By Zephyria Belatedly noticing something strange about the honorific, Gyeoul thought back and realized that the ‘ssi’ had disappeared as well. Was this his intention, to get me to call him by his name too? Did he want to call me that as well? Why? We won’t be seeing each other after this project is over. Why?
However, it wasn’t an important enough topic to make an issue of. Picking him up… if he wanted, it wasn’t something I couldn’t do. After all, someone from the company had to go, and it just happened to be me. Clearly, we were in a position to receive help from the North American team.
I was already completely caught up in his pace. I had a feeling I might get eaten alive. I’d never felt this way before…
No matter who I was dealing with, I was always the one who led the atmosphere, but this time it was completely off. Ian pushed his opinions through with a gentle smile. And I was being swayed haphazardly by it.
“…Yes, I will do that. Is there anything else you need to convey?”
Gyeoul, I wanted to exchange a little more about our recent activities, but it’s too tight. Alright. I’ll listen to the briefing first. I believe that Gyeoul is always perfect, so I trust you’ve prepared this PPT well too.
His expression changed quite seriously. The corners of his eyes, which had been curved, took on a calm look. But his eyes were shining with ambition.
Ian was a person who strictly separated public and private matters. My heart pounded at the thought of giving a presentation in front of such a person where I could receive immediate feedback. The fact that it was an opportunity to have my abilities evaluated by him was, in a way, exciting.
“Then, I will begin. The results of the previous project are as shown in the graph on the screen…”
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the results of the previous project and the direction of the follow-up project. It was material I had created, but it was not lacking. In the lower right corner, Ian’s face, wearing a beige knit, caught my eye. He was looking at it seriously with an expression completely devoid of smiles.
As expected of Gyeoul.
When the presentation was over, Ian smiled kindly again and said. A sense of relief washed over me at his satisfied expression. Ian shuffled through the materials, put them down, and stared intently at me. Even though it was just a screen, I could feel his gaze. For some reason, my cheeks tingled.
“…Is there anything else you’re curious about?”
This is enough. I’ll listen to the rest when I get there. Ah, Gyeoul.
“Yes?”
What do you like?
“…Money.”
I have some of that too. Besides that. I was thinking of buying some souvenirs. For all the team members.
I almost misunderstood.
If Ian hadn’t added that last part, I would have asked if he was interested in me. It was that sudden of a question. Ian was a person who had enough potential to cause misunderstandings. First of all, his face was the justification.
“Just you coming is more than enough of a help.”
Hmm?
“Team leader likes whiskey. As for the rest… they’ll be happy if you just give them a chocolate each.”
I’ll keep that in mind. Then, what about Gyeoul?
No. Ian was clearly giving me an opening. Who wouldn’t jump in when he called my name with a smile like that? I would have rushed headfirst into the swamp of delusion.
Beyond the screen, in Ian’s eyes, particles of light scattering over the blue sea unfolded. It was so dazzling and breathtakingly beautiful. Of course, I wasn’t really in love. His incredible looks and excessive kindness just left me speechless.
“Just you coming is enough for me too, Team leader.”
Ah, Ian is enough. Then, should I give myself to you?
“…Pardon?”
Just kidding, I’ll buy something myself. I thought it would be nice to get closer since we’ll be seeing each other often, so I was just joking around. Then, see you soon, Gyeoul.
He waved his hand with a languid smile. It was a gesture that could have been quite funny, but when he did it, it looked like a pictorial. I acted like I was possessed and followed his actions. Then Ian’s laughter grew a little louder. A brighter smile than before was imprinted in his eyes.
“…Have a safe trip.”
Yeah, bye.
Ian continued to make my heart flutter until the end and disappeared. I stared blankly at the turned-off white screen. I really felt like I had been bewitched by a fox. It was a daze that couldn’t be explained otherwise. I just blinked. It felt like a warning siren was coming from far away.
Dangerous.
I have to face such a dangerous man? And stick with him all day? I took a deep breath and gulped down my coffee. This is all just a phenomenon caused by excessive caffeine. It had to be.
I rubbed my dry face with my palms and closed my laptop. Since we were going to collide anyway, I had no choice but to believe that my mental strength was stronger than Ian’s charm. Once this project was over, there was no way we would ever face each other again.
I calmed my subtly flushed cheeks and got up from my seat. There was a lot to do before Ian arrived.
∗ ∗ ∗
The sky unfolded so blue that it seemed to dye the world in its color. Clouds floated leisurely, and people full of excitement hurried past me.
