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Chapter 1
Somang picked up the fortune cookie placed on the café counter and broke it in half.
Crunch.
[Warning! You may get bitten by a fox.]
“Yewon, did the customers say this fortune cookie has a high accuracy?”
Out of nowhere, the fox said something strange.
Somang, frustrated, complained to Yewon, the café owner and her friend. Yewon, however, just held Somang’s hand tightly.
“Somang, that’s not important right now. I’m telling you, my brother’s friend is really nice! Polite and totally warm-hearted. Just this once, please. Okay?”
It had been the same thing for a week already. Somang rolled her eyes without listening further.
“Ugh, I said no.”
“Hey! Baek Somang! Is this… because of that senior again?”
Clearing her throat, Somang stared off into the distance without answering.
“Just one time. I promise I won’t bring up another blind date until I die. Really.”
“Ugh, fine. Just one time, okay?”
Hearing this, Yewon nodded vigorously as if it had been a brilliant idea.
And so came Somang’s very first blind date.
“Hello. I’m Kim Dong-yeon.”
“I’m Baek Somang.”
Arriving at the hotel café for the meeting, Somang placed her handbag on the sofa and smiled slightly. The man responded with a hearty grin, scanning her from head to toe.
“I thought you’d be petite from your photo, but you’re quite tall.”
“Oh, really?”
She wasn’t particularly tall, but wearing high heels for the blind date pushed her just over 170 cm.
“Women are cuter when they’re a bit petite. Haha. Not saying that because I’m short, though.”
“Ah… okay.”
Somang smiled politely, unsure what he expected her to say.
According to Yewon, he was an advertising company employee two years older than Somang, tall and well-built.
Yet, the sharply dressed man across from her, with a golden hibiscus pin and a warm face, was completely different from both her taste and Yewon’s description.
“Somang, have you had dinner yet?”
He seemed interested in her, his earlobes reddening as he offered to eat.
“I’m not very hungry right now.”
“Oh, then how about a drink?”
Feeling it would be impolite to leave so soon, Somang reluctantly nodded.
“I actually reserved a spot at the cocktail bar here. Just a moment.”
As the man stood, Somang brought the coffee cup to her lips but put it down again, recalling how easily it flowed down.
<Still a student, drinking coffee at night… that stunt doesn’t make you taller.>
What a liar. As if she wouldn’t grow taller.
Sigh… I just want to go home.
She idly fiddled with the teacup handle when a loud growl came from her stomach.
Grrrr…
“Haha.”
Perhaps hearing her stomach, a low chuckle came from the seat behind her.
Embarrassed, Somang fidgeted with her hair and cleared her throat.
She’d only had lunch at the company cafeteria, so she was indeed hungry.
Just as she regretted not just agreeing to dinner, a voice behind her perked up her ears.
“Could you please check this?”
A neat, low-pitched voice with a calm tone.
Instinctively, her feet tingled, and the tops of her feet curled.
Somang leaned slightly backward without realizing it.
“…Excuse me, ma’am. Sorry, it seems there was a mistake by the hotel. May I upgrade you to a better room?”
“That’s fine.”
But with the noise of the crowd and music mixing, she barely heard him.
Half-lifting herself from the chair, she looked around, but the tall man was already a distance away, greeting the staff.
Ugh, no way that could happen.
Somang plopped back down, letting her gaze drift away from him.
A few minutes later.
“Geez! People have no sense of caution. Tsk.”
Dong-yeon, visibly annoyed, rubbed his white dress shirt with a napkin as he sat down.
“Oh my! Your clothes… are you okay?”
“Some guy spilled coffee, what can you do? Not enough to take legal action anyway.”
As he subtly boasted about being a lawyer, Somang silently sighed.
“So, you probably don’t have spare clothes either. Shall we call it a night here?”
Standing slowly, Somang gestured for Dong-yeon to move toward the hotel exit.
“Then, go ahead.”
Bowing slightly, Somang hailed a taxi in front of the hotel. As soon as she slumped into the backseat, her phone rang.
[From Choi Yewon]
Baekso! I’m really sorry!
“If the purpose of this blind date was to assassinate me, it was quite successful.”
Recalling the disastrous blind date, Somang left a resentful comment.
Yewon apologized repeatedly, explaining that due to complications, a namesake male legal advisor had gone instead.
“It’s fine. Luckily, it’s over quickly.”
Really sorry. Baekso, starting tomorrow, our café is free for you for life. Got it?
Somang laughed playfully, threatening to “ruin her.”
“Just keep your promise. If you even mention a blind date again…”
Hey, but the Dong-yeon I was going to introduce is really different, okay? A unicorn!
“I don’t care. If you want to introduce someone next time, he has to be at least 185 cm, have flawless skin, be cold when idle but smile with crescent-shaped eyes… and of course, his nails must be neat too.”
Listing it all, it was obvious she was describing her first love, Han-gyeol, without realizing it.
Yewon, no doubt aware, started scolding Somang over the phone.
Hey! Baek Somang, are you still pining over Han-gyeol?
“No, I’m not!”
Don’t lie! I heard Han-gyeol had a matchmaking meeting in the US and is preparing for marriage.
“Well… you never know until he walks down the aisle. And he’s not the type to say nonsense.”
At least, the Han-gyeol she knew was like that.
Somang, getting out of the taxi, nudged at the ground with her shoe tip.
She had followed Han-gyeol for ten years since middle school, yet had lost contact for over five years.
But, hearts don’t follow logic.
Arriving home, Somang punched the door lock code.
“So, we agreed not to talk about blind dates, right?”
Hey, hey! This one was an accident, so it doesn’t count…
Despite Yewon’s hesitant voice, Somang reminded her to keep the promise and hung up.
Entering the house, she was met by a huge, jet-black suitcase blocking the hallway. Somang furrowed her brow.
“Seriously, Baek Siwon… tidying up is really something else.”
Living with her older brother Siwon, Somang kicked the suitcase in frustration.
A year ago, he had opened “Siwon ENT Clinic” and often went on medical volunteer trips to the provinces.
When returning, she never saw his luggage organized—he either collapsed asleep or rushed to work.
“I’ll let it slide this time.”
As Somang sorted clothes from the suitcase into the washing machine, she tilted her head curiously.
The guy who used to only wear group T-shirts bought normal clothes…?
Perhaps he had a girlfriend?
Thinking little of it, Somang pressed the wash button.
The Next Day
“Deputy Manager, the cue cards are out from the PR team. If the TF team has corrections, they want them by this morning.”
“Yes, Eun-jung. I’ll check right away.”
Somang worked at Clover Electronics, one of the top electronics companies in Korea.
However, a recent appliance explosion incident had directly hit sales.
The company set the Q4 goal to “ZERO defect rate” and established a TF team.
The new TF team leader personally selected members: Assurance Team’s Manager Song Jin-joo, CS Team’s Deputy Choi Hyun-woo, PR Team’s Assistant Eun-jung Lee, and Quality Control’s Baek Somang.
Opening the email to check the cue cards, Somang’s eyes wavered unsteadily.
“Eun-jung, wasn’t the team leader’s name Yoo Jong-min?”
It was a name she knew too well, someone who shouldn’t be there.
“Oh! I also thought it was strange, so I checked—it’s been changed.”
Even after Eun-jung confirmed twice, Somang’s eyes froze at the TF team leader’s name: Yoo Han-gyeol.
