Going With An Jihye?

It wasn't that there was a problem… or so I'd have liked to say, but the matter was more serious than expected.

In short, we were looking at a suspected case of embezzlement.

Still, given what I'd already heard from Park Humin, playing dumb for the moment was the right call.

"Yes?"

"Sss… I don't know. It's not confirmed—just a hunch for now. But I'd like you to look into it for me."

"Ah… yes."

"Busy today?"

"I do… have a fair amount on my plate. Honestly speaking, wouldn't it be easier to take this to the Team Leader rather than me?"

"Ah, about that."

The Department Head scratched his head at my suggestion.

"…You keep your mouth shut for now."

"Yes, sir."

"Yuseong falls under Team Leader One's jurisdiction."

"Ah…"

"…That's why."

Casually dropping the Team Leader's name had paid off.

"Whatever you're working on right now doesn't matter—I'll reassign it to the others. Don't worry about it. Just head over to Yuseong."

…Except this wasn't something I could actually do anything about.

Legal should be the ones going. What was a mere Assistant Manager from Planning supposed to accomplish out there?

He must have read the look in my eyes.

"I'm not asking for anything major. Just swing by, get a feel for the atmosphere, and come back. You're sharp—you'll pick up on how things are running the second you walk in."

"…So I just need to read the room and come back?"

"Yeah. A proper investigation will happen elsewhere anyway. You just need to get a real sense of the vibe."

If that was all… it seemed doable enough.

"You mean right now?"

"Got a mountain of work?"

"I do… have some."

"Just dump it on the others. Don't sweat it—go."

"…Yes, sir."

"You don't have a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠car… do you?"

"No, I do."

"Hm? When did you get a car?"

"Day before yesterday."

"Oh, perfect. It's not far, so while you're at it…"

He rummaged through his wallet and handed me a corporate card.

"Fill up the tank."

"Ah… yes. Thank you."

Jackpot.

The round trip would take about an hour, and I'd already burned through a decent amount of gas running around with Chu Yeonju.

I was grinning to myself when—

"And take that girl from Finance with you. An Jihye."

"Jihye? Why all of a sudden…"

"She's the one who found this. Having her along should create some good synergy."

…The Department Head had just made the proposal even more appealing.

"I'll talk to their Department Head, so head out right now. I'll cover for you with your Team Leader too—say I sent you on some other field assignment."

"Yes. Understood."

"And once you're done, feel free to clock out early today."

But there was a catch.

I couldn't just take that early-leave offer at face value. If I finished the job exactly as described and went straight home, I'd be back by three or four at the latest.

Which meant… he wanted An Jihye and me to look things over carefully.

"Yes. Understood."

"Good. Take care of it."

I bowed once more to the Department Head, stepped out, and packed up my things right at my desk.

The team's most essential worker suddenly packing to leave threw the people around me into visible confusion.

"I'm heading out on a field assignment, then going straight home."

But no one could stop me.

The person who'd just called me in was the Department Head, which meant everything I was doing right now was by his will.

…I did feel a little bad for Isuyen, though. She was one of the few I actually liked.

"Hang in there."

"Yes, take care. See you tomorrow."

I left her with a word of encouragement, walked out of the office, and immediately called Park Humin.

"Hey, I'm on a field assignment."

"Why?"

"Because of what we talked about earlier. The Department Head dropped a bust call on me right away."

"Ah, okay. Where are you going?"

"There. The place you mentioned. Looks like I'll head straight home after."

"Straight home? You lucky bastard."

"I'm going with An Jihye, though?"

"You're on your own."

I was still snickering at Park Humin cutting me off when I arrived at the Finance Department.

In the meantime, their Department Head must have already heard from ours—he was filling An Jihye in on the situation.

The moment she spotted me walking in, An Jihye's eyebrows twisted hard, and then—

"…Understood."

"Good. Take care of it."

She started gathering her things in a haphazard pile.

While An Jihye packed for what was effectively an early exit, the Finance Department Head quietly sidled over to me.

For someone carrying a Department Head title, he had a rather… soft look about him. Almost a shame.

"…Look into it thoroughly. In a way, this could be an opportunity for you too."

"Yes. Thank you for saying so."

Maybe it was the fact that he ran a department that handled money—this time, he managed to lecture me with a fair amount of presence.

"We'll be off, then."

"Take care."

Once An Jihye finished packing and stepped out, I sensed it was time to go and started walking a few paces ahead.

A glance back showed An Jihye trailing after me with a look like she'd bitten into something foul.

Complicated, no doubt.

Irritating, no doubt.

Frustrating, no doubt.

As she'd put it herself—she'd landed a proper score, so she ought to be getting a reward, not this.

"…Hurry up. Let's finish this quick and get off work early."

"……"

Because she had to move alongside the irritating fucking bastard who held her life and death in his hands.

And yet, of all people, that bastard was the one who got her excited when he came in her mouth?

I didn't know exactly how that memory was working on An Jihye, but one thing was certain—it was entirely to my advantage.

Anyway.

We reached the underground parking garage together, and An Jihye and I took the driver's seat and passenger seat respectively.

"…You have a car?"

"Picked one up recently. It's used, but it runs fine."

"Hmph…"

It was a bit much for an ordinary Assistant Manager to be driving around, honestly.

Avantgarde, Sonatina, and above those, the Grangea.

She showed a flicker of interest—until the word "used" snuffed it right back out, and An Jihye turned her face toward the window.

"Come to think of it, Jihye, where do you live?"

