Episode 40. You Stay Here
Consensio Parking Lot.
Eun-young double-checked her checklist and packed the last of the items.
“This is the last one.”
Just then, she saw Eun-woo coming out from the office, lifting a large box with ease.
The veins on his forearms bulged slightly beneath his rolled-up sleeves.
“I feel bad for making you help us again,”
Eun-young said apologetically.
“Think of it as paying you back for the last meal. I’ll go wash my hands real quick.”
Eun-woo smiled faintly and headed toward the restroom.
“Wow… why am I getting butterflies?”
Ari murmured.
“Wake up, idiot.”
“I didn’t even say anything! You act like I’m Cinderella or something—always picking on me.”
“Don’t worry. No one’s mistaking you for Cinderella. Quit the nonsense and check this.”
Eun-young tossed her the checklist.
“Tch. Still… just watching him makes me happy.”
Ari grinned dreamily, eyes following Eun-woo as he disappeared toward the parking lot.
“By the way, when did those two get so close?”
she asked suddenly.
“What do you mean by that?”
Eun-young replied.
“Come on. They went to the hospital together this morning. Don’t tell me there’s nothing going on.”
Eun-young shot her a sharp look.
“Drop it. I’m sure there’s a reason.”
“A reason? If a guy goes with you to get an IV drip, that’s already a done deal!”
“Did you check the items or not?”
“I am, I am! Geez. You’re curious too, admit it.”
Ari pouted but reluctantly went back to packing.
“Shh.”
Eun-young quieted her as Seon-hee appeared, carrying a box.
“What’s so funny?”
Seon-hee asked, loading the box into the trunk.
“You don’t need to know,”
Ari said sulkily.
“Huh?”
Seon-hee looked puzzled and turned to Eun-young, who only shrugged.
By then, Eun-woo had come back and loaded another big box into the van.
“Is this the last one?”
he asked.
Ari quickly checked the list.
“Yup, all done!”
She smiled as brightly as she could.
“You’re going to pull a muscle with that grin,”
Eun-young muttered, shaking her head.
Ari shot her a quick glare, then turned to Seon-hee and Eun-woo with a grin.
“Alright then, shall we head out?”
At her cheerful voice, everyone started moving toward the van.
“Woof! Woof!”
Suddenly, their dog Labong started barking at the back.
“What’s wrong, Labong? Come here,”
Seon-hee said, picking him up, but the dog wouldn’t stop.
Following his gaze, Seon-hee froze. Two familiar figures were walking toward them.
“P-President Woo?”
Ari blurted out before Seon-hee could.
Step. Step.
The tall man stopped right in front of Seon-hee, scanning the group before asking in a low, heavy voice:
“Where are you all going?”
Seon-hee hesitated, her face stiffening slightly.
“It’s the campaign today. Did you forget?”
“No, I know. But from the looks of it, this seems more like a picnic.”
His gaze shifted to the lunch boxes in the van.
“Oh, those? For team bonding—killing two birds with one stone, haha…”
Ari jumped in awkwardly.
“Killing two birds with one stone?”
His brows furrowed, clearly unimpressed.
Ari shrank back, taking an involuntary step away.
“Do you really think this is how to do it properly? Do you even know how important this campaign is?”
The air turned icy at his cold tone.
Unable to watch any longer, Eun-young stepped forward.
“You entrusted this to us, so we’ll handle it. Please don’t worry.”
“You make it impossible not to worry.”
“Come on. It’s just a small orphanage. It’s not something you need to get worked up over.”
“That’s exactly why it matters. Small places get the most media attention. A sloppy job will backfire—and when it does, will Kids Fan handle the damage?”
Eun-young fell silent.
She wanted to argue, but he wasn’t wrong—and it would only end up hurting their company.
“Seems I’ll have to supervise personally.”
“What?”
Seon-hee asked in surprise.
But Woo Gyeon-hee turned to his secretary instead.
“Secretary Kwon, what do you think?”
“Huh? Oh—uh, yes. I agree, sir,”
the flustered secretary stammered, looking just as uncomfortable.
“Any reason I shouldn’t go?”
Gyeon-hee pressed.
“N-no, sir…”
As a subcontractor, Kids Fan had no real grounds to refuse his participation.
“…Fine.”
Seon-hee answered for the hesitant Eun-young.
“The first sensible answer I’ve heard today.”
Gyeon-hee nodded.
“Let’s go.”
Not wanting to argue further, Seon-hee turned toward the van. Everyone began climbing in.
But before anyone could settle, Gyeon-hee stepped in first.
Startled, the group froze and exchanged confused glances.
