It worked, Ri Jeong-Hyeok realizes, as he hears shouts and gasps from outside, and then the elevator door closing without a hitch. It actually worked.
A flood of relief washes over his body, but it's very, very short lived. Suddenly he's being shoved extremely hard, over to the other side of the elevator, and there's a very angry-looking person wagging her finger into his face.
"What the hell?" she screeches. "Who the hell do you think you are?"
Ri Jeong-Hyeok swallows dryly. This is the second time he's been asked today who he thinks he is. He's beginning to wonder if he really knows anymore.
"What does this look like to you?" the woman continues, "The Joseon era? Where you can just kiss random women that you see? This is the Me Too era, you punk! You – you –" Her almond-shaped eyes are snapping like lightning, her mouth screwed up in very righteous anger as she calls him some very creative names.
Ri Jeong-Hyeok tears his eyes away from the finger waving in his face and towards her navy blue suit, where a lanyard with an ID tag dangles. Yoon Se-ri, it says.
"Hey! My eyes are up here, perv!"
And with that, a sharp heel is slammed on his foot. Even through the thick leather of his Armani shoes, it hurts so badly that Ri Jeong-Hyeok winces in pain.
Through watering eyes, he thinks dimly he should make things right with this Yoon Se-ri woman before she inflicts even more bodily pain upon him.
"I'm very sorry," he gasps out. "That was inexcusable. I am so sorry, Ms. Yoon. Please, allow me to explain the whole story to you. If you'll follow me to my office –"
This last sentence is the wrong thing to say.
"Your office?" Yoon Se-ri screeches again. "Alone with you?"
"It's covered in glass!" exclaims Ri Jeong-Hyeok, eyeing her raised black heel with alarm. "Everyone can see inside!"
With those words, Yoon Se-ri finally, finally, steps away from him in the elevator. She crosses her arms grudgingly over her suit and glares at him, but says nothing more.
After a few moments of tense silence, Jeong-Hyeok finally musters up the confidence to press the button for the thirtieth floor. As floors zoom past the silent pair, he wonders how on earth he's going to explain his predicament to the spirited woman he's just met.
***
When Ri Jeong-Hyeok escorts Yoon Se-ri into the office, making sure to keep a safe distance from her feet, every one of his employees seems surprised. He's not quite sure why, he thinks, as he walks past the wide-eyed receptionist, Eun Dong.
It's not like he's never brought a woman into the office before. Seo Dan used to stop by sometimes – self invited for the most part, but still.
His executive secretary, Pyo Chi-Su, looks to be the most flabbergasted as he stands at his desk to greet them. Ri Jeong-Hyeok almost tells the man to lift his jaw up off the floor.
"Secretary Pyo," Jeong-Hyeok says instead, "can you bring us a coffee in my office? A coffee and –?" he looks towards Yoon Se-ri, but she doesn't answer his pointed question, still glaring at him with daggers in her eyes.
Jeong-Hyeok swallows nervously and turns back to Secretary Pyo.
"Two coffees. Panama blend. And bring the Swiss cookies. Bring all of them – the ones we keep for special meetings."
Pyo Chi-Su's eyes couldn't be open any wider. The Swiss cookies aren't even exported – they're specially made and flown in for the Vast Group every week.
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