6. Awareness (3)
"An order has come down from the division chief's office."
Team Leader Lee Yongseong opened his mouth with a grave tone uncharacteristic of him. He was a man who preferred company dinners to meetings by nature, but today he had called in all fourteen employees.
"We need to raise the contract rate by more than 30 percent compared to last year."
The cramped conference room buzzed. The International Contracts Team was a department on the periphery, receiving little attention from upper management. Unless it was a special case involving litigation with a client, the number of times executives chimed in could be counted on one hand.
Mun Da-won wrote the number *30* in her planner and rested a vacant gaze upon it. Because all her nerves were wide open toward the man sitting beside her, she couldn't concentrate on the serious atmosphere of the room.
Seo Eun-gyu was examining printed Excel data while listening to the team leader's grumbling. The placid-faced man hadn't the faintest idea what kind of commotion he had caused the previous night.
Having spent yet another sleepless night, she let out a heavy sigh to hide her rising irritation. At that, Seo Eun-gyu, who had been poring over the meeting materials, turned his head to look at her.
"Looks like a complaint went to the standing audit committee. That materials aren't coming in on time, and what the hell do the contract team employees even do?"
Tsk. The team leader clicked his tongue and threw his pen. Judging by his darkened complexion, he'd been called up to the top floor and thoroughly chewed out.
Mun Da-won suppressed the urge to glance sideways and wrote *30* once more. It was fortunate that her pen wasn't scribbling things like *ㅅㅇㄱ* or *S.E.K*. It meant that despite pulling all-nighters two days in a row, she was still in her right mind.
"So everyone, get your heads on straight and work. It's still early in the year, so don't let ongoing cases pile up—get them signed early. Got it?"
"Yes……"
Weak replies echoed through the conference room. The team members' expressions were gloomy after hearing an order like a bolt from the blue on a Thursday morning, the most exhausting day of the week for office workers.
Among them, Mun Da-won's complexion was even darker. Unlike the day before yesterday when she couldn't remember her dream, yesterday's remained deeply embedded in her mind with vivid color.
The dream that had appeared the moment she barely fell asleep was composed of intense red. The texture was so strikingly vivid that even after waking, she had lain blankly for a long while thinking it was real.
After the team leader left the conference room, Deputy Chief Kim took over. The materials he distributed listed each employee's contract completion rate from the previous year.
"Last year's number one, Mun Da-won. Of course, the year before that too, Mun Da-won."
Clap, clap. Assistant Manager Jeong Ju-hwan clapped obliviously. Mun Da-won hurriedly stopped him by jabbing him with her elbow.
"Except for Mun Da-won and Ryu Hyejeong, the rest of you need to sign anywhere from fifty to a hundred and thirty more cases than last year to satisfy the division chief's order."
She looked at Jeong Ju-hwan, who was smiling awkwardly, as if he were pathetic, then turned away. She looked back down at the meeting materials with a serious face, only to find writing in the margin that hadn't been there moments before.
[*Focus.*]
She didn't need to ask who the owner of that concise handwriting was. When she glanced to her right, she immediately met Seo Eun-gyu's displeased gaze.
The very person who had caused her inability to concentrate was scolding her. Even as anger welled up, her gaze soon drifted irresistibly to his red lips.
They were the lips of the man who had heated her dreams throughout the night, the man who had kept touching his own lips in the room as dawn's dim light crept in.
"Deputy chiefs of each part, please update your employees' contract status at the end of each month and encourage them. If any cases are delayed, please share them with me and the team leader immediately so they can be handled. Thank you for your cooperation."
Mun Da-won whipped her head back and focused on the data before her. But the numbers merely drifted through her mind separately, leaving no meaning behind.
"And we can't just crack the whip at you, so we've prepared a separate reward."
Her unfocused pupils turned right again. Vein-lined hands swam in her vision. She wondered what she would do if those hands appeared in her dreams tonight.
"This summer, we're visiting major clients in New York. The team leader said he'll take the employee who signed the most contracts in the first half. We should breathe some foreign air on the company's dime, right?"
Excited whispers rippled through the staff. Opportunities for overseas business trips were usually only given to employees with at least three years of service. The team leader had definitely made a bold move breaking that precedent.
Even Jeong Ju-hwan, who seemed the least likely candidate, got excited and whispered something to Mun Da-won. She just nodded vaguely and organized her materials.
She couldn't care less about overseas trips. She just wanted to sleep properly. Of all things, she'd had a strange dream—or rather, she'd brought Seo Eun-gyu into her house for no reason and caused this mess. It was all her own fault. She wouldn't be able to look at cocoa for a while.
