GGAS 22

Ha Bomi and Kim Gwanggong were about to go into the restaurant in front of the company when they spotted a familiar face.

“Oh? Isn’t that Eun Sanho-ssi at the window seat?”

“I think so.”

As soon as Kim Gwanggong confirmed it, Ha Bomi went straight to the table where Eun Sanho was sitting.

“Sanho-ssi!”

Eun Sanho, who had been resting his chin on one hand and blankly staring out the window, turned his head at Ha Bomi’s call.

“Oh!”

When Eun Sanho recognized the two of them, he smiled brightly.

“Bomi-ssi, Gwanggong-ssi! How have you…”

He was about to greet them, but when he saw their haggard faces, he lightly bit his tongue. Then he reduced his smile from radiant to polite and gestured with both hands at the seat in front of him.

“If you don’t mind, would you like to join me? This spot is nice because the heater blows here just right.”

“Oh my, should we?”

Since Ha Bomi never refused anything fun or good, she grinned easily even with dark circles down to her chin. Then she plopped down onto the chair that Kim Gwanggong had been pulling, which was directly across from Eun Sanho.

“It’s nice to see you again, Sanho-ssi~.”

Ha Bomi spoke cheerfully, but then felt a chill at the back of her neck and turned her head. She saw Kim Gwanggong standing there with one hand on the backrest and a cold look in his eyes. But whether Kim Gwanggong’s eyes were cold or warm, dry or moist, Ha Bomi never cared.

“Oh my, Director. How rare of you to give me a seat.”

She loved fun things, good things, and especially when she could get the first two for free, Ha Bomi just cracked a joke and pulled the chair snugly under herself. Thanks to that, Kim Gwanggong’s hand was forced off the backrest.

“…….”

Kim Gwanggong looked down at his empty hand, he was about to habitually raise his eyebrow to quietly show irritation. But when he noticed that Eun Sanho was carefully observing him and Ha Bomi, he changed course and twisted only one corner of his lips into a rotten smile.

“You don’t need to be overly thankful.”

When Kim Gwanggong spoke gentlemanly words in a not-so-gentlemanly tone, Ha Bomi burst out laughing.

“Hahaha, how could anyone be overly thankful for something so trivial~. I’m not that kind of person, Director!”

‘Who hired this person as my secretary? She really is impossible to talk to.’

Thinking something that would make the HR Director’s ears itch, Kim Gwanggong showed another rotten smile, then pulled the chair right next to Ha Bomi and sat down. Eun Sanho kindly poured water into their cups and placed them in front of them. He was naturally kind, but it also seemed to be because the two of them looked pitiful and their conversation wasn’t going well.

“You must be busy with work these days?”

Eun Sanho asked with concern as he looked back and forth between them.

“Well…”

Kim Gwanggong parted his lips to answer, but Ha Bomi let out a sigh first, louder and more dramatic.

“Aigoo, don’t even mention it!”

Ha Bomi spoke and then immediately pulled a face as if the situation was too horrible to even talk about, she shut her lips and waved her hands strongly. At that gesture, Kim Gwanggong lifted his left eyebrow by about a millimeter, and Eun Sanho furrowed his brows, wondering if things were really that serious.

“Is it that bad?”

When Eun Sanho asked again, Ha Bomi perked up, though she was still frowning with every muscle like she was baffled and fed up. After all, once someone joined in, telling the story became more satisfying. She lightly slapped the table with her palm.

“Ha, if I start talking, there’s no end, seriously.”

Then, as if she wanted to prove her words, she began a never-ending story.

“Aigoo, so on Saturday, while I was binge-watching a drama, I put water on the gas stove to cook some ramen. Then this Director next to me suddenly called and said some nonsense about even dog shit being useless when you need it, saying that was exactly the case. It turned out he wasn’t even talking to me but at another employee. And I thought, why do I have to listen to something not even directed at me? So I asked him, ‘Director, why are you angry on such a nice weekend?’ No, actually before that, I asked, ‘Director, why are you spending your sweet weekend with Deputy Hong, whom you obviously can’t stand?’ And the Director said, if I couldn’t stand it, did I want the company to go under, then ordered Secretary Ha to rush to the office right away. So I ripped out that pink thing I had in my bangs, you know, that thing. What’s it called again. Ugh, you know what I mean, that thing they sell at Daiso. Anyway, I pulled that out, tied up my messy hair with a yellow rubber band from a ramen pack, threw on slippers, and rode the rusty bicycle I hadn’t touched in over five years, pedaling at full speed all the way to the company…!”

“Ah….”

