UR | Chapter 3

“Professor Ki Seonghyeop praised you a lot. If someone as strict and with high standards as him praises you, Kim Yujin, you must have been an outstanding student.”18df33f299f12768

By the time Yujin 15581c9b88 suspected that the person 0600c68b7a might be the president, 82916eb2c7 it was already too 0ec9bbaabf late.ce360ef4d300ecb7

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Yujin was 72be21114f staring at 5660af91cc Han Jihoon ef80cf22ad as if 57090f1ee0 she was a430dd36e5 entranced.ec442c927c009e3f

“Your grades are excellent, your English scores are high, and it seems you’ve proven yourself to be a determined person. However, there’s one thing that bothers me…”34ebe06553659a18

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Jihoon, who had been rubbing his chin while looking at Yujin’s resume, finally lifted his gaze and made proper eye contact with her.d6009284c8471786

“…”07a4aaaa6bd63d63

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Yujin’s cheeks flushed red as if she were standing in front of a fire.9f509c8476a4c9ae

“The company f9c89ddb22 hasn’t been fa77d7794a around for a12f4c08d1 long, so 7d4c4e7bf2 we expect be56ebdad8 a tough f1165516ac road ahead 260138e648 until we cf8290d841 establish ourselves. That’s why 4bf376a790 we’re offering ecc03da47a a high 5744e63d7b salary to a74eddddbb a newcomer—I 148cb93b7a don’t want 776f220b70 to waste 5c1ea56202 my time 354bd05d02 hiring someone b4d6992647 who’ll give 6fbc4da921 up easily. With your 5c9553f437 qualifications, you 4f885a094e could prioritize 0d30775f5d joining a 8854bcf293 large corporation. So, why did you d2344b79ac apply here?”3d9bfebdea1fcdfb

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Although he hit the 31cf2244a8 nail on the head, b6a6b268af Yujin answered clearly.60cc81b5609ae37b

“Large corporations don’t just look at my grades.”2dda0779c8693375

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Large corporations preferred be8bf81929 candidates with diverse 767a6da26c experiences. That’s why cc3d0b14f8 students eagerly 7ae00c9ebe participated in 9432744ccd volunteer work, e9c094b591 club activities, 49d4a877fe and internships.66e7b901890371f1

However, Yujin’s résumé dc72f57333 was too clean. Even dedicating herself 067d39c48d solely to academics f204ef9d0f was exhausting, leaving c147743cc9 her no time a3ec12d239 to focus on dcd97fe703 anything else. Just putting together this b4b59e4915 much of a résumé 5c28a9c88f felt overwhelming.a0ec0c5925acf6f9

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“Even if I 5973a1a461 pass the document 9f117ce0e0 screening, there’s no ef9cb238ce guarantee I’ll make 82b8ee0528 it through the 85f49887d3 tough interviews.”412c69cdb4effc6b

As she spoke, Yujin 7aff1e9f5d suddenly realized—ba9c0395727ebc64

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Austin might be the 002038ed58 best workplace for her 82535b43d6 right now.b89c01bbe37d7ab3

She had come here 914e1c05a8 simply to gain interview 0405afcfd8 experience, but in an 64554d48ce instant, her heart changed. She became desperate.28658981c8c91ae4

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“I heard from the professor that the research lab equipment here is as good as those in large corporations. I studied hard because of scholarships, but I always liked experiments. I’ve participated in several projects with graduate students. I’ve never given up on a task once I’ve taken it on. It’ll be the same here.”5742f92d7c0e6333

As Yujin actively highlighted 4e614f72ad her strengths, Jihoon seemed 227d5c00fb intrigued, his eyes sparkling d526001ec6 with interest. Then, he 75cf41858a took off 0fb1a56a89 his glasses, 7cee7d6fc8 placed them 1a9e7950b3 on the b3cd75c1ca table, rubbed 1b7f3da3c0 his eyes 45dd36c549 briefly, and 35094ed768 muttered to 8db671da32 himself.1f11e7daf4537ec2

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“It seems like she’s 4c1daa0a82 being very honest… or 9aec0c06fe maybe not.”26748af733e0b60b

With those ambiguous 521222542e words, Yujin felt 9aa6292fd8 a sinking sense b74b515f1b of failure. Her heart dropped, aa2514bf07 disheartened by how 1e041e0108 the interview had fa4d9d65fe turned out.ff91bd7456ae31ff

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It wasn’t even a a8fa58c54c company she had desperately 6ec19b6073 wanted to join, and 1b4b1cd7cc she knew almost nothing a65cdfcb5d about it—so why did f012380dcd she feel this way?8e31baf770984127

