Chapter 8.1

“Did you have a good trip, Chief?”  

At the front entrance of the hotel, Su-eon bowed her head toward Jung Cho-ah, who was stepping out of the sedan. Holding a clutch in her hand, Jung Cho-ah descended with an air of haughtiness, glaring at Su-eon with a look full of mischief.  

“Who are you? Do I know you? It’s our first meeting, so why are you acting like you know me? Hmph!”  

The bell desk staff standing behind them seemed to be struggling to suppress their laughter. Su-eon, however, maintained her calm and steady gaze as she looked at her boss, who was clearly in a foul mood. Standing behind Jung Cho-ah was the newly assigned assistant secretary brought in by Assemblywoman Yeo.  

“Let’s head inside for now.”  

Jung Cho-ah, who seemed ready to put up more resistance, exhaled sharply before finally moving her steps indoors. After two weeks apart, Jung Cho-ah’s face looked as energetic as usual, apart from being slightly tanned from the Jeju Island sun.  

That night, when she had been forced to leave her home due to an unpleasant intruder, Su-eon had changed the door lock code and told Jung Cho-ah that the house was on the market and she should not come back for the time being.  

Naturally, Jung Cho-ah was not convinced. “Why are you suddenly moving out? Why do I have to do this? Why didn’t you discuss this with me? Why, why!” She bombarded Su-eon with relentless “why” attacks. Ignoring her, Su-eon gave the driver more detailed instructions.  

This was to prevent the man from lingering around and potentially running into Jung Cho-ah. Fortunately, due to the Jeju Island business trip scheduled for the following week, the situation Su-eon had feared did not occur.  

It was a long-standing tradition, starting from Chairwoman Wang’s era, for the owner’s family to visit the Jeju Island hotel before the peak season began. The true operator of World Hotel was Chairwoman Wang, Jung Cho-ah’s paternal grandmother. Even after her son, President Jung, passed away early due to an accident, Chairwoman Wang had long managed the hotel alone without ceding any real authority to her daughter-in-law, Assemblywoman Yeo, or her grandchildren.  

Eventually, when Chairwoman Wang stepped down from management due to illness, the hotel transitioned to a professional management system. Around that time, Assemblywoman Yeo flew to the United States to bring back Jung Cho-ah, who was studying abroad. Jung Cho-ah, who had stubbornly resisted until the end, finally returned to Korea after the man who had promised her forever left her, taking a bribe in the form of an envelope of money.  

At the time, Su-eon had just transitioned from her role in the operations department to a back-office position as a third-year hotelier. In other words, she had been strategically placed to help Jung Cho-ah adapt to hotel operations. Back then, Su-eon had assumed that Jung Cho-ah would eventually inherit the hotel.  

“How was Jeju Island?”  

As soon as Jung Cho-ah entered the office, she threw her jacket carelessly onto a nearby surface. Su-eon asked her,  

“What do you think it was like?”  

Jung Cho-ah, still visibly annoyed, replied,  

“You weren’t there, the new secretary doesn’t understand a single word I say, and mo mother, Assemblywoman Yeo, suddenly decided to meddle with the hotel’s personnel affairs, acting like her head is in a flower field.”  

Grinding her teeth, Jung Cho-ah added that she thought she was going to lose her mind. It was Assemblywoman Yeo who had excluded Su-eon from this Jeju Island trip, even though Su-eon had always handled all of Jung Cho-ah’s business trips up until now.  

“Why do I even need two secretaries? Secretary Ji, you’re more than enough! What does No-ah’s discharge from the military have to do with me? My mom is seriously losing it.”  

It was clear that Assemblywoman Yeo intended for Jung No-ah to inherit the hotel instead of Jung Cho-ah. Su-eon could see the plan: once No-ah was discharged, he would immediately begin management training and join the company upon graduation. By then, Jung Cho-ah would no longer be at the hotel. She would likely become the daughter-in-law of some prominent family.  

“Chief, do you want to stay at the hotel forever?”  

“Isn’t that why you dragged me here by the hair? You’re the one who made me learn the work even though I had no interest in management.”  

It seemed like this was a topic she would bring up for the rest of her life.  

“Back then, I thought you would follow Chairwoman Wang’s wishes and take over the hotel’s management.”  

“So, are you saying that’s not the case anymore?”  

For a very brief moment, Su-eon silently looked at Jung Cho-ah.  

“You’ve always said your dream is to live a carefree life. You have the opportunity and the will to do so, so why live a hard life unnecessarily?”  

At Su-eon’s words, Jung Cho-ah, who had been lounging on the sofa and fiddling with her phone, suddenly froze and looked up.  

“…Where are you going, Sister?”  

“You have a marketing meeting to attend.”  

Su-eon calmly stood up and picked up the jacket that Jung Cho-ah had thrown aside.  

