Executive Director, shall I book a room ?? - Chapter 5

They say that when you focus intensely, time slows down.

A large male hand gripped the closed door handle. The veins on the back of his hand stood out starkly.

Rolled-up sleeves, a taut arm stretched out, the firmness of his body pressed against her back, the unyielding strength gripping her wrist—

Am I in heaven? The fact that she couldn’t breathe suggested she was already dead.

“Where do you think you’re going looking like that?!”

“Ghk—!”

Her soul, which had been floating somewhere in the cosmos, snapped back into her body. Only then did she realize her own state and barely swallowed back another scream. She’d forgotten—she was only wearing a bathrobe. Quickly clutching the front closed, she crouched down in despair.

Ah, I want to die. I want to die a hundred times over.

The sensation of her sanity crumbling was oddly refreshing.

If possible, she’d love to just drift through space as cosmic debris right now.

“Haah….”

After a long silence, she heard him sigh behind her.

She flinched and curled up even tighter—then something draped over her head. Peeking up, she saw pure white.

“Cover yourself.”

Recognizing the white sheet, Sujin hastily pulled it around herself. Her heart pounded so hard she thought she might die. Manager Na had once joked that if room assignments got mixed up, she might end up sharing a break room with a man—she’d laughed it off, but who knew it would actually happen?!

“Th-Thank y— No, I’m sorry! I didn’t know anyone was in h—”

“Now’s the time for that?”

His tone was sharp, as if irritated. Sujin flinched again. She didn’t know—no, she *did* know what had upset him. She’d woken him up, ruined his rest. Just her presence here was probably annoying enough.

“I’m sorr—”

“No, I’m sorry. That was… a mistake.”

“Ah, no! You had every right to be upset. I barged in without checking—I should’ve confirmed if someone was here first…”

The apologies kept piling up, going nowhere. Sujin nervously clutched the sheet, swallowing dryly.

What do I do? What am I supposed to do now?

She couldn’t just leave…

“Oh right—Soo-hyuk!”

Her vision darkened. If he saw her like this, he’d never let her live it down for the next *thirty years.*

Please don’t come. Not now.

As she internally panicked, she sensed movement behind her. Curiosity piqued, she peeked through the sheet—Junseong was slipping on his suit jacket, heading for the door. His long legs moved with effortless grace, like a model on a runway.

“I’ll go first. Take your time.”

“Huh? Ah, no! You should rest more. I’ll leave. I’m the one who woke you up—”

Still crouched, she scrambled up, but before she could reach the door, his hand blocked her path.

“I’ve had enough rest. Just closed my eyes for a bit.”

Ah, I see.

She bit back a smile. It was hard to imagine his pristine appearance faltering, and the fact that she was the only one who knew—well, that wasn’t so bad.

Was that why he hadn’t contacted her? Too busy adjusting to his new life, no energy to spare for old friends?

Even now, his slightly tired frown was unfairly attractive.

In that state, of course he’d look coldly at an old friend.

Nodding to herself, she glanced at him—then noticed something strange.

“Huh?”

A single strand of hair sticking up rebelliously on his usually flawless head.

“Cute. So cute. Sexy. What do I do? Too cute.”

She’d never seen him like this before. Even during college retreats, when everyone else was drunk and passed out, he’d remained poised like a crane. To see him slightly disheveled now was shocking in a different way. How could just waking up with slightly messy hair create this level of forbidden sexiness?!

She couldn’t let him leave like this.

Right. This is to preserve his dignity. Definitely not because I want to keep this sight to myself.

“Uh, wait a sec—”

Without thinking, she reached out toward his face. He flinched back, startled. Sujin quickly retracted her hand, gesturing to her own temple instead.

“Ah, your hair—it’s sticking out a bit.”

“Ah.”

A flicker of embarrassment crossed his usually impassive face before vanishing.

So he can make expressions like that.