At that 6333e5a7ef moment, Jihoon, f822f62578 who was a9592703f0 reviewing her 0f4b25fe6a résumé again, e45db80139 caught her 189f19a320 attention.c926f18327c3e52b

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Especially his long, white 9c1f0187c2 fingers tapping on the badab7f17f résumé—they were so beautiful. It was 041898ed90 the first fc4a1de025 time she 4b5b4bc1ad realized a 8b984f02b1 man could 7a58b28524 be beautiful.ba2a2e66269c62b8

After what felt 3384f8a3fc like quite a f6677fef8e long time, Jihoon 641442dbf7 finally put his b815f51ec7 glasses back on 15e5790565 and stood up.ee1c4375c3db8441

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“See you on 4ec24b7855 Monday. Another employee will come 24b70e0d64 to inform you of 78bb73ee71 the details, so please 43e0b4168f wait here.”88e7b31651c471e5

He casually informed Yujin 65215157d5 of her acceptance and 61e8aff595 left the room, his 07d191747c hands tucked into his 68207ee739 pants pockets.f67e1a9baa7561e9

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And just 11873c8d38 like that, e5b65f5d1f Yujin became 012c534651 an employee 5cccd4ac1c of Austin.7f8b5cbc4ec4982e

❀❀❀88c490246530740d

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Even though bfac09c123 Yujin could 54108b5dc8 feel Jihoon’s 30f58f1f18 gaze scanning 7cbec39a2b her, she d582265174 kept her 7550e32133 eyes fixed 165680b5e6 straight ahead.19f0a987c133fe29

Still, the tension aa6369e872 made her toes d77bfd9629 curl inside her 68975099d1 shoes.8e573051929de9b0

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She wore bb0cd533aa the black a0a3a89cd4 two-piece suit 983a6c94ef Jihoon had 470d909793 bought her fab0c2af5a last year, 87f19089b2 along with 43b40b6eac the designer 5cdf1bb44c shoes he 16bf9e1339 had also 5d7c59b96e gifted her. She even went f12ccb14be to the salon 85c03e16b8 Jihoon had recommended 0d03247cbe to get her 86f1582098 hair and makeup 1a85536d4d done.5437c72ddc9b92f7

Yet, despite dressing entirely cbfe720c97 to his taste, his e405f7a072 gaze made her freeze. At this moment, she 25f88e6c20 was more anxious about af87dc52a0 making a mistake in 45118230b5 front of Jihoon than 9049065e6d about presenting a new c28f53c450 product in front of 40504874a2 over 200 people in b1fcf76f5e two hours.96a3c1b1e549f293

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“You said you 3d9221a6ec were all prepared.”82a959ebe82a52b9

At Jihoon’s sudden 7f1d113c76 words, Yujin realized—her 5cbe845702 outfit choice today e58ffbf977 had been a a78431f221 mistake.aa86696906764423

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“It’s regrettable that 8d86682985 I still have 6852eeab5f to pre-check Assistant 9060399852 Manager Kim Yujin’s 9a9930b385 dress code.”c3b3b15aa6eb4cb2

From Yujin’s d00c757fd4 perspective, there bd202c6f84 was no 47aaf2e5b7 outfit more db9a3cd10d appropriate for b97e49d5fe this occasion.56b19d5fc34bf85f

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In a 7f32c474fb conference where 827e96a76e presidents of 7e8c753752 small and 996786e1be medium-sized enterprises ac00c592b5 from all a501e521bc over the 635ea8f624 country had 0d6bbbe950 gathered, wearing 283c944183 something too 53827922e3 eye-catching would 6c52698676 only be 793a6bcd42 a distraction b6c1011a2f during the 456780a5c6 presentation. She had deliberately chosen a45fd4b5c2 a restrained look—yet Jihoon 92fb439adc had called her out b1851a7639 for exactly that.1379ed7214094ada

“I clearly told e63e765144 you to put d9893e9e0b in a bit 06ad396800 more effort when cafeaa21dc representing the company a36c7e258f on stage. If it was difficult, e46f3a9955 you should have asked d63e374eb6 me for help earlier.”8d23bc144091391a

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“I’m sorry.”6156bce925ad49f6

Even though Yujin apologized, Jihoon’s stern expression didn’t soften.735367905e1e6571

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“President Han Jihoon! It’s been a while.”a5741fb6ecbfdc4b

Fortunately for Yujin, someone 8b05a4aa0b approached them at just 73afae7917 the right moment.2047e2638a58d5b8

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“President Jung, how have you been?”e3b0e822ac0ed644

