RFDY Ch 2

“Yes. First, regarding the renovation of the Hwajin Building at 208 Yeoksam-dong, we’ll be conducting a structural safety inspection before the feasibility study. The structural safety report is in progress and is expected by Thursday. There are also some matters that require discussion with the Gangnam District Office regarding the client’s requests. I’ll provide further details separately.”

Starting with Assistant Manager Yoo, followed by Assistant Manager Kim and Jooyeon, each team member gave a brief presentation on their respective projects. Hangyeol, impressed by their professional demeanor and the ease with which they discussed unfamiliar topics, kept glancing at Seonwoo.

Seonwoo listened with his arms crossed and sleeves rolled up, occasionally interjecting with questions. He nodded impassively if the answers were satisfactory, but if something was uncertain, he frowned and spoke curtly.

“I’ve been saying since last month that we need to include this in the architectural review, but this level of drawing is unacceptable. Assistant Manager Yoo, please push the design team. Managing related departments is your responsibility. I’ll handle any complaints, so just do your job.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Ms. Park, what’s the status of the Kookmin University new campus development project proposal review?”

“I’m currently analyzing the proposal and confirming the consortium eligibility requirements. It shouldn’t take long; I’ll submit a report by Wednesday.”

“Let’s transfer the main responsibility for that project to Mr. Im. Ms. Park, you can follow up and provide support. Mr. Im, please take over from Ms. Park and ask her any questions you may have.”

“Ah… yes. I understand.”

Although he didn’t understand a word they were saying, Hangyeol nodded quickly. He had heard repeatedly from his friends who had started working that a good response was half the battle. Seonwoo frowned again and looked at Hangyeol before turning away.

“I think that’s enough for the project briefings. I was thinking of having a team dinner this Friday. Please let me know now if you can’t attend.”

Every Friday evening was family dinner time for Hangyeol, but he clenched his fist on his thigh and remained silent. He thought everyone would understand, now that he was a working adult. None of the other team members raised their hands either, and Seonwoo nodded curtly.

“Good. Then we’ll have the team dinner this Friday to welcome Mr. Im.”

Hangyeol’s heart fluttered slightly at the word “dinner.” It made him feel like he was truly starting his career. The other team members’ faces fell at the mention of a Friday night dinner, but Hangyeol was the exception. He responded cheerfully, “Yes, sir!”

“That concludes the weekly meeting.”

“Good work, everyone.”

“And Mr. Im.”

Hangyeol, who had started to stand up, stopped and turned around at the sound of his name. Seonwoo was sitting in the same posture as before, tapping his long fingers on the table. “Yes?” Hangyeol asked.

“Come see me in my office for a moment.”

Jiseok, watching Seonwoo stand up, signaled to the others with his eyes. Seonwoo’s expression was twice as cold as usual, so it was a silent warning to be careful. However, Hangyeol, unsuspecting, stood up with a bright smile, oblivious to the worried glances of his team members.

୨ৎ

Hangyeol, notepad and pen in hand, knocked lightly on the team leader’s office door, but there was no response. Wondering if he should just go in, he stood on tiptoe to peek through the frosted glass at eye level and came face to face with Seonwoo.

“Oh!”

Startled, Hangyeol stumbled backward just as Seonwoo opened the door. Seonwoo looked down at him, one eye narrowed.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh, I wasn’t sure if I should come in.”

“Come in.”

As soon as Hangyeol stepped inside, the door closed behind him. As if that wasn’t enough, Seonwoo swiftly lowered the blinds, blocking the view from outside. Hangyeol stared blankly as Seonwoo walked to his desk and sat down.

“…”

Is he going to ask me about being hired separately? Or maybe he’ll encourage me, saying let’s work hard together now that we’re on the same team?

Wow, he’s really handsome…

The thoughts that had been racing through his mind began to fade as Seonwoo stared at him in silence for about three minutes. The way Seonwoo was frowning, almost glaring at him, made Hangyeol wonder if he had actually done something wrong.

However, no matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn’t remember doing anything wrong to someone he had just met. Hesitantly, he spoke.

“Um… why did you call me?”

“Are you really unable to remember, or are you pretending not to?”

