"Will you please stop staring at me?" Gwon looked up from his laptop and glared at Jihyo.
It was their first meeting after the assault. Ever since Gwon stepped into the office, Jihyo couldn't help but to steal glances at him occasionally. She wondered how much strength Gary had used for the bruise to be still clearly visible under his eye despite it has already been three days since the incident.
"You shouldn't have done that." She said to him.
"I didn't force you to believe me. You chose to." He replied.
She stared at him, speechless for a moment. She knows that he's rude but she never expect him to be so shameless. Back then, when she first found out that they were working together, she thought that maybe somehow by working with him, she could know him better and perhaps, help to mend the relationship between Gary and him. But looking at how things are right now, she felt foolish for even considering that.
"Don't you think that what you did was wrong?"
"Do you want an apology? I think I should be the one receiving an apology instead," he said, pointing at his injury, "and a 'thank you' for not sending him to jail."
Apologising to a guy who's lies almost wrecked the trust between the Gary and her? Jihyo blinked at him, then scoffed. If this conversation were to continue, she can't be sure what she will do to him. Thankfully, a knock on the door saved her from committing a murder in the office.
"Guess that means neither of us will be receiving an apology from each other. Now, we're quits." He smirked then gestured at her to let whoever was outside to come in.
She threw him a glare then looked away towards the door.
"Come in." She said.
Eun soo walked in, holding a black file, and hand it over to Jihyo. It was the file that contains the design sketches that Gwon had specifically picked and requested for the designs to be tweaked.
"Syun wants to see the both of you in her office at 3pm." Eun soo relayed the message.
"The both of us?" Jihyo asked.
"Ne, that was what she told me to tell you. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave." Jihyo nodded. As Eun soo left the room, Gwon's phone suddenly vibrated on the table. He checked the caller ID then stood up and walked towards the window, holding his phone to his ear as he stared out of the window. He nodded his head a few times as he replied to the person on the other end of the call before hanging up.
"We'll be seeing each other more often." He said as he returned to the sofa.
"What do you mean?" She put down the black file and looked at him.
"You'll find out in.." He checked his watch and continued, "ten minutes."
***
Syun's office is literally a heaven for minimalists. White floor-to-ceiling cabinets lined one side of the wall. At a corner, there's a grey lounge chair, and next to it was a small round glass table with a lamp sitting atop of it.
Everything on her glass desk were neatly arranged. There's a cork board mounted on the wall behind her desk, with several papers stuck on it by thumbtacks.
"How is the project coming along?" Syun asked, looking at the Gwon and Jihyo who are sitting in front of her.
"Its going along well. We have just received the tweaked design sketches but has yet to review them." Jihyo answered.
Syun nodded her head, then slid out two pieces of paper from the paper tray and passed it to them.
Jihyo read through the two pages document then looked up at Syun. "Overseas market research?"
"Yes. Gwon ssi, I believed Jun have told you about this."
"I spoke to him over the phone. He said you will give us the information." Gwon replied.
"As you know, the project that both of you are handling now is for a company based overseas. To get a better understanding of their environment, we are sending the both of you over to take a look. The trip will last five days, and on the last day, there will be a meeting with the manager of that company. The itinerary is listed in the paper that I've just given you."
"We're flying off next week?" Jihyo asked.
Syun nodded. "I know it's quite last minute. We had to match the schedule of the other party."
"As long as all expenses are paid for, I'm fine with it." Gwon gave an arrogant shrug of his shoulders and said.
"Everything, including plane tickets and accommodation will be paid by the company. If you choose to stay longer than five day, you'll have to pay the expenses for the extra days." Syun explained. She pointed at his left eye, and asked, "what happened?"
"Just.. bad luck." He replied, glancing at Jihyo who was shooting him a subtle glare.
***
"Overseas?"
"Ne."
"China?"
"Ne."
"With him?"
"Ne."
"Can you explain in details instead of just replying, 'ne'?" Gary asked, giving her an annoyed look. They were sitting opposite each other at the dining table, with two bowls of piping hot ramen in front of them.
She put down her chopsticks and let out a soft sigh. "Gwon and I will be flying off on Monday to Shanghai, and we will be there for five days. Expenses are all fully paid by the company, we will be staying at a four star hotel, and-"
"Why is it only the both of you?" He cut in before she could finish explaining.
"
Because we're the ones in charge of this project." She replied, having already expect him to ask that question. "And, family members aren't allowed to tag along." She quickly added.
She heard him cursing under his breath.
"What if I happen to be on the same flight and happen to meet you there coincidentally?" Gary replied with a mischievous grin.
"It's not gonna work," she replied flatly. "There's no way Dre will allow that to happen. You have an upcoming event, remember?"
He cursed again. Jihyo reached for his hand and squeezed it. By the time she managed to convince and assure him that things will be fine, their noodles have already turned cold.
"The flight is at 4am." She informed him. "Will you be coming?"
"Yea, even if that means I have to sacrifice my sleep. I still have to be there to make sure Gwon doesn't do anything and say anything nonsensical to you. And perhaps, give him a few warnings." He said to her while clenching and unclenching his fist at the same time.
Jihyo gave him a slightly amused frown."Yah. Don't go around waving that fist of yours." she warned him.
