Chapter 352: Missile
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 352: Missile
Chomp, chomp.
Munch, munch.
"How can you guys eat like that after nagging me so much for wanting spicy stir-fried pork?"
I pointed my spoon at Seo Ye-rin and Yoo Ah-rin, who were currently devouring their jeyuk-bokkeum with combat-like intensity.
Sitting next to me, Choi I-seo simply offered a quiet smile and let it slide.
"Hey, this place is good. Like, seriously good."
"It’s Ah-rin’s first time here. We used to come here pretty often back in the day."
Back in the first semester of our freshman year.
Back when things were still a bit awkward, Kim Woo-jin, Seo Ye-rin, and Choi I-seo used to eat here together.
Playing rock-paper-scissors to decide who got to pick the menu was a fond memory now.
"I never imagined back then that we’d end up in a relationship like this."
As Kim Woo-jin smiled, lost in thought, Yoo Ah-rin glanced up from across the table and clicked her tongue.
"What are you grinning about? You got rejected by every single girl there."
"You little...!"
That really stung.
"Dey’re da ones wid da prowblem, not yoo, Woo-jin-ie."
"Ye-rin, finish chewing before you speak."
Seo Ye-rin chewed thoroughly and swallowed. After taking a sip of the water Choi I-seo handed her, she shouted again.
"Those girls are the ones with the problem! It’s not Woo-jin’s fault!"
"Ye-rin!"
As I looked at her with a touched expression, Yoo Ah-rin scratched her cheek and spoke honestly.
"I mean, I think it’s weird too. Even so, it kind of pisses me off that they don't even see you as a man."
"Ah-rin!"
Three pairs of eyes converged.
Everyone was looking at Choi I-seo, their gazes asking if she had anything to add.
Choi I-seo, who had been eating in silence, let out a sigh and maintained her neutral stance.
"Everyone has their own taste. Don't get so worked up over them."
One could say she was failing to read the room, but from I-seo’s perspective, she couldn't exactly join in on bashing those girls.
After all, the reason the girls in the Chungsim University Dance Department showed zero interest in Kim Woo-jin was entirely her fault.
"Or was one of those girls actually your type?"
I-seo naturally shifted the flow of the conversation.
"Ooh?"
"How interesting!"
As Yoo Ah-rin and Seo Ye-rin immediately locked onto their new target, Kim Woo-jin was quick to deny it.
"No?! Not at all! Even if those five combined like a giant robot, they couldn't beat even one of you!"
He meant it.
Kim Woo-jin truly had no interest in anyone else.
However, his pride was wounded.
"But it’s a blow to my ego that they don't see me as a man at all. Even if I’m not interested in them, it feels like my masculinity is being denied."
"I’m offended by that too!"
Seo Ye-rin raised her hand, empathizing aggressively.
"Woo-jin’s 'Woo-jin' is so powerful!"
"Yeah, yeah. And besides, my male hormone levels came back really high."
I clapped my hands as I remembered something.
"Ah! I should have told them that! If I’d mentioned my testosterone levels were through the roof, they would’ve seen me differently!"
"Yeah, they definitely would have. They would’ve thought you were a total psycho."
"I’m so glad you only thought of that now."
Yoo Ah-rin and Choi I-seo sighed in relief, but Seo Ye-rin crossed her arms.
"Hmm? Your hormone levels might have changed by now. Shouldn't we check?"
"I'll book a hotel."
"Do it, hurry. Somewhere close."
Kim Woo-jin reached for his phone, but Choi I-seo placed her palm firmly over his hand, forcing him to put it back.
"Did you forget you’re busy tomorrow?"
"Ah, right. I have to get ready for work. I need to get a suit fitted."
"You start the day after tomorrow, right? At Uju Global?"
"It’s the moment Woo-jin takes his first step as the head of the household!"
Everyone fell silent, their eyes drifting toward Seo Ye-rin.
"What? What are you staring at?!"
Ye-rin immediately balled her fists, gesturing for them to bring it on. It seemed even she was a bit embarrassed by that one.
"Anyway, I think I’ll be pretty busy tomorrow."
"Can't we just go with you and buy it?"
When Yoo Ah-rin tilted her head in confusion, Kim Woo-jin gestured toward Choi I-seo.
"I-seo said she’d go with me to get it fitted."
"What the hell? Why the favoritism?"
"Swish, swish! Stab, stab! You bastard! Swish!"
The two of them grumbled about being left out.
But it couldn't be helped.
"Ah-rin, you said you have a regular shoot this Sunday. And a content meeting scheduled."
"What? How did you know that?"
"And Seo Ye-rin. Don't you have a script reading? You said you had to go for that."
"...Oh, right."
"In the end, I-seo is the only one with nothing to do, so she’s coming. Plus, she’s very sharp about these things. And she’s idle."
"Why did you have to say 'idle' twice and make me sound like a total slacker?"
Choi I-seo glared at him while pinching Kim Woo-jin’s cheek.
Regardless, they realized Kim Woo-jin had kept track of their schedules and hadn't asked them because he didn't want to burden them.
"Hah, this guy."
"Woo-jin-ie is just so into me."
Neither of them seemed to be in a bad mood anymore.
"Just take a picture of Kim Woo-jin in his suit tomorrow and send it, Choi I-seo."
"Me too, me too!"
"Fine, fine. I'll post it in the group chat."
* * *
The next day.
"I shouldn't have said I'd post it."
Choi I-seo complained of exhaustion as she clutched her phone, which had been buzzing incessantly.
