#110
The world is wide and people’s tastes are diverse. Even children know this fact. But the idea that Lee Sung-ha had “tastes” was somewhat shocking.
Sung-ha was a man who was lacking in every aspect except his face. Just looking at how he remained unmarried into his mid-thirties in a chaebol family gave a good estimate of his character.
Even for someone who believes in staying single, Korean chaebol families typically force people into the framework of heteronormativity… The fact that he didn’t even face marriage pressure like Gyo-ha suggested that Sung-ha was truly some kind of irredeemable entity.
Bad boys may have been trendy since ancient times, but it wasn’t easy to like someone with bad habits, crude language, and a default attitude of sarcasm. If even an enemy’s daughter were to like such a man, one would feel obligated to try to dissuade her.
“Why specifically… that kind of person…”
So Hwi-kyung couldn’t finish his sentence.
Thinking about it, Se-young had shown interest in Gyo-ha in previous iterations as well. Since Gyo-ha and Sung-ha resembled each other as brothers, that type of face must be her ideal.
But it’s not like she’s going to eat his face… Besides, that face would get nerfed with a collapsed nasal bone if Hwi-kyung punched it once. Hwi-kyung really wanted to dissuade Se-young.
Half the world is male, so why must you form a relationship with Lee Sung-ha? With a man who’s useless except for being rich?
However, Se-young really seemed to want an introduction to Sung-ha. Her declaration that she would seduce him herself if only given the opportunity was extraordinary. Hwi-kyung instinctively realized he couldn’t prevent a meeting between Se-young and Sung-ha.
“Come up on an errand during the quarterly meeting, Se-young.”
“During the quarterly meeting?”
“Yes. I’ll invite Lee Sung-ha for you then.”
Most notably, Gyo-ha, who could facilitate this “introduction,” was particularly enthusiastic. Having been standing nearby for who knows how long, Gyo-ha seemed completely thrilled at the thought of selling out Sung-ha.
“Wait, shouldn’t we stop her?”
“Why?”
“Well, Lee Sung-ha is a bit…”
“A complete scumbag, right?”
“If you know that…”
“It’s not like we’re passing him off to her—if she likes him, what can we do?”
“…”
“And I think they might match well? If things work out with Se-young, she’ll keep him in check so he can’t do anything.”
Is that what you call a good match? Hwi-kyung was truly confused.
Gyo-ha advised that he would invite Lee Sung-ha to BK Entertainment under the pretext of the quarterly meeting, so Se-young should find an appropriate way to make an impression.
Hwi-kyung somewhat stupidly watched as Gyo-ha and Se-young closed the deal. Who would have thought such a thing would happen in a clean, white-interior poke bowl restaurant?
Life was truly unpredictable. Even living through the same period for the sixteenth time, unexpected situations kept occurring.
“I really hope they date. I hope they get married while they’re at it.”
“Se-young and Lee Sung-ha?”
“Yes. I’m ready to give a generous wedding gift.”
“I don’t think the wedding gift is the issue here…”
As soon as Se-young got what she wanted, she tossed Hwi-kyung back to Gyo-ha and disappeared like the wind. Her reason was that being around couples accelerates skin aging.
Gyo-ha watched the light-speed disappearance of Se-young with pleasure. She had seemed unappealing when he thought she was interested in Hwi-kyung, but now that he thought of her as a future sister-in-law, natural human affection welled up.
If Se-young really hit it off with Sung-ha and got married, it would reduce the frequency of Jung-hye pressuring him with the “marriage” keyword.
“Lee Sung-ha might be mean to Se-young.”
“Are you worried about someone else while sitting next to your lover?”
“Of course I should worry. Don’t you know you get slapped if you set up a bad match?”
“Don’t worry. Once they have a point of contact, those two will definitely work out.”
“…Is this another thing about fate or compatibility?”
“No? Those two dated in a previous iteration.”
“What?”
“Was it the third iteration? The family was turned upside down when Lee Sung-ha said he wanted to marry Se-young.”
“…So did they get married?”
“No. My sister made a fuss about not ruining a decent woman’s life, so it fell through.”
“That’s crazy…”
“I don’t think Se-young is a ‘decent woman’ though…”
The third iteration would have been when Hwi-kyung was rolling around between particularly black small and medium-sized companies. It was so far in the past that he couldn’t even calculate how many years ago it was.
Yet Gyo-ha spoke as if it happened yesterday, with a light expression.
“I hope they get married without opposition this time. So we can get rid of Lee Sung-ha…”
There was no reason not to if they could separate Assistant Manager Lee and Manager Kim, who moved around like one person, just by selling off Lee Sung-ha. With an excited heart, Gyo-ha left a message for Lee Sung-ha.
