Prologue
"Boss, two bowls of bone hangover soup, please."
Seo Eungyu ordered without even looking at the menu. Mun Dawon sat awkwardly across from him, watching the restaurant owner's reaction.
As expected, the owner, who had been setting down side dishes, looked at her and her direct superior with suspicious eyes. She had always come alone, so now that she was here with a man, he was clearly thinking they were *that* kind of couple.
"Aren't you ordering soju?"
The owner asked subtly. A bowl of bone hangover soup with half a bottle of soju was Mun Dawon's favorite Friday evening meal after a grueling week.
But today, she shook her head. She had no intention of warmly sharing drinks with her boss sitting across from her.
"I'll just have the meal."
"One bottle, please."
Seo Eungyu's smooth voice cut in. She turned to him with a frown, but the man smiled cheerfully and continued ordering.
"And two glasses, please."
The owner went back to the kitchen, snickering with a look that said he knew all about young people's affairs. She gulped down the water the man had poured for her.
"You come here often, I see."
The man wiped his hands with a wet wipe and looked around the restaurant. She placed utensils in front of him and replied curtly.
"I just come sometimes."
"If you drink every day, you'll become an alcoholic."
"I don't drink every day."
She raised her voice, prickling with annoyance. Seo Eungyu smiled as if he didn't believe her at all.
Mun Dawon thought she might one day hit the man in front of her and turned her head sharply. On the TV, the nine o'clock news anchor was reporting the headlines. The other person's smile deepened, but she didn't see it.
True to its reputation as Korean fast food, the bone hangover soup came out in less than five minutes. Seeing the bubbling red broth, the hunger she had been holding back surged forth.
Seo Eungyu naturally took the soju bottle. And filled the two glasses on the table to the brim.
"Cheers."
The man clinked his glass against hers and drank it all down by himself. His thick Adam's apple bobbed heavily once. Watching him, she too tossed back her share in one gulp.
Mun Dawon calmly worked her chopsticks, picking every bit of meat clean from the bones. She could feel the man, who had been drinking the broth first, staring openly.
"You still can't use chopsticks."
"Hah…."
In the end, she sighed openly. Her mind busily recalled what disciplinary actions she would face for assaulting an employee.
"Don't mind what others are eating and focus on your own meal, Deputy Director."
"Yeees, I'm enjoying it."
Seo Eungyu replied gently, rounding his eyes wide. His smiling face was so unpleasant that she lowered her gaze, where she saw a navy dress shirt pulled taut.
They were both tied to the company for twelve hours a day, yet it was as if the man lived twenty-six-hour days—he still managed to work out regularly. Befitting a deputy director at a public corporation, he dressed conservatively in a suit, yet even beneath it, the tightly packed contours of his muscles were plainly visible.
The man skillfully used his chopsticks to strip off a large piece of meat and dipped it in sauce. The scrap-like pieces of meat she had diligently picked looked pathetic in comparison.
*Now even my chopstick skills are being compared.*
A sticky sense of inferiority welled up and clung to Mun Dawon's ankles. She drank the soju he had poured for her again in one shot.
She didn't even have the energy to argue about why they had to have dinner together. This week had been too busy, her car had broken down, and she had already had enough mental battles with Seo Eungyu.
Tonight, she planned to fill her stomach properly, go home slightly tipsy, wash up clean, and go to bed. No matter what provocation Seo Eungyu threw at her, she would absolutely not respond and would quietly endure this time.
As Mun Dawon was eating the broth with a sullen expression, a call came from the auto repair shop. When she quickly answered, the repair shop owner delivered bad news.
"Ah, yes. The generator. So if I order it now… Yes, I'll come pick it up on Wednesday. Thank you."
After hanging up, she mixed rice into her hangover soup with a more dejected face. She thought she'd have to ask coworkers who lived nearby for a ride to work next week.
"I'll take you home by seven in the morning. Come in my car."
Having overheard her conversation, Seo Eungyu offered to drive her. Mun Dawon stirred the broth with her spoon and refused with a displeased face.
"No, I'm fine."
"Is that so?"
"Huh?"
"How are you planning to get to work?"
His words became curt again. But this wasn't the time to point that out, so she swallowed her rice and answered.
"There's the bus, and taxis."
"It takes fifty minutes by bus from here, and taxi drivers will hate you because it's far."
"Then I'll ask other coworkers."
"Which coworkers?"
His habit of constantly cutting her off made anger boil up inside her.
"There's Staff Jeong, and also—"
"Staff Jeong lives in Dongbudong."
"He could give me a ride on the way. You live in Dongbudong too, Deputy Director."
