TSG 32

It was an interior design company called Seongha. Although it hadn’t been around for long, thanks to the unique sense of the CEO, it was growing rapidly day by day.

Sin Tae-oh, who was building a new building, why was he meeting Seongha, who was doing interior design for existing buildings?

‘It’s pretty.’

Sin Tae-oh wanted to change the monotonous interior himself. But when Seongha postponed the meeting, he came to find out what happened.

“Hello.”

Se-hyun went inside first. He was planning to go and see the situation and call Shin Tae-oh.

“Hello. Where are you from?”

In response to a question from a woman sitting nearby, Se-hyun took out his business card case from his pocket.

“I’m Ahn Se-hyun of SR Construction.”

When he held out the business card with a businesslike smile, the woman’s stern face softened slightly. Indeed, a friendly smile was the best way to lower the other person’s guard.

“But what happened? The meeting was postponed because the CEO wasn’t here.”

“It’s okay even if I don’t meet the CEO. I just came because I thought something might be wrong. If there’s anything I can help with, I’m here to help.”

“Oh my goodness.”

The woman’s face lit up when she heard Se-hyun’s words full of worry, and she suddenly became busy.

“I’m Han Jeong-hwa. Here’s my business card.”

“Thank you. I’ll keep it preciously.”

“Preciously…”

How can each word be so beautifully spoken?

“Oh, I almost forgot. Have this and cheer up.”

Se-hyun handed a bottle to Han Jeong-hwa. Unconsciously, she reached out her hand as she had been looking at Se-hyun’s face until then. When she received the bottle and looked at it, she realized what it was.

“Oh.”

There was a ribbon neatly tied with the message ‘Cheer up today too.’ What was this? She was moved for no reason. Maybe it could have been more because there were a lot of people visiting these days.

People from so-called large companies were endlessly arrogant. When asked why the meeting was postponed while searching for the CEO, they treated her as if she were beneath them.

Han Jeong-hwa held the bottle tightly and spoke with a relaxed face.

“The CEO is currently on a business trip, not just idling around. Since we never know when he’ll return from a business trip, we adjusted the meeting date. Please understand that there is absolutely no other meaning to it.”

Han Jeong-hwa smoothly provided the necessary information to Se-hyun.

“Thank you for letting me know.”

“I’m more thankful. I’ll be the first to contact you when the CEO returns.”

Han Jeong-hwa held a bottle in one hand and a business card in the other and made promises to Se-hyun several times.

Se-hyun also expressed his gratitude to her before leaving. Since Shin Tae-oh said he wanted to meet him, he thought it would be a good idea to leave some sort of impression, and surprisingly, it was well received.

After exchanging greetings with Han Jeong-hwa, Se-hyun opened the door and stopped just a few steps away.

“Were you here?”

He had told him to wait in the car, so why was he here?… But he couldn’t say anything more to Shin Tae-oh. Wherever he was, it was his choice.

“Not here, but there.”

Shin Tae-oh pointed to the door in response to Se-hyun’s question.

“Then why don’t you come in…”

When asked if he wanted to meet the CEO, Shin Tae-oh smiled slightly. It seemed more like a polite smile rather than a genuine one out of joy.

“I came to see the CEO. Well, thanks to you, I had a nice view.”

The door was transparent, so he could see everything inside. But there wasn’t really anything worth seeing.

All he had was a conversation with Han Jeong-hwa, and being in an ordinary office inside?

“I don’t like it when you smile like that.”

Se-hyun stared at Shin Tae-oh, who was talking nonsense.

This Taenyang-i again.

“If you mean my smile, it’s like a lubricant for a smooth conversation.”

“Then I should have gone and asked myself. I can make people smile too, you know.”

For a moment, he imagined Shin Tae-oh smiling at Han Jeong-hwa.

‘What was that?’

Se-hyun unknowingly placed a hand on his chest. He felt something strange just now, but it was difficult to pinpoint what it was exactly.

‘Was it just my imagination?’

He eventually stopped pondering.

“They decided to contact us when the CEO arrives. Shall we head back to the office?”

Se-hyun picked up his phone, ready to move according to Shin Tae-oh’s decision. If they were going back to the office, he needed to inform the chief secretary.

As Shin Tae-oh looked around and suddenly stopped in front of Se-hyun,

“Aren’t you hungry?”

He threw an unexpected question.

“I’ll make a reservation.”

Se-hyun opened a map app on his phone, not contacts. It seemed like Shin Tae-oh hadn’t eaten breakfast.

He didn’t confirm whether Shin Tae-oh had breakfast after receiving the porridge. He felt guilty for not checking if he had eaten properly. Blaming himself for not noticing as a competent secretary, he searched for a suitable place nearby on his phone.

