DFY Ch 27

“Oh, that….”

Arin had brought Sodam a coffee, and Sodam could already picture Miyeon gossiping about it behind their backs. She could tolerate Miyeon’s behavior towards her as just part of office politics, but seeing her pick on her cherished junior made Sodam feel pathetic.

“Ms. Miyeon, you should buy Arin a meal sometime.”

“What? Did she say something to you?”

“Yes. You don’t know how sweet Arin is. I bought her lunch and she felt so grateful that she couldn’t just let it go and brought me a coffee. Don’t you buy your juniors meals, Ms. Miyeon?”

“Well, the cafeteria food is good, so…”

“Don’t you remember how often our seniors bought us delicious meals outside when we were new? Haven’t you ever heard of looking after your juniors?”

As Sodam gently prodded Miyeon, she pouted her lips and said, “Can’t I even talk to myself about wanting coffee?”

“If everyone can hear you, is that really talking to yourself?”

Sodam, whose nerves were on edge, continued to needle Miyeon.

“Assistant Manager Ji Miyeon.”

Just then, Junwoo, who had been discussing work with Director Park Jongyeol from the Planning and Coordination Department, appeared in front of Miyeon.

“Yes? Team Leader?”

Junwoo spoke to Miyeon with a kind smile. “If you wanted coffee, you should have told me.”

What? He actually talks to other employees like this? I thought he was only nice to me… he’s nice to other team members too.

Did the notoriously prickly jerk Yoon Junwoo have this side to him?

Since Sodam had a boyfriend, she had been completely unaware of how Junwoo treated other women.

But she felt a little strange.

It definitely wasn’t jealousy, but why did she feel this subtle bitterness? Her mood inexplicably dampened.

“If I told you…? Would you buy me coffee, Team Leader?”

Miyeon’s earlobes suddenly flushed red. Her eyes fluttered nervously as she looked at Junwoo.

What the…?

Are they flirting at work?

Does Ji Miyeon have a thing for the Team Leader?

Well, who in HR doesn’t have a thing for Junwoo?

But what does it matter? Yoon Junwoo is everyone’s crush, and sure, he said he liked me, but I’m not in a position to date right now.

I don’t want an office romance, and besides, he’s the Vice Chairman’s son, so we have no future anyway.

He’s not someone I’m meant to be with, so it’s best to ignore it.

Despite her thoughts, Sodam couldn’t help but be bothered by Miyeon’s unusual behavior.

“Of course I can buy you coffee. Do you like franchise coffee?”

“Yes? Yes… Well, franchise coffee is delicious.”

He’d been eavesdropping on the conversation.

As Junwoo asked Miyeon if she wanted coffee, her neck flushed crimson as she quietly answered.

“Then buy coffee with this card.”

“Huh?”

“Get some desserts too. I’ll have an iced Americano.”

Junwoo placed his credit card on Miyeon’s desk. Before Miyeon could respond, he disappeared back into his office.

“Team Leader? Um, Team Leader…?”

Miyeon awkwardly got up from her seat, perplexed by Junwoo’s errand, making her buy coffee in person when they could easily order through an app.

“We could just order through an app…” Miyeon grumbled belatedly, but she couldn’t use Junwoo’s card for a delivery app.

She stood up, jotted down everyone’s coffee orders on her phone, and trudged out of the Planning and Coordination Department.

Arin exchanged a subtly amused look with Sodam and returned to her desk. It was satisfying to see Junwoo act kindly towards Miyeon and then send her on an errand, but Sodam was also curious about his motives.

Junwoo filled Sodam’s thoughts because of their two drunken encounters. Right now, she should be worried about the aftermath of her broken engagement, which she still hadn’t properly dealt with.

But for some reason, Junwoo was more on her mind than her heartbreak.

✦ ✦ ✦

The next day.

Miraculously, Junwoo’s penis was back to normal. Of course, he woke up with a morning erection and, as usual, masturbated in the shower while thinking about Sodam, but after that, everything was normal.

He was relieved he wasn’t masturbating ten times a day anymore, but the hollowness in his chest remained.

He had another busy day. He deliberately focused on his work. To be honest, it was more like pretending to focus, but he even received praise from Director Park Jongyeol of the Planning and Coordination Department.

After receiving a call from his mother asking him to come home, Junwoo headed to Seongbuk-dong for the first time in a while.

“Welcome, Team Leader.”

As he entered the house, Mr. Kim, the housekeeper who had been with the family for many years, bowed and greeted him warmly.

“Where’s Mother?”

“Everyone is in the drawing-room.”

Despite rushing to Seongbuk-dong straight after work, Junwoo was still late for dinner.

When he entered the drawing-room, his grandfather, Chairman Yoon Bongsik, was seated at the head of the table, flanked by his father, Vice Chairman Yoon Taepyeong, and his mother, Mrs. Yang Jisun. Beside them, his two older brothers and their wives, who had already finished work, were waiting for him with their children.

“You were told to come quickly, so why did you make the elders wait?”

Mrs. Yang glared at Junwoo for his late arrival.

“I’m sorry. It’s the HR workshop preparation season, so I was busy and had to finish reviewing some documents. You should have started without me.”

As Junwoo sat down, his father, Taepyeong, said to his youngest son with a smile,

“I hear you’ve been working hard at the company these days?”

It had only been a couple of days. The fact that news of his diligence had reached his father’s ears so quickly meant that Director Park had been reporting on every single thing Junwoo did.

“Yes. It’s about time you got your act together, Junwoo.”

His eldest brother, Yoon Juntaek, nodded with a proud look.

“If you work hard, Father will promote you to Senior Managing Director, so just keep it up.”

His second brother, Yoon Jun-gyeom, chimed in.

Unlike Junwoo, his brothers lived by the book. They studied hard and even volunteered for the notoriously difficult Marine Corps, despite the potential for public criticism.

Junwoo, on the other hand, was different. Naturally gifted, he had always excelled academically, but never through actual effort. He’d also opted for the relatively easier KATUSA service, believing he’d never face public scrutiny.

He’d lived a comfortable life, but lately, things had been uncomfortable. His penis was comfortable, but his mind was not.

And it was all because of Sodam.

Even now, surrounded by his family at the dinner table, he couldn’t help but think of her, and more specifically, her naked body.

Sigh…

If he’d known he wouldn’t be able to hold her again, he wouldn’t have let her leave that day. He should have made her take a day off so they could spend more time together.

No.

Even if he had, the same thing would have happened the next day.

If Sodam was going to reject him again, spending another day with her wouldn’t have healed the wound in his heart.

“So, about that…”

Junwoo waited until his grandfather and father had both started eating before speaking.

“What is it?”

“Is there any way I could be promoted to Senior Managing Director sooner?”

He couldn’t bear the thought of seeing Sodam every day. He tried to focus on work to forget her, but she was always in his line of sight.

So, he couldn’t forget. The more he tried, the stronger his feelings for her seemed to grow.

“That’s not possible,” Chairman Yoon put down his spoon and said.

“Why, Grandfather?”

“Do you really think I don’t see through your act? You’re just pretending to work hard because you don’t want to be in HR anymore.”

Mrs. Yang spoke up at her father-in-law’s words. “Father, our Junwoo isn’t like that. He’s still young, but he’s matured now.”

“Matured? A man matures when he gets married. I didn’t put you in HR to insult you.”

“Juntaek and Jun-gyeom both started as Senior Managing Directors. Junwoo is twenty-nine now, so what’s the problem with him becoming a Senior Managing Director? Our youngest needs to start learning about management.”