BYB 14

Chapter 14

Minhyuk laughed playfully and rambled on. It was a relief the lighting was dim. She didn’t want to be caught with her cheeks flushing red for no reason at the name Song Chunsam. Jiwoo naturally averted her gaze.

“That hyung wears nothing but tracksuits every day, but he pulls it off with insane swag. Look at that body. Have you seen his thighs and arms? Whoa, all the girls who used to like me now only ask about that hyung?”

Minhyuk grimaced as he spoke. But really, it was all just lighthearted teasing. Even though Minhyuk thought the hyung seemed a bit clueless while acting like he owned the world, he actually liked him quite a bit.

“But that hyung, how does he act so confident when he’s got nothing? What’s his mindset?”

A confident hyung with nothing.

The definition Minhyuk had given fit the man perfectly.

Remembering the previous day when he’d blocked her with his solid body made her head spin again. His blatant physique, and his even more blatant arrogant attitude.

*―I told you. Everything is on the bigger side.*

As soon as that day came to mind, her heart started pounding again and her cheeks flushed. Jiwoo squeezed her eyes shut and opened them. Ah, there’s no helping it. It seemed she had to admit now that she was quite drawn to him.

His identity was suspicious, he didn’t know how the world worked, and he was shameless—so why on earth was I…

“At first, that hyung didn’t even know how to open triangle kimbap. Now he opens it with style. Like this, whoosh.”

Minhyuk’s chatter continued.

“I mean, what kind of life did he live that he didn’t know how to open triangle kimbap? Did he come from prison?”

Prison? Jiwoo was startled and quickly said:

“Th, that’s not it. I saw his resume. He worked at a market. And briefly at the Songhwa factory too.”

Criminal and that man didn’t fit together at all. Jiwoo, feeling oddly urgent, made excuses hastily. Then, after speaking, she felt embarrassed for having responded so seriously to a light joke.

“Yeah, well, that hyung doesn’t have a criminal face, I guess.”

Fortunately, Minhyuk didn’t pay much attention to Jiwoo’s reaction.

“Anyway, that hyung is totally popular these days. The flower boy of Okjae-dong.”

“……Chunsam is popular. I didn’t know.”

Muttering that, Jiwoo stood up. Minhyuk said casually to her back.

“Why wouldn’t you know, noona? Who knows better than you? Sales have gone way up.”

She couldn’t deny it.

The increase in sales was welcome news for Jiwoo.

But for some reason, her heart felt heavy. Remembering the female customers packed in the shop, smiling and greeting him flirtatiously, an inexplicable discomfort filled her stomach. It was her own prickly heart that she hadn’t wanted to confront.

—

* * *

—

Song Juho, leisurely looking around the executive office at Songhwa Foods headquarters, smiled pleasantly. The office, set up to his taste, was quite to his liking.

The black-and-white interior was stylishly refined yet seemed cold.

“Nice, solemn and dignified.”

After being appointed as executive director, the first thing Song Juho did was to keep tabs on Song Eunho. To outsiders, Song Eunho appeared to be the discriminated-against child of the family, but Juho actually knew the truth. That the son their father truly loved was Song Eunho.

Their father was always silent, but that silence didn’t mean indifference. Remembering how he wouldn’t even touch the side dishes Eunho liked and would subtly push them toward him, a bitter laugh escaped. Their father probably didn’t even care to know what side dishes Juho liked.

Moreover, even though it seemed like he only gave Eunho menial tasks, Juho was well aware that their father was actually setting things up so Eunho could grasp all of Songhwa Foods’ core business.

The Business Planning Team, known for handling all kinds of miscellaneous work. And its head, Song Eunho.

Even among the employees, the Business Planning Team was notorious. You had to be proficient in everything from report writing to overseas sales, be familiar with the field, work overtime like it was nothing, and be prepared for long-term business trips at any time. So everyone dreaded being assigned there.

That was the rumor.

But how should one interpret the fact that not a single position had ever opened up?

The team members, bound by their loyalty to Song Eunho, were closer to being Eunho’s subordinates than Songhwa employees. Even when Eunho went on long-term business trips, their solidarity didn’t waver.

