CH 32

“Ugh, those bastards. Can they even call that a negotiation…?”

Nam Hyun-woo’s mouth continuously poured out curses as they came out of the conference hall at the Foreign Ministry building. Ha Joyoon, who stood next to him, also nodded silently in agreement. Both of their faces looked dark and sunken.

“You sent all the photos, right?”

“Yes, I sent them after selecting the necessary cuts.”

“The distribution will probably be over by the time we get to the office. Reporter Ha, it’s been a long morning, should we go get something to drink?”

“I need to gather news coverage later in the day.”

“Nothing is going my way… Let’s go get a simple meal then.”

“Um, Reporter Nam.”

A look of doubt crossed his usually expressionless face. Nam Hyunwoo, who was quickly sending the article-related materials with his tablet, soon noticed him and tilted his head.

“Did I skip something?”

“That’s not it… My friend came here for news coverage too. If you don’t mind, could we go together for lunch?”

“That’s not exactly a difficult request, Reporter Ha.”

Before he even finished speaking, Nam Hyunwoo laughed and tapped Ha Joyoon’s back with a playful pat.

“Thank you. We were supposed to meet on the way out.”

“Then let’s go that way. Since I’m feeling a bit down, let’s eat something nice. Are you going to the office after finishing the evening coverage?”

“Yes, Chief called for me.”

Nam Hyunwoo, who was looking at his afternoon schedule, clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“That’s a lot of work. Are you feeling okay? You’re stronger than I thought.”

“I wouldn’t be a reporter if I can’t at least do these.”

“I guess so. You must have done some camping out as well.”

“As usual.”

“Doesn’t suit you.”

“Haha…”

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Under the blue sky, the cool wind grazed between their hairs, and the ginkgo leaves engraved with red and gold in the soft sunlight fell to the side of the road as if dancing in the autumn wind.

As a pleasant sounding voice rang loudly from afar, all the passersby’s eyes turned to her. Ha Joyoon quickly approached Song Jinah, who was on the street waving both hands, as she was about to call him again.

Ha Joyoon smiled widely as he met his close friend after such a long time. Click, clack– The sound of high heels walking on the sidewalk was just as refreshing as its owner. As they got close enough to see each other’s expressions, Song Jina raised one hand and hit Ha Joyoon’s back mercilessly. Smack. There was a sharp, crackling sound in the air.

“Did you survive the water cannon?”

“Yeah.”

Unable to yell from the pain, Ha Joyoon swept a hand over his burning back before giving her a curt reply. Song Jina’s expression was crumpled with pain as she looked at him. She laughed and spoke jokingly, but her hands still trembled when she thought of the last time they parted ways. Her friend, who had been unconscious for a long time looked so pale that she grew crazy with fear that something would go wrong.

“Crazy bastards. I completely destroyed them with my pen back then. The news agency said it was too aggressive, but I told them I would post on an internet site if they wouldn’t allow it. The editor-in-chief had to give in eventually.”

“Are you okay?”

“…Yeah. The editor-in-chief and I both got disciplinary action, though.”

Song Jina let out a long, exhausted sigh. She frowned as she recalled the memories of that time but soon shook her head and quickly changed the subject.

“Seems like your breaking news has already been distributed.”

He nodded in response to the question that had been asked with a smile.

“There’s a restaurant I know nearby. Their stir-fried pork is insanely good, so let’s go there. That’s okay, right?

“Yeah. Oh, right, my colleague.”

Anyone could tell that it was a sloppy introduction. And although he introduced Nam Hyunwoo with an indifferent and curt expression, in reality, he felt nervous that he might have made a mistake. Yet it was as plain as day. Roughly assuming what was going on in Ha Joyoon’s head, Song Jina spoke with a bright smile.

“Hello? It’s nice to meet you. I’m Song Jina from J Daily’s Global News Division

“Nice to meet you too. I’m Nam Hyunwoo.”

“It’s a pleasure. Please do share information with me in the future ”

“Haha- We’re sweating on our feet right now, too. Reporter Ha and I will have to leave again later today.”

“Oh, What a surprise.”

A brief handshake followed after a simple introduction. Since both of them were quite sociable, it wasn’t awkward even though it was their first time meeting. There was a flicker of relief on Ha Joyoon’s face. After the handshake, Song Jina continued to walk just ahead of them.

“Please do follow me. I shall take you to a nice place.”

“Wow – I’m looking forward to it, Ms. Song.”

“Haha-.”

Her pleasant tone of voice gradually widened his small smile. He felt even more grateful because he knew that her joking tone was to relieve the tension.

It took ten minutes to get to the restaurant, and in that time, they filled in the void with conversations about the joint meeting that took place earlier. They had a heated debate over the humiliating negotiation that did not include the victim’s will as they passed through a brick road and crosswalk to get to the restaurant, continuing their discussion even during the meal. The food was quite delicious and appetizing, as Song Jina promised.

