MWFL 14

14. Have We Met Before?

Ha-rin tightly clenched her facial muscles to maintain her composure. Still, she couldn’t completely hide the look of embarrassment bleeding through her eyes.

At that moment, the corners of Cha Shin-woo’s lips curled up lazily.

You’re laughing? You actually have the nerve to laugh right now?

“So… are you telling me to take on Cha Shin-woo as my sole client right now?”

Swallowing the words she was on the verge of shouting, she asked in as calm a voice as possible.

“Yes. Naturally, as someone who deserves to be matched with our top dedicated director and manager, our Director Ju is the perfect fit!”

It was the CEO, not Shin-woo, who answered in a completely thrilled voice.

His tone carried the distinct nuance of saying, This is a huge honor and a fantastic opportunity for you.

However, Ha-rin kept her eyes fixed strictly on Shin-woo as she spoke again.

“Player Cha Shin-woo. Why me, of all people?”

What kind of cheap trick are you pulling right now?

“As you’ve realized from working with me over the past few days, I’m sure there’s another staff member who would be a much better fit for you, don’t you think?”

Are you actively trying to drive me to death?

Wearing a mechanical smile on her lips, Ha-rin asked while cursing him out with her eyes.

Twitching his shapely eyebrows upward, Shin-woo straightened his upper body, which had been slouched sideways against the chair.

“That’s your perspective, Director Ju, but I thought quite the opposite.”

Where are you getting off with this total lie? The man threw out the words she so desperately wanted to ask, letting out a relaxed laugh.

“In what way did you think so?”

“Is there really a specific part? I felt that way in every single aspect.”

“For someone who felt that way, you certainly seemed to have a lot of opinions about the things I suggested.”

“I value sharing opinions above all else in any relationship. That’s why I did that.”

Ha-rin’s brow twitched. With the barrage of nonsense coming her way, it was getting harder and harder to keep her expression in check.

Though the man and woman sitting across from each other exchanged soft, gentle voices, sparks were flying violently between their eyes.

“Ahem. Director Ju. What’s wrong with you?”

Sensibly reading the room as the atmosphere grew increasingly bizarre, the Vice President stepped in quietly to drop a subtle hint. Right then, Shin-woo spoke up once again.

“Vice President, it’s alright. Whether company executives are by her side or not, whether the other person is a party to an important contract or a sworn enemy, I really liked that aspect of Director Ju—how she delivers her intentions so refreshingly without a single moment of hesitation.”

…Just curse at me out in the open instead.

Ha-rin clenched her fists tight, as if desperately holding onto her patience. Her stomach was boiling over, but she felt like she would cross the line if she pushed any further right here.

“I’m sorry, but could the two of you excuse us for a moment? I’d like to have a conversation alone with Director Ju. Is that alright with you, Director Ju?”

In that instant, Shin-woo threw down a challenge for a showdown.

“Yes. There’s no reason why it wouldn’t be alright.”

The CEO and Vice President, who had been sitting there merely reading the room, slowly pushed themselves up from their seats.

“Alright then. You two have a comfortable conversation. Let’s head out, Mr. CEO.”

“Let’s do that. Director Ju, it’s just a conversation—a conversation. Just talk it out, got it?”

Giving a subtle warning look to his subordinate—who looked like she might grab Cha Shin-woo by the hair at any second—the CEO made a hasty retreat toward the door.

Dong-goo quietly stood up from his seat and followed behind the two of them. Right as the two disappeared beyond the wide-open door and he was about to step out of the executive suite himself—

Thud. The door slammed shut like a flash.

Gasp! Dong-goo froze in absolute horror, having almost smashed his face right into the door. He tried to open the door again, but the silence inside the office was suffocatingly heavy.

Hey, wait! Take me with you! I’m scared to be near those two!

Suppressing his desperate feelings, he pressed his back flush against the wall beside the door, standing completely stiff and erect.

“It seems our Director Ju really doesn’t like the condition I put forward.”

Tap, tap. Shin-woo asked as he tapped his long, slender fingertips against the table.

“You already know my answer even without having to hear it.”

“I’m the type of person who doesn’t know unless I hear it properly. I only understand when it’s spelled out accurately.”

As if telling her to go ahead and say it, Shin-woo lifted the corner of his mouth slightly.

“Before I answer, let me ask first. Why are you doing this to me?”

“What did I do?”

“You said it would turn into a dogfight if you were with me. So why are you setting a condition like that?”

“We just don’t have to engage in a dogfight.”

As if that’s possible! When we’re already causing this much of a mess right now?

Ha-rin took a deep breath in to suppress the surge of annoyance rushing up inside her.

“Why? Are you worried I’m going to pick on you, Director Ju?”

“Yes. You hit the nail right on the head. Right now, it looks to me like you’re determined to target and beat up just one person.”

Beat up just one person? As if. Shin-woo let out a quiet chuckle.