Eun Sanho finally understood why Ha Bomi was wearing a suit but slippers on her feet, and he felt sorry for her. Not just his clothes and shoes, even her bangs were half curled and half straight, so it seemed the situation at the company really was that urgent. Ha Bomi spread her arms toward the sky, though it was just the restaurant ceiling.

“Really, if someone could just fall from the sky and sort my documents for me, do my Excel sheets, write emails, answer calls, and when I said I was tired bring me coffee and a body pillow right away, that would be perfect. Of course, the paycheck still goes to my account….”

She recited what she had been wishing for in the past 48 hours like a lament, then closed her eyes and clasped her hands together, shaking them as if she was praying. But since it was half-joking, half-serious, the gesture was dramatic and the sly smile she gave with her eyes half-open looked playful. In the end, Eun Sanho, feeling sorry, still burst out laughing, while Kim Gwanggong, having sat through the one-man show, gave only a short comment.

“Contradictory.”

Ha Bomi looked at him with curious eyes.

“Director, have you never wished for something like that?”

“Never.”

At Kim Gwanggong’s curt answer, Ha Bomi scratched her cheek.

“Uh… well… then… you don’t even have an ideal type?”

At the words ‘ideal type,’ Kim Gwanggong’s gaze naturally turned toward Eun Sanho.

“……?”

Eun Sanho did not know why Kim Gwanggong was looking at him, so he just smiled. Then Kim Gwanggong stiffened his mouth and turned his head.

“…I don’t really.”

To follow right after “Never” with “I don’t really.” Ha Bomi clicked her tongue inwardly, wondering if Kim Gwanggong was under some kind of short-sentence curse. If there was any relief, it was only that “I like you” and “I love you” were also short sentences. Since Ha Bomi never expected Kim Gwanggong to sing serenades, she thought at least she had to see the scene where he confessed to Eun Sanho with those words. With sly eyes, she looked at Eun Sanho.

“Sanho-ssi, how about you? Do you have an ideal type?”

Ha Bomi made the move on behalf of her boss, who looked fine only on the outside but seemed to have a long way to go.

“Mm…”

Eun Sanho tilted his head slightly.

“My ideal type? Mm… I just like someone handso…”

Eun Sanho started speaking without much thought, but when his eyes met the sculpted face of Kim Gwanggong, he bit his lower lip. Needless to say, his ideal type was a tall, handsome man with a sharp nose bridge. But if he said so, after all the effort of even registering at a marriage agency, it would only end up sounding like he was filing a self-report that he had ulterior motives for Kim Gwanggong.

“Handso…?”

When Ha Bomi asked, Eun Sanho rolled his eyes awkwardly and gave a awkward smile.

“Not handsome, small. I like someone a bit shorter.”

“Ah, shorter. Shorter people are cute.”

Ha Bomi played along socially and tried to recall how tall Kim Gwanggong was. About a hundred and ninety-something, she thought.

Well… a hundred and ninety-something was shorter than two meters, but…

But what Eun Sanho meant by short was no doubt someone who could walk straight through a country house doorway with his neck upright, without ever needing to duck.

“Height… disqualified.”

Not for being short, but for being tall, disqualified. Ha Bomi could not help feeling regret at how such a case could exist, and she leaned her upper body forward.

“What about other conditions? Don’t you have any others?”

“Ah, other conditions? Mm… someone with a cute face? I think I like round and gentle features.”

“Mm, round and round~”

Ha Bomi echoed part of his words and thought for a moment. Did Kim Gwanggong have round and gentle features? If asked whether he was handsome, the answer was immediate yes, but if asked whether he looked gentle… not really. At the last company dinner, hadn’t the cult preachers they ran into on the way to the second round ran the moment they met Kim Gwanggong’s eyes? After that, employees even gave him the nickname “Shancho Boulevard Fire Garlic,” meaning he exterminated pests in a single blow.

“Gentle features… disqualified.”

Ha Bomi wiped the thought of “round” from her mind and smiled with a people-friendly expression.

“Besides height and face, do you have any other conditions for your ideal type, Sanho-ssi?”

“Another one? Uh… mm… ah, I’d like someone who likes pastel clothes. They feel kind of like clouds, and just seeing them puts me in a good mood.”

“Ah~ pastel tones are nice. I like them too.”

Ha Bomi praised Sanho’s taste in colors and glanced at what Kim Gwanggong was wearing. As always, a black turtleneck, black slacks, black coat, black… To be honest, even his underwear was surely black. Imagining Kim Gwanggong, out of his own preference, putting on pastel fabrics was impossible. Height could shrink a little with age, and expression could soften with more frequent smiles, but pastel clothes on Kim Gwanggong… that looked too difficult. Ha Bomi felt a little flustered inside. The more Eun Sanho spoke, the lower the chance seemed for him and Kim Gwanggong to end up well.

