Chapter 7

Crap!

Hari turned around, and saw Taemoo standing behind her. Hari’s heart dropped. There was no one that could beat his sexiness, and Hari felt that every single time she saw him. But what did that have to do with anything? It wasn’t something she could admire. She couldn’t believe she had met him again in front of the elevator, and that such a coincidence could happen.

“Are you alright?”

Sunghoon spoke up as Hari stared blankly at Taemoo. The guy who pressed the elevator was in fact Sunghoon, Taemoo’s very own secretary.

“Yes…I’m fine.”

“Are you not going to…”

“No, I am. I’m getting on.”

Hari hurried inside the elevator even before Taemoo could finish his sentence.

“Hello, Mr.Kang.”

As soon as Taemoo got on the elevator, everyone inside greeted him politely with a bow. Because Hari was standing next to Taemoo, she also somehow became the subject of the bows.

I’ve never said hello to him before. Even last time, I didn’t say hi. What if he thinks I’m a rude employee?

The more she thought about it, she realized that she also cut him off when he was speaking many times. Though it was a situation from the past, Hari thought that it was still not good for Taemoo to remember her at all.

Hari found herself unable to move to the back corner in the full elevator, so she had to stand next to Taemoo. As the doors closed, Taemoo gave Hari a look. They made short eye contact, and Hari quickly turned away. Taemoo kept glancing over Hari.

Why is he looking at me? Did he recognize something? I thought he didn’t recognize me last time.

Hari’s heart was already racing when she found Taemoo glancing at her. She hoped that time passed quickly because the short elevator ride felt like centuries for her. Taemoo was now full-on staring, and even scanning her up and down, which unfortunately resulted in more eye contact. Taemoo seemed to recognize Hari.

Oh, no. He knows who I am. What do I do? How did he know? Does he know how to recognize girls even without their makeup?

As Hari stood there not knowing what to do, Taemoo began to speak.

“Mr.Kang, it’s actually…it’s really not that I went on that date because I wanted to. It was for me to get over someone. No, it was for money…’

“8th floor, right?”

“Sorry?”

Taemoo squinted at Hari as if he was asking her if she was deaf. Hari’s survival instinct kicked in and she nodded as fast as she could, and he pressed the 8th floor. Taemoo did recognize her, but just as the employee from the 8th floor.

Even so, why is memory so good?

It didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was that he didn’t remember the blind date. As Hari let out a sigh of relief, her phone rang. It was from Youngseo. Hari immediately picked up to divert attention from the situation.

“Hey, honey…”

“-HARI!”

Youngseo’s sharp voice ripped through Hari’s eardrums.

“Yes, Young-.”

Hari had almost called her friend by her name. She took a gulp of air to keep her focus.

“…Yes. What’s up?”

“What’s up? Is that something you can even say to me? What have you done?!!”

“What? What do you mean? What’s going on?”

“My dad called me. He got a phone call from his family.”

“Family? What family?”

“The guy’s family from that blind date! Apparently, he really liked you and now he wants to get married. No, he is going to get married.”

What on Earth was going on?

“What have you done, Hari? Did you really try to make yourself a fool?”

She really did try. He just wasn’t bothered.

“I’m about to get married now because of you. To a guy whose face I’ve never even seen!”

But Hari knew. Hari knew his face well.

Taemoo was staring at Hari with a stern look, as if he heard the annoying voice that was coming through the phone.

* * *

Was it snowing? The world was turning white. Hari was losing her mind.

“Why are you still here, Hari? Go home.”

If they hadn’t told her to go home, she would have sat in the office the whole night. Hari stood up and walked out of the office. She didn’t have the energy to say thank you. She had too much to deal with.

Ever since she had picked up the phone call from Youngseo, she had been zoning out. She thought all she had to do was decline the proposal and block his number. That had apparently been unacceptable for Taemoo. It was as if he didn’t know what “No” meant.

Could it be that I was the first to dump him?

Judging only by his looks, he seemed like someone who really wouldn’t have been dumped before. It was still pathetic for him to act like that.

Should I be clingy?

If Hari made herself super-clingy, she was sure he would dump her, but she was not in a situation where that was possible.

My god, Youngseo. The one time I do you a favor!

Hari realized Youngseo hadn’t even paid her, yet. Scratch the money! Hari never wanted to see Youngseo again. She thought about running away.