[Do you want to join our quarterly meeting?]
[You said you wanted the entertainment company when I’m gone]
Sung-ha took the bait Gyo-ha had cast.
[What’s this suddenly?]
[Why would I go there? It’s not even a subsidiary I’m in charge of.]
Judging by his quick reply, Sung-ha seemed to be goofing off at work too. Gyo-ha immediately uttered the magic sentence that any Korean would have to respond to.
[Why?]
[Not confident in managing entertainment?]
[Then you should give up management rights to our sister and live quietly too]
Scared?
Hwi-kyung watched as Gyo-ha thoroughly turned his brother’s insides out in just three minutes. When Hwi-kyung was on the receiving end of such manipulation, it was so annoying, but seeing it done to someone else was impressive.
* * *
Creating discord is the finest political technique mankind has developed.
“Where did Manager Kim go?”
“They say he went out alone today. Had other work to do.”
“Really? Why did he leave without saying anything? We were supposed to have lunch together.”
Over the past few days, Hwi-kyung had been watching in real-time as Manager Kim and Assistant Manager Lee grew apart. Whatever method Yoon Se-young had used, Manager Kim had started to gradually avoid Assistant Manager Lee.
It was noticeable even to Hwi-kyung, who didn’t understand interpersonal relationships well, that Manager Kim, who would have believed Assistant Manager Lee even if told beans could be used to make soybean paste blocks, was now avoiding him first.
The sharp-witted Assistant Manager Lee had already noticed that Manager Kim was avoiding him. He either showed his hurt directly to Manager Kim or pretended to be even friendlier. It was painful to watch.
But workplace colleagues are far from friends. Hwi-kyung had learned through Moon-chul how easy it is for one office worker to betray another.
Thanks to the two people who used to move as one body separating, the PR team became quieter than ever before. Assistant Manager Lee started to be conscious of others due to Manager Kim’s attitude change.
Less than three weeks later, an internal department transfer notice was posted. It announced that Manager Kim, who seemed like he would forever be buried in the PR team, was moving to the management team, which had nothing to do with PR.
Hwi-kyung really wanted to grab Se-young and ask what kind of magic she had performed. How did she manage to separate people who always moved as a set?
Moreover, he had no idea how she got Manager Kim, who usually had no intention of transferring departments, sent to the management team. Manager Kim packed his belongings like someone fleeing and completely left the PR team. Seeing him leave after just completing the handover suggested that Manager Kim also had some issue.
But Hwi-kyung couldn’t bring himself to ask Se-young what she had done. The answer was too frightening. It seemed like he would get hurt if he was too curious.
“I did as I said, so you should invite him on the promised date.”
In the end, that was all Hwi-kyung could hear from Se-young. By this point, even Hwi-kyung felt that Se-young keeping a tight hold on Sung-ha would be good for everyone.
He still thought Se-young was too good for Lee Sung-ha, but Se-young didn’t seem like someone who would be pushed around by him. Rather, it was clear that Sung-ha would be played by Se-young.
Hwi-kyung was counting down the days until Sung-ha would participate in BK Entertainment’s quarterly meeting. He was curious what method Se-young would use to conquer Sung-ha.
As the day of the decisive battle approached, Hwi-kyung couldn’t help but be surprised. The invisible hand that had separated Assistant Manager Lee and Manager Kim was gone, and an all-too-common romance cliché unfolded before Hwi-kyung.
Se-young boldly spilled an iced Americano all over Sung-ha’s expensive dress shirt.
“Oh my. What have I done.”
A romance that begins with spilled coffee instead of time travel…
Se-young dirtied Sung-ha’s clothes as if she had been waiting for it. If she had been an assassin, Sung-ha would have been dead from that strike rather than just soaked with coffee.
It was a situation where there would be nothing to say even if Lee Sung-ha made a scene about what she was doing. Hwi-kyung took a step toward them, ready to intervene if Sung-ha threatened Se-young.
“I’m so sorry. I’ll pay for the dry cleaning…”
Surely Lee Sung-ha would respond with something rude like “Get lost!” or “Do you even have money to pay for this?”
“Sigh… Watch where you’re going.”
But what was this?
“Are your hands okay? They’re all wet.”
Something other than the expected rude response came out of Lee Sung-ha. It felt like the genre had changed just where Se-young and Sung-ha were standing. It wouldn’t be strange if it had tags like #Office #Salaryman #SchemineFemale #RudeMale.
“I’ve seen this a lot in dramas.”
“…”
“Usually when this happens, they end up getting married.”
Gyo-ha, who no longer seemed to care about hiding his relationship with Hwi-kyung, stood next to him and whispered. Can the genre change this much? Hwi-kyung really wanted to ask. Is this allowed…?
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
