The bizarre chain of events that occurred after the first mixer party that Yoon Se Ah attended, lead everyone at the office into a rather perplexed mood. Three people decided to quit their jobs at once, including Miss Lee who never even once thought about leaving. The reasons for their leaving were different but they still did have one thing in common - the three of them were friends.
"Good riddance! She was onto you anyway. I still cannot believe she dared to set you up with that scumbag, the nerve on that bitch!"
Kang Da Hye smashed her pale manicured hand on the wooden table and gulped the whole glass of wine at once. Once Yoon Se Ah told her about everything that happened at that damned hotel, Da Hye kept offering to use her father's connections to take revenge on "that bitch Miss Lee" which Miss Yoon rejected each time.
"Both Lee Joo Yeong and Lim Sang Hyuk were acting strange even before the party, and although it took me some effort, I was able to squeeze some information out of Mr. Woo... He told me that Miss Lee told that jerk that I was easy and had already slept with a lot of people in the office."
"What?! Where is this even coming from? I thought you had a perfect reputation."
Da Hye raised her eyebrows in genuine surprise while Se Ah only shrugged her shoulders and sighed.
"Beats me... Both Miss Lee and I were up for a promotion but Mr. Shin could only choose either one of us, perhaps that was her way of sabotaging me."
"This is seriously fucked-up! Anyway, I'm glad they left, you can just forget about that disastrous night and keep going as if nothing ever happened."
She gestured for the waiter to bring them another bottle of Merlot, then watched her friend fidget with her still-full glass for a few seconds, leaned forward, and grinned.
"Speaking of which. How is your boy-toy doing?"
Se Ah looked at Da Hye from under her eyebrows and frowned.
"How is that speaking of which? Anyway, strangely enough, ever since the party, he became rather detached... He's no longer clingy or even flirty, it's like his whole personality was switched or something."
Da Hye could not help but smile.
"You sound like you miss his old personality though."
Miss Yoon let out an annoyed sigh, leaned back in her chair, and tapped the wine glass with her index finger. She did not know if she missed the way he behaved in the past, rather, she did not like the fact that that change made it even harder for her to figure him out. Could it be that he finally understood that his clingy behavior did not do him any good? Or was it possible that her being harsh with him that night made him believe that they could no longer have ANY kind of relationship except for the professional one? That contemplating alone was sickening enough.
"Do you still want to sleep with him?"
Boss Kang looked directly into Se Ah's eyes as if looking for a non-verbal clue in them but had to back off when the woman in front of her looked away as if on purpose and replied in a serious voice.
"For the first time in my life, I have no idea what to tell you, Kang Da Hye."
They sat in complete silence for a few moments when all of a sudden, Da Hye started laughing uncontrollably as if she had just heard a hilarious joke which put Se Ah in a rather awkward position.
"What's wrong with you?!"
"Geez, Yoon Se Ah, it's as simple as that. You have an agreement, right? Just think about the things you like about him, send him a message and if he comes running to you, then you have your answer."
Se Ah kept thinking about her friend's words long after she had returned to her apartment. Lee Min Hyun did not try to threaten her once even when she told him off on numerous occasions which made her feel somewhat at ease. Moreover, he was fearless, obedient, and physically attractive - all these traits were not something she could find in a submissive man at once, and that made him stand above all the men she'd ever been with before.
'Ugh, what the hell, I need to blow off some steam anyway.'
***
"The bidding on the piece of land outside Tokyo is over, we won."
Mr. Yang leaned back in his leather chair and looked at his sons standing in front of his desk. Yang Min Seok brushed his sleek hair back and smiled.
"That's good news, father. Shall we then proceed as discussed?"
"Yes, you both will have to go to Tokyo and finalize the deal with Mr. Mikami and his team."
"Me too?"
Min Hyun pointed at himself and widened his eyes. That was the first time his father asked him to accompany his older brother abroad. The old man sighed and scratched his forehead with an annoyed expression.
"I want you to go with Min Seok in case there will be minor hiccups in the process. Many people had their eyes on that piece of land, we cannot put our guard down just because we won the bidding. Gather a team of thirty people and send me the list of their names, my secretary will take care of the rest."
The guy nodded but then asked unexpectedly loudly as if he had just remembered something extremely important.
"How long are we going to stay there?"
Yang Min Seok scoffed and placed his hand on his brother's tense shoulder.
"Why? Do you have plans?"
"It should not take you more than a week. I mean, it MUST NOT take you more than a week."
Mr. Yang paused, then sighed again, and continued,
"Take a sick leave from your "work", I'll have Doctor Kim write you a note."
Min Hyun's face instantly brightened up upon hearing those words. The old man threw a glance at his watch and got up from his chair.
"Alright, we'll talk more once you gather your team. I'm off for a dinner meeting. Enjoy your evening, boys."
The two of them watched their father disappear behind the door in silence which was then interrupted by a loud dinging sound of Min Hyun's phone. Min Seok observed the change in his brother's facial expression as he checked his phone, and grinned.
"You look happy. What is it? Your girlfriend?"
But the guy could no longer hear him; his eyes kept running over the phone screen, frantically rereading a single line sent by Miss Yoon: "Come to my place if you are free tonight."