“What are you waiting for? Get in,”
he called from the back seat.
“What are you doing?”
Seon-hee demanded.
“You’re riding with us?”
“There’s room. It’s more economical this way, don’t you think?”
“Still…”
“What, any reason I shouldn’t?”
All Seon-hee could do was bite her lip and glare.
Ignoring her, Gyeon-hee turned to his secretary again.
“Well? Get in.”
“Ah—yes, sir.”
Kwon climbed in reluctantly.
“Unbelievable…”
Seon-hee sighed. Just as she was about to protest, Eun-woo placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Just let it go.”
“…But still.”
“It’s fine. Might even be fun.”
With a calm smile, he got into the driver’s seat.
Still fuming, Seon-hee shot Gyeon-hee another glare before taking the passenger seat.
“Why are you sitting up front?”
Gyeon-hee asked irritably.
She didn’t even turn around.
“If it’s because you need someone to ‘take care of things,’ Secretary Kwon can switch. He’s excellent at it. Right?”
“Ah—yes, sir, I suppose I am, haha…”
At the subtle command, Kwon started to rise.
“No. I just want to sit as far from you as possible.”
“What?”
Her blunt reply made Gyeon-hee scowl.
“Let’s go, Director.”
“W-wait!”
He started to get up—
but before he could, Eun-woo hit the gas.
“Ack!”
Losing balance, Gyeon-hee’s head bumped the window before he dropped back into his seat.
“Oops, forgot to tell everyone to buckle up,”
Eun-woo said with a smile, meeting his eyes through the rear-view mirror.
“Stop the—”
Before he could finish, Eun-woo spun the steering wheel sharply at the parking lot exit.
A box in the back flew forward and smacked Gyeon-hee on the back of the head.
“Ow!”
He yelped in pain.
“Pfft—haha…”
Muffled laughter spread through the van.
Defeated, Gyeon-hee slumped into his seat. For now, he had no choice but to endure it.
Just wait…
he thought, clenching his fists tightly.
* * *
Jayuro Expressway.
The white van sped smoothly toward Paju.
Eun-woo and Seon-hee were chatting and laughing the whole way.
“What are they talking about? Can you hear?”
Gyeon-hee asked, annoyed.
“Huh? What?”
Secretary Kwon, lost in thought, blinked back to attention.
“…Forget it.”
Gyeon-hee sighed.
The ride was filled with laughter—except for him.
He kept glancing at Seon-hee, frowning.
Her stomach had recovered since the IV, but her back still hurt; she kept shifting positions to ease the pain.
“She’s in pain, yet still smiling. Ridiculous,”
he muttered.
Soon, the van pulled into a quiet park parking lot.
“We’re almost there,”
Eun-woo announced.
Everyone turned to the window.
“Wow~”
The golden grass stretched wide under the blue sky.
“Why are we here?”
Gyeon-hee asked, unimpressed.
“We need to eat, don’t we?”
Seon-hee shot back curtly.
“Where?”
“We’ll eat in the park, take a short break.”
Without waiting for a reply, she got out first.
“Let’s go. We should eat too,”
Secretary Kwon said.
Reluctantly, Gyeon-hee followed him out.
“Where exactly are we eating?”
“I’ll find a good spot. Please wait here,”
Seon-hee said, heading off to look.
“Ah—”
Gyeon-hee winced as pain shot up his back.
He groaned and walked after her, annoyed.
“Seriously… troublesome woman.”
He caught up to her and grabbed her arm.
“What are you doing?”
she asked, startled.
“Stay here.”
“What?”
“You’re in pain, aren’t you?”
She looked up at him, wide-eyed.
“I’ll go find the spot. You stay put.”
His brow furrowed, voice gruff, but he walked away slowly.
“…Did he eat something weird?”
“Why’s he acting like that all of a sudden?”
Eun-young and Ari, watching from the car, looked equally stunned.
Seon-hee just stood there in silence, eyes following his retreating figure.
Then Eun-woo came up beside her.
“Don’t worry. I’ll go with him.”
After reassuring her, he hurried after Gyeon-hee.
As the two men walked off, Ari quickly moved to Seon-hee’s side.
“Are they… fighting?”
“Fighting?”
“Didn’t you see President Woo’s face earlier? He’s been on edge the whole way. What if he takes it out on the Director?”
Seon-hee’s chest tightened at Ari’s anxious words.
“Haah…”
She sighed deeply, watching the two figures grow smaller in the distance.
Then, as if making up her mind, she turned to Ari.
“I’m going after them.”
“Huh?”
Before Ari could stop her, Seon-hee took off running toward the two men.
