Marriage Mate: 12

“…..”

Is this really something that could happen?

Yu-young’s mouth hung open in shock, unable to close. Call it a coincidence, it was absurdly twisted; call it fate, it was too unpleasant to accept.

No, this was misfortune—pure and simple. Was there a word more fitting for this situation?

He had already spent his entire vacation gritting his teeth every time he ran into that face. Even if they had only crossed paths once or twice, he would have wanted to throw salt at him out of sheer bad luck. But this guy? He was his neighbor—living right in the apartment across from his. Out of all the possible units, why did he have to move in right there? Yu-young still couldn’t believe it.

And as if that weren’t enough… they worked at the same company. In the same team. And he was Yu-young’s superior.

They say enemies always meet on a narrow bridge—but now that he thought about it, that saying felt too mild. If they had really met on a bridge, at least they could rip off their name tags and grab each other by the collar. But here? In the office, where hierarchy was plastered all over them? What was he supposed to do?

Was this situation even real?

For a fleeting moment, Yu-young seriously wondered if he was having a nightmare. Because otherwise, this kind of ridiculous thing just couldn’t happen. It was so utterly absurd that neither tears nor laughter could come.

Yet the man standing before him, with his cold, rigid expression, left him no time to sit around wondering whether this was a dream or reality.

“What time is it, Assistant Manager Han?”

Do-won’s icy voice cut through the air.

Yu-young snapped back to his senses. No matter how much he tried to dismiss this as a nightmare, the voice reprimanding him now was unmistakably the same annoying voice he had endured throughout his vacation.

The only difference? Back then, it was just annoying. But now, that voice belonged to his boss.

Of all the people in the world, why did this insufferable man have to be his direct superior?

The sheer unfairness of it made him want to cry. It was beyond belief, beyond reason—but it was reality.

With a trembling voice, Yu-young barely managed to answer.

“N-nine… nine ten… sir.”

“That’s right. Nine ten.”

Do-won sneered and gestured toward the office clock with his chin.

“So, Assistant Manager Han, did you get special permission to come in at this time?”

“….”

Yu-young couldn’t answer.

How was he supposed to explain that he had stupidly set his alarm an hour late? Or that his car had suddenly broken down in front of the office? The first excuse made him sound like an idiot, and the second sounded like a lie.

No matter what he said, it would only be an excuse. Late was late. No reason could change that. It wasn’t like a natural disaster had occurred, and even if his car had broken down, it had happened practically at the office doorstep.

Quickly assessing the situation, Yu-young bowed his head.

“…I’m sorry, Team Leader. I overslept… and was late.”

“Overslept. Ha.”

What came back was a cold chuckle.

Do-won smirked as if he had never heard anything so ridiculous.

“You’re not a child. You should have at least come up with a more believable lie.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“That’s enough. More importantly—Deputy Manager Kim.”

Do-won abruptly cut off Yu-young’s apology and turned away.

“Follow me. Let’s review that report together.”

“Uh…? Y-yes.”

Deputy Manager Kim, his face pale, scrambled after Do-won.

The team leader’s office door closed behind them. The remaining team members, who had been either awkwardly standing or sitting, immediately exchanged glances.

No one spoke, but their expressions all said the same thing.

Just then, Kim Ju-yeon hurried over to Yu-young and whispered,

“Why were you so late, Yu-young? Was it really because you overslept?”

“Haa… It’s a long story… But yeah, I did oversleep.”

Sighing deeply, Yu-young slumped into his chair and powered on his computer.

“Well, did you at least have a good break?”

“Yeah… I guess? But… this atmosphere… Is it because I was late?”

Kim Ju-yeon shook her head.

“No way. That’s not the problem. It’s about the report you wrote. The one Deputy Manager Kim was supposed to present. As soon as Team Leader came in, he barely greeted us before asking for it. Then, after skimming through it, his face just… soured.”

“…Seriously?”

Yu-young’s vision darkened.

He had barely gotten over one hurdle, only to find another mountain looming ahead.

Panicked, he grabbed Ju-yeon’s arm.

“W-wait. What’s wrong with the report?”

“How should I know? But the moment he read it, his face turned grim.”

Yu-young’s heart, which had just started to settle, began pounding again.

What could be the problem?

He had put his utmost effort into writing that report. He had never once been scolded for a poorly written report—not in any of his previous jobs. In fact, he was quite good at it. So much so that his past superiors had dumped their own reports onto him.

