LC Prologue

The sliding door of the Korean restaurant opened, and the first face to pop into view was Director Lee Jun-ha from OI Telecom. You could tell he was a stickler for rules; his tie knot was pulled all the way up, and he hadn’t even taken off his suit jacket. He had this dignified air about him, mixed with a stubbornness that came with his years.5f6d58afa34be6b9

“Good evening, Director. My meeting with the British broadcasting company ran late, so I’m a bit behind schedule.”35aadc8e2d631c38

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“Oh, Team Leader Hwang! No, no. Come on in, have a seat.”4099a1a8b49b1635

Team Leader Hwang Na-yoon, walking gracefully into the VIP dining room, was also rocking a perfectly tailored office suit. She was the youngest ever to be promoted to team leader, a real star in OI Telecom’s Product Planning division. She was totally on the executive fast track, taking short-term MBA classes on weekends and practically living at the office during the week, never letting go of her work for a second.d1543d9838851fb1

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“Looks like the new team leader isn’t here yet.”8df29ed725df7b18

Na-yoon sat diagonally across from 7b3fad9d14 Director Lee Jun-ha, smiling softly. This dinner today fa538c97aa was specially set 07ab39479d up to introduce d6dcc5c855 the new team e1d02752dd leader joining the b8ae92d32a Product Planning division.b049ca04ae6a92fe

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“Oh, I wanted to chat with Team Leader Hwang first. I told that person to come about 20 minutes later… but since your meeting ran late, they’ll probably burst in any minute now, huh?”155b90ce885c8d93

Director Lee gave a friendly 27307329aa smile. But even though he a692413ed3 looked like a nice 5d83ef3ef7 guy on the surface, e715132d8a Director Lee was actually db6bfafa2d a pro at pitting 9ece5ab4f3 team leaders against each 1b5c5856d2 other, like a dog 8cb52c7686 fighter.2e820bc7e889832a

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“My bad. I should’ve just ditched the British broadcasting company director and everything, and come straight to see you, Director.”0895d06975bcedcc

Director Lee burst out laughing, “Wahahaha!”3afb6d552fc5b9d3

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“That’s a big deal, though, can Team Leader Hwang really just ditch it? But it’s sweet to hear you say that… So, speaking of which…”b6f23cdea1f40310

Ah, here comes 7e65e10ac1 the main point.cff046ffb73f1c3c

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“About this new team leader… they’re apparently a bit difficult. Could you, Team Leader Hwang, handle them well? Huh?”696dcc44009025fb

“Handle” the new team leader? That sounded a bit off. It didn’t make sense to “handle” a team leader from another team who was coming in at the same level. Na-yoon sharply sensed that the vibe was getting weird.75496dc813be5e13

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“Is there a work-related reason why I should ‘handle’ a team leader from another team?”55bb29dce7741741

Director Lee started talking with b0fa602cc4 an expression like a principal feeadaef82 at an orientation ceremony.ed64e06d0f5034cf

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“Hmm. So, the new team leader is actually the developer of Thunder Warning.”b91c33f1ef5dedda

“Thunder Warning? I heard nobody knows who the real developer of that app is.”c93631a323fe30d0

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Thunder Warning was a 9109c2cc05 call-assist app that filtered 1d9f74922e out voice phishing numbers. If you installed Thunder 8a3922c7c4 Warning, it could even d5bee4a29c catch complex phishing schemes 36ea922724 where foreign numbers were 2718264cda changed to domestic mobile 6ad29d8dbe numbers via portable base 5c718acaf1 stations. Several reports had been aec9f8611e published, stating that thanks aac4c5c9e8 to Thunder Warning, the 8ac327869a number of voice phishing 09f704e6d0 cases in Korea had 1ea20b6222 significantly decreased. Thunder Warning had also 80e51c0052 played a big role ddb93678e4 in catching voice phishing 4e9b83b853 crime rings by relentlessly 8c1effe433 tracking the routes of ca3f267751 portable base stations.1f35c90dc06ab062

