"Jihyo ssi, this is the proposal that you requested." Ju Won stood in front of her desk with a file in her hand.
"Leave it on the table. I'll take a look at it later." She said without raising her head. Her eyes were fixed on the stack of papers in front of her.
Ju Won placed the file on the corner of the table and leave the office. On her way out, she bumped into Gary at the doorway. Before she had a chance to greet him, he lifted a finger to his lips to signal her to be quiet. She smiled and nodded, then walked away.
Jihyo was still unaware that Gary had entered. He tip-toed over to her, trying to make as little noise as possible. She had her fingers on her forehead and her thumb pressing against her cheek, with her elbow propped up on the table. It wasn't hard to tell that she was feeling stress with the amount of work to handle. She had a frown on her face, and a slight crease between her eyes.
Sensing her files lying at the corner of the table being shifted, she flicked her eyes over to it and then back to what she was reading. "You can just leave the proposal on top of the other files."
The shifting didn't stop and she couldn't concentrate. She put down the pen on the table and let out a huff. "Just leave it there!" She shouted and turned towards the side.
Her expression immediately softened when she saw Gary standing there with all the files in his hand.
"You can look at me later," he said, and placed the stack of files back on the table.
"Ani, oppa.. I thought Ju Won was here. " She mumbled.
"I came when she was leaving."
She ran her fingers through her hair and gave him a sheepish look, "but why are you here? I thought you went to visit a client's house with your colleague." She continued.
"That was two hours ago." He shook his head with a chuckle, "it's already 7pm and we're meeting Rye Il at 7.30pm."
She glanced at her watch, then squeezed her eyes shut and let out a sigh. "Ah.. It totally slipped my mind. Five minutes. Give me five minutes." She told him and started clearing her desk.
"We still have some time." Gary said as he sat down on the sofa. There was a pot of lavender flowers sitting atop the side table. The sprigs that were once purple were turning brown and starting to wither.
She put all the documents together, stacking them nicely before putting them into the drawer. She slipped her handbag over her arm and picked up the proposal file that Ju Won had left on the table. "We can leave now." She said with a smile but it faded when she saw the car key in his hand.
"You drove here?" She asked, clearly remembering that she had told him not to drive for the time being.
"I had to. It's inconvenient to travel to the client's house without a car. Besides, it was a minor injury and I've already rested for two days." He said while walking over to her.
"But still, that doesn't mean your wound has fully healed." She frowned.
He let out an amused huff and slipped his hand into hers, holding it tightly. "Feels good to have someone concerned about me." He said and flashed her a smile, "let's go."
***
Gary pulled opened the door to the cafe and let Jihyo enter first. A bell attached to the door rang, announcing their arrival and the staff greeted them in unison. The delectable aroma of freshly ground coffee bean filled the air. The chattering of the customers was muffled by the whizzing sound of a grinder. They looked around to search for Rye Il and spot him sitting at the corner table, right next to the floor-to-ceiling window, with Hye Won beside him. They weren't expecting to see her since Rye Il didn't mention that she was coming.
