PIA 142

Topic > Blabla

I saw General manager Jeong Hee-seo at the company cafe today.

[JM] ID: sin*****

🕒 Yesterday 👁️🗨️ 12K 💬 98

Since joining the company, I’d only seen him speaking with a microphone from afar in the seminar room. But this morning, when I went to buy an iced Americano, I saw him up close for the first time in person.

It was so fascinating to see him in such a friendly manner, unlike his appearance on TV or news. He was buying drinks with his team members from the General manager’s office.

Seeing him up close, his gentle smile was so handsome. I was surprised by how tall he was and his great proportions, even more than I expected.

I kept glancing at him, and when team members asked for snacks too, he coolly paid for everything… Wow…

I was so envious of his team members. Next time I met him, I wanted to ask him to buy me a coffee too.

* * *

Secretary Yoon chuckled unconsciously while looking at his phone. It was because of a post that appeared this morning on the office workers’ community site he browsed when bored.

The General Manager had pushed his team members to tears during the morning weekly report meeting, and then as if giving medicine after causing pain, he took them to the cafeteria for coffee. This scene apparently looked beautiful to an employee from another team who didn’t know the whole story.

[Best] The first time I joined, he bought coffee for everyone regardless of their team. Schedule an appointment by email. There’s a long waiting list, so book quickly.

Secretary Yoon had clicked on the post as soon as he saw Jeong Hee-seo’s name in the title, and immediately left the first comment after reading the content. His comment had received many likes and had become the best comment.

While Lee Hyun-ju called Secretary Yoon a devil for leaving that comment, looking at the replies below, he didn’t even qualify as a devil.

└ [JM] Lsy*** : If you speak well, he’ll even buy you meat. He said it was a secret, so I was keeping it as my own memory, but it turns out many others have been treated too.

└ [JM] Ct0*** : You have to be quick instead of waiting. I know someone else who’s done this too. I missed out as a new employee because I got the info late ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

└ [Daeyoung Industries] Kim*** : I hear many companies are like this these days. I’m envious.

└ [JM] E23*** : Avoid Mondays.

└ [JM] Lmn*** : Honestly, it’s already too late now…

└ [Hanshin Electronics] Hjm*** : I wish our boss was like this.

└ [JM] Esh*** : It’s also a good idea to book a restaurant first and then send the email~~~.

In fact, whenever Jeong Hee-seo showed up at the company, there were frequent posts about him on the company community and even on the JM internal bulletin board. Although it was said to be an anonymous board, since it concerned the company’s untouchably high owner family, there were no extreme or reckless posts about him.

However, there were quite a few posts with excessive use of laughing emoticons and content expressing surprise, unexpectedness, renewed perspective, and freshness. Among them, there were quite a few posts where Secretary Yoon, who saw Jeong Hee-seo up close, had directly left comments.

Seeing these not-quite-gossip posts about Jeong Hee-seo and leaving playful comments was Secretary Yoon’s small stress relief channel.

Not only Jeong Hee-seo but also other company owners whose faces were known in the mass media often became the subject of posts, so it was more of a light-hearted conversation atmosphere rather than malicious gossip. However, the person who posted today seemed to be a newcomer to society who had just got a job, as they were completely unaware of the board’s atmosphere.

“Quite a deep fantasy, indeed.”

“What fantasy?”

Jeong Hee-seo’s voice fell on Secretary Yoon’s head as he muttered. Startled, he looked up to see Jeong Hee-seo narrowing his eyes at him. Secretary Yoon stood up with an awkward smile.

“Is the meeting already over? I thought it would take at least two hours.”

“Is that why you looked so happy? Life must be good these days, Yoon Woo-young.”

“Ah, of course. The bonus you gave has warmed both my body and heart. Everything I do is going well these days, I’m completely happy.”

Wondering if his sincerity was too much, Jeong Hee-seo raised an eyebrow and stared blankly at Secretary Yoon. After seemingly losing his words for a moment, he let his lips relax into a smile. Secretary Yoon, who used to tense up when he smiled, had now become quite accustomed to it.

It had been quite a while since Jeong Hee-seo started smiling more. He even became curious about marriage, wondering if all married men become so gentle. After returning from a long leave, Jeong Hee-seo was much softer and more mellow than before.

Look at him now, leading the way without saying much. Even the gesture of his hand beckoning him to follow was tinged with affection. Secretary Yoon smiled brightly and hurriedly followed behind him with tablet in hand.

