II - 5

It had been three months since I-ryeong joined the marketing department.

“Was she sent out this early in the morning?”

I-jun’s low voice, uttered quietly, reached his ears clearly.

Why were thoughts that he had never had during those three months suddenly occurring to him today?

As a junior member of the marketing department, it was her job to visit department stores and directly managed stores where AE Cosmetics was located every day to gather feedback.

That perfectly normal task felt bothersome and quite uncomfortable today.

“Assistant Manager Baek. Please come to my office.”

Eventually, his lips moved on their own, and he ended up calling her mentor, Assistant Manager Baek Hyun-wook.

“You were talking about Chae I-ryeong-ssi.”

“Ah, I-ryeong-ssi? She just went out on a business trip.”

Hyun-wook smiled brightly just at the mention of I-ryeong’s name.

“That business trip, you see… why is it only I-ryeong-ssi who goes out?”

Displeased by his smile, I-jun blurted out words different from what he had intended.

“Well, that’s… Executive Director….”

Hyun-wook wore a troubled yet dumbfounded expression.

“They say it might snow today. Did you really have to send her outside?”

Even so, I-jun uttered nonsensical words again. Even though he knew the company’s ironclad rules better than anyone.

“Isn’t a business trip a store visit? For the reason of checking the on-site conditions.”

“Yes, you’re right, Executive Director.”

The marketing strategy team absolutely needed on-site feedback.

They could also find out through reports from store managers, but it was CEO Lee Jung-ae’s instruction and ironclad rule that it was better for team members to see it directly.

“Everyone prefers internal work rather than external work, and the team members here besides me have also gone through that path.”

It wasn’t that I-ryeong was sent out on business trips because she was a non-regular employee.

“We, of course, also did external work for more than three months before coming to this position. So, we don’t think that only I-ryeong-ssi is given particularly disadvantageous work.”

At Hyun-wook’s clear and firm words, I-jun felt like his hair was standing on end.

It felt like he was being questioned for being an executive director and suddenly finding fault with a long-standing tradition.

He had called Hyun-wook with the intention of venting his frustration, but he didn’t get what he wanted.

“You can go back to your desk.”

“Yes, Executive Director.”

He blankly stared at Hyun-wook’s back as he returned to his seat.

She had only gone to do her job, but he wondered why he was paying attention.

Feeling frustrated, I-jun loosened his tie and sighed deeply.

“…Just a moment, Assistant Manager Baek.”

He called back Hyun-wook, who was walking away.

“Which stores did Chae I-ryeong-ssi go to on her business trip today?”

Again, his lips moved on their own.

For the woman who had kept her head bowed low and cut off attention as soon as she came to work.

“The Cheongdam Department Store main branch and three nearby directly managed stores.”

“I understand.”

He wondered why he had developed such a strong interest in her; he felt he needed to see her.

It was almost lunchtime when I-ryeong arrived at a directly managed store near the department store.

“The colors for this winter’s items are generally well-chosen. Basic products sell well in winter, but unlike last year, the color cosmetics are selling well.”

It was something she had heard at the department store as well, but I-ryeong diligently took notes.

“Customers say they liked that you used different models depending on skin tone. Whoever planned it has a truly amazing eye!”

At the employee’s enthusiastic praise, she even drew special stars and wrote it down meticulously.

The marketing strategy team had suggested using popular actors these days, but I-jun had stopped them.

Instead, they used several new models and planned various advertisements, and the advertisements were currently receiving a positive response.

“This lipstick, you see. The name itself is amazing, isn’t it? Whoever came up with it, they named it perfectly!”

The uniquely created product names also contributed to the popularity.

“It goes well with the colors, doesn’t it?”

I-ryeong’s gaze, which had been taking notes, turned to the lipsticks displayed in a row. Especially to the lipstick that had been released last summer season and had been popular for more than half a year.

“We recommend new products, but customers buy these two a lot.”

The employee took out the lipsticks that had been released in the summer.

“Just like the product names, they really stimulated the hearts of female customers.”

The names of the lipsticks that the employee was enthusiastically praising were “Heart Stimulation” and “Steal a Kiss.”

Executive Director Seo I-jun had directly participated in everything from development to marketing, and he even came up with the final product names himself.

“How did he think of such names? I really want to meet him.”

Of course, I-ryeong also had the same products. She had bought them because the colors were pretty, but she had never actually worn them.

As she was meticulously taking notes on the employee’s enthusiastic praise,

“I was the one who did that great work.”

A familiar low voice pierced I-ryeong’s ears.

The chill that ran down her spine was not unfamiliar.

At the voice of Executive Director Seo I-jun, who should have been in the office, she barely managed to turn her stiff body.

“I came in because I saw someone I knew while passing by. What a coincidence?”

As expected, the owner of the low voice was I-jun.

I-ryeong couldn’t take her eyes off him as he approached.

“Is that so? What a coincidence,” I-ryeong murmured with surprised eyes.

Since no one at the company was busier than Executive Director Seo I-jun, she didn’t believe his words.

“It really is a coincidence.”

“Yes… I understand.”

She guessed that he had come for a specific reason.

If so, there was only one action she should take now.

