Chapter 63: A Rise in Ratings (2)
"...?!"
Lee Soo-Hee almost lost her balance when he saw the man standing in front of her.
Oh Myung-Hoon sat alone by the window, and a deep coffee scent wafted from the cup in his hand.
"Why are you here?" Lee Soo-Hee was instructed by Director Park to set a meeting with him tomorrow just a while ago, so she thought that she wouldn’t see him in the office today.
"Join me for a cup of coffee," Oh Myung-Hoon said as he walked toward the coffee machine and took out a coffee pod from the drawer.
Lee Soo-Hee glared at him coldly and asked, "Did you pull any strings?"
"Strings?"
"How did you get hired again when you were absent most of the time when Jae-Gun was still working with us? What connection did you use this time?"
Oh Myung-Hoon only stared silently at the dripping coffee in front of him. It was only when the last drop of coffee came down from the machine that he broke the silence.
"It might just be for the buzz. They have just announced that my novel's drama adaptation is premiering soon," Oh Myung-Hoon replied calmly, "There must be some talks between Nextion and the Korea Creative Content Agency. I'm not sure how you're looking at this right now, but I didn't use any special connections."
Oh Myung-Hoon turned around and handed Lee Soo-Hee the fresh cup of coffee, but Lee Soo-Hee only glared at him without any intention of taking the coffee from him.
'What is he trying to do?' Lee Soo-Hee was full of suspicion.
Oh Myung-Hoon had been acting extremely calm since she found him in the pantry, and that was what piqued her suspicions as the Oh Myung-Hoon she knew gets irritated and angry relatively easily.
"Take it. Drink it while it's hot," Oh Myung-Hoon urged. He moved his hand that was holding the coffee and shook it slightly in front of her.
There was no reason to reject his coffee, so Lee Soo-Hee took it and sat in the nearest chair. Oh Myung-Hoon picked up his own cup and sat across from her.
Lee Soo-Hee sipped on the coffee while looking out the window. She actively avoided making any eye contact with Oh Myung-Hoon. She didn’t want to talk with him, but she thought that it would be childish to change seats at this point.
"The development director asked me to set a meeting with you," Lee Soo-Hee finally spoke after finishing half the cup of coffee. She had decided to talk about work since he was already here, but her eyes remained on the blinking red light coming from an airplane flying in the distance, which could be seen from the window.
"I'll rearrange my schedule, so let me know when you're available."
"I'm free anytime, so you can just let me know the schedule."
"Okay, I'll do that, then." Lee Soo-Hee continued sipping on the coffee. She wanted to finish the entire cup quickly, but the drink was still hot, so she couldn’t drink it fast.
However, she wasn't in the mood to slowly enjoy the cup of coffee.
'I'll have to let Jae-Gun know as well.' Lee Soo-Hee's shoulders drooped. She very much wanted to put Ha Jae-Gun's name as the screenwriter on the game credits in return for writing such a great scenario that had exceeded her expectations.
Unfortunately, her plan could now be considered a failure.
"Soo-Hee," Oh Myung-Hoon tried to talk to her.
Lee Soo-Hee was still thinking about Ha Jae-Gun, so she shot a glare at Oh Myung-Hoon upon being interrupted. Then, she asked sharply, "What is it?"
Oh Myung-Hoon looked down at the table. He then let out a soft sigh and spoke meekly, "I was wrong."
"...?!" Lee Soo-Hee's eyes widened in surprise. She was sure that she heard him correctly.
Oh Myung-Hoon frowned, seemingly in pain. The corners of his mouth drooped as he displayed a textbook apologetic expression before saying, "I apologize for all the childish things I've done. I came here to apologize."
His words were so cringey that Lee Soo-Hee felt a shiver down her spine. She couldn't believe her ears upon hearing Oh Myung-Hoon asking for forgiveness, and she also had no idea how to accept his unexpected apology.
"I know the situation wouldn't be resolved with just my words alone. Looking back at what I had done, I had been wrong and childish, so I'm hoping that you’ll forgive me." Oh Myung-Hoon looked up and saw a bewildered Lee Soo-Hee staring at him in astonishment.
At the sight, he continued. "I won’t speak anymore. I will work harder until you see me in a different light. I'll change slowly but surely."
