Real Man

Chapter 90

The meeting was a success.

There were some difficulties in the middle, but they achieved their goal.

However, Manager Choi Min-hee’s face was still gloomy.

She looked the same even after they came out of the Hyunil Automobile Research Institute building.

As they walked along the road, she asked cautiously.

“Yoo-hyun, how did this happen?”

“I don’t know either. I have no idea what’s going on.”

“…”

Yoo-hyun said no, but Manager Choi Min-hee was sure.

This couldn’t be a coincidence.

A thought flashed through her mind.

‘Did he use the situation to his advantage?’

She remembered that he had made a phone call before they entered the restaurant.

Maybe that was to call his colleagues.

It felt like he had deliberately exploited Manager Jo Chi-hoon’s weakness.

Thinking about it, it seemed like everything fell into place.

Wait.

Did he know who Manager Jo Chi-hoon liked all along?

That didn’t make sense.

Manager Choi Min-hee shook her head vigorously.

She felt like she was possessed by a ghost.

She wanted to take a break and sort out her thoughts.

“I must be crazy.”

“Are you okay?”

Yoo-hyun asked with a worried expression.

He understood why she was holding her head right now.

It was because of the stress she had received during the meeting today.

She needed to rest at times like this.

“Do you want to take a break?”

“…No. Let’s go.”

“Then let’s go.”

“…”

Manager Choi Min-hee wanted to ask more persistently, but she stopped herself.

That would be rude to Yoo-hyun who had worked hard today.

The important thing was that the work went well.

She soon relaxed her face and smiled at Yoo-hyun.

“You’re such a helpful colleague. I should buy you dinner. You said you had to contact someone earlier.”

“I’ll check my schedule first.”

“No. I’m fine. You can go see your colleagues later.”

“Hey, how can I do that when you’re waiting for me?”

It was a one-day business trip.

Yoo-hyun had decided to accommodate Manager Choi Min-hee, so he didn’t bother to tell his colleagues.

But it seemed like Manager Choi Min-hee had other thoughts.

“I have to go home because I have a kid, but you’re young. When will you come to Geoje again?”

“Still…”

“I’m going to go in tomorrow afternoon because it was a long-distance trip. Of course, I’ll tell Mr. Kim about it. You can come in then too. Is that okay?”

She kept caring for him even though she must have been exhausted herself.

Yoo-hyun couldn’t refuse her all the time, so he nodded his head.

“Okay. Thank you.”

Manager Choi Min-hee smiled brightly at Yoo-hyun’s answer.

It felt like her cold heart opened up like the smile on her lips.

Maybe it wasn’t Manager Choi Min-hee who changed, but Yoo-hyun who didn’t pay attention?

He finally saw her true colors after 20 years.

He had received an unexpected gift from her who had to leave the company in the past.

At that time, what Yoo-hyun received was the result of her hard work and sweat.

And now.

Yoo-hyun received her sincerity.

He still had plenty of time until his appointment with his colleagues since he was still working.

He took a taxi alone and went to the nearby sea.

Splash splash.

The sound of waves hit his ears.

The flying seagulls, the sharp cliffs and the sea created a beautiful scenery together.

It was as beautiful as his old memories.

-This place is really nice. It makes me feel refreshed just by looking at it.

Yoo-hyun leaned back on the bench and looked at the setting sun over the sea with a faint smile on his face.

He felt comfortable even by just being there.

He understood why she liked this place so much.

Then he suddenly remembered the scene where she was crouching in front of him here.

She was drawing something on the ground with a stone.

-What are you doing?

-Just… Is this my signature on the ground? Isn’t it cute?

She turned her head and smiled brightly at him.

On the ground, there was a half-heart symbol with a cupid arrow stuck in it.

It was her signature made with Da (多), meaning many, in Chinese characters for Jung Da-hye’s name.

He guessed that she wanted him to draw the other half of the heart himself by looking at how she glanced around nervously.

He didn’t know back then.

No, he didn’t even bother to know.

Yoo-hyun in the past was not the type to care about romance.

But why did he think of this now?

Swoosh swoosh.

Yoo-hyun picked up a stone and left Jung Da-hye’s signature on the hard clay ground.

It wasn’t hard to follow the familiar thing.

And he drew the other half of the heart to connect it.

This is so embarrassing. 

And childish.

He kept giggling even though he was just drawing a line.

It felt like he went back to his high school days when he was innocent.

Zing.

When the sun was setting, he got a call.

It was Choi Seul-ki who he was supposed to meet for dinner.

Soon after.

Choi Seul-ki appeared with a familiar face.

It was Jung Da-bin, who was in the same team as him during the new employee training.

Did she change because of her work life?

She was no longer the innocent-looking girl she used to be.

She had become more sophisticated.

“Oppa, how could you come down without contacting me?”

“I didn’t expect to see you here. How have you been?”

