After a whirlwind of finger scissors for the declaration of war, it didn’t go beyond that line throughout the business trip. To define the line, it was the relationship between superior and subordinate that Jung Hae Jin wanted.

Finally, the end of the business trip was slowly coming into view. Not only her body but also her mind was gradually becoming exhausted from all the meetings. Drawing the line made her body comfortable, but the emotional drain continued several times over, making it difficult.

“You’re aware of the founding anniversary party, right?”

“Yes, I am.”

The founding anniversary was the core event of this business trip. Meetings with surrounding business partners were scheduled because of this party.

It was a company founded around the same time as Yeonchang. They grew similarly, and she often had gatherings with their children.

It was felt that he was paying special attention to it, as it was a company that helped Yeonchang not only in hotel planning but in various other ways.

Even while Byung Soo was sick, it was unusual that he had meticulously informed her about everything from the dress code to precautions for the party.

Tomorrow was the last day of the business trip. The schedule would be completely over once they returned to Seoul right after the founding anniversary party ended.

“Tomorrow, let’s finish the afternoon schedule, return to the accommodation to prepare, and then depart.”

Moon Tae Hong said, alternating between looking at his phone and documents. At some point, the time he spent gazing at Jung Hae Jin decreased. It felt like he was intentionally fixating more on the documents.

Perhaps it was for the best. That way, the gazes would gradually decrease, and the size of the heart would also diminish.

“Yes. I will prepare without any lack.”

It was just as Jung Hae Jin was about to open the door and get out. The gaze that had been fixed on the documents reached her.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

She saw the corners of Moon Tae Hong’s mouth slightly rise. What was he looking forward to? There was no opportunity to ask. Moon Tae Hong quickly got out of the car first.

“Let’s skip the early morning exercise tomorrow. The event will likely continue late into the evening.”

“Understood.”

Having finished what he had to say, Moon Tae Hong went in without even a closing greeting. Jung Hae Jin stood blankly in front of the closed door.

Why are you standing there? Are you feeling regretful now? To her own question, she answered herself that she felt refreshed.

Jung Hae Jin walked back the way she came, with her room just ahead.

Ah well. No need to wake up early in the morning. So what? It’s already after work hours, and it should be fine to enjoy freedom for just one day, right?

It was at that moment that Jung Hae Jin’s steps towards the lounge bar finally lightened.

**

Arriving at the hotel lounge bar, Jung Hae Jin followed the guidance of an employee. Considering that Jung Hae Jin had come alone, it seemed the employee was about to guide her directly to a table.

But that’s not where I want to sit.

The place the employee guided her to was, of all places, where she had shared drinks with Moon Tae Hong.

Why does it have to be there of all places?

Since she had come wanting some alone time after work, she didn’t want to sit in the same place. If she did, she felt she might keep thinking about him. It also seemed like she might end up wasting time on pointless thoughts again.

She didn’t want her after-work freedom to become useless. She asked the employee for a different seat. The employee, with a seemingly customary gentle smile, guided her a bit further inside.

It was a place with slightly dimmer lighting than other areas. Nodding to indicate it was fine, she sat down.

“Ah.”

It finally felt like something was opening up. Like something that had been tightly blocked was suddenly clearing, that kind of feeling.

This is it, right here.

She chose something light to drink. As she gulped it down, her eyes naturally squinted at the refreshing sensation going down her throat. Putting down the glass, she leaned back fully in her chair.

This is it, this is it.

Expressing satisfaction several times, she picked up the mobile phone she had placed on the table. Tapping the screen, the time and date caught her eye.

It’s so fast.

She was more interested in the date than the time. It felt like just yesterday that she was busy packing her suitcase, but it was unbelievable that tomorrow was already the last day.

Of course, this wasn’t the only unbelievable thing. The kiss with him and the declaration of war followed in her mind.

Jung Hae Jin sought free love. It wasn’t that she had never dated a man until this age. It’s just that she had her own rules in her dictionary.

She hesitated a bit about dating someone close. There might be people who seek natural encounters, but she had seen a lot around her. People who loved fiercely like that and then became enemies.

So she excluded feelings of love with the closest people. That’s why she never even thought about dating a superior.

She came to shake off idle thoughts, but feeling like they might get more tangled, she decided to quickly brush them off.

What happy things were there after the business trip ended? When she returned to the company, payday, which would fatten her bank account, was waiting.

So that’s why the alcohol tasted sweeter. Satisfaction spread across her face.

Indeed, people need money to have leisure. Praising herself for working hard, she emptied the remaining glass. And then she raised her hand high to order a new glass.

What should I do on payday? It was the moment she fell into happy contemplation.

“Excuse me, from that time.”

Instead of the kind voice of an employee, a much lowered voice was heard. The person who had nodded to her earlier was a female employee, but the voice she heard now was clearly a male voice.

Who could it be? She stopped looking at her phone and raised her head in the direction of the voice.

“It is you.”

The man, having confirmed Jung Hae Jin’s face, opened his mouth again with a confident voice.

“That notebook from back then.”

Notebook? Jung Hae Jin’s head tilted. Is this some new approach?

Perhaps reading her expression of still not remembering his face, the man sat down opposite her. With furrowed brows, Jung Hae Jin’s head moved following him.

