SURE 16

“…”

How long had I slept? It felt like I had slept for about two hours, but I heard a faint ringing and habitually picked up my phone. Ever since starting my business, I’ve never slept deeply, so I would wake up at the slightest sound. But my eyelids had a different agenda than my brain and refused to open, so I pressed where I thought the call button was. I couldn’t even hold the phone to my ear and just placed it next to my pillow.

“Hello…”

—Were you sleeping? I’m sorry.

“Who is this…”

—Well. Who do you think I am?

What is he talking about… I barely managed to open my eyes that wouldn’t open and dimly stared at the bright screen. I don’t think I slept for long, but it’s already six o’clock… The caller was Shin Taeyoon.

“Ah…”

Even answering the phone from him at this hour of the morning was exhausting. However, important business calls didn’t care about the time of day. Moreover, if the caller was Shin Taeyoon, it might be that important. I tossed and turned, then sat up and pressed my eyelids firmly.

—You sound like you didn’t get much sleep.

“What is it… Is there a problem with the contract…?”

—No, there’s no problem with the contract. If you’re a bit more awake, could you come down to the underground parking lot for a moment?

“…Excuse me?”

—Please move your car.

Ah, damn it. The owner of the car I blocked was Shin Taeyoon. Damn, of all the people. The fact that he was my neighbor once again stabbed at my sleep-drunk body. I really need to move.

“I’ll be right down.”

—You can take your time.

Forget washing up, I just put on a hat over my bedhead and changed into sweatpants. It would be crazy to get all dressed up just to go out and move my car after being woken up. I shuffled out in my slippers and waited for the elevator. Then, I suddenly wondered if I had brought my car keys and fumbled through my pants pockets. I felt dazed.

It was just past six, yet he was heading to work extremely early. There was no need for me to wake up early just to avoid him. Why did I even bother when Shin Taeyoon goes to work much earlier than I do? On the other hand, I became curious about what on earth he does at work at this early hour. He was someone who always said he was busy. It was obvious he would work late a lot, but was he just a person who didn’t need much sleep? Or I couldn’t tell if his workload was so heavy that he had to go to work early to keep up.

The underground parking lot was quiet too. Most office workers started moving around seven, so most of the double-parked cars were still there as I had seen them last night, with only a few gone. Shin Taeyoon, who had been looking at his phone, lifted his head at the sound of my shuffling slippers. Unlike me, he showed no signs of fatigue at all.

“You really do look like you just woke up.”

“I suppose so…”

“Anyway, good morning. Sorry for waking you.”

“Do you always leave this early?”

“No, I’m not a robot, how could I go to work at this time every day? It’s just like this for a week or two when an important project is underway.”

Our collaboration probably wasn’t included in that important project. It wouldn’t do for Team Leader Im to be the only one fired up about it.

“Did you get in late last night, Mister CEO? You look tired.”

Shin Taeyoon tilted his head and asked, peering at my face under the brim of my hat. At his question, the rice cake factory that I had been thinking about until I fell asleep once again dug into my mind. ‘It seems there’s an issue with the rice cake factory’ was not an appropriate way to report to a business partner. Everything is discussed only after establishing a proper alternative based solely on facts. It wasn’t the right time to talk about work verbally with Shin Taeyoon.

“It’s nothing. I just got back late from visiting a client. I’ll move my car for you.”

“It’s tomorrow, isn’t it? The day we meet.”

I paused as I was about to open the driver’s side door. Shin Taeyoon would remind me of my appointment with him whenever I was about to forget. Should I be the one to choose the restaurant then? Since Shin Taeyoon guided me when I visited Shinyoon F&B last time, it was my turn this time.

“Please let me know if there are any foods you can’t eat. Whether it’s an allergy or a preference.”

Shin Taeyoon’s lips curved into a smile.

“I’m pulling an all-nighter today, so I won’t be coming home. I’ll just change my clothes somewhere near the office.”

I asked if there was anything he couldn’t eat, and I got a completely unrelated answer. I’d noticed it before, but why was his way of speaking so strange?

“And so.”

