TLR 21

Chapter 21 …

“Hello?”

—Is this Lee Seol-ssi?

“Yes, it is. Who’s calling?”

—This is Section Chief Choi Ji-hyuk from the HJ HR Team. As long as you’re open to it, we’d like to offer you a full-time position starting on the 1st of next month.

“Wait, really?”

—Yes. Would you be able to visit the office tomorrow? We’ll go over the details after signing the employment contract.

“Ah, yes! I mean… um…”

Her heart pounded so violently that the words wouldn’t come out. Seol pulled the phone away from her mouth and took a few deep breaths.

“I have a part-time job, so my schedule clears up after 3:00 PM. Would it be alright if I swung by then?”

—In that case, I’ll register you as a visitor for 3:00 PM.

“Yes. Ah, thank you so much! Thank you!”

Seol ended the call while bowing her head repeatedly toward thin air.

“Is this real…?”

She couldn’t tell if she was dreaming or awake. Tears welled up in her eyes out of sheer happiness.

Standing on the street, she sniffled for a long moment before realizing she should probably let Donghee know.

Then Seol’s eyes narrowed slightly. If something went wrong again, there was no telling how throwing a tantrum Donghee might react once her crushed expectations came crashing down.

She decided to wait until after the ink was dry on the contract before telling her mother.

Now that there was no one left to share this thrilling news with, she should’ve just been on her way, but she felt too reluctant to put her phone down.

After a few tense seconds, she made up her mind. Her delicate fingers moved carefully across the screen.

He had been sitting on the office sofa reviewing documents. It was only then that Junhyuk realized his eyes had been stuck on the exact same line for a while now.

Seol’s face—walking on eggshells while waiting to get chewed out—simply wouldn’t leave his mind.

As he let out a silly dry chuckle to himself, his phone vibrated.

[Hello, this is Lee Seol. It’s nothing major, but I actually landed a job. I owe you a lot, Junhyuk-ssi, so I’d love to buy you a meal next time.]

“She hasn’t even received a single paycheck yet, and here she goes talking big.”

Though he grumbled under his breath, a smile danced in his eyes.

[Congratulations on landing the job. If you don’t mind me asking, which company is it?] [It’s HJ Corporation. I’m signing the employment contract tomorrow, and my official start date is the 1st of next month.]

Being young, her reply speed was certainly fast. Junhyuk skimmed over the information he already knew and pulled up the emoticon menu.

He was browsing through them, thinking he might finally send one, but the moment he went to hit send, a wave of hesitation hit him.

Is this really okay? Can I actually send an emoticon of a teddy bear holding a bouquet of flowers?

Wouldn’t the right answer be to physically bring a real bouquet to the café tonight instead?

As he stood brooding over it with a crease formed between his brows, a knock echoed through the room.

Junhyuk lifted his head a beat late.

“Excuse me, sir.”

The secretary stepped inside and bowed deeply at the waist.

“Assemblyman Kang Seung-joo has arrived.”

“Without an appointment?”

“Should I tell him to leave?” the secretary asked in a soft tone.

Junhyuk thought for a brief second before waving his hand through the air, gesturing toward the interior of the office.

“I’ll bring him right in, then.”

“Ahem.”

Having overheard the entire exchange through the open door, Kang Seung-joo cleared his throat loudly as he walked in. Then he stood near the sofa and cleared his throat once more.

Junhyuk simply sat on the sofa, staring up at him.

He knew exactly why Kang Seung-joo was putting on this little performance. It was a silent protest, demanding that his subordinate stand up and greet him first.

He was the younger brother of Junhyuk’s deceased stepmother, and Hyemi’s maternal uncle. Naturally, that made him Junhyuk’s uncle, too—even if they didn’t share a single drop of blood.

“Are you planning to speak while standing?”

“Wh-What?”

“Feel free if that’s more comfortable for you.”

With a flushed face, Kang Seung-joo took a seat on the sofa.

It wasn’t as if disrespecting his elders was a hobby of his, and he usually treated Kang Seung-joo with proper etiquette whenever they ran into each other. However, right now wasn’t the time for that.

Teddy bear or rabbit? As he stared intently at his phone screen trying to decide which emoticon to go with, Kang Seung-joo started blabbering away.

“There was so much chaos at the funeral that we couldn’t even have a proper conversation, could we? Families ought to help each other out, especially during tough times.”

“…”

“After all, a household only runs smoothly when an adult steps up to hold down the fort, wouldn’t you say?”

“…”

“Well, you see, in my dream last night, my sister appeared on her way to heaven, took my hand, and said, ‘Please take good care of our Junhyuk and Hyemi’…”

Is he out of his mind? Not a single word coming out of his mouth was true. For starters, Mrs. Kang Seung-ok definitely didn’t make it to heaven. He could guarantee that one hundred percent.