No. I can’t let my efforts go to waste.

Hari had to meet Youngseo, even if it was just for the money. If Hari wasn’t to go see her, Youngseo would come see here, which made it even more impossible for Hari to not face her friend. Hari checked her surroundings before getting on the elevator, not wanting to meet Taemoo on it a third time.

I can’t even be comfortable at work.

This was why people should never sin. Hari was able to safely get to the lobby and got out of the building, but she got the chills as she remembered something.

Oh, no! My bag! I left it upstairs. This is all because of Taemoo!

With her mind already exhausted from navigating things with her boss, Hari had to carefully sneak back up to the office again.

* * *

“So?”

Youngseo was fidgeting with her nails when she looked up at Hari.

“You need to pay me,” Hari pouted.

“Pay you? Are you really asking me for money?”

Youngseo, who had always kept herself together, was not having it.

“I mean…if you make me work for you, you have to pay me. No?”

Hari could barely finish her sentence as she looked at Youngseo’s demeaning expression.

“It’s not like I didn’t do the work…”

“You did the work. The wrong kind of work!” Youngseo slammed the table. “It went wrong. Terribly wrong. You ruined everything!”

“I didn’t! I really did my best! Do you even know how many times I emphasized that I’m a whore? I offered to take him up to the hotel room with me, and talked about a threesome, and that I’m quite the expert in bed. I said all I think about is sex, and that in fact, I was coming from doing it with another man, and therefore that all I know how to do is sex!!”

Youngseo blinked.

“What did you tell him? That all you know is…”

“Sex.”

Hari gave a grin. Youngseo dropped her jaw. Hari somehow felt proud.

“See? I told you. I’m very responsible. I kept the promise that I was going to be enough to scare all the guys off. And now, you’re not going to pay me?”

“Dude, Hari.”

“What?”

“HARI!”

“What??”

“I’m done for good. It’s all over. What are you going to do about my image!”

The two both knew it was all over, so there was no more need to waste their energy. They held back their tears and brought their heads close to each other.

“Okay, first.”

They spoke at the same time.

“Give me my money.”

“See him.”

Both frowned.

“You have the audacity to ask me to see him again?”

“You have the audacity to ask me for your money?”

As the two spoke at the same time again, they glared at each other. Then, Hari quickly covered Youngseo’s mouth.

“I’m going to go first. Listen up. I poured in all my energy, keeping my shame aside to make myself the biggest whore and blurted nonsense on that date. You aren’t really trying to exploit me for my labor are you?”

Youngseo tried to take Hari’s hand off her mouth, and Hari stopped her.

“I’m not going to bring my hand down unless you say you are going to pay me.”

Youngseo reluctantly nodded, as she seemed to be suffocating. Hari gave a smile of triumph and released Youngseo.

“Good. Give it to me.”

As Hari brought out her hand, Youngseo gave her a high five instead.

“I’m not going to just give it to you.”

“What?”

“Do you even have any guilt? You just made me into this crazy whore, and I’m about to carry this trashy image into marriage to a guy I’ve never even seen before. All you try to take is my money?”

Hari did feel sorry about that, but it wasn’t like she had planned it. Who knew this was going to be the turn of events?

“I just did what was asked of me to do,” Hari pouted.

“That’s it? So, you think it’s okay that I’m going to marry someone completely random?”

Youngseo looked sad. Hari held on to Youngseo’s hands.

“Don’t worry, Youngseo. I promise you the looks. He is over the roof. He doesn’t even compare to your exes.”

“Really?”

Hari nodded. He was also just a perverted psychopath. Hari kept that fact deep inside her as she took a gulp.

“It’s not only his face. His body is also no joke, I wouldn’t be surprised if he went into modeling. He’d be more famous than the current models now.”

“And someone like that asked you to marry him?”

“He said it was love at first sight.”

There was no way to verify that, though.

“He’s insane.”

Yes. Because he is a perverted psychopath.

Though Hari nodded in agreement, she was trying to read Youngseo’s face. Youngseo, however, was giving her a stronger look back.

“So? Are you telling me to marry him because he’s cute?”

“What else?”

“What do you mean what else? You have to go meet him.”

Youngseo stared at Hari. Hari’s eyes widened.

“You want me to meet him again?”