“…”

“The former is baffling, and the latter would change my opinion of you, Mr. Im.”

Hangyeol’s eyes widened, and he pressed his lips together at Seonwoo’s cold words. He couldn’t understand what Seonwoo was talking about, so he didn’t know how to respond.

“Which is it? We’re alone here, so be honest.”

“Team Leader… I’m sorry, but I really don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“You don’t understand…”

“Have we met before?”

He had asked because he genuinely didn’t know, but Seonwoo raised his chin and narrowed his eyes, as if trying to determine the truth of his words.

Tap, tap, tap.

In the silence, the only sound was Seonwoo tapping his fingers on his desk. Hangyeol’s eyes were drawn to his long, neatly manicured fingers. He noticed a simple ring on Seonwoo’s ring finger, probably a wedding ring or a couple ring.

“That wasn’t the answer I was hoping for, but it’s not bad.”

“I’m sorry. I wouldn’t forget meeting someone like you… could you give me a hint?”

“No. There’s no need for that. Just keep up this act.”

“…”

“It’s even better if you genuinely can’t remember. But if you do remember, pretend you don’t.”

No matter how hard he tried to understand the context, it was impossible. He couldn’t have forgotten such a face, yet the team leader seemed to know him.

“Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Hangyeol’s head dropped at Seonwoo’s relentless, cold words. He felt intimidated even though he hadn’t done anything wrong and hadn’t been scolded. He bit his lip and nodded.

“I’d prefer a verbal response.”

“Yes… I understand.”

“You can leave now.”

Hangyeol bowed his head, eyes downcast, and turned to open the door. His heart pounded. He had never been treated this way before. Could this be the infamous power harassment he’d heard so much about? He composed himself and returned to his desk.

“Hangyeol, what did the team leader say?”

“Oh… nothing much.”

Losing interest at the vague answer, Jiseok turned away.

Hangyeol pulled his chair closer to his desk, opened his notepad, and picked up his pen. In the middle of the blank page, he wrote Team Leader Gi Seonwoo, and after a moment of contemplation, added a question mark.

No matter how much he thought about it, there was no connection between him, a recent college graduate, and the team leader. Besides, he wouldn’t have forgotten such a striking face.

Maybe he mistook me for someone else?

He hadn’t often been told he looked like someone else, but there were people in the world who looked identical, right? A doppel… something. Anyway, it seemed like Seonwoo had had some experience with someone who resembled him.

Thinking this, he felt relieved. Being disliked for no reason was something no one wanted, but it was especially unfamiliar to Hangyeol.

With a brighter expression, he circled Seonwoo’s name. It was hard to believe that someone who seemed so sharp could make such a mistake, but even team leaders were human. Recalling Seonwoo’s handsome hands, he put down his pen.

He was wearing a ring on his left ring finger… I wonder what kind of person he’s dating? I hope he’s not this cold and intimidating to his partner. Even though they had just met, Hangyeol couldn’t imagine Seonwoo smiling brightly or looking at anyone with warmth.

Lost in thought, he closed the notepad with Seonwoo’s name written on it and turned his head. His employee ID, which he had received from HR earlier, caught his eye. Seeing his picture and name proudly displayed above the Korea Construction logo made him feel better, regardless of Team Leader Gi.

Well, it has nothing to do with me!

Completely forgetting the incident in the team leader’s office, he glanced around and picked up his phone. He quietly took a picture of his employee ID and uploaded it to social media.

Imhan
Korea Construction Headquarters

(Photo)

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Imhan New beginnings with good people!
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Turning off the notifications that immediately started buzzing, Hangyeol smiled and adjusted himself in his chair.

୨ৎ

It was Hangyeol’s second day at the Korea Construction New Business Planning Team. Arriving ten minutes before starting time, he began decorating his desk with items he had diligently packed from home.

Indoor slippers, a tumbler, a phone stand, a desktop humidifier. And finally, two framed family photos.

As Hangyeol placed the frames in the most visible spot on his desk, Assistant Manager Kim, who had just arrived, stopped behind him.

“Good morning, Assistant Manager! It’s a beautiful day.”

