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Chapter 5
Yeon-ha, who had been blankly staring at his softly curved red lips, suddenly felt the corners of her own lips start to rise. Startled, she quickly turned her head away.
“Let’s go now.”
“Let’s go together.”
Afraid he might notice her blushing, she hurried her steps, but with his long legs, the man easily caught up to her.
When they arrived at the elevator, the doors slid open at just the right time.
Yeon-ha stepped in first, and just as the man was about to follow, his phone rang.
A hint of discomfort flickered across his face as he checked the screen.
“Please go ahead without me.”
“Oh… okay.”
Yeon-ha, who had assumed they would naturally ride up together, suddenly felt an odd sense of disappointment at being left alone.
Annoyed with herself for feeling that way, she quickly reached for the “Close” button—
—but just then, the tip of his shoe slipped between the closing doors.
Startled, Yeon-ha pulled her hand back, and the doors opened again. Their eyes met.
“If you don’t mind me asking… which brand’s design department do you work for?”
“What? Oh, I’m with Muse Design.”
She answered reflexively, then froze for a moment in puzzlement.
How did he know I’m a designer?
“See you again.”
Upon learning her department, the man smiled brightly.
That dazzling smile, paired with his perfectly straight teeth, made her heart stumble a beat late.
See you again…? What’s with that confident tone?
From the way he handled women so naturally, he seemed like the type who was probably a flirt.
Yeon-ha told herself firmly:
If I ever run into him again… I should avoid him.
The informal evaluation ended without incident, and before she knew it, it was already lunchtime.
The design department head and manager said they’d eat separately and left, while the rest of the team grabbed their lunch boxes and headed to the break room.
Since neither Yeon-ha nor Jin-young had packed lunch, they walked to a nearby pho restaurant.
The moment they stepped out of the office building, Jin-young, as if she had been holding it in all morning, began to gush about the new hire from the planning department—the one who had stopped by for introductions while Yeon-ha had been in the review.
“My college friend was right about him! When that guy walked into the design room… wow, I swear there was a halo glowing behind him. He’s literally the definition of drop-dead gorgeous!”
“Really, that much?”
Yeon-ha teased with a smile, and Jin-young nodded enthusiastically.
“Yes!”
“What do you want to eat?”
Yeon-ha cut in lightly, asking about the menu.
“Brisket for me!”
She ordered two bowls of brisket pho.
“But you know what’s even more amazing?”
Jin-young’s eyes sparkled as she leaned closer.
With a lifted brow that said ‘What now?’, Yeon-ha waited.
“He’s the same age as me!”
“The same… so, twenty-nine?”
“Yep! This has to be fate!”
Yeon-ha couldn’t understand how being the same age equaled fate, but she listened quietly as Jin-young rambled on all the way back from lunch.
Once back in the lobby, Yeon-ha headed with Jin-young to the café to buy the vanilla latte she hadn’t managed to get that morning.
The barista, recognizing her, spoke up first.
“Is that shirt… the one he lent you this morning?”
“What? Oh… yes. Sorry about earlier.”
Looking down at the oversized shirt she wore, Yeon-ha answered cautiously.
“No worries. Things like that happen in cafés all the time. Don’t think too much of it.”
After thanking him, she picked up her order and turned.
Holding the vanilla latte, Jin-young looked at her with burning curiosity.
“By ‘him’… you mean that guy who lent you clothes this morning?”
“Mm-hm.”
“I really wonder what kind of man he is. I mean, who lends his own clothes to a woman who stained his? In this day and age, most people would’ve picked a fight instead…”
Without replying, Yeon-ha just walked. Jin-young, realizing she wasn’t getting a reaction, turned her head.
“Team leader?”
She found Yeon-ha frozen in place, staring at something. Following her gaze, Jin-young’s eyes widened.
“We meet again.”
Recognizing them, the man strode over with a bright smile.
“On your way back from lunch?”
“Yes. What about you, Do-hyun?”
“Me too. Just finished eating.”
He answered Jin-young kindly, then looked at Yeon-ha.
“Did you enjoy your meal?”
“Oh, yes.”
Caught off guard by the unexpected encounter, Yeon-ha answered a beat too late.
Smiling faintly at her awkwardness, his gaze shifted to her shirt.
“As expected of a designer.”
Blinking, not understanding, she waited. He explained:
“I didn’t think an ordinary shirt could transform into such a chic dress.”
That morning, the shirt he had given her had been so oversized it looked like a child wearing her father’s clothes.
But Yeon-ha had undone two buttons for ease, rolled up the long sleeves, cut the hem into an asymmetrical short-long style, and cinched it with a belt—turning it into a stylish shirt-dress.
At his compliment, she said nothing, only staring hard at the employee badge around her neck.
Noticing, he flipped his own badge right-side up and introduced himself politely.
“Allow me to formally introduce myself. I’m Nam Do-hyun, just joined today as a member of the Product Planning Department.”
Only then did Yeon-ha realize this was the very new hire Jin-young had been raving about nonstop. And—he was four years younger than her.
At first, his serious tone and demeanor had made her assume he was her peer, or even older.
But now, knowing his age, she suddenly saw his smooth skin and the distinct energy of youth.
The realization that her heart had raced for someone four years younger made her want to crawl into a hole.
Trying to cover her fluster, she deliberately introduced herself in a clipped, professional tone.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Seo Yeon-ha, team leader of the design department.”
“I look forward to working with you.”
At her formal tone and the way she emphasized her title, as if to draw a line, his faint smile disappeared. He bowed properly.
“Likewise.”
With nothing more to say, silence fell between them, thick and awkward.
“So, how do you two know each other?”
Unable to hold back any longer, Jin-young asked.
Do-hyun didn’t answer right away, simply looking at Yeon-ha with a gaze that seemed to say ‘You explain.’
“He’s the one who lent me clothes this morning… Nam Do-hyun.”
“No way! That guy was you? Wow, what a small world!”
Tell me about it, Yeon-ha thought to herself.
She had promised herself to avoid him if they ever met again, and yet, here they were—crossing paths the very same day.
If he had been an outside partner, she could’ve simply sent someone else to deal with him. But of all things, he worked in a department within the same company—they’d be running into each other every day.
As she wavered between embarrassment and unease, Jin-young tilted her head, eyes twinkling with heart-shaped admiration.
“Nam Do-hyun, you’re like a cheat-code character.”
“A cheat character?” he asked with a light raise of his brow.
“Yeah! When the team leader said some stranger lent her his clothes, I was dying to know what kind of guy would do that. And it turns out it’s you! Honestly, I thought all handsome guys had terrible personalities because they rely on their looks. But you’ve proven me wrong.”
“I’m not that good of a guy.”
Despite her blunt words, Do-hyun answered gently, without a hint of offense.
“Actually, truly kind people never say they’re kind.”
Already blinded by admiration, Jin-young painted everything he said with pink-tinted interpretations.
Soon, the elevator doors opened. Do-hyun pressed for the 20th floor, while Yeon-ha and Jin-young pressed 21.
When the elevator stopped at 20, he turned to Yeon-ha and gave a polite bow.
“Well then, have a good day.”
“Yes.”
Just as the doors were closing, Do-hyun glanced back, catching her eyes.
For some reason, her heart gave a sudden, restless flutter.
