Please Be Quiet And Take Off Your “Something”

Na-Yool’s unstoppable footsteps went around the long sofa. Though it was an office in name, the sofa itself was big enough for ten people to comfortably sit down.

Si-Jin’s hand that held the document was gripped firmly – its prominent knuckles showed. It looked serious. An alarm went off in Na-Yool’s head –  she would not interrupt.

Had he not heard her? No, he must have ignored her. From Na-Yool’s experience, he had a tendency to not “hear” things going around him when he was focused on something else. But a little voice that told her to see this through since she had already intruded anyway, muddled her brain. After all, she had already started to complain…

How long is he going to ignore me?

He could just chew her out if he were annoyed, but it was in his nasty temper to not impose sanctions right away.

Si-Jin always acted this way. With a calm and detached attitude, he would deliberately wait patiently for the things that annoyed him to pile up, to then pick on his victims with sharp criticism.

She could see his smile, usually charming but now twisted in an odd manner, that properly revealed his mug-like temper. His wicked personality did not match with his proper image at all.

No matter how much she looked at him, he clearly was not her type. Na-Yool finally reached the other side of the desk on which Si-Jin sat – her presence was resolutely disregarded. She was not about to make a great speech, but like it happens in those moments, she could hear her heart beat furiously.

Come on, turn around…

“Mr. President.”

“……”

“You must be busy working this late at night. I am sorry to impose on you, it was not my intention. The case with the fixed deadline is progressing smoothly as you advised.”

“……”

“I also hmm… reviewed Seung-Jae’s roadway idea and hmm… of course you probably already knew that I would have no problem handling it, and I doubt you have any questions, so, well, if it is fine with you, I was wondering if the both of us could, outside of work… oh wait, that was misleading, haha…”

Na-Yool’s awkward laugh got lost into the void without even an echo back.

“Of course I am not here, at this late time, to bother you with personal matters, Mr. President. In all seriousness, I would like to make a suggestion regarding my working conditions. If you would be kind enough to listen to it just once…”

Si-Jin kept ignoring her. Up until the part she stormed into his office, she could pretend she had sleepwalked. But now that she had come this far, she would be labeled a lunatic if she was to use “It was all part of a dream where I talked while sleeping. I am sorry” as an excuse. Though to be honest, she was tempted to do so…

… That bastard, here I’m talking, and he doesn’t even turn to look at me?

On the other hand, she also felt overwhelmingly upset. Like a very thin sheet of ice on a stream in the early winter that was about to break, her rationality was fractured.

That is why people must sleep. Sleep.

“About me complaining about having a hard time because of Ye-Eun’s maternity leave… I am aware that you do not want to listen to it, but in all sincerity, from the bottom of my heart, I am really having it hard, Mr. President.”

“……”

“Kang-Hee and Ye-Eun, all the work that the two of them were doing fell onto me. You know it did. You told me to temporarily share their work with Seung-Jae, but don’t you know it too? That I am the one doing it all.”

Though she started to plead in a calm and composed voice, she ended up sounding aggressive. However, Si-Jin’s broad back remained silent.

What in the world was he trying to achieve by ignoring her? Her insides boiled with anger as Na-Yool grit her teeth and continued, with her anger about to break at its seams.

“Seung-Jae’s ideas are artistic, and each of them has potential. I admit it. And I am amazed at his work. I taught him everything, after all. It is not that he lacks talent. But Mr. President, you more than anyone else know that our projects have been overturned since he joined. To be blunt, though Seung-Jae is good with the sparkles, he cannot handle even one ordinary man’s share of work. And every time he turns a project into a mess, don’t you always push everything on me?”

“……”