TROBL 09

Chapter 09 …

Just when all that was left was to stamp the final period, the contract was put on hold because of a commotion that broke out in the lobby.

That absurd incident nearly cost the Global Strategy Team its trust with Moer headquarters overseas, but in the end, the employees who did their best managed to deliver results.

Nineteen days after the contract was suspended, today Hyunsin Department Store finally signed a complete contract with the world-class luxury brand Moer.

For Hyunsin, it was not a simple achievement.

With a top-tier global brand entering, the gap between Hyunsin and its competing department stores would widen even further.

Because of such an important day, Cha Kyung had skipped the first round of company dinner drinks, but planned to show up at the second round to encourage the employees.

After stepping out of the luxury sedan, the humid heat of the tropical night wrapped around him.

The asphalt heat mixed with the greasy smell drifting from the bars made the air thick and unpleasant, but there was no change in Cha Kyung’s expression.

He habitually checked his wristwatch, straightened his shirt sleeves, and adjusted his tie.

Not a single flaw could be found in his appearance.

And then he entered the bar.

The cold air from the air conditioner washed over him, cooling the heat—when from the diagonal direction near the entrance, a commotion reached his ears.

A staff member and a drunk customer were struggling.

“Sir, the kiosk isn’t voice-activated… you have to press the screen—”

“One bottle of soju!”

A drunken woman kept bowing her head toward the kiosk, demanding soju.

The employee’s face was full of distress.

Cha Kyung clicked his tongue lightly.

Having learned drinking etiquette under his strict grandfather, he despised people who became disorderly when drunk.

But strangely, that voice lingered in his ears.

It sounded familiar from somewhere.

When he turned his head, he saw a face he had become familiar with recently.

Cheeks red like overripe apples, eyelids half-lowered like a sleepy cat, and useless hand gestures flailing at the air.

Cha Kyung was dumbfounded.

That drunken woman shouting at a kiosk for soju was the same woman who had caused chaos at Hyunsin Department Store and had made this company dinner even more meaningful.

‘If I marry that woman, my lifespan increases? Ridiculous.’

Cha Kyung recalled the shaman’s words and sneered inwardly.

Living with a woman like that would not increase his lifespan—it would be a miracle if it didn’t shorten it.

He intended to pass by without dealing with her.

But the fact that he absolutely had to proceed with a contract relationship with her, and his sense of responsibility not to leave a drunk woman alone, made him stop in front of her.

“One bottle of soju!”

“Sir, you need to press the kiosk to order—”

“Soju, please!”

“Sir…”

“I’ll place the order for you. One bottle of soju?”

At those words, Doa slowly lifted her half-closed eyes, tilting her head as if checking whether she was dreaming.

“Executive Director…? Executive Director, what are you doing heeere…?”

When Doa recognized Cha Kyung, the employee beside them let out a huge sigh of relief.

When Cha Kyung gave a slight nod with his expressionless face, the employee quickly left as if saved.

As the employee cautiously backed away and disappeared from sight, Doa’s head suddenly drooped forward.

Then, with a dull thud, she collapsed onto the table.

“Hey, can you not stay conscious? Ms. Seong Doa.”

Cha Kyung tried calling her several times, but the body slumped over the table did not move.

With a short sigh, he eventually supported Doa and left the place.

The inside of the car was quiet.

Only the dry tapping sound of Cha Kyung’s fingers on the tablet screen and Doa’s steady breathing mixed softly in the air.

Cha Kyung paused and glanced at Doa sleeping beside him.

If this was fate, it was certainly a bad one. Since meeting her at Hyunsin Department Store, he had been entangled with her multiple times in unwanted ways.

Today was no different.

He had gone to a company dinner only to run into her, and in the end, he hadn’t even properly met the employees, having spent all his time cleaning up after her.

“Uhhhhh…”

As if reacting to his thoughts, a lazy groan escaped Doa’s lips.

“Are you awake now?”

