What's Your Ideal Type?
Some time had passed since the bus pulled onto the highway.
Outside the window, the gray cityscape had long since given way to green mountains and open fields.
Word had already reached them that Buses 2 and 3 were in complete chaos.
"Hey! Turn on the mic!"
"Assistant Manager Seo Yeongrak! Sing us a song!"
"Wooo!"
The lively atmosphere showed no signs of dying down. Some buses had even hooked up the tour bus's internal microphone and were using it like a karaoke machine. The workshop was barely underway, and already the energy was sky-high.
Bus 1, by contrast, was an entirely different story. Unlike the boisterous vehicles around it, the cabin remained remarkably quiet. With the president riding along, no one felt free to cut loose without a second thought. Even so, the mood was neither awkward nor uncomfortable.
Someone dozed against the window. Someone else listened to music through earphones. Clusters of close colleagues murmured among themselves in soft conversation. Everyone was simply passing the time in whatever way felt most natural.
Kang Taeseong was no exception.
"President, do you still work out every single day?"
"Yes."
"Wow… that's incredible."
"It's become a habit."
Unlike his usual demeanor at the office, Kang Taeseong answered the employees' questions with a noticeably more relaxed expression. Watching him, Park Soyeong felt a sudden flicker of wonder.
If this had been before…
Employees initiating conversation with him. Kang Taeseong answering so calmly. Neither would have been imaginable. Even now, the change still felt hard to believe.
"President!"
A bright, cheerful voice cut through the quiet. It was Lee Juhee—the ultimate social butterfly who always took charge of any conversation. She was not the type to let an atmosphere like this slip by untouched.
"May I ask you just one thing?"
"Go ahead."
Lee Juhee leaned forward with a beaming smile.
"President, what's your ideal type?"
The instant the words left her mouth, the entire bus fell dead silent. Even the employee wearing earphones subtly pulled one bud free. The person gazing out the window casually shifted their eyes this way.
She's actually asking that?
To the president, of all people… Juhee really has no fear.
Oh… okay, now I'm curious.
The one who had asked the question looked completely unfazed, eyes sparkling with nothing but pure curiosity. Park Soyeong found herself watching Kang Taeseong as well. Somehow, she wanted to hear his answer.
Kang Taeseong rested his chin on his hand and fell silent for a moment.
"…I've never thought about it."
At the same time, his brow furrowed slightly—the habit that always surfaced when he was deep in thought. Given how naturally intimidating his features already were, that brief crease transformed his face into something downright demonic.
"…!"
The surrounding employees flinched as one.
Is… is he angry?
Kang Taeseong immediately smoothed his expression back into its usual calm.
"I'm sorry. I truly haven't given it any thought."
The tension in the bus melted away.
"Aww, boring!"
Lee Juhee stuck out her lower lip.
"How can anyone not have an ideal type?"
"Hmm… then please give me a little time to think."
Kang Taeseong said it with a quiet chuckle.
"In exchange."
His gaze drifted naturally toward Lee Juhee.
"What's your ideal type, Assistant Manager Lee Juhee?"
"…What?"
The sudden counterattack left Lee Juhee flustered. Soft giggles broke out around them.
"Nice!"
"The president's got some game!"
"Okay, now we have to hear this."
The male employees in particular pricked up their ears while pretending not to care. Lee Juhee was one of the three famous beauties known around the company as the "three musketeers," alongside Park Soyeong and Choi Yuri. Plenty of people had quietly taken an interest in her.
"I…"
Lee Juhee tapped her chin with a fingertip.
"Someone who's good at their job."
"Oh."
"Competent people are just cool."
Heads nodded all around. Kang Taeseong nodded as well, then casually turned his gaze to the side.
"What about you, Ms. Choi Yuri?"
"E-eh?"
Hearing her name called out of nowhere, Choi Yuri nearly jumped out of her seat.
"M-me?"
"Yes."
"Eheh… I didn't think you'd ask me too."
After a brief moment of thought, Choi Yuri smiled shyly.
"I like someone a little… reliable."
"Reliable?"
She nodded and carefully added,
"Like a bear, I guess…?"
"…A bear?"
When Kang Taeseong looked puzzled, Choi Yuri laughed awkwardly.
"I love watching animal documentaries. My ideal type is someone sturdy like a bear."
"Ooooh."
"Didn't see that coming."
"But they have to take care of themselves! It's not like I just want someone who's overweight!"
Laughter rippled through the seats. Naturally, every eye turned at last toward Park Soyeong.
"What about you, Assistant Manager Park?"
"…Me?"
Caught off guard, Park Soyeong blinked.
Ideal type…?
Lee Junho suddenly floated into her mind.
Come to think of it…
She hadn't started dating Lee Junho because he was her ideal type. He was handsome, and he had pursued her relentlessly from the start. Somehow they had simply become a couple. That was all there was to it.
Someone I could actually call an ideal type…
There wasn't one. But saying "I don't have one" right now would kill the mood completely.
Hmm…
Park Soyeong scrambled through her thoughts.