“The room reservation target for this peak season is 97%. Since the recent OCC (occupancy rate) has recovered to around 85%, it seems achievable. The marketing team also plans to expand the seasonal package system.”  

As Su-eon began her work report, Jung Cho-ah’s expression quickly turned sullen again.  

“Work talk again, work talk. I just got back from Jeju Island, you know? OCC, ADR (average daily rate), RevPAR (revenue per available room). Performance, metrics, results. Stop talking about this stuff. It’s making me sick.”  

Shaking her body like she was about to tear her hair out, Jung Cho-ah suddenly lifted her head and looked at Su-eon with a determined glare.  

“I know you’re trying to avoid talking about Ki Seung-jo by bringing up all this preamble. But it won’t work. You’re not escaping today. I’ll interrogate you thoroughly during overtime, got it? Overtime is mandatory!”  

Watching Jung Cho-ah sharpen her metaphorical knife for after work, Su-eon let out a light sigh.  

* * *

Bang, bang—!  

“I’m against that man. Against him!”  

Jung Cho-ah slammed her palm onto the table again, repeatedly shouting her opposition. The loud music in the club was deafening, so fortunately, her drunken rant didn’t draw much attention.  

“First of all, his personality is rotten. His manners are terrible too.”  

Gripping her non-alcoholic highball glass tightly, Jung Cho-ah delivered a merciless critique of Ki Seung-jo. Her hostility was evident, likely fueled by the sting of losing a verbal argument. After all, when had Jung Cho-ah ever been treated like that by anyone, anywhere?  

“I was mistaken. I thought I was dealing with a kind bear, but it’s actually a fox. No, a wolf. A wolf that looks like a fox. The kind of vile wolf that lures Little Red Riding Hood and eats her up.”  

A kind bear? That was a mistake from the start. There was nothing kind or bear-like about that face. Wondering who in the world she had been looking at, Su-eon rested her chin on her hand and let out a disinterested sigh.  

With every breath in and out, the smell of alcohol filled the air, making her head spin. It was all because of the makgeolli she drank during the first round. Despite being a seasoned drinker, Su-eon’s only weakness was makgeolli.  

Dragging Su-eon along, Jung Cho-ah declared she would make up for the two weeks she hadn’t been able to party. They moved from a karaoke room to a pub and finally landed at a club. Having endured up to the fourth round with just one beer, Jung Cho-ah was still relatively lively. She kept repeating, in that same voice, how upset she was and calling out, “Sister!”  

“Why are you suddenly moving out? Don’t tell me you’re planning to live together with him?”  

“…Of course not. Don’t say something so ridiculous.”  

“You hesitated just now, didn’t you? Right? Huh?”  

“…”  

Should she just make her drink more? As Su-eon momentarily considered this, Jung Cho-ah began whining again.  

“Fine, fine. I’ll admit it. I’ll give in a hundred times and acknowledge that you’ve got a man, and I’ll even accept that he’s not some shady multi-level marketing guy. But I’m so lonely! Why did you suddenly tell me not to come home, and then tell me not to work at the hotel if I don’t like it? I feel so anxious. What are you thinking, Ji Su-eon?”  

“I told you, I’ll call you once I move.”  

“That’s not the point. Why are you moving all of a sudden?”  

“There’s a pervert in the neighborhood.”  

“That’s a lie. You’re just saying that to keep me away, aren’t you?”  

Even though she was telling the truth, Jung Cho-ah didn’t believe her. Su-eon stared at her for a moment before changing her story.  

“The landlord is switching the lease to a semi-jeonse, so I figured it’s a good time to move.”  

“I knew it. Why don’t you stop struggling and just move back home? That way, you won’t have to suffer outside.”  

“That’s your house, not mine.”  

“I want to live cozily with you again, like in the old days.”  

“I don’t recall ever living cozily with you. Who exactly were you living with?”  

“You’re so mean!”  

Giving up on arguing, Jung Cho-ah downed her non-alcoholic highball in one shot.  

“Then where are you planning to move?”  

“I’m still looking around.”  

“Are you thinking of moving into a hanok? You’ve been saying since you were little that you’d build a hanok house and live in it when you grew up. That’s why you’re insisting on staying in Bukchon, even though it’s old and inconvenient.”  

Thinking it was impressive how she remembered everything, Su-eon replied nonchalantly,  

“I’m just going to look for an officetel.”  

It seemed like people were steadily coming to view the house. Last week, when she stopped by to pick up some belongings, the realtor had said the house might sell faster than expected and suggested she start thinking about her next neighborhood.  

“You can’t move too far from the hotel anyway since you need to commute.”  

“…”  

“Why not move to Yeouido this time? I could move out and live in the same building as you.”  

“There you go again, saying ridiculous things.”