Hae Jin thought she would be happy to be told to move her desk, but when she actually tried to move it, she felt strange.

She was happy to be in charge of the project again, but when she thought about it again, it meant the physical distance between them would increase.

The time she spent with him decreased, and the distance from his desk increased.

Why did that keep bothering her? But soon she decided to think that it was better than being fired.

“I will prepare accordingly.”

Hae Jin turned to leave the office. Then the intercom on Tae Hong’s desk rang loudly. Was that bell sound always this noisy? It was the same bell sound, but it felt unusually loud at that moment.

“Yes. This is Team Leader Moon Tae Hong.”

Tae Hong answered while looking at Hae Jin, who was about to leave. While looking at her fully, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

“Who did you say it was?”

Tae Hong’s voice was rough. His expression darkened in an instant. It was enough to stop her footsteps as she was about to leave. A look of concern flashed across Tae Hong’s face.

“Send them up.”

Tae Hong put down the receiver roughly. Hae Jin hesitated, then closed the distance with Tae Hong. She was curious about who he would tell to come up, even though it might irritate him.

As if reading her expression, Tae Hong walked out while still keeping his gaze on Hae Jin. His displeasure was evident on his face.

“Park Seo Woo will be coming up.”

Ah, a short exclamation escaped Hae Jin’s lips. Park Seo Woo, while probably unwelcome to Tae Hong, was also an unwelcome visitor to Hae Jin.

Of course, that was a purely personal feeling, but she still didn’t know the reason for his visit. However, when she tried to recall the reason, a scene flashed through her mind.

‘If you want to receive my business card, you should proceed with official business with Yeonchang Group.’

It couldn’t be. He wasn’t the type of person to visit for such a simple reason. It made even less sense for him to move directly because of that one statement.

“I’ll be leaving then.”

Hae Jin didn’t want to deal with Seo Woo. He was someone who made her feel uncomfortable after just a few encounters. Moreover, there had been an unpleasant incident with him at the party.

Hae Jin turned to leave, but Tae Hong stopped her.

“I don’t think you need to leave.”

The rougher his expression became, the more uncomfortable Hae Jin felt. She didn’t put much meaning into Seo Woo’s words of interest. His actions, contradicting his words, only caused aversion.

“It seems he’s here to see Assistant Manager Jung Hae Jin, not me.”

Hae Jin, held back by Tae Hong and unable to leave, remained in the team leader’s office with him. Although she sat on the sofa when told to sit and wait, the impending visitor was extremely uncomfortable.

“Are you worried about getting your wrist grabbed again?”

“Of course not. You’re here, Team Leader.”

Hae Jin knows that such a thing won’t happen again. She also knows that he won’t allow it.

Only then did smiles appear on both their faces.

Not long after, there was a knock on the team leader’s office door. Hae Jin tensed up, but he remained relaxed.

“Yes. Come in.”

There’s a voice of his that only Hae Jin knows. It might sound normal, but right now, he didn’t like this situation. You could tell from the way his voice cut off subtly at the end of his words.

“Team Leader, your guest has arrived.”

Seeing Hae Jin inside the team leader’s office, Yeon Jung’s words slowed for a moment. And behind Yeon Jung stood Seo Woo, about a head taller.

“Okay. Kim Manager, you can go now.”

Tae Hong sat down next to where Hae Jin was sitting without even glancing at Yeon Jung. And Seo Woo, who had been standing behind, naturally entered Tae Hong’s office.

Yeon Jung looked at Tae Hong and Hae Jin in turn, then closed the door and left. Hae Jin, who was still standing, bowed her head to greet Seo Woo.

“Hello.”

From the moment he entered, Seo Woo hadn’t taken his eyes off Hae Jin in the team leader’s office.

“I was looking for Assistant Manager Jung Hae Jin all the way here and was disappointed not to see her. But here she is.”

Seo Woo extended his hand to Hae Jin. Hae Jin glanced at Tae Hong before taking his hand. The handshake didn’t last long.

“What brings you here?”

Tae Hong’s indifferent voice separated the two. Hae Jin chose to sit quietly between the two, pulling up her social smile as much as possible.

“I was thinking of proceeding with official business with Yeonchang Group.”

The words ‘official business’ echoed in her ears. Really, was it because of that? She felt guilty for no reason. If she hadn’t said those words then, would he not have come?

“What kind?”

Tae Hong’s words were becoming increasingly curt. Yet Seo Woo still couldn’t take his eyes off Hae Jin, without showing any sign of displeasure.

Despite feeling Seo Woo’s gaze fully on her, Hae Jin was just scribbling meaningless words in her notebook. She was doodling on the paper with a pen for no reason, even though there was no conversation going on.

“I was thinking of signing an MOU with Yeonchang Group.”

“MOU?”

Tae Hong was still sitting with his long legs crossed, looking at Seo Woo impassively. Seo Woo, requesting an investment contract, didn’t seem particularly eager either.

He looked like someone satisfied just by seeing Hae Jin in front of him.