Someone who smells nice…?
A particular scent drifted through her memory—a subtle soap fragrance, the clean note of fabric softener, and something else, strangely comforting and familiar.
…Ah.
No. That wasn't an ideal type. Park Soyeong hurriedly wiped the thought away.
Then…
Another scene rose unbidden.
Before boarding the bus.
—Assistant Manager Park.
—Yes?
—I heard you suffer from severe motion sickness.
—…? Yes.
—Did you bring medicine for it?
—…Ah. I forgot to pack any.
—If you didn't bring any, take this.
Kang Taeseong, handing over the motion-sickness pills with that same calm face.
……
"…A kind person."
"Ooooh, a kind person."
"A gentle guy is nice."
"…!"
The moment the words left her mouth, Park Soyeong flinched at her own voice.
What did I just say—
Her face flushed crimson in an instant.
"Oh~."
Lee Juhee wore a knowing little smile. Park Soyeong shrugged, trying to look nonchalant.
"I just said whatever came to mind."
"Hmm."
Lee Juhee propped her chin on her hand and studied Park Soyeong intently.
…Wait.
Come to think of it, that morning before they boarded—she had clearly seen Kang Taeseong personally hand motion-sickness medicine to Park Soyeong, who always suffered so badly on buses.
No way.
And for a while now there had been quiet rumors that whenever overtime ran late, the president would drive Park Soyeong home. At the time she had dismissed it as nothing more than a boss looking after an employee.
But.
…Soyeong and the president?
Lee Juhee's eyes narrowed. A wild, fleeting image flashed through her mind.
No way.
She immediately snorted and shook her head. No matter how she turned it over, the combination made zero sense. Besides, Soyeong already had a perfectly respectable boyfriend named Lee Junho.
I was just imagining things.
She tried to let it go. Yet her gaze kept drifting, almost of its own accord, back and forth between Park Soyeong and Kang Taeseong.
After a long climb along winding mountain roads, a sprawling resort finally came into view—a mountain retreat wrapped in dense forest. Clear air and a cool breeze greeted the employees as they arrived.
"Wow!"
"This place is amazing!"
"Pictures, pictures!"
One after another the employees climbed down from the buses and turned in slow circles, taking everything in. Scenery like this was rare in the city. Behind the resort a thick pine forest stretched away, and from somewhere not far off came the faint rush of a mountain stream.
"The air is so clean."
Even the employees who usually shuffled into work looking half-dead wore bright, excited faces today.
"Alright, everyone! Group photo first!"
On the wide lawn plaza in front of the resort, employees who had set down their luggage began gathering one by one. Behind them the blue mountain range rose like a folding screen, and a large banner fluttered in the wind before the resort building.
KJ GROUP NEW START WORKSHOP
The words announced KJ Group's fresh beginning. The photographer set up a tripod and waved everyone over.
"Tall people, please stand in the back!"
Employees surged into position.
"A little tighter, please."
"Anyone for the front row?"
Lines formed in seconds. Kang Taeseong paused among the crowd. Ordinarily the president would naturally take the center. But today the employees were the stars. If someone as tall and broad as he was claimed the middle for no good reason, everyone would feel awkward, and the photo itself would look off-balance.
The back row would be better.
Just as he started toward the rear, Park Soyeong, standing a short distance away, was watching him. After a brief hesitation she gathered her courage and opened her mouth.
"…P-President."
To Kang Taeseong's ears the voice was far too soft. It vanished completely beneath the laughter and chatter of the employees. Park Soyeong tried again.
"…Um."
But someone else got there first.
"President!"
A clear, bright voice rang across the plaza. Choi Yuri waved with a puppy-like, radiant smile.
"There's a spot open here!"
Kang Taeseong's gaze turned naturally in that direction.
"Ah, is that so?"
"Yes!"
Choi Yuri pointed to the empty space beside her.
"They said the tall people should stand in the back."
Kang Taeseong glanced at the open spot and nodded. This would do fine.
"Then, if you'll excuse me."
Without another thought he walked toward Choi Yuri.
"…"
Park Soyeong quietly closed her mouth. A voice that would have reached him if she had only spoken a little louder. The hand she had been about to raise fell limply to her side.
…Too late.
She bit her lip for no reason she could name. Why had she tried to call him over in the first place? Because she wanted Kang Taeseong standing next to her in the photo? Even she couldn't explain it. She simply watched in silence as he passed her by and took his place beside Choi Yuri.
"Ms. Yuri, a little more to the right."
"Ah, yes!"
Choi Yuri shifted one step sideways. Their shoulders drew naturally closer.
"President, you can stand right here."
"Thank you."
Choi Yuri smiled with quiet pride. She had only called him over because he looked a little out of place, yet somehow the arrangement settled more naturally than she had expected.
"Alright, taking the shot!"
Once everyone was in position, the photographer called out loudly.
"One! Two! Three!"
Click.
Bright smiles and all, the first group photograph commemorating KJ Group's new beginning was captured forever.