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Chapter 29
The next day.
The atmosphere at the company was like a festival.
It was all thanks to the stock price, which had nearly doubled, and the LOROVER preorder sales closing far earlier than expected.
Employees were certain that this quarter’s bonus would be unprecedented.
Stories circulated—some had stayed up all night ordering everything they’d kept in their shopping carts, others said it was finally time to change their cars—but not a trace of fatigue could be heard in their voices.
But amid all this noise, Da-hee’s voice was missing.
“Eun-jung, is Deputy Manager Jung Da-hee not coming in today?”
“No. She’s on sick leave.”
Somang sighed as she looked at Da-hee’s empty seat.
Yesterday’s wedding invitation must have been quite a shock.
After taking off her coat, Somang sat down.
She was sorting through emails from the factory she managed when the team leader’s office door opened.
“TF team, meeting at 10.”
Han-gyeol, sleeves rolled up on his black striped shirt, listed the materials they each needed to bring.
The meeting that began then lasted a full hour.
In short, the PR department wanted to maintain the current upward momentum—raise production rates but strictly keep defect rates under control.
Secure the second batch quickly.
Defect rate: as close to zero as possible.
Somang drew three stars in a row in her notebook.
“This launch performance will become the foundation of our company’s image going forward.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Go to your respective factories, check if we can secure additional production lines, and submit your reports by tomorrow.”
With that, everyone hurried out of the conference room without even a moment of chatter. They had no time to waste if they were to inspect factories and write reports.
Just as Somang grabbed her notebook and was about to stand—
“Deputy Manager Baek Somang, you’re leaving with me.”
Her pen slipped from her hand and clattered onto the floor at the commanding voice behind her.
When she only stared without answering, Han-gyeol added,
“You’re the manager in charge of the Chungbuk factory, aren’t you?”
Finally snapping back to reality, Somang answered with a voice full of resolve.
“Yes! I’ll prepare right away.”
* * *
At a hotel café, Jong-min anxiously bit his fingernails.
“IT review specialist, TechTron.”
He stared half-heartedly at the business card under his chipped nail.
He was the only tech YouTuber with ten million subscribers, and people said a single video from him could destroy an electronics company.
Just as Jong-min had folded every corner of the card, the chair across from him scraped back.
“Nice to meet you.”
The man—wearing black horn-rimmed glasses and having a solid build—exuded an intellectual aura befitting a tech creator. With a polished smile, Jong-min extended his hand for a handshake.
“Hello, I’m Yoo Jong-min, Managing Director at Clover Electronics.”
TechTron looked startled at the unexpectedly high position.
“Huh? A managing director…? I thought this was a meeting for co-producing content about the robot vacuum. Was I mistaken?”
His polite tone and clear gaze gave off a sense of sincerity—he wasn’t someone easily swayed.
Even Jong-min, not the sharpest, could tell this man wouldn’t be manipulated so easily.
“I just wanted to thank you for your recent review. Would it be okay if we sent you more products?”
Of course, there’s no obligation to review them. When Jong-min added that, TechTron’s eyes softened behind the lenses.
Relaxing, he began excitedly talking about how they’d made such a product. Jong-min only understood half of what he said before cutting him off at an appropriate moment.
“Ah, if you have team members, please send me their home addresses and contact info. I’ll have the company ship products directly to them.”
He handed over a business card with Manager Cho’s number on it.
No need for me to take any risks myself.
“T-the thing is… my staff is kind of large… Is that okay?”
TechTron asked carefully, expecting that most of his team would want to try the product.
“It doesn’t matter how many.”
Jong-min puffed himself up unnecessarily.
* * *
Having skipped lunch, Somang held a hamburger in her hands.
“That’s enough for you?”
“Yes. But don’t tell Siwon-oppa. He doesn’t let me eat a lot of instant food.”
Her childish grumble made Han-gyeol laugh without resistance. At first, she had frozen up just getting into his car, but now she seemed more relaxed.
Though in a slightly… wrong direction.
It was like a puppy entering a home—within half a day, its little head was filled entirely with potatoes. He wasn’t even in her field of vision.
At this rate, when would they ever get married?
Han-gyeol tapped the steering wheel lightly with his fingers.
“Want to see something cool?”
Finishing her burger, Somang operated her phone and showed him a live video.
“I’m watching Gamja through the robot vacuum’s home-cam function. She plays well on her own. Look at this.”
Somang beamed as she watched the puppy’s butt wiggle while it ran toward the automatic feeder.
So that’s what she had been staring at in a daze since getting into the car—Gamja again.
“You like the dog that much?”
“Isn’t she adorable? Ah—do you not like dogs, oppa?”
Cat person? she wondered, tilting her head—but her attention returned immediately to Gamja.
“What about me then?”
With a slightly crooked tilt of his head, Han-gyeol caught her hand as it reached for the cola.
His eyes held unmistakable disappointment. Rubbing her eyes in disbelief, Somang whispered,
“Wait… are you jealous right now?”
“Is that not allowed?”
His dense eyelashes lowered slowly—his lips brushing her neck, then back to her lips. His expression was so intense it felt like he was licking and kneading her whole body.
Before she could get a nosebleed again, she dropped her gaze back to her phone for stability.
Thankfully, the fluffy dog helped cool her overheated mind.
“People and dogs are different.”
“So who do you like more?”
Dissatisfied at having his attention stolen, Han-gyeol pulled her hand toward him. Holding her tofu-soft fingers, he lowered his head diagonally.
Look at me, please—his tiny, teasing kisses filled her hand.
His eyes seemed to ask, Hm? Me or the dog? They were gentle, but clearly demanding an answer.
Sticky, smoldering—his gaze was shockingly bold and sensual.
Avoiding his eyes, Somang quickly turned her head.
“L-look! The factory manager is outside.”
Chief Choi, in full work gear, seemed to recognize their car and waved them toward a parking spot.
Saved. Somang wiped her damp hand on her pants.
Both acts involved getting licked, but it felt completely different from when Gamja did it. As if her nerves were connected in one line, a strange tremor spread to the secret place below her stomach.
No wonder she’d gotten a nosebleed earlier.
Fortunately, the business trip progressed quickly and intensely.
Starting with data review, Han-gyeol examined various parts of the factory.
It was a small appliance factory, not very large, but each line worked meticulously on palm-sized components.
Parts were produced at the Chungbuk factory and then went to partner companies for secondary and tertiary assembly.
“We reviewed HQ’s email. If we remove the kitchen appliance line, we should be able to convert it into a robot vacuum line.”
Thankfully, since they had plenty of kitchen appliance stock, it was feasible.
“How long will it take?”
“One week at the earliest. We have to shut down the entire line and reprogram everything.”
“Shut it down today.”
Han-gyeol said firmly—without a moment’s hesitation.
He had likely already decided this before arriving.
“Then we’ll get right to it.”
With a simple nod from Han-gyeol, the trip concluded.
Because they’d started early, it was only three o’clock.
“We’re going back to the office, right?”
Preparing to write her report, she opened her notebook.
But Han-gyeol adjusted his tie neatly in the rearview mirror.
“Let’s clock out early and stop by somewhere else.”
The car started moving, speeding smoothly along the road as the scenery blurred by.
Soon they reached a certain downtown area, and Somang’s eyes widened.
“No way—are we going to my parents’ store?”
