* * *
“Assistant Manager Wookyung, could you come over here for a moment?”
At the call, Wookyung immediately stood up from his seat.
Ever since receiving a subtle nudge from Director Choi about when he’d be submitting his proposal, he had continuously turned in documents, but none had passed approval yet.
“I feel like there’s something better out there. Give it some more thought.”
“This doesn’t quite fit the local sensibilities.”
“It’s good, but these parts here and here need some more refinement. What do you think? You might even consider reworking it entirely.”
After being rejected multiple times, he honestly wasn’t even coming up with new ideas anymore.
But it wasn’t as if Director Choi was being unreasonable.
‘He’s good at his job.’
Wookyung acknowledged that the director had a sharper eye than him, with a keen ability to spot flaws and find better solutions.
“You called for me.”
“This idea isn’t bad either. However, from their perspective…”
Hearing the way he started, Wookyung already had a bad feeling.
As expected, Director Choi meticulously pointed out why this proposal wouldn’t work.
But all Wookyung really registered was that phrase again—”from their perspective.”
He had heard it before.
Yeah, that’s the problem.
Furniture that’s both familiar and distinctive enough to be placed in their homes.
Easier said than done.
“Assistant Manager Wookyung.”
“…Yes.”
This one got rejected too, so what now?
He had been lost in thought, which caused a delayed response.
He glanced at Director Choi cautiously, but he didn’t seem to mind.
“As I mentioned in the meeting before, it doesn’t necessarily have to be home furniture.”
“Ah…”
Wookyung blinked blankly.
Now that he thought about it, that had been mentioned before.
They were encouraged to explore ideas for living spaces, offices, commercial furniture—anything.
But ever since he joined the company, he had only worked on home furniture proposals, so he had instinctively kept brainstorming within that scope.
“…Understood.”
“There’s no need to rush, so take your time to think it through.”
Before, he was told to submit something immediately!
But… was that really the case?
Now that he thought about it, it wasn’t exactly phrased like that…
Maybe his brain was overloaded from thinking too much.
Just as he furrowed his brows and sat back down—
“I’m going to grab something to eat. Do you want anything?”
Manager Pyeon looked around as he asked.
Naturally, no one was leaving work on time, so he was planning to buy some food for everyone.
Soon, a debate broke out between those who wanted street food and those who preferred bakery items.
In the end, they settled on kimbap.
Everyone agreed that rice felt more filling than flour-based food.
“I’ll go get it.”
Wookyung volunteered, figuring he could use the fresh air.
“Then I’ll come with you.”
Immediately, Associate Choi raised his hand to follow.
The two naturally accepted the company card from Director Choi and left the office together.
“Assistant Manager.”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry for bothering you so much.”
Wookyung turned to Associate Choi, wondering what he meant.
His expression was unusually downcast.
“I should’ve been helping you, but I feel like I just made more work instead. I should’ve asked you first before starting…”
So he was still dwelling on what happened a few days ago.
“It’s fine.”
Since Wookyung hadn’t expected him to handle it properly anyway, his response was flat.
“I’ll do better on my own from now on.”
That statement, however, was enough to make Wookyung freeze.
‘Do better on my own?’
That was one of the scariest things a rookie could say.
“…Ha. Choi Siwon, don’t try to do things alone.”
If he had just asked how to approach the task, Wookyung wouldn’t have told him to blindly gather data—he would’ve taught him how to organize it first.
Of course, if you argued that it was his own fault for not asking earlier, there wasn’t much to say.
“But…”
“If you try to handle everything yourself and something bigger goes wrong later, fixing it will be much harder. So make sure to ask for help.”
Rookies sometimes got ahead of themselves, thinking they could figure things out on their own—only to bring everything crashing down when it was too late.
He probably didn’t realize that yet.
It might sound harsh now, but this kind of thing needed to be said upfront to prevent bigger messes later.
Yet, for some reason, Associate Choi remained silent.
“If you have something to say, just say it.”
“I just wanted to be helpful… but I feel like I’m only causing trouble.”
“You’re doing fine right now. Just don’t overdo it.”
Wookyung’s response was firm.