I flapped the white paper in my hand and yawned widely. The early morning flight had left me with plenty of sleepiness covering my eyes.
I glanced at the watch on my wrist. It was definitely time for him to have landed and finished the screening, but Ian showed no sign of coming out.
I checked my inbox, wondering if something had happened, but there was no contact. Given his thorough personality, I figured he would have contacted me immediately if something big had happened, so I didn’t send another email separately.
I was also a little too sleepy to move.
“…Could I have missed him?”
I muttered to myself while yawning again when an enormous light poured in front of my eyes. No, it was a mistake. After blinking a few times, Ian’s smiling face suddenly appeared.
“I didn’t miss you. Gyeoul, did you make this for me?”
The handsome man, wearing a black coat and pulling a carrier with one hand, lightly grabbed my paper. It was a paper with ‘Welcome, Ian’ written on it in large letters with a magic marker.
…Should I have made it a little more elaborate? Seeing his bright blue eyes scrutinizing the paper, my heart ached for no reason. I felt like a kid who had confidently handed in an assignment to the teacher only to belatedly discover the mistakes.
Ian laughed heartily at whatever was funny and snatched the paper from my hand.
“Welcome to Korea, Ian ssi.”
“Thank you, Gyeoul. I really wanted to meet you.”
I naturally reached out to take his carrier, but Ian subtly pushed his luggage behind him. Then, he moved forward as if nothing had happened. Dumbfounded, I just stared at him.
“Give me the luggage, Team leader.”
“I can’t entrust my luggage to anyone else. So you don’t have to feel uncomfortable. It’s not because I don’t trust Gyeoul.”
“……”
Never mind then.
My assessment of Ian quickly changed. From a handsome young man to cold capitalism. This icy person! Koreans don’t steal anything but bicycles, so you can rest assured. Still, aren’t we company colleagues?
Leaving behind my sullen mood, I tried to catch up with Ian, but he stopped abruptly.
“Why aren’t you coming? Is your hand empty? Should I hold your hand? You can’t get lost like a child. Gyeoul looks young, so you have to be careful.”
He turned to me and held out an empty hand.
I stared blankly at that hand. That was definitely a devil! It was definitely the hand of a demon trying to seduce me and drag me into a swamp. If not, he was jealous of my performance and trying to send me to hell. There was no way he would act like that towards me for any other reason.
“Team leader.”
“Yes?”
“Are you always this good at making jokes?”
“Hmm… no?”
Ian denied it nonchalantly.
“Then how about now?”
“It’s a joke. I didn’t know either… Gyeoul ssi must be cheerful.”
There he goes again. Ian smiled generously and shook his head slightly. The airport in the morning seemed deserted yet crowded, relaxed yet busy. The sunlight pouring through the window above my head was so dazzling that I lowered my head for a moment. I didn’t know what to say.
While I was pondering, Ian tapped my hand with his outstretched hand and took it back. The hand that touched me was warm, which made me feel strange. I hurriedly changed the subject to avoid showing any signs of the strange atmosphere.
Ian was a fox in human skin.
“…I’ll take you to the hotel first.”
“You can speak comfortably.”
“I will when the time comes.”
“Hmm, okay. I hope that time comes as soon as possible.”
After a short hum as if he was letting me off the hook today, Ian nodded leisurely. He smelled of dried osmanthus. The sweet floral scent enveloped my nose. He smiled so often that I wondered if it was a habit, but he didn’t look as dry as he did during the video conference.
If anything, he felt affectionate.
A beauty who smiles well, that’s really not easy. What if I’m gay and fall for him, why is he acting like that? The United States is much more open to that than Korea… Of course, I didn’t fall for him.
I closed my mouth at the unfamiliar sensation. Ian also didn’t open his mouth any further. Silence followed, and I felt so uncomfortable with the quietness. In the end, I didn’t really have anything to say, but I had no choice but to open my mouth. It was the small talk he wanted so much.
“Since when have you been so good at Korean?”
“I’m glad Gyeoul is curious about me. My Grandmother (Paternal) was Korean. Grandmother (Paternal) was always proud of Korea, and she insisted that I, too, should know Korean since I had Korean blood mixed in me. So I learned Korean sitting on Grandmother (Paternal)’s lap.”
I could feel the longing for Grandmother (Paternal) in his words. I could tell how much he loved Grandmother (Paternal).
“You’re very fluent. It wouldn’t have been easy to speak like that.”
“I studied so I could have a more comfortable conversation with Gyeoul.”
“…Team leader, are you always like this?”