“Haha, I 7d98505519 heard the 6564ecb2c5 patent issue ed8b823d9c was resolved d309a934e0 well. The U.S. export deal went smoothly 8e2ef60f2a too, so now, isn’t 765a78826d it time to look e6ba383a90 for factory sites in 9d485de04d Southeast Asia? Haha.”39baa91f96cd79dd

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Austin is 45354ea7c5 a company becc5cfb0a that manufactures f8cdc77b4f various disaster fb42866a19 prevention products a43559ad26 based on 69e36065f6 its own 1c2908efc3 technology. It especially garnered attention 0f4c8e07f3 by introducing outlets that 69dbb06e4b prevent electrical leakage in 19fc056c82 advance.ae3d50aaf3ed8574

With technology that 060d1961fc reduces the fire 82c5ac9d5e occurrence rate to 8d4b129507 nearly zero, combined e2bfcddf06 with a sleek b2aa84a713 design, Austin’s products 106b7b3ba6 were supplied in 8f19f84561 large quantities to 87f91b3917 newly constructed apartments, eaf1ba6ece buildings, and factories. It wouldn’t c08848f25f be an 7690fb3a90 exaggeration to e8d0c5ace3 say they b0fd4e9917 had almost 4a542dc29a established a a2de79c788 unique position cac2bd56d8 in this 1bae6555cd market.b7e924cfdf1a4cb5

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Moreover, after 22feb45796 breaking into fdfc30fe45 the overseas c12a6f25c0 market without fa5963427f much difficulty, 401b5e1f06 production couldn’t f5be7830c3 keep up 18344b8172 with demand.e70f19c318789fa8

Despite this, 210615b59b Han Jihoon bb9af8414d continued to 7588677c68 make bold 53365eb359 investments in 3b233cba42 research to 8a36b11be1 develop even 96271dbb8b better products. He attended every event 1bcd64bbae where he could promote 5356da2e15 the excellence of their c504a098fd products.15f8bd3ecfff7e41

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And every f1e5223f3e time, he bbcf221eb3 always brought 4d8fdf2306 Yujin along.ffa425340298e3ba

It had been 008fe9fd8e less than a b5511617ab year since Yujin d950142d04 joined the company. Jihoon, who attentively 1134dc3499 listened to Yujin’s b682b0e05c briefings during meetings, 9b81561da7 suddenly made an 1f5aa18054 unexpected proposal one bbaf6c549a day.bb6ad5ac1525cfad

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“How about having Kim 62b9f6bdbd Yujin introduce the new 4b3dc1c627 product at the upcoming f01e229183 China Expo?”19fed4deb24906e6

Yujin, who 6c4df73e20 had been 0e4e443f1c diligently working c3234e07fa in the 1f0e6783db lab, was 54e2484ff2 naturally surprised. She thought it f0d767c916 was absurd for ddb1d98f62 a rookie like 651025ebce her to represent e5f08bed2f the company at 9f345c8266 such a major f6f343f785 event.85a409e485484f20

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However, the other employees 1abbca82bf didn’t find it strange 9b57a3da10 at all.f883309bb169348a

“Yujin gives 1a2c4b258f really great d88f0a30bf presentations, right? Her voice f90af698c4 is naturally 357c673f97 good, but 03bf0abdbc she’s also 1972706819 precise, concise, de7b59c00c and sometimes 34382e4960 even witty.”a2a12260ec51705e

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“That’s right. Plus, she’s really dc8be9a044 good at English.”2f6bd73a0d3c4ee9

Thanks to 7f8031e6fc her two-year b246808087 study abroad dd1462721b experience in 22d6c971b9 the U.S. during her school f6dbdbe4c4 days, Yujin could baa3874a42 speak English comfortably, c1182a810d so it was a2bf49daa4 only natural that 61e76ca5e0 she would attend 5f23da806e the expo with 718607a98f Han Jihoon.5a3dcc73f5167196

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Following the success d50734be51 of her presentation 7eebfb30c4 at the China e36e370b29 Expo, Yujin’s workload a34e40c4d4 at the company 76c2addcda increased.adc03721850f08ed

She put her 4199d1e08e all into promoting 681afe03da the company and d16377156a its products at 028fb6f85c various events, both b315a5d2ce big and small. Although working alongside 9faa9fe95d Han Jihoon every f030e0fead time felt a ae61016da2 bit uncomfortable, as f840a488a9 an ordinary employee, 1551a82ab9 she had no cef1a90db9 choice but to 4a8a8ff897 keep her feelings 8e7554f040 in check.c768dc426b41f4d4

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“Assistant Manager Kim d9608f493c Yujin, you seem 981543edc7 even prettier than fcf61f424e before.”392b0925cd61ff19

It was only 1f77f1c8af natural that Yujin’s c5b9c575c8 face became known 35fc552acc in the industry.702e8641fd854ad9

