By Zephyria 
I needed to greet them, but my mouth wouldn’t open. Ian’s unexpected attack had frozen me. Cold sweat trickled down my spine. I wanted to escape this place immediately. Curious and negative gazes poured over me.
Should I just dance to grab their attention? This is America, so there must be someone like that. I probably wouldn’t be the first…
I pulled myself together, stopping my thoughts from wandering due to the tension, and opened my mouth.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Winter Choi, in charge of marketing at the Korean branch. I’ve had the good fortune to come all the way here to Seattle. I’ll use this meeting as nourishment to grow further with all of you.”
After all, being unable to say anything due to the pressure didn’t suit my temperament. It was all or nothing. They would either acknowledge my abilities and get along with me, or we wouldn’t get along from the start.
As I casually threw out a normal greeting, my stiff lips relaxed. A natural curve formed at the corners of my mouth. Warmth gradually returned to my frozen fingertips. If it weren’t for the trial Ian had presented me with, I would have adapted more easily. Nevertheless, I somehow welcomed this heavy atmosphere.
He was aiming for this.
Silence still filled the conference room. That meant my voice was reaching them more clearly. People who wouldn’t normally be interested were now focused on me. Where else would I get such a good opportunity to introduce myself?
There was nothing wrong with them listening to a foreigner from another country without rejecting them.
I continued speaking slowly in a firm voice.
“I might be a different kind of stone that rolled all the way from the distant headquarters, and you might not like that. But wouldn’t a stone that somehow rolled all the way here have a few more tricks up its sleeve?”
“…”
“As you know, I’ve already charmed even the Team leader. He’s completely smitten with me. So much so that he’s making it obvious even at an introductory meeting like this. I’m quite talented. Oh, and good-looking too.”
I heard a small laugh from somewhere. I turned my gaze in that direction and laughed along. I faced the moment of transition from hostility to goodwill. It didn’t feel bad. It wasn’t easy to gain favor from the start, especially now when I didn’t have any common ground with them.
“I’ll prove it with results. To do that, I need your help. I look forward to working with you as colleagues who will hold keyboards together and overcome adversity. I, too, will grab my mouse and rush to your aid when you’re in trouble. Thank you.”
I bowed. Silence still lingered. It was the best greeting I could give. Leaving a good impression on them was up to my future self. If I became a talent that everyone coveted, they wouldn’t be able to ignore me.
I felt a little disappointed, but this was enough for a first greeting. I had gained the favor of a few people who smiled at me, so it wasn’t a complete loss.
Then, I heard a whistle from somewhere. Cheers and applause erupted.
I blinked in surprise at the unexpected situation. Ah… this is America. They can reject anyone, but they can also embrace anyone.
I realized that I had successfully taken a step into their territory, if not deeply. Ian subtly approached me and grabbed my wrist. A hot temperature brushed against my skin. It felt strangely ticklish, as if I had received a compliment.
Even though it was none other than Ian who had thrown me into this crisis.
I suddenly felt annoyed with him and poked him hard in the side. Ian didn’t budge and smiled, lifting the corners of his mouth. His refreshing smile was etched into my eyes. For some reason… I felt strange. As if I had gained an ally.
My only ally in this unfamiliar place.
“Good job, Gyeoul. You know I wanted to hide you in my pocket because you’re the prettiest stone I’ve ever seen, right?”
He whispered softly in my ear. His languid voice brushed against my fine hairs. The cheers that had subsided quietly erupted again in a dazzling display.
My butt wiggled from the attention pouring over me. I didn’t want to be remembered as a crazy person from the first meeting. I barely ignored the team members who looked like they were dying of curiosity.
The problem was that this kind of thing happened very frequently. Ian pushed me into the crocodile’s mouth and watched from afar with a very annoying smile. He didn’t seem like this in Korea, but as soon as he returned to his territory, he completely changed his face.
