Just Twilight-Chapter 77

No matter which team I end up in, it seems I’m never meant to have an easy time.

Junyoung sighed, rubbing the stiffness from the back of her neck. The teammates she had originally worked with had already wrapped up their tasks and left for the day.

She had received the materials from the PR team for distribution to the media, but they were completely unusable as they were. Myeongin Ilbo had agreed to cooperate but asked for data that would highlight Na Seungwoon more prominently. Because of that, Junyoung was now combing through Hankeong’s financial records from the past few years, compiled by the Business Planning Team.

“I specialize in precise analysis, not inflating results.”

She muttered absentmindedly through gritted teeth before realizing someone was approaching. Looking up, she saw Manager Im walking toward her, his eyes weary.

“Do you have the report?”

“I’ve managed to put this much together. Do you think any further revisions are necessary?”

Turning her monitor toward him, Junyoung made it clear she was hoping to settle on this version. Manager Im hunched slightly as he read through the document, then adjusted his slipping glasses.

“It looks good, but this railway construction project is currently on hold…”

“That’s because the contract for imported steel was delayed due to exchange rate fluctuations. The fundraising efforts by the Business Planning Team went through without any issues.”

It just hadn’t been finalized.

Manager Im furrowed his brows, humming thoughtfully before speaking again.

“And this Russian natural gas export deal—it was actually handled by the previous Team Leader Choi, not Team Leader Na.”

“But the report was filed under Na Seungwoon’s name. He barely lifted a finger, but he still got the credit.”

Manager Im pressed his lips together, displeased. Junyoung leaned back in her chair slightly and added,

“If we cut out all the fluff, there won’t be anything left to present. If the Business Planning Team had impressive achievements to showcase, we wouldn’t have to do all this extra work.”

Her sharp remark made Manager Im let out a wry chuckle. After a long pause, he finally gave a decisive nod.

“Let’s go with this. Finalize the report and send it to Myeongin. Once the general meeting is over, we’ll follow up with them.”

“Understood.”

Junyoung scooted forward again and started typing. She expected Manager Im to leave, but she could still feel his gaze lingering on her. She glanced over her shoulder.

“Is there something you wanted to say?”

“No, not really… Just thinking it would be nice if we could take a break after this is done.”

It was unlike him to sound so hesitant. Junyoung let out a small laugh.

“I used to think that too, but that day never comes.”

“Deputy Yoon, have you ever applied for an overseas branch position?”

Manager Im lightly tapped on the partition as he asked.

“No. Oh—well, I did once, early on, for the Australia branch. Naturally, I didn’t get in.”

There were several branches, but Australia was notoriously competitive. Plenty of senior employees with stellar records and performance reviews were ahead of her in line.

After that, she hadn’t considered applying again. She never had the time to think about it. Besides, with all the frequent business trips she had taken, overseas assignments had started to feel suffocating rather than appealing.

“But why do you ask about overseas branches all of a sudden…?”

“It’s nothing. Let’s just finish this up and head home.”

Shaking his head, Manager Im turned away. Junyoung blinked her dry eyes a few times before shifting her focus back to her monitor. Then, noticing her phone in the corner of her vision, she quickly picked it up and sent a message.

[10 minutes from now.]

Before long, her phone screen flickered.

[Don’t be late. If you’re even a second late, I might feel like blowing up Hankeong.]

You know, when you say that, it doesn’t sound like a joke.

Junyoung pouted and quickly moved her fingers across the keyboard. The rhythmic clatter of typing filled the office.

***

Stepping out of the company building, Junyoung spotted a familiar car across the street and waved. After checking for traffic, she quickly crossed and yanked open the car door.

“Made it in nine minutes! Right?”

Climbing into the passenger seat, she turned to Beomjin, who lifted his phone, showing her the stopwatch. It read exactly 9 minutes and 39 seconds.

“Damn. I was really looking forward to seeing Hankeong explode.”

Letting out a chuckle, she playfully punched his arm. Beomjin smirked.

“You’ll see it happen someday. Buckle up.”

“Did you clean up the house? Samdu moved my stuff over this morning.”

“The bed’s clean.”

Junyoung was pulling her seatbelt when she squinted at his indifferent response.

“No way. Not tonight. I have the general meeting tomorrow, and I’m already on edge.”

