***
In the Consencio building.
On Ari’s way to work, she sighed involuntarily.
“Huh… I hope nothing happens today…”
She scanned her staff card at the entrance and walked into the building. Someone approached her and blocked her.
Ari was already irritated because she had just been on the subway that was packed with people. She opened her eyes and looked at this new opponent.
“Hey, who do you think you are…”
Her raising tone of voice began to descend without finishing the question.
The man who stood by was Gyeonhui.
“Oh, Mr. Woo… Hello, how are you…”
When she recognized him, she at once greeted him with a nervous expression.
“Well, I can’t say I’m good.”
“Sorry?”
“I’ve met a lawyer for defamation of my reputation.”
“Oh… a lawyer?”
Ari no longer wanted to continue the conversation with him and tried to wrap it up by repeating his questions.
“My lawyers say that I can get a couple thousand dollars from the case if my claim is won in court. It’s not much money for me, but it would be a good lesson for the other side.”
“Oh… is that right?”
Ari smiled awkwardly and stared at the floor number on the screen.
The elevator is usually fast, but today it felt so slow.
“However, what’s making me more irritated is that the person who had insulted me in public behaves normally as if nothing had happened. Can you believe that?”
“Sorry? Yes, but I don’t understand why you’re telling all this to me…”
Ari asked with caution, unaware of what was going on.
With a cold smile, Gyeonhui took a step closer to Ari.
“Why am I saying this to you? Is it because you think that I’m stalking her?”
“Sorry?”
“I’m a little bit muddy and sticky. Like a tick.”
Ari’s face grew pale when she heard his words.
‘Oh my. He had heard everything.’
She didn’t know exactly what she was saying yesterday because he didn’t have any reactions, but it seemed like he had heard everything Ari had said about him.
Ari felt as if the inside of her head were rapidly fading into white because Gyeonhui was staring at her with sharp and cold eyes.
‘So, then the person he’s going to sue is me?’
The words he listed, including defamation and thousands of dollars, passed through her mind.
“Well, it was just a mistake yesterday…”
“Mistake? You were so sure about what you had said yesterday when I listened to you.”
Ari remembered her own words and voice then closed her eyes tightly.
She started speaking again in a desperate voice because she had to change his mind somehow.
“Sir, I’m very sorry. I think I went crazy for a second. Please forgive me this one time, only once.”
Ari bowed her head and apologized to him, but his eyes were still cold.
“Just apologizing to me doesn’t pay off your debt. Isn’t that right?”
“What?”
“I can make this as if it had not happened and drop the case against you obviously only if you can help me. ”
“What can I do for you?” Ari urgently asked.
“It’s no big deal. You just need to do a favor for me. Can you do that?”
In his cold voice, Ari’s face suddenly grew pale.
Ari could do nothing except nod like prey before a beast in nature.
As Gyeonhui looked at her, he clenched his molars with cold eyes.
61. Blind Date
Ari sighed with her arms crossed as she looked at the small box on her desk.
It was a box that Gyeonhui handed to her in the morning.
‘It’s a wristwatch. Give it to Sun and tell her that it’s your gift to her
His instructions were simple and clear.
‘If it’s a gift, can’t you just give it to her yourself?’
‘If I give it, she won’t take it.’
‘Oh…’ Ari nodded as if she understood his words.
“But why a wristwatch?”
Recalling what happened this morning, Ari frowned with her arms crossed.
She couldn’t understand how much trouble she was in.
“Is there something that you’re worried about?”
Sun asked when she returned from the bathroom. Ari was surprised by her and quickly hid the box.
“Huh? Oh, no. Everything is fine.”
“Why do you keep sighing and talking to yourself then?”
“Yes, she looked weird since this morning.”
Eunyoung said while looking at Ari from the other side of the office.
“Be… because one of the important files on my computer has been deleted. That’s all. I’m fine.”
Ari blamed her laptop and tried to avoid the two of them.
“Really?”
Sun looked at Ari while tapping on the keyboard roughly, and Sun shook her head with doubt.
Then, Sun saw a small box that Ari was hiding behind her.
“What is that?”
“Huh? What, what?”
“That. That thing you’re hiding.”
“Oh, this? This is…”
After a moment of hesitation, Ari quickly closed her eyes and pushed the box out to Sun.
“It’s a gift for you.”
“A gift? For me?”
“That’s right. It’s your birthday soon.”
“Yes, but it is still more than a month from now.”
“I just wanted to give it to you when I could remember it was your birthday. Why? Don’t you like it?”
Ari quickly asked again to hide her embarrassment.
“Don’t get me wrong, but it’s just a little weird.”
Sun received the box from Ari.
When Sun opened the box, she saw a small wristwatch in the shape of a bracelet.
“Wow. It’s so pretty.”
Sun carefully picked up the watch while admiring it.
“What is this?” Sun looked at it continuously.
“I think it’s a wristwatch.”
“You think?”
“I mean, it’s a wristwatch.”
Realizing that the nuance was strange, Ari quickly corrected her words.
“The watch checks your pulse, breathing, the distance of travel, and lets you know your health status.”
“Oh, it’s great. Thank you. It’s amazing.”
Sun seemed to like it and immediately wrapped the watch on her wrist.
“How much is this? I would like to get one, too.” Eunyoung approached and said.
“… It’s not expensive.”
“It looks expensive.”
“I said it’s not.”
“Why are you getting so irritated?”
“I’m not irritated at you. It’s just not expensive.”
Eunyoung did not ask her more because it seemed uncomfortable for Ari.
Sun, who was realizing the tense atmosphere, put her two hands over on Eunyoung and Ari’s shoulders and said, “Now, calm down. As the youngest person in our team, I’ll buy you lunch today!”
Sun smiled and cried out that she liked the gift so much.
“Good. Let’s do some market research on the way to the office after lunch.” Eunyoung said.
“Good idea! Let’s go, Ari.”
Sun smiled and left the office first.
However, the more Sun looked happy, the more Ari’s face darkened because she felt guilty for Sun.
“… Hah…”
Ari stood up from her seat reluctantly with a deep sigh.