But after saying it, he hesitated.
They were on the same team, after all. Maybe he was being too cold.
“…Hmm. How about we work for another hour and then head home together?”
Associate Choi’s face immediately brightened.
“Really?”
Why was he so excited?
They were just going to leave work at the same time.
‘Wait. Does he even take the subway?’
Since he never paid attention, he had no idea how Associate Choi commuted.
Not that it mattered.
Unlike Director Choi, who he had coincidentally run into on the subway on his first day.
His thoughts wandered in a different direction without him realizing.
“Then, Assistant Manager, I’ll give you a ride home!”
Associate Choi spoke cheerfully, but that was when Wookyung remembered one crucial detail.
‘Oh, right. He’s a rich kid.’
He had never outright said it, but everyone knew—he was the son of Vice President Choi.
“Ah, no, it’s fine. That’s not necessary.”
His rejection was immediate.
He had only meant to grab some late-night snacks together on the way to the subway.
But riding in someone else’s car?
That was a hard no.
When Wookyung turned him down, Associate Choi’s face visibly fell.
He felt a little bad, but it couldn’t be helped.
‘No means no.’
“Good work today.”
“Get home safely.”
“See you tomorrow.”
7:30 PM. Just as he had said, Wookyung wrapped up his work after another hour.
He had refused to take a ride with Associate Choi, but in the end, they compromised—having a quick drink together before heading home separately.
Of course, that only happened after some back-and-forth, with Associate Choi reluctantly backing down by agreeing to take a taxi home instead.
Because of that, as the two headed to the elevator to leave, they encountered an unexpected passenger inside.
“Director Choi?”
“You’re leaving now?”
Even as he nodded, Wookyung couldn’t hide his surprise.
Earlier, Director Choi had mentioned a dinner appointment with the executives.
So why was he coming down from an upper floor?
“Executive Director Jung invited me for tea. He insisted he had something good in his office.”
Executive Director Jung had been around since before CEO Choi took over.
That meant he was quite senior and held significant influence.
He had the dignified, kindly demeanor of an elderly gentleman, enjoyed tea, and often invited others to join him for a cup—so much so that even lower-ranking employees occasionally got caught in his invitations.
“Did he bring in a new tea again?”
“So you’ve experienced it too, Assistant Manager Wookyung?”
“Yes, a few times…”
For some reason, Wookyung found himself getting pulled into those tea sessions about once a month.
“I see. Heading home now?”
At the sudden topic change, he instinctively nodded before quickly correcting himself.
“Yes.”
“You worked hard today.”
“You too, Director Choi.”
Hearing that from Director Choi, who was responsible for 80% of his workload, only made Wookyung feel even more exhausted.
But since he had already told Choi Siwon…
‘Should I just suggest grabbing a quick drink at the convenience store nearby and call it a night…?’
For a brief moment, a sneaky thought crossed his mind, but Wookyung quickly dismissed it.
No matter what, after offering to comfort him, Wookyung couldn’t just take him to a place like that.
Soon, the elevator arrived at the lobby.
Wookyung stepped out first, followed by Choi Siwon, but that seemed to catch Director Choi’s attention.
“Siwon, aren’t you heading home too?”
“I am.”
Why was he acting so prickly toward the director?
Even if they knew each other personally, this was still the office.
Wookyung instinctively glanced around.
Luckily, since it was late, there were no other employees around.
“Did you bring your car today?”
“No.”
Choi Siwon answered briefly, but his eyes gleamed mischievously.
It was the kind of look someone had right before playing a bad joke, so Wookyung quickly cut in.
“I’m going to have a drink with Siwon nearby.”
“Oh? Then would it be alright if I joined?”
‘I think I just dug my own grave. I should’ve seen this coming!’
“Siwon, you’re okay with that, right?”
Cowardly, Wookyung shifted the decision to Choi Siwon.
He figured since Siwon was closer to the director personally, it’d be easier for him to refuse.
“No. Assistant Manager, we agreed to drink alone today.”
As expected, the response was exactly what Wookyung had hoped for.
Though… why did that tone sound so oddly defiant?
He prayed it was just his imagination.
* * *
