Chapter 141 - #bridge New Year's Party
I pulled two canned coffees from the vending machine and headed over to Maeng Soyul, who was sitting on the bench outside.
Thud.
When I pressed the warm can against her cheek, she shrank her neck and looked up at me.
Seeing her peering up so cutely made me think of how adorable she'd been during that scenario, and I couldn't help but chuckle.
"Hehe."
"...Why?"
"Nothing, you're just cute. You can smile, right?"
"..."
She shyly took the can from her cheek with a bashful grin.
I stroked her head, then sat down next to her, sipping my coffee while lighting up a cigarette.
"Here, have one too, my junior."
"...Senior."
"Yeah?"
Maeng Soyul glanced at me cautiously before asking.
"Don't you kinda dislike girls who smoke?"
"Huh? Why? In this day and age, who cares."
"It doesn't bother you, Senior?"
I pondered her question for a moment, then nodded.
"Probably not an issue when dating. I smoke too, after all."
"What about marriage then?"
"Hmm, that might be different. If we're talking commitment, I'd probably quit too."
I had a bit of that double standard myself—fine for me, not for her.
Scratching my cheek, I added,
"Actually, it probably wouldn't bother me. I smoke, so I couldn't really ask her to quit."
"I see... But you still kinda dislike it, right?"
"Huh? Not that much."
I clamped the cigarette between my lips and gazed up at the drifting clouds.
"Why? Did some guy you were set up with say he hates girls who smoke?"
"Oh, no, it's not like that."
I knew what was on her mind but played dumb on purpose.
Maeng Soyul pulled a slim cigarette from her pocket and put it in her mouth.
Her lips, glossy with balm and tinged red, clamped down on it as she silently exhaled the smoke.
Tap tap.
She knocked off all the ash, stretched with a yawn, and stood up.
"Ahhh~, alright, back to work."
After finishing the site survey, we immediately started sketching.
"Soyul, how's that spot? Looks good?"
"Yes! I've got it locked in! Come check it out!"
"One sec~."
I checked my camera first, then hurried over to inspect hers.
"Good angle. Turn the mic off—peaks in editing are a pain."
"Got it."
We filmed everything from exterior to interior shots, then launched the drone for the wide establishing shot last.
I confirmed the company logo was visible as required, then wrapped up filming.
We had to catch the sunset too, so we waited inside the factory until the timing was right, then stepped out to capture the beautifully spreading glow.
"Yu-chan's the pro at this stuff."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it's his hobby."
Maeng Soyul looked at me curiously.
"How'd you know?"
"I've spent plenty of time with the guy. He loves shooting city lights."
"Oh, right."
"How'd you know?"
Instead of answering, Maeng Soyul stared at me intently before speaking.
"You seem to take really good care of your friends, Senior. You even know all their hobbies."
"...Not that much."
I scratched the back of my head and asked her,
"What would you wanna shoot if you could? I taught you camera handling, angles, editing too."
"Hmm... My family first, I guess."
"Of course. Such a sweet heart."
Her face flushed at the sudden praise.
"Alright, let's head out."
We said goodbye to the company folks, scheduled follow-ups, and returned to the office.
Everyone except Kim Woo-hyun had clocked out.
"Soyul, you can head home as is~."
I took the camera she was holding and set it on my desk, sending her off.
"I can help..."
"Nah, you did great. It was cold out there all morning. I'll edit tomorrow anyway—just transferring files, then I'm out too."
"Oh, okay. Thanks for your hard work."
She bowed politely to me, gave Kim Woo-hyun a light nod, and left.
"Soyul's doing alright at work?"
Kim Woo-hyun asked the moment she was gone.
I leaned an arm on the partition and nodded.
"She's busting her ass. Why haven't you gone home?"
When I asked why he was still there, he beckoned me over.
At his desk, there was some mockup.
"What's this?"
"Employee badges. Swapping the door locks too—tap to enter."
"Ooh."
He hit alt-tab to show another screen.
"The homepage we outsourced—got some designs back. Which one's good?"
I picked the cleanest one by my standards.
"I like this sleek one."
"Right? I'll tweak a few things and head out."
Just Kim Woo-hyun and me left in the office, wrapping up loose ends.
As we finished around the same time and locked up, he patted my shoulder.
"Lots of fieldwork lately—must be tough."
"What, getting sappy?"
"I offered expense pay—don't refuse."
"You just broke even on losses. It's fine."
