“That’s good.”
“Do you like the sea, Mr. Executive?”
“Yes, I like it.”
To be more specific, he enjoyed watching Seo Yoon becoming innocent like a child when she was at the beach.

A wave of regret swept over him whenever he remembered a single memory from the past, but he still wanted to repeat it.

“What about the seafood? Since we came to the East Sea, we should naturally have seafood for dinner, right? It’s soon the season for bluefin tuna. I really like bluefin tuna.”

“You should be selective with your food.”
“You’re surprisingly sensitive about food, aren’t you? You nag a lot about it.”
Because you eat just about anything and often have issues.

“Do you dislike my nagging?”
“It’s not that I dislike it.”
“You seem to dislike it.”
“Not really.”
Their eyes curved in unison as they playfully teased each other, their hands slightly touching.

For different yet similar reasons, they didn’t move their hands that occasionally brushed against each other.

They stepped on the softly dispersing sand, feeling the touch that circled like the passing wind.

The continuing workshop was dull. As all the active events were scheduled for the next day, they sat lethargically and dozed off during the lectures.

“It was such a nice day, why the sudden rain?”
“The thunder was quite fierce. Doesn’t seem like a brief shower.”
“So they’ve decided to have the company dinner in the rooms, in groups?”
“Yeah. One representative from each group will go and bring back the takeout.”
Just as the evening was drawing near, lightning flashed outside the pitchblack window followed by a downpour.

The weather was quite unpredictable.

When the organizing committee decided to cancel the group dinner due to the difficulty of moving to the booked raw fish restaurant, regretful sighs could be heard from everywhere.

Amongst the various complaints erupting, Jian rather thought it had turned out well.

She preferred having a relaxed meal in her room, listening to the rain, instead of walking through the pouring rain.

[Enjoy your meal.] Jian, who had entered the room that each group was using and sat at a table laden with seasonal raw fish and seafood, smirked at the short message she received.

[You too, director.] After staring at the screen for a while, she sent a reply with a hamster eating rice emoticon.

“Cheers!”
The place where she was swallowing the chewy raw fish and tilting her glass was moderately entertaining.

As new employees from various teams were gathered by group, the conversation topics that rapidly changed eventually turned into gossip about their superiors.

“If you give instructions nicely, who wouldn’t understand? There’s simply no one as irritable.”
“Still, it’s better than being ignored. My boss is totally twofaced. Praises in front and murmurs behind my back.”
“Do you know the saying ‘no comment is scarier than a bad comment’? I’m treated as if I’m invisible.”
“How about you, Jian?”
“I like it. The task instructions are clear and they teach a lot about what I don’t know.”
Imagining Seokwon sitting at the desk, typing on the keyboard like a machine, Jian, unlike the others, laid out praises.

“Ah, I see, I’m envious.” The lengthy gossip about Jian ended at her turn, and the hand holding the soju bottle made its rounds.

Even Jian, who was oddly excited after crossing the sea while having a lively conversation with Kang Hyun, did not exclude herself from emptying the glass.

“Miss Jian, I mean Mr. Kang Hyun, Executive Director.”
As the drinking party warmed up, the members who either drank faster than others or had a lower tolerance started to leave one by one.

In the meantime, Park Jin Ho, who had taken the seat next to Jian, casually mentioned Kang Hyun’s name.

As soon as the name of the man who had recently been busy being picked apart by the press was mentioned, the curious glances of the seated members quickly turned to Jian.

“Are you okay? His reputation wasn’t very good within the company.”
Park Jin Ho, growing more confident with the growing attention and some people’s applause, asked with a smile on his face.

“Yes, of course.”
Jian, who barely managed to get out her voice, furrowed her eyebrows tightly.

She could roughly guess the intention behind the question, even without having to ask what it meant.

The indiscriminate rumors targeting Kang Hyun showed no sign of diminishing. Even after his fouryearlong silence, the rumors following his return were more numerous.

The common gossip in the business world that he had a separate fiancée and girlfriend evolved into talk of Kang Hyun’s severe philandering, claiming he had a different woman every day. Then one day, it was abruptly followed by absurd rumors that he had been cohabiting with a samesex partner for a long time.

It was so ridiculous, she could hardly find any context.

Just as Kang Hyun had previously said, it was clear that someone who didn’t welcome his return was deliberately stirring things up.

“Come on, let’s be honest among ourselves. The executive director has a terrible personality, doesn’t he?”
Seemingly drunk, Park Jin Ho slurred his words and giggled like a person who couldn’t suppress his laughter.

“Do it in moderation.”
Thanks to him, Jian, who had been dizzy, regained her composure and didn’t hide her displeasure.

The man who had been lurking around since their greetings at the resort lobby was becoming bothersome.

“What, smoke comes out of a chimney, doesn’t it? A few of those things must be true. Don’t side with your boss too much. He didn’t seem like much when I saw him.”
Did that man realize who he was insulting in front of whom?

Sigh, Jian, who had finally sighed, stood up abruptly, unable to converse with this man who wasn’t making any sense.

“Miss Jian, where are you going? Let’s have another drink.”
“It looks like you’re pretty drunk. Take a break.”
Even though the interest of other members had dispersed, Park Jin Ho’s halflidded eyes stubbornly lingered on Jian.

Ignoring his burdensome gaze, Jian left the room to return to the accommodation provided separately for female employees.

“…She left her cell phone.”
Did she drop it on purpose to make him follow?

Having discovered Jian’s cell phone left alone on the floor, Park Jin Ho, with a smirky grin, followed her, swaying slightly.

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