Chapter 2

“No, I’ve never had one. That’s why I’ve never been to an animal clinic before.”

“I see. It’s not so different from a human hospital, is it?”

She’s right. Ha-eun looked around the receiving room once more. She peered through an open doorway to see if there was a doctor inside the office. There were two other doors that led to somewhere she couldn’t see. The clinic was much bigger than it had looked from the outside.

“It’s a lot cuter and more pleasant.”

“I wanted to put a leather sofa here, but the kids keep biting it off.”

Ha-eun guessed that by ‘kids’, she meant the pets that get treated here.

While Ha-eun was in deep thought, the veterinarian carefully treated the wounds on her feet and then rose from her seat to gather the first-aid kit into one hand.

“Wait here for a second.”

Then she went inside to throw away the used materials and came back with something else in her hand.

“I’ll lend you this. Let’s go.”

The veterinarian set down a pair of outdoor slippers at Ha-eun’s feet as she said this.

Ha-eun looked guiltily at the veterinarian, more and more surprised by her kindness. She’d never seen someone so compassionate they would take her to their store, give her tea and let her take a rest, while they treated her wounds. Now she was even lending her slippers.

“I-It’s okay.”

“You can’t go back wearing those heels anyway.”

“I’m sorry….”

The woman grinned at Ha-eun’s words. She reassured her as she pushed the slippers closer to Ha-eun’s feet.

“When you get a dog, you can come to our clinic.”

That was a good idea. Ha-eun subconsciously stared at the vet. She was a beautiful woman and a veterinarian, she had such a nice personality too.

Ha-eun couldn’t help but feel respectful and somewhat envious towards her.

She searched around her bag and found her business card.

Since she’d been transferred to another position today, the department name and office phone number on the business card were now outdated, but the personal cell phone number printed on it was still hers.

“I’m Kim Ha-eun. This is my card but the office number will be different because there was a rotation today.”

The vet smiled as she accepted Ha-eun’s business card. She then went back into her office and returned with a red coat and her own business card.

“I’m Jeon Heesoo.”

Ha-eun took the business card that Heesoo gave her and skimmed through the print. Heesoo held out the coat she had brought.

“Wear this.”

“What? It’s alright. I brought a jacket.”

“It’s gotten colder because it’s late. Wear this and return it later along with the slippers.”

She was asking me to come back because she had to return the slippers anyway. Ha-eun continued to refuse because she felt guilty.

“But what are you going to wear?”

“I have another jacket here, a car too. So go ahead and put it on.

Ha-eun gave her a look that was both apologetic and full of gratitude.

“So that’s what happened?”

A week later, Seoyeon looked at the shopping bag under the passenger seat and exclaimed after Ha-eun recounted her experiences from that day.

Ha-eun was having a heartburn because she’d had too much to drink, accompanying Seoyeon again yesterday.

It had already been a week since she’d started working in a team in charge of moving personnel.

Both Ha-eun and Seoyeon were busy adjusting to their new leader and team members.

Thanks to this, Seoyeon’s apology had been postponed until today.

Seoyeon bought delicious jjamppong and sweet and sour pork as a show of apology and to relieve Ha-eun’s hangover. They then drove Ha-eun’s car to a Chinese restaurant at lunchtime and were on their way back.

“Yes, I was going to give it back the next day, but I had to dry-clean it first.”

She couldn’t just give it back the way it was. Ha-eun had brought along the now dry-cleaned coat Heesoo lent her. She was planning to give it back to her on her way home from work today.

“Pretty.”

Seoyeon took the coat out of the shopping bag and exclaimed. It was a coat, red in color. Ha-eun glanced at the coat and mused as she drove.

“I think I’ll buy one too.”

“What? This?”

“Yeah. I’d never considered buying a red one before because it stands out too much.”

I always wore a black or brown coat. But a week ago, when she arrived home wearing the coat and saw herself in the mirror, she thought it looked very good.

She thought it would be nice to get a red coat for herself.

Seoyeon folded the coat again and put it in the shopping bag.

