Secretly Meeting With My Boss

"What? You were drinking already?"

“Chief, are you here? Oh, and Han So-Young also came. Nice to meet you."

"Hello."

About five or six people were already gathered at the pub near the company. People who were drinking warmly welcomed the two of them, and So-young sat down with an awkward smile.

"Hello, assistant manager. It's my first time greeting you."

"What? Oh, hello."

The deputy manager of the next department, who she sometimes encountered in the hallway, greeted So-young. Turning his torso to her, he spoke in a fairly friendly manner.

"I'm Yi-Hwan. I'm in the media management team, and it's your first time seeing me."

"No, I've seen you a few times while passing by. I remember you."

"You remember."

Lee Hwan laughed, unable to hide his shyness. The eyes that folded like a crescent moon were pretty.

"I've always wanted to talk to you. I think we're about the same age.…. Everyone here has a high position. You can be comfortable around me.”

"Ahaha… Yes, that sounds good."

A handsome man with a good sense of making friends. Unlike Lee Hwan, who was friendly, So-young, who was shy, smiled vaguely and nodded.

"Let's fill your cup first."

"Why hasn;t the food we ordered coming out?"

"I'm running out of beer. I'll order two more bottles."

The atmosphere quickly became noisy after hearing that people gathered together. So-young, who had been awkwardly felt alone, barely relaxed after drinking a few bomb shots.

"How's the new department?"

So-young spoke in a friendly manner to the chief sitting opposite her. So-young held the cup, which was filled with her hands and replied with a Hmm… and then she stretched her tongue.

"I have a lot of work, but it's good so far. It was a department that I wanted to come to since the announcement was made.”

"Everyone was interested. Since it's a team led by Cha Tae-kyung, I wondered who would join."

As the alcohol consumption rose, Taekyung naturally became a hot topic of discussion. It wasn't really surprising, as he was an attention grabber everywhere.

"When I first saw him, I was really surprised. He's so handsome."

A deputy who sat on the edge spoke in admiration. So-young agreed to her words and sipped her beer. His thick crotch was so impressive that all her senses were focused on it, but if it weren't for that, she would have admired his dazzling appearance the first time she saw him too.

"Yeah. The world is inherently unfair. Is he even human? Perhaps he doesn't have blood or tears. What do you think?”

The arrow of the question headed to So-young. Manager Joo replied instead of her, embarrassed by the question of blatant hostility.

“Hey, our team leader is not that kind of person. He's reasonable and is good at his job. Actually, he is not that old. To be honest, he is younger than me.”

"Well, that's right. It's impossible to become a team leader at that age without a senior."

"So I was prejudiced at first. But I had no choice but to admit it once we worked together. I know why the Vice Chairman said he cares about him.”

As if this was not the reaction she had expected, her expression turned pale. So-young often felt ashamed comparing herself with Taekyung based on work-wise.

"Do you know this story?"

"What are you talking about"?

"Team leader Cha. He is doing well now and he even studied abroad. So when he first joined the company, everyone was gossiping about the succession of a conglomerate."

"I've never heard of it before, but tell me in detail."

There was a curiosity that could not be hidden in people's faces.

“If that’s the case, I heard it too. He said he was really a mess when he was in America. There was even talk of touching celebrities or taking drugs? That’s why the vice-president forced him to come to Korea.”

"Oh my god. Is that a groundless rumor?”

"There's no need for a basis for rumours. But… Just by looking at how he looked, he must've not lived a calm life."

"Well…"

Unconfirmed rumors went back and forth on the table. The atmosphere of the drinking party has changed as people add on one or two words each.

So-young was uncomfortable with this place, where Tae-kyung was used as gossip and put on a cutting board, thrown around. She knew everyone had no malice, but that didn't mean that innocent Taekyung should be used as a drinking entertainment.

Besides, the Tae-kyung that So-young knows, was far from promiscuous. Rather, he was someone who hates messy things. It doesn't seem that a man who is rational and good at differentiating between how things work, would have been different when he was studying abroad.

So-young didn't bring that idea out of her mouth to ruin the atmosphere, but she didn't want to actively participate in the conversation.