“I’ve been fine. I’ve been thinking about you, oppa. How about you?”

She still had the habit of being straightforward as before.

He found that very endearing.

Yoo-hyun winked at her playfully.

“I’ve been thinking about Seul-ki. Seul-ki, thank you so much today.”

“Oh, oppa!”

Jung Da-bin pouted when Choi Seul-ki giggled.

“You two, that’s not a very beautiful reunion scene.”

“It’s not like we haven’t seen each other for years.”

“That’s true. But what are you doing here?”

“Just. Waiting. Why did you come all the way here?”

“I thought you might be bored, oppa. And Da-bin was so impatient.”

Choi Seul-ki nodded at the place where Jung Da-bin was hanging her shoulders.

Yoo-hyun gave her a little boost.

“Da-bin, I’m kidding. I thought about you too.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Just a little bit.”

“Tsk. You’ve changed since you went to work.”

“I’ve improved.”

Jung Da-bin stuck out her tongue at Yoo-hyun’s cheeky answer.

Then she noticed the drawing in front of the bench and exclaimed.

“Huh? Oppa, what is this? A heart? Don’t tell me…”

“Yes. No.”

“Aha, I knew it?”

“No.”

“…”

Yoo-hyun cut it off cleanly and walked out, turning his eyes to Choi Seul-ki.

It was time to move to the place where he had agreed to meet his colleagues.

“Seul-ki, should we go now?”

“Yes. Let’s go.”

“Da-bin, let’s go.”

“Huh? Oh, yes.”

Jung Da-bin answered Yoo-hyun’s words, but her eyes were still on the ground.

The heart that Yoo-hyun drew was not just a heart.

It looked like he had drawn something else with it.

But it looked familiar somehow.

She furrowed her brows.

A moment later.

The colleagues gathered in a seafood restaurant near the sea.

There were five men and two women, including Yoo-hyun.

They all had one thing in common: they were in group 2 during the group training.

“Nice to see you. How have you been?”

“I’ve been good. You look good too.”

“Haha, Yoo-hyun, only you would say that?”

They were not in the same team, but they had seen each other every day for a while, so there was no awkwardness.

It was more surprising that they all came out without any missing.

“How did you come out?”

“A colleague came from far away, so of course we had to come.”

One of them answered proudly and kept looking sideways.

There were Choi Seul-ki and Jung Da-bin there.

That’s right.

The two female colleagues who had become prettier had captivated the hearts of the male colleagues.

Yoo-hyun held back his laughter and said.

“Let’s have a drink. I’ll pay for this place.”

“What are you talking about? You’re the guest, we should pay.”

Then one of them came out strongly.

Then Choi Seul-ki reacted to him.

“Wow, that’s manly.”

“Order more. Order as much as you want.”

“Yeah, let’s eat a lot. When will we have this time again?”

That was the start.

The male colleagues rose up like flames.

And Jung Da-bin added fuel to the fire.

She came with bottles of alcohol in both hands and raised her voice.

“Well then, let’s have some fun.”

“Ooooooh!”

The atmosphere was so hot that it burned.

“…”

Yoo-hyun licked his lips at the sight.

Buzz buzz.

They exchanged stories while drinking glasses of alcohol.

Of course, the center of their conversation was work.

It was the same everywhere except for the location: work stories had similar aspects.

The troubles from their bosses, frequent overtime work, drinking culture that forced them to socialize, etc.

In the middle of their chatter, Jung Da-bin asked him.

“How about you, oppa?”

“I’m the same.”

Actually, Yoo-hyun didn’t have much to complain about.

He liked his part in many ways.

He felt that more when he compared himself with others like this.

He enjoyed chatting for a while and then went outside for a moment.

He wanted to sort out his thoughts for a while.

Whoosh whoosh.

The sea breeze cooled his hot body.

Yoo-hyun sat on a red plastic chair and looked at the distance.

The noisy sound came through the gap of the restaurant door.

It was quite pleasant to be here like this.

Squeak.

Then the door opened and Jung Da-bin came out.

Her face was red from drinking too much.

“What are you doing here alone?”

“Just. I like it.”

“Can I sit down for a bit?”

“Sure.”

Creak.

Yoo-hyun pulled out a chair behind him and placed it next to him.

She sat next to him and stared blankly at the same place as Yoo-hyun.

“…”

After a brief silence, she called Yoo-hyun.

“Oppa.”

“What?”

“Can I like you, oppa?”

“No.”

Was it because he answered too quickly?

Jung Da-bin flared up.

“Why? I’m pretty good, you know? I’m very popular at work.”

“That’s right. You’re pretty.”

“Then why?”

Jung Da-bin, who had lost her baby fat and dressed up, looked good to Yoo-hyun too.

She was not someone who would be left out anywhere.

Not only her appearance, but also her personality was bright and she had passion for her work.

She was attractive enough.

But Yoo-hyun already had someone else in his heart.