“Please send us an invitation!” 

“Yes, we’d love to attend the wedding and celebrate with you both!” 

Amid the cheerful congratulations and applause directed at Hwi-gang and Seol-ah, Jung-jae’s face tightened with frustration. Already at his limit after hours of tedious, mind-numbing tasks—his fingers stained black from handling the copier and shredder—he felt like he was on the verge of losing it.

The small hope he had of going home early for a much-needed shower had been dashed by a call from Assistant Manager Choi. 

“What do you think you’re doing? Skipping the company dinner as a rookie? If you don’t show up, you’ll have to write an explanation letter.” 

Although it was Choi himself who had piled on the work, leaving Jung-jae without dinner or any hope of arriving on time, there was no trace of sympathy – only a thinly veiled threat. But as the lowest rank on the corporate ladder, Jung-jae had no choice but to swallow his frustration. All he could do was silently hope that he wouldn’t be stuck in Choi’s department forever after his training rotation.

Jung-jae had no connections to lean on—no family ties, no powerful alumni networks, and no hometown alliances. He was completely on his own.

“Of course, we’ll send out the invitations soon. And for the second round tonight, we’ll be heading to the Club. I’ll cover everything, so just relax and enjoy yourselves.”

“Wow!”

The crowd erupted into another round of cheers.

As Jung-jae awkwardly shuffled into the room, trying his best to blend into the background, Seol-ah noticed him. Her eyes briefly met his before she quickly looked away, avoiding any further eye contact.

“What’s this? Why are you so late? Does a rookie think it’s okay to show up like this? Hurry up and pour some drinks!”

Assistant Manager Choi’s voice sliced through the noise, accompanied by a disdainful glare as he looked Jung-jae up and down.

Jung-jae, who had hoped to sit quietly and at least satisfy his hunger, sighed inwardly. Hearing Choi’s order, he reluctantly set his chopsticks down and reached for a bottle of soju.

‘Should I just quit?’ he thought, feeling utterly defeated. But knowing he had no real choice, he obediently grabbed the bottle and moved to pour drinks.

However, before he could get started…

“Ah, make sure you tier the glasses properly. Since this is a special occasion, with Senior Executive Kang Hwi-gang and Team Leader Jin Seol-ah announcing their engagement, make it a three-tier stack.”

“T-three tiers?”

Jung-jae stuttered. He had heard of stacking glasses up to two levels, but three was new to him. His eyes widened in panic as he turned to look at Choi, who just raised an eyebrow and waited impatiently. Jung-jae’s mind raced as he desperately tried to remember if he had ever seen anyone complete three-level tiers. The pressure mounted as he struggled to steady his shaking hands and realized that all eyes were now on him.

“What, did you join this company without mastering such basic skills?”

Choi sneered, his voice dripping with contempt.

“S-sorry,”

Jung-jae mumbled, feeling the weight of everyone’s eyes and the pressure building.

On the other side of the table, Hwi-gang sat comfortably next to Seol-ah, casually watching Jung-jae’s ordeal. Seol-ah, however, did her best to ignore the scene, her expression betraying a mixture of discomfort and frustration.

“Can we talk for a moment, Hwi-gang?”

Seol-ah said, trying to divert his attention.

“Sure, go ahead.”

“No, I mean let’s talk somewhere else,” she insisted, her voice firm but not wanting to draw attention to herself.

“You can’t say it here?” he teased, a playful gleam in his eyes.

“It’s not that, I just want to talk in a quieter place,” she explained, trying to keep her voice steady.

“Why? Do you want to kiss me or something?” he joked with a grin, clearly amused by her nervous reaction.

Seol-ah playfully glared at Hwi-gang and pinched his side in response to his teasing. Although it didn’t hurt, Hwi-gang pretended to flinch and furrowed his brow dramatically before letting out a soft laugh.

“All right, all right. But look over there – they’re busy with the drinks. We should stick around for that, don’t you think?”

