Chapter 6 (Part 3)

After work, In-ah met Hae-jeong for the first time in a while and visited Jeong-ho’s bar.

“You’re suspicious.”

Hae-jeong squinted her eyes, watching In-ah gulp down the soju.

“What is?”

“Do you know you’ve been talking a lot about that Director lately?”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. Even that day. Would you let someone into your secluded workshop?”

In-ah frowned.

“It’s not like that. That’s nonsense. What, should I have left a stranded person alone?”

Hae-jeong, grabbing In-ah’s waving hand with a determined expression, said.

“Seduce him!”

“Min-jun’s mom! You’re saying something outrageous.”

The next moment, In-ah halted her hand, about to slap Haejeong playfully.

Jeong-ho, who had brought the snacks, stood frozen at the back because he had heard everything.

“Oh my! Please give it to me.”

Jeong-ho handed the plate of snacks to In-ah, shaking his head repeatedly.

“No, I didn’t hear anything!”

Watching Jeong-ho quickly retreat to the kitchen, Hae-jeong spoke with a bitter expression.

“He heard everything, he heard everything. Isn’t he Jinwon oppa’s friend?”

“It’s okay. It doesn’t matter.”

In-ah clinked glasses with Hae-jeong, pretending to be nonchalant.

Jeong-ho, who had hurried into the kitchen, had a face flushed red.

“What is that fool Jinwon doing, really? He’s going to lose her at this rate!”

Jeong-ho contemplated for a moment whether he should call Jinwon and give him a proper scolding.

***

“What? An overseas branch?”

“Yeah, if I want it.”

“Why?”

At Hae-jeong’s question, In-ah’s expression changed completely.

“That’s a risky statement, you know?”

“Haha. Of course, I know your capabilities well. But still, it’s something to consider rationally, without any other distractions.”

With a small sigh, In-ah continued.

“I asked him why he was giving me such an opportunity. He said he valued my capabilities as a designer.”

“Then it’s settled! That’s great, it’s a good thing. You’ve always wanted to go abroad.”

“Yeah, I did.”

In-ah’s face looked complicated with thoughts. Sensing In-ah’s emotions, Hae-jeong asked in a gentle voice.

“Why, is it different now?”

“I don’t know. I need to think about it.”

***

On the day In-ah’s furniture was launched.

In-ah’s team and the PR team launched a massive promotion for the new product at a furniture store in a large mall.

It was a promotion where they explained the new product at the promotional booth and held event activities.

“What is this, a rich-get-richer, poor-get-poorer situation? Where have all the male customers gone?”

At Hye-yoon’s grumbling, In-ah glanced at the adjacent booth.

The promotional booth where Jinwon was explaining was packed with female customers to the point of bursting.

“It’s been a tough morning, hasn’t it?”

“Oh, hello, Director.”

Seong-jun came to In-ah’s booth holding drinks for the employees.

After lunchtime, the employees finally left the booth to eat. 

Since In-ah left later than the others, she rode the escalator alone down to the basement food court.

“Can’t you tell what kind of person someone is?”

At the voice full of anger, In-ah turned her head to look behind her.

Jinwon stood behind In-ah, creating a cold atmosphere without even glancing at her.

In-ah turned her head back to look ahead. Seeing no response from In-ah, Jinwon added another word.

“I didn’t know you were someone with ambition. I didn’t expect you to be interested in riding Director Lee Seong-jun’s line…”

“Why, can’t I? It’s not something you should be concerned about, Team Leader. And…”

Jinwon pressed his lips together. In-ah delivered a final warning to Jinwon.

“Please refrain from talking about anything not work-related. It makes me uncomfortable.”

Just as In-ah was about to step down the escalator, leaving Jinwon behind, she lost her balance and stumbled.

“Oh! Oh!”

In-ah, who was about to fall forward, suddenly froze. To be precise, In-ah’s body, which was about to fall, stopped in mid-air.

In-ah didn’t fall because of a hand grabbing the collar of her shirt. Naturally, the owner of the hand was Jinwon, who was right behind her.

In-ah’s priority was to escape the situation of having her shirt collar strangled. She coughed and regained her balance.

Fortunately, she avoided falling on the escalator, but the embarrassment was all hers.

There could have been various ways to catch a falling person, but of all things!

In-ah gave Jinwon a resentful glare and quickly walked away.

Left behind, Jinwon couldn’t suppress a smile even in that situation. To Jinwon, In-ah seemed incredibly lovable.

***

A few days later, In-ah was called by Jinwon into the Team Leader’s office.

“You told Assistant Mananger Jeong you wanted to pull out of the resort project?”

“Yes.”

“Shouldn’t you have told me that?”

“Well, since you found out anyway, the channel doesn’t really matter, does it?”

Despite Jinwon’s reprimand, In-ah showed no signs of shrinking back. Jinwon spoke as he packed documents into his bag.

“That request wasn’t accepted.”

“Why not?”

“The Chairman wants you. He specifically requested that you take charge, so there’s no choice.”

“That doesn’t make sense!”

At the suddenly raised voice, Jinwon stopped and looked up at In-ah.

