At Long Last

Little Avenger

Wearing a mask of exasperation, the CEO of Seri's Choice massaged her brow bone with a knuckle.

"Honestly, how many times do I need to remind your team to loop me in emails regarding the-"

"But...you were the one who said it was okay to go ahead..."

"Oh?"

Se-ri's eyebrow twitched a little, as she realized she could very well have half-heartedly approved the wrong shade of pink for the latest product by Seri's Choice.

Maybe she had really said so, on one of those occasions when she just wasn't quite in the right mood for work. Mom life has a miraculous way of robbing one of sanity and energy. 

Casting a glance at the bottles lined up on her desk as they discussed the final design details for a new product, Se-ri pondered a fitting response.

It was a new spring limited edition shampoo, formulated with peach and Jordan olive extract.

Paraben and silicone-free, of course, for healthy, silky hair.

A certain North Korean soldier, one whom she hadn't seen in years, came to mind.

To be honest, memories of his face had blurred with so much time having gone by, though she would never forget their bickers, fueled by fiery chemistry.

Clearing her throat lightly in a bid to mask her ever-so-slight embarrassment, the CEO continued, "Well, Mr. Hong, even if I really said something along those lines, as unlikely as it is, surely you could have checked again with me?"

The long-suffering veteran, who by now had become the director of product development across Seri's Choice and its sub-brands, looked like he was about to keel over.

Se-ri chewed on the inside of her cheek to keep herself from bursting into laughter.

Honestly, it wasn't such a big deal that the color of the shampoo bottle prototype was two shades darker than what she had envisioned.

Rather, it was pretty fun even after all these years, to torment her favorite employee, who was always kind enough to somewhat play along.

She settled for a languid, nonchalant smile, until a childish voice interrupted.

"Are you bullying my mommy?"

"...what? It's really more of the other way round..." Mr. Hong muttered with a troubled furrow between his brows, before smiling politely. "I'm just having a discussion with your mommy. You know Ahjussi and your mommy are good friends!"

The five year-old little boy, who had been coloring a picture of Captain America in the corner of his mother's office, was standing protectively in front of the very amused CEO.

Now promoted to Staff Sergeant by his father, Jeong Hwan was taking his role as Mommy's Little Protector very seriously indeed.

Jeong Hyeok had been assigned with taking Jin-ah to the hospital for her scheduled influenza vaccination, so Jeong Hwan got a day off from school as Daddy wouldn't be able to pick him up on time.

As such, mother and son had half a day to themselves. Se-ri had always felt apologetic towards Jeong Hwan; she was often so bogged down by work.

Whatever limited waking moments at home were spent with a very clingy and feisty Jin-ah in tow, leaving Jeong Hwan with less than his fair share of attention from Mommy.

It led to Jeong Hyeok to constantly ensure that he spends time with his little boy, resulting in a very tight bond between father and son, which Se-ri would admit, brought her jealousy at times.