Please Be Quiet And Take Off Your "Something" - Chapter 132

It was a topic that she would not have even bothered to discuss at any other time. Not to mention she did not even butt in intentionally. She indeed would often speak ill of Si-Jin with other employees. But at least, it was only when it had actually impact her, or when Si-Jin’s unique way of handling things was so reasonable that it felt unreasonable.

Never would she joined in complaining about the low frequency of company dinners that only those geezers enjoyed. But was she feeling wronged to be treated as someone who would easily complain along? Or is it that she felt guilty from the fun she used to have to gossip about Si-Jin?

No, that much was justified.

It was a very fair criticism. Na-Yool concluded that it was lenient enough. Even if Si-Jin was strongly cursed at, it was deserved. Did he not live that way because he did not care?

But yet, an uncertain feeling remained.

“……”

If someone must criticize him, I will do it, who are you to…

Na-Yool let out a soft laugh at the thought that suddenly popped into her head. She was amusingly bemused that she now even cared about what other people might say about him. Before, she would have let the unpleasant comment about age and wedding go over her head. But to think criticizing Si-Jin had pissed her enough to even tell Shin PD to go die…

“But speaking of the President… isn’t he a bit strange these days?”

“How so?”

“You know… that, what is that call… Kang-Woon, what do you call it?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“You know, the President. I’m asking if he hasn’t been strange lately.”

Regardless of her aversion to the topic, this statement was something Na-Yool wanted to agree with. She unconsciously nodded her head and looked at the phone screen again, when Kang-Woon suddenly exclaimed by pointing his finger in the air.

“Ah! Aah!”

“What?”

“I know what it is! I got it!”

“Yes, you know.”

“I greeted the President this morning, and he surprisingly answered back quite nicely.”

“……”

Unlike Na-Yool who had a question mark on her face, everyone seemed to agree.

“It’s really strange. Did something good maybe happen to him?”

“He seems to smile a lot more. I almost forgot he was a cold-blooded robot!”

“He looks good.”

“Personally, I’m a little concerned. Such a sudden change, something feels ominous…”

“Do you know what he told me? ‘Shin PD, you did a pretty good job with the proposition this time’, just like that!”

What’s the big deal about complementing a good proposition? However, looking at everyone else wide open-mouthed idiotic looks, it seemed that only Na-Yool thought so. When it got to this point, she felt a little suspicious of herself. Either she had unconsciously become indifferent to the parts of Si-Jin which lacked human warmth, or maybe she was looking at him through beautifying filtered glasses, or else…

“Don’t you think he might be dating?”

Na-Yool’s mind stopped right upon hearing Kim PD’s puzzled question.

“I haven’t seen President Kwon dating for several years.”

“Well, even if I did, would he have made it public? With that temperament.”

“But no way that he never dated, right? Even as a fellow man, I have to admit his face is really…”

“Is it just about his face? As if a man of that age who becomes successful on his own was very common in this world nowadays. He’s just over 30 and is the owner of a company, so who would let this capable man go?”

“If I were born with looks like that, I would never work hard.”

There are times when everything goes awkward despite your best efforts. That moment when you feel like you cannot control even the angle of your head or the movement of your fingers.

Now was that precise moment.

Na-Yool nodded her head. Although she was obviously nodding normally, the subtle sensation of her bone joints creaking kept pressing on her.

“—What do you think, Ms. Na-Yool?”

“Uh?”

Focused on nodding as natural as possible, Na-Yool stalled in confusion. At once, Seung-Jae’s gaze turned towards her. Abnormally sharp…

Shin PD’s casual inquiry bore more meaning than intended, and Seung-Jae’s eyes…

“Do you think the President might be dating someone?”

“… I don’t know… Maybe, maybe not…”

Na-Yool feigned disinterest in the topic as she muttered with a more controlled expression. Seung-Jae then quickly faced towards Kang-Woon, who was talking next to him. The pressure on Na-Yool  somehow lifted.

“What does that even mean?”

“She’s not interested. The President bullied her way too often for her to care about him.”

“True. Na-Yool is the biggest victim. What good is it to be good-looking? All he does is crush people’s spirit.”

“No matter how good his looks are, unless Na-Yool loses her mind…”

“Yeah, only a crazy person would be interested.”

“……”

Na-Yool’s expression, as the person who did not go crazy yet unexpectedly was in a relationship with the guy who crushes her spirit, clouded up.

Yep, I’m a pervert. Yep, probably out of mind too…

Unaware of Na-Yool lost in cold self-reflection, the debate about Si-Jin’s affairs and related suspicions continued.

Talking about the Devil, Si-Jin passed by the lounge just then. With a full wall of glass in between. Not realizing that the lively atmosphere in the lounge had suddenly died because of him, he glanced at Na-Yool. At first glance, it seemed as if he was scanning everyone sitting in the break room. However, all which entered his eyes was her face, placated with a smile of fake calmness.

The exchange only lasted a brief instant. Si-Jin aloofly went on his way, and Na-Yool averted her eyes to the people across her. No one noticed that micro-second when their gaze crossed and parted away.

Well, except for one person.

The moment Na-Yool’s eyes diverted elsewhere, Seung-Jae let out a dry chuckle.

A few days after that.

After no longer eating with Seung-Jae, Na-Yool’s lunch time naturally became much more relaxed. Each team had a different schedule, and with her break time slightly not matching with the other teams’ female employees, Seung-Jae was the only option she had after Kang-Hee took her maternity leave.

In fact, even within the team, each person was working on different projects so it should also rarely happen. Yet how surprising it was to always end up eating together with Seung-Jae every day… or not, actually.

Wasn’t it obvious? He did it because he liked her…Na-Yool once again realized Seung-Jae’s efforts. All employees worked independently, so there was no need to suck up to one’s seniors, nor to arrange your  work for 10 to 20 minutes to match theirs. There must have been countless times when both of their schedules did not match, but he somehow coordinated them.

Had she known about Seung-Jae’s feelings earlier, his efforts would not have gone to waste. Na-Yool distractedly pressed the send button of the email that had to be sent by noon, looked for a moment at Seung-Jae’s empty seat with mixed feelings, then stood up. It had been a week now since the repeating routine of a year had disappeared. The initial feeling of emptiness was gone, but it was inevitable that a bitter taste remained.

Picking up her cellphone out of habit was nothing short of an instinct to seek comfort. Na-Yool opened the message window shared with Si-Jin. No new message, she just looked up at what had been said.

[Don’t smile so happily] 09:07 AM

[What are you fussing about right from morning because of a smile? ] 09:08 AM

[You’re wasting it on those geezers] 09:08 AM

[Nonsense] 09:08 AM

[Just don’t smile] 09:09 AM

[You smile too easily] 09:09 AM

[Then should I constantly frown at work? ] 09:09 AM

[Good. It makes you seem serious] 09:09 AM

[You, go back to work] 09:11 AM

Really, what a silly conversation. Although Na-Yool thought with a hopeless sigh, a smile appeared on her lips.

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