IGMB 40🔐

Chapter 40

Consensio Parking Lot.

Eun-young checked her list one last time and made sure all the luggage was packed.

“This is the last one.”

Just then, Eun-woo appeared from the direction of the office, lifting a large box in his arms.
Under his rolled-up sleeves, the veins stood out along his forearms, tracing over lean muscle.

“I’m really troubling you again,” Eun-young said apologetically.

“Just think of it as paying you back for the last meal. I’ll go wash my hands real quick.”

With a faint smile, Eun-woo headed toward the restroom.

“Wow… why am I the one getting butterflies?” Ari murmured.

“Snap out of it,” Eun-young replied.

“I didn’t even dream anything! What am I, Cinderella? You always pick on me.”

“Don’t worry. No one in their right mind would mistake you for Cinderella. Now stop talking nonsense and check this.”

Eun-young tossed her the checklist.

“Tch. Still… just looking at him makes me happy,” Ari said, smiling shyly toward the parking area where Eun-woo had disappeared.

“Since when did you two get so close?” she added suddenly.

“What are you talking about?” Eun-young asked back.

“You two went to the hospital together this morning. Isn’t that enough to say you know everything about each other?”

Eun-young gave Ari a sharp glare.

“Cut it out. There’s probably a reason.”

“A reason? Please. If a man accompanies you to get an IV drip, that’s already the end of the story.”

“Did you check the items?”

“I did! Geez, you’re just as curious as I am.”

Ari pouted but reluctantly started organizing the rest of the supplies.

“Shh.”

Eun-young hushed her when she saw Seon-hee coming out, holding a box.

“What’s so funny?” Seon-hee asked as she loaded the box into the trunk.

“Nothing you need to know,” Ari muttered.

Seon-hee blinked, puzzled, and looked at Eun-young, who just shrugged.

Soon after, Eun-woo returned and loaded another large box into the car.

“Is this the last one?” he asked.

Ari quickly checked the list.

“Yes! All done.”

She gave the brightest smile she could manage.

“You’re going to get a cramp from smiling that hard,” Eun-young muttered, shaking her head.

Ari shot her a glare, then turned back toward Seon-hee and Eun-woo.

“Okay then, shall we head out?”

Her cheerful tone prompted everyone to start getting into the van.

“Woof! Woof!”

Just then, Rabong, who had been quiet until now, started barking toward the back.

“What’s wrong, Rabong? Come here.”

Seon-hee picked the dog up, but it wouldn’t stop whining.
Puzzled, she followed Rabong’s gaze—two familiar faces were walking toward them.

“R-Representative Woo?” Ari spoke before Seon-hee could.

Step. Step. Step.

The tall man stopped right in front of Seon-hee, scanning everyone before asking in a calm, low voice:

“Where are you going?”

Seon-hee looked at him, her expression stiffening.

“It’s the campaign today. Did you forget?”

“No, I remember. It just looks more like a picnic to me.”

Gyeon-hee’s eyes flicked to the lunch boxes loaded in the car.

“Ah, that’s just to help team bonding! Ha, ha…” Ari cut in awkwardly.

“Team bonding?”

He frowned, clearly unimpressed. Ari shrank back, taking a step behind the others.

“Do you really think this is the right way to do things? Do you even understand how important this campaign is?”

His cold tone froze the air.

Eun-young, unable to watch any longer, stepped forward.

“You asked us to handle it, so let us do our job. Don’t worry.”

“You’re the ones making me worry.”

“Come on, it’s just a small children’s home. I don’t think you need to get personally involved.”

“Those are exactly the kinds of places the media loves to jump on. A poorly handled campaign could do more harm than good. And when that happens, who takes the hit? Your company? No—KidsFan does.”

Eun-young fell silent.
She wanted to argue, but she knew he was right. The losses would fall squarely on them.

“I guess I’ll have to come and personally supervise.”

“What?” Seon-hee asked in surprise.

But Gyeon-hee wasn’t really asking her opinion—he turned to his secretary instead.

“Secretary Kwon, what do you think?”

“Uh, yes, sir—of course, that’s probably best,” Kwon stammered, clearly flustered.

“Any objections?”

“No, but…”

KidsFan, as a subcontractor, had no grounds to refuse him.

“…Fine,” Seon-hee finally said, stepping in for the speechless Eun-young.

“That’s the first decent answer I’ve heard today,” Gyeon-hee said with a nod.

“Let’s go.”

Seon-hee, unwilling to argue further, gave the signal to board.
But before anyone else could move, Gyeon-hee climbed into the van first.