As they walked, Secretary Yoon meticulously jotted down everything: the meeting outcomes Jeong Hee-seo recited, the additional schedules, and even minor adjustments. Before he knew it, they were already inside the General Manager’s office.

“So this new project is essentially approved? I thought there would be strong opposition… Then I’ll check the next schedule as you mentioned.”

“Opposition for the sake of opposing, nothing more…”

“Oh, right!”

Secretary Yoon, who had been buried in his tablet, suddenly lifted his head.

“Speaking of projects, have you finalized the wedding plans with Mr. Ji-an? Spring has passed, and if you’re aiming for autumn, you’ll need to hurry.”

At the mention of Ji-an’s name and the wedding, Jeong Hee-seo seemed to malfunction slightly. The man’s usually sharp and cold-running brain seemed to stutter and stop like an engine doused with sugar syrup.

Secretary Yoon cleared his throat unnecessarily as Jeong Hee-seo’s expression softened infinitely for a moment. He didn’t know why he felt embarrassed himself.

Jeong Hee-seo quickly composed his face, brushing his lower jaw.

“When has Ji-an ever said no to anything I do?”

Secretary Yoon’s eyes widened at his nonchalant tone. Just a few days ago when they briefly met…

‘Woo-young hyung, isn’t there a way to just skip over this wedding ceremony? I caught a glimpse of Grandmother’s plans, and it looks like it’s going to make the evening news for real.’

Ji-an had complained to him, so how did they reach such a dramatic compromise?

“That’s really great then. The things you’ve booked and arranged without saying anything, like the private jet. If Ji-an finds out, surely—”

“…”

Secretary Yoon, caught off guard by Jeong Hee-seo’s mood, unwittingly revealed his suspicion. Seeing his expression instantly turn cold, his blood ran cold. Looking at the dark eyes glaring at her, Secretary Yoon hastily waved his hands.

“Ah! I absolutely won’t say anything. No, I haven’t said anything! I need to keep my work life comfortable too. Don’t worry. I swear I really haven’t said anything. I haven’t let slip even a crumb of information.”

“Yoon Woo-young, think carefully before you speak.”

“If Ji-an had heard anything from me, it would have shown already, you know what he’s like.”

“…That’s true.”

Being glared at as if he had discovered a secret spy lurking by his side, Secretary Yoon felt uneasy despite not having committed any crime. As he frantically rewound his memories to check if he had accidentally leaked any information to Ji-an, Jeong Hee-seo’s phone rang.

“It’s Ji-an. Our Woo-young is lucky.”

Jeong Hee-seo raised his index finger in a gesture to keep quiet. Secretary Yoon seized the opportunity and quickly bowed before fleeing from Jeong Hee-seo’s office.

Jeong Hee-seo slowly moved towards the window with the phone in hand. He cleared his throat and as soon as he pressed the accept button, a bright voice shouting “Hyung!” burst from the speaker, making him reflexively break into a wide smile.

“Oh, Ji-an.”

“I did everything you asked, Hyung. I sent Poggles to Grandmother, told the housekeeper to go home, and told the driver to go home too. The house is completely empty.”

“Well done.”

“Are we going on a date now, until night?”

“You’re quick on the uptake.”

“I’d be a fool not to understand such obvious signals. Where should I go? What delicious place have you found this time? I never knew there were so many great restaurants in our country until I met you, Hyung. Koreans are really serious about food. Ah, thanks to you, I can’t get any rest.”

As he listened to his chattering, Jeong Hee-seo looked down at the city. It was the same view he always saw, but listening to Ji-an’s voice made the colors look different. He was in deep. No wonder the staff in his office sometimes gave him strange looks these days.

“Ah, I talked too much again, didn’t I? You must be busy, Hyung.”

“No, I like listening. Keep going.”

“…That’s strange. Why does that sound kind of… erotic?”

“You’re being cheeky again.”

Ji-an’s laughter scattered through the speaker. Jeong Hee-seo found himself laughing out loud too before quickly composing his voice.

“The meeting place. I’ll send it to you in a message. See you there.”

“Yay!”

* * *

“I love you!”

Ji-an’s shoulders jumped in surprise as he was walking while looking at his phone. Startled, he quickly turned his head towards the source of the sound, where an unknown singer doing a busking performance waved at him.