One Week Without You
Our office was busier than it had ever been.
[Hwan] sincerely welcomes Hunter Yena's visit! [Young]
"Isn't the banner a little overkill…?"
"You think so too, sunbae? Same here. But what can you do? The old guys upstairs think this kind of thing looks cool…."
Of course, it wasn't that I didn't understand the president's feelings. An S-Rank hunter attending a meeting at a mid-sized media company was unprecedented in itself. On top of that, Yena had never once done a magazine shoot since her debut, so the entire country was paying attention. The moment we posted the article about her being cast as a model, the monthly magazine's promo website had its servers down for a solid week, and sales for the April issue had already tripled. The reaction was anything but ordinary.
But the greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment if you failed to meet them. That was why our Hunter Department had been grinding through overtime and late nights for the past week, pouring everything into this issue. In other words, we hadn't managed a single date—and this was the result.
"Haa… why am I so nervous…."
The old saying about entrusting a fish to a cat floated naturally into my mind.
And ten minutes later—
"Emergency!!!!" Assistant Manager Han Hyunwoo came running in, shouting at the top of his lungs. He never acted like this, so the sudden fuss drew every eye in the office.
"What's going on, Assistant Manager?"
"R-r-right now, Hunter Lee Yena is downstairs on the first floor…!"
"Ah, yes…."
I'd already gotten the text, so it didn't really faze me. But—
"Holy crap!!!"
"Hunter Lee Yena is actually here?!"
"I've never seen her in person… I'm freaking out…."
Everyone in the office—including the Entertainment Department people who'd come over to help—shot up from their seats. Then again, this kind of reaction was probably normal. Even for reporters, seeing an S-Rank hunter right in front of them wasn't an everyday thing.
Ding!
A message from Yena popped up right then. I casually lifted my head toward the office entrance and saw her coming in, guided by the president.
The moment I reached the first floor, my heart started pounding, thump-thump. We video-called every day, but work had been so crazy that we hadn't seen each other for a whole week. Lee Yena was in a state of pure Eunwoo-withdrawal.
If it were up to me, I would have run straight to him, told him how much I'd missed him, and kissed him right there—but I didn't want to put him in a tough spot, so for now I had no choice but to hold back.
"Yena-nim, before the meeting, would you like a quick cup of coffee or—"
"Ah, I don't drink coffee. Before that, would it be all right if I stopped by the Hunter Department office for a moment?"
"Ah, if it's Reporter Kim Gayoung, I can have her come to the conference room separately…."
"Kim Gayoung?"
Ah, right. I remember now.
I'd felt a little awkward just asking where Eunwoo had gone for lunch, so I'd used Reporter Kim Gayoung's name as an excuse, claiming I had something to discuss with her, and found out which place he was at. Thanks to that meeting, we were dating again now. Should I at least thank her?
"Heheh, it's fine. You've already gone through so much trouble because of me—I'll just go see her myself."
"Th-then this way, please…."
Following behind the president, I drew closer and closer to the Hunter Department. And when I saw Eunwoo's face beyond the door, the corners of my mouth curved up into a soft arc.
So that's what he looks like when he's working….
I quickly sent a text so I wouldn't startle him, and the way he peeked his head up was so adorable I almost waved without thinking.
"Hunter-nim, shall we go in?"
"Ah, yes!"
When Lee Yena stepped into the Hunter Department, everyone rose from their seats and welcomed her with applause. This kind of reception always felt awkward no matter how many times it happened. But showing my boyfriend just how impressive I was made my shoulders lift a little without me meaning to.
I looked at Eunwoo with a face that said, See? Your girlfriend is this amazing! and the way he avoided my gaze with his face flushed bright red was absolutely priceless. It was almost a shame I couldn't take a picture.
"Hello. I'm Hunter Lee Yena of Sinye Guild. I heard you've all been working hard because of me, so I stopped by to say hello."
I dipped my head in a polite bow, and a wave of applause poured out.
"Ah, Mr. President, you said the reporter in charge of the interview is Lee Eunwoo…?"
"Yes, Hunter-nim."
"Where is Reporter Lee Eunwoo right now?"
At Yena's call, Eunwoo raised his hand with an awkward little motion.
"That would be me…."
That expression of his—like he had absolutely no idea what kind of chaos his girlfriend was about to cause—made me want to tease him until I died.
Just trust your girlfriend a little!
Well, the moment I'd openly looked for Eunwoo in front of everyone, getting scolded later was already a done deal. But that was exactly what Lee Yena had been hoping for. You could call it a strange kink if you wanted, but my Eunwoo was incredibly sexy when he scolded me.
I should ask him to spank me!
