Every time Ji Soo finished a trivial task, she would tear at her hair in agony. The events of today kept coming to mind, making her chest feel tight. When she should have been trying her best to impress Joo Hyuk, she had only exposed every one of her shortcomings to him. She was so upset she could go crazy.

Where had things gone wrong…?

It all started when she went to Joo Hyuk’s house. No, it was right after meeting Seo Hoo. If she hadn’t met Seo Hoo, he wouldn’t have been able to single her out, and then something like today wouldn’t have happened.

Ji Soo wasn’t the type to regret things easily, but today, it was hard to let it go coolly.

Head bowed, Ji Soo grabbed her hair with both hands, letting out a low groan.

“Ji Soo, looks like you had a good time with your boyfriend last night, huh?”

The owner of the clear ringing voice was Jin Sang Hee, the assistant manager. She was the same age as Ji Soo, but having joined the company earlier, she was her senior by quite a bit. For some reason, Sang Hee had openly disliked her from the moment Ji Soo joined the company, and as a result, Ji Soo had to suffer Sang Hee’s small harassments every day.

“Me?”

Last night, all she remembered was playing hide-and-seek with Seo Hoo for 3 hours.

“Why are you putting on airs again? It’s obvious you had a night of passion.”

“No, I didn’t.”

A passionate game of hide-and-seek, maybe.

I mean, yesterday, huh? How passionately must I have played hide-and-seek to fall asleep in the dressing room?

“Really, you look exactly the same from head to toe as yesterday. Coming to work bare-faced without any makeup, and you’re trying to deny it?”

Aha? I overlooked that.

Ji Soo bowed her head, fiddling with her blouse for no reason. It was true that she had stayed out overnight, but it was unfair. It wasn’t that she had a night of passion with her boyfriend, but that she had no choice after playing with Seo Hoo.

But she couldn’t very well tell Sang Hee that it was because she was looking after the vice president’s child. She could only feel a bit wronged and leave it at that.

“Hey, Han Ji Soo. The people in our ACS Airlines secretarial department are basically here to assist the vice president. But we’re also like the flowers of the company. We have to look good to others too.”

“Yes, Assistant Manager.”

“But look at you, Han Ji Soo, going around looking sloppy. It might make us look bad too, you know. Right? Even though you’re just a contract worker right now, you’re still part of the secretarial department.”

“I’ll be more careful in the future, Assistant Manager!”

Ji Soo jumped up from her seat and bowed to Sang Hee. Although Sang Hee’s words were harsh, Ji Soo felt that if she read between the lines, there wasn’t a single thing she said that was wrong.

“Anyway, kids these days have no sense.”

In the end, Sang Hee threw out one last remark before taking a sip of her Americano and leaving. Ji Soo stood there blankly blinking for a moment before sitting back down.

Come to think of it, lunchtime was approaching. Having always eaten alone since starting work, eating by herself felt more natural now.

Since she hadn’t even brought a lunchbox today, she’d have to eat a sandwich in the break room.

Trudge, trudge. Ji Soo headed for the employee break room, feeling drained of energy.

***

She felt like she had used up all her energy in half a day.

I want to go home. I want to go home.

On her phone were dozens of worried messages from Hyun Sook and her boyfriend Young Joon. After replying to them one by one, she began chewing on her sandwich joylessly.

She thought that once she started working, she would hang her employee ID around her neck every lunchtime and cheerfully choose what to eat. She imagined herself finishing her meal and walking into the office with a cup of coffee in hand like a professional working woman. But the reality was… either eating a lunchbox alone at her desk. Or having a sandwich in the employee break room.

Reality is indeed different from imagination. But I will become a cool career woman someday!

Ji Soo took a bite of her sandwich and nodded.

“Why did you run away yesterday!”

A familiar voice rang out loudly from behind her. Ji Soo’s upper body slowly turned around. With his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at Ji Soo, was none other than Seo Hoo.

“Seo Hoo?”

“Why did you run away!”

“I didn’t run away. I accidentally fell asleep. By the way, did you sneak out of daycare by yourself?”

Far in the distance, a young woman who seemed to be Seo Hoo’s daycare teacher slightly bowed her head towards Ji Soo. No doubt he had insisted on coming out and she had no choice but to bring him.

“Why would you fall asleep while playing hide-and-seek! Don’t lie, you liar.”

“Seo Hoo, you shouldn’t say things like that to adults.”

“Why are you an adult! You’re a lying idiot who doesn’t keep promises.”

Ji Soo put the sandwich she was holding down on the table with a thud.

“Min Seo Hoo, if you keep talking to adults like that! Huh? Huh?”

