By Zephyria 
A faint tension flowed through the quiet interior. The butler who had entered earlier rose from the sofa and spoke toward Yu-jin, who was standing straight.
“I have brought the guest. Here, the person from P Entertainment.”
Having been given prior notice, the butler, upon confirming the guest’s identity, promptly led him to the reception room. As the butler stepped aside, Yu-jin consciously smiled and directed his gaze toward the man standing behind. The moment he opened his mouth to greet him, he paused very briefly. The guest, with a slender build, was somewhat different from what he had expected. Although he had only vaguely imagined a secretary, he felt a strange sensation inwardly at the fact that this person was quite far from the hazy image he had pictured in his mind, but he pretended nothing was wrong and offered a greeting.
“Hello, I’m Yu-jin Sol. Nice to meet you.”
To him, who spoke first, the man returned the greeting with a smile.
“Hello, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Yeon-woo Seo.”
Yu-jin, having looked at the business card handed by the secretary, carefully held it so it wouldn’t crumple and offered a seat.
“Please sit here. Caine, I’ll have Rooibos tea. What would you like to drink?”
Turning his gaze from the butler toward the secretary, he answered with a faint smile on his face.
“I’ll have milk tea, please. Thank you.”
Caine nodded and soon turned to leave the room. As the door closed, Yu-jin was finally left alone with Pittman’s secretary. Fidgeting nervously with his fingers in the awkward silence that had instantly descended, the secretary cleared his throat softly with an “Ahem” and spoke first.
“It’s truly an honor to meet you. ‘Children of November’ was the most impressive book I’ve read recently. To be honest, I don’t particularly enjoy reading books, but I was completely absorbed in that one and read it in a frenzy. Thank you for granting permission for the movie adaptation. Our company will spare no effort or resources in bringing this precious book to the screen. Please trust us.”
“Ah… Yes…”
At his passionate words, Yu-jin felt both flustered and embarrassed, managing only that much in response. The secretary then pulled a thick file from the briefcase he had brought and promptly spread it out on the table.
“This is the proposal I’ve come up with. Nothing is finalized yet, so feel free to add or remove anything.”
He then added with a smile.
“I was the one who strongly advocated for adapting this work into a movie. I also came up with the idea for this party. Thanks to that, I’ve been having incredibly exciting days lately.”
The secretary seemed genuinely very excited. The faint blush on his cheeks and his continuously smiling face clearly revealed his delight over this matter. Seeing him spread out the documents and enthusiastically explain, Yu-jin found it difficult to refuse.
What should I do?
As he was flustered and at a loss, a knock sounded just in time, and the butler entered.
“Thank you.”
The secretary, thanking the butler who had placed tea before him, carefully pushed the hot tea aside and organized the documents. As Yu-jin watched with curiosity, he spoke, still smiling.
“The explanation is roughly finished. How about we discuss the general points over tea and sort things out together? If you have any questions or new ideas, please feel free to mention them anytime.”
“Ah… Yes.”
In truth, he couldn’t remember even half of what had been said. He came all the way here… Feeling sorry, Yu-jin’s expression darkened. Lost in thought, he brought the teacup to his lips, and that was the start of the trouble.
“Ah, hot, hot!”
“Mr. Sol!”
The startled secretary jumped up and exclaimed. The hot tea had sloshed into Yu-jin’s mouth, scalding his tongue. As he hurriedly set down the teacup and covered his mouth, the secretary turned pale and asked urgently.
“Are you alright? I’ll get you some cold water, just a moment.”
Immediately, before Yu-jin could say anything, he rose from his seat and left the reception room. Blinking in bewilderment while staring at the door, it didn’t take long for the man to return. Appearing with a tray holding a pitcher of cold water and a glass, he quickly set it down on the table, poured water, and handed it to Yu-jin.
“Drink, quickly.”
“Th, thank you.”
Feeling embarrassed, Yu-jin took the water glass and brought it to his lips. While he was cooling his mouth, the secretary, who had been silently watching, waited a moment before cautiously asking.
“Are you feeling a bit better? Should I call the butler?”
“Ah, no, it’s fine. I’m better now, it’s okay. Thank you.”
Hastily shaking his head and repeating himself, the secretary smiled as if relieved and said.
“I was in a hurry and rummaged around the house a bit. Luckily, I found the kitchen easily.”
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”
While the secretary chattered about how there were no servants in sight or how his sense of direction wasn’t great but he got lucky, Yu-jin felt his tension easing. Unaware that he was now wearing a relaxed smile, the secretary finished speaking, brought his teacup to his lips, and nodded.
“It’s cooled down just right now. I think it’s okay to drink.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Even though he had already said the same thing several times, Yu-jin found himself repeating it again. As he brought the tea to his lips, the appropriately cooled tea gently moistened his mouth. Relieved, after taking a sip, the earlier memory resurfaced.
“Um…”
Yu-jin set down his teacup and cautiously opened his mouth.
“Earlier, what did you call me?”
The secretary, sitting up straight, blinked and readily answered.
“Mr. Sol. Did I say it wrong?”
A faint unease tinged his expression. Mispronouncing a name is quite rude, and he seemed tense at the thought that he might have made a mistake with the name of someone he had met with difficulty. Yu-jin hastily shook his head.
“Ah, no. It’s correct. I was just surprised because hardly anyone pronounces it correctly…”
“Ah, I see. That’s a relief.”
Only then did the secretary seem reassured and smiled again.
…Huh?
Yu-jin felt that strange sensation again.
Belatedly, he realized what the sense of incongruity he had felt was. The fact that the other person shared the same skin tone, could this perhaps be Pittman’s consideration?
It doesn’t really mean anything…
Feeling somewhat embarrassed for some reason, he hastily added.
“I came here when I was very young, so I don’t know much about Korea.”
“Ah, I see.”
As he spoke defensively, the secretary nodded without showing much surprise and said.
“I came here to study during university and have been living here ever since. It was quite difficult to adjust at first… I never thought I’d end up living here my whole life.”