Hwi-gang said, pointing to Jung-jae who was struggling with the demanding task of serving drinks.

Seol-ah sighed deeply and nodded. It wouldn’t look good if Hwi-gang, as the senior executive, left while the newcomer was stuck serving the higher-ups.

“Is it normal for LJ Electronics to treat new employees this way?”

“Of course not. Do you think we’d allow such a thing in today’s world?”

Hwi-gang replied with a grin.

“Then why…?”

“Does it bother you?”

“What?”

Seol-ah looked confused.

“Watching Lee Jung-jae get pushed around—does it bother you?”

Hwi-gang asked, raising an eyebrow.

“N-no, of course not! Definitely not.”

Seeing Seol-ah’s desperate denial, Hwi-gang’s gaze turned cold and his mood subtly changed. Realizing that she might have upset him, Seol-ah quickly fell silent and drank the soju in front of her. Hwi-gang, watching her with narrowed eyes, suddenly called Assistant Manager Choi over.

“Yes, Senior Executive. The drinks will be ready soon. We’re preparing a big wedding toast -“

“That’s enough. We also have other company employees here,” Hwi-gang interrupted sharply.

“Y-yes, of course.”

Choi stammered, immediately recognizing the change in Hwi-gang’s mood. He quickly signaled for Jung-jae to sit down and finish his meal.

“Mr Hwang, take this,” Hwi-gang said and pulled out his card. Hwang, the manager, quickly walked over and took it.

“Let’s finish the first round of dinner here,” Hwi-gang continued in a firm tone.

“Understood, Senior Executive. We’ll go to the club for the second round.”

“Good. But I’m leaving now,” Hwi-gang said, taking everyone by surprise.

“Excuse me? Aren’t you coming with us?”

Hwang asked, obviously surprised.

Despite his age, Manager Hwang knew he had to be careful with Hwi-gang, who, despite being in his early 30s, held a unique position as the chairman’s grandson and the future leader of LJ Group.

“Well, I’m leaving.”

Hwi-gang repeated without further explanation. He walked over to the CEO of Vision Advertising, shook his hand, and apologized for his early departure. But he didn’t even look in Seol-ah’s direction and left without a second thought.

“Senior Executive Kang Hwi-gang is leaving. Please stand and bow,” Hwang instructed.

The room stood and bowed deeply as Hwi-gang left. Seol-ah, unsettled by his sudden departure and lack of acknowledgment, stood uncertainly, not knowing what to make of it all.

“What are you waiting for? Go after him!”

Inha whispered urgently, quickly stepping over to Seol-ah.

“Go after him?”

Seol-ah repeated, still in shock.

“Of course! Your boyfriend’s upset, and you’re just going to let him leave like that?”

“Upset? You think so?”

Seol-ah asked, clearly confused.

“Yeah, from what I can tell, something’s off. Did you two argue or something?”

“Well… it’s complicated…”

Seol-ah hesitated, unsure of how to explain.

“Wait, is this about that guy? Is Jung-jae the reason?”

Inha asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

Seol-ah glanced in Jung-jae’s direction, and Inha immediately caught on, her tone turning irritated. Realizing that Hwi-gang might have misunderstood something, Seol-ah didn’t waste any more time. She quickly approached CEO Park Tae-jun, determined to excuse herself and clear up the misunderstanding with Hwi-gang before things got worse.

“Excuse me, I think I have to leave as well.”

Seol-ah said apologetically to CEO Park Tae-jun.

“Of course, go ahead.”

Tae-jun replied with a nod and gave her permission without hesitation.

“Thank you.”

Seol-ah said, giving Inha a quick nod before grabbing her bag. As she hurried out, some of the female employees looked on enviously, watching her rush after Hwi-gang.

Meanwhile, assistant manager Choi, visibly annoyed by the tense atmosphere, directed his frustration at Jung-jae.

“It’s your fault, Jung-jae! If you had served the drinks earlier, this wouldn’t have happened! Now serve the drinks and let’s go to the second round.”