Chapter 10 (Part 2)

Heading to the meeting room, she spotted Jinwon walking ahead.  

She quickened her pace to walk beside him, then, passing him, spoke rapidly like a machine gun.  

“Let’s talk for a moment.”  

Like spies meeting, she swiftly walked past him.  

At the emergency exit, she gestured with her head and pushed the door open.  

Jinwon, puzzled, glanced around before following her.  

Once inside, he was suddenly grabbed by the collar and pushed against the wall.  

She placed her hands on the wall, trapping him between her arms.  

But contrary to her expectation of a threatening and sensual stance, it wasn’t quite right.  

Due to their height difference, she ended up trapping his chest, not his face.  

Looking frustrated, she feigned composure, lifting her head to look up at him.  

Unfazed, he looked down at her with a smile.  

“What is this about?”  

She scrunched her brows, trying to maintain a serious atmosphere, lowering her voice and glaring at him.  

“Yesterday.”  

“Yesterday?”  

“Was there nothing yesterday?”  

Silence hung between them. Then he calmly replied,  

“Yeah. You just slept.”  

“Slept?”  

Startled, she pulled her hands from the wall and asked urgently,  

“Where?”  

“Where else? At the bar.”  

“Oh! I thought we…”  

She abruptly stopped mid-sentence.  

“We what?”  

At his question, she turned her back to him and quickly changed the subject.  

“How did I get home?”  

“I carried you. Don’t you remember?”  

She turned back, surprised, and asked,  

“I woke up at my place.”  

“Of course. I took you there.”  

“How? You don’t know my passcode.”  

“You entered it. You pressed each number carefully.”  

He stifled a laugh, finding her adorable, knowing what was on her mind.  

She blinked at him, unable to hide her deflated expression.  

In truth, she was slightly bothered that despite being in precarious situations with him recently, nothing had happened.  

“Let’s go, it’s time for the meeting.”  

Oblivious to her thoughts, he urged her on. She glared at him, pouting to express her displeasure.  

Then, suddenly, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pressed her against the wall.  

“You’re dangerous. Who told you to pout like that?”  

She pulled down her twitching lips, saying,  

“Why are you doing this at work? What if someone sees?”  

“Who provoked me first?”  

His voice, low and close to her ear, sent shivers down her spine.  

She squeezed her eyes shut, not forgetting to act petulantly.  

“Oh my, I must be crazy! Are you going to let go?”

Instantly, he withdrew his arm from her waist.  

“What?”  

“You said to let go. Let’s go.”

Watching his back as he turned away without hesitation, she closed her eyes, trying to suppress her rising anger.  

As he exited the emergency exit, she muttered bitterly to herself.  

“You really let go when I said to. Damn it.”

Meanwhile, Jinwon walked down the hallway, chuckling to himself.  

Kang Cheol approached, curious.  

“Why are you laughing alone? Something good happen?”  

“Good things.”  

“Well, what good could happen in your situation?”

Jinwon looked at Kang Cheol, puzzled. Kang Cheol patted his shoulder comfortingly.  

“Jeong Shin-hye came by.”

At the mention of her name, the smile vanished from Jinwon’s face. Kang Cheol added fuel to the fire.  

“It didn’t look like she came for good news. The atmosphere was intense.”

Returning to her desk, In-ah received a summons to the director’s office.  

Me? Was I too playful earlier? 

She pondered how to explain as she headed there.  

Knocking, she entered to find Jinwon already there, looking serious.  

Opposite him sat Seong-jun and Shin-hye, both with tense expressions.  

She quietly sat beside Jinwon. Silence ensued, with no one speaking first.  

She glanced around, checking their expressions. Then Shin-hye spoke.  

“A size error, what kind of amateur mistake is this?”

Confused, she looked at Jinwon. He closed his eyes briefly, trying to reassure her.  

But Shin-hye’s sharp voice tore through the office atmosphere.  

“What will you do about this? Huh?”  

“Our company will fully compensate.”  

Seong-jun, more serious than ever, spoke to Shin-hye.  

Irritated, Shin-hye retorted,  

“You know it’s not about the money. Who will take responsibility if we miss the opening date?”  

Seong-jun bit his lip, staying silent.  

Watching him, Shin-hye turned to In-ah.  

“The designer inputs the size directly, right? Seo In-ah, you did it yourself, right?”  

“As the Team Leader, I confirm it.”

Breaking his silence, Jinwon spoke with unwavering eyes.  

Everyone looked at him as he continued firmly.  

“I’ll take responsibility.”  

“No!”  

All eyes turned to In-ah, who suddenly shouted.  

“That’s not possible. A size error? I don’t make such mistakes.”  

Her eyes were filled with certainty.  

“Ha!”  

Shin-hye smirked mockingly.  

“Then who miswrote the size, making the built-in cabinet too big for the space?”  

