Crazy Match, Crazy Guy - CHAPTER 8 - Part 1

At the end of the competition, Team 2’s design made it as the final selection.

Although disappointed, Wooyoung sincerely congratulated the employees on their achievement.

Just before leaving work, Wooyoung called Tae Jin, asking for his understanding since her team members suggested on having a team dinner since everyone was feeling regretful. She also found it difficult to send her co-workers home today without uplifting their spirits.

“Tae Jin, it’s me.”

• Are you okay?

“Am I okay?… You already know, do you?”

• Did you forget that Vasell’s CEO is my friend?

“Well, then you can guess how I’m feeling right now.”

• So, are you thinking about having a team dinner?

Oh my goodness.

“I think I should have a drink with my colleagues today.”

• It’s an unavoidable situation.

“Thank you for understanding.”

• But call me when you’re done and I’ll pick you up.

“No, I can call a chauffeur…”

• Just call me.

With a determined tone, Wooyoung couldn’t refuse his words any longer. So she agreed and hung up.

After finishing work, Wooyoung followed the employee’s recommendation and headed to the pork ribs restaurant. Although there was a suggestion to use the corporate card and eat high-quality beef, Wooyoung didn’t really like beef that much. And, based on majority rule, they settled on pork ribs instead.

The restaurant was bustling inside, likely due to the evening hours. Seeing the busy staff rushing around, it seemed like a pretty good restaurant, given how many customers there were.

“I guess there are more people here because it’s Friday.”

Before Ga-eun could finish her sentence, a staff member suddenly approached them, startling them.

“Are there four of you?”

“Yes.”

“Please come this way.”

Guided to their seats by the staff, they sat facing each other in pairs. As the staff took their orders, Hyunju set up their cutlery and chopsticks.

“I had no idea Ms. Joara from Team 2 was such a hidden talent. I’m so envious, seriously.”

Sitting beside her, Yeonghoon replied as he filled their glasses with water.

“How much effort do you think it took to get there? She’s the last one to leave work and works hard at everything.”

Wooyoung nodded as she drank the water Yeonghoon poured for her.

“It’s only natural that those who work hard get good results, so let’s all work hard.”

“In that sense, should we make a toast?”

At Yeonghoon’s suggestion, Ga-eun smiled brightly.

“Sounds good!”

Ga-eun grabbed the soju and beer the staff brought and stood up.

“Let me roll it up.”

With that, Wooyoung sipped on the bomb shot that Ga-eun had rolled up for them and looked at the meat cooking on the sizzling grill.

I wonder if Tae Jin had dinner.

While living together, Wooyoung couldn’t find any flaws in Tae Jin. He didn’t even have any noticeable habits. He seems so perfect. Of course, three weeks isn’t enough time to know everything about a person, but it’s enough time to find some flaws and shortcomings, and she hadn’t found any in him yet.

If she had to point out one thing, maybe it’s his excessive sexual desire. But she didn’t mind that aspect of him.

“Team leader, please have some meat.”

Wooyoung smiled faintly as Yeonghoon placed the cooked meat on her plate.

“Thank you.”

“Well, enjoy. I grilled the meat well.”

“So, are we going to have team dinners more often in the future?”

“Hehe, I hope you get the idea.”

Watching her team drink the bomb shots enthusiastically, Wooyoung took a sip from her glass that she had set down earlier.

Despite being someone who used to enjoy alcohol so much, she had been averse to drinking for the past few days. It’s as if the timing to quit drinking worked out well.

One by one, their pupils softened, and their conversation became even more relaxed. Ga-eun put her glass down and turned her gaze to Wooyoung, who was quietly eating her meat.

“Team leader.”

“Hm?”

“You have a boyfriend, don’t you?”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. People with partners have a different expression. And Hyunju, you have one too, right?”

“What?”

“Your reaction shows you do.”

At that moment, Yeonghoon interjected into the conversation.

“Actually, the two of us are dating.”

Ga-eun’s eyes blinked.

“I knew it.”

“What? You knew?”

“I already noticed and I’m not that clueless of a woman.”

“How did you know?”

I told you to be careful.

Seeing Yeonghoon’s cautious expression, Ga-eun laughed lightly.

“I’ve seen you two having coffee in the break room quite a few times. You think I wouldn’t notice?”

“It wasn’t that often.”

Ga-eun rolled her eyes at Yeonghoon’s words.

“Of course it’s often. Just yesterday, it’s already been three times that I saw the two of you together.”

“Hmm.”

Yeonghoon refilled Ga-eun’s glass with soju and beer.

“Please take my drink, senior.”

Drinking the bomb shot Yeonghoon had made, Ga-eun shifted her attention towards Wooyoung.

“Team leader, you’re not in an office romance, right?”

