In the meeting room, Min Ga-yeon and Kim Cheol walked in. The teamThe team members straightened immediately, all quiet and looking suspiciously innocent__ It was the first product-planning day of the cycle, which automatically meant one thing,
Min Ga-yeon's mood was already messed by default.
Everyone knew it.
Ga-Yeon marched to the head seat and dropped her file loudly on the table — bang — making a few of them flinch. Her eyes swept the room like a laser scanner.
"At least you guys cleaned up after the last meeting," she said. "Too bad Chairwoman Choi won't be here to witness this rare miracle. Thanks to all of you, we've already painted a perfectly chaotic picture of our team to her."
She slapped the table again. Some of them sat up straighter.
"Now… where the hell is Byun Wook?"
Just then, Byun Wook stumbled in —hair a mess, tie half-done, looking like he had sprinted through a hurricane.
"Sorry, I'm late," he panted.
His eyes darted around unfocused… and then locked onto Ga-Yeon's.
"Uh…"
"You went to an all-night party yesterday, didn't you?" she said, more of accusation than question.
"No, I didn't—"
"Yes, you did." she said sounding almost so sure as Thou she had been with him through his every move.
He glanced around, catching the other members, this teammates were subtly signaling him to just agree, one slicing the air with his palm, another wildly widening his eyes like and mouthing the word 'Just say yes'
With a defeated sigh, he said "Yes, I did…" he admitted.
"And you did it while totally forgetting we had a meeting today."
"Yes..." He said "my bad." He muttered
"Of course, your bad, Byun Wook. It has always been your bad. You know what? It will always be your bad. Someone comes late? Your bad. Someone messes up? Still your bad. Maybe it's about damn time we just rename this department ' Team Byun-Wook's Bad', how about that"
The room went silent.
Byun Wook only nodded at the ground like a man accepting his fate.
Of course, now it was clear to everyone that Min Ga-Yeon was not in a good mood, It was tradition at this point, like suffering tax.
With a sharp inhale, she began, "I hope everyone came with their ideas today. Great ideas, I hope. As we all know, we are on the verge of losing everything we've worked for. And if that happens, it won't end at failure and mortification, oh no. It will come with unemployment, depression, and all of you lining up outside my office asking for recommendation letters."
A few throats tightened.
"To increase our chances of not embarrassing ourselves, someone new has been brought in." she said.
The team exchanged confused looks.
"Someone who has the right skills, who is good at this kind of job and has all the qualifications, Honestly? A CV so good it made the rest of you look like part-time volunteers." she added. Her eyes swept around again. "He should be here by now." She checked her wrist watch
"Strange. One shouldn't be late on their first day… right, Byun Wook? What could possibly Keep him from coming in time?" she asked
Byun Wook froze, betrayed by the universe yet again__He didn't even know a newcomer existed eight seconds ago, how did she expected him to answer her question.
Just then, the door swung open, and everyone snapped their heads toward it.
A young man stepped in—tall, ridiculously handsome, and so out-of-place he looked like he'd wandered off the set of a K-drama and into the wrong building. The room froze.
He wore a simple white shirt under a dark-blue oversized jacket, paired with baggy dark-blue jeans. His hair, reddish brown, slightly curled as it fell messily across his forehead and brushed just above his shoulders. Tall nose, soft pink lips, warm brown eyes__almost as red as his hair… his face was almost too proportioned.
Despite his striking features, there was something boyishly bright about him, an effortless, youthful charm that made him feel… almost disarmingly approachable.
He bowed lightly, confused.
"Sorry… is this Team B?" he asked
Nobody answered. They were too busy scanning him from head toe.
Until Min Ga-yeon's unimpressed voice sliced through the admiration.
"And you are?" she asked
Instantly, everyone snapped their eyes forward, back to work. Of course. Min Ga-yeon, never moved by anything but power.
"Oh, I'm Seo Jun. Lee Seo Jun. I—"
"Skip the introduction. You're in the right place." She folded her arms, sinking into her chair.
"So are you going to tell us why you're late on your first day?" Her eyes barely lifted, lazy but sharp.
"Um… I was having a hard time finding this room, you know." He smiled, "Big company." He added.
"Yeah. Big company indeed. Big enough that you've been searching for one single room… for over an hour."
"Yeah. You could say that," he replied simply, as everyone turned to him.
His sharp bluntness hit the air like a slap.
Even Min Ga-yeon paused and Byun Wook immediately slapped a hand over his mouth to choke back his laughter.
Ga-yeon gaze fixed at Seo jun as sheclooked him up and down.
"Sharp guy hmm? Well If you're so sharp-witted, I would've appreciated you using that talent to notice we don't dye colourful hair here." she said
"Oh, don't worry, This is my real hair color." he replied quickly __ almost too quickly
She paused—longer than expected. She clearly didn't expected his answer.
Then Her gaze moved to his eyes. "And your eyes…."
"It's natural," he cut in smoothly.
Another silence as the room trembled with silent laughter, everyone pretending to cough or look away__ it wasn't just Seo Jun's answers, Min Ga-yeon's reaction too,
Her tiny, shocked pause looked so unintentionally funny that everyone had the urged to laugh.
"Seo Jun, you said?" she asked, eyes narrowed
"Yes. Lee Seo Jun," he smiled again, clearly unbothered
She let out a Short breath, turning to the rest of the members she said
"Meeting begins now."
Then slid a file across the table toward him.
"That is our pending proposal. Study it and tell us your opinion."
Everyone raised their brows.
First day. Zero briefing. No orientation.
This wasn't a task, it was pretty much a punishment with laminate
"Right now?" he asked.
"What you cant do it now?" she asked "Are you suggesting a meeting tomorrow?" she added
"Miss Ga-yeon," Mrs Kwon began softly, "Is'nt he suppose do that at the next meeting?"
"Traditionally, yes," Min Ga-yeon admitted. "But his CV is the best in the room. He graduated top of his class from MIT, double-majored in Business Strategy and Industrial Design. He could even chase a manager position with this background, so why not see what he can do?"
She smiled—tight and confident.
Seo Jun pushed the file back toward her.
"How about we…" he returned her smile, "follow the whole traditional thing?"
Her smile dropped as she narrowed her eyes.
"You must not really love your job that much Lee Seo Jun" Min Ga-yeon said slowly.
The whole team turned their heads between them like kids watching a live drama about to explode.
---
After the meeting
Min Ga-Yeon stormed out first. Mrs. Kwon hurried behind her.
"At last, everything ended his way, huh?" Ga-Yeon snarled. "He has no idea who he just messed with."
"What are you planning to do, miss?" Mrs. Kwon asked carefully.
Ga-Yeon froze, turning to her.
"Come to think of it… I never hired him myself."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Who did?"
"If it wasn't you, then it must have been Vice Chairman Park," Mrs. Kwon replied.
Ga-yeon raised a brow, a dangerous smirk pulling at her lips.
"Intresting" she said