She hadn’t noticed because she was facing off with Jun Hwi, but their clash had already been attracting the attention of the entire office since a while ago.

Including the Director of Business Support who happened to be on the same floor and the HR team.

She thought this could happen if things didn’t work out.

People from the HR team, whom we might see once or twice a year, happened to witness their argument while having a meeting on the same floor at this time.

“Lawyer, I apologize. It’s my fault for not properly training the staff.”
The director, who had done nothing wrong, deeply bowed and apologized to him.

This conservative and stifling group was like that. It was unthinkable for a secretary, who should support the skylike lawyer, to stand against him bluntly.

And Yeon Woo had done that. And that too, to Kwon Jun Hwi, the unique presence of Roan Yule, who the representative cherished so much.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t seen such a sight in the eight years she had been there. Every time the lawyers got angry, Kim Yeon Woo’s longrun secret was to smile softly and endure. It should have been a matter that she could just brush off while drinking soju after work.

Why was her pride so hurt in front of him?

“Deputy Kim Yeon Woo, let’s talk.”
Yeon Woo, who had been quietly biting her lower lip, was suddenly awakened by the elegant voice. She couldn’t ignore the signal hidden behind it.

Yeon Woo was earmarked. Just about a month left for her promotion to manager.

However.

“No, our talk isn’t over yet.”
How much more anger was Kwon Jun Hwi planning to express, even to the point of interrupting the director’s call?

“Ah… Yes, lawyer. Then have your talk first, and when it’s over, Deputy Kim will come to my room.”
“And there’s a lot of work to be ordered from now on. Why are you taking away my secretary who has a lot of work?”
His absurdity was triggered again.

What was it? ‘I’ll scold her even if I have to scold her’, was it such a childish mindset? Question marks floated above everyone’s heads who were present there.

“Ah, yes…”
“For a while, don’t touch Deputy Kim without my confirmation. I have work to assign. Everyone, please leave.”
The director was just another employee in front of the lawyer. What could he do, when the ‘lawyer’ said not to interfere.

The HR team members left his office, glancing at Yeon Woo with uncomfortable faces.

Only Deputy Kim remained. At his added voice, Yeon Woo, who was trying to leave hidden among the others, had to come back. Sigh. She sighed invisibly and stood facing him again.

“What would you like me to do?”
“Sit down first.”
Jun Hwi pointed to the sofa with his chin and sat down on the opposite sofa, folding his arms. The man’s shirt, which fit perfectly on his taut chest, was threateningly tight.

Yeon Woo sat down, trying her best to appear unfazed.

“…What do you usually talk about when you’re alone with the director?”
As always, Kwon Jun Hwi, who was going back and forth between highs and lows like flowing water, had a much more relaxed attitude than before.

Why would she care about that? She was afraid to assign useless and embarrassing meaning to it on her own.

“I don’t know because I’ve never tried.”
And would the smart him have asked if he really didn’t know? Maybe he was worrying in his own way.

The forgotten macaron incident came to mind as well. Was his style to growl a lot and then regain his senses belatedly and clean up?

‘It’s too late now, you causeprovider.’
Ah. Was this also a delusion of my own? I don’t know. Yeon Woo was confused because her head was spinning.

The buzzing of people outside had stopped, and silence had come into the room. The person who said he would give her work just shut his mouth tightly and stared at Yeon Woo.

“······.”
“······.”
Jun Hwi also had a lot of thoughts.

This was not the outcome he had wished for.

Cha Han Bin, who was whispering right next to her as if to show off, bothered him.

It also bothered him that he was suddenly talking about lunch, all to let Jun Hwi, who was standing behind him, hear it. It was all his childish tactics, and he fell for it knowing all along.

Yeon Woo’s mistake was also a minor one. But because it had crossed into the realm of emotion, the incident had unnecessarily grown bigger.

That realm was something Jun Hwi had never even tried to handle, so it was not easy to control.

“If you don’t have anything to instruct, can I leave?”
That was when they were just pressing each other. Yeon Woo broke the silence first by opening her mouth.

Again, that piercing gaze. The one that drove people crazy at the dinner party.

She started to recall her times with him last weekend. Yeon Woo turned her gaze to the floor to avoid the heat.

“······You may leave now.”
Finally, he who checked the time on his wrist, let Yeon Woo go.

Lunch time was less than 20 minutes away, and Cha Han Bin, who had been waiting, was nowhere to be seen. She didn’t feel like eating anyway.

Yeon Woo returned to her seat and flopped down on her desk.

The HR team attacked Yeon Woo in an ingenious way without catching Jun Hwi’s eye.

[Honestly, the director has even considered disciplinary action] The blinking messenger window. It seemed like she could see the serious face of HR team’s Manager Park from the text.

[It’s that shocking. You, as a deputy, even have to mentor new secretaries, you should be a role model] [But until now, your evaluation has been so good and you’ve tried hard, so we’ve decided to just give you a warning] Manager Park acted like a bighearted benefactor.

Ah. At this point, she got the feeling for sure. The promotion had really gone down the drain.

Why would they promote a secretary who publicly confronts a lawyer? They’ll probably cut her off from promotion nicely, for the sake of being a good example.

Look closely, you guys. Don’t confront your boss. We have to provide the best service from within to satisfy our clients, it’s the basic spirit of our RoanYul employees. Don’t you know?

It’s hollow. I was enduring everything, eyeing just one promotion to manager.

‘If I can’t get promoted, is there a reason to stick to this place while riding a roller coaster with Kwon Jun Hwi?’
None.

Moreover, there’s no guarantee that a promotion, once missed, will be graciously given the next year.

Should I apply to move to the position of another lawyer’s secretary? What if they don’t move me?

‘If both promotion and relocation fail.’
Uhuh. Yeon Woo rubbed her head slightly as she envisioned the worstcase scenario. It felt like she needed to prepare a contingency plan.

Whether it would continue to be painful under Kwon Jun Hwi, or maybe she’d even quit.