Seeing Seo Ye-rin send the crying emoticon, I tried to take the photo she wanted.
But Choi I-seo stopped me.
"Stay still. I’m not taking that anyway."
"But she wants it so bad..."
"You’re too soft on them. You need to draw a line."
As expected of Kim Woo-jin’s sole conscience and inhibitor, Choi I-seo.
Whenever my emotions and impulses pushed me, I-seo was always there to block them and keep me centered.
"I-seo..."
"I’m not wrong."
Well, that was true.
-
What was needed now was to entangle himself with them.
Having made that judgment, Choi I-seo was intentionally picking out calm, navy-toned suits.
The emoticons were pretty cute.
As far as I knew, no one had been told about me yet.
I was just a "parachute" being dropped in from above.
Though, of course, people would find out who I was eventually.
"You never know."
Choi I-seo dropped a cryptic remark.
Hearing that, I suddenly started to worry.
Come to think of it, could I really adapt to a place that was incredibly hard to get into with a degree from Gahyeon University?
Could I naturally melt in among those people?
Probably not.
"I-seo, let’s change the suit."
Once I reached that conclusion, I decided to take a different approach.
* * *
"Ugh, what is this?!"
Assistant Manager Oh of the Uju Global Digital Marketing Team was fuming as soon as he arrived at work on Monday morning.
"They ignored all our requests for more staff, and now they’re just sending us a part-timer?!"
Marketing, not the product, is what creates a brand's value.
However, as Uju Group was a conservative titan of South Korea, they didn't put much passion or effort into digital marketing.
Even if we don't do anything, you all know who we are.
A brand name that didn't call to customers but made customers seek them out.
An arrogance befitting their size.
Because of this, the digital marketing team was often composed of junior employees or those who had lost out in internal power struggles.
"Deputy Oh, don't get so worked up first thing in the morning."
"Team Leader, aren't you angry? Are we some kind of slop bucket? If we ask for more people later, they’ll just point to this guy and say they already gave us someone!"
"There are plenty of other departments short on staff besides us."
"Oh, seriously. What is this! Other marketing teams usually have at least ten members. But we only have four."
There was Section Chief Yoon, the team leader.
Assistant Manager Choi, who had been transferred from the Sales Department.
The furious Assistant Manager Oh.
The only woman, 3rd-year Junior Manager Jung.
And Employee Kim, who had been there for a year.
"Sigh. Kim Moon-ho. Do you think this is right?"
"No! Not at all!"
"Right? You worked your ass off since your internship to get into this company. Doesn't it feel like crap when a non-regular worker suddenly becomes a regular?"
"Yes, it does!"
As Deputy Oh vented his frustration, Assistant Manager Choi, who had been silent until then, spoke up.
"It hasn't even been said that he’ll become a regular yet."
"Assistant Manager Choi, he’s clearly someone pushed in from the top. Do you think they’ll keep him as a non-regular? Just watch, he’ll have a permanent employee ID around his neck before you know it!"
No one really denied it.
"I asked the HR team, and they said they didn't even receive proper paperwork. I wonder how powerful the connection he’s riding is."
The people here had been burned by company politics several times, so they knew nothing was impossible.
"How about we just ignore him and act like he’s not there?"
Junior Manager Jung So-yu suggested playfully.
Surprisingly, the idea seemed to gain traction.
"Yeah, let’s just do that. Let’s not do anything weird and just not get involved with him."
"Don't even give him work."
"How about... making him get coffee at least?"
As they discussed various ideas, everyone’s eyes turned to Section Chief Yoon.
Ultimately, it was up to the Team Leader to decide.
He scratched his head and let out a deep sigh.
"He probably won't be able to do anything right even if we give him work anyway."
He didn't know which high-ranking line the guy had been dropped from.
Section Chief Yoon decided to just play dumb and let things slide.
If he was a parachute, he was just a passing wave.
If they endured a bit of trouble now, he’d eventually float off to a higher position on his own.
And then.
Clack.
"Good morning, Digital Marketing Team."
The door opened, and the person who walked in was, surprisingly...
A young man wearing a bright red suit that was impossible to miss.
He radiated an intense presence, as if demanding everyone look at him.
Kim Woo-jin, who had made an entrance that was practically a show of force, stood tall and introduced himself.
"My name is Kim Woo-jin, and I’ll be joining you starting today. I don't know if any of you are aware, but I am the youngest son of Uju Group’s Chairman Kim."
"...?!"
"Excuse me?"
"The... the Chairman’s son?"
Everyone stared at Kim Woo-jin with bewildered expressions.
They had seen many "parachutes" before.
But they had never seen one this bold.
"Yes, I am the Chairman’s son."
He was confident. Obnoxiously confident.
"To be clear, I will try my best not to cause any trouble for you, and I will stay as quiet as a mouse, as if I’m not even here."
What is with this guy?
The same question flashed through everyone’s minds.
"I only ask for one thing."
On his own.
Cleanly.
Well.
"Be mindful of me, but just ignore me."
Be mindful, but ignore him.
It sounded like nonsense, but office workers are experts at deciphering nonsense.
In short, right now...
A member of Uju Group’s owner family...
Had just declared that he wouldn't do anything, but he didn't intend to cause trouble either, so they should all just mind their own business and stay out of each other's way.
"I look forward to working with you."
Kim Woo-jin bowed.
Watching him, the members of the Digital Marketing Team thought:
'A parachute?'
No.
A missile had just landed.