“Assistant Manager Park?”

My hand paused for a moment as I aligned the forks on the table.

“Yes, Manager?”

“We’re having a team dinner tonight. Keep your schedule open.”

“A team dinner? Ah, I have plans today…”

“Don’t even think about skipping this one. It’s to celebrate your promotion, Assistant Manager Park.”

“You really don’t have to do that. I’ll work hard even without a celebration. I’ll gratefully accept the thought.”

“Go to the dinner and work hard too. The others said that if you skip it, we shouldn’t pay you.”

At that, I turned toward the manager as though pulled by a magnet.

“It would be a disaster if I didn’t get paid.”

“Good. Then let it be a disaster.”

“That’s too much. You’d be in trouble too if you didn’t get paid, Manager.”

“I’d get kicked out of my house.”

“Then I don’t understand why you’re threatening me with that.”

“Sua told me to. She said it would work, and she was right. I’ll take that as a yes, Assistant Manager Park.”

“…”

“We’re going to the barbecue place next to the hotel.”

“I had meat just a few days ago, though.”

“Then you can just grill the meat. All right, get back to work.”

The manager walked away without waiting for an answer.

I couldn’t believe she was threatening me with my salary like this.

Come to think of it, I had only attended one company dinner since joining.

Still, since this dinner was supposedly for me…

I should at least do a good job grilling the meat.

The restaurant buzzed with chatter and laughter.

“I can’t believe this! If I’d known, I would’ve fixed my makeup before coming.”

“Me too, me too!”

At the new hires’ complaints, Sua answered smoothly.

“Girls, if you came to a barbecue place, you should be eating meat. Why are you worrying about your faces?”

“Pfft, Sua unnie, we all saw you fixing your makeup by yourself earlier.”

“You’re at an age where you look pretty without doing anything. This unnie looks like this even after trying. So don’t feel cheated.”

The younger employees burst into laughter.

Sua was starting to look every bit the senior around the new hires now, and she had gotten good at keeping the mood lively too.

“But, Assistant Manager unnie, did you know the Marketing Department was coming to today’s dinner too?”

“No. I had no idea. Did you know, Sua?”

I asked while turning the meat over.

Sua half-covered her face with a perilla leaf before answering.

“H-How would I know that?”

“Why do you look like you already knew?”

“Unnie, I seriously didn’t know! I really didn’t!”

Her eyes darted around wildly with nowhere to settle. She looked exactly like a guilty culprit.

“You really did know, didn’t you?”

“…Sorry.”

“What’s the point of apologizing now? Forget it. The meat’s done, so just eat.”

“Yes!”

A swarm of chopsticks descended on the golden-brown meat.

The grilled pieces vanished from the hot plate without a trace, and thick slices of fresh pork belly soon covered it again.

The meat sizzled as glasses clinked and people traded trivial jokes through the late winter night.

“Team Leader!”

“Oh, Sua. Come over.”

“Would you like me to pour you a drink?”

“No. I’m not drinking tonight.”

His refusal was firm.

“Why? It’s a team dinner.”

“I have something important to do. Have you eaten plenty of meat, Sua?”

“Yes. Haena unnie was grilling so diligently that I barely had time to do anything except eat.”

He smiled.

“That seat beside her is looking very tempting.”

“Team Leader?… You didn’t happen to get a girlfriend or anything, did you?”

The sudden, unexpected question caught him off guard.

“Do I have a girlfriend?”

“No, right?”

“Has there been some rumor that I got one? That would be a serious problem.”

At his firm denial, relief brightened Sua’s face.

“Right. Of course not.”

“What do you mean?”

“You haven’t been coming to the restaurant lately, so I started thinking strange things. But why haven’t you come? Hasn’t it been over a week?”

“Exactly eight days.”

“What have you been doing all that time?”

“I had something to think about. It took me a little while to sort it out.”

“Something to think about? So did you reach a conclusion?”

“Three days ago. After that, I was too busy to come by.”

“Anyway, that doesn’t mean your feelings for Haena unnie changed, right?”

“Of course not. I heard from you that there was a team dinner tonight, and I even used a rather underhanded method to get our department’s dinner scheduled too.”

“What kind of underhanded method?”

“…Let’s just call it a shameless use of influence.”

“Hehe, sounds like you threatened them. Something like, ‘If we don’t have the team dinner today, everyone’s working overtime’?”

He chuckled.

“Close enough.”

“Anyway, it is nice seeing that face.”

“Ugh! What good is that? The owner of that face hasn’t looked over here even once.”

His gaze followed Sua’s and landed on Haena.

‘Why does she look so determined just grilling meat?’

A faint laugh escaped him as he watched her stare down the grill, completely focused on the tongs in her hand.

“What do you mean, look over here? Can’t you see the cold air radiating from around Haena? I feel like I’m going to freeze.”

“Exactly. She’s grilling like she’s in combat. Ah, scary.”

“Still, you deserve a lot of credit, Sua. Haena actually came to a team dinner.”

“I asked the manager for help. I told her to threaten Unnie that she wouldn’t get paid if she didn’t come.”

“…That actually works?”

“Of course. Unnie may not care about much else, but she’s sensitive when it comes to money.”

“Ah!… Hahaha. I suppose that makes sense.”

Seunggyu’s messages suddenly came to mind.

“What does?”

“What do you mean?”