Of course, she hadn't yet asked her junior coworker's opinion, but she spat out whatever came to mind, annoyed by Seo Eungyu finding fault with everything she said.
"Are you interested in Staff Jeong?"
"What?"
Now the conversation had veered in a strange direction. He must only have those kinds of thoughts in his head. Mun Dawon snorted and ate her rice.
"Staff Jeong likes you, Assistant Manager. Is something going on between you two?"
It was so absurd that she exercised her right to remain silent. Talking to him only made her blood boil anyway.
*I hate him, I resent him, he annoys me.*
Facing him, all kinds of negative emotions surged through her. She knew it was gnawing away at her, yet she couldn't stop.
"Dawon."
Mun Dawon continued eating without raising her head anymore. He set down his utensils and poured soju into her empty glass.
Every time the man called her "Assistant Manager Mun Dawon," her pride was hurt. She had to call him "Deputy Director Seo Eungyu," so the difference in rank attached to their names was extremely unpleasant.
When he called her "Dawon," she hated it so much it made her teeth ache. His arbitrary switching between "Assistant Manager" and "Dawon" seemed to solidify the two-rank gap between them, infuriating her.
Of course, she could just call him "Eungyu." But if she did, the man would surely smile with satisfaction. Because he always wanted to go back to how things used to be.
That was a sight she didn't want to see.
"Do you hate me that much?"
Seo Eungyu asked.
Their gazes met in a straight line. The man's thin eyelids slightly covered the upper part of his irises. The lower part of the whites was widely exposed, making his gaze feel cold.
The customers sitting behind him began raising their voices, perhaps getting drunk. But his broad shoulders acted as a barrier, blocking the noise from intruding. Silence descended upon their table.
It had been only fifteen minutes since she resolved to go home quietly, but her heart was already overturned. Her insides felt so scraped raw that she wanted to see that arrogant face twist in pain.
Her direct superior who had ruined her precious Friday evening.
A fellow new hire who had maintained the lofty position of first place while she had struggled at second during new employee training.
Someone the same age as her who had once again taken the highest position when she had slipped on the deputy director promotion exam by 0.02 points.
The man who had clearly shown her what torment inferiority could cause over the past five years.
She couldn't help but hate him.
"Of course I hate you, Deputy Director."
Mun Dawon stuffed her mouth full of rice and meat and chewed hard. If only she could chew up and swallow her feelings for the man in front of her like this. It wasn't as easy as she wished.
"I'm genuinely curious."
Seo Eungyu rested his elbows on the table and leaned toward her. She emptied what she thought was her last glass and pulled back.
"What do I have to do to make you like me again?"
"Hey."
In the end, casual speech slipped out of her. Even though she had clearly drawn a line, the man kept pushing in.
He brought up the mere month they had spent together five years ago as some cherished memory, and clung like a shadow to the few times they had slept together a month ago, blinded by desire.
"I never liked you. Didn't you know? I've hated you since training, and I still hate you now."
"We got along well."
Anyone would mistake them for having an exceptionally close relationship based on his tone.
"Back then, and even until recently, we got along quite well."
"You're delusional."
There was no reason for them to act like friends or lovers when they had reunited as superior and subordinate after five years. She respected him as her superior, and all he had to do was not cross the line drawn by his subordinate.
"Boss, one more bottle of soju here."
As Seo Eungyu ordered more soju, she set down her utensils and stood up.
"I'll pay and leave, so finish up, Deputy Director."
"Dawon."
Once again, a fine voice called her name. She let out a long sigh and looked down at the man's dense crown.
"What."
"What should I do."
"What do you mean, what should you do."
In the meantime, an employee set down a bottle of soju and left. Seo Eungyu filled his glass anew and downed it. Watching his Adam's apple bob, she felt strangely thirsty.
The man poured alcohol once more. The TV in the restaurant was already showing sports news. Mun Dawon picked up the bag she had placed on the next chair.
"I'm leaving."
"Dawon."
"Ah, what."
Seo Eungyu raised his gaze to look at her. The corners of his eyes folded gracefully. His lips, which she thought were unusually red, slowly parted.
"I like you, so what should I do."
The man, having dropped a bomb, smiled sunnily.
Just like when they had first met in the season when green leaves hung from the cherry trees, five years ago.
1. Kindness (1)
Two months ago.
"Now, to welcome Deputy Director Seo Eungyu to the International Contracts Team, let's start with a toast."
Mun Dawon's gloomy gaze wandered over the table. Unpalatable gwamegi and sickening green bottles made up today's company dinner menu.
"You have no idea how happy I am to have brought the ace from the Strategy Planning Team to ours."
Team Leader Lee Yongseong burst into cheerful laughter. Seo Eungyu received the drink the team leader poured for him with a respectful posture.
