– The Proposal
The week passed in a blur of chaos.Spilled coffee (again). Misfiled reports. A near disaster when Seo-jin almost sent an email addressed to "Junie-oppa" instead of "Mr. Seo" (she would never live that down).
Through it all, Jun-ho remained maddeningly calm. He corrected her mistakes with infuriating patience, smirked whenever she flustered, and somehow managed to look flawless no matter the hour.
Seo-jin, meanwhile, was convinced she was one slip away from being fired.
So when Jun-ho summoned her into his office late Friday evening, she braced herself for the worst.
"Sit," he said, gesturing to the chair across from his desk.
Her heart hammered. "Mr. Seo, if this is about the… uh… stapler incident, I swear the machine was possessed—"
"It isn't about the stapler," he cut her off smoothly, though his eyes glinted with amusement.
Seo-jin exhaled. "Oh, thank goodness. I thought—"
"I want you to be my date."
Silence.
Seo-jin blinked. Once. Twice. "…Excuse me?"
"The shareholder's gala is next week," Jun-ho said, as if discussing a business merger. "My father insists I attend with a partner. You'll come with me."
Her jaw dropped. "Me?! Why me? I—I can't—I don't belong in—"
"You managed last week's dinner well enough."
"'Well enough'?!" she sputtered. "I almost drank salad dressing thinking it was soup!"
A corner of his mouth twitched, but his expression remained composed. "And yet, you survived. That's more than I can say for half the board members."
Seo-jin buried her face in her hands. "This is insane."
Jun-ho leaned forward slightly, his gaze locking onto hers. "Miss Han. You'll attend the gala with me. That's an order."
Something in his tone — firm, commanding, yet laced with an undertone she couldn't quite place — made her heart stumble.
"I…" She swallowed. "…Fine. But only because you're my boss. This isn't—this doesn't mean anything!"
His lips curved into the faintest smile. "Of course not."
But as Seo-jin stormed out of his office, cheeks burning, Jun-ho sat back in his chair, a glimmer of satisfaction in his eyes.
Because for the first time in years, he was actually looking forward to the gala.