“I didn’t say anything. Why is that the only thing on your mind, Yoon Junyoung?”

Clicking his tongue in mock disappointment, he turned his attention back to the road. Junyoung stared at him for a moment before running a slow hand along his firm thigh and whispering.

“Because Kwon Beomjin is just too good.”

“You’re going to make me crash.”

He caught her hand with a clenched-jaw voice. Junyoung grinned, noticing the slight curve of his lips.

“What did you have for dinner?”

“I didn’t eat.”

“What?”

She frowned, glancing at him in disapproval. Beomjin shrugged.

“I was waiting. It’s your first time coming to my place, so I figured you’d want me to cook ramen.”

In truth, she hadn’t eaten because she was short on time and wasn’t that hungry. But that wasn’t the point.

Beomjin let out a quiet sigh.

“You can eat ramen anytime. You should’ve eaten properly.”

“Oh, like you have time to talk. You came home at, what, three in the morning and left again before six? I almost thought I was dreaming. I mean, I’m just a lowly assistant manager at Hankeong, so I have no choice but to do what I’m told. But you’re an executive. What kind of executive is this busy? Should I go blow up JBK instead?”

Her sharp-eyed glare was met with a low laugh from Beomjin. He had a way of smiling with just the corner of his lips. She liked that about him.

Toying with his hand between hers, Junyoung asked, “The chairman there—he’s the highest-ranking guy, right? You said you’ve known him forever. Should I go meet him?”

“Don’t even think about it.”

She had meant it as a joke, but his immediate and firm response made her blink.

“Why? Is he some kind of scary type?”

Beomjin scoffed and shook his head.

“He’s curious about you. If you meet him, he won’t let you go for at least two days. And he’ll talk way too much.”

“Oh, so by ‘talk too much,’ you mean he’ll spill all the things you don’t want me to know? Then I should set up a meeting soon.”

The sourc𝗲 of this content is frёeωebɳovel.com.

Junyoung winked. Beomjin let out a deep sigh and changed lanes.

“There’s a quiet place near my place that’s open late. If you’re hungry—”

“Kwon Beomjin’s ramen. The classic version. No egg this time.”

She was about to tease him about whether he was too lazy to cook when her bag started vibrating. The moment she pulled out her phone, she went silent.

Beomjin glanced at her, then at the name flashing on the screen. His gaze sharpened slightly.

Seeing Junyoung switch her phone to silent mode and tuck it back into her bag, he asked, “You didn’t run into him at work, did you?”

“Not unless he’s coming to find me on purpose. We work on different floors, and our jobs don’t overlap.”

She exhaled shortly and gripped his hand a little tighter.

“He’s changed. I never thought I’d see that look in Na Seungwoon’s eyes.”

Before, even when his emotions got the best of him and he lashed out, he would always come back to apologize. No matter how cold she acted, he would do everything he could to convince her that it wouldn’t happen again.

But after that day, Seungwoon hadn’t even shown his face, let alone apologized. That call just now had been the first one since then.

Something had broken. Something that had long held order within him.

That, at least, she was sure of.

“Even after Na Seungwoon becomes an executive, you’re not thinking of leaving Hankeong?”

Beomjin studied her carefully as she remained silent, lost in thought.

“Because of your mother?”

Junyoung didn’t answer, only raising an eyebrow before shrugging.

“She’s in a hospital that’s financially tied to Hankeong. If not for that, it would’ve gone bankrupt ages ago.”

She hesitated for a moment before sighing.

“There are choices you have to make.”

As Junyoung’s gaze drifted emptily into space, Beomjin gently ran his fingers over the back of her hand.

He had no way of fully understanding what she had been through alone—what it had taken for her to survive until now. But he could at least guess that it hadn’t been easy.

He had always had people by his side: his uncle, his father’s legal advisors, Samdu.

But Junyoung had been completely on her own.

“She doesn’t even recognize me anymore. She barely breathes, but I couldn’t just let her go like that. You’d be shocked if you saw her. She doesn’t eat, she just lies there. And yet, she looks so much better than she did back then. Maybe making me suffer brings her peace of mind.”

“Yeah. I wouldn’t have recognized her.”

Junyoung instinctively nodded at his response—then suddenly snapped her head toward him.