“Executive Director Park Seo Woo.”

Suddenly, Tae Hong’s voice snapped at him. It was different from earlier when he had responded indifferently as if uninterested. Reflexively, Hae Jin straightened her back.

At Tae Hong’s changed voice, Seo Woo’s gaze finally shifted from Hae Jin to Tae Hong.

“If you came for business, you should act like it’s business.”

Seo Woo’s face gradually contorted. Tension quickly filled the air between the three.

“I don’t want to see you chasing after a woman’s tail in my office.”

Tae Hong tapped his shoe, changing the direction of his crossed legs. Seo Woo clearly showed his displeasure, but quickly lowered his tail.

“Let’s do it properly.”

Seo Woo sat up straight. Hae Jin had no idea what he was going to say.

“How about an MOU with Tosan Construction, or more precisely, with Grace Hotel?”

An MOU with Grace Hotel. It was an unexpected situation. Given that Grace Hotel was already set as a benchmarking target, the probability that this agreement would be more beneficial than harmful was high.

Moreover, they were already conducting underground work with companies related to Grace Hotel. Of course, even for Yeonchang, there were companies that drew the line, saying they couldn’t participate in the process citing loyalty to Tosan.

There were parts that had deflated a bit due to occasional brakes and hitches. But if Yeonchang itself came to reach out for an MOU, wouldn’t the progress speed up a bit?

“We decline.”

But Tae Hong was firm. It was an outright rejection before any discussion had even started. He hadn’t heard anything yet, but it seemed like he was rejecting based on Park Seo Woo’s existence alone.

Of course, Seo Woo’s image wasn’t particularly good for Hae Jin either, but that was in personal matters.

Thinking solely about the company, she thought this agreement might actually be a good direction.

“Team Leader.”

Hae Jin carefully held back her words. Hae Jin’s eyes shone brighter than ever. Those shining eyes were focused solely on Tae Hong.

While the man sitting in front was displeasing, Hae Jin sitting next to him with sparkling eyes was worth looking at.

“From my perspective, I don’t think we’ll lose anything.”

Tae Hong’s eyes narrowed fiercely at Hae Jin’s opinion.

“And?”

Tae Hong clearly didn’t like it, but he didn’t interrupt Hae Jin’s words. Hae Jin also composed herself a bit and continued speaking. Now was the time to prioritize reason over emotion.

“It’s the first business area that Yeonchang Group is venturing into, and Grace is one of the top hotels in the country.”

Hae Jin glanced slightly at Seo Woo. Seo Woo gestured as if to say it was okay, encouraging her to continue speaking.

“Wouldn’t it be good to consider it in a slightly more positive direction?”

Then Seo Woo clapped enthusiastically beside her. Hae Jin’s gaze, which had been on Tae Hong, immediately turned to the source of the sound.

“Oh, I knew I had an eye for people.”

Seo Woo’s praise was a burden to Hae Jin. Even without looking, she could feel Tae Hong growling next to her.

“I knew from the start that I liked her.”

This expression also came across as repulsive to Hae Jin. Hae Jin wished Seo Woo would stay quiet. She felt the simmering heat from Tae Hong sitting next to her gradually intensifying.

“What do you think? Are you a bit interested?”

He lightly ignored Seo Woo and asked for her opinion as if only Hae Jin was present.

“Assistant Manager Jung, do you think it’s necessary?”

“I believe that if you look at the content of the agreement and don’t like it, you can reject it then. It wouldn’t be too late.”

Hae Jin answered him with a confident expression and gaze. Tae Hong pressed his temples as if frustrated.

“Assistant Manager Jung, you only know one side, not both.”

Hae Jin’s eyes widened. Tae Hong turned away from her and glared at Seo Woo. Instead of looking at Tae Hong, Seo Woo seemed determined to only look at Hae Jin, not even meeting his eyes.

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.”

That’s right. This was something she knew better than anyone, yet she had been swayed by the temptation in front of her.

“Especially when it comes to someone else’s goodwill or consideration, there’s always a price to pay.”

She clenched her molars tightly so he couldn’t see. The atmosphere, alternating between contraction and tension, instantly shifted to center around Tae Hong.

“So what does Tosan want from this agreement?”

Hae Jin swallowed hard. As he said, Seo Woo adjusted his posture to see if there was a price. He slightly pulled his sleeve forward, trying to relax the atmosphere.

“When you say it like that, it sounds like I have some ulterior motive.”

While claiming to be wronged, Seo Woo never outright denied it, and Tae Hong had already seen through his obvious intentions. From the moment Seo Woo set foot here, there was a reason to be on high alert.

“And now that you’re asking me to say what I want, I can’t not say it.”

Seo Woo made a gesture with his palms up as if troubled, but he didn’t lower his guard until the end.

She had missed the shallow deception hidden behind Seo Woo’s artificial smile. In front of business, Hae Jin had completely missed it.

“The official person in charge of the MOU agreement will be Jung Hae Jin.”

Indeed, there’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.