chapter 46

Shin tae-oh & Se-hyeon's shopping date~

"Hey, this..."

Se-hyeon clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly to calm his surprise while looking at the clothes being brought in one by one.

Stay calm.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He needed to calm down or he might lose his temper with his superior. Keeping his composure was a priority for now.

"Is this the unit price?" Shin tae-oh didn't pay attention towards se-hyeon and asked the shopper.

"Please wait a moment. With this collection, we will..."

"Wait."

Se-hyeon raised his hand and interrupted the personal shopper. He gave him a firm look, someone whose face he had become familiar with while following Shin Tae-oh.

"You don't need to bring any more."

The personal shopper's gaze shifted back to Shin Tae-oh. Until now, Shin Tae-oh had been giving the orders, so if he said to continue bringing things, he had no choice but to obey.

Shin Tae-oh nodded his head while keeping his gaze fixed on Se-hyeon's face, as if finding it amusing.

"Stop."

"Understood."

As the personal shopper stepped back, Shin Tae-oh leaned against the sofa and sipped his tea.

The whole atmosphere of him drinking tea exuded elegance.

"Boss."

Se-hyeon called out to Shin Tae-oh in a softer voice.

"Speak."

It was kind of him to respond promptly, but Se-hyeon would have been even more grateful if he had acted considerately from the beginning.

"When I suggested going shopping, it wasn't about coming to the lounge and looking at the new collection."

It had completely deviated from what I had in mind.

"This is Shin Tae-oh's shopping style." Shin tae-oh sassed.

The kind of shopping that I had experienced countless times while following him, but...

"But I can't even afford to buy a single outfit here."

Even without looking at the price tags, I knew that my monthly salary wouldn't be enough to buy even a single shirt.

After speaking hesitantly about how this wasn't it, Shin Tae-oh seemed to realize that it wasn't what Se-hyeon had in mind. So set down his teacup and briefly looked around the lounge. before returning his gaze to Se-hyeon.

"It's for both of us."

Se-hyeon shook his head.

"This isn't it."

Having a designated space and a personal shopper recommending tailored clothing was precisely Shin Tae-oh's style. No wonder he took the lead since we entered the department store.

"Let's go."

Se-hyeon took hold of Shin Tae-oh's hand.

"I will show you one by one."

Confidently leading Shin Tae-oh, Se-hyeon arrived at the floor where men's clothing was sold. After casually looking around, he approached the nearest spot and immediately asked to see a tie.

Se-hyeon received the tie from the staff and handed it to Shin Tae-oh.

"Does it look good?"

Knowing that Shin Tae-oh's gaze was not on the tie but somewhere on his forehead, Se-hyeon did not lift his head.

"It suits you well because you have a handsome face."

"That's right. That's why it's harder to choose. When I only look at the tie, it looks pretty, but when I see it against my appearance, it gets overshadowed."

Se-hyeon sighed and vented his dissatisfaction, which sounded quite contradictory.

The staff, like Se-hyeon, whose expression did not change, alternated their gaze between Se-hyeon and Shin Tae-oh, who only had a subtle smile. He seemed to have grasped the situation.

"Yes, it must be difficult when your partner is so good-looking."

"Show me that one too."

Se-hyeon avoided using the word "lover" and instead looked directly at Shin Tae-oh, tilting his head.

"Is it pretty?"

Muttering as if unsure, the smile that had appeared on Shin Tae-oh's face vanished, only to be replaced by a bright laughter.

What was this? It was just him handing me a tie, yet my heart raced. (Shin tae-oh's pov)

"It looks good?"

Shin Tae-oh took a half-step closer to Se-hyeon. He merely tilted his head slightly, but his breath brushed against Se-hyeon's ear. It was nice that Se-hyeon wasn't small. Just by bending a little, they became so close that it felt like they could easily touch each other.

And Se-hyeon understood what he was talking about.

It was a place where people were passing by. Anyone could see them, and they were not alone with each other. However, strangely, he didn't feel the presence of other people.

No wonder he fell for it.

Ahn Se-hyeon could truly shake people with something so insignificant.

"Yeah? Tell me, Se-hyeon."

In response to Shin Tae-oh's affectionate voice, Se-hyeon slowly lowered the tie.

Having compared them, it seemed like it was enough, very natural.

And Shin Tae-oh widened the narrowed distance between them.

"Yes, it suits you well, sir."

Se-hyeon, you treated me as the protagonist, but you never try to admit that we are dating. (Shin tae-oh's pov)

"You're cunning."

Shin Tae-oh regretted the warmth that had touched his body. However, Se-hyeon had already changed his expression.

"It's for a gift, so please wrap it."

The employee who received the tie looked momentarily confused as they glanced between Se-hyeon and Shin Tae-oh.

"The recipient you want to give it to..."

"It's for the boss."

Se-hyeon politely gestured with his palm, indicating Shin Tae-oh.