But the problem was, customers using Thunder Warning weren’t using the telecom companies’ call-assist apps. Because of this, each telecom company had been desperate to absorb Thunder Warning and recruit its developer.1f16260c1ef13581

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“They must be an incredible person.”0a15b59aa9baf810

As if pleased with Na-yoon’s answer, Director Lee let out another hearty laugh.4a956570b3034a0d

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“So, about that… the new team leader chose Team Leader Hwang as their deputy team leader.”51e6790d93066abb

Her head felt numb, like she’d been smacked in the back of the head.be18b672036e21c6

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“Director, what are you talking about?”243a382070c9faff

“One of the conditions for them to hand over Thunder Warning to OI Telecom and join our company is that they want Team Leader Hwang as their team’s deputy team leader… You don’t like it?”1d33afa89cfdb3d8

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Of course not! Going from a team leader to a deputy team leader? No way she’d like that.f23921285e0398d1

“Shouldn’t you offer me satisfactory conditions then? This is a change of position, from team leader to deputy team leader. Did I cause trouble for the company? Or is this a situation where I should be resigning, and I’m just cluelessly not getting it?”252a45aebb9b94c4

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As Na-yoon’s questions poured out, Director Lee took a sip of warm buckwheat tea and smiled.30d6d327e2aff018

“A new project will start in a dedicated space set up in Gangwon Province. You’ll have executive-level car support while using the project space. If needed, a driver can also be provided. Once this project is over, you can go to a country of your choice as a group expatriate and then return as an executive. Your annual salary will be 1.5 times what it is now. And naturally, you’ll get performance bonuses if the project succeeds.”36f32aafbb6abd4e

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The conditions were pretty sweet. She’d always thought that her lack of international experience might be a hurdle to executive promotion. To overcome that, she’d either have to go for a master’s degree abroad or become an expatriate. But studying abroad wasn’t an option because she’d have to stop working, and it wasn’t easy to become a group expatriate from a department that mainly dealt with the domestic market. She’d been telling herself to just get a short-term MBA first and then think about it, bleeding her nose every weekend while wandering around Gwanak Mountain.f7a041d84429f90f

“Thank you, Director. It sounds like it’s just ‘deputy team leader’ in name only.”d90cf5852250c4d4

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Na-yoon gave a knowing a24993c436 smile and playfully crinkled de7b045f04 her nose.d6015a1e6344a6d2

“I was almost getting upset earlier because Team Leader Hwang was grilling me so hard. Did you really think I wouldn’t have thought of something like this?”4219316757391889

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They were both smiling at f00aa308ce each other, their intentions clearly 30d48b2a32 visible, when someone knocked softly 669c2db698 on the door.9f9fde5aa3fe8326

“Yes.”d16f1e8486e67d7a

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At Director Lee’s reply, the sliding door gently opened.6a03ea85b3ed420f

Who could this amazing team leader be, the developer of Thunder Warning, who was about to give her a 1.5x salary bump and put her on the executive fast track? Na-yoon smiled sweetly and looked at the face revealed through the door. Then, upon recognizing the person, the smile on Na-yoon’s lips froze.bcc47166553e5356

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‘Do Seol-woo?’fb41d5ac6f8001a3

As he was about 201e2890be to step into the 19d75da35e dining room, he spotted 6ece40e260 Na-yoon and the corner 4b2ee543d4 of his mouth twitched ce5de64770 slightly.59d76ecf106ade33

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Is he trying to die?49d0155cd9b7ddae

But wait, this ex-boyfriend, the one she wanted to kill, is the amazing team leader? Na-yoon’s mind went blank, unable to process the unbelievable situation. It was the moment her only love, the one she’d had a passionate relationship and a devastating breakup with, reappeared as her direct superior. He was her only love, and the man she had hoped to never encounter again in her life.addabb38d7dfd9ee

