Chapter Eight #7
Carefully cradling two steaming cups, he reaches for the door to the smoking zone.
Earlier, he had made a rare trip to the pantry and made a cup of coffee (and ginseng tea for himself), much to the surprise of those present.
Nobody has ever seen Haneul drink coffee and he never misses an opportunity to express his dislike for it.
And yet here he was, smiling foolishly, asking for instructions to use the espresso machine, and making himself the fodder of endless gossip among his employees.
‘… but, why me? Alice, this makes no sense! I should never have taken this up … Ryan! He’s the very root of all this. Saare fasaad ki jad . No, Ally. I can’t deal with this. Didn’t you read the story I linked you to?’
Timira sits hunched up, the pronounced shoulder pads of her blazer unable to hide her body’s battle against the cold.
Poor thing! Might it be a good idea to lend her my jacket? Or would that be a bit much? Haneul wonders.
Even as he mulls over this, his feet have started to move, as though working on their own.
Putting the cups aside, he takes his warm overcoat off, carefully so as to not make a sound, and tiptoes towards Timira.
But he stops dead in his tracks as Timira’s voice gets louder and the exasperation in it reaches his ears.
‘No, nobody is around, thankfully. I have to be careful to not let people on to the ghosts of my past that have followed me here. They’ll probably have me deported!’
Feeling rather sheepish, Haneul quickly but quietly retraces his steps.
Phew! That was a close shave. I should give her privacy. God, why do I act like an idiot around her every single time? Jeez!
‘… there’s no logical explanation to this, Alice. It really must be my sodding karma! Can you even imagine my shock? I don’t want to live in my past, goddamnit!’
But curiosity always gets the cat. So Haneul continues to linger and Timira continues to complain, oblivious of his presence.
Wow! Okay, so let me get this straight. The guy she had complained to me in Bali about, he’s now in Seoul?! Insane!
Haneul recalls drunk Timira painting a terrible picture of her ex-boyfriend. She had whined about him cheating on her with a much younger influencer and then getting her into trouble at work. Trouble of what sort, he can’t seem to recall. He doesn’t seem to remember any more details.
Geurae, I was pretty drunk that evening, as well. Not just on alcohol. This he remembers quite well.
And then he and his mouth remember meeting Timira’s. Suddenly feeling hot under the collar, his heart skips a beat. Nothing new , he reminds himself. He’s got used to skipping heartbeats whenever he is around Timira, he has observed.
Curiosity for the time being satiated, he turns around, having firmly decided to let Timira handle her private matter privately. But he then bumps into another human.
‘Ow! What is your head made of, Hanee-ssi?’ Haneul asks, rubbing his chest.
‘Eh, I’m sorry, Daepyonim. I didn’t notice you there!’
‘You did not WHAT? All 184 cm and 70 kilos of me, YOU DID NOT NOTICE?’
‘ Miyanaeyo, jeongmal miyanaeo, Daepyonim [I’m sorry, I’m truly sorry, CEO sir]! I didn’t realize it was you. I just saw a figure creeping around Seonbae. I suppose my mind was preoccupied …’
‘Let me guess, with thoughts of Ms Marak?’ Haneul cuts in cheekily and catches Hanee off-guard, who can only nervously whimper and shift her eyes away.
‘Tell you what? Timira-ssi seems to be in the middle of a personal crisis …’
Yes, I know. You don’t have to tell me! Has this guy been eavesdropping on Seonbae? Hanee asks herself.
‘… so perhaps we ought to give her some space?’
Remembering the hot beverages that were still untouched, he adds, ‘I’ve got drinks and some free time on hand. Shall we play catch-up? The air between us needs a little clearing, don’t you think?’ he smiles at Hanee, sounding harmless but with a naughty glint in his eyes.
Oh, no. How am I going to get away? Hanee thinks nervously.
Before Hanee can reply, he has led her away.
‘Why do you look nervous? Here, have a sip,’ Haneul says in a kind voice, holding his arm out, feeling a little guilty for having discovered Hanee’s weak spot and taking undue advantage of it.
What’s wrong with Daepyonim? It’s coffee!
It’ll do the exact opposite of calming me down.
Ah, massda! He doesn’t drink coffee. What a clueless guy!
Why is he here though? I wonder if he’s interested in her.
Wait, what? No way! That’s impossible. And, so what if he does?
She loves coffee, and will never be able to go on coffee dates with him.
I, on the other hand … no, no, stop! Hanee, stop! This isn’t the time to fantasize.
She meekly accepts the cup but doesn’t drink.
Should I tell him I’m needed downstairs and escape? I can make up a story about Bujangnim … guerae, let’s do it!
