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chapter 8
A few days later.
When they returned to the office after finishing a vendor meeting, it was just about the end of the lunch break.
Yeon-ha and Jin-young got on the elevator, carrying paper bags filled with samples.
“Ow, my shoulders…”
As soon as she stepped in, Jin-young dropped the large paper bag she had been carrying on her shoulder with a thud.
It held four wool coats with fur trim and two shearling jackets—no wonder it was so heavy.
“Yeah, it’s heavy.”
“Couldn’t we have just had this delivered by courier?”
“You know how the manager is. She hates it when we spend extra on delivery fees.”
Jin-young grumbled as she rubbed her sore shoulders.
Watching her pout like a goldfish, Yeon-ha smiled and tried to soothe her.
“Our manager’s fine about most things, but I think she worries too much about what the director thinks.”
“She probably got like that because sales dropped last month. Let’s just try to understand.”
“Ugh. Makes me think higher positions aren’t always better. If sales go down, she blames the designers. If sales go up, she says it’s thanks to the sales team.”
“Still, I think it’s admirable—being responsible for a whole brand.”
At first, Yeon-ha had simply majored in fashion design because she loved clothes.
But the first time she saw someone actually wearing something she had designed, she was moved beyond words.
From that day on, she dreamed of one day launching her own brand.
“I feel like you’d really do well if you ran a brand, Team Lead.”
“Don’t flatter me.”
“I mean it! Honestly, in our design team, the top-selling styles are all yours.”
Watching Jin-young beam with pride as if it were her own achievement, Yeon-ha replied calmly,
“I was just lucky.”
“What’s lucky about that? It’s skill. That’s why even the director doesn’t mess with your designs much.”
Chief Manager Jin Myung-hee, known for her strictness, had worked for several major domestic fashion brands before transferring to LS Fashion. She personally scouted Yeon-ha to help launch a new brand called Muse.
Yeon-ha’s simple yet refined designs caught the eyes of celebrities, with products selling out one after another, creating a sensation.
In no time, Muse shot up to the No. 3 brand position, and Yeon-ha’s reputation rose along with it.
But all rising streaks have their limits.
Chief Manager Jin hadn’t been able to avoid the blow of the economic downturn either, and lately she had become visibly sharp-tempered.
Yeon-ha didn’t deal with her directly very often, but since Mi-joo had resigned, Jin-young was now the junior-most employee and often had to tread on eggshells over the smallest mistakes.
“Should we go eat grilled intestines tonight? My treat, for all the flattery you gave me.”
“Really? I’d love that!”
Jin-young’s smile brightened instantly.
Her sudden mood swings always struck Yeon-ha as both cute and amusing, so she laughed along.
Just then, the elevator dinged as it arrived on the 23rd floor.
Jin-young picked up her bag from the floor and stepped out first.
Yeon-ha was about to follow, but stopped short when Jin-young suddenly froze in place.
“Team Lead… we’ve got trouble.”
“What is it?”
“Kim Soo-ji’s on the move.”
“What do you mean?”
Puzzled, Yeon-ha looked at her. Jin-young shifted sideways, and through the gap, Yeon-ha spotted Marketing Team’s Kim Soo-ji chatting with Nam Do-hyun in the hallway.
The two were deep in conversation, Soo-ji laughing so hard she swatted Do-hyun’s arm playfully.
What on earth was so funny?
Yeon-ha quietly drew in a breath.
Since when had those two gotten that close?
Her gaze lingered on them longer than she intended.
“She just broke up with Manager Park from Sales, and now she’s already flirting with Do-hyun? She has no shame.”
Jin-young spat out the words in disgust. Still watching them, Yeon-ha replied with studied indifference,
“They’ve already broken up. There’s no shame in that.”
Lowering her voice, Jin-young added cautiously,
“My friend in HR told me Park Manager had been engaged to a clerk in the General Affairs team. But Soo-ji knew that and still seduced him, breaking them up.”
“…”
“And less than six months later, she dumped him. Now she’s after Do-hyun. Unbelievable.”
Yeon-ha pressed her lips together without answering, while Jin-young, worked up, continued,
“Well, Park Manager got what he deserved. He dumped the girlfriend he’d been with for five years and chased after the executive director’s daughter, Soo-ji, out of greed. And look at him now—completely left out in the cold. But Soo-ji still annoys me. Using her pretty face to string along every guy in the company.”
Even as she half-listened to Jin-young rant, Yeon-ha’s eyes stayed fixed on Soo-ji and Do-hyun.
With his model-like legs and handsome face, Do-hyun stood well alongside Soo-ji’s tall, cute figure.
Reluctant as she was to admit it, Jin-young seemed to feel the same, pouting as she muttered,
“They actually look good together… which makes it even more annoying.”
Yes, it made sense for people of the same age to date each other.
Yeon-ha forced herself to turn her gaze away, repeating it to herself like a mantra.
“Let’s go.”
With that quiet prompt, she started walking again.
Jin-young followed her toward the design studio.
The moment Yeon-ha turned away, Do-hyun, as if waiting for it, looked after her retreating figure and couldn’t tear his eyes away until she had completely disappeared from sight.
Since that awkward farewell at the welcome party, she had been avoiding him outright.
The distance he thought had narrowed between them seemed to have reset to the beginning again, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.
He regretted not holding back that day.
He had only kept quiet to avoid an argument, upset that she mistook him for some frivolous man.
But she must have thought he was angry. Now, how could he fix this?
Do-hyun bit the inside of his cheek anxiously.
He hadn’t joined this company for just anyone. He couldn’t afford to drift apart from her.
After returning to Korea, LS Fashion had been the first among three companies a headhunter had arranged interviews with.
The vice president, impressed by his résumé, offered him the job on the spot. But with two interviews still left, Do-hyun asked for time before deciding.
Jet lag still clouded his head, and with another interview scheduled in just two hours at Korea Trading, he desperately needed coffee to clear his mind.
When the elevator doors opened, instead of the parking lot, he pressed the button for the lobby floor, where the café was.
The numbers quickly ticked down, and the elevator stopped at the 20th floor.
The doors slid open, and a woman in a white long pleated dress stepped in, phone pressed to her ear.
Standing by the panel, she noticed the lobby button was lit and continued her call in a soft voice.
“President, that color looks too dull in person. Ivory looks far more luxurious than beige. Yes, that’s why I sent the fabric samples again. Please check the revised sketch I sent this morning, not the draft from yesterday.”
Do-hyun’s gaze naturally lingered on her.
From her stylish appearance and the conversation, she was clearly a designer at this company.
As the elevator moved again, she continued,
“Oh, and change the buttons—not the gold ones, but the pearl ones I included. And don’t forget to shorten the dress length by an inch.”
She brushed the hair that had fallen forward neatly behind her ear.
At that moment, her long hair rippled like silk down her back.
Do-hyun suddenly wondered if it really felt as soft as it looked.
“Yes. By next Wednesday, please. Thank you.”
When the call ended, she fixed her eyes straight ahead.
‘Just once, look my way.’
When she had first entered the elevator, he hadn’t gotten a good look at her face because of the phone call.
But even from that brief glimpse, he knew she was strikingly beautiful.
As if sensing his gaze, the woman tilted her head slightly.
Just then, the lights flickered, followed by a loud bang.
The elevator stopped, plunging into darkness.