Should I cut it here…

Ha Bomi-ssi thought about stopping the questions and drawing the conclusion, “Director, all external traits have been rejected, so from now on let’s cultivate a kind heart and pursue inner beauty,” which would be both logical and helpful for his work life. But maybe because she had already twice asked if there were other conditions, Eun Sanho, without even being asked this time, went on with another ideal type condition.

“Ah, and I’d like someone with flexible working hours. If I ask to hang out, I want someone who can come right away.”

“Ah, aha, dates! Dates are important. They’re major events between lovers~. I love them too, and you like them as well, Sanho-ssi! Wow, what a coincidence~?”

Ha Bomi replied while sweating inwardly. From what she knew of Kim Gwanggong’s schedule, it was a fixed five-day work week with frequent overtime. And the words “flexible working hours” could never exist in Kim Gwanggong’s life. Ha Bomi sometimes thought secretly to herself that Kim Gwanggong was the kind of person who had been born not crying “waah” but filing a report with a blank expression exactly at 2:00 p.m., the end of Hau Group’s lunch break, instead of at some awkward time like 10:38.

‘But really, height, face, fashion, schedule… not a single thing matches the Director?’

For the first time, Ha Bomi became curious about what expression Kim Gwanggong was making at that very moment. Even so, she did not bother to turn her head and check. If Kim Gwanggong was not expressionless as usual, it meant Ha Bomi had asked unnecessary questions that disturbed her superior’s mood, and her own future would be in danger. On the other hand, if he was expressionless as always, then it would feel like that guy had no desperation in front of love, and as a supporter of ‘Gwanggong-Sanho,’ it would make her furious. So as always, instead of trying to read Kim Gwanggong’s face, Ha Bomi simply clapped with a bright smile.

“When will the rice soup come out~”

By coincidence, the rice soup arrived immediately, and Ha Bomi received the lavish praise from Eun Sanho that she was like “the fairy of rice soup.”

“Haha, a fairy is too much… I guess my timing was just good~”

While Ha Bomi acted humble and felt relieved, a part-time student worker who looked about college age placed the steaming bowls of rice soup in front of the three of them.

“Thank you for the meal~.”

Eun Sanho looked at his bowl and smiled prettily. Now, a quick note. Most people probably know, but if examined closely, such a greeting like “thank you for the meal” was very vague in who it was directed at. It could be to the farmer who grew the rice, to the cook who prepared it, to oneself for feeding oneself by paying for it through honest labor, or for religious reasons. But when this vague phrase combined with Eun Sanho’s pure and lovely appearance, the part-time worker could only blush, mistakenly believing, “Of course this is directed at me.”

“Please enjoy….”

He muttered blankly, captivated by Eun Sanho’s beauty. At that moment, a faint grinding sound echoed from somewhere. While putting a proper amount of chili paste into her rice soup, Ha Bomi looked around, wondering if someone was gnashing their teeth. Then she saw something unexpected, and her hand slipped, dumping a huge heap of chili paste into the bowl.

S-s-someone could die from this.

Kim Gwanggong was glaring murderously at the part-time worker. As his secretary, Ha Bomi had often seen his oddly cold expressionless face, his oddly displeased expressionless face, and his oddly irritated expressionless face, but it was the first time seeing such clear hostility and dislike. She was quite shaken.

‘Stay calm.’

She gripped the chili paste bowl firmly, and made up her mind that if Kim Gwanggong got involved in an assault case, she would pretend she did not know him. Fortunately, her fear did not come true. Because other customers kept asking the part-timer when their food would come, the worker had no choice but to leave Eun Sanho and return to the kitchen. Accordingly, Kim Gwanggong’s face also returned to his usual statue mode. Relieved, Ha Bomi scooped up a spoonful of rice soup and ate it.

“Pfhh…”

Of course, she spat it out right away. It was not rice soup but chili paste soup.

“Are you okay?”

Eun Sanho asked with concern.

“Uh…”

Ha Bomi was not the type to say dhe was fine when she was not.

“It’s just… I accidentally put in a bit… too much chili paste.”

When she admitted it hesitantly, Eun Sanho peeked into his bowl and was shocked.

“No, the rice soup is….”

The owner of the ridiculously red soup, Ha Bomi, scratched her cheek in embarrassment.

“……?”

Eun Sanho bit hid lip seriously as he looked at the chili paste soup, then he pushed his own milky-white soup toward Ha Bomi.

“Take mine.”