Before Lee Soo-Hee could reply, Oh Myung-Hoon downed the rest of his coffee and stood up. As he reached the door to the pantry, he added one last line, "I won't disappoint you. Have a good day."
With that, Oh Myung-Hoon stepped out of the pantry and out of Lee Soo-Hee's line of sight. Lee Soo-Hee watched as the automatic doors closed, still in a daze.
'Whatever happened to him?'
Was he sincerely asking for forgiveness? Lee Soo-Hee couldn't be sure of it. His words alone weren't enough to earn her trust after everything that Oh Myung-Hoon had done.
"What's wrong, Team Leader?"
"Oh? Ms. Hye-Mi?"
Lee Soo-Hee straightened up immediately as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her. She got so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't even realize that Hye-Mi was already standing right in front of her.
"You didn’t see me standing in front of you? I'm even done making my own cup of coffee. You must be exhausted, Team Leader. Please go home early to rest."
"That would be for the best. I'll make a call and leave afterward."
"Okay, I'll head back to the office first." Hye-Mi then left the pantry.
All alone in the pantry, Lee Soo-Hee took out her phone and keyed in Ha Jae-Gun's phone number, but she paused after keying in the last number.
She wasn’t confident to speak on the phone as if nothing had happened when she was still feeling down. In the end, she decided to put her elbows on the table and bury her face in her hands.
***
It was currently 7 p.m., and the restaurant was full of diners. A wide variety of sushi was displayed on the moving conveyor belt. Ha Jae-Gun and Da-Seul, who had just entered, were guided to their seats by the bar table.
"Wow, this looks delicious! It has been a while since I had sushi because they’re expensive," Da-Seul exclaimed.
"Eat to your heart's content, then."
"I eat really well despite my appearance, so I'm going to burn a hole in your pocket today. Ah, prawns!"
Da-Seul quickly picked up the plate of prawn sushi and put it in front of her.
Ha Jae-Gun chose the same dish as well.
"Why did you pick the same dish?"
"I like prawn sushi as well."
"Lies. You obviously copied my choice." Da-Seul lifted the plastic lid of the plate and stared at her food.
Ha Jae-Gun smiled wryly and poured some soy sauce into a sauce dish before adding some wasabi to it.
"Isn't prawn sushi delicious? I get sick of the other sushi after eating them a few times, but I can never get sick of prawn sushi," Da-Seul remarked.
"Yes, they don't have that fishy smell, either. That's why I eat them a lot."
"Wow, Writer Oppa is a total gourmet! All right, I acknowledge that. Here's some ginger."
"Thank you. Shall we start officially, then?"
They stared at each other and enjoyed their meal over some small, insignificant talk.
Da-Seul enjoyed their time together with a few giggles. Ha Jae-Gun was happy to see her enjoying herself—he was truly enjoying this sweet leisurely time.
"Ah, I ate well." Da-Seul leaned back into her chair after finishing around ten plates of sushi. Like Da-Seul, Ha Jae-Gun was also nearing his limits. He stretched slightly and glanced at Da-Seul. He saw her sweating from her temples.
"You can take off your coat, the heater in here is quite strong."
At Ha Jae-Gun's suggestion, Da-Seul shook her head and said, "No, I'm in a mess."
"Huh?"
"I told you I came out to buy some beer. So, I'm in my home wear."
Ha Jae-Gun burst into laughter at her reply. "Does that really matter? We won't see each other after today, so you can take it off as long as you aren't in rags."
Da-Seul’s eyes narrowed, and she chuckled before leaning into Ha Jae-Gun's ear and whispering, "But I’m not wearing a bra…"
"...?!" Flustered, Ha Jae-Gun turned his head away and cleared his throat.
Da-Seul burst out into laughter and clapped, making a few diners from the neighboring tables turn around to look at the commotion.
"I'm joking. I never leave my place without a bra." Da-Seul unzipped her hoodie and took it off. Her shirt was slightly worn out, but other than that, it was a pretty ordinary black shirt.
Her black shirt made her pale neck stand out, but her impeccably beautiful neck and shoulders stood out the most.
‘Do people with beautiful faces have gorgeous figures as well?’