“If they’re going to sign a contract like that, they should have taken a good look at the optional clause first.”

“That’s because they never cared to. So they never wanted to seek our opinion in the first place. Make profit and leave. It’s actually a shame that we have to make an article about this because it’s a shallow idea.”

“You’re right.”

Their ability to match the other’s energy and reply to said conversation was also impressive. Ha Joyoon, who was quietly eating while they had their pleasant discussion, rose from his seat with a small cough.

“Yoon-ah, what’s wrong?”

“I think I’m a little choked up. I need to go to the restroom.”

“Take care of yourself, Reporter Ha. Aren’t you overdoing things with your schedule these days?”

“It’s not like that.”

“Hurry back!”

Ha Joyoon smiled at Song Jina before heading in the direction of the restroom. Song Jina watched him leave with a hand resting her chin before opening her mouth to speak.

“How is Reporter Ha doing?”

When asked out of the blue, Nam Hyunwoo stopped his hand reaching for his spoon of soup and turned to her.

“I was wondering if he gets along with people at the office.”

“Why is that…?”

“I’m worried. He returned so quickly that his physical condition is not normal right now. He can be quite shy, too.”

There was also the rally incident, but the conversation they had after they reunited for the first time was deeply worrisome. His out-of-it expression as he asked what he could do to be okay, still remained in her mind.

After that she tried several times to carefully bring it up but Ha Joyoon had only smiled like he had no clue what she was saying and never said anything regarding it. She had guessed he was going through a hard time- which was the only thing she could think of.

Nam Hyunwoo nodded, seeming to understand Song Jina’s explanation, and put down his spoon for a while. Pouring water into an empty cup, he brought it to his lips and recalled what he had seen with Ha Joyoon.

“In that case… Our director talked about it when he brought Ha Joyoon, so he is freely receiving rehabilitation therapy. But he doesn’t go often. He stays at the office for longer than usual. Besides that, I think everything else is fine. He doesn’t talk much, but he still gets along well with other employees.”

“Yoon? Really?”

Her eyes suddenly widened. Nam Hyunwoo hesitated for a moment at the other’s excessive reaction before waving his hand playfully.

“There is no other problem. He tends to attend company dinners and communicate well when I work with him. He is also popular among the employees. As you know, Reporter Ha is a pretty guy. He’s a precious face in our company.”

“He must have saved the country in his previous life. The problem is that the precious face keeps rotting.”

Song Jina mumbled jokingly and tapped the rim of a glass with her hand. Nam Hyunwoo shrugged his shoulders slightly in agreement.

“I don’t think you have to worry too much. I think Reporter Ha is a good guy. He doesn’t slack off or do a messy job on his projects, and is a man of few words. He’s also very considerate. He’s the type that’s hard to meet at work. It’s impossible to say that he’s close to everyone without keeping a distance, but there’s no employee in the company that hates him. It’s not like there are that many people. Ha ha.”

“…That’s a relief. Reporter Nam. Please do look out for him.”

“Haha, I’ll try.”

That’s a relief. Ha Joyoon, you seem to be doing well.

Smiling dimly, Song Jina recalled old memories. The relationship between herself and Ha Jo-yoon has always stood at a strange boundary. One between being facing or evading each other. Even so, it took a lot of time and effort to get this close.

In college, Ha Joyoon used to easily attract people’s attention even without doing anything. His mixed-race appearance and unique, languid air felt completely different from his peers. Song Jina was also part of the groups of people who wanted to get close to him. Looking back, she contacted him alot. Maybe if she hadn’t tried, they’d have barely remembered each other’s names.

It should have hurt her pride but she didn’t feel that way when they met. She was curious about how he was doing and it was nice to see when he seemed to be living fine. The Ha Joyoon she remembered always seemed to be floating in the air. When everyone looked in one direction he would look in another, he had a different air to him compared to everyone else, somewhat on the edge and yet it was heartbreaking to look at him…

“Are you done eating already?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I’m done.”

Ha Joyoon, who returned to the table at some point, pulled his chair and sat down again.

“What are you thinking about?”

The voice asking sounded just as quiet as its owner. With a hand resting on her chin, Song Jina smirked pleasantly and gestured with her chin.

“Go get three cups of coffee over there. Reporter Nam, you need one too, right?”

“Oh! No, I’m fine.”

“Then just bring mine.”

“…? Wait a sec.”

Even though she sent him on an errand without giving him enough time to sit, there was no trace of annoyance on his face.  They say when a man looks coy, he is a fool inside. You’re too nice, it’s a crime. Complimenting him in her mind, Song Jina finally put her worries to rest after several months.