“I think it’s alright. Do you want me to buy the same coat?”

“I wonder if it’s too much like a red cloak* though?”

(The contextual translation would be ‘red riding hood’ but we decided to translate the title as red cloak so I’m leaving it like that.)

Seoyeon burst into laughter at Ha-eun’s concerns. She said, glancing at Ha-eun as if she were saying nonsense.

“Oh, yeah. A big bad wolf might eat you.”

“I do wish a wolf would eat me.”

Ha-eun retorted with a giggle. The fear from the week before was already long forgotten. She was drunk back then so it’s entirely possible what she saw was merely a misunderstood cat.

“A wolf huh?”

Seoyeon asked in surprise.

It’s been five years since Ha-Eun broke up with her boyfriend. She was ready to be eaten if a really handsome wolf ever appeared.

Seoyeon reaffirmed Ha-Eun’s attitude.

“Do you want to have a blind date? I can ask Doyoon Seonbae to connect you with someone.”

The boss at the company Seoyeon’s boyfriend works for, was just as good looking as her team leader. Ha-eun thought for a while and replied.

“I don’t want just half your boyfriend”

“Eyy, Doyoon Seonbae has a lot of flaws too.”

“Handsome, tall, rich, good-natured. What more do you want?”

“Well, that’d be a great wolf.”

Seoyeon’s joke filled the car with laughter.

Ha-eun said with a giggle.

“That’d be all the better, won’t it? You said wolves are faithful?

“It’s the same for humans, isn’t it?”

“No, they’re not just legally faithful like us. Wolves live alone all their lives after their spouses die.”

Didn’t you know that?

Seoyeon looked at Ha-eun with an expression of half-surprise, half-contemplation.

Then she picked up her cell phone and started searching for wolves.

“They’re an endangered species.”

“Wolves?”

“Yes.”

A four-legged animal resembling a dog was displayed on Seoyeon’s screen. Ha-eun noted as they entered the company’s parking lot.

“They’re similar then. Good-looking men in Korea seem to be vanishing too.”

“Kim Ha-eun!”

Seoyeon’s laughter filled the car once more. The two giggled as they got out of the car and approached the elevator. One of the two elevators already had its button pressed.

Someone else had likely pressed the buttons and got on the elevator that opened first.

Seoyeon asked while checking the elevator.

“But how’s your team leader?”

“Well, I don’t know.”

She’d only worked him for a week so far. Right on the first day, the team leader had taken the first half of the day off, so she had greeted him on the second day.

“There were rumors that he was a diligent worker.”

“A diligent worker…”

The door of the elevator, which arrived with a ding, opened.

Ha-eun described him heartily as she entered the elevator.

Team leader of the sales support team, Park Joo Won. She had a lot to say about him, but Ha-eun was deliberately held back. Besides being great at getting his work done, he was handsome, tall, and quiet.

It was clear that Seoyeon would think that Ha-eun was interested in him.

“I heard he’s young too.”

Ha-eun nodded.

That’s why she thought he was handpicked by one of the higher-ups. When he first joined the company, there were such rumours. Unlike other employees who came in through public recruitment, he was immediately scouted as the head of the sales support team.

“He was thirty-three, or was it four?”

TL/N to PR: She’s talking about her team leader’s age.

The elevator stopped with a ding again as Ha-eun was just about to say the team leader was about the same age as Doyoon.

“Pardon me.”

The elevator door opened and revealed Joo Won, the very person the two were talking about.

As he entered, a shadow fell over Ha-eun’s head. He was tall and big.  Without realizing it, she was thinking about how short she would look in comparison if she and Joo Won stood side by side.

“Hello.”

Instead of Ha-eun, who was frozen, Seoyeon greeted him. Joo Won stood in front of the two and looked at Ha-eun and Seoyeon with only his eyes moving.

Ha-eun trembled involuntarily as his cool gaze landed on her.

“Did you enjoy your lunch?”