So, his current demeanor was a sign of a very dangerous calamity. Breaking through my deep thoughts, Ian suddenly leaned in and asked calmly, as if nothing had happened.
“Don’t you trust me?”
Would you trust you?
“……”
I met Ian’s gaze with an ambiguous expression. He wore a very trustworthy smile, as if he were an insurance salesman. Not knowing that it made him look even more like a con artist. He acted as if he would show me the most suitable path right away.
At that moment, a hand much larger than mine brushed against my cheek as if to crush it. It was so sudden that I couldn’t react. Was America a country where you could get robbed in broad daylight? I thought that only happened in Seoul.
“There was snow on your cheek.”
Ian muttered as if making an excuse.
I wiped the burning warmth from my skin with the back of my hand. His attitude was confusing. He pushed me into a pit at work, but when we were alone, he acted like he was desperate to touch me.
A snowflake fell on my lowered eyelashes. In the distance, I could still hear the cheerful laughter of children, and the warm tumbler melting my fingertips wouldn’t budge no matter how hard I squeezed it.
It was just an ordinary day.
“Is that how you’re going to make my cheek all sticky? Try kneading it well.”
I pinched the hand that had been forceful instead of gentle, replacing the subtle air. It was a rough touch that contradicted his kind words. He kneaded my cheek as if stretching a glutinous rice cake. Thinking about it again, it was a lame excuse.
A faint scattering of laughter spread haphazardly.
“Really. I was wiping it off.”
“How am I supposed to react if you get upset that I don’t trust you while doing this?”
“I won’t do anything that will harm Gyeoul, no matter what.”
A firm answer returned to my playful remark. His voice was so serious that I couldn’t help but avert my eyes. I know. It was a joke I could make because I knew. That he sincerely cared for me, and that it had surpassed simple goodwill…
“That doesn’t mean I’ll buy an jade floor mat.”
“I would buy it for you if I were you.”
“I’ll contact you if I get fired from the company.”
Where is the line?
When I was with Ian, I had to fiercely question that line. I couldn’t figure out what kind of line Ian was standing on. What he wanted.
Did he want to become a friend who shared his heart? Or did he want to sleep with me? Or did he even like me?
But I had already heard the answer to the last question. No. So I boldly erased it from the answer sheet, but now I couldn’t solve the problem. Hadn’t the line of pure friendship been crossed long ago? Now I had to look at the options I had put aside again. I really needed to be sure that this wasn’t the right answer.
I, too, was hoping that this line would be maintained.
My previous relationships were full of fastballs. Things that I hadn’t seen until I realized I was on the ground, became so easy to see the moment I stepped on the plate. His feelings, that great affection.
My previous lover only threw fastballs at me. Right in the middle, hoping I would hit it. That’s why no matter how I swung, it drew a large trajectory and went over the fence.
So… it meant that this fight, where I had to fiercely grasp his intentions, was unfamiliar. Would the next ball be a ball or a strike?
“Contact me even if you don’t get fired. Anytime you’re bored or have nothing to do.”
“Then what if I call you first and I’ve caused all sorts of accidents and ask you to clean up the mess?”
“What else? I have to go clean it up. My team member is in trouble.”
That was his appearance as a Team leader. Very reliable and trustworthy.
I decided to stop testing him. After all, we were bound to be entangled in a toxic relationship. Whether as a team, as the only friend in a strange foreign country, or as a guy in a Dating phase who threw me goodwill first and waited for me to take the bait.
I threw a joke casually in a tone mixed with a soft smile.
“You’re too trustworthy, so you’re disqualified. To take it further, what if Ian was naked and taking a bath at the moment the phone rang? He’s just started shampooing. His hands are full of foam, and his eyes are stinging because he keeps blinking.”
“I answered Gyeoul’s call even while I was showering, huh? I must have been waiting that much.”
Ian replied smoothly.
He reached out and grabbed my cold hand.
“Let’s wash together later. Let’s go somewhere first. Your hands are too cold.”