"Reporter, please go easy on the questions!"
"Yes… I'll make sure to keep the intensity under control."
After about an hour of meetings in the conference room, we got a short break. I called Yena over to the emergency exit.
"Eheh… meeting like this in a place like this feels kind of different."
She was trying to smooth things over with an awkward laugh, but it wasn't working. I crooked a finger, beckoning her over, and she approached with her lips pushed out in a pout.
"Are you really mad…?"
"No, I'm not mad at all."
It wasn't so much anger as a little sulking. She hadn't caused any real trouble worth worrying about, but the way she clearly enjoyed watching me get flustered was just so damn irritating.
When I'd first called her out to the emergency exit, I'd planned not to hug her at all…. But once I actually saw her face properly after a whole week, I couldn't hold back.
I pulled her tightly into my arms, and her hands clenched into the fabric of my shirt.
"Honestly, I missed you like crazy."
"M-me too…."
How had I even endured those seven years…? Now I couldn't even last a single week without missing her this much. I'd sworn I wouldn't hold back for the sake of making Yena happy—but somehow I was the one ending up happier.
I wanted to kiss her too, but she'd been so cheeky earlier that I confiscated the kiss. Of course, I'd already been promised an on-time clock-out today, so after work I was going to surprise her at home.
"E-Eunwoo, aren't you going to scold me?"
"Huh?"
For a second I doubted my ears. Normally in a situation like this, the usual reaction was something like, "Don't scold me…." "Aren't you going to scold me?" was something a person who wanted to be scolded would say, wasn't it?
I narrowed my eyes slightly, and the hand gripping my shirt tightened.
"No, I don't mean it in a weird way… I just feel like I did something worth getting scolded for…."
Usually when Yena wanted physical affection she dropped enough hints that I could figure it out pretty fast, but this time I had absolutely no idea. What on earth was she hoping for?
"It's fine. I'm really not mad, so you don't need to dwell on it."
"Mm…."
Yena's voice trailed off. Forgiveness was the wrong answer. At the same time, an old memory surfaced.
"…Lee Yena, you want a spanking?" I said, and her eyes sparkled as she answered, "Y-yes…! I want one…!"
Haa. Lee Yena, why is your taste like this….
No. People often say a woman's sexual preferences are a work of art by her ex. It was the kind of meme that would scrape a current boyfriend raw if he heard it…. But Yena's ex-boyfriend and current boyfriend were both me, so that twisted taste of hers was one I'd been cultivating since way back.
I gave her butt a couple of light smacks, and she buried her face in my chest, shoulders shaking.
"Hehe… I'm sorry…."
"D-don't do that next time…."
"Heheh, okayyy…."
There was a saying that the cushiest post at Sinye Guild was being Hunter Lee Yena's manager. It made sense. Until now, she had barely done any public activities outside of official Hunter Association and guild schedules. Aside from hunting down reporters who made false tip-offs about her boyfriend, there hadn't been much to do.
But Kim Hyeonju could say this with absolute certainty: that was complete bullshit now.
"…So you're saying I have to do the making-of filming?"
"Yes… We'll be filming on our end too, of course, but we need a variety of footage for the edit."
"……."
The staff handed Kim Hyeonju a small cam camera. Filming itself wasn't particularly hard. You just pressed the record button. But being put in charge of even a portion of a content shoot that the entire nation was anticipating was a burden no matter how you sliced it.
While Hyeonju was still blankly fiddling with the camera, Lee Yena came over with a bright, sunny smile. It was a beautiful smile that made her old nickname as Sinye's Ice Princess feel completely out of place.
She has no idea anyone else is burning up inside—just because she has a boyfriend, her mouth is stretched ear to ear….
"Hyeonju! How's my makeup? Do I look okay today?"
"Well… you look fine."
"Don't just brush it off. Take a closer look." Yena leaned her face in toward Hyeonju as she spoke. Instantly heartstruck, Hyeonju flushed and said,
"Y-you're pretty, okay…."
"Heheh, really? Thanks! I wonder when my Eunwoo's going to get here~."
"Should I try calling him?"
"No, he's driving—it'd be weird to call for no reason. He'll be here soon enough. We can just wait."
If she was going to say that, Hyeonju wished she would just sit still and wait. Instead she'd been restlessly pacing back and forth to the parking garage entrance for who knew how long, driving everyone crazy….
How much time passed after that?
A compact car rolled into the parking garage. With a smile Kim Hyeonju had never seen before, Lee Yena sprinted toward it. And when Hyeonju watched her throw herself into the arms of the man who stepped out of the car, she pressed a hand to her forehead.
"Haa. That unnie has absolutely zero intention of hiding it…."