Hidden Motives || Chae Hyungwon

[ seven ]

Baek Ha Rim

three days have passed yet that specific day still remained as my sole encounter of chae hyungwon in the company.

i tried my very best to arrive and leave work on time in hopes that i may encounter him once again, yet there was no progress made. i tried to assure myself that maybe it was just my first day's luck. however, i did tell mr. baek and changkyun about seeing him the moment i got home that day.

i tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and took a pause from my task of checking and analyzing our company's social media growth. looking beside me, i saw rowoon carefully working on his tasks.

"rowoon-ssi." i called him softly.

"hmm?" he finished off typing one more letter and then turned to face me.

"this is just a curious question but.. does ceo chae's father come here sometimes?" i asked.

rowoon shot me a questioning look. he probably did not expect my question.

"that happens rarely. the mayor is busy with his own affairs and ceo chae is independent enough. why do you ask?"

"oh.. uhm, mayor chae used to be my father's classmate. i'm not sure if he remembers though but wouldn't that be cool if i got to talk to him about it?" i said.

"wow! we're they close?" rowoon got interested.

"they actually were. even when my father got married, they kept in touch. that was years ago though, that's why i wanted to see if he still remembers my father or maybe knows me." i said.

"why don't you go tell ceo chae and introduce yourself?! that'd be so cool." rowoon suggested.

"please don't tell the ceo or anybody. keep this between us first. besides, i doubt he's engaged in his father's relationships with other people..."

"oh, true. alright, i'll leave that to you."

"but... is ceo chae the only means to reach the mayor? i wanted to directly meet mr. chae as soon as possible." i asked.

"unless you wanna go to mr. chae's office or house, then introducing yourself to ceo chae might be a little bit easier."

"sigh, introducing myself to the ceo is not an easy task either. he has better people to meet, so why would he care to remember the daughter of his father's friend?"

"right. he wouldn't find that piece of information valuable." rowoon agreed.

"but anyway, keep that until our company's anniversary celebration maybe? ceo chae might be in a good mood to interact with his employees. you could take that as an opportunity." he suggested.

"alright, i will. thanks." i smiled and tried to get back to work.

"rowoon-ah! would you like to buy some coffee for us?" one of his friends from afar suddenly asked.

i turned my head and wanted to volunteer instead. i might get the chance to see the ceo again if i roam around a bit more.

"hyung, i'm bus--"

"i'll go buy coffee instead." i quickly stood up from my seat and offered.

"ooohh nice! four iced americanos please, ha rim-ssi. there's starbucks nearby to the right of our company building."

"i'm on it." i took my wallet and started walking out of our office.

as i walked, i tried to take my time scanning every area i walked into. however, there were still no signs of the ceo just like the other days. it had just been an hour since i arrived to work anyway, so at least my hope didn't falter.