Joo Won, Ha-eun’s team leader asked. The voice sounded low but strangely icy. He could not have heard the conversation between the two, but Ha-eun was somehow nervous.

“Yes, sir. Did you enjoy your meal?”

Joo Won nodded at Ha-eun’s question, and when the elevator opened again, walked away in long quick strides.  Seoyeon, who got out right behind Ha-eun, commented as her eyes followed Joo Won’s back.

“I’ve always thought so, but he moves so fast.”

Ha-eun felt the same but she pretended not to have noticed.

“Really?”

“Look, he’s already this far away in such a short time. He’s that tall, but he’s strangely graceful and not struggling to control his weight at all.”

Ha-eun nodded, glancing at Joo Won, who had already walked to the far end of. He moved fast but silently.

Joo Won always held an air of neatness. It felt like his steps were falling impeccably without a single miscalculation. There was no sound of his footsteps at all.

“I’m sure he’s over 180cm, right?

The two talked about Joo Won’s height in the hallway. He was much taller than Ha-eun, who is only a little over 160, so he would be at least 180.

Seoyeon said, putting her hand on her waist.

“Definitely. Doyoon Seonbae is also around that height.”

Come to think of it, I think it would be similar to Doyoon, who came to pick up Seoyeon who was drunk a week ago. Ha-eun asked because she was confused when she remembered Doyoon’s name on Seoyeon’s phone as “Doyoon Seonbae”.

“Are you still calling him like that?”

“Doyoon Seonbae wants that.”

They were in college when Seoyeon met Doyoon. The two, who were in the same department, did not date when they were in college, but only started dating when Seoyeon got a job.

They’ve already known each other for a long time so she should have removed the “seonbae” in how she addresses him long ago.

Ha-eun said with a worried look on her face.

“Aren’t the both of you talking about marriage?”

“Doyoon seems to want it.”

That’s understandable. Doyoon was thirty-three this year.

But Ha-eun shook her head and continued.

“I want you to think about it next year. You have nine at the end of your age.”

T/N: Korean (most likely adults) believe that you should not marry if you have 9 at the end of your age (9, 29, 39 etc) because 0 was the next number for 9, which means first, start or beginning. They believe that you should be careful to start a new beginning or you should be careful for change.

“Nine? Do you believe that?”

“I don’t believe it, but our mothers do.”

Ha-eun sighed with her arms folded in front of her chest. Ha-Eun, who was the same age as Seoyeon, was twenty-nine, but she’s never believed in such superstitions.

Well, I don’t even have a boyfriend, so I have no reason to worry about it.

When she thought of her boyfriend, she remembered Joo Won without realizing.

“Go in.”

Ha-eun shook her head when she parted ways with Seoyeon. She thought she might be going crazy, he kept popping up in her head.

Does he have a girlfriend?

I can’t imagine how he treats his girlfriend. Does he smile at her?

It’s been a week since she joined the same team as team leader Joo Won, but she’d still never heard him raise his voice nor seen him smile.

The former general affairs team leader was angry once every two days. Of course, not towards Ha-eun, but towards someone else.

Would he even fight with his girlfriend? Ha-eun thought, took her toothbrush out of her drawer and headed to the bathroom, then caught herself. This is not good, I’m thinking so hard about the team leader’s personal life.

The personal life of such a handsome and capable team leader, in fact.

She tried to get Joo Won out of her head as she headed towards the bathroom to brush her teeth.

Then, a familiar presence approached. Unknowingly, she raised her head and found Joo Won walking towards her from the opposite side. Joo Won was holding a toothbrush as if he had finished eating before her and already brushed his teeth.

As he walked, wiping the water off his chin with his hand, he spotted Ha-eun and bowed lightly.

Oh, my God. Ha-eun passed by Joo Won and swallowed back a moan when she caught a whiff of mintiness. I didn’t know toothpaste smelled so good.

It was a very refreshing scent.

Ha-eun squeezed her eyes shut because she felt the area below and navel was trembling.

“C-crazy, Kim Ha-eun you’re crazy.”