired in a rush, the new employee training was briefly omitted through an online course and she was being put straight to work on-site.

“That’s where Hae Yeon will be working from now on, the Business Support Team.”

At Lee So Jung’s words as she walked ahead down the corridor, Hae Yeon’s bright eyes shone even more. Her heart fluttered as she followed, looking at the office interior visible beyond the transparent glass door. Then she heard the elevator arrival chime behind her.

“Oh? You’re here now?”

So Jung must have heard it too as she turned around and spoke. Hae Yeon also turned to follow her gaze and saw a man who had just gotten off the elevator at the end of the corridor. The neatly dressed man also noticed them looking and walked toward them.

“Hae Yeon, that’s our team leader.”

So Jung whispered to Hae Yeon, revealing the man’s identity. Upon hearing that, Hae Yeon remembered a conversation she had with Joo Ah a few days ago. When she asked Joo Ah who the Business Support Team leader was out of curiosity, the response had been amusing.

– He’s unlikable. There’s a reason his nickname is the Grim Reaper. But apparently he’s popular with the female employees who say he’s handsome and has good manners? I just don’t get it.

Recalling Joo Ah grumbling “What’s so great about the Grim Reaper” as if she had a personal grudge against the Business Support Team leader, Hae Yeon almost laughed, but the man had approached so she got her mind together and prepared to greet him.

‘Huh? I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere…’

Hae Yeon blinked. The man who had come close seemed strangely familiar for some reason.

“Ah.”

Then she remembered. The man was one of the interviewers at the special recruitment entrance exam. He had asked so many sharp questions that she couldn’t forget him even if she tried.

Realizing she had just been staring at her superior without greeting him, Hae Yeon quickly bowed.

“Hello. I’m the new employee Min Hae Yeon.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Seol Yu Jun, the Business Support Team leader. I guess we’ll be seeing each other often.”

No matter how she looked at it, his neat and handsome appearance didn’t match the nickname “Grim Reaper” at all. Hae Yeon couldn’t understand why Joo Ah had said that. Team Leader Seol’s features, with upturned eyes and dimples, gave him a so-called “cat-like face”. In short, the kind of face that was very appealing.

‘But his surname is Seol?’

Seeing the uncommon surname and facial features that reminded her of someone, Hae Yeon thought to herself, could it be…

“Well then, shall we go in?”

Her thoughts were interrupted by Yu Jun’s words. Hae Yeon slightly bowed her head and followed him into the office, where a few employees doing deskwork turned their heads. Confirming it was their team leader who entered, the employees focused on Yu Jun. Seeing that he had everyone’s attention, he introduced Hae Yeon next to him.

“Starting today, Min Hae Yeon will be working in our Business Support Team.”

“Hello everyone. I’m Min Hae Yeon.”

When Hae Yeon politely greeted them, small cheers and applause broke out in the office. The office atmosphere she sensed at a glance didn’t seem bad.

“Now, everyone, don’t bully the new employee just because she joined. Treat her well. Assistant Manager Lee?”

“Yes, Team Leader.”

“Please show Min Hae Yeon to her desk.”

So Jung, who had been standing a bit behind, guided Hae Yeon to where she would work. On the desk were miscellaneous items presumably used by the previous owner and a monitor with Post-its stuck on it.

Hae Yeon sat down and briefly looked around. To her left was her mentor So Jung, and across from her was a man who looked to be in his early 30s. His employee badge showed the name Kim Hyun Woo. When Hae Yeon greeted him, he nodded and went back to his original work.

“Inside the computer, there are files the previous person used, so it will be good to refer to them while working.”

So Jung gave Hae Yeon, who was turning on the computer, a simple explanation.

“Yes, I understand.”

“For now, since it’s your first day, you’ll only be doing simple tasks like making coffee, photocopying, or printing for a while. Don’t feel pressured and enjoy it while you can.”

Because it will be hell soon, So Jung added. Seeing the dark circles under the eyes of So Jung, who looked tired, it felt real to Hae Yeon.

“Yes.”

Though she answered, Hae Yeon gave a tense smile, feeling some unknown pressure.