Everyone froze, exchanging bewildered looks.

“What? Aren’t you getting in?” he called from the back seat.

“What are you doing?”

“You’re coming with us?”

Seon-hee and Eun-young asked almost in unison.

“There’s room. It’s only logical to share one car—it saves costs.”

“Still—”

“Why? Is there a problem?”

Seon-hee bit her lip, glaring at him silently. He ignored her and turned to his secretary.

“Well? Get in.”

“Ah—yes, sir.”

Reluctantly, Kwon got in beside him.

“Ha…”

Seon-hee sighed, exasperated, but before she could say anything, Eun-woo gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Just let it go.”

“…But still.”

“I’m fine. Actually, this might be fun.”

With a relaxed smile, Eun-woo took the driver’s seat.
Seon-hee, looking annoyed, glared once more at Gyeon-hee and got into the passenger seat.

“Why is she sitting in front?” Gyeon-hee demanded.

Seon-hee kept her eyes forward, refusing to answer.

“If it’s because of managing things, have Secretary Kwon sit up there instead. He’s excellent at taking care of people, right?”

“Ah, yes… I’m pretty good at it,” Kwon replied nervously, starting to move.

“No. I just want to stay as far away from Representative Woo as possible.”

“What?”

Gyeon-hee frowned, clearly offended.

“Let’s go, Director,” Seon-hee said curtly.

“W-wait!”

Before he could stop her, Eun-woo stepped on the accelerator.

“Ack!”

The sudden movement threw Gyeon-hee off balance, bumping the back of his head against the window.

He glared at Eun-woo through the rearview mirror.

“Oops, forgot to tell you to hold on,” Eun-woo said with a pleasant smile.

“Stop the—”

Before he could finish, Eun-woo turned the wheel sharply toward the parking lot exit.
A box from the cargo area tumbled off and hit the back of Gyeon-hee’s head.

“Ow!”

He cried out again, clutching his head.

Snickers erupted inside the car.

“Ha…”

Embarrassed and defeated, Gyeon-hee sat back down. He couldn’t win—not while Eun-woo was driving.

Just wait…

He clenched his fist, jaw tight.

Later, on Jayu-ro.

The white van sped smoothly toward Paju.
Eun-woo and Seon-hee were chatting and laughing up front.

“What are they even talking about? Can you hear them?” Gyeon-hee asked irritably.

“Huh? What?” Secretary Kwon replied absently.

“…Forget it.”

The laughter and conversation filled the van—all except for Gyeon-hee, who stared out the window in silence, frowning.
He glanced toward Seon-hee again. Though her stomach pain from the IV had eased, her back still hurt; she kept shifting in her seat, trying to get comfortable.

“Laughing like that when she’s hurting…” he muttered, frowning deeper.

As he sighed, the van turned into a quiet park’s parking lot.

“We’re almost at our destination,” Eun-woo announced.

Everyone looked out the windows.

“Wow~”

The golden grass stretched under a bright blue sky—beautiful even without full greenery.

“Why are we here?” Gyeon-hee asked stiffly.

“We need to eat, don’t we?” Seon-hee replied flatly.

“Where?”

“In the park, while we take a short break.”

Without waiting for a response, she got out of the car.

“Let’s go. We should eat too,” Kwon said.

Reluctantly, Gyeon-hee followed.

“Where exactly are we eating?”

“We’ll find a spot now. Please wait a moment, I’ll go look around.”

Seon-hee started walking into the park to find a place to sit.

Suddenly, Gyeon-hee’s back gave a painful twinge. The ache had been there all day, and chasing after her only made it worse.

“Seriously… what a hassle.”

Frowning, he strode forward and grabbed Seon-hee’s arm.

“What are you doing?”

“Stay here.”

“What?”

“You’re in pain, aren’t you?”

Seon-hee blinked, startled, staring at him.

“I’ll go look. You stay right here.”

His face was still tense as he turned and walked off.

“…Did he eat something weird?”

“What’s gotten into him all of a sudden?”

Eun-young and Ari whispered in shock near the car.
Seon-hee stood silent, eyes following his back as he walked away.

Then Eun-woo approached her quietly.

“Don’t worry. I’ll go with him.”

Reassuring her with a smile, Eun-woo hurried to catch up with Gyeon-hee.

As he left, Ari ran over to Seon-hee.

“Are they… fighting?”

“Fighting?”

“Didn’t you see Representative Woo’s face? He looked furious the whole way here. What if he takes it out on you later?”

Ari’s anxious words made Seon-hee’s chest tighten even more.