“…”

In-ah glared at Shin-hye, suppressing her anger.  

Seeing her lack of response, Shin-hye grew bolder, hurling accusations.  

“What kind of situation is this? A designer with no integrity or responsibility. It’s a mess.”  

“Jeong Shin-hye!”  

Jinwon shouted at Shin-hye. She glared at him but stopped speaking.  

Outside the office, Jinwon confronted Shin-hye.  

“Did you do this?”  

She snorted, as if it were ridiculous.

“What do you take me for? I don’t mess with things involving money.”

He continued to eye her suspiciously. She lowered her gaze, adding,  

“Do you think anyone can become rich? There are principles you must uphold, even if it costs you your life.”

Her confident words left him more confused.  

This wasn’t a simple matter. The furniture with the size error had to be discarded, and the financial loss was enormous.  

“This is clearly the responsibility of the designer. You shouldn’t get involved.”

Seeing no change in his expression, Shin-hye spoke urgently.  

“You need to hold on at Lysian. You know how critical this time is, right?”

But her words didn’t reach him.  

He couldn’t let In-ah bear all the responsibility. Absolutely not.  

***  

“I wrote it correctly. I double-checked before sending it. There’s no way it was wrong.”  

Back at her desk, she kept muttering with eyes that seemed to shoot lasers.  

Watching her, Hye-yoon sighed softly.  

“It could happen. People make mistakes sometimes.”  

“I’m telling you, no.”  

Intimidated by her intensity, Hye-yoon lowered her hand, which was about to pat her shoulder.  

Then, Assistant Manager Jeong approached, patting her shoulder with comforting words.  

“If Seo In-ah says she didn’t, then she didn’t. The truth will come out, so don’t worry too much.”  

Hye-yoon looked at Assistant Manager Jeong and asked,  

“Do you believe In-ah?”  

“Of course, I do. If colleagues don’t trust each other, who will? I trust In-ah.”  

She nodded in appreciation toward Assistant Manager Jeong.  

She needed to set this situation right. She pondered how to do so.  

***  

The first place In-ah went was the factory that had produced the incorrect-sized furniture.  

But she gained little insight.  

Neither the factory manager nor the technicians had any reason to tamper with the sizes and harm the company.  

They were more afraid of issues arising in their dealings with the company due to this incident.  

With slumped shoulders, she was leaving after meeting the technicians.  

She noticed Seong-jun touring the factory, listening to explanations. When he turned toward her, they made eye contact, and she bowed slightly.  

“Are you here to investigate?”  

At his words, she replied curtly,  

“I’m not the police. How can I investigate? I just came to ask a few questions.”  

“I’m looking into it too. This isn’t just your problem, Seo In-ah.”  

She looked at him with dissatisfaction, speaking firmly,  

“Let me be clear. This is the responsibility of the designer, not the Team Leader.”

“That’s what the Team Leader’s position is for.”

His stance was firm, but she didn’t back down.  

“It’s not a position to take the fall for something you didn’t do.”

“Ah!”  

A scream shattered the serious atmosphere.  

It was already dark outside, and bugs from the nearby stream had begun to swarm.  

As expected, the scream came from Seong-jun.  

Turning her head, she saw him tidying his clothes, embarrassed.  

Having seen this several times, she wasn’t surprised. She casually remarked,  

“They won’t eat you.”  

“I know. It’s just instinct. Instinct.”

In-ah glanced at Seong-jun incredulously and said,  

“I don’t have that instinct. Huh?”  

She noticed a cat curled up in the distance.  

“Why are you there like that? Where’s your mom?”  

Behind the kitten, she saw the mother cat pacing.  

She quickly picked up the kitten.  

“Your leg is hurt. Come with me. I’ll treat you.”  

Seong-jun watched her with interest.  

The mother cat followed closely behind as she carried the kitten.  

She carefully treated the kitten’s paw with antiseptic and bandages she got from the factory.  

The mother cat watched nearby, meowing continuously.  

“Seo In-ah, you have that instinct. You can’t ignore a hurt kitten.”

I seem to have the instinct to like someone like you.

He swallowed the last part of his thought.  

“If that’s instinct, isn’t it something everyone has?”  

She said, watching the mother cat approach the kitten’s new spot.  

“Did you see the kitten’s siblings earlier?”  

“Siblings?”  

She showed interest in his words.  

“The mother was focused only on the injured kitten, leaving the siblings out of attention. There seemed to be two.”

“No, I didn’t see them.”  

He continued watching the mother cat tend to the bandaged kitten.  

“The left-behind ones might hurt more than the injured one. They’ve lost their mom.”  

“Hey, you can’t say they’ve lost her. The mom will go back to them.”  

“Who knows?”  

Finally, she noticed two cats watching from a distance, then turned her gaze to him.  

She thought he might be more considerate than she expected.