While Hangyeol greeted him cheerfully, Jiseok’s gaze was fixed on the family photos. Hangyeol was pictured sitting with a large Golden Retriever in his arms, and behind him stood a smiling middle-aged couple. One of them was a face Jiseok knew well.

“Ah… yes… Hangyeol… Good morning…”

Jiseok tore his gaze away from Hangyeol with an awkward smile and went to his desk. He quickly turned on his computer and opened the messenger app, searching for Jooyeon’s name.

― □ ✕

Jooyeon Jooyeon Jooyeon!!!!!!!!!!!!

Park Jooyeon (New Business Planning Team)

?? What is it, Assistant Manager?

Hangyeol put framed family photos on his desk!! What does this mean? Is he not even trying to hide the fact that he’s the CEO’s son? Is this a “know your place and bow down” kind of thing????

Park Jooyeon (New Business Planning Team)

He put up family photos?

Yes!! The CEO’s face is practically plastered all over them!

Park Jooyeon (New Business Planning Team)

OMG

What should I do? I should probably pretend I didn’t see anything. Just completely ignore it and be nice to him.

“Assistant Manager, do you know how to set up this program?”

Jiseok, who had been furiously typing, quickly minimized the messenger window at the sudden voice beside him. Fortunately, Hangyeol, who had been looking at his own computer screen, seemed to have turned his head too late to see the conversation.

Breaking out in a cold sweat, Jiseok forced a smile and turned his attention to Hangyeol’s computer.

“Which program… oh, Jooyeon would know better than me. Jooyeon! Can you help Hangyeol with his program?”

Jooyeon, hearing her name called, also quickly minimized her messenger window. She rolled her chair over to Hangyeol and looked at his computer.

“Ah, the initial setup for this program is a bit tricky. I’ll send you my settings, and you can apply those. Then you can just customize the tools you frequently use to your liking.”

Jooyeon took Hangyeol’s mouse and started clicking around in the settings window. She could hear Hangyeol’s impressed murmurs beside her, but she was too busy pretending to look at the screen while surreptitiously searching for the family photos.

“For shortcuts, go to Program Preferences in the Environment settings and adjust them like this. See?”

After quickly finishing the setup, Jooyeon turned to face Hangyeol and quickly glanced at the framed photos in the corner. She saw the benevolent smiling face of CEO Im of Korea Construction.

There was a significant difference between suspecting that Hangyeol was the CEO’s son and having it confirmed visually. Jooyeon’s tone became even sweeter as she spoke to Hangyeol.

“Let me know if you have any other questions.”

“Oh, no, it’s okay. This is all I needed. You’re really fluent with this program.”

“Haha… don’t people usually say ‘proficient’ in these situations?”

“Do they?”

Jooyeon touched the back of her head, smiling awkwardly at Hangyeol, who was smiling sheepishly. She returned to her desk and reopened her messenger conversation with Assistant Manager Kim.

― □ ✕

I saw it too. The family photo…

Kim Jiseok (New Business Planning Department)

It was the CEO and his wife, right?

Yes…

Kim Jiseok (New Business Planning Department)

lol

lol ㅜ

As they exchanged meaningless characters, they heard a greeting from behind them. They quickly minimized the messenger window again and turned to see Assistant Manager Yoo and Kang Minho arriving at work.

“Oh, you two came together?”

“We met downstairs.”

“Oh, is this the new employee?”

Minho’s question was directed at Hangyeol, who was sitting with his hands on the keyboard, only his head turned towards them. Hangyeol quickly stood up and bowed to them.

“Hello, I’m Im Hangyeol, the new employee.”

“Oh, you don’t have to be so formal… Nice to meet you, I’m Kang Minho.”

Minho smiled, rubbing the back of his closely cropped hair. He extended his large hand towards Hangyeol.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Let’s work hard together.”

“Ah, yes… it’s a pleasure to meet you too.”

As Hangyeol shook his hand, Minho pumped his arm up and down vigorously. It was a powerful handshake, befitting his tall stature and large build. Minho, looking at Hangyeol’s limp hand, smiled good-naturedly and went to his desk.

Hangyeol looked around at his team members. Assistant Manager Kim next to him, Assistant Manager Yoo and Jooyeon behind him, Minho, and Team Leader Gi Seonwoo, who was probably in his brightly lit office. He thought they all seemed nice and friendly.