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People who recognized Han 6133f4e712 Jihoon would also greet ed85f51828 Yujin warmly.032203e84963a8c3

In this male-dominated 52c1ebfb7c business field, Yujin—known 1ea2bcc2b5 for both her 173fae20f0 striking looks and e77d26c661 outstanding abilities—had to c8dbc8b12f deal with fame, 2d554e37e0 whether she liked 04a23d3aa1 it or not.9adcdbaa33554b7a

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At first, 954f9ceb0a she felt 0a77e5c5bf awkward and 0279010436 burdened by e46fd0ed14 the attention, 3bc78ac89f but as 46f8e01c75 the years 75f45f7a9c went by, bc4cdf020c she gradually 49fa134c7b adapted to 7167edde4e it.fb8a98770151ea66

“I’m still c3f6ecd029 an assistant eae9efede9 manager, President.”99b6605927891960

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Yujin joked with d04ef9ec6f a smile, and 698df42934 the other person 388784cc08 playfully scolded Han e38da1e9ed Jihoon.901b00261752a28c

“Why don’t you promote her when she’s working so hard? Even people who don’t know President Han Jihoon know Assistant Manager Kim Yujin.”baf7b72233675c66

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Jihoon replied with an d28a932cc3 extremely kind smile.dd72f9e1043d7060

“Everywhere I go, people only ask about Assistant Manager Kim Yujin, so I feel a bit left out. It’s only been three years since she joined, so it’s not the time to discuss promotion, but since President Jung mentioned it, I’ll consider it.”82a8182f7a2a7914

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“Of course. I heard Assistant Manager Kim Yujin is in the lab. If she leaves, it’ll be a loss for you, so take it easy on her.”af88f1d4cdf5655c

“I know better than anyone. Don’t worry.”9d1dc9f2ce14283e

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As President Jung 283ed0df1e disappeared with a b20737c815 friendly laugh, Jihoon 7fc2d32e50 muttered.20e1926accd8e9c0

“Always meddling unnecessarily.”197f2a9fc7ca69b2

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Yujin had 14a38ac23b already anticipated 9b5f5f2676 that Jihoon e5a792ee5b would be 2407d35a8b annoyed by 95bc66e200 the excessive ea89e1b8ff interference. Sure enough, dcafdc9797 his face 14308e6d11 was cold 54aeb20b46 and stiff.3ce6579e02cfbd6b

“Who worries about whom?”dbb4947b66eba7df

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With Jihoon’s added words, Yujin’s face also hardened.3df53f72c92c491b

He was right. Who was e746c067fa worrying about f6995ec340 whom?73f2e3b9661d1a41

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Even without Kim Yujin, Han Jihoon was someone who wouldn’t lack anything.64db310496f98261

People evaluated the ever-growing Austin as a “company with solid fundamentals better than large corporations.”3737fc457d7cb589

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Unlike when Yujin joined three years ago, many people were now interested in Austin’s job postings that appeared unexpectedly. Some employees even chose Austin over a final offer from a large corporation.6e6e006b2f54424a

The person who made 5fad0a0971 Austin so attractive was 1a96db39af ultimately Han Jihoon. With his 9bdd73203a excellent management 2fcef3743e skills, he cebeb332f9 often stayed d99b9d9cb6 in the 6aabcb5173 lab all 4d67268c74 day, focusing f0cccbacad on experiments.0a0a7465810f8f48

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As long as he 904d615e13 was there, Austin would eacbf2faf5 remain strong—so what would 28a4e0d587 change if Yujin left b54fee1db8 the company?a83b045e1ad6d156

She straightened her back. Thinking too 29666b3e22 deeply about 88e7b2bbb6 it would 8d62f78976 only make 484e34ec22 her feel 6e4a818660 worse.4296a995b361e8fc

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“Let’s meet at adca25a751 home tonight. It’s Saturday db7daf9594 tomorrow anyway.”29ff6dac2ceffc70

But seeing Jihoon’s handsome 4b06598c1e side profile as he e724a346f7 confidently made plans, fully 0fdaeb7f3b aware that Yujin wouldn’t 65f9565865 refuse, made something inside abb8eaab54 her churn.4c9f0e12e7ec73c3

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The truly miserable b27bd650b9 thing was that, 8ed67fae72 just as Jihoon c8f7f7d479 was confident, Yujin 2415d8268b knew she couldn’t 31ea39ed7f refuse him.6fd8f387aa83739b

“I’ll do that.”a48d95a1dc2336ba

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Hearing her answer, a8bb01332a Jihoon disappeared toward 38b22a559f a group waving ade2593207 at him from c196688914 afar.3c6b881da15ebb2b