Hyunseung found himself humming as he headed to work.
Was even the road sensing his mood? Without catching a single red light, he sped along and soon arrived at the Unice Music Group headquarters.
After finishing his parking in one smooth motion, Hyunseung stepped out of his sleek, well-designed sedan with a pleasant smile on his face.
He felt as though he could give a benevolent smile even if he ran into Joshua or anyone else hostile to him right from the start of the day. He might even give them a little wave.
“Good morning.”
Did his thoughts become reality? He ran right into Joshua on his way to the elevator.
“Yes, good morning.”
Hyunseung didn’t quite manage the benevolent smile and wave he’d imagined, but he offered a fairly friendly greeting.
‘Hm?’
Joshua glanced at Hyunseung for a moment.
“You seem to be in a particularly good mood today, CEO.”
He continued, his eyes fixed on the elevator doors.
“I suppose it’s understandable, given how well the performance was received.”
His tone was laced with sarcasm, but Hyunseung found even that to be quite cute. Perhaps it was because he was in such a good mood today.
Or perhaps it was because he didn’t sense any real malice behind the sarcasm.
“Yes, well.”
Hyunseung nodded dismissively as he answered. It was true that the success of the stage was a reason to be happy.
However, that wasn’t the only reason he was in high spirits.
Right.
The reason Hyunseung was this happy was that he had been requested to perform a special stage at the Grammy Awards.
—By any chance, could you put together a special stage for this year’s Grammys?
Furthermore…
—Fire Marksman is the beeest!
Wasn’t he called ‘Fire Marksman’ for the first time? Even if it was a joke with a hint of coercion involved.
‘It was funny.’
He was satisfied.
Just then.
Joshua, whose eyes met his through the transparent reflection of the elevator doors, spoke again.
“You answered with such confidence; I guess it wasn’t just a bluff.”
He couldn’t possibly be that glad to see him, so why did he keep talking? Looking at him now, Joshua was quite a talkative fellow.
“A bluff?”
Hyunseung shrugged his shoulders as if playing along and added.
“I’m a person who doesn’t even know the meaning of the word ‘bluff.’”
“Usually, what you’re doing right now is called a bluff.”
“Is that so? I’ve learned something from you today, Director.”
Joshua looked at Hyunseung as if his playfulness today was strange, then let out a smirk.
“You just need to keep learning from me one by one like that.”
With that, he stepped into the elevator.
Then he pressed the button for the floor where the CEO’s office was located on Hyunseung’s behalf and added.
“Both about bluffing and about company business.”
Meanwhile, unlike Hyunseung, Sarah was in a foul mood. If she were a game character, dark clouds would be floating over her head.
“Whew…”
She exhaled a long-held breath, trying to calm down and focus on her work.
“Ugh, argh!”
She let out a suppressed groan.
“No, that can’t be it.”
She even muttered to herself like a madwoman.
A moment later.
Andrew, who had come to the workshop, spotted Sarah and hesitated.
“Sarah, I found what you asked for…”
Her complexion was so dark it looked as if she hadn’t slept at all.
“Sa-Sarah?”
Andrew cautiously approached her side.
Sarah always became sensitive whenever she was working, so he assumed it was just that again.
SLAM!
However, it seemed that wasn’t all, as Sarah slammed the desk and let out a huff of anger.
She looked so fierce…
It was to the point where one might have the absurd thought that fire was about to spew from her nose.
“Is something wrong? Is the work not going well?”
Andrew asked, lightly patting Sarah’s shoulder. Very gently, as if soothing a beast about to roar.
“No.”
Sarah shook her head without even looking at Andrew.
She had known Andrew was there from the start, but she just didn’t feel like greeting anyone, so she had ignored him.
“Thank you.”
She then took the shopping bag from Andrew’s hand and crumpled her face in a scowl.
‘Sigh…’
The weight of the shopping bag only made her feel angrier for no reason.
Why did she prepare this for that guy? It wasn’t like he was being cute or anything.
“Fuck…”
Despite the curse she muttered, Sarah placed the shopping bag carefully on the table so it wouldn’t get wrinkled.
“I-I’ll be going now. Call me if anything happens.”
Andrew flinched at her curse and hurried out of the workshop. In times like these, pretending not to notice was best.
Left alone in the workshop again, Sarah had a long staring contest with the shopping bag.
‘Should I give it to him? Or not?’
Sarah’s dilemma didn’t last long. She picked the shopping bag back up and marched out of the workshop.
Her stride was so aggressive that the people who encountered her couldn’t even bring themselves to say hello.
Her steps led her…
“He’s inside, right?”
…to a halt right in front of Hyunseung’s office.
“Yes, he is, bu..t.”
Michelle stopped Sarah and explained why she couldn’t enter.
“The CEO is currently on a call with Ferris regarding a personal matter. Could you wait here for a moment?”
“Ferris? Hah…”
Sarah glanced at the security team guarding the office door and nodded, saying she understood.
Normally, she would have been more than capable of throwing a tantrum and demanding the door be opened immediately.
But Hyunseung…
He was currently the face, the representative, and the CEO of Unice, whom these people served. Even if just to save his face, she intended to wait patiently.
But still.
Who was he talking to that even Michelle, who was always stuck to his side, was waiting outside?
Could it be…
‘Ferris? Or is it Rise?’
Sarah paced around the same spot to suppress the anger boiling deep within her.
This was the reason her mood had been so low today from the start.
Ferris and Rise.
Why on earth did those two have such similar names?
Every time she saw those names, her irritation flared up.
It was Sarah’s first time feeling this kind of emotion, so it was hard to explain it with any word other than ‘irritation.’