[No need to treat me to a meal. I’ll buy dinner instead, since we have something to celebrate.]

Ignoring Kang Seung-joo’s drivel entirely, Junhyuk sent the message without an emoticon.

A reply arrived quickly this time as well.

[No way! If you keep buying me meals, I’ll feel way too guilty!]

Right after came an emoticon of a cute white puppy crying tears, hiding its face behind a wall and peeking back out.

Ha, dammit.

So this is how you use them.

The sheer power of it was staggering. His lips twitched as he fought back an impending smile, making his chest ache from the effort.

And he quickly reached the conclusion that it was better if he didn’t use them himself.

“When I opened my eyes this morning, my heart was so overwhelmed with emotion. I simply couldn’t refrain from coming to see my nephew today.”

The man certainly had nerve. Without receiving a single shred of feedback, Kang Seung-joo kept putting on a dramatic performance, completely unbothered.

Junhyuk rapped his knuckles against the table. If left unchecked, this man would carry on like this for two hours straight.

“Cut the nonsense. What are we supposed to be helping each other with today, then?”

Kang Seung-joo paused for a fraction of a second before a sly grin spread across his lips.

“Is today the only day that matters? Family should stick together and help each other out indefinitely from here on out.”

“Sounds exhausting.”

“Do you think I want to be the only one receiving help? A person ought to have some shame.”

“Right. If they’re a person, they’d have shame.”

Kang Seung-joo shot him a sharp glance out of the corner of his eye, then quickly smoothed his face back into a smile.

“There’s going to be a cabinet reshuffle in two months.”

“And?”

“A minister position. It’s mine.”

“Oh, dear.”

Junhyuk put on an expression of genuine pity.

Kang Seung-joo’s eyes naturally bulged open. “What do you mean, ‘oh, dear’?”

“Just an exclamation. Please, go on.”

“Hm.”

Kang Seung-joo cleared his throat with a dissatisfied look on his face before opening his mouth again.

“You just need to give me a little push. Then my career won’t just end with a mere cabinet minister. I’ll run for Mayor of Seoul next and win! And after that…!”

Kang Seung-joo slammed his hand onto the armrest of the sofa to punctuate his sentence.

Don’t tell me ‘after that’ means president. Junhyuk narrowed one eye.

“Presi—”

“Yes, I’ve heard enough.”

Cutting Kang Seung-joo off mid-sentence, Junhyuk stood up from the sofa.

As he walked back to his desk without a shred of lingering regret, Kang Seung-joo yelled at his back.

“Regardless of everything else, I am your elder! What’s with that attitude of yours?!”

“Lines like that are only effective when said to your actual subordinates, Uncle.”

“If I do well, MS does well, too! The number one corporation—don’t you have any ambition for that? Huh?!”

“I’m a fairly modest man. I won’t be seeing you out, so please leave.”

Taking his seat in his office chair, Junhyuk watched as Kang Seung-joo huffed and puffed, unable to contain his rage.

How does he expect to accomplish anything big when he can’t even keep his temper in check?

“I’ll see you next time.”

See me for what? Junhyuk didn’t bother offering empty pleasantries like ‘have a safe trip home.’

Then again, he didn’t strictly shut the door on seeing him again, either.

Though there wasn’t a single thing he liked about the man, he was still useful. Kang Seung-joo had just proven that himself before leaving.

He had fully expected Kang Seung-joo to bring up money.

Mun Hyemi causes trouble. Kang Seung-joo, with his legal background, covers it up. Kang Seung-ok pays the price. That was how things had always operated.

He’d expected the man to demand that Junhyuk step into Kang Seung-ok’s old role, but to his surprise, things took a different turn.

If he was entertaining wild pipe dreams like that, he’d end up working hard on his own—and for free, no less.

Should I consider that another form of passion pay? With a dry smirk, Junhyuk turned his gaze back to his phone.

Before long, his expression softened into something gentle.

As if it weren’t tiring at all, the little dog was still popping its head out and hiding behind the wall on loop.

[No need to feel guilty. If we eat together, it’s only right that I pay since I started working a few years before you.] [Still! I can’t afford to buy you an expensive meal anyway, so couldn’t you just close your eyes and accept it?] [How am I supposed to eat with my eyes closed? Ah, are you going to feed me a bite of rice and a bite of side dishes, Seol-ssi?] [Look at the context. The context of my words.]

Junhyuk burst into a loud laugh.

He couldn’t fathom why this completely meaningless conversation brought him so much joy, especially when the person he was talking to wasn’t even standing before him.

It’s useless. It’s pointless. It’s a waste of time. Even as those thoughts crossed his mind, Junhyuk couldn’t bring himself to put his phone down for a long, long time.