Juho was curious about the reason.

From his position of always giving orders, he couldn’t understand the relationship between them and Song Eunho. Song Juho wasn’t capable of understanding the camaraderie forged from going through the trenches together. That was a badge of honor that only those who’d endured those times together could feel.

Juho spun his chair around and read the report.

“Let’s see. The Business Planning Team—what exactly are they up to.”

Eunho arrived for work. It happened to be when Minhyuk was away.

“Hello.”

Jiwoo and Eunho’s eyes met.

“Chunsam, since it’s the weekend today, we need to hurry. Could you start by cleaning the hall?”

Jiwoo, wearing jeans and a white blouse, spoke while holding a hair tie in her mouth and sweeping her long hair up with both hands. It was such a simple gesture, yet his gaze lingered. The white neckline visible through the blouse with two buttons undone was neat and orderly.

Ah.

Standing there, Eunho swallowed dryly.

It was an outfit that looked comfortable yet strangely drew the eye. With her hair tied up, she looked cute like a college student. A fresh scent seemed to waft toward the tip of his nose, and Eunho wrinkled his nose slightly.

At first, he could only smell her scent when he got close, but now just sharing the same space made her fragrance find its way to his nose on its own. Sweet and fresh all at once—he couldn’t think straight.

“What are you doing, Chunsam?”

“……”

“Cleaning?”

Jiwoo approached with a broom for Eunho, who stood there blankly. Looking at her gleaming collarbone, Eunho thought about putting something sparkly around that neck.

It was the first time he’d ever thought about giving a gift to a woman.

If he’d stood before this woman as Song Eunho, Managing Director of Songhwa Foods, he would have taken her straight to the department store and adorned her with everything she wanted. Nothing could sparkle as much as this woman herself, but still—adding pretty things to pretty things would only make her prettier.

He wanted to give her everything. Strangely, that thought came to him.

“Yes, give it to me.”

But the reality was merely holding a broom and sweeping the hall. Looking down at his pants, which were getting increasingly tight, Eunho laughed helplessly.

“Here.”

Eunho reached out, looking at the hand that handed him the broom. His gaze unconsciously fell on her fourth finger. And then, confirming that there was nothing there, a strange sense of relief washed over him.

At that moment, Eunho suddenly realized something. Even though he’d taunted her about whether she could date or not, he’d never actually asked if she had a boyfriend.

What had he been thinking? If this woman had a boyfriend, and if that boyfriend knew everything Eunho had done, he might have been grabbed by the collar by now. He’d been committing acts he’d have no excuse for even if that happened.

Falling into an awkward shock, Eunho spoke impulsively.

“Cha Jiwoo, let me ask you one thing.”

The woman’s expression as she tilted her head was sweet.

“Yes?”

Sweet expression. Am I crazy? I’ve lost my mind.

Eunho finally decided to admit it. That he wanted this woman. Perhaps if he had her just once, this desire might be quenched. He couldn’t go on like this for two months, just sniffing her scent and getting hard.

He was curious. And he wanted her. Now that his purpose was clear, he felt relieved.

“Do you happen to have a boyfriend?”

“!”

At the question, Jiwoo opened her small lips and let out an awkward, “Ah.”

“……No.”

Her wandering eyes darted about.

“Then, is there someone you like?”

He knew full well this wasn’t the time to be idly thinking about dating, but he couldn’t stop. At this moment, not even the damned Songhwa Foods nor the tiresome tteokbokki crossed his mind. Even his brother Song Juho, who was hell-bent on bringing him down, felt faint and distant.

Song Juho hadn’t left alone the child born from their father’s extramarital affair who’d entered the household at eighteen. He’d tormented him daily with all sorts of despicable methods. Even those times of despair now seemed far, far away.

It felt like only this one woman stood within his world.

“There isn’t. Anything like that.”

Jiwoo said.

Eunho slowly smiled. He felt like applauding every stupid man in the world who hadn’t recognized a woman like Cha Jiwoo and had left her alone all this time.

“If that’s the case, then would you—”

Unable to contain his feelings, Eunho was about to reach out toward her when—