Another Life With You

When the Party's Over

BBQ Olive Chicken had a full house tonight, thanks to a Seri's Choice staff party.

Even though they had already moved on from food to soju, the overall atmosphere was still rather reserved, perhaps owing to the presence of their CEO. Yoon Seri didn't usually show up to meals or drinks with her employees. The addition of two bodyguards standing by the wall, as unobtrusive as they tried to be, perhaps increased everyone's self-awareness.

Team Manager Hong was standing at the front of the restaurant, giving a heartfelt but longwinded speech. He still had most of the staff's attention, but they were sipping their drinks in order to do so.

In the midst of all this, Gu Seung-jung suddenly stood from his seat and sidled up to Manager Hong halfway through the man's sentence. Putting an arm around Manager Hong's shoulders, Seung-jung grinned at his audience. Manager Hong petered out, giving Seung-jung a bewildered look.

"Thank you, Manager Hong!" Seung-jung said. The staff tittered. Glancing around the room, Seung-jung began to clap loudly, and soon everyone was following suit. Manager Hong scratched his head and bowed at the applause. "I just wanted to add a reminder to the end of his wonderful speech: remember that all your drinks tonight are on Seri's Choice's tab, everyone! Let loose, get to know your fellow colleagues better, drink your week's worth of alcohol!" This time, the cheers and applause were more genuine, and Seung-jung bowed with flourish and a wave as he returned to his seat beside Seri.

The buzz of conversations around them began to grow louder. Seri raised her brows and regarded Seung-jung's smug expression with crossed arms. "By the way, why are you even here?" she asked. "You don't even work at Seri's Choice."

"But I do work for you, dear Chairwoman. That makes me your staff, right?"

Seri scoffed and hid her smile by sipping at her soju. "You're just an insufferable drinker."

"That, I am," Seung-jung said with a rakish grin, raising his glass in salute and downing it in one go. He gave a throaty sigh and refilled his glass. "I heard that your father called you in for a meeting this morning."

"Word travels fast," Seri said wryly. Her father had indeed summoned her to the family house for breakfast. It wasn't like Seri hadn't seen it coming – there had been rumbles about the choices made at Queen's Group in the recent weeks. "He wanted to tell me what certain department heads have been complaining to him about during their golf sessions."

Suddenly shedding his jovial attitude, Seung-jun leaned forward with a serious expression. "And?"

"Only about how we've been shuffling up the structure and looking at cutting staff. They don't like our approach of simplifying bureaucracy."

"Ah... that was all?"

Seri pursed her lips, then jumped when a hand landed on her shoulder from behind. She looked back to see her eldest brother Se-jun, hands raised in an appeasing gesture. Jeong-hyeok had stepped up threateningly from where he had been standing against the wall. He reluctantly retreated at a nod from Seri. Se-jun took the empty chair on her other side, grinning widely. "Abeoji also wanted to tell Seri he'd seen the photos of her and Cha Sang-u at dinner the other night. Really, Seri, must you continue to date high-profile people like him? It's not a good look for the family."

Seri rolled her eyes. Se-jun had slipped into the party with Seung-jun earlier. "Again – did anyone invite you two here?"

Seung-jun patted Se-jun's back merrily. "He's not so bad you know. Not like Yoon Se-hyung."

Se-jun nodded eagerly and raised his glass to Seung-jun's. "Thank you, I like to think so. Wouldn't you rather make an ally instead of an enemy within the company, Seri? I am still a shareholder, you know." The two men clinked glasses. When her brother realised that Seri's was empty, he reached to fill her glass but managed to knock it off the table in the process.