She wanted to give him a good scolding. She wanted to firmly reprimand him, saying he shouldn’t be so disrespectful. But her lips felt stuck together and wouldn’t budge. This child was the vice president’s son. So she couldn’t dare to scold him thoughtlessly.

“I’m going to tell your dad. I’m going to tell him every single detail about how you’re being mean to adults.”

The only thing she could threaten was to tattle on him.

Why! Why can’t I scold him properly, Han Ji Soo. I have no choice. I’m too much of a slave to capitalism.

Ji Soo shook her head from side to side.

“You can talk to my dad?”

Seo Hoo’s face, which had been scrunched up, slowly began to relax. His large eyes, full of curiosity, stared intently at Ji Soo.

“O-Of course.”

Although she had only properly conversed with Joo Hyuk starting yesterday, if she said she would, she would.

“…Really?”

“Absolutely! I don’t lie. Seo Hoo, if you keep shouting, spitting at people, and saying mean things, I’m going to tell your dad everything without leaving anything out.”

Seo Hoo’s large eyes blinked slowly and his small lips twitched.

“Then… tell him. Tell my dad lots about me. Okay?”

“……?”

This doesn’t seem to be going the way it should. According to this child’s personality, he should be crying, throwing a fit, and yelling at her not to tell.

“Okay…? Then I’ll tell your dad just like that. Seo Hoo might get a good scolding.”

“How?”

“Well, I don’t know either.”

“How will dad scold me?”

Seo Hoo tilted his head to the side with a cute face he had never shown before.

Why are you looking happy about getting scolded?

Unable to understand the reason, Ji Soo glanced at her wristwatch with unease. There wasn’t much lunchtime left. The regulations of the secretarial department were applied differently to new contract employees. Ji Soo was only allowed 30 minutes for lunch.

Feeling rushed, Ji Soo hurriedly cleaned up and left the break room.

“Seo Hoo, anyway, bye! I have to go! Respect your elders from now on!”

***

Ji Soo had arranged to have a meal with Young Joon after a long time. The two entered a Japanese restaurant not far from the company. Young Joon, who had just returned from a solo summer vacation, was nicely tanned.

“Looks like you… enjoyed your trip to America. That’s good.”

“It was amazing. I saw the Airplane Graveyard in Arizona for the first time and it was worth seeing.”

“Ah… I see.”

“Next vacation, I’m planning to explore Arizona properly.”

“Hmm. Okay, sounds nice.”

Losing her appetite, Ji Soo stirred the udon in front of her with her chopsticks. Not noticing the change in Ji Soo’s attitude, Young Joon was only focused on slurping up the udon, his nose buried in the bowl. But at the same time, he seemed to be checking something, glancing around unusually often.

“Why are you looking around so much?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Young Joon had suggested going far from the company for their meal. Perhaps there was someone in the headquarters building he didn’t want to run into. Ji Soo thought so. Young Joon, who spoke without a filter, tended to have a lot of enemies.

“Ji Soo, isn’t that man Min Joo Hyuk… your boss?”

Ji Soo’s gaze naturally moved in the direction Young Joon was looking. Dressed in a suit tailored to his nearly 190 cm tall frame, he certainly stood out. Joo Hyuk turned his head absentmindedly and made direct eye contact with Ji Soo. Ji Soo slightly lifted her bottom off the chair and bowed her head towards Joo Hyuk.

Joo Hyuk glanced at Ji Soo for a moment, then brushed past them as if barely acknowledging her greeting.

“Isn’t Vice President Min’s private life supposed to be really dirty?”

Young Joon threw out the question without hesitation.

“Well, there are rumors like that, but rumors are just rumors.”

“There’s no smoke without fire, have you seen that? 99% of office rumors turn out to be true.”

“Maybe Vice President Min is part of that 1% and is being wrongfully accused.”

Young Joon put down his chopsticks and let out a loud, empty laugh.

“Are you siding with your boss now?”

“No, that’s not it.”

Even if Vice President Min’s private life was a mess, she didn’t want to gossip behind his back or think ill of him for it. At least for now, he was her workplace superior whom she had to diligently assist.

“Then what? Don’t tell me you’re secretly in love with him.”

“Why are you suddenly saying things like that?”

It’s outrageous to recklessly accuse people like that. She didn’t know why he was picking on innocent people when he had just returned from a nice vacation in America.

“Don’t tell me it really is a secret crush. Why would a man like that have any interest in a girl like you? I keep telling you, Han Ji Soo, I’m the best you can get. You know that, right?”

“……”

Ji Soo suppressed the boiling resentment welling up inside her. She didn’t want to ruin the mood by arguing with Young Joon when they were meeting after a long time.

“Why don’t you eat some more udon.”

She changed the subject with an expressionless face.