* * *

As So Jung said, on her first day of work at Dali Coffee, the team members didn’t make Hae Yeon do anything special. Since it seemed like everyone was busy except her, Hae Yeon looked around and, noticing the messy state of the break room, cleaned it up.

After some time passed, as the 6 o’clock quitting time neared, Yu Jun stood up and spoke loud enough for everyone in the office to hear. Though it wasn’t a loud voice, it was one that stuck in your ears.

“Since we have a new employee today, let’s leave on time.”

Cheers immediately erupted. According to So Jung, overtime had continued for several days, so everyone was exhausted. At the team leader’s order, they promptly turned off their computers in a swift movement that made Hae Yeon inwardly admire them.

“But Team Leader, we got a new recruit too, so aren’t we going to have a team dinner?”

An employee who raised his hand and spoke was met with agreement from a few others. Seeing that, Yu Jun laughed and looked at the employees.

“Alright. Let’s have a team dinner for the first time in a while.”

When Yu Jun conceded as if surrendering, cheers of a completely different decibel level from when Hae Yeon greeted them earlier burst out in the office.

‘Team dinner?’

It was something Hae Yeon hadn’t expected at all, so she smiled blankly and when she had a moment, sent Do Ha a message.

[There’s a team dinner on my first day. I think I’ll be a bit late, so don’t wait and go ahead first.]

The Business Support Team’s go-to place for team dinners was a meat restaurant. Hae Yeon, who had been flustered by the sudden dinner plans, gradually relaxed in the casual atmosphere.

“Since our team leader worked overseas, he doesn’t force anyone to drink or anything like that. It’s like the dream team dinner that other teams are envious of. So don’t be nervous, Hae Yeon.”

Looking around at So Jung’s words, quite a few team members could be seen holding soft drinks instead of alcohol.

Sizzle-

The sound of deliciousness rang out as various cuts of meat, including pork belly, were placed on the heated grill. The tantalizing aroma was also first-rate, and the atmosphere was growing riper.

After a few drinks had been passed around, Yu Jun, who was sitting at the same table as Hae Yeon in the relaxed atmosphere, spoke to her. In consideration of Hae Yeon being new, he held tongs and scissors side by side in his hand.

“Miss Min Hae Yeon, how was your first day?”

It was awkward to have her superior grilling meat, but Hae Yeon honestly answered Yu Jun’s question about her impressions of the day.

“I felt bad about not doing anything.”

It was true that she had an idle day, so Hae Yeon made a slightly embarrassed expression. Her motivation for deciding to work had been somewhat impure. However, now that she had started, she intended to do her best, but she had been uncomfortable all day about not doing anything.

As if understanding Hae Yeon’s feelings, Yu Jun put down the tongs and smiled, his dimples showing.

“It’s always like that on the first day. But it’s true our team is busy, so Miss Min Hae Yeon being idle will only be for a short while.”

Ah. Recalling So Jung’s tired face with dark circles from earlier, Hae Yeon burst out laughing.

“To our team members who worked hard doing overtime the past few days – let’s fully enjoy ourselves today. Isn’t this what the company card is for?”

As Yu Jun waved the card, a loud response was heard. Everyone raised their glasses along with his lead. The clinking sound of soju glasses, soft drink cups, and other various glasses colliding rang out rapidly.

After downing his drink, Yu Jun smiled at Hae Yeon.

“You don’t really like alcohol, right Miss Min Hae Yeon? There’s no pressure or anything, so drink what you want.”

At Yu Jun’s words, Hae Yeon looked at him curiously. How did he know she didn’t like alcohol when they had just met today? Surprised by the information that made it seem like he knew her well, Hae Yeon’s gaze made Yu Jun react with an “ah”.

“When I said our team was having dinner today, someone told me not to give alcohol to Miss Min Hae Yeon.”

“What? What do you mean…”

The more she heard, the more Hae Yeon felt like she was falling into a labyrinth of incomprehension. Awkwardly laughing Hae Yeon recalled the question she had felt when she first met Yu Jun this morning, which she had forgotten about while being tense all day.

“Did Nuna not tell you?”

As Hae Yeon’s brown eyes widened slightly, Yu Jun frowned and spoke in an amused voice as if in disbelief.

“I’m Seol Joo Ah’s younger brother.”

