Chapter 7 (Part 2)

Jinwon was almost at his officetel when he saw In-ah coming out of the entrance and heading toward the convenience store.

He hesitated for a moment before heading directly to the officetel entrance, deciding to postpone the conversation for another time.

As he was entering the door lock code at the entrance, he noticed two unfamiliar men ringing the doorbell of In-ah’s apartment.

“We’re here to see the room.”

Jinwon paused as he was about to open the door and enter. It seemed In-ah had put her place up for rent before going to the U.S.

“The owner won’t be coming today.”

The two men standing in front of In-ah’s apartment turned to look at him. One of them, holding a notebook, muttered,

“She said she’d be here when we spoke earlier.”

Seeing the man take out his phone, Jinwon urgently said,

“Don’t call!”

The two men looked at him with curious eyes.

“She’s probably busy with work and can’t take calls today. You should come back another time.”

After whispering to each other for a moment, the two men turned and headed for the elevator.

Watching them leave, Jinwon slapped his own mouth.

“Why are you doing this, Lee Jinwon?”

***

A few days later, the company was turned upside down.

“Seo In-ah! What on earth happened?”

“What happened in the past few days?”

Everyone was in a frenzy, each trying to get a word in with In-ah.

No wonder, as the sales of the new product line designed by In-ah had skyrocketed.

It wasn’t just an increase; it was an explosion.

The talk of responsibility due to poor sales had disappeared, and everyone was amazed and full of praise.

“You’re amazing, In-ah~”

“Congratulations. As expected, a top designer is different.”

In-ah barely managed to sit at her desk amidst the flood of compliments.

With a bewildered expression, she turned on her computer and opened a search engine.

The answer to how her new product suddenly became the center of attention overnight was in the portal site articles.

[Furniture chosen by the Chairwoman of Jinseong Group! Famous stars already own it?]

According to the article, the fact that it was chosen by the Chairwoman of Jinseong Group led to the new product being naturally exposed in the homes of famous stars, garnering explosive interest from people.

“Wow, amazing!”

Hye-yoon, who had come behind In-ah to read the article together, clapped like a seal in excitement.

“The Chairwoman saved Seo In-ah! No, she’s the savior of Seo In-ah’s new project!”

Her voice was loud. In-ah couldn’t say anything and just smiled awkwardly.

“Congratulations, Seo In-ah.”

Seong-jun approached and extended his hand to her for a handshake. She took it and nodded.

“Thank you, Director.”

Seong-jun, unable to hide his good mood, was smiling broadly when his expression suddenly stiffened. He had spotted Jinwon watching from afar.

Seong-jun turned back to In-ah and asked softly,

“There’s high anticipation for you at the U.S. branch. Here, they don’t seem to want to send you. A capable person is indeed different.”

“You’re too kind. I think I was just lucky this time.”

“Excessive humility isn’t good. Your mind is still set on going, right?”

“What?”

Not only In-ah, but even the surrounding employees perked up their ears at Seong-jun’s words.

“Going to the U.S. If you’ve changed your mind, let me know.”

“No. I’ll go as planned.”

Seong-jun nodded and glanced at Jinwon. Seeing Jinwon’s complicated expression, he smiled brightly.

Then, as he turned to head back to the Director’s office, he paused. He had seen his own reflection in the office window.

In the window, Seong-jun was smiling more brightly than anyone.

Am I smiling so openly? What’s making me so happy?

Seong-jun turned back to look at In-ah. He saw her laughing merrily while talking with her colleagues.

***

After work, In-ah went to the hospital where her father was admitted.

“You’re here? Dad just fell asleep.”

In-kyung, who was watching over the bedside, whispered so as not to wake their father. She waved her hand to lead In-ah out to the hallway.

After carefully closing the hospital room door, In-kyung led In-ah by the wrist to one side of the hallway.

“Why, what’s going on? Dad’s not unwell, is he?”

“No. He’s recovering well. It’s just…”

In-kyung, with her neck hunched, leaned in to whisper a secret to In-ah.

“Hey, your Team Leader, you know. I think he has cancer.”

In-ah looked at In-kyung with a puzzled expression.

“What are you talking about?”

“I saw your Team Leader at the cancer ward earlier. Waiting in the lounge.”

In-ah replied with a deflated expression.

“He must have been accompanying an elder.”

“No, he was alone.”

“He could have been there for a check-up if he had symptoms.”

“Well, if that’s the case, that’s a relief.”