"Promoted to Deputy Director in just five years… and he even got first place on the promotion exam. He graduated at the top of his training class, right? Isn't that right, Assistant Manager Mun?"
Mun Dawon, who had been staring only at the clear liquor in her glass, hurriedly raised her head. Her eyes met Seo Eungyu, who was sitting across from the team leader, immediately.
"Yes, Team Leader."
"Since you two are peers, you must know each other well."
"We were in the same group at the training center."
Seo Eungyu added an unnecessary afterword. She lowered her eyes again to hide her rising irritation.
"Wow, that's great. Deputy Director Seo, please take good care of our Assistant Manager Mun here. She was so busy covering Deputy Director Oh's work that she couldn't properly prepare for the last promotion exam. That's why she very regrettably—huh? What was the difference? 0.02 points? She missed it by just that much."
The surrounding employees held their breath and watched her reaction. The team leader, who was loudly dredging up someone else's wounds, excitedly patted her shoulder by himself.
"Assistant Manager Mun, learn some tips from the top scorer and study hard so you can get promoted to Deputy Director next year, okay?"
"Yes, Team Leader."
After the team leader's long, long welcoming speech, she reached her chopsticks for the grilled saury instead of the gwamegi. She was barely eating a fingernail-sized piece of meat, avoiding the fine bones, when the team leader's gaze flew to her again.
"Assistant Manager Mun, what are you doing not pouring a drink for your superior?"
The team leader jutted his chin toward Seo Eungyu. Mun Dawon's face hardened slightly as her eyes followed his gaze.
"Deputy Director Seo will be handling your performance evaluations from now on. If you're going to try for promotion again, you need to make a good impression. Right?"
"...Yes."
She barely managed a smile, picked up her glass, and stood up. Cool-looking eyes filled with curiosity followed her. Deputy Director Kim, who had been sitting next to Seo Eungyu, moved aside to make room. Her esophagus burned as if she had drunk strong whiskey.
She was renewing her vow to get promoted next year even if it was dirty and pathetic, picking up the soju bottle when—
"I should be the one making a good impression on Assistant Manager Mun."
Seo Eungyu took the soju bottle from her hand. Their fingers brushed softly. Their gazes collided head-on.
"You have more contract experience than I do, so let me pour you a glass in hopes that you'll teach me well going forward."
Clear liquor filled the soju glass to the brim. It was so precarious that if she lost her balance even slightly, it would spill over her hand. When she raised her eyes, the man was smiling brightly. As if claiming there wasn't a drop of malice in his actions.
"Wow, look at Deputy Director Seo's personality. Assistant Manager Mun met a good superior."
While the team leader marveled at Seo Eungyu's character, she turned halfway and tossed back the soju in one gulp. The smell of alcohol accumulated in her mouth.
"I'll pour you one too, Deputy Director."
Mun Dawon ignored her tingling nose and picked up the soju bottle. She poured until the liquor reached the rim. The surface of the alcohol swayed. He quietly looked down at the soju glass that seemed about to overflow. Then, with the corners of his eyes gently folding, he emptied the full glass in one go.
"I look forward to working with you, Assistant Manager Mun."
"Yes, I look forward to working with you."
Their petty battle of nerves was tentatively concluded with that. Deputy Director Kim, who had taken her original seat, was laughing and chatting loudly. She had no choice but to take out new chopsticks.
The grilled saury was annoying because fine bones kept getting caught between her teeth, but side dishes she liked, such as the steamed eggs, were all placed near the team leader, making them hard to reach. With the team leader right there at the same table, secretly ordering spicy fish stew was out of the question.
Suddenly, she felt a gaze staring openly from beside her. When she turned her head, Seo Eungyu was watching her. He had apparently drunk quite a bit in the meantime; the edges of his sclera were red and bloodshot.
The man alternated between looking at her chewing and at the rat-eaten shape of her grilled saury. *What are you looking at?* She suppressed the urge to snap at him and focused on the saury.
Then Seo Eungyu reached out and pulled the plate of grilled saury to his front. Her expression crumpled instantly.
"Assistant Manager Mun, could you bring me new utensils?"
He held out his palm. She clattered her chopsticks down and handed him a new spoon and chopsticks. Now that her food had effectively been taken away, all that remained in front of her was chogochujang and raw garlic.
Seo Eungyu, having received the new utensils, began skillfully dismantling the saury. Under his utensils, the large backbone running through the saury's body separated, and the fine bones that had pricked her mouth were neatly pulled out. Mun Dawon watched his spectacular deconstruction show, even forgetting her dejection. After removing all the bones, he placed plump pieces of meat on her small plate.