This was my last shred of conscience toward him. I felt a twinge of guilt for raw-dogging Woo Da-young all the time.
Since I hadn't targeted Woo Da-young for no reason, I was putting real effort into work for the company.
The flops I could recoup later from the Woo sisters in other ways—no real loss.
Bonus: infinite trust from Kim Woo-hyun. If anything, it was a gain.
To him, I looked like a guy sacrificing personally for the company.
"Don't worry—I'll collect big when things turn around."
"Haha! Got it, good work. Heading out first."
"Yep, night. See ya tomorrow."
I patted his shoulder back and clocked out.
Early January was too hectic for a proper New Year's party—we were slammed.
Too many open projects to run any scenarios.
"Ahh~. Finally done..."
After clearing the backlog of promo videos, my body went limp.
"Good job, everyone."
Short-staffed, we had to pull full overtime and late nights to handle the pile-up.
Everyone looked beat.
Even intern Maeng Soyul had been getting home late for days.
"You all did great. We're late too, but let's do the New Year's party anyway."
Kim Woo-hyun rallied us and pulled out a card.
Normally we'd cheer, but exhaustion killed the vibe—no real reactions.
"Head home today—do it Friday."
"Yeah, yeah. Time to get properly wasted for once."
Thanks to that, we got off early for a few days and finally slept soundly.
Friday, we headed to the reserved spot.
"Can we order everything?"
Kim Woo-hyun nodded at my question.
"Go nuts."
The crew rushed the butcher section.
Grabbing whatever looked good racked up over 200,000 won in seconds.
Even starting at 200k, Kim Woo-hyun grinned—grateful for our hard work—and said get more.
"Jinro soju three bottles, your colas? Sodas?"
"One of each."
Woo Da-young at the end excitedly loaded up on drinks too.
"Oh, and beer for me—somac."
"Kuh, sure."
Maybe 'cause we'd escaped late-night hell, everyone was hyped.
"Y'know, this is basically our first real company dinner."
Excluding that one drink when Won Yu-chan started, yeah—first official one.
Glug glug glug.
Weekend tomorrow, so Woo Da-young filled glasses to the brim with somac—I tried to stop her.
"Y-you're insane, you'll die drinking like that."
"Nah, first round's always full. I got Woo-hyun."
"And me?"
"Soyul's here."
I glanced at Maeng Soyul across from me. Knowing her tolerance, I facepalmed.
"No way, Soyul can't hold her liquor."
"Huh? How do you know her limit?"
"...I just do."
They eyed me suspiciously—like maybe we'd drunk alone—but Maeng Soyul firmly stated,
"I've never drunk before."
"Ahem."
Even pushy Woo Da-young backed off awkwardly. Everyone knew Maeng Soyul's type—no liar.
"But I can drink."
Defiantly, she grabbed her glass and downed it to the dregs.
"Phew... Never tried, but I can measure my limit."
Woo Da-young clapped at her cool wipe of her mouth.
"So badass~. What now~."
Whatever, I raised my glass.
"Cheers, everyone."
Clink.
Less company dinner, more friends grabbing eats—no need for a toast speech.
Sizzle.
I chugged beer and speared a perfectly grilled sirloin, dipping just in salt, straight to mouth.
"Ooh, perfect cook."
One glass, two—booze flowed easy.
Kim Woo-hyun nursed his first and stopped; Woo Da-young took his share, chugging away.
Won Yu-chan in the middle kept matching me shot for shot.
Maeng Soyul beside me was clinking and sipping too.
"Soyul's tougher than I thought?"
Kim Woo-hyun noted; she reacted.
"Yes, I am. Burp."
Answer triggered it automatically.
"No, I'm not."
She glared at me post-burp, denying it.
"...Huh? Why say it to me?"
"I didn't burp, burp..."
Shoulders shaking, another escaped.
Deadpan glare the whole time.
"..."
"..."
Staring contest—Won Yu-chan raised his glass.
"Another round then."
"Yes."
Maeng Soyul instantly matched.
I whispered to Kim Woo-hyun next to me,
"She's drunk."
"...Yeah."
No slurring, no flush—but eyes locked on me.
Zero expression change.
She'd been all aegyo in that scenario when we dated.
"Senior."
"Uh, yeah?"
As I quietly chatted with Kim Woo-hyun, Maeng Soyul called me.
"Senior, you don't see me as a woman, do you."