‘Why is this call taking so long?’
Not even three minutes had passed since she started waiting, but to Sarah, it felt like at least thirty minutes had gone by.
Even though Hyunseung had personally told her that he and Ferris weren’t in that kind of relationship, the fact that he was currently on the phone with Ferris was as annoying as a hangnail.
She didn’t know exactly why it was so annoying, but it grated on her so much she wanted to sand it down with sandpaper.
And in the midst of that…
The character named Rise had appeared, driving her to the brink of insanity.
Why did she suddenly tag Hyunseung and give him a direct ‘love call’?
Furthermore.
Didn’t Hyunseung, who was notorious for not following people back, follow Rise back?
‘Unbelievable!’
In the end, Hyunseung was just a man. Even if they were nearly ten years apart in age, Rise was still sexy and beautiful enough to command a massive male fanbase even in her mid-thirties.
Therefore.
It was entirely possible for Hyunseung to see her as a woman.
‘No way!’
Sarah smacked the beautiful photo of Rise that appeared on her phone screen, then immediately…
“Is he still on the phone?”
…she pressured Michelle.
“Please wait just a moment.”
At that question, Michelle checked the situation through the crack in the office door and then ducked inside.
‘Maybe I should change my career to a secretary.’
Just as Sarah’s rationality was fading and she was about to make an absurd decision, the office door opened.
“Please come in.”
Michelle gestured toward the inside of the office. As soon as Sarah entered, she shot a look at Hyunseung, who was sitting at his executive desk.
Hyunseung took the hint and instructed Michelle to leave, saying they had things to discuss.
In the office where only the two of them remained…
A strange silence flowed. Sarah, who had arrived in a state of high agitation, was trying to calm herself down.
But for some reason, Hyunseung didn’t ask why she had come and instead acted disinterested.
He looked out the window. He fiddled with a fountain pen for no reason.
‘Why is he acting so distant all of a sudden?’
Sarah’s anger suddenly turned into anxiety.
Hyunseung’s behavior made it seem like he already knew why she had come.
But a trace of an inexplicable smile lingered on Hyunseung’s face. Did something good happen?
Could it be…
Was he that excited just because he talked to Ferris a moment ago?
“W-What did you talk about with Ferris?”
Sarah asked casually, as if she wasn’t particularly interested.
“Oh, just seeking some advice regarding DJing.”
“I guess you’re planning on performing in earnest now?”
“I’m not sure about that yet, but I’ll be performing a special stage at this year’s Grammy Awards.”
First, at the words that it was purely for ‘work.’…
Then, at the news that Hyunseung would be on the Grammy stage.
“The Grammy stage? You?”
Her face brightened.
However, that was only for a moment.
“By any chance, are you doing another collaboration with Ferris?”
She asked back, narrowing her eyes.
“No, just me.”
“Alone?”
At Hyunseung’s answer that he would be doing it alone, her eyes sparkled again as she continued.
“Then, how about doing it together? Two is better than one. You’re going to perform the song I featured on anyway, right?”
“No, I’m not performing that song.”
“Huh? Why not? Are you going to perform the title track that Jamal and the Korean girls featured on then?”
Sarah approached Hyunseung urgently, looking almost pathetic. As Sarah got closer, a faint flush appeared on Hyunseung’s cheeks, but…
“I’m not doing that song either.”
“Th-Then?”
“Check it out during the actual performance.”
Because he turned his head, Sarah couldn’t see his face. Instead, at Hyunseung’s incredibly stiff tone, Sarah pouted her lips and turned away.
“Stingy.”
She then slumped onto the sofa and grumbled.
But after a moment.
As if she had remembered something, she raised her voice, saying, “Oh, right!”
“But, did you decide to work with Ri-Rise?”
She asked as nonchalantly as possible.
“She has an enticing voice, but I don’t have time for the time being.”
At those words, Sarah gave a slow nod and said, “Is that so?”
Even then, she kept her eyes pointed out the window. It was to pretend she wasn’t interested as much as possible.
‘Hmm.’
Hyunseung looked at Sarah, his eyes softening.
Soon after, he opened one of the approval folders stacked on his desk and spoke.
“Just in case you’re wondering…”
Of course, it was a folder he had already finished signing that morning.
“There’s nothing between me and Rise.”
“Who said there was?”
“I just thought you might be curious.”
“I am not!”
At the sight of Sarah huffing after having her true feelings exposed, Hyunseung let out a chuckle, hiding his face behind the folder. Of course, that laughter was more than enough to irritate Sarah even further.
“Seriously, you’re so annoying.”
Just as Sarah stood up as if she were about to storm out at any moment.
“I heard the news that you were nominated for a Grammy this time.”
She added, tapping the shopping bag she had left on the table.
“This is, well, just so you don’t embarrass yourself at the Grammys. It’s probably your first time going.”
At those words, Hyunseung almost burst out laughing even louder.
‘My first time…’
Since it was his first time in this life, it wasn’t exactly a lie.
“So, what is this?”
Hyunseung asked after barely managing to suppress his laughter.
“Open it and see.”
Sarah replied curtly, clearly displeased that the corners of Hyunseung’s mouth were twitching.
Her tone was sharp enough that someone else might think, ‘Does she hate me?’ but Hyunseung was one of the people who knew Sarah’s way of speaking best.
So, her way of speaking didn’t sound offensive to him.
He just figured she was sulking or feeling hurt about something.
Right.
If she truly hated him, she wouldn’t have personally bought him a high-end brand suit like this, would she?
“The color isn’t quite my taste, though?”
Of course.
The more it was like that, the more the human heart wanted to tease her.
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