“Grace Hotel. Shouldn’t that be enough for you to remember?”

Leisurely crossing his legs and lightly touching his face, the man showed his face to Jung Hae Jin, turning it this way and that.

It was a subtle pressure to remember by looking at his three-dimensional face. But Jung Hae Jin just looked at him with a blank expression.

“Um, excuse me.”

Jung Hae Jin, after quietly observing him, finally opened her mouth. He, who had been earnestly turning his face, stopped moving.

“You’re not that memorable of a face.”

Jung Hae Jin calmly replied, still looking at him. Notebook, Grace Hotel, and that face. As she inferred one by one the clues he had scattered, finally a certain scene came to mind.

“Are you perhaps the person who picked up my pen?”

“Now you remember.”

Park Seo Woo showed a slightly disappointed expression but seemed not to mind much. Just then, an employee approached.

“Here.”

Park Seo Woo looked at Jung Hae Jin’s glass and then back at the employee.

“Please bring the same as the lady’s, and a new one for the lady as well.”

Is it just my feeling that it seems mannerly but inconsiderate? Not only did he sit down without permission, but he even ordered arbitrarily.

The way he sat arrogantly with his legs crossed, and his overly familiar attitude were exactly what she disliked.

He was nothing more than a person interfering with Jung Hae Jin’s golden free time right now.

“Excuse me, but I don’t want to share a table.”

“Is that so?”

If he had any sense, she hoped he would get up and leave on his own. But Park Seo Woo, whether intentionally pretending to be oblivious or not, just kept sitting.

The employee came with two newly filled glasses. Placing one each in front of Jung Hae Jin and Park Seo Woo, he took Jung Hae Jin’s empty glass and left.

As soon as the employee disappeared, Jung Hae Jin continued speaking sharply.

“This is unpleasant.”

She showed her dislike with a heavily wrinkled expression. But the man sitting across from her, with some sort of confidence, still leisurely picked up his glass and drank.

“If you like this seat, I can go somewhere else.”

As Jung Hae Jin was about to stand up, holding her phone and the newly arrived glass, Park Seo Woo finally shifted his hips. Park Seo Woo reached out his arm to grab Jung Hae Jin.

“Come on. This is fate too. I sat down because I was glad to see you.”

“Let go of this.”

He immediately let go of his arm with an apologetic expression. Glaring at the lowered arm, Jung Hae Jin added.

“I’m not glad at all.”

I didn’t particularly like you, a person interfering with my time. I wish you’d stop being so clingy.

“You’ll be glad.”

But Park Seo Woo, with a gentle smile, took out a business card from his inner pocket. Jung Hae Jin hesitated whether to take it or not.

Do I really need to take it? Reading Jung Hae Jin’s hesitant expression, Park Seo Woo deliberately placed the business card where it was clearly visible to her.

Tosan Construction, Park Seo Woo, Executive Director.

Jung Hae Jin furrowed her brow and focused. Tosan Construction was the company that built Grace Hotel. It was one of the major companies in this industry, so it had become quite familiar while working on this hotel planning project.

But to be an executive director of that construction company? As far as she knew, it was a company with hereditary management, and she only knew that the chairman’s third son had recently entered as an executive director.

Only then did Jung Hae Jin pick up the business card. Park Seo Woo leisurely raised his glass to his lips.

“See? I knew you’d be glad.”

He acted as if he had known everything all along.

“So, is it okay for me to keep sitting here now?”

Of course, that was something to think about, but it was the appearance of a very unexpected person. Her head tilted involuntarily. Why did he appear at this timing? It was too strange for a meeting disguised as a coincidence.

But he leaned forward slightly as if to have a proper conversation.

“I heard that Yeonchang Group went around spying on every corner of Grace Hotel.”

Spying? That’s quite a harsh way to put it. Jung Hae Jin was the one who requested business cooperation. So it was even more upsetting.

“We formally requested cooperation from Grace Hotel.”

The expression ‘spying’ was enough to make her feel unpleasant. It was Grace’s side that agreed to cooperate.

“Okay. Fine. Whatever. Anyway, the fact is that Grace Hotel was benchmarked by Yeonchang Group.”

Jung Hae Jin slightly crumpled the edge of Park Seo Woo’s business card. It wasn’t wrong. It was true that they had visited several times for benchmarking.

“It seems you’ll be visiting Grace Hotel frequently from now on.”

Moreover, hadn’t she received permission from Moon Tae Hong for three stay opportunities there? Jung Hae Jin listened quietly without showing any reaction or response to Park Seo Woo’s words, her face unchanged.

“If you ask for related materials, I can give you everything.”

She had no intention of unconditionally accepting the other party’s goodwill from the start. There was always a deal hidden in goodwill.

“I don’t accept excessive goodwill from the other party.”

Jung Hae Jin said firmly. As if she didn’t want to hear any more, she still held her phone and glass in her hands. It wouldn’t be awkward to get up and move seats like this.

“Excessive goodwill, huh.”

Park Seo Woo’s expression distorted ambiguously and then smoothed out. Jung Hae Jin rolled her drying lips into her mouth.

“This isn’t goodwill, it’s interest.”

It was the moment Park Seo Woo’s gaze fixed directly on Jung Hae Jin.