“But you’re not the type to just take it lying down, are you? So you can definitely handle it.”

“Why are you the one making that judgment, Player Cha?”

“It’s not a judgment—I’m instilling dreams and hope in the person I’ll be working with moving forward.”

That bastard seriously won’t back down even a single inch. Ha-rin’s patience was completely tapped out.

“Then just terminate the contract. You said yourself it wasn’t the contract you originally wanted.”

I don’t even know anymore. Worried she might die trying to look out for the company’s position, she decided to just blurt it out.

“Don’t instigate unnecessary dogfights—just go your own separate ways peacefully.”

The serene expression Shin-woo had maintained all along gradually began to twist.

“Wow. Earlier in front of the higher-ups, you spoke in the calmest voice in the world, but now you’re finally showing your true colors.”

“Why would someone who knows my true colors want to work with me?”

“I’m saying I want to work with the person I choose. Is that really something to be so dissatisfied about?”

“I’m asking why that chosen person… why, of all people, does it have to be me?!”

“That’s my call to make.”

“Then change your mind!”

They’re seriously way too terrifying. Dong-goo pressed his body even tighter against the wall, looking like he was trying to sink right into it.

Neither of them had raised their voice even once. Yet in Dong-goo’s eyes, it looked as if they were trading blows and throwing punches hard enough to cause nosebleeds.

Seeing the sheer injustice filling Ha-rin’s eyes, Shin-woo let out a scoff.

Seriously? Of all people, it’s ME! I’m Cha Shin-woo—the guy everyone is lining up to sign with! Is it really that unjust for me to say I want to work with you?

He had run into yet another situation where his pride was scraped raw because of Ju Ha-rin.

Yet it was so bizarre. Rather than annoyance or anger, a strange stubbornness kicked into gear.

A groundless, baseless stubbornness telling him that he absolutely had to keep Ju Ha-rin by his side no matter what.

Dropping his gaze to rub his eyebrows, Shin-woo soon locked eyes with Ha-rin once again.

“Have we met before somewhere?”

At the question delivered in a markedly calmer voice, Ha-rin caught her breath for a split second.

“No. We haven’t.”

The moment she answered in a flat tone, her stomach churned as if she were experiencing severe motion sickness.

“Or were we a married couple in a past life?”

“What kind of nonsensical talk is that?”

“Even when I snarl and fight with you as if we’re going to tear each other apart, strangely enough, I don’t dislike it. In fact, it feels familiar and comfortable.”

Swallowing a slow breath, Ha-rin parted her lips, which felt completely dried up.

“If we had met before, you would remember it too, Player Cha. But you can’t, right? Then that means we haven’t.”

Silently holding his long gaze on Ha-rin, Shin-woo slowly opened his mouth.

“I actually might have.”

Ha-rin’s fingertips twitched with a sensation that felt like a numbing shock running through them.

Dong-goo, who had been quietly watching Shin-woo, widened his eyes in surprise as well.

“Anyway, is that reason enough for you?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m comfortable with Director Ju Ha-rin no matter what you do. So let me look forward to us getting along comfortably from here on out.”

She needed to say something, but her chest was churning so wildly that Ha-rin couldn’t bring herself to say a single word.

“As you can see, I’m pretty straightforward. So once I utter something with my own mouth, I’m the type who has to see it through to the end.”

It was a declaration that he had no intention of changing his mind.

As if he had no intention of waiting for a response, Shin-woo pushed himself up from his seat.

“Our Director Ju seems to have a lot to wrap up today, so starting tomorrow, let’s form a dream team and give it our all!”

Finishing his words in a smooth, slick voice, Shin-woo turned his body toward the door.

“Let’s go.”

“Ah, yes!”

Dream team? More like a nightmare, isn’t it? Muttering to himself, Dong-goo hurriedly swung the door wide open. Then, with a flinch of surprise, he came to a dead stop.

Waiting in the hallway outside the CEO’s office, the CEO and Vice President were staring at the two of them with completely pale faces. It was obvious they had heard the entirety of Shin-woo and Ha-rin’s conversation.

“What are you doing? Why are you just standing there?”

Stepping out of the CEO’s office a moment later, Shin-woo spotted the two frozen men. At the same time, he smoothly curled his calm lips into a soft smile.

“My Director Ju and I have already gotten so close that it feels like we can’t live without each other.”

“Ah, yes, yes! It certainly seems that way! Hahaha! Don’t you think so too?”

“Of course! The two of you have gotten remarkably close in just a few days!”

Is this contract really going to be okay?

At this rate, isn’t our Director Ju going to turn in her resignation?

Exchanging trembling gazes, the two men forced awkward laughs.

“Please be considerate so that Director Ju can wrap up her current duties smoothly.”

Whether they did or not, the man who had achieved his goal offered a clean, crisp sign-off and casually took his leave.