Chewing his lip, Yu-young aimlessly dragged his mouse across the screen, drawing and erasing squares over and over.

No matter how many times he did it, he had no clue what could be wrong.

Eventually, he let out a deep sigh and scratched his head.

Screw it.

It was Deputy Manager Kim’s responsibility anyway.

There was no way he’d be stupid enough to say, Actually, Team Leader, I didn’t write that report. Haha!

Besides, Deputy Manager Kim had had plenty of time to review it while Yu-young was on vacation.

He could deal with it.

Yu-young tried to think boldly as he logged into the company messenger and opened his work files. Whether it turned out well or not, he decided to focus on work for now.

However, soon, a clear voice began to leak from the team leader’s office, drawing the attention of everyone, including Yu-young.

“Are you sure you fully understand the contents of this?”

The team members’ eyes widened. They only rolled their eyes around, unable to open their mouths. Then, a cold voice rang out once again.

“This report. I asked if Deputy Manager Kim really wrote it.”

It felt as if Do-won’s voice was being hammered into his ears. The office door must have been slightly faulty for some time, as it wasn’t fully closed and remained just slightly ajar.

The office atmosphere, already tense, completely froze. The team members all held their breath, sneaking glances toward the team leader’s office. Then, after a few footsteps were heard, the door slammed shut. This time, it was fully closed. Faint murmurs could still be heard through the door, but unlike before, it was impossible to make out the words.

At that moment, everyone’s fingers started furiously typing on their keyboards at the same time.

[Wow… This is insane. Deputy Manager Kim is getting wrecked right now, isn’t he?]

[Seriously. I’ve never seen him get chewed out like this before.]

[Right? I kind of love this, though.haha]

[Same.haha]

Everyone was grinning as they focused on the messenger chat, but Yu-young alone was shaking with anxiety. That bastard of a deputy manager… he wouldn’t have submitted the report without even reviewing the contents, would he…?

Please, just let this pass quickly. As long as it doesn’t blow back on me… There’s no way the deputy manager would say that Assistant Manager Han Yu-young wrote it, right?

Praying desperately, Yu-young moved his fingers across the keyboard like the others.

[So where are we having the company dinner today?]

[“Burning Butcher’s”—our usual place.]

[Sounds delicious. You made a reservation, right, Yoon-seok?]

[Yep! It’s set for 7 PM tonight~!]

It was only natural to hold a welcoming dinner since a new team leader was joining. However, Yu-young could only sigh. He wasn’t even used to the fact that that bastard was now his team leader.

And now, he had to have dinner with him, too?

He couldn’t believe he had ever thought he’d never see that guy again. Not only would they be seeing each other, but they would be spending most of their days in the same space.

What would people say if he told them about this absurd and ridiculous misfortune? Should he confide in Assistant Manager Kim Ju-yeon, whom he was close with? Just as he was debating it—

The team leader’s office door suddenly burst open.

“The person who wrote this report, step forward.”

Do-won leaned against the doorframe and spoke coldly. A moment later, Deputy Manager Kim walked out of the office, looking completely dejected, as if he had lost his entire country.

The office instantly froze as if doused in ice water. The unexpected bombshell made all hands simultaneously halt over their keyboards. Everyone stiffened, not even daring to type, when Do-won’s sharp voice rang out again.

“I said, the person who wrote this report, come forward.”

He didn’t even raise his voice, yet his tone commanded everyone’s attention. One by one, people’s gazes shifted toward Yu-young.

Wait, but when I was writing the report, no one helped me at all, and now they’re all just staring?!

When Yu-young gave them a resentful look, everyone quickly averted their eyes back to their monitors.

Traitors…

He felt bitter and wronged, but at this moment, no one could help him.

Feeling as if he were facing the King of Hell himself, Yu-young hesitantly stood up from his seat. Seeing this, Do-won let out a scoff of disbelief.

“You again, Assistant Manager Han Yu-young?”

“……”

“Come in.”

Again, that scornful tone, that look of contempt.

Even the bitter wind sweeping across the Siberian plains couldn’t be as cold as Do-won’s voice. He turned and walked back into his office without another word.

Leaving behind the pitiful gazes of his coworkers, who looked as if they were offering condolences at his funeral, Yu-young forced himself to move his unwilling legs toward the team leader’s office.