‘Daepyonim, actually, Bujangnim had sent me here to bring Seonbae back with me. He must be waiting. I should probably head back.’
This guy Choi! Jeez! Why is he everywhere, butting into everything???
‘I’m sure he won’t mind if you tell him I kept you.’
Haneul isn’t willing to lose this round to Mr Choi.
Her escape plan thwarted, Hanee now nervously bites her lower lip and sends up a silent prayer.
‘Don’t worry. I’m not going to ask you why you have Timira-ssi’s photos on your camera roll!’ Haneul says coolly but feels a surprising pang of jealousy. He saw WHAAAAT?! Hanee is screaming inside. I am SO DEAD!
Good grief, what have I gotten myself into! First Hanee-ssi and now her ex, I wonder how many more I will have to compete with!
But Haneul pretends to be unbothered and decides to make an effort to show it.
‘Like I said before, your secret’s safe with me. But you see, I’m a businessman and will strike a deal whenever I sense an opportunity. And I can smell a rather potent one right here.’
Hanee looks up to lock eyes with Haneul and the latter can sense extreme desperation in her eyes.
Aww, poor Hanee-ssi. I know how you feel, little one. But love is war. I gotta do what I gotta do!
‘Don’t worry, your part of it is rather simple,’ he adds deliberately, softly, looking Hanee directly in her panic-stricken eyes.
Realizing that she is caught on a sticky wicket, Hanee conveys her assent through silence.
‘What was it that your dear Seonbae was reading on your phone and trying to desperately hide?’
Huh? But he saw my phone at the time! Oh, wait. Hang on, hang on, he saw the photos. Not the news report. Of course. My cursed luck!
‘Is it not something that I can see?’ Haneul presses.
‘Um, it’s not like that, Daepyonim. The thing is …’
I can get him off my back, at least for a while. He’ll anyway hear about it. And in any case, he deserves to know. Fine, I’ll just be the bearer of bad news. Whatever, meolla meolla!
Hanee unlocks her phone and looks up the article online. Holding it out, she says, ‘This.’
Should I tell him about Seonbae’s connection with Rodrigo? Uh, no, that’s her personal business. I shouldn’t be interfering.
Haneul takes about a minute to scan for important words. Hanee sees him tense up, nostrils flaring, the veins on his forehead starting to protrude.
Why, he looks angrier than Seonbae did while reading the story. And it was about her ex-boyfriend ! Why does Daepyo look so mad?!
The familiar burning at the nape of his neck is back for the second time today, this time for good reason and not for a good reason. It was trying to tell him something.
It was him all this while. It was Rodrigo. Kenji is Rodrigo!
* * *
The mood inside the boardroom hasn’t improved much since the break, much to Mr Choi’s disappointment.
Haneul had walked in looking lost and had absent-mindedly bumped his foot into the table.
Stephanie looks like she isn’t willing to allow Timira an inch and is busy convincing others of her idea.
Timira walks in wearing a frown and her hair in what must have been a bun but now resembles a virus emoji with hairs springing out with gay abandon.
He isn’t very surprised when Timira doesn’t put up much of a fight as the room goes into a vote.
Alice and Bhaskar had advised Timira to go with the majority if she wanted to fly under their radar.
‘Bro, sunn meri baat . The more vocal you are about your disapproval, the closer they’ll look into you and your past. If you wish to finish off your tenure sans any drama, let it go.
Tu pro hai, Bhai . I know you can handle him professionally, and should he misbehave, take it up with the company.
Global North hai Korea. They are progressive and treat women with respect! ’
Timira recalls Bhaskar’s advice and wonders how much of it is actually true. She has seen dramas and read enough about workplace sexism in Korea to blindly believe Bhaskar.
Women are treated like shit everywhere, argh. Ghanta they’ll support me if Rod kicks up a fuss here, as well!
But she decides to heed their advice and abstains from voicing her disapproval of Rodrigo anymore.
They want him, so they’ll have him. Whether I like it or not. Dekh lungi uss gadhe ko! Kya ukhad lega woh meri?
When the results of the vote are announced, Timira is sure to be the only vote against Rodrigo. But to her and everyone else’s surprise, he has won by a margin of four votes to two.
Oh! Oh? Stephanie, Mr Choi, the styling team’s Jieun and Sangman from finance obviously voted for Rod. But who aside from me voted against him?? Ah, must’ve been Hanee … but she didn’t vote! Who is this person? I must find out. They will be my new best friend! Bye, Bhaskar and Alice!
‘There, so we have it. Rodrigo is SecondSkin’s choice for its new ambassador!’ Mr Choi announces excitedly. ‘Congratulations to those who voted for him!’ But as his eyes travel towards Haneul cutting a sorry figure, all excitement exits the room.