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Do Seol-woo looked b5b8178bc8 between Director Lee d3ea8a03d5 and Na-yoon, then 5a59d0b296 casually greeted them.75f8bf31f1863dcc

“Am I late? It seems you two have already started talking.”7187e30f047a8e0b

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“No, no! I called Team Leader Hwang earlier because I had something to discuss with our Deputy Team Leader Hwang. Have a seat, have a seat.”b40b4ec8a11260bd

The words “deputy team leader” pierced her heart like an arrow. Do Seol-woo, as if strolling through her wounded heart, sat down in the chair next to Na-yoon, emanating a deep, woody scent.9665e2e47ce4d03b

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“Now that I think about it, you two went to the same university and the same department. Do you two happen to know each other?”b93554b27599bcea

At Director Lee’s question, Na-yoon smiled brightly and answered first.59b879fcbb6ca808

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“Our department had so many students, you know. This is my first time meeting him today. What year are you?”3c54a56c26d85ffb

At Na-yoon’s sly question, Do Seol-woo chuckled.eaa261339105d941

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“I remember Deputy Team Leader Hwang. We were in the same class.”3b312b101be0f6e0

Na-yoon suddenly feared ff70530a96 she might end df553854b0 up in jail c0780d7f26 before getting on 52969d5936 the executive fast d0f6f7d087 track. A strong urge to strangle 21d1914dfb the shameless Do Seol-woo was 4cc7e221e0 rising within her.38265867ba12be04

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“Why wouldn’t Deputy Team Leader Hwang remember such a handsome Team Leader Do?”e76f497103de1d0a

As Director Lee said, Do Seol-woo’s good looks were still outstanding. In college, his hair was always casually messy, but the sleek, combed-back pompadour style now accentuated his smooth face even more. She’d been entangled with Do Seol-woo from the end of her freshman year until just before graduation, but this was the first time she’d seen him in such a perfectly tailored suit.7d736504f1b02d9a

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Are you getting butterflies? Are you crazy, Hwang Na-yoon?916f619be17bf65b

Dating rule number one: Never 31b4ea2f64 date someone from the same 446212e1b3 company! Na-yoon chewed over the 800c1b5761 rule she had deeply b8c0c017f2 ingrained in her heart.06877467070a2d36

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“Oh, just a moment. You two chat for a bit.”95ef96256997cde2

Director Lee left, de0da08153 as if he bf25bdac68 had an urgent 4d3d4e7b42 call to take. Before silence could even 22665f420b settle, Do Seol-woo opened 6fbc6fd3e5 his mischievous mouth.76a22e70b3014cab

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“Long time no see.”5cc4e3bd1fdb10ce

Na-yoon was so dumbfounded that she childishly wanted to ask, “Do I know you?”ed247424ccbb55fd

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“This is our first meeting as team leader and deputy team leader, and suddenly being so informal is really not cool.”31fa6e43c66e815d

She attacked calmly, then took c5154aaf9c a sip of buckwheat tea.722e53fdf1489447

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“We’re not exactly in a situation where we need to be so formal, are we?”1f96525a3df4f6ac

Is this guy… Does he have partial amnesia or something? Na-yoon stared at Do Seol-woo with a completely emotionless face.a08d3366062cea07

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“After being dumped so brutally, it’s not like I can smile and greet you again, is it?”848423caefc39da2

At her blunt e90f54e4c8 question, Do Seol-woo e0aef8517d tilted his head a848dfd5df slightly and leaned 3bff324ff1 in. It was an c566a5d6cf angle similar to f9bc124d54 when they used 0e5f47e524 to kiss a cca9ab0f3e long time ago.dae383439aa3f5fc

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“What are we going to do, Deputy Team Leader Hwang Na-yoon? You’ll have to work with me and smile now.”690174bdd018a89a

Her heart pounded wildly. If she had her way, she’d slap Do Seol-woo’s cheek. But somehow, Na-yoon’s fragile heart was instead revisiting memories of Do Seol-woo, her only romantic partner in life.61078c5755e0cafb

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