“What are you doing?”

Se-hyun’s body froze as Shin Tae-oh approached. Not only did his chest touch Se-hyun’s shoulder and arm, but his face was also too close. If Se-hyun turned his head just a little, it felt like their lips would touch.

“I’m… um… looking for a place to go…”

Since Shin Tae-oh came right away to visit Seongha, Se-hyun had to rearrange all the schedules. Compared to the chief secretary sorting out approval documents separately in the office, Se-hyun felt overwhelmed with the tangled mess in his mind just from looking for a restaurant.

“That…”

Get it together, and clear your head.

Se-hyun hesitated and unable to look back at Shin Tae-oh, suddenly Shin Tae-oh’s hand went up.

He flinched.

Se-hyun’s attention was entirely focused on him, wondering what his reaction meant. He hoped Shin Tae-oh wouldn’t notice.

“Are you cold? Why are you shaking?”

Yeah, what am I expecting from you?

Se-hyun pretended to look around casually and took a step forward. He had been waiting for Shin Tae-oh to step back like this from the beginning.

And just before he approached, Se-hyun quickly spoke up.

“There is a Japanese restaurant near here. Should I make a reservation there?”

“I’m not in the mood for sushi.”

Huh. They also sell cooked food.

“Then I’ll make a reservation at a Korean restaurant.”

“I’m not in the mood for carbs…”

Just because it’s a Korean restaurant, does it only sell rice?

“Then I’ll look into a Western-style restaurant.”

“Wasn’t there that restaurant around here?”

Se-hyun sighed inwardly at his sudden inquiry, realizing he had already had a menu in mind from the beginning.

Anyway, when Shin Tae-oh asked, he immediately searched the surroundings with his cell phone. Then he came across a familiar name.

‘Here…’

It was the restaurant where he received a meal voucher from the chief secretary in the morning.

“Once Restaurant, maybe…”

“That sounds good.”

“Yes.”

Since Shin Tae-oh gave his permission, Se-hyun immediately clicked on the contact information. While waiting for the signal to connect, he glanced at Shin Tae-oh.

How could it be that the exact thing Shin Tae-oh wanted to eat was the restaurant Se-hyun received a meal voucher for?

He received the meal ticket with a pure heart, but why did he feel like someone’s selfish interest was involved?

⍣⍣⍣

Se-hyun came to the restaurant and looked around.

The restaurant was inside the hotel. So, considering the cost of a meal in such a place… It made Se-hyun appreciate the chief secretary even more.

‘If this happens a second time, my father will be disappointed.’

Chief Secretary Lee Jin-ho is number 4. He was my fourth favorite person and my father was second.

His father, who knew the identity of the numbers in his contact information, would ask him what number he had every time they met. He confirms his affection by ensuring his number remains unchanged. But if he prioritized Chief Secretary Lee Jin-ho, over his Father, that wouldn’t be right, would it?

Se-hyun decided not to change the third spot and debated between the second and fourth. After all, I can’t switch places with my parents, right?

“What are you doing? Ah…”

He momentarily forgot to follow Shin Tae-oh as he got lost in random thoughts. Then, as if understanding, Shin Tae-oh went to the table first, not to mention calling for him. He pulled out the chair and stood awkwardly, so he couldn’t get any closer.

What are you doing, Taenyang-i? If you pull out the chair, sit down.

He stood next to Shin Tae-oh. He planned to figure out what he would order and place the order for him when he sat down.

“What are we doing standing side by side?”

“The CEO can sit down.”

Shin Tae-oh’s eyebrows rose at the simple answer that everything would be resolved then.

What was he dissatisfied with?

“Do you know there’s nothing sadder than eating alone?”

You ate alone well before that.

As soon as he thought that maybe Shin Tae-oh pulled out the chair for him, Se-hyun shuddered.

“The food here is good.”

He could come back later with the meal voucher he received as a gift. He thought he didn’t have to sit face to face with Shin Tae-oh right now and was considering refusing.

“Let’s eat together.”

Shin Tae-oh’s tone became stiff.

“All right.”

To avoid annoying Shin Tae-oh, he quickly pulled out the chair and sat down. As he glanced at Shin Tae-oh as if to say if he was satisfied now, he noticed Shin Tae-oh looking back and forth between the chairs.

“You’re quite insensitive…”

Shin Tae-oh muttered as he sat down on the chair he had pulled out.

Why was he being treated like he was bad? It was normal like this.

After sending a message to the chief secretary that they’d return to the office after the meal, he looked around for a moment.

Since he was already here, it would be nice to say he’ll pay the bill…

‘I forgot to bring the meal voucher.’

He carefully placed it in a drawer before leaving.