Feeling a sense of anticipation for his new job, Hangyeol smiled brightly amidst his team members, who were all staring at their computers with serious expressions.

୨ৎ

Hangyeol stretched his neck from side to side as he read the materials Jooyeon had given him regarding the Kookmin University new campus development project proposal.

The work itself wasn’t difficult, as the proposal guidelines, committee review points, and other necessary information were summarized and clearly laid out. However, his eyes were getting tired from reading the dense text.

“Alright everyone, let’s go to lunch.”

As if sensing his fatigue, Assistant Manager Yoo stood up from his chair. Checking the time, Hangyeol saw it was noon, lunchtime.

“The cafeteria menu isn’t great today. Shall we eat out for a change?”

“Sounds good. There’s a new dakgalbi place that opened nearby. How about that?”

“Dakgalbi? I’m in.”

“Let’s go before the elevators get crowded.”

Everyone nodded and started putting on their coats. Hangyeol slipped his arm into his favorite brown coat and then blinked as he saw everyone heading straight for the door.

“What about the team leader?”

Seonwoo hadn’t left his office since arriving that morning with a brief greeting. Hangyeol was concerned about going to lunch without him. A casual reply came back.

“Oh, the team leader doesn’t eat with us. He always eats separately.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. I guess only he knows…”

Jooyeon shrugged and walked towards the elevators. Hangyeol stared after them for a moment, then glanced back at the lit team leader’s office before hurrying after his colleagues.

As Assistant Manager Yoo had predicted, the elevator lobby was packed with people heading out for lunch. They finally managed to squeeze into an elevator and stepped outside, where the fresh air greeted them. The early spring sky was a clear blue, and the faces of the office workers, enjoying a brief respite, were bright.

“Ah, the weather’s so nice. It’s a shame to be stuck in the office on a day like this.”

“I know, right? I’m going camping with my girlfriend this weekend, and I hope the weather stays like this.”

Chatting idly, they arrived at the dakgalbi restaurant. Several ribbon-tied potted plants near the entrance indicated its recent opening. The delicious aroma hit them as soon as they stepped inside. Even Hangyeol, who had eaten a hearty breakfast, felt his mouth water.

“How many?”

“Five.”

“Right this way.”

Since there were five of them, they were seated at two separate tables. Jooyeon, Assistant Manager Yoo, and Assistant Manager Kim sat at one table, while Minho and Hangyeol sat at the next.

“One medium and one small order, please. And add udon noodles.”

Seungmin placed their order efficiently, and soon two large iron griddles were placed on their tables. A staff member brought over a spatula and mixed the cabbage and marinated chicken. As they watched, Minho spoke.

“They’re having an opening event. If you take a picture of the food and post it on social media, you get a free drink. I should do that.”

Minho took a video of the sizzling dakgalbi and started fiddling with his phone. Assistant Manager Kim spoke.

“All young people use social media these days. Do you use it, Hangyeol?”

“Yeah, sometimes.”

“Oh, really? What’s your ID? Let’s follow each other!”

Minho, who had been looking at his phone, looked up at Hangyeol’s reply and spoke cheerfully. Hangyeol felt a little awkward about connecting with a colleague on social media, but it wasn’t something he could avoid, so he readily typed his ID into Minho’s phone.

“Whoa, what? Hangyeol, why do you have so many followers?”

Minho’s eyes widened as he checked Hangyeol’s social media account. His surprised voice piqued the curiosity of Jooyeon, who was sitting next to him.

“Why? How many?”

“Thirty-four thousand!”

“Is that a lot? I don’t use social media.”

“For a regular person, that’s a huge number. Hangyeol, don’t you get sponsorship offers and stuff with that many followers?”

Hangyeol occasionally received sponsorship offers for various products and places through direct messages, but he had never accepted any. He didn’t feel the need, and he disliked the idea of cluttering his feed. Hangyeol chuckled awkwardly, fiddling with his chopsticks.

“I do get offers, but I’ve never accepted them.”

“Wow, that’s amazing. I’ve never known anyone with that many followers. Hangyeol, you should try making vlogs! Who knows? You might get so many views that your job becomes a hobby.”

