Chapter 2 (Part 2)

Jinwon moved towards the elevator, suppressing the urge to look back. He didn’t even realize that the corners of his mouth were lifting.

As Jinwon stood in front of the elevator, a pair of unfamiliar men’s shoes stopped next to him. Jinwon’s gaze traveled up from the shoes to the face of the man—Seongtae.

“You’re so busy with your love life, huh? I caught you.”

Jinwon, with no intention to respond, turned and headed for the stairs. Seongtae raised his voice.

“Hey, Miss!”

Surprised by the unexpected situation, Jinwon stopped walking and barely managed to say a word with a stiff expression.

“Please stop.”

“What? What did I do?”

“If you have something to say, let’s talk tomorrow.”

“What if I don’t want to? What are you going to do if I don’t?”

“I’m asking you, please.”

Jinwon bowed his head. Seeing that, Seongtae’s lips curled up.

“Where did you go after calling me here?”

Seongtae reluctantly left the spot. Jinwon let out a small sigh.

At that time, In-ah was also getting ready to leave work. As she organized her desk and stepped out of the office, she noticed a familiar back. It was Seongjun. He seemed to be waiting for a car, constantly looking towards the entrance of the parking lot.

As In-ah passed by him, a loud scream reached her ears.

“Wow! Whoa!”

Seongjun was frantically jumping around trying to chase away a moth on his shoulder. Having witnessed it once before, In-ah shook her head without changing her expression.

Then,

“Here! Here! Miss! Help me!”

Seeing Seongjun run towards her, In-ah politely bowed her head in greeting.

“Director, I’m not a ‘Miss,’ I’m Seo In-ah from the design team.”

“Miss Seo! Ah, please!”

“I can’t understand what you’re saying.”

In-ah looked at Seongjun, who was stamping his feet and flapping his hands, with a calm gaze.

“Please, get rid of this!”

“This… what?”

“The moth! Please get rid of the moth!”

“Oh, are you asking me for help?”

In-ah asked back with an innocent expression as if she didn’t understand anything. Seongjun nodded vigorously. Seeing Seongjun with tears welling up in his eyes, In-ah almost burst out laughing.

Suppressing her laughter, In-ah nonchalantly reached out and flicked the moth away. Only then did Seongjun slowly regain his color. Then, as if suddenly realizing how upset he was with In-ah, he opened his mouth to speak.

“From the beginning…!”

“You’re saying thank you? Yes. I helped you twice, so I understand you’re grateful. I understand. I’ll be going now.”

As soon as In-ah finished speaking, she lightly bowed and turned away.

Seongjun watched In-ah walk away and swallowed hard. He was confused about whether he was angry or grateful.

***

Late at night. In-ah opened the refrigerator at home and realized she was out of drinking water.

As she left the house to go to the convenience store, she saw Jinwon standing in front of his apartment door down the hallway.

In-ah pretended not to notice and headed for the elevator.

On her way back home with water from the convenience store, In-ah hesitated as she got off the elevator. Jinwon was still standing in front of his apartment door.

‘Did he forget the passcode or something?’

As if he heard her question, Jinwon checked the time and pressed the door lock passcode, only to be met with a beeping warning sound. Jinwon let out a deep sigh.

‘Well, whatever, it’s none of my business.’

Just as In-ah was about to enter her apartment, she froze. Then she muttered, “Oh, damn it!” and put down the water bottle inside her house before striding towards Jinwon.

Jinwon’s eyes widened in surprise at In-ah’s sudden appearance.

“What’s going on?”

“Ah, nothing.”

Jinwon avoided answering and just stared at the door lock. In-ah was convinced her assumption was correct.

“Call a locksmith. Are you going to stand here all night?”

Jinwon, looking embarrassed, finally answered In-ah’s prodding.

“They say I need an ID.”

“Of course. You can’t just ask them to open someone else’s door. Just show them your ID.”

“I don’t have it, my ID.”

Jinwon replied in a small voice, as if he were guilty. In-ah, surprised by the unexpected answer, raised her voice without realizing it.

“Why?”

“It’s inside the house. My ID.”

“Why? Isn’t an ID something you usually carry with you?”