“I’ll probably sleep for a few hours and then have my first meal of the day with you, Mister CEO. Which means I’ll eat whatever you put in my mouth without any complaints. Without knowing what tastes good or what doesn’t.”

“Should I take that as ‘anything’?”

“Correct. I’ll eat well even if you poison the food, so choose according to your taste, Mister CEO.”

“What on earth…”

You’d need to have poison to spike something with it. He seems to think poison is easy to come by. Shin Taeyoon shrugged and got into the driver’s seat of his car. Ah, I’ve taken up a lot of his time. I hurriedly got into my car and started the engine. There wasn’t enough space to back up and move aside, so I drove up to the ground level and turned the car around. Shin Taeyoon’s car followed and pulled out.

His car stopped next to mine, and he rolled down the passenger-side window. Shin Taeyoon, with his hands on the wheel, leaned his upper body toward me.

“Have a good day. Sorry about the early hour.”

How many times is he going to apologize? If I knew he was so good at apologizing, he should have apologized for the rudeness he showed to Team Leader Im.

“You too, Team Leader Shin. As for the all-nighter… good luck.”

I responded with an awkward greeting. Shin Taeyoon grinned and straightened his upper body.

“You look cute when you’re still half-asleep.”

“What?”

My question was cut short, as if I had misheard, but his car had already started moving, so I didn’t get an answer. The smile he had when he turned his head away from me was gone.

I pushed my car into the spot Shin Taeyoon’s car had vacated and took off my hat as I went back up to my apartment. In the mirror, I looked just as emotionless as his faded, blank expression. Except for the fact that the corners of my eyes were a little red from fatigue.

---

“Tae’s agency is asking us to set a date for the ad shoot. I’ve already gotten his available dates. I can just coordinate this with Assistant Manager Park and proceed, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And I have a meeting at the Shinyoon building at three o’clock today, so I’ll just clock out from there. It’s a concept meeting, so I don’t think it will end early.”

“Yeah.”

As I was just answering like an answering machine, Team Leader Im waved a pen in front of my face.

“Mister CEO. How many of these do you see?”

“What are you doing, get that away.”

Then he took out the pen tucked into his collar and waved two of them together. It was distracting.

“How many are there.”

“Two. Happy?”

“You’re not sick or anything. Is there something bothering you regarding Shinyoon?”

“It’s not that. If you’re done with your report, you can go. For that project, you don’t need my confirmation for things like today, so just use your discretion, proceed, and report back. Whatever it is, it’s a good opportunity for your career, Team Leader Im.”

If Team Leader Im were to change jobs later on, he would get good marks for the collaborative project with Shinyoon F&B. A talented and smart employee is welcomed anywhere. Of course, I hope he stays with our company for as long as possible, but people’s lives don’t always go as planned. I wanted to give credit where it was due to the employee in charge who was working hard to increase sales.

“In that spirit, please hire three more people for the marketing team with at least three years of experience. To be honest, the employees starting next week are new, so it’ll take a long time to train them.”

“Have Team Leader Jo sort through the resumes and you can pick. But you have to consider that with three or more years of experience, someone older than you might come in. You know that, right?”

“Things like age difference, I can tell right away during the interview whether it’s a good vibe or a bad vibe, so it doesn’t matter. Anyway, Mister CEO. You’re really not sick, right?”

“I’m not sick.”

I just have a lot on my mind. Sojeong, who was not only good at her job and smart, but also kind-hearted and dedicated to her hobbies, worried about me until the end, but she finished by cursing out Shin Taeyoon. When I was left alone in the CEO’s office, my ears were ringing.

Tomorrow’s meeting with Shin Taeyoon, no… I called it a meeting. To me, he was nothing more and nothing less than a team leader from a client company, but he was slowly closing the distance, and I didn’t know how to react. Should I act like we were in a so-called ‘some’ stage, or should I be more formal and treat him as a business contact? I let out a hollow laugh as I narrowed down the menu using the food pictures saved in my phone’s gallery, and then considered the taste and atmosphere as secondary factors. What ‘some’? How is this any different from entertaining a client?

