Chapter#7
“No way…!”
Yulhee’s eyes widened as she remembered the hands that had relentlessly touched her.
She vividly imagined Sihyeok’s finger brushing her lips and wiping away a grain of rice stuck at the corner of her mouth.
When her imagination went as far as him licking the grain of rice off his finger, her heart dropped.
That clueless man was more than capable of doing something like that. You could tell just by the playful curve of his eyes.
Don’t do that! Please don’t!
Yulhee shook her head slightly, desperately signaling to Sihyeok.
But contrary to her hopes, his hand kept getting closer.
I’m doomed…!
Just as she was about to shut her eyes tightly—
“Here.”
His finger stopped just short of touching her and instead pointed to the right side of her chin.
Trying to calm her racing heart, Yulhee quickly took out a tissue and wiped her mouth hard.
At that, Sihyeok covered his face with the back of his hand and burst out laughing. Yulhee glared at him.
“What’s going on with those two?”
Yeonju frowned as she sensed the strange atmosphere between them.
Now that she thought about it, Sihyeok had been interested only in Yulhee from the start. His gaze, his thoughtful gestures, and his bright smile were all directed at her.
Yeonju, who had fallen for Sihyeok at first sight and was determined to win him over, felt her mood twist.
‘What does Kang Yulhee have that’s better than me…?!’
The fact that Yulhee—whom she had secretly looked down on—was getting his attention irritated her deeply.
Yeonju scraped her tray with a spoon, trying to suppress her anger. As she stirred the leftover spicy pork sauce, she noticed Yulhee getting up.
A cold, thin smile formed on her lips as she stared at Yulhee’s white blouse.
Yeonju quickly stood up and followed her to the tray return area.
Just before they reached it, Yeonju lightly bumped Yulhee’s tray with her elbow.
The leftover food spilled all over Yulhee.
In an instant, the red spicy pork sauce soaked into her white blouse, leaving a bright stain.
“Oh my, that was a mistake.”
Yeonju stuck out her tongue, showing no sign of apology.
“You didn’t even try to catch the tray or give me a tissue.”
Yulhee realized it was intentional, but since Yeonju called it a mistake, she couldn’t argue. Besides, she didn’t want to make a scene in the crowded cafeteria.
“Go wash it with water, at least.”
Holding back laughter, Yeonju pretended concern.
“Please be careful.”
At that moment, Sihyeok appeared and spoke coldly.
Startled by his sharp gaze, Yeonju flinched.
“I-it was just a mistake…”
She tried to explain, but Sihyeok ignored her.
He grabbed Yulhee’s wrist and pulled her away.
“Let’s go, senior.”
Then he handed Yulhee’s tray to Yeonju.
Yulhee was led out of the cafeteria in a daze.
Left behind, Yeonju clenched her tray, watching them leave. The sticky food on her hands made her feel even worse.
“Kang Yulhee… I won’t let you get away with this.”
Her anger, which she couldn’t direct at Sihyeok, turned toward Yulhee instead.
As expected, it didn’t come off easily.
Yulhee came out of the bathroom, looking at her stained blouse.
No matter how hard she scrubbed it, the bright red stain remained.
When she lowered her head, the unpleasant smell of food mixed with soap rose up.
“Well… I guess it can’t be helped.”
She shook her damp blouse, sounding resigned.
She didn’t have spare clothes, and she couldn’t leave work early either.
“I’ll wear this.”
Sihyeok, who had been waiting outside, took off his gray cardigan and placed it over her shoulders.
It was too big on her, making her look like a child wearing adult clothes.
As his scent lingered on it, her face flushed.
“N-no, it’s okay.”
She turned her head and tried to return it.
If she went back to the office like this, people would definitely talk.
“It’s fine. Wear it.”
Sihyeok shook his head firmly and adjusted the cardigan so it wouldn’t slip.
Then he leaned closer and whispered in her ear,
“Looks like you like lace.”
“Huh?”
Confused, Yulhee looked down at her outfit. She was wearing a simple blouse and suit pants—no lace at all.
Seeing her confusion, Sihyeok chuckled.
“Come to think of it, yesterday was lace too, right?”
“Yesterday too? What are you talking about?”
Yulhee tilted her head again.
Sihyeok lowered his hand from her shoulder and pointed.
Following his finger, she looked down.
Her wet blouse clung tightly to her body, revealing her lace underwear underneath.
“Ah!”
Realizing it, Yulhee screamed and curled up.
Now that she thought about it,
“It’s better to keep this on, right?”
With a sly smile, Sihyeok buttoned up the cardigan one by one.
After fastening the last button, he glanced at her chest with slight regret.
“I like lace too.”
‘I can’t keep getting dragged along like this.’
Yulhee felt a strong sense of danger as she kept getting caught up in Sihyeok’s pace. She decided it would be better to keep her distance.
‘I need to draw a clear line.’
So she tried to limit their interactions to only necessary work conversations.
But the problem was how physically close they were.
Whenever their eyes met, Sihyeok would always smile at her knowingly.
It felt like a secret signal only the two of them shared, and Yulhee would quickly look away.
Then she would hear him quietly laughing.
Thinking this couldn’t go on, she came up with another plan.
“Find and organize materials for the event concept. I want it done by 5 PM today.”
She deliberately gave him a difficult task that would be hard for a new employee, with a tight deadline.
If he failed or made mistakes, she planned to scold him and reestablish boundaries.
Then he wouldn’t say nonsense like wanting to date her again.
“I’ve uploaded everything to the shared folder.”
But her plan failed completely.
Sihyeok finished the work with surprising speed and near-perfect accuracy.
There was nothing to criticize.
Even after assigning him more difficult tasks, the result was always the same—his skills were outstanding.
Instead, trouble came from somewhere else.
“Assistant Manager Kang! Come here for a moment!”