"Our part should stay behind for a moment."
Seo Eun-gyu's languid voice came from behind her. She, who had been about to follow Jeong Ju-hwan out, sat back down. The superior distributed separately prepared materials.
"This is for Deputy Manager Mun Da-won, this is for Assistant Manager Jeong Ju-hwan. These are only the cases you've been handling that have been delayed by more than three months."
Mun Da-won's list was fewer than ten cases, but Jeong Ju-hwan's was four pages long. The junior straightened his back with a nervous face.
For the next thirty minutes, Seo Eun-gyu's questions poured out. It was no different from a prosecutor interrogating a suspect. The reason for the delay, the date it was last confirmed, the reason if not confirmed, the reason if not remembered—he interrogated everything thoroughly.
Jeong Ju-hwan couldn't escape until his face turned sheet-white.
"Assistant Manager, you'll have to work some overtime."
Seo Eun-gyu criticized his subordinate's negligence with softly curved eyes. Jeong Ju-hwan bowed his head deeply.
"I'm sorry. I'll work hard."
"You don't need to apologize to me. I'm telling you this before the team leader does."
"Yes……"
"Return to the office."
The man took out Mun Da-won's list. She, who had been waiting quietly nearby, took her turn. The thoroughly discouraged junior staggered out of the conference room.
"Deputy Manager, your case count isn't high, but each one has been delayed for years."
"These five are tied up in litigation, so we can't touch them until the Supreme Court ruling. The remaining three require special company-to-company agreements, and the legal team replied they'll finish review by March."
Seo Eun-gyu slowly nodded as if satisfied, but then launched another pointed question.
"If they're delayed this long, doesn't the on-site claims department complain?"
"I send progress reports to the person in charge every month. Cases where substitutes could be purchased were separately contracted and received, so only these ones remain."
"Yes, very good."
He closed his pen with a satisfied expression. She also relaxed and rose with him.
"You look tired."
But that soft voice made Mun Da-won's spine stiffen. She swallowed dryly and turned to the man.
"Didn't sleep well yesterday?"
"No, I slept well. Very well."
She spat out the lie, denying that she had applied foundation several times that morning to cover the dark circles under her eyes.
"I couldn't, though."
For the first time today, Mun Da-won's pupils regained their spark. Satisfaction welled up at the thought that she hadn't been the only one sleepless. Right, it was only fair that he couldn't sleep either. After he dared rub her lips like that.
"I thought it was something only babies drank, but cocoa has quite a bit of caffeine."
The sharpness that had lingered in Seo Eun-gyu's eyes throughout the meeting softened. The way he smiled with the corners of his eyes crinkling definitely did not look like that of a man who had slept well.
"Your attitude is the problem."
She circled the U-shaped table, organizing the papers people had left behind.
"Treating everything like it's easy."
Seo Eun-gyu followed right on her heels. When she tried to pick up the water Deputy Chief Kim had left behind, he snatched it from behind. He took the papers from her hands as well.
"Your attitude is also a problem."
"What?"
"Working hard at everything. Make your junior do this. And don't lecture them so kindly during meetings."
The man's dark eyes took on a cold gleam. Rendered speechless, she let out a hollow scoff.
"When was I kind? I told him to be quiet because he's tactless. And since when do we care about seniority when cleaning up? The last person out just does it. Your personality is really twisted, too."
Mun Da-won latched onto the point and poured out her pent-up irritation without stopping. Fatigue accumulated since the start of the week, bizarre dreams, and Seo Eun-gyu's incomprehensible kindness had worn her down terribly.
She roughly shoved the single remaining paper on the table into his hand and turned away. As she went to turn off the conference room lights, she felt footsteps approaching briskly from behind. She turned defensively to face him.
"Fine, I have a twisted personality."
Seo Eun-gyu reached for the switch. His long arm stretched out as if to embrace her.
"Probably much more twisted than you think."
The languid voice that had seemed gentle enough to hear at midnight now sent a tingling sensation through her ears. A chill traveled up her spine.
"You're right. I admit I have a tendency to take things lightly."
Click. He pressed the switches one by one. The lights went out one by one.
"But I've never taken you lightly."
The conference room was gradually swallowed by darkness. His voice lowered.
"I'm quite desperate."
His chest drew nearer. The scent of fabric softener grew heavy. She took a deep breath.
"Much more than you think."
The conference room went completely dark. She could only faintly guess at his form. But his voice dug precisely into the depths of her eardrum.