He already treats his job like a hobby.

Jooyeon brought her water glass to her lips, stopping herself from saying what she was thinking. It had only been three hours since Hangyeol put his family photo on his desk that morning, and everyone except the copy machine now knew he was the grandson of the chairman and the son of the CEO of Korea Construction, but Minho seemed to be in the dark.

Hangyeol lowered his eyes and smiled shyly, picking up Minho’s side dish. He then scooped a large portion of the deliciously stir-fried spicy chicken onto Minho’s plate.

“Minho-nim, please enjoy.”

“Aw, don’t be so formal. Just call me Minho. I’ll call you Hangyeol.”

Minho laughed heartily and picked up his chopsticks, and Hangyeol smiled softly and nodded.

They were quite full after heartily enjoying the spicy chicken and fried rice. Since there was still some time left before the lunch break ended, Hangyeol followed his team members to a cafe in front of the company building.

“Welcome.”

It was a small cafe with a few low tables. However, the first thing that caught Hangyeol’s eye wasn’t the cute interior or the displayed ornaments, but the back of a tall man standing at the counter.

“Oh? Team Leader!”

At Seungmin’s voice, the man turned his head. It was Team Leader Gi Seonwoo.

“Did you have a good meal?”

Seonwoo’s face remained expressionless as he gave a short “Yes” to Seungmin’s friendly greeting. His gaze as he looked at the team members behind him seemed indifferent as well. Hangyeol unconsciously gulped at Seonwoo’s gaze, which briefly landed on him. However, Seonwoo quickly looked away after a moment.

“Let’s order. I’ll get these.”

“Oh, no, it’s okay.”

“If I say I’m buying, just pick your drinks without arguing.”

“Uh… then I’ll have an iced Americano…”

Watching Seonwoo’s curt words and his action of tapping the counter with his card while staring straight ahead, Jiseok spoke up. Following him, the others also ordered Americanos and iced Americanos.

Everyone seems to like Americano.

Hangyeol, the last to order, stared up at Seonwoo, then widened his eyes and said,

“I’ll have an iced cafe mocha. With lots of whipped cream!”

At Hangyeol’s words, the other team members immediately glanced at Seonwoo, but his handsome face remained unchanged. He simply handed his card to the part-timer and checked his watch.

“Team Leader, thank you.”

Hangyeol bowed his head towards Seonwoo, and the other team members also expressed their gratitude. However, Seonwoo wordlessly turned around and headed for the door with his coffee and card.

“Go ahead, Team Leader. We’ll be up soon.”

Seonwoo left the cafe first, leaving the team members waiting for their drinks. As soon as he left, the team members looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief.

“I… maybe it’s because I haven’t been on the team long, but I find the Team Leader so intimidating.”

Minho, glancing at Seonwoo’s retreating figure through the window, leaned towards Hangyeol and whispered. Jiseok, who overheard it, answered instead of Hangyeol.

“That’s the same for me, even after working with him for several years. He’s not the type to open up, so it feels even harder to approach him. Isn’t that right, Jooyeon?”

“I actually like that. He doesn’t ask about personal things or interfere unnecessarily. It’s comfortable just talking about work-related stuff.”

“But we should know something about each other after working together for this long, but we know absolutely nothing about the Team Leader. I guess not knowing where he lives is understandable. But since he eats separately, we don’t know his preferences, and we always drop out first at company dinners, so we don’t know his alcohol tolerance either. All we know is his name and face. We don’t even know if the ring he always wears is a wedding ring or a couple ring! Right?”

Listening to Jiseok’s sudden outburst, the others shrugged. Jiseok seemed to have more to say, but he closed his mouth and shook his head.

“Why don’t you just ask him?”

At Hangyeol’s innocent question, Jiseok’s head whipped around. He looked excited to have someone to talk to. He furrowed his brow as if trying to recall something, then shook his head and said,

“Don’t even mention it. I tried to casually ask him during the last company dinner when the mood was right, and I got glared at with all sorts of unspoken curses! What did he say? Ah, right. ‘That doesn’t seem like something you need to know, Mr. Kim.’ Ugh, just thinking about it gives me chills.”