At those words, Hae Yeon’s expression went blank. Seeing that, Yu Jun hurriedly explained the details.

Yu Jun had gone abroad to study at a young age and learned about Dali Coffee’s business at the overseas branch. Since he had only returned to Korea early this year, Hae Yeon had never run into him before, and Joo Ah also never spoke about her brother, so she didn’t even have a chance to notice.

Still, how could Joo Ah not have said a single word?

– That little brat, sprawled out like that. I’m telling you he’s really unlikable.

‘Ah, so that’s why.’

Hae Yeon shook her head again this time.

“Oh no. I guess you didn’t know? I thought Seol Joo Ah would have told you in advance since she nags me so much…”

Muttering to himself, Yu Jun’s words seemed to contain curses. But Hae Yeon couldn’t stop him. She sympathized with his feelings, so she had no choice but to pretend not to know.

Hae Yeon looked at Yu Jun, who was rubbing his forehead with a furrowed brow, with fresh eyes. Even though he had a youthful face, she had assumed Yu Jun was older because of his position as team leader.

‘He must be a spy.’

She had already been thinking that. Do Ha must have asked Joo Ah, so she was curious how they would monitor her. Even if she worked together with Joo Ah at Dali Coffee, their departments were different and Joo Ah was a much higher-ranking superior, so there wouldn’t be many chances for an ordinary employee like herself to run into her.

So the fact that Seol Yu Jun became her team leader was definitely not a coincidence.

“…I’m really going to get that person.”

Hearing Yu Jun’s lingering resentment, Hae Yeon smiled faintly and sipped her soft drink.

The first team dinner after joining Dali Coffee wrapped up successfully. Employees going for a second round headed that way, and Hae Yeon, who considered her part done with the first round, decided to go home.

“See you tomorrow, Hae Yeon!”

“Yes, Sunbae!”

Hae Yeon waved her hand and was about to hail a taxi when she tilted her head seeing a familiar car stopped by the road. It wasn’t a common car, so there was no need to check the license plate.

“That’s Do Ha’s car.”

She had told him she would be late because of the team dinner, but he had come all the way here anyway. As she approached the car, the front passenger window smoothly rolled down, and sure enough, the driver was Do Ha.

“I told you to go home first, so why did you come.”

While Hae Yeon was happy he came to pick her up, thinking of his busy schedule made her say such words.

“It’s your first day, so let it slide just this once, Hae Yeon.”

Do Ha, who had driven here himself, made a pitiful expression and acted cute, so Hae Yeon had no choice but to surrender. After being in an unfamiliar environment all day, just being next to her husband who made her feel at ease improved her mood.

“Did your first day go well?”

“There was nothing to do well or not.”

In the car smoothly driving, Hae Yeon chattered to Do Ha about what happened today. Do Ha, faithfully reacting to his wife’s words, couldn’t stop smiling.

“Ah, and apparently our team leader is Joo Ah’s younger brother.”

Glancing at Do Ha who was driving, Hae Yeon naturally brought it up. She wasn’t particularly trying to dig up anything from Do Ha with this question. She just asked with the mindset that it would be nice if she found out, but no big deal if she didn’t.

In any case, Yu Jun was someone she had to be wary of, and that unchanging fact remained.

“Really?”

“Yes. Can you believe Seol Joo Ah didn’t tell me this important information? Even the team leader was flustered not knowing that.”

“Haha, is that so? That’s just like Joo Ah.”

There was nothing unusual in the natural back-and-forth conversation. If it weren’t for the current situation, she could have lightly brushed past it, but knowing he was hiding something from her, Hae Yeon felt heavy-hearted.

‘There’s no way Do Ha doesn’t know Seol Yu Jun is Joo Ah’s brother.’

Yet here he was, not showing any hint of it and just moving on.

How many things had he secretly hidden like this until now?

‘That ends now too.’

Hae Yeon recalled Yoon Ho’s contact saying he would send the documents within this week.

“He said he lived abroad?”

“Yes, in England.”

Hae Yeon’s hair fluttered in the night breeze coming through the open sunroof. Do Ha, who was driving, had the corners of his mouth turned up the whole time. Gazing fondly at his side profile, Hae Yeon eagerly awaited the day she would meet Lee Yoon Ho.