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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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“I thought you would choose gukbap, but it’s unexpected.”
Mina said when I chose a pasta restaurant nearby.
“I don’t eat only gukbap every day.”
“Is that so? Men, what do they call it… Ah, I heard that they prefer food that is good value for the money.”
She paused, tapping her finger against her lips, tilting her head slightly as if trying to recall something.
That softer side, so different from her usual demeanor in the office, made me smile without realizing it.
In fact, perhaps Lee Mina just couldn’t express her emotions properly?
I thought that.
“Hmm? What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?”
“No. It’s just that you seem to be in a better mood.”
“Mood? …Ah.”
She avoided my gaze as she ran her finger along her water glass.
She glanced at me sideways, like she had done something wrong, and said in a voice that lacked confidence.
“Am I being a bit lacking?”
“In what way?”
“I should have given you more work.”
She said regretfully, then quenched her thirst.
What she was talking about was what had happened this morning.
“Considering what In-ho-ssi has been through, I should have been more thorough, shouldn’t I?”
When she looked at me with eyes that seemed to be asking if I didn’t like it, I had nothing to say.
“Was what you did today because of me?”
“Because of you? I did it for In-ho-ssi’s sake.”
That’s the same thing, you woman.
She kept looking at my expression, like a child waiting for praise.
She was shifting slightly in her seat, as if she wanted me to say something.
But, if I said that she had done well, she would clearly push people even harder.
That wasn’t what I wanted either.
At times like this, I had to say something firmly.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Why?”
“Huh?”
She said with a face that didn’t understand.
“What’s wrong with making someone work as much as they haven’t been working?”
“It’s not that… it’s that you’re letting your personal feelings and judgment get involved.”
“But it’s true that those people passed their work onto In-ho-ssi and didn’t work, right?”
“That’s true but…”
“Then what’s wrong with it? Perhaps, are you taking their side? You can’t do that, In-ho-ssi. You’ll pick up bad habits.”
“……..”
“Your order is here.”
The server’s timely interruption brought a momentary pause to the conversation.
She had carbonara, I had rose spaghetti, and two pieces of garlic bread that we had ordered together.
“Thank you for the meal.”
Since I was eating with someone else’s money, I made sure to thank them.
She replied with a simple, “Bon appétit,” as she picked up a pickle with her fork.
It was a common restaurant in the restaurant alley, so the taste was just ordinary.
I wasn’t enjoying the taste, I was just eating the meal.
Nothing more and nothing less.
We focused on our meals for a few minutes.
There wasn’t much to talk about while eating, and we were also hungry.
I had cleared my plate by the time Mina had eaten about a third of hers.
I drank water and rinsed my mouth, then wiped my mouth with a tissue.
‘Did I eat too quickly?’
I should have at least matched her pace.
I regretted it after everything had passed.
She was putting a large amount of pasta in her small mouth and was munching, and her cheeks looked very cute.
That’s when a thought crossed my mind.
[Should I settle down here?]
It didn’t seem like her obsession was that strong, and if I adjusted to work diligently, it wasn’t like I couldn’t live here.
Who would refuse a capable and pretty older woman?
‘She seems clumsy when it comes to dealing with people, but that will be resolved in time.’
Perhaps this dimension was a good place to live.
“Why? Is there something on my face?”
She asked, feeling embarrassed as I had been staring at her.
“No, it’s just that you’re kind of cute.”
The words popped out without a filter and I quickly covered my mouth.
“Oh… um…”
Mina tried her best to focus on her carbonara again with a prim face but she couldn’t hide her ears, which had turned red.
‘She is cute, though.’
She seems to have a cute charm, despite being older.
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After lunch, we went to a coffee shop.
Since she had bought the food, I said that I would buy the coffee, but she replied, “It’s fine since I’m buying it with the company card,” so I didn’t bother offering.
I returned to our seats with two iced Americanos.
“Come to think of it, we drank a lot of coffee when we worked on the weekend, right?”
“Right. Back then, we couldn’t have survived without coffee.”
I didn’t know it well, but I agreed for now.
“I actually couldn’t drink even a single cup of coffee, but I started drinking it thanks to In-ho-ssi.”
“Oh… was that so?”
“Yes, it was. I used to wonder why people drank this bitter stuff but now, I can’t live without it.”
Her smile, which was smiling, was as soft as a watercolor painting that had absorbed a lot of water.
I smiled along and looked out the window.
Office workers returning after lunch, young people wearing light clothing and going somewhere, were passing by in a disorderly fashion.
“In-ho-ssi.”
While I was staring out the window, lost in thought, Mina called out to me.
Oops, had I not been talking too much?
“Yes? Yes.”
“As you saw today, I’m going to distribute work fairly from now on.”
“Yes, yes.”
“I’m also going to give some of the work that’s currently assigned to you to me and the other team members.”
“I see.”
“I said this when we met on Friday, but I admit that you have an excessive workload. I was also a bit inconsiderate.”
She fidgeted with her hands.
“So, your work will become easier, right?”
“I… guess so?”
“Then, you won’t have any reason to go to another company either.”
“Huh?”
She carefully extended her hand, like she was touching a chick, and placed it on top of mine.
“I’ll… do well. I won’t make you work too much, and I’ll give you good performance reviews…”
“Um, Mina-nim.”
“So… don’t do things like changing jobs or quitting.”
Her voice trembled, as if she was pleading.
“I’m begging you. Please.”
I felt a slight tremor in the hand that was placed on mine.
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[T/N: Best Girl so far]
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Dude, is really taking his sweet time learning the point of this assignment.
Let’s see if a third death, helps at all.
Remember everyone, it was still her fault the original is dead