Jiseok cleared his throat and imitated Gi Seonwoo’s low voice, making the others chuckle. Then, clearing her throat and composing herself, Jooyeon lightly tapped Jiseok on the shoulder and scolded him.

“That’s enough, Mr. Kim. You have no filter in front of the new employee.”

“Oh, right? Ahem, I’m just saying that happened. Hangyeol, just ignore me, okay?”

Hangyeol nodded with a smile at Jiseok, who winked and gestured. Just then, the part-timer’s voice called out.

“Your drinks are ready.”

Hangyeol hurried to the counter and handed the drinks to everyone.

“Oh, thanks, Hangyeol.”

“You’re welcome.”

After handing out all the coffees, the last drink he received was his iced cafe mocha, piled high with whipped cream. Topped with chocolate drizzle, it looked incredibly sweet. Hangyeol put a straw in his drink and smiled brightly at the part-timer.

“Wow, that’s a lot of whipped cream. Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

He added a touch of aegyo to his voice, and the part-timer smiled back. As he followed the others out of the cafe, Hangyeol bowed his head in thanks once more, then sipped his whipped cream and thought about Seonwoo.

Name: Gi Seonwoo.

Age: Unknown.

Preferences and alcohol tolerance: Unknown.

Marital status: Unknown.

Unknown, unknown, unknown.

He felt a bit relieved that his situation wasn’t much different from those who had been with Seonwoo for years. It seemed he wasn’t cold and frosty only to him, but to everyone.

Recalling Seonwoo’s chillingly cold demeanor just the day before, when he had mistaken Hangyeol for someone else, Hangyeol felt intimidated again. It seemed getting close to him wouldn’t be easy.

Let’s be careful not to be disliked.

Hangyeol muttered a small resolution to himself and sucked on his sweet cafe mocha.

୨ৎ

It didn’t take long for Hangyeol to adapt to his work life. He’d arrive early, make coffee in the break room, and tap away at his computer until lunchtime. After lunch, he’d do his afternoon work, and soon it would be time to leave.

On his fourth day, Hangyeol was moving the mouse with newfound familiarity when he turned his head at a presence he felt behind him. Jooyeon had approached and was looking at his monitor.

“Hangyeol, have you read through the materials I gave you this morning?”

“Yes, almost finished.”

“So, do you think you can handle it? It’s not too difficult, just summarizing and writing a report.”

Hangyeol nodded. As she said, it wasn’t a complicated task, just summarizing the main points of the nearly dozens of pages of guidelines.

“That’s good. Then let’s go into the interdepartmental meeting at 2 o’clock together. Since you’re in charge of the project now, it’s a good opportunity to introduce you.”

“Yes! I understand.”

“Oh, hold on. I have a call.”

Jooyeon took her phone out of her pocket, checked the screen, and frowned slightly. Then, with a quick nod, she hurried away. Her voice, speaking into the phone, gradually faded. Hangyeol stared after her, watching her talking on the phone with a worried expression on her face on the terrace next to the elevator hall.

A moment later, Jooyeon returned with quick steps, heading not towards Hangyeol, where she had been talking just a moment ago, nor to her own desk, but to the team leader’s office. She entered and exited the office with a pale face, then began to frantically pack her bag.

“Jooyeon, is something wrong?”

Seungmin, watching her, asked with a puzzled look. Jooyeon frowned.

“My child fell down the stairs and is in the emergency room right now. I’m sorry, but I think I need to go.”

Hangyeol’s eyebrows furrowed at her unexpected reply. He wondered if the situation was serious enough to warrant a trip to the emergency room. He awkwardly stood up along with the others and looked at Jooyeon. Meeting Hangyeol’s eyes, Jooyeon touched her forehead and said,

“Oh, Hangyeol, I’m sorry. I was supposed to go to the meeting with you. I’ve told the Team Leader, so he’ll probably go with you. He’ll be more helpful than me anyway. Today’s meeting is just to hear from the representatives of each department, so don’t worry too much.”

“Okay, Jooyeon. Don’t worry too much about this and go quickly.”

“Yes. Let me know if anything urgent comes up. See you tomorrow.”

Jooyeon apologized repeatedly, bowing her head, and quickly left the office. Watching her go, Jiseok stretched as if his concentration had been broken, then pulled out a cigarette from his jacket.