In-ah felt a creeping sense of unease. In-kyung, noticing In-ah’s expression, lowered her voice again.

“Surely not, right? They say it’s harder for young people to recover from cancer.”

“…?”

In-ah’s mind became tangled with thoughts. Only he would know the real situation.

***

From the next day, In-ah found herself unnecessarily paying attention to Jinwon.

Without realizing it, she was constantly searching for him whenever she had a moment.

“Seo In-ah! What are you looking for?”

“Nothing. I’m not looking for anything.”

“Then why do you keep looking around like that? Like someone who just moved to the city.”

“Who’s looking around…”

In-ah, spotting Jinwon appearing in the distance, quickly shifted her gaze to the monitor.

It was suspicious eye movement, obvious to anyone watching. Hye-yoon looked around with a suspicious gaze.

At that moment, Jinwon, who was entering the Team Leader’s office, suddenly started coughing. Even after entering the office, his coughing could be heard for a while.

In-ah couldn’t bring herself to look, but her ears were fully tuned to the Team Leader’s office. Then she shook her head as if trying to shake off the thoughts.

“But why is the Team Leader suddenly asking for all this? I have so much to do, and now I have to organize this?”

Hye-yoon grumbled incessantly. It was a signal for In-ah to ask why on her behalf.

“What did he ask you to organize?”

As soon as In-ah asked, Hye-yoon turned her body toward her, ready to explain.

“Well, he suddenly wants to see the list of new product launches and sales statistics for the past three years.”

“Maybe there’s something he needs to check.”

Though she answered that way, In-ah couldn’t shake the feeling that Jinwon was organizing things.

With a face full of complaints, Hye-yoon puffed out her cheeks and muttered.

“If he just asked me, I’d tell him.”

“You know all that?”

“No. I’m not good at creating documents. But I remember you were good at it, Seo In-ah.”

“No, I’m not either.”

In-ah gathered her materials and stood up. Hye-yoon quickly asked,

“Where are you going?”

“To a meeting. A meeting with the marketing department.”

Seeing Hye-yoon deflate, In-ah chuckled.

As she was walking down the hallway to the meeting room, she nodded in greeting to Jinwon, who was coming out of the restroom.

Not noticing In-ah, Jinwon, who was passing by with his mouth covered, suddenly changed direction. Then, gagging, he hurriedly ran into the bathroom.

“What’s wrong with him, acting so scary?”

In-ah frowned deeply, staring only at the entrance of the bathroom.

After the meeting ended, as everyone was getting up, In-ah called out to Kang Cheol.

“Team Leader Choi! Just a moment.”

In-ah hesitated until all the other employees left.

Sang-wook, curious to death about what In-ah was going to say to Kang Cheol, slowly headed toward the meeting room door.

However, In-ah remained silent until Sang-wook left the meeting room.

After even the sullen Sang-wook left, Kang Cheol sat back down and asked,

“Why, do you have something to say to me?”

“Uh… about our Team Leader. Is something going on with him?”

“Something going on?”

“Is he unwell or anything…?”

Kang Cheol shifted his eyes as if thinking for a moment, then mumbled while looking into space.

“Well, it seems like he might have some personal issues. But he hasn’t said anything, so I can’t really know.”

Despite mustering the courage to ask Kang Cheol, there was no significant result.

As In-ah packed her bag to leave work, she found herself lost in thought. She tried not to worry, but she couldn’t help it.

‘What if he really has cancer?’

As her thoughts spiraled, she suddenly had an idea and hurriedly packed her bag.

“Did you come alone, In-ah?”

“Yes.”

Jeong-ho greeted her warmly, as he always did when she visited the store.

“Is something going on? Drinking alone is quite popular these days, but you didn’t used to drink alone…”

“No, I drink alone sometimes too.”

“Is that so~”

Only then did Jeong-ho’s tense face relax, quickly returning to his usual lively expression. He promptly brought out the beer and snacks In-ah had ordered.

“Is it because it’s early? There are no customers.”

“Yes, it’s early. It’s not time for the drinkers to appear yet.”

“Oh…”

She took a sip of her beer and glanced at Jeong-ho. He, having just placed the snack plate down, gave her a wide grin.

“Then enjoy.”

“Um…”

As he turned to leave, she spoke up with difficulty.

“I wanted to ask you something. I was wondering if something is going on…”

Jeong-ho looked at her in surprise, which made her even more startled.

The next moment, his face seemed to twist, and his eyes quickly reddened.

Flustered, she pulled out napkins and handed them over.

“Here…”