Cha Kyung asked indifferently.

But Doa still didn’t respond and only shifted slightly.

“How Woo Kyungjun…”

A familiar name.

After Doa caused trouble at Hyunsin Department Store and left, Cha Kyung had instructed his secretary to investigate what had happened between her and the employee she had mentioned.

“The employee you mentioned is indeed a Hyunsin Department Store staff member, and the two are university classmates. Ms. Seong Doa appears to have been somewhat obsessive toward him in the past, and recently reacted strongly upon hearing news of his marriage. However, this is from Mr. Woo Kyungjun’s side—should I investigate further?”

Since there was no need to dig deeper into whether her situation was true or false, he did not order further investigation.

But even from the secretary’s words, something felt off.

Despite being longtime acquaintances, she was suddenly framed as a stalker, and her claims were too detailed and emotionally intense to be dismissed as pure delusion.

Doa seemed to be extremely angry at Woo Kyungjun, clenching her fists and trembling as she muttered in her sleep.

“Woo Kyungjun… bastard… Kang Nahi… you’re the same… I’ll… make you pay…”

While vowing revenge, Doa suddenly shifted and collapsed toward Cha Kyung.

At that moment, a warm body temperature and the smell of alcohol spread toward him.

“Haah, get a grip already.”

“Uuuhh…”

Leaning on Cha Kyung’s shoulder, Doa muttered incoherently like a child before being gently pushed away by his hand.

As Cha Kyung created distance between them, something caught his attention.

Tears were falling down Doa’s cheeks.

Through her messy hair, her flushed face was soaked with tears, and her long eyelashes trembled as they grew wet.

Her breathing caused her small nostrils to quiver slightly.

Her tear-stained face oddly carried a bit of cuteness.

If not for her habit of causing chaos and getting drunk like this, she might actually be quite attractive.

Maybe it would be better if she forgot the past and found another man.

But he immediately dismissed the thought as meaningless and turned away.

At that moment, Doa’s eyelids trembled and her half-closed eyes slowly opened.

“…Executive Director…?”

Their blurry gazes met, and she tilted her head as if unable to tell whether this was a dream or reality.

“There’s no way the Executive Director would be here. Right, Executive Director? This is a dream, right?”

“Stop it. Get a grip, Ms. Seong Doa.”

“If I need to get a grip, then this must be a dream. It’s a dream. Since it’s a dream, I’ll say something. Please do me a favor, okay?”

A faint laugh escaped Cha Kyung.

After causing a major incident and failing to properly compensate, now she was asking for a favor?

If she had at least agreed to the contract relationship, it would have been different.

As Cha Kyung thought this in disbelief, Doa, as if reading his mind, spoke with tearful eyes.

“I… I’ll do the contract relationship. So please pretend to be my boyfriend and help me seduce Kang Nahi. Make Kang Nahi get dumped by you, and Woo Kyungjun get dumped by Kang Nahi. Do it exactly like what happened to me…”

“Do I look like some kind of problem-solver you can just hire?”

Cha Kyung replied coldly, and Doa’s face instantly turned pale.

Her lips turned bluish, and her fingers trembled like convulsions.

What did I even do to make her react like that?

“Hey.”

Even while feeling absurd, Cha Kyung grabbed her shoulder as if she might collapse at any moment.

Then Doa spoke in a weak voice.

“Ugh… I… feel… nauseous…”

Now I even have to take care of a sick person?

Though annoyed, he adjusted her posture so she could feel less nauseous—but suddenly her shoulder jolted hard.

Then she tipped forward.

As her long hair spilled down violently, Cha Kyung felt an inexplicable sense of unease from deep inside his chest.

And that premonition was not wrong.

“Uuuugh—”

A sound like something rising from within echoed, and a violent vibration passed through their touching bodies.

Cha Kyung stared at the ceiling of the car with a hollow expression and said:

“Ha… what a wonderful day this is.”