And even that was unfairly perfect. She almost felt guilty for hogging this sight to herself.

As he adjusted his appearance, regaining his usual composure, he suddenly looked at her like he’d remembered something.

Ah, was I staring too much?

“Let me borrow that.”

“Huh?”

He pointed at her phone. Dazedly handing it over, she heard a ringtone from his jacket pocket moments later. Before she could process what was happening, he smirked and handed it back.

“This is a weird situation, but since we’re meeting after so long—don’t you have anything to say?”

“Huh?”

“Is ‘huh’ your only response?”

She had no idea what was happening. No—she had some idea, but she wasn’t sure if it was right.

“Well…”

Her mind went blank. Whether he noticed or not, Junseong chuckled softly and handed her phone back. He cleared his throat slightly—a familiar habit.

“If you’re free, want to have dinner together?”

The polite honorifics felt strange, but she understood. He did remember her.

“Ah, well, I have a meeting tonight—”

She answered without thinking, and his eyebrow arched.

“N-Not that kind of meeting! A work one! With clients!”

Why was she explaining herself?

“Ah.”

He nodded like it made sense.

“Then I guess there’s no helping it.”

Wait, is he just going to leave like that?

“Uh, hold on—”

Without thinking, she grabbed his sleeve as he turned. He paused, looking back at her. His sharp gaze made her flinch, but she’d already given him her number. Pretending ignorance now would be pointless. Awkwardly, she forced a smile.

“I-I thought you’d forgotten me. You kept looking at me like a stranger, so I wondered if I’d done something to upset you…”

“You did.”

“…Huh?”

“You upset me.”

“What?”

“I was very upset because of you.”

What is he talking about?

She had no idea how to react. When did he get so blunt? The atmosphere turned icy, but she had no clue what she’d done wrong. She just blinked dumbly.

Junseong studied her stiff expression before abruptly turning away.

“I’ll contact you later.”

Even after he left, Sujin stood frozen for a long time.

Her surroundings blurred white, like she’d been swept away by a tidal wave. Dazedly, she realized she was still holding her phone and carefully checked the call log. An unfamiliar number stared back at her, making her chest tighten.

[Song Junseong]

Her hands trembled as she saved the contact. Her legs gave out, and she slumped to the floor.

“Well… at least he remembers me.”

She spaced out for who knows how long before a knock snapped her back to reality.

Suhyeok had arrived.

When she opened the door, he visibly startled at her appearance.

“Damn, you scared me. What’s with the getup? Cosplaying a ghost or something?”

“Shut up. Don’t ask.”

“Wow, your face is red. What the hell happened?”

He leaned in with a teasing grin. His light brown hair and unusually bright grayish-brown eyes always stood out, especially next to Junseong’s dark hair and deep blue eyes. The contrast was striking—and popular.

But right now, his fashion sense was too eye-catching.

She sighed heavily at his gray suit, glossy black shirt, and deep blue paisley tie.

“Ugh, my head’s a mess right now. Don’t poke at me.”

“What could possibly mess up your head this much? Did you secretly meet someone?”

He ruffled her hair like she was a dog, grinning like he knew something. It was annoying. Both he and Junseong were equally hard to read. She swatted his hand away.

“Stop treating me like a kid.”

“Tch, and here I woke up early to buy you clothes. Should I just leave?”

“You’re just gonna charge me anyway. Hand them over.”

She snatched the shopping bag from him. Of course, he’d bought something expensive. This month’s budget was ruined. Grumbling, she rubbed her stomach and headed to the bathroom.

Behind her, Soo-hyuk laughed.

“You’d normally brush something like this off. What’s different today?”

“Yeah, normally I would. Today’s not normal.”

“Hmm… Really?”

His phone rang—probably work-related. But just as she gripped the bathroom door—

“Wait, the name ‘Song Junseong’ sounds really familiar. Should I search it here and see what comes up?”

He flashed his phone screen at her with a smirk.