“Please go about your business, Executive Director. I’m done with my work, so I’ll leave first.”

To run away from him.

I-ryeong packed her bag and bowed to him.

“Who are you having lunch with?”

A suspicious question reached her as she briskly walked past him.

“Let’s have lunch together.”

“…Yes?”

I-ryeong, who was about to make a cool exit, stopped in her tracks. How embarrassing.

“Invest your lunch break in me, Ms. Chae I-ryeong.”

And he urgently grabbed her shoulder. Just like on Friday night.

“It won’t be a waste. So, invest in me.”

“Are you perhaps… trying to sell me something?”

I-ryeong raised her eyebrows and stared directly at him.

“Sell you something? I’m currently… trying to seduce Ms. I-ryeong.”

He came close to her ear and whispered with damp breath.

“Aren’t you curious? You definitely won’t regret it.”

His voice, mixed with saliva, became sticky like a snare.

Her heart began to beat irregularly. A warning flashed in her mind to run away from this inescapable trap.

“Didn’t I save Ms. Chae I-ryeong on Friday? This time, Ms. Chae I-ryeong, please save me.”

I-jun from that day had been like a prince on a white horse. He had saved her from a difficult situation.

Such a man was now extending his hand with hidden intentions. Driven by unfulfilled curiosity, she went outside with him.

They stood facing each other on the street where the cold wind was blowing fiercely. Even during that time, neither of them spoke first.

I-ryeong looked into his dark eyes and asked all sorts of questions in her head.

Why did such a busy man come all the way here?

“Perhaps… are you asking for some kind of reward?”

“You understood my intention exactly. That’s right.”

“A r-reward?”

She stammered, startled.

This man was not a prince on a white horse. He was just a crazy man.

“That’s right. That day, didn’t I save Ms. I-ryeong? I even gave you a ride.”

I-jun smiled with satisfaction.

“I want to receive at least the cost of the gas.”

“G-Gas… money?”

She was speechless at his words, which went beyond absurdity.

“Since it’s an expensive car, it uses quite a lot of gas. Just the gas I wasted going back and forth that day must have been tens of thousands of won.”

He probably wasn’t mentioning gas money because he was really short on cash.

“Are you hungry?”

“Since it’s lunchtime, I suppose I am.”

He lifted his wrist and showed his watch. The wristwatch, densely studded with sapphires and diamonds, had just passed 12 o’clock.

“Would something simple be alright?”

“I can eat anything. If Ms. I-ryeong buys it for me.”

They say the rich are stingier. She never thought the Executive Director would ask for the round-trip gas money. And even tell her to repay it with a meal.

“I’ll buy it for you. Please follow me.”

“Alright.”

I-jun smiled, stretching the corners of his mouth.

Seeing his large frame asking for a meal made him seem like a cute retriever wagging its tail, begging for food.

He had said he could eat anything.

“Are you trying to make do with just a hamburger?”

“Excuse me? Just a hamburger?”

They had entered the most visible hamburger restaurant to avoid the increasingly harsh cold wind.

“How much was the gas money? How can you say it’s acceptable to make do with just bread?”

He didn’t even take a bite and only grumbled.

“Just bread? This is the Executive Director’s!”

Sigh. Fearing she would be seen as petty, I-ryeong closed her mouth.

He kept adding ingredients to the basic 5,000 won hamburger, and it eventually exceeded 20,000 won. As if he intended to match the gas money, he added five more beef patties.

“This is for Ms. Chae I-ryeong to eat.”

He suddenly handed the hamburger to her.

“Aren’t you going to eat it?”

“It’s a bribe. Ms. I-ryeong, eat this for me and answer my question.”

What kind of crazy person was this?

Just as she was wondering why he had even added so much when he wasn’t going to eat it,

“Have you definitely settled things with that bastard from back then?”

Her mind, which had been filled with all sorts of curses directed at him, suddenly became a blank canvas.

“…Why are you curious about that, Executive Director?”

“I can’t help it even if it’s unpleasant. Did you break up?”

He was quite persistent. He even had a serious expression on his face as he demanded an answer.

No matter how high his position was, she had no reason to reveal her private life.

“You heard everything, didn’t you? I’ve settled it.”

I-ryeong vaguely glossed over it.

“Are you sure it’s completely, cleanly settled?”

However, as if her answer was not satisfactory, he asked again with a serious expression.

“It’s because I really need to know.”

He even had a serious look in his eyes.

In that moment, I-ryeong felt like he was a top predator. One who never lets go of something once he bites into it.

“Executive Director. I have no reason to tell you that.”

Why was he carelessly digging up and hurting someone else’s wounds?

I-ryeong felt unpleasant and annoyed at this meeting. She completely lost her already small appetite.

It was just when she decided to wrap things up and get up.

“From this moment on, I intend to deliberately seduce Ms. Chae I-ryeong.”

The man had been casually saying the word “seduce” since earlier.

“Wh-What are you talking about!”

“Let’s date.”

This man, who suggested dating with an emotionless expression, had a strange light in his eyes.

“D-Dating! What are you saying….”

“If dating is difficult, we can get married right away.”

He was absolutely insane. A proposal, just like that?