“How does the Chairman know me? How does Chairman Jinseong know a mere designer like me? Are you telling me to believe that?”

Jinwon, having seemingly packed everything, zipped up his bag and answered.

“He said he’s been watching your projects with interest, including the product launched this time.”

In-ah, unable to believe this, let out a series of incredulous laughs.

“They want to hold a meeting today, so let’s head out now.”

“Where to?”

The “place” Jinwon referred to was the old resort that Jinseong had acquired. Last time, Hye-yoon and Sang-wook accompanied them, but today, they couldn’t join due to work commitments.

So ultimately, only Jinwon and In-ah took the car to the resort.

In the car, Jinwon and In-ah traveled in silence for a long time, barely able to breathe comfortably.

In-ah slowly rolled down the car window. Feeling the wind on her cheek, she quietly closed her eyes.

When they were a campus couple in college, In-ah and Jinwon dreamed of such moments. Riding together on a coastal road.

Who would have thought that dream would come true in this way? 

In-ah closed her eyes for a moment, feeling like she might cry.

Jinwon, glancing at In-ah, pretended not to notice and said nothing.

Soon, they arrived at the resort. The old resort, undergoing demolition work to start renovation, looked unusually gloomy today.

The overcast weather made the dark sky and sea make the resort appear even more eerie.

“There should be a light switch here somewhere.”

Jinwon muttered loudly to himself as he searched and turned on the light. In-ah, with a wary expression, stepped into the resort.

The two of them sat in the empty lobby of the resort. Jinwon kept trying to call the person they were supposed to meet.

“Why aren’t they answering the phone?”

Jinwon glanced at In-ah, muttering loudly again. He was worried about In-ah, who seemed anxious.

Then something truly concerning happened. It started raining outside.

The rain, which grew heavier, showed no sign of stopping.

‘Pop!’

To make matters worse, all the lights in the resort went out. It seemed there was a power outage. The resort was plunged into darkness.

In-ah rummaged for her phone and turned on the light. She shone the light towards Jinwon, who was still trying to make calls.

Jinwon shook his head at In-ah with a worried expression.

“We should just go back today. I’ll bring the car around, so come out when I call you.”

“Let’s go together.”

In-ah stood up abruptly, following Jinwon.

“Are you sure?”

In-ah nodded and walked with Jinwon towards the resort entrance.

Reaching the entrance, In-ah hesitated, unable to step out into the pouring rain.

“Stay here. I’ll bring the car over.”

Jinwon ran through the rain to the car. When he started it, the car made a strange, loud noise.

“That’s odd. What’s going on?”

Jinwon got out to check the tires and found one was flat.

Bending down to inspect the tire, Jinwon accidentally dropped his phone onto the asphalt.

‘Thud!’

Startled, Jinwon quickly picked up the phone, but his expression soon turned to dismay. The screen was broken.

Jinwon ran back to In-ah, who was standing at the entrance. She was shivering from the cold wind.

“What’s wrong? Is there something wrong with the car?”

“Let’s go inside first.”

Back in the lobby, their only hope was In-ah’s phone.

They tried calling a nearby car service center, but even that didn’t connect.

“I’ll call a taxi.”

After finally connecting with a taxi driver and explaining their location, In-ah hung up, letting out a sigh of relief.

“They said they’ll be here soon.”

But even after 30 minutes, there was no sign of the taxi.

Growing anxious, In-ah tried calling the taxi number again. However, in the next moment, her phone went dead. The battery had run out.

The lobby was once again plunged into darkness. In the pitch-black darkness, the sound of the pouring rain filled the surroundings.

Jinwon, worried about the unceasing rain and the continuous shivering, found it hard to stay still.

In a situation where they couldn’t even see each other’s faces, Jinwon cautiously spoke.

“Since it’s cold… I mean, you’re shivering a lot… Should I hold you?”

“……”

Waiting for In-ah’s response, Jinwon swallowed hard as if his mouth had gone dry.

“It’s okay.”

At In-ah’s brief reply, Jinwon felt his hopes deflate like a balloon.

“I can’t do this. I’ll go out and find help.”

Jinwon stood up abruptly. At that moment, In-ah grabbed his coat.

“Don’t leave me alone.”

Jinwon carefully sat down beside In-ah, who was clutching his coat.

“Then what should we do? With the rain pouring like that, we can’t go together. I should go alone…”

Jinwon, who was gently soothing In-ah, suddenly stopped speaking. Instead, the space was filled with only the sound of their breathing.

In-ah had nestled into Jinwon’s arms. Jinwon was so surprised that he froze.

The trembling of In-ah, who had been shivering, gradually subsided in Jinwon’s warm embrace. Jinwon’s arms gently wrapped around In-ah’s shoulders.

It was the scent he had missed so desperately. A moment he had only met in dreams. The sound of raindrops hitting the window sounded like music.

Jinwon wished that the rain wouldn’t stop, that the day wouldn’t break.

However, despite Jinwon’s wish, dawn arrived. In-ah, waking up at daybreak, lifted her head and quietly observed Jinwon, who was holding her. Even while nodding off, his arms remained around her.

In-ah looked out the window from his embrace. The sun was just rising, opening up a clear sky after the rain had stopped.