"Ah… thank you."
A proud smile rose to Seo Eungyu's lips. Then he stared openly again, as if urging her to eat quickly. She picked up her chopsticks and savored the tender, boneless meat.
The man quietly drank as he watched her eat. Amid the noisy atmosphere, only an awkward silence intervened between them. Without raising her eyes, she polished off the grilled saury by herself.
While the team leader across from them talked with other employees who came to pour drinks, Seo Eungyu moved the steamed eggs, which had been far away, to between them. Her chopsticks, which had been aiming only for the saury, faltered. When Mun Dawon didn't touch it, he pushed the steamed eggs closer to her. When she glanced at him, he was talking to Manager Kang next to him. Without a word, she took out a new spoon and scooped up the steamed eggs.
* * *
"You all know where the second round is, right? Don't you dare run away, don't."
Team Leader Lee, his face flushed unpleasantly, shouted about the second round while holding up his index and middle fingers. The employees' faces darkened as they moved to the bar.
"Senior, take this."
Staff Jeong Juhwan, approaching Mun Dawon's side, handed her a bottle of hangover relief drink he had been holding. The surreptitious way he gave it suggested he didn't have the means to take care of every team member.
"Thanks."
Reading the room, she whispered quietly, opened the lid, and drank it down. She put the empty bottle in her bag and was about to enter the bar when her eyes met Seo Eungyu's near the entrance; he was on his phone. His gaze went to the empty bottle in her hand. When his eyes rose back to her face, they held a faint smile.
Mun Dawon ignored her stinging heart and looked around for a seat. The seats near the exit were already full.
"Dawon senior."
Jeong Juhwan, who had grabbed a table one table away from the team leader, waved his hand. The good junior had considerately left the seat next to him empty. But a low call blocked her steps.
"Assistant Manager Mun Dawon."
Seo Eungyu, sitting across from the team leader, pulled out the chair beside him.
"Sit here."
*Why me?*
She forcibly swallowed the retort that had surged to the tip of her tongue. She had no choice but to watch the team leader's reaction and sit next to Seo Eungyu.
"Were you two close during training?"
The team leader asked, dumping a handful of peanuts into his mouth.
"No, not really—"
"Yes, we were close."
Her eyes and Seo Eungyu's met in the air.
They were the same age and had joined the company at the same time, but they had spent far more time pretending not to know each other than being close. There had been a time when they had called each other by familiar names. Five years ago, they had freely come and gone from each other's rooms, spending time together with their heads bent until dawn. For exactly one month, they had been like best friends.
They had answered at the same time, but only Seo Eungyu's answer reached the others' ears.
"Didn't you have exams every week at the training center? If Eungyu graduated at the top, what rank were you, Dawon?"
Seo Eungyu, who had been answering readily, closed his mouth and looked at her. She didn't want to face the man at this moment. Instead, she looked down at the appetizing draft beer with its white foam.
"Second place."
"Wow, then the top and second-ranked new hires of the 22nd class are both on our team? Team Leader, you've got quite the talent pool."
Hahaha—laughter as loud as their intoxication filled the bar. Mun Dawon knew she must look like a fool, but forced a laugh anyway. Seo Eungyu's persistent gaze clung to her cheek, but she didn't turn to look.
*'Dawon, want to study together?'*
Mun Dawon quickly sent the draft beer down her throat, shaking off the voice that seemed to ring in her ears.
He acted so gently to her face, yet the man had never once allowed her to take first place. For the three months at the training center, she had studied until three in the morning every day, but the best result she got was second place. While she struggled to climb higher from second place, Seo Eungyu had always taken first. It was Seo Eungyu who graduated at the top and stepped onto the elite course.
The man who had gone through the Daejeon Energy Research Institute, and then the headquarters audit team and strategy planning team, to become the youngest deputy director in history was now her direct superior.
The emotion called inferiority was quite complex. She knew it was eating away at her, yet she couldn't stop the constant comparisons. All she had to do was acknowledge her opponent and step back, but before she knew it, she had become addicted to gnawing at herself and had forgotten what the purpose was.
Mun Dawon was quite aware of the situation objectively, but her ankles were caught by the comparisons that had started five years ago. Seo Eungyu didn't think about her even the size of a booger, yet she was shadowboxing in the air all by herself.
Seo Eungyu's firm forearm brushed her arm. And a smooth voice, smooth enough to host a midnight radio show, settled on her left ear like a feather.
"Drink in moderation."
But Mun Dawon raised her hand high to order more beer. After taking orders for the others as well, she turned to the man sitting beside her with cold eyes.
"Don't speak casually to me, Deputy Director."