"…Why do you need my address?"

But the moment I asked for her home address, she shot me a venomous glare.

"You're heading straight home after Yuseong too, aren't you?"

"I am."

"Since it worked out this way, I figured I'd drop you off. If you'd rather get home from Yuseong on your own, you don't have to say anything."

"…Seongnam side."

"Seongnam, huh… So after Gwangju, I drop you off, then head home. That works."

I said it casually enough.

And while pretending to punch in the navigation—

—I quietly edited her Relationship.

First: "annoying fucking bastard" was probably going to stay locked in place for the foreseeable future.

That was the only way I'd get to keep seeing that filthy, turned-on expression of hers.

And if simply taking me in her mouth was enough to get her going—beyond just having me finish inside…

And if the man who held the "rights" to her body decided to manhandle her however he pleased?

I couldn't freely touch An Jihye just yet, but by the time we finished up at Yuseong Industries and headed back… I had a feeling I might get to see something pretty entertaining.

Before that, though.

"What about food?"

"…There's bound to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be a restaurant around there, right?"

"Then let's grab lunch once we arrive and head over after. It'll be mealtime by the time we get there anyway."

I kept the conversation light around food, planting the impression that I had no intention of pulling anything stupid with her.

Of course, that was complete bullshit.

The biggest stake in this whole affair belonged to An Jihye, no question.

But wasn't it strange?

Because of our little "contract," An Jihye's credit could swell or shrink depending entirely on what came out of my mouth.

…She didn't seem to have thought that far ahead yet. I'd just have to remind her later.

For now, focus on the driving.

We arrived in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province.

As An Jihye and I had already discussed, we ducked into a decent-looking restaurant and took care of lunch.

It had that slightly overpriced Seoul-suburb feel to it, but since I was swiping the corporate card, it wasn't a problem.

The real problem started now.

"Hello, we're from Gaon."

"Ah, yes."

The moment we arrived at Yuseong Industries, the first person we ran into was a section chief whose face I already knew.

"What brings you here?"

"We've got a new hire this time around. I brought her along to show her how our systems work on the ground."

"Ah…"

With no idea who might be colluding with the Team Leader, we had no choice but to hide our real purpose.

Hell, for all we knew, it could be the company president himself.

So I cooked up a reasonable excuse and passed An Jihye off as my junior—

"…Oh, yes. Please, look around freely. Yes, yes. If you need anything, just say the word—shall I bring you some tea?"

"No, we're fine. Appreciate the thought."

…I'd momentarily forgotten An Jihye's "impact."

A bare forehead, a short wavy bob cut just sexy enough, a women's suit tailored perfectly to a body that clearly worked out—and above all, that languid, catlike face.

Honestly, introducing her as a new hire was… a bit of a stretch, atmosphere-wise.

"Jihye, let's go."

"…Yes."

Who the fuck cares.

I brushed the section chief off and started walking close beside An Jihye.

"…You're a really good actor."

"I'd prefer you call it social survival skills."

"Hah…"

We'd barely started walking before An Jihye tried to pick a fight that wasn't quite a fight, but I brushed that off just as easily.

Right now… as cringeworthy as it sounded, this wasn't the time for us to be sniping at each other.

"…You found this looking at the financial statements, right? I need you to look carefully. That way I can put in a good word for you with the Department Head."

"……"

Of course, I wasn't putting in any good word for free.

Sharp as she was, An Jihye caught that part immediately—and her face turned even more vicious.

But… she probably had no idea that this face was even hotter than the languid one from a moment ago.

Jung Minjae visibly flinched the moment he heard that people from Gaon Corporation had shown up.

Had they found out?

"Wh-where—where are they right now?"

"Apparently they're looking around on the first floor."

"W-w-what did they come for?"

"Just looking around, from what I heard? Probably showing a new hire the place. They do that sometimes."

"Ah… which department are they from?"

"Planning, I think?"

The other section chief—the one who'd met Jichan just earlier—was too absorbed in his cup ramen to notice Jung Minjae stumbling over his words again and again.

The fidgeting, the inability to hold a steady gaze, the nail-biting—all of it was conveniently hidden behind the steam rising off the noodles.

"…Alright, got it."

In the end, Jung Minjae left his seat and chose to meet the people from Gaon Corporation himself.

He stepped out of the office… and finding the Gaon people turned out to be surprisingly easy.

"What the…?"

"Ah, Section Chief. Did you see?"

"See what?"

"The people from Gaon. Absolute jackpot."

"Wh-what? What's a jackpot?"

Jumping at shadows again.

As Jung Minjae flinched, a relatively young employee grinned wide.

"That new hire they brought from Gaon. Damn, she's ridiculously pretty."

"Ah…"

…So that's what this was about.

Relieved that it didn't seem to be anything serious, Jung Minjae followed the glances the employees kept stealing and moved in that direction.

And there—

"…Whoa."

He understood exactly why that employee had said what he said.

"Yuseong's been doing business with us for quite a while. So on our end, we try to show a certain level of hospitality…"

"Ahem, ahem!"

Trying to look important for no reason.

Jung Minjae made his presence known as he approached the people from Gaon Corporation, but he failed to draw any particular attention.

In the end—

"Excuse me—you're from Gaon, right?"

"…so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that's—ah, yes. That's right."

With a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rather ugly smile and some clumsy talk, Jung Minjae finally managed to snag the woman's attention.

"I was thinking I might give you a little tour of the company—if that's alright with you?"