“What makes sense? Team Leader, do you know something about our unnie?”

“What exactly am I supposed to know? And what could I possibly know about your unnie?”

“Forget it. Somehow, I’m getting dragged into this.”

The team dinner, where everyone had eaten their fill and enjoyed themselves, ended after the first round.

“All right, we ate well and had fun, so starting tomorrow, let’s work hard again. Everyone, dismissed!”

“Yes!”

At the manager’s hearty call, the noisy crowd scattered in their respective directions.

“Unnie? I want to sleep over at your place tonight.”

“Let’s go.”

“Hehe, yes!”

Sua slipped her arm through mine, and the smell of alcohol wafted from her. The warmth of her body against me was surprisingly comforting.

“Haena, it’s been a while.”

A man’s face suddenly appeared in front of me.

While I was still startled, Sua even waved at him cheerfully.

“Team Leader, give us a ride. It’s freezing.”

At Sua’s exaggerated shivering, I lightly pinched the hand hooked around my arm.

“Ow!”

Her eyes were full of laughter as she glanced at me.

“We’re heading the same way anyway, so sure.”

“Yes!”

Sua practically bounced along as she followed him.

“Unnie, hurry up!”

When I hesitated, Sua urged me forward.

“Look at you. You’re frozen stiff.”

She came back to me and started pushing firmly at my back.

“Come on, let’s go! What, do you think Team Leader Kim is going to eat you? Why are you looking so serious?”

“…Lee Sua, do we really have to ride with him?”

“Yes! I want to. We’re absolutely taking his car!”

By the time she had finished pushing me along, we were already standing in front of his car.

The rear door opened with a click.

Our eyes met briefly as he silently held the door open for me, but I said nothing and got in.

“Let’s go!”

Sua’s cheerful voice rang out as if we were setting off on a trip.

The headlights came on, and the car pulled away.

While Sua chattered nonstop, I simply stared out the window.

Late at night in December, the streets were as quiet and dark as the bitter winter air.

Before long, the car came to a stop in front of the familiar house.

“Team Leader, thank you!”

Sua gave him a polite bow.

I also offered a brief nod before turning toward the house.

“Haena, wait a moment.”

His low voice stopped me in my tracks.

“Sua, I have something to say to Haena. Could you go inside first?”

I turned back toward him.

Ignoring my gaze completely, he looked at Sua as he spoke. Her eyes immediately sparkled, and the corners of her mouth curled upward.

“Oh my, you should’ve said so sooner. Should I just go home instead? It’s freezing out here. Why talk outside? You could go inside and talk comfortably—”

“Lee Sua!”

I raised my voice at their ridiculous exchange.

“Eek! Team Leader, look at Unnie’s eyes! Scary, right? Be careful. She might start shooting lasers out of them. Unnie, I’m going in first. Take your time talking and come inside.”

Sua hurried into the house.

I stared after her in disbelief.

Whether this had been planned or was simply a coincidence, the whole situation was absurd.

I turned my attention to the man looking down at me.

He was smiling, overflowing with composure.

“It’s cold. Shall we talk in the car?”

“No. I can handle it. What did you want to say?”

How annoying.

This situation.

And the excessive confidence he carried himself with.

“Haena, do you know my name? My age?”

“Do I need to?”

“You don’t necessarily have to know, but since I’m going to be your boyfriend, it would be nice if you at least called me by my name.”

He was always like this.

“My name is Kim Dohyun. I’m thirty-two. I live about twenty minutes from here. As you already know, both of my parents are alive, and I have one older sister.

She’s an unmarried old maid who’s been getting increasingly hysterical lately, so I’m doing my best to stay out of her sight.”

“…”

“As for my personality, as you can see, when I like someone, I tend to be persistent enough to become annoying. My last relationship was three years ago. Since then, I’ve been working hard, trying to be a good son for once. And while living diligently, I met you too, Haena. I suppose I’ve been blessed.”

Blessed…

“I wouldn’t say I fell for you at first sight, but our first meeting did leave quite an impression. You probably don’t remember, but we’ve actually crossed paths quite a few times.”

Of course I didn’t remember.

“And after that, you kept catching my eye. I found you amusing and, though this may sound rude, I even watched you secretly from time to time.By the seventh month, I was completely gone for you. Even the way you never properly showed me your face, never said a word to me, and ran away like I was some kind of bug—I liked all of it.

If you want to call me crazy, I guess I can’t argue. I’m already so far gone for you that I can’t see anything else.”

For a crazy man, he looked far too composed.

That only made it feel more unsettling.

“I’m not planning to force anything from the start. Let’s take it slowly. Don’t push me away, and don’t run. Just open your heart little by little.I’m not very confident when it comes to patience… but for you, Haena, I think I can try. No matter what it takes.

That’s the end of my introduction. If there’s anything you’re curious about, ask me anything.”

His long-winded introduction—none of which I had asked for or wanted to know—finally came to an end.

The cold night wind swept between us with a low howl.

“Haena?”

“Go ahead.”

“Let’s date with marriage in mind.”

Marriage.

Had that word always felt this unreal?

He was a talkative man.

Was it because he was so accomplished?

Or because he thought I was easy?

Probably both.

But one thing was certain.

He hadn’t seen the real me for even a single second.

On this cold winter night,

every word spilling from his mouth was unbearably dull and pathetic.