Corporate Cupid

Chapter 7: Hidden Truths and Close Encounters

Hari's heart raced as she stepped into the elevator, only to find herself face-to-face with Wonho. Her mind scrambled for an escape route, and in a moment of panic, she turned her back to him and quickly fished out a bandage from her bag. With shaky hands, she covered the bruise on her eye, hoping it would go unnoticed. The tension in the small space was palpable, but as the elevator doors opened, she hurried out, leaving a confused Wonho behind.

At Wonho Motors, the company's ad event was in full swing, and Minwoo, always dependable, was there to lend a hand. His culinary contribution, a white kimchi ravioli, caught Wonho's attention. Impressed, Wonho praised Minwoo's dish, but Hari, watching from the sidelines, couldn't shake the bittersweet feeling that accompanied seeing the two men interact. Later that day, Hari joined Minwoo for dinner at his restaurant. The conversation drifted to the recent MeloMance concert, and Minwoo, ever the protective friend, asked if she had gone with someone special. When she confirmed she had, Minwoo's response was unexpectedly critical. He suggested that Hari was too naive to understand men and even expressed a desire to meet this mysterious date. Hari, trying to deflect, assured him that she could handle herself and that he should focus on his relationship with his girlfriend.

Just as Hari thought she could breathe easy, fate threw another curveball. Wonho and Woozi walked into the restaurant, sending Hari into a near-panic. She quickly ducked under the table, praying they wouldn't spot her. Her heart pounded as she heard Minwoo call her, and she knew she was treading on thin ice. To make matters worse, Wonho noticed that her ringback tune was the very same MeloMance song that had been dedicated to "Kim Sari" at the concert. Suspicion clouded his mind as he pieced together the odd coincidences surrounding Hari and "Kim Sari."

Hari managed to escape the restaurant with Yuna's help, and later that evening, she confided in her friend about the strange encounter. As they talked, Hari admitted that Wonho wasn't as bad as she had initially thought. Yuna, ever perceptive, teased her, wondering if Hari's feelings were beginning to change.

Meanwhile, at the restaurant, Wonho engaged Minwoo in conversation, probing into the nature of his relationship with Hari. When Wonho asked how long they had been friends and whether there had ever been romantic feelings between them, Minwoo seemed caught off guard. Wonho couldn't help but recall "Kim Sari" mentioning a crush of seven years, and he began to wonder if there was more to Hari than met the eye.

Back at her flat, Yuna confronted Woozi, frustrated by his distant behavior. She asked why they couldn't at least be cordial neighbors, even if friendship was off the table. But Woozi remained stubbornly resistant. Undeterred, Yuna later resorted to flirting with another neighbor, hoping to stir some jealousy in Woozi.

Later, Wonho and Woozi had dinner with Chairman Kang. The chairman, lamenting his loneliness, urged Woozi to move back in, referring to him affectionately as his grandson. As they dined, Chairman Kang casually mentioned that Wonho and Kim Sari's one-year anniversary was coming up, prompting him to insist that Wonho clear his schedule for a special date.

The next day, Hari and other Wonho Motors employees traveled to Namhae to shoot a commercial. To everyone's surprise, Chairman Kang himself stopped by the location. Hari did her best to avoid his notice, but fate wasn't on her side. As she sneaked off to the bathroom to take a call from Wonho, Chairman Kang approached the stall she was hiding in. Panicking, Hari locked the door, but the chairman, fed up with the mysterious woman's antics, tried to force it open. The struggle ended with him falling backward, much to Hari's horror.

Later, Wonho reviewed behind-the-scenes footage from the commercial shoot and noticed something strange: Hari, without her eye patch, appearing in the background. Intrigued, he decided to include the footage in the final commercial. Chairman Kang, blissfully unaware of Kim Sari's true identity, continued to praise her, even going so far as to compare her favorably to Hari. Wonho, however, found himself defending Hari, though he wasn't entirely sure why.

That night, Wonho showed up at Hari's house, catching her off guard. She went out to meet him, her face comically hidden beneath a bear suit and helmet. Wonho, shyly trying to break the tension, offered her an ointment for her bruised eye. Hari nearly blew her cover when she mentioned his grandfather's fall, but she quickly recovered, brushing off the comment. Wonho, still suspicious but not unkind, handed her the ointment with a small, hesitant smile, leaving Hari with more questions than answers.