“I’m not.”

“But you do have one, right?”

“Huh?”

She brushed off Ga-eun’s leading question but she had no intention of hiding it. She had only hoped it would come out naturally.

“Who is it? If they’re someone the team leader likes, they must be an impressive person, right?”

“An impressive person?”

“Oh, we all know. The HR manager told us about you, Team Leader.”

When was that?

She had requested to be anonymous so that people refrain from talking about her personal matters.

A few months ago, she had attended a wedding with her father and met the HR manager there. That’s how the HR manager came to know about her.

Hyunju chimed in.

“I’m curious too.”

“Later.”

“Can’t you tell us now?”

Wooyoung shook her head, feeling like she shouldn’t talk about Tae Jin for some reason.

“I can’t talk about it now.”

At that moment, Ga-eun spoke up.

“Is it CEO Jang Tae Jin from Geo Home Shopping?”

The cutlery fell out of Wooyoung’s hand.

Are married women naturally good at sensing these things?

“That’s right!”

Yeonghoon’s eyes widened.

“How did you know?”

“There was that incident. Remember when Team Leader Wooyoung came to see us in a fit of anger during the time Yeom Sanghoon was the team leader? There was a tall, handsome young man with our CEO at that time. The HR manager said he’s the CEO of Geo Home Shopping.”

“Oh, right! That’s true! But the connection between that person and our team leader… It’s not, right?”

“Huh?”

Seeing Wooyoung’s flustered expression, Ga-eun’s suspicion were confirmed.

“Tell us honestly. I promise not to spread rumors to other teams.”

As the attention of her teammates all turned to her, Wooyoung rolled her eyes and eventually nodded. The employees’ jaws dropped.

“Awesome!”

“Wow!”

“Hahaha.”

Unlike the surprised reactions of Hyunju and Yeonghoon, Ga-eun simply chuckled. Wooyoung looked at her while feeling a bit puzzled.

Although she was younger than her, Ga-eun was a married woman with one child. Maybe that’s why she wasn’t very subtle for Ga-eun’s instincts.

“Ga-eun, I was very subtle. But you saw right through it.”

“I’ve been a bit perceptive since I was a kid, that’s all…….”

As if realizing something, Ga-eun cut her words short and took out her phone from her bag.

“Well, it’s getting late, so I should probably get going. Hyunju and Yeonghoon, you’ll stay longer, right?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re leaving so soon?”

“I have things to do at home, so I have to go now. But stay a while longer.”

“Sure, senior.”

As Ga-eun left, Wooyoung followed her out of the restaurant and stood beside her as she tried to catch a taxi.

“Team leader, why are you coming out?”

“Just wanted to see you off.”

“Ah, there’s no need for that.”

“I just wanted to get some fresh air too.”

“I see.”

“By the way.”

“Yes?”

“Why did you marry so quickly? Were you sure about it?”

“I wasn’t sure, but…….”

Ga-eun’s eyes narrowed slightly.

In that moment, Ga-eun keenly caught on to the fact that Song Wooyoung was hesitant about marriage.

“I felt like if I let him go, I’d regret it for the rest of my life, so I married him with my eyes closed.”

“You don’t regret it?”

“What do you mean regret? No! If I had missed that opportunity, I would have regretted it to no end.”

She was the opposite of Sungkyung.

While Sungkyung shattered the fantasies of marriage for her, saying it’s a crazy thing and not to do it, Ga-eun was different.

Even as she spoke, she had a smile on her face. It was a look that could only come from someone who loves her husband.

“You love your husband that much?”

“Yes!”

Hearing her confident response, Wooyoung nodded.

In fact, while living with Tae Jin, she had been leaning towards the idea that he might be worth marrying.

There are two sides to every story, and she had been looking at the idea of marriage too negatively. Living together was slowly changing that perspective.

“Team leader.”

“What?”

“If you’re hesitating about marriage, think about whether you can let go of this man and live your life without a care. Then you’ll find your answer.”

To let go of Jang Tae Jin. Can I really forget about him and live on?

No, I can’t.

Just thinking about it sends a chill down her spine. Even though it was just a hypothetical, if it were to actually happen, she’d feel hellish and wouldn’t be able to stay sane.

Suddenly, she snapped back to her senses.

“Ga-eun, thank you.”

“Haha. So you’re sending me a wedding invitation, right? Oh, here comes the taxi.”

After watching Ga-eun get into the back seat, Wooyoung turned around.

She felt a sense of urgency. She wanted to go home as soon as possible.

As she walked back to the restaurant, she heard a honking sound.

Wooyoung stopped in her tracks and turned her head toward the source.

Among the cars parked in front of the restaurant, there was one with its headlights on. Wooyoung’s eyes widened at the familiarity of the car.