Real Man

Chapter 104

Thud.

She casually placed it on the table as if it was nothing.

It was a luxury bag with the channel logo on it.

Anyone who saw it would think she was bragging about her designer bag, but that was not her intention.

“Oh my, Eunrin sunbae-nim. What is that?”

“Oh, this?”

Eunrin slightly opened the zipper and pulled out the wrapping paper.

A palm-sized luxury chocolate came out.

“I got a gift.”

Eunrin shrugged her shoulders.

That’s right. She wanted to show off this gift!

Then, Yoo Hyemi, an assistant manager from the mobile sales team, said.

“Huh? Don’t tell me that’s… from Yoo-hyun-ssi?”

“Ah, yes. Hehe.”

“I got one too.”

“Really?”

“Me too. The design is a bit different though.”

“What did you say?”

Eunrin was flustered by the sudden testimonies.

She thought she was the only one who received it and was so happy, but they also got it.

Her huge joy turned into disappointment in an instant.

“I didn’t get any.”

“Me neither. Sob.”

Seeing the other disappointed people, Eunrin’s mood revived.

But what was the criterion?

She didn’t know much about Yoo-hyun, but he was not someone who would give gifts to anyone.

Rather, he seemed to have little interest in female employees.

So much so that people said he had a different taste because he only cared about Park Seungwoo, an assistant manager.

Then, Jin Sunmi, an employee from the PR team who had been left out for a while, chimed in.

“But you know what? Yoo-hyun oppa should never have a girlfriend. Hohoho… ho.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Why are you bringing that up now?”

They were all too friendly with Yoo-hyun, so it was a joke she threw out of nowhere.

But the reaction was not good.

The sudden silence and the sharp glares made her panic.

It was similar to the reaction when she asked a friend who was obsessed with an idol ‘Isn’t he the one who had a dating scandal?’ in her school days.

It felt like she touched a taboo.

Then Eunrin said.

“What’s wrong with Yoo-hyun-ssi having a girlfriend? He’s just a good colleague.”

There was a bone in her casual words.

Jin Sunmi, who hadn’t been working for long, could tell for sure.

“Oh, right. Yes. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry? Where were we?”

As if they had let go of what Jin Sunmi had said, they resumed their conversation.

Jin Sunmi was the only one who was shaking her legs nervously throughout the conversation.

If you receive something, you should always return it.

It was Yoo-hyun’s will to repay his past debt by choosing a different life.

Was it because of that?

Yoo-hyun tried not to forget his gratitude even for small help.

“Thank you for telling me. It helped me a lot.”

“Really? That’s good. If you need anything else, just let me know.”

“Your words are enough for me. And this.”

Yoo-hyun took out a wrapped chocolate from his pocket and handed it to the cleaning lady. She was startled.

“Oh my, oh my. Why are you giving me this?”

Then she took off her gloves and put them in her pocket. She wiped her bare hands on her clothes and carefully took the chocolate.

She looked very touched.

It was really nothing, so he felt embarrassed to give it to her.

“I just bought it on a whim. It’s nothing special, so don’t feel burdened.”

“Oh dear. How can this happen? Thank you.”

“I should thank you more.”

But why did she bow her head?

He could feel her sincerity from her trembling fingertips.

“Thank you very much.”

“Hey, no need to say that.”

Yoo-hyun waved his hand.

“Then I’ll go ahead.”

He felt like he would keep receiving thanks if he stayed longer, so he left his seat.

When he looked back from afar, the cleaning lady was still holding the chocolate.

“Geez…”

What was this tingling feeling?

He felt embarrassed, but his lips kept curling up.

After finishing his meal, Park Seungwoo sat on a bench in front of the cafeteria and pouted his lips for no reason.

“Huh? You’re so happy. Die.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. You lucky bastard. You have it good.”

What was he so dissatisfied about?

“What did I do?”

“You were weird just now. Why do they always give you more side dishes?”

He was still holding a grudge about that?

Clack.

Yoo-hyun opened a can of coffee and chuckled.

“I told you I would give you mine.”

“Who would laugh at that? A senior who steals his junior’s side dishes.”

“Ah…”

“Hey, you didn’t think that just now, did you?”

Yoo-hyun silently brought his mouth to the can, and Park Seungwoo blurted out with a resentful look.

“Look at you. You’re so happy. Die.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. You lucky bastard. You have it good.”

What was he so unhappy about?

“What did I do?”

“You were weird just now. Why do they always give you more side dishes?”

He was still holding a grudge about that?

Clack.

Yoo-hyun opened a can of coffee and chuckled.

“I told you I would give you mine.”

“Who would laugh at that? A senior who steals his junior’s side dishes.”

“Ah…”

“Hey, you didn’t think that just now, did you?”