“Since things turned out this way, let’s go have a smoke.”

“Let’s do that.”

“Hangyeol, do you smoke?”

Hangyeol shook his head at Minho’s question. He had never smoked, nor had he ever been curious about it.

“No, I don’t.”

“Then we’ll be back down in a bit.”

The other three men seemed to be smokers. Hangyeol nodded to them as they left the office and sat back down at his computer.

Hangyeol focused on his computer, then looked up when it was almost 2 o’clock. He stood up with the shared laptop and knocked on the team leader’s office door.

“Um… Team Leader, I heard there’s a meeting at 2 o’clock, but I don’t know where to go.”

“Ah.”

Seonwoo, who was looking at his computer, checked the time and stood up. Then he strode over to where Hangyeol was standing.

“Let’s go.”

The woody scent of his cologne wafted over as he came close. Hangyeol unconsciously took a step back and lowered his eyes.

When they arrived at the meeting room on the floor below, unfamiliar people were just taking their seats. Seonwoo greeted them with a nod, noticing their questioning looks, and spoke.

“Jooyeon Park is absent due to a personal matter, so I’m attending in her place. I’ve been briefed on the meeting details, so please proceed comfortably.”

“Ah… Yes, I understand. But who is this next to you…?”

Hangyeol gulped at the gazes directed at him. He glanced at Seonwoo, who gestured with his chin for him to introduce himself. Hangyeol smiled and bowed his head.

“Hello. I’m Im Hangyeol, a new employee who joined the project as Jooyeon Park’s successor.”

Silence fell over the meeting room at Hangyeol’s bright declaration. People exchanged glances, unsure whether Hangyeol was joking or serious. It was Hangyeol who looked puzzled by the unexpected reaction. Seonwoo, standing right next to him, sighed, closed his eyes, and then spoke.

“This is Im Hangyeol, who we’ve brought in as Jooyeon Park’s replacement. Jooyeon will be stepping back from this project and will be following up from behind, so please keep that in mind.”

Ah, replacement. Hangyeol bit his lip as the correct word finally came to mind. He didn’t know why he had been having trouble recalling words lately. Then again, considering he was already in his mid-twenties, it was perhaps understandable. Hangyeol smiled, touching the ends of his eyebrows.

The meeting was short. The representatives from each team discussed the site visit status of the competition site and the surrounding panoramic photos, while Hangyeol typed away on his laptop.

His mind was filled with the thought that he had to work hard since he was there in place of Jooyeon, but it wasn’t easy to record every single word spoken by the participants. However, Hangyeol was a proud citizen of South Korea, having honed his Korean typing skills with Hancom Typing Practice since elementary school.

He used his honed 550 typing speed to create the meeting minutes, clenching and unclenching his fists whenever his fingers got a little stiff.

“Then let’s conclude the meeting here.”

“Yes. Thank you for your hard work.”

As he diligently recorded everyone’s comments, the meeting came to an end. Hangyeol placed a period at the end of the last sentence, which ended with “Thank you for your hard work,” and stood up, bowing repeatedly to the departing attendees.

It wasn’t a long meeting, but Hangyeol was proud of himself for having written the minutes. So, when Seonwoo spoke to him, he looked up with a satisfied smile.

“What were you writing so diligently throughout the meeting?”

“Ah, I was writing the minutes.”

Seonwoo looked dubious. However, Hangyeol proudly turned the laptop slightly to show him.

Seonwoo placed his finger on the touchpad and scanned through the 10 pages of meeting minutes that Hangyeol had written. He rubbed his eyes with one hand and said,

“Mr. Im Hangyeol, was your childhood dream to be a stenographer?”

“What’s a stenographer? Is it like a dark knight?”

“…Who writes meeting minutes like this?”

Hangyeol’s smile faded at the unexpected reaction. He had expected praise, but instead, he received a look of bewilderment. He quickly pulled the laptop back towards him, looking dejected. Seeing this, Seonwoo sighed softly.

“I’ll tell Jiseok Kim to send you the meeting minutes format and some samples. Rewrite the minutes and submit them by the end of today.”

“…Yes.”