“Huh? Oh no, I can’t!”

Ha Bomi flinched in surprise and refused. But unlike her mouth worn down by social life, her hand was far too honest, and her spoon was already right about to dip into the milky soup. Just then, the bowl disappeared from in front of him and a new milky bowl was set in its place.

“……?”

When he and Eun Sanho turned their heads, they saw Kim Gwanggong switching the bowls around, giving Sanho’s soup back to its original owner, handing his own to Ha Bomi, and pulling the chili paste soup in front of himself. While they both stared at him blankly, Kim Gwanggong added even more chili paste into the already ruined soup.

“W-what are you doing?”

When Ha Bomi asked, Kim Gwanggong raised his eyebrow and replied flatly.

“I like chili paste.”

To prove his words, he heaped a spoonful of the red mess and shoved it mercilessly between his handsome lips. Without even blinking, he slowly began chewing the rice soup. Having already tasted it once, Ha Bomi knew how it was and frowned.

“Director….”

She looked between the soup and Kim Gwanggong’s face, frowning.

“…Your taste is really unusual. They say successful people are eccentric. Looks like you’ll become chairman soon.”

With that, Ha Bomi dropped the matter of her superior’s palate and plunged her spoon into the milky soup. Meanwhile, Eun Sanho glanced at him nervously.

‘Bomi-ssi, I don’t think that’s it….’

Apparently only Eun Sanho noticed that every time Kim Gwanggong swallowed a spoonful of the chili paste soup, his fingers twitched slightly. But he could not just tell Ha Bomi that her judgment was completely wrong. Since Ha Bomi was his secretary, she surely thought she knew Kim Gwanggong better than anyone, and if someone like Sanho, who was practically an outsider, pointed it out, it would be taken as overstepping and cause displeasure.

‘But… Gwanggong-ssi really doesn’t look good….’

Eun Sanho thought for a moment about how he might improve Kim Gwanggong’s mood without upsetting Ha Bomi.

‘Mm… is there no trick….’

Then a word flashed in his mind. That word was “marriage agency.”

‘Yes, let’s bring that up! Last time, when I said I wanted to get married or something, Gwanggong-ssi looked really displeased. So if I emphasize that I’m not interested in him, it’ll make him happy!’

It was a wrong idea, but beautiful, kind, and only half-perceptive Eun Sanho believed it.

‘Alright, let’s do it.’

He quietly let his eyes shine as he listened to Ha Bomi talking about hidden good restaurants only she knew. He planned to seize the first chance and steer the conversation toward the marriage agency.

After about twenty minutes of earnest listening, the opportunity finally came. Ha Bomi mentioned that when planning a family trip, she was in charge of the food stops.

“But Bomi-ssi, do you also like planning date courses?”

Eun Sanho asked quickly. Ha Bomi was about to answer of course she liked it, but then remembered Kim Gwanggong silently eating beside her and froze. She should not have let the conversation drift into ideal types, romance, or dates! Somehow it felt like she had looped all the way back into the flames of hell.

“O-of course~. Dating is fun and planning the courses is fun too, isn’t it~.”

Even while glancing at Kim Gwanggong’s expression, Ha Bomi had no choice but to agree. Then Eun Sanho’s already bright face lit up even more.

“That’s right! I also like planning, so when I look things up, it’s fun.”

Eun Sanho spoke excitedly.

“Oh my, for example?”

As soon as Ha Bomi asked, she regretted it.

‘Ah… instead of such a good question that allows for a wide variety of answers, I should have asked a yes-or-no question that kills creativity and ends the conversation!’

That was exactly what she should have done. But since Ha Bomi always tried to draw more than a single sentence from one-answer-man Kim Gwanggong, out of habit she ended up asking a good question.

‘Ha… no, wait… the Director always gives one-liners no matter the question, right? Sanho-ssi could very well do the same.’

Ha Bomi tried to rationalize. But of course, the person in front of her was not Kim Gwanggong, and whoever had designed the question, it was far too effective.

“Mm, I’ve been seeing someone recently.”

Eun Sanho even set down her spoon before starting to speak.

‘Oh Lord….’

At the bombshell opening, Ha Bomi hurriedly called on God. But since there was absolutely no answer, it seemed God had decided to go his own way apart from her.

“At first, we tried the most common course.”

In a soft voice, Eun Sanho began to lay out his vast knowledge of date courses.

‘Lord, you petty, heartless man!’

Thinking she now understood why God had gone his separate way from her, Ha Bomi forced a smile.

“Oh my, so there are such dating spots around here~? I really didn’t know~?”

Ha Bomi carried on the conversation sociably.