Chapter 7.5

“Min-kyung… Min-kyung Ahhhh wake up!”

Hearing her name Min-kyung slowly opened her eyes to see Se-ah pressing her face against the bed and poking Min-kyung’s cheek. Not having heard Se-ah enter, Min0kyung realized she must’ve been deeply asleep. “Oh… when did you come home?”

“Why are you sleeping? The chicken was delivered, and I got tired of waiting and had a beer. Then I brought the chicken here hoping the smell would wake you up, but you still didn’t!” Se-ah flopped down onto the floor and opened the box of chicken.

“It’s been a tiring week for me.” She said as she got up.

“Even after my business trip, I haven’t properly seen you. What’s happening at work?”

“It’s not the work, it’s the person that’s like a Shiba Inu…”

Se-ah giggled, “Tae Yi-seop?”

Min-kyung flinched and hesitated when she heard his name, then sat down on the floor.

“I heard he’s more like a high-class fox.”

“Oh well, then he’s more like a luxury Shiba fox. Are we having beer here?”

“Oh yes, I bought some and opened it. There is no need to hassle leaving the room.”

“Alright.” Min-kyung sat with her back leaning against the bed, and Se-ah faced her with her back on the wall, and they clinked their beer cans. Se-ah opened Min-kyung’s laptop and started a playlist. It was the perfect playlist for drinking, even if Min-kyung’s beer was non-alcoholic.

“I’m so sick of booze,” Min-kyung muttered.

“Why?”

“Remember the lounge bar that day?”

“Wow, yeah, the lounge bar!” Se-ah raised her voice with excitement and emptied the can of beer. “I need to mix this with soju!”

Now that she thought about it, Min-kyung hadn’t been able to talk more about what happened after hearing everything had been somehow resolved. She would leave for work early and collapse asleep as soon as she came home. After Se-ah went on a business trip to Europe, she had urgent work to do at the University, so even though they were roommates, there hadn’t been time to sit down and talk about it all.

“Are you and Jeong Jong-woo alright after that?”

“Uh… I apologized profusely, of course, only over the phone… He had a good personality. Oh, I told him you were sorry too. That I had made a mistake that day.”

“Huh…”

“But really, it wasn’t just you two talking? It’s not like he got drunk and did something, right?”

“Nothing like that.” 

Se-ah looked at Min-kyung suspiciously. It wasn’t just Jeong Jong-woo; Hyunseong also didn’t want to talk about what had happened that night. “Alright, but why is Hyunseong oppa uncomfortable? He said to ask you, because he was unsure about what he should say. I wanted to ask him and you face to face, but I have been so busy with the business trip.”

“Did your Europe trip go well?”

“Umm, it seems like it did. But everything is still off the record, so don’t tell anyone or leak it. So, GV’s Patrick Faubert will give us an exclusive interview when he visits Korea next month. The magazine headquarters helped us get here, so we decided on the Paris trip.”

GV is Euopre’s most prominent luxury brand company; Patrick Faubert is the Director of Communications and the company chairman’s son. He is the face of the company, not only because of how handsome he is but also because his personality is well known. He was a significant philanthropist who created massive projects for impoverished children worldwide. Se-ah must’ve worked hard to get an exclusive interview, Min-kyung thought. 

“Really? GV Partick Faubert? That’s a big deal!”

“Yeah, the main office worked really hard. Mr Faubert is very interested in the Korean market. He said his eldest likes K-pop idols…”

“GV Faubert interview…” Min-kyung looked deep in thought and muttered. 

Se-ah looked at her and assumed work was overwhelming Min-kyung. Se-ah clicked her can to make another toast to distract her from being lost in thought.

“Now… Faubert is Faubert, but no more changing the subject and answer me. Did nothing really happen that night? Did you get along with Jeong Joo-wong? Did you like him? If that’s the case, I’ll call him up…”

“No.” Min-kyung shot down the suggestion quickly. “It was nothing, just Executive Director Tae Yi-seop… how did he put it… he intruded on an employee’s private weekend time.”

“Oh yeah? Tae Yi-seop? What? Why? Tell me!”

“Anyway, I died of shame that night, so stop asking me for more details.”

“Tell me!”

“No, it’s okay.” 

‘Doesn’t seem okay, should I press more or not?’ Se-ah thought as she pursed her lips. Then she decided to start the truth game, “I’ll tell you a secret… I broke up with Seungmuk the morning after that night… like bye, dude.”

“What? Why?”

Se-ah widely blinked and shrugged her shoulders in response. That morning, Seung-muk opened the refrigerator and started making fun of the side dishes that Min-kyung’s mother had sent. Going on about how they were so old school and gross, he started questioning why Min-kyung was still living in the apartment. He had been annoyed that he couldn’t come and go comfortably with Min-kyung being around, but Se-ah couldn’t stand any insults hurled Min-kyung’s way. When she asked him to leave, he grabbed the 8 million won watch she gave him for his birthday and left in a huff. 

“Tell me what happened? You two had lasted a longer time.”

“It’s just cause he isn’t cool… So now you tell me. Tae Yi-seop. What’s the issue? What happened? He came straight to the lounge?”