Seonwoo stood up to leave the meeting room. He suddenly turned back and looked down at Hangyeol, adding,

“At least it’ll be easy to summarize and organize since you’ve transcribed everything.”

It was an ambiguous statement, somewhere between comforting and sarcastic, but Hangyeol pressed his lips together and nodded. Seonwoo watched him for a moment, then turned and left the meeting room without another word.

Left alone in the now empty meeting room, Hangyeol puffed out his cheeks as he looked over the minutes he had taken. He was disappointed he hadn’t been praised, but as the Team Leader said, summarizing and organizing would be easy! Thinking this, his disappointment seemed to fade.

Pumping his fist and whispering “Fighting!” to himself, Hangyeol left the meeting room with the laptop. He greeted another employee he encountered outside with a bright smile. “Hello! Enjoy the rest of your day!”

୨ৎ

Back at his desk, Hangyeol backed up the data, put the laptop back in its place, and pulled his chair in to sit down. He had until Friday to submit the minutes, but he didn’t see the need to put it off. He didn’t have anything else to do anyway.

“Mr. Kim, could you tell me where the meeting minutes format and samples are?”

He cautiously asked Jiseok, who was sitting next to him. Jiseok startled and quickly closed the window he was looking at. It seemed he had been doing something else during work hours. Hangyeol playfully narrowed his eyes at Jiseok, who conspicuously avoided his gaze. He then started searching for the requested files on the shared server.

“You can find the meeting minutes samples and format here. I’ll send you the files via messenger.”

Hangyeol opened the meeting minutes file he received. The document, which wasn’t very long, contained a concise summary of the meeting. Ah, I should have done it like this. It was understandable that he didn’t know since it was his first time. Although he had made a mistake earlier, this time he wanted to do well and earn the Team Leader’s praise.

Imagining the Team Leader’s usually stiff lips curving into a gentle smile, Hangyeol diligently typed away at the keyboard.

Time flew by as he immersed himself in his work. During that time, people went out for smoke breaks and visited the break room, but Hangyeol kept his eyes glued to the monitor. After working diligently, he finally typed the last period, and it was 5:50 PM.

Hangyeol was very pleased with himself for completing the task within the time he had set. So he hurried to print it out and knocked on the team leader’s door.

“Team Leader, I’ve finished organizing the meeting minutes. You told me to submit it by Friday, but I didn’t have anything else to do, so I finished it early.”

Hangyeol said with an embarrassed smile. He waited for the anticipated praise, but Seonwoo simply stared at him with a dumbfounded expression. As Hangyeol stared back with expectant eyes, Seonwoo rubbed his face with one hand and said,

“Mr. Im Hangyeol, did I tell you to bring the meeting minutes by Friday?”

“Yes! You said to submit it by today!”

“Today doesn’t mean Friday….”

Gi Seonwoo closed his eyes and pressed his forehead, then spoke.

“Sigh, forget it. Just leave it there.”

He had expected to be praised for submitting it ahead of schedule, but he was met with a cold response. He hadn’t even checked the contents of the meeting minutes. Hangyeol was a little disappointed, but tried to hide it as he put down the papers.

“Do you have any other tasks for me?”

“No. Go and prepare to leave.”

Hangyeol bowed his head and left the team leader’s office, pouting slightly. It seemed the Team Leader was a bit stingy with praise. But he could just work harder! Hangyeol returned to his seat and opened his messenger app.

Park Sungchan:

Hangyeol, can you leave at 6 sharp today?

Go Dongeun:

Nah, I think I’ll be late.

Park Sungchan:

Im Hangyeol is working late, why are you late, Dongeun?

Go Dongeun:

The professor asked me to summarize a paper 30 minutes before leaving lol

Park Sungchan:

Ah… Sorry, you win.

Male professor?

Go Dongeun:

Yep. I’ll text when I’m leaving.

Park Sungchan:

Why isn’t he reading the messages? Is he busy?

Several messages had piled up in the group chat with the three of them. Hangyeol read them from top to bottom and then typed a reply to the last message, “Im Hangyeol text us when you see this.”

I’ll leave as soon as I can! Sungchan, have you arrived?

Park Sungchan:

Yeah, I’m at the Izakaya in the alley near the back gate of your company.