As Yoo-hyun casually replied, Park Seungwoo raised his voice slightly with frustration.

“That’s not what I meant. People keep comparing me to you, that’s why.”

“I’m sorry.”

As Yoo-hyun bowed his head sharply, Park Seungwoo jumped up.

“Hey, hey, don’t do anything weird. People will think I’m a petty senior who’s jealous of his junior.”

“I won’t do it again.”

Whether he meant it or not, Yoo-hyun bowed his head even deeper.

“Sigh… I’m sorry. I’m really the pathetic one.”

In the end, Park Seungwoo sighed and blamed himself.

He even pretended to hit his head with his fist.

Would it break if he hit it like that?

Yoo-hyun was about to say something, but he stopped himself from crossing the line.

That’s when it happened.

Yoo-hyun’s expression changed strangely as he looked at Park Seungwoo.

“Wait a minute.”

“Why?”

He got up from his seat and ran to the cafeteria, holding a bunch of tissues.

“Use this.”

“Why?”

“You have a nosebleed.”

“What?”

Park Seungwoo tilted his head and pressed the tissue to his nose.

Sure enough, nothing came out.

“What nosebleed?”

At that moment, Park Seungwoo felt a tingling sensation in his nose tip.

As he instinctively pressed the tissue, a pinkish liquid stained it.

“Huck, it’s real!”

“Lower your head forward. And use more of this.”

“Hul…”

“Don’t talk.”

The blood kept flowing like a faucet, and Yoo-hyun handed him more tissues.

There was a lot of it.

“I haven’t had a nosebleed since high school…”

“If you talk, it will go down your throat.”

“Isn’t this amazing? It means I worked really hard.”

“…”

Don’t talk and he talks more.

That’s why the blood keeps coming out.

Yoo-hyun silently handed him more tissues.

He sighed and opened his eyes, and saw Park Seungwoo smiling smugly.

Inside the conference room on the 12th floor.

On the screen was a list of mockup companies that Lee Chanho had organized.

Kim Hyunmin, the deputy manager, pondered for a moment and opened his mouth.

“There’s only Semi Electronics that does touch and software support?”

“Yes. They seem to be reliable since they also manufacture products.”

“I see. Semi Electronics is a pretty big company. But will they work with us?”

Kim Hyunmin tilted his head.

It didn’t make sense for Semi Electronics to do a mockup that wouldn’t make money.

“They seem to be interested. The schedule is too tight though, so we need to confirm if they can support that part.”

“They also said they would match the price. Then why don’t we just negotiate with them and go with them?”

“That’s… We have to proceed with that, but their president requested a meeting personally.”

“The president?”

“Yes. He said he wanted to greet us once, but it’s kind of burdensome…”

It was something that made Lee Chanho scratch his head.

It wasn’t the president of a small company, but a fairly large one who requested a meeting.

It was obvious that he wanted something in this situation where sending an employee alone was not polite.

While he was thinking, Lee Chanho cautiously suggested.

“I’ll go with Yoo-hyun and check it out.”

“No. You should go with someone who has a higher rank when you meet the president. Park? No, he’s too busy preparing for the contest. Who should go then…”

It was then that Kim Hyun Min, the deputy manager, turned his head and looked at the conference room.

Yoo-hyun raised his hand and said.

“Can’t you go with me, deputy manager?”

“Huh? Me?”

“Yes.”

Yoo-hyun nodded his head with a bright smile. Kim Hyun Min reluctantly answered.

“Well… I guess so.”

It was the moment when Kim Hyun Min’s business trip was decided after a long time.

A few days later.

Yoo-hyun, who stood in front of the Semi Electronics building in Gasan-dong, followed Lim Han Seop, the assistant manager, who came out to greet him, and entered the building.

Kim Hyun Min, Lee Chan Ho, and Yoo-hyun.

Except for Lim Han Seop, there were only three people in this large office wearing suits.

Everyone else was dressed casually.

It wasn’t just their clothes that were free.

Various materials were scattered on the large table, and various test boards were piled up around the computer.

It felt similar to the Ulsan factory.

No, compared to here, it was very neat there.

“It’s quite messy, right? We haven’t cleaned up because of a recent urgent issue.”

“Everyone is like that, right? Hehe.”

But the president’s office was definitely large.

Just by looking at the company’s atmosphere and the size of the president’s office, Yoo-hyun could figure out the president’s style.

He was a free-spirited person who didn’t care about formality, valued authority but was also aggressive.

In other words, he was the type who would go all out if the conditions were met.

That matched the nature of Semi Electronics’ business so far.

That’s why Yoo-hyun could predict what situation would unfold when he opened this door.

That was the reason why he called Kim Hyun Min, the deputy manager.