***

Se-hyeon, who was preparing for a meeting alone in the conference room, recognized the person entering.

"chief secretary-nim"

"Already?"

Lee Jin-ho scanned the table and spoke.

"Yes, I've finished everything."

Since it was a small meeting with few participants, Se-hyeon had prepared alone and still had ten minutes left. Perhaps due to the time flexibility, Se-hyeon faced Lee Jin-ho with a noticeably lighter expression.

"Do you have something to say?"

"I wanted to show the boss that everything is ready."

Knowing why Lee Jin-ho had come, Se-hyeon aligned the skewed papers properly, while Lee Jin-ho clicked his tongue. He also seems dissatisfied.

"Aren't you disappointed about this meeting?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The consortium. It seemed like there would be a better chance of winning the bid if we partnered with them."

What Lee Jin-ho was seeing was also data that would be shown to Ha Min-hyuk and Shin Tae-oh. They had run simulations to see how it would be if they accepted this consortium and entered the large-scale bidding. It might be a statement based on the significant profitability,

but Se-hyeon's thoughts were different.

"Well, if you look at it simply, that may be the case."

The biggest risk in this project was Ha Min-hyuk. To be more precise, it would be Han Jinseong, who would go crazy trying to hinder Ha Min-hyuk. But this wasn't the place for that.

"But the decision is up to the boss."

They were the ones who moved for the sake of the boss's decisions.

"And I also hope Shin Tae-oh will refuse."

Today was no different from creating an opportunity to firmly reject Ha Min-hyuk. So, Sehyeon hoped Lee Jin-ho wouldn't have high expectations, and he spoke with that in mind, but Lee Jin-ho's eyes held disappointment.

"If this goes well, the subcontracting rankings will change.Anyway, I'll call the boss."

Se-hyeon ignored the murmurs that it would have a significant impact on the construction capability assessment.

"Understood."

Se-hyeon was reviewing the final PPT presentation on the screen when it happened. Without even a knock, the door swung open wide, and Se-hyeon thought it was Shin Tae-oh entering, but to his surprise, someone else appeared.

"A bundle?"

If it wasn't Shin Tae-oh, but Ha jin-seong with an unexpected bundle of coffee, appeared.

"Am I that welcome?"

Se-hyeon didn't have the leisure to respond to Han Jin-seong's playful greeting. The fact that Han Jin-seong had come instead of Ha Min-hyuk, already felt something off. After all, Han Jin-seong was supposed to obstruct the consortium Ha Min-hyuk was trying to pursue...

"I didn't come to cause trouble, so don't worry." Ha jin-seong let out a sigh at Se-hyeon expression and said lightly.

That's the problem.

"I just came to observe. You can treat me as if I'm not here."

Han Jin-seong pulled out a chair and sat down, leaning his upper body toward Se-hyeon, just like last time.

"I won't do anything today. I won't even ask for the cost of the shirt. I'll just watch what kind of trick Ha Min-hyuk will pull, so don't worry."

The more Ha jin-seong said he wouldn't do anything, the more uneasy it made Se-hyeon.

"I'll quietly watch from the sidelines."

Ha Jin-seong emphasized several times, as if reassuring, and then reached out the coffee he had been holding to se-hyeon

"This one is for the secretary Ahn."

"Why are you giving me coffee...?

"You'll see when you look closely "

Ha Jin-seong simply toyed with his coffee, giving no indication that he would explain the reason. Instead, his eyes sparkled with anticipation, as if hoping you would figure it out so when you see closely so try it.

Why on earth did he give me coffee?

Feeling frustrated, I pretended to glance at it and lifted the coffee. It was at that moment, almost unintentionally, that I recognized the familiar name of the café. I looked at it again.

"This is..."

It was the café named "Coincidence," the place about which I had handed Ha Jin-seong a business card to arrange a meeting with Yoo Jin-ha.

"I knew you'd recognize it right away."

Ha Jin-seong smiled happily and twirled his own coffee cup.

"I didn't know why you told me to go there, but the taste isn't bad actually."

"The coffee tastes good. But..."

Se-hyeon lightly touched the coffee he was holding and watched Ha Jin-seong's reaction. He had arranged it so that he could coincidentally encounter Yoo Jin-ha, but was there nothing that happened?

"Did nothing happen there?"

Se-hyeon wouldn't know unless he asked.

In response to Se-hyeon's cautious question, Ha Jin-seong nodded.

"Something happened."

Se-hyeon found himself smiling without even realizing it. His heart raced with anticipation.

And that expression involuntarily pierced through Ha Jin-seong. The person who had just made him wonder from the last few days and made him come here had now approached him warmly.

On the other hand Se-hyeon totally forgot about his surroundings when Ha jin-seong said he met yoo jin-ha, he thought his mission to attech villian and protagonist was successful.

"You met Yoo Jin-ha, right? Did you talk to him? Tell me."

Capture Yoo Jin-ha and tell him about the plan to torment Ha Min-hyuk.