Lee Soo-Hee's face suddenly appeared in his mind.
Ha Jae-Gun had long considered Lee Soo-Hee the most beautiful woman in his eyes. For him, she was more beautiful than the female celebrities, whom many people consider extremely beautiful.
"What do we do next?"
Ha Jae-Gun looked up as he felt something heavy on his thighs. Da-Seul was grinning like a child and had put her legs on Ha Jae-Gun's thighs like what she had done back when they were at the bar.
"Are you trying to repay the entire favor with just sushi? I’m even rewarding you right now."
"All right, what do we do next? Anyway, put your legs down first."
"Why? Are you shy? This feels comfortable for me."
"We were at a bar last time. Plus, it's a bar table here, so if other people saw your shoes on the table, I’m sure that they won’t like it. Hurry up and put your legs down."
"No, I won't," Da-Seul gave more strength to her legs, unwilling to put them down.
Ha Jae-Gun grabbed her ankles and forced them off himself.
"You're making me dislike you now. Why do you care so much about other people?"
"It's not that. It's manners."
"Forget it. Don't change the topic. Let's get out of here because we're already done with the meal. We should just get drunk tonight."
Da-Seul picked up her hoodie and headed for the door. Ha Jae-Gun shook his head helplessly and went to foot the bill.
"Thank you, please come again," said the staff.
"Yes, we enjoyed the food."
The two of them stepped into the busy street and started walking aimlessly without a destination in mind. They still had to digest their food, so the two took their sweet time with each step.
"Why don’t you wear a necklace?"
"What’s up with that random question?"
"Well, you're already wearing earrings. Don't ladies usually wear basic accessories even if they're just running an errand?"
"Why don't you buy me a necklace, then?"
"Hmm…?" Ha Jae-Gun's steps slowed down.
When something caught his eye, he stopped walking.
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He saw a nearby branded accessories shop with a white signboard overhead.
"Why did you stop walking?" Da-Seul asked as she turned around to look at Ha Jae-Gun, who had stopped walking a few steps behind her.
She followed Ha Jae-Gun's eyes and made the connection. Her jaws dropped slightly, and then she ran over to Ha Jae-Gun to give him a light slap on the shoulder. "Writer Oppa, that was just a joke, all right? Why are you so naive?"
"Why? I could just buy you one."
"Ah, forget it. I don't need to wear a necklace. Why would I need one anyway?"
"You said that just dinner wasn't enough. I was wondering what present I should get you as well, so the timing is perfect. Anyway, Let's take a look inside."
"O-oppa? Writer Oppa!"
Ha Jae-Gun walked into the shop without hesitation.
Da-Seul staggered after him, flustered.
"Welcome."
The U-shaped display counter was filled with dazzling jewelry. Ha Jae-Gun approached the counter and gestured at Da-Seul, who was hesitating by the entrance.
"Come here and look, there are so many pretty accessories."
"Ah… I'm good, really. I don’t even know what to say..." Da-Seul looked down and stared at the back of her hand as she made her way over to Ha Jae-Gun.
Ha Jae-Gun pointed at the various necklace designs in the showcase and asked her for her opinion. "What do you think of this one? It's a flower-shaped pendant."
"It looks expensive."
"Don't worry about the price. What about this?"
"It looks even more expensive."
Ha Jae-Gun frowned. He glared at her as if he were angry. "I said not to worry about the price, didn't I? You really helped me a lot, so you deserve something like this. I can afford this as well."
"But you paid for the interview…”
"That's a different matter. This present is from my heart, so I hope you won't reject it. Now pick." Ha Jae-Gun urged her once more.
Da-Seul finally lifted her gaze off of the back of her hand.
She slowly looked at the jewelry in the showcase.
"How about this?" asked Ha Jae-Gun.
"It's kinda big…"
"Finally, you’re not talking about the price anymore. Okay, what about this?"
"Mm… I would like to take a closer look at it."
"Excuse me, can we take a look at this?"
"Yes, sir."
Da-Seul started looking seriously at the accessories, and Ha Jae-Gun also put more effort into choosing a few necklace designs for her. He got so engrossed that he didn’t even notice his vibrating phone in his coat pocket.
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