My head was throbbing. The image of him I saw at the blue dawn flickered in my mind, but unfortunately, I didn’t have the leisure to search for a romantic partner. Tomorrow’s meeting would be enough. Once the rice cake factory issue is resolved and the cycle returns to normal, I will look into moving, and I have decided to take a bystander’s approach to the collaboration with Shinyoon F&B as much as possible. So as not to run into Shin Taeyoon for work if I can help it.

The office phone and my personal cell phone rang at the same time. The cell phone was from the president of the sushi restaurant that was across the street when I used to do business in the alley, and the office phone was from Manager Han. I put my cell phone face down and picked up the office phone.

“Yeah.”

—Mister CEO, can I take a half-day off today?

His asking voice was firm. As a secretary, Manager Han used his vacation days less frequently than other employees, usually only for urgent matters.

“Why are you even calling for that?”

—Still, with less than an hour until lunch, I thought I should let you know.

“Take it. There’s nothing else to report, right?”

—There isn’t. For us, well, things are smooth sailing except for the rice cake factory matter.

The rice cake factory… Ah, the president. Should I just go down there again today? I should plant a surveillance employee or something. If distrust continues to grow, it can turn into conviction even if there is no evidence. That’s human psychology. I’ve given him until next week, so I need to wait patiently. In fact, there were no issues related to the rice cakes at any of the stores today.

“It seems urgent, so pack up now and go home early.”

—Thank you. If anything comes up, please call me. I’ll come back to the office.

“Don’t say things you don’t mean and just go.”

—Yes, sir.

I hung up the office phone and picked up my personal cell phone, which was ringing persistently. The sushi restaurant president greeted me cheerfully.

—President? How’ve you been?

“Yes, President. I’m the same as always. Are you doing well?”

He was the one who took good care of me when I was clueless about business when I first opened Jungwoon’s Tteokbokki in the alley. After I handed over the main branch to my aunt as my business grew, we would exchange greetings on holidays or on the birthdays written on our chat profiles. He is also someone who is passionate about the early morning soccer games held at the elementary school playground every Sunday. I had also gone a few times as a substitute to kick the ball around. Did he call today because of the early morning soccer game too?

—President. Do you have plans this Sunday?

Just as I thought.

“Which position is short this time?”

—Left wing!

I do like the Premier League and occasionally run around the field to break a sweat, but no matter how I think about it, early morning soccer has little to do with formations. Even if you stand in your designated position, once the first five minutes of the first half are over, the defenders are attacking, the attackers are defending, and if the opportunity arises, the goalkeeper will run out and score a goal… It was a strange sport where middle-aged men well over thirty would gather for a hobby, cry and laugh while kicking a ball in what was essentially a chaotic free-for-all, yet their competitive spirit was so strong. Although it is included in soccer, shouldn’t it be viewed as strictly independent?

Still, it’s a healthy hobby. Seeing how passionate the president is, even though he’s approaching fifty. I can’t just skip out with the excuse of being tired when someone much older is asking. Maybe I’ll clear my head if I run around and break a sweat.

“It’s at the usual elementary school until nine o’clock, right?”

—Yessir!

“Yes. I’ll be there. See you on Sunday.”

—Yes! Sir! Then I’ll just get to the point and hang up. Keep up the good work.

It would be a relief if my cleats weren’t covered in dust. After finishing the consecutive calls, I once again put effort into the meeting with Shin Taeyoon. Since it was an evening meeting, alcohol would be the main event rather than food, and beer was the easiest choice. Places that sell soju are generally noisy, which would be far from Shin Taeyoon’s taste. The fact that he purposely went to Seokhyeon’s bar, which was far from his house, alone, showed that he disliked noisy places.

So, would this place be decent for filling our stomachs and also good for a drink… I pondered with a picture of assorted skewers from the skewer restaurant I visited before on the screen, then searched for the restaurant name on a portal site. It opens at five. I should call then and ask if a private room reservation is possible. If they say no because it’s the weekend, well, we can just sit at the bar where we sat last time. Sitting side by side might be better than facing each other.