“Well… yes…”

Jinwon’s voice had become so faint it was barely audible, and In-ah felt a wave of frustration.

Jinwon’s forgetfulness was not a new thing. During college, he often left assignments behind or forgot exam dates. It was enough to worry about how he’d manage in the real world later.

Cutting off her train of thought, In-ah put on a businesslike expression.

“What will you do for me if I help you?”

Jinwon’s face brightened at In-ah’s words.

“Anything. Just tell me what you want.”

“Then I’ll save a wish. No take-backs later.”

Jinwon unconsciously held out his pinky finger to In-ah. It was so natural that In-ah almost hooked her finger around his.

Ignoring it, In-ah took out her phone and made a call somewhere.

A short while later, a locksmith arrived in response to In-ah’s call and completed the work. After successfully opening the door lock, In-ah approached the locksmith, who was packing up his tools.

“Thank you. You’re amazing as always. It’s a good thing you’re a nice person; otherwise, you could just…!”

“Stop flattering me. It’s dizzying.”

“Hehe. Should I stop? Is that enough for today?”

Jinwon glanced at the scene, as if the locksmith and In-ah were more than just acquaintances. As if noticing Jinwon’s gaze, the locksmith lowered his voice and whispered to In-ah.

“Is that clumsy guy really your team leader?”

In-ah nodded as if she understood what he meant. Unaware of the situation, Jinwon had to endure the locksmith’s sharp gaze.

***

With sample production in full swing, the furniture storage space within the company quickly filled up. Before the next samples arrived, securing space was essential.

And who had to secure that space? The designers who would receive the samples.

In-ah and Hye-yoon were busy moving furniture to the back space since morning. Hye-yoon, who was already annoyed, lifted a piece of furniture with force and put it down as if she was getting more irritated.

“There are plenty of men in the company, so why are we doing this?”

“There’s no gender when it comes to physical work.”

“Why not? I’m a delicate woman.”

“Delicate, my foot. I know how strong you are.”

“What are you talking about? Oh? Team Leader Kang Cheol!”

Kang Cheol, who was just passing by the corridor, was caught by Hye-yoon’s radar. Hye-yoon’s nasal voice, full of desperation, came out.

“Please help us~ It’s too hard.”

Kang Cheol, who quickly assessed the situation, pushed up his glasses perched on his nose and said,

“It would be good to use your brain. What a pity.”

Then, without looking back, he left the scene. Hye-yoon was so dumbfounded that she couldn’t close her dropped jaw. In-ah was busy trying not to burst out laughing.

“Stop daydreaming and lift this.”

As In-ah urged, Hye-yoon grimaced and grabbed the furniture. At that moment, the furniture was lifted into the air, no, it was lifted up. Looking up, it was Jinwon.

Jinwon effortlessly lifted the cabinet, which was heavy even for two people to carry, with one hand.

“Oh my! Team Leader! Thank you.”

Hye-yoon clapped her hands like a seal and followed Jinwon, who was moving the furniture. Watching this, In-ah had a bittersweet smile on her face.

When Jinwon returned to lift the next piece of furniture, In-ah stopped him.

“Thank you, but if you can’t help us till the end…”

‘Slap!’

It was Hye-yoon who slapped the back of In-ah’s hand.

“What are you saying?”

Then, quickly filling her face with a smile, Hye-yoon spoke to Jinwon as if shouting a slogan.

“You can just help us a little. Even this much help is a big help!”

Since Hye-yoon’s words were true, In-ah had no way to argue further. At that moment, Hye-yoon left to take a phone call.

Jinwon lifted a cabinet that looked too heavy for him alone. In-ah instinctively helped him lift it. But then In-ah stumbled, and at the same time, she lurched forward.

Startled, Jinwon fixed his gaze on In-ah instead of the cabinet, which fell to the floor. In his attempt to catch it, he mistakenly reached out his hand. The cabinet landed on Jinwon’s fingers, and he quickly pulled his hand out, clutching it in pain.

In-ah, shocked, ran to Jinwon.

“What happened? Are you hurt? Let me see. Oh, blood! What do we do!”

In-ah, pale with shock, grabbed Jinwon’s bleeding hand and shouted. Jinwon, forgetting the pain, gazed at In-ah quietly.