Place: Valkyrie Ventures New Branch Office Site, Seoul
When Siwon entered the newly constructed headquarters, the atmosphere inside was a complete contrast to the chaos outside. The grand lobby was nearly finished; the sleek glass walls were spotless, and the only thing left was the final polishing of the expensive white marble floors. The faint, sharp scent of floor wax and fresh paint hung in the cool air.
But the scene in the center of the lobby was far from professional.
Under the bright recessed ceiling lights, tucked away behind a temporary partition wall, were Mr. Nam, Richard, and the newly recruited Minseok. Instead of inspecting the polished stone or supervising the cleaning crew, the trio was happily devouring massive, extra-juicy fast-food burgers, washing them down with large cups of ice-cold cola. They were completely immersed in enjoying their unexpected, secret break.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
The sharp, aggressive click of Siwon's heels echoed loudly against the marble floor, cutting through the quiet lobby like a warning siren. She stopped dead in her tracks, staring at the fast-food feast laid out on a temporary table in front of them. Her perfect brows furrowed in deep, dangerous confusion.
"Hey," Siwon called out, her voice dropping into a low, dangerous whisper that sent shivers down their spines. "I explicitly placed an order for burgers and cold coffee for this site. Then how on earth...?" She gestured with her hand toward the massive burgers and large cola cups. "Why did they send cola instead of coffee?"
Mr. Nam froze mid-bite, a large piece of green lettuce sticking out of his mouth comically. His eyes went wide as he realized the boss was standing right there. He quickly swallowed the unchewed food with a hard gulp and frantically wiped his greasy hands with a tissue, giving her a very guilty, sheepish smile.
"Ah, Ma'am... this was actually ordered by me," Mr. Nam stammered. "I placed this heavy delivery order before we even arrived at the office today because I was starving."
Siwon't eyes flared with sudden, intense anger. She took a slow step closer, towering over the three men like a dark, stormy cloud ready to strike. Mr. Nam and Minseok instantly flinched at her proximity, pulling their bodies back in fear against the plastic chairs while still desperately trying to chew the food stuck in their mouths.
"If you already ordered food beforehand, then why on earth didn't you tell me?!" Siwon snapped, her arms crossed tightly.
"Because... well, you see, Boss... we thought you would say no..." Mr. Nam stammered out, looking helplessly over at Richard for some support and backup.
But Richard was no help at all right now. He was incredibly busy hiding his own half-eaten burger tightly behind his back, looking at the ceiling lights and pretending he had absolutely nothing to do with this feast.
"Shut up!" Siwon said, rubbing her temples gently as her patience completely snapped after the long, annoying morning. "Forget it. Let's just go back to the villa immediately. I need to change my clothes right now."
Mr. Nam blinked in confusion, his eyes drifting down as he finally noticed the large, faint dark brown coffee stain dripping miserably down the back of her elegant green velvet coat. "Change? Why, Ma'am? Did something happen on your way here? Did someone attack you?"
Siwon glared at him, her beautiful face twisting into pure, unadulterated frustration as the memory of the cafe brawls flashed in her mind. "A herd of wild donkeys did this!" she hit back through her teeth.
Mr. Nam's jaw dropped completely. He looked 100% blank, bewildered, and lost. He turned his head to look around through the clean glass windows at the busy streets of Seoul. "Uh... what? Donkeys?! In the middle of Seoul city, Ma'am?"
"Nothing!!" Siwon shouted out loud, her frustration reaching its absolute peak today. She turned around on her heels and marched directly toward the glass exit doors where the luxury vehicles were waiting. "Just be quiet and let's go!"
Minseok quickly stuffed the remaining half of his massive burger into his mouth all at once, his cheeks puffing out as he mumbled terrifiedly, "Yes, Ma'am... moving right now..."
In a chaotic hurry to follow her, Minseok scrambled up from his chair. He ran forward so fast that he completely failed to notice his loose, unbuttoned shoelaces trailing on the smooth floor.
Trip!
His foot caught on the laces, and he stumbled wildly forward. With a loud gasp, he lost his balance and crashed directly into Siwon's back, giving her a sudden, heavy push from behind!
Siwon stumbled a step forward from the unexpected impact. Her eyes flared with immediate, dangerous wrath. She spun around on her heels, her glaring eyes fixing on the trembling Minseok, who was now frozen in absolute terror against the shiny marble wall.
"Oh! Are you completely out of your control?!" Siwon roared, her voice echoing across the entire lobby. In pure, unadulterated frustration, she tightly rubbed her temples, muttering bitterly under her breath, "Seriously, everyone is going to drive me insane today!"
Hearing her explosive outbreak, Mr. Nam, Richard, and Minseok instantly dropped their heads low. They stared silently at the polished floor, not daring to make even a single second of eye contact. They all knew very well that their boss's anger level was at its absolute maximum today. Every single step they take had to be carefully calculated, or they were dead.
Siwon shot them one last freezing glare. "Now, do you all want to live here forever, or are we actually leaving?!"
Before anyone could answer, she pointed a sharp finger down at Minseok's messy shoes. "And before we move, tie your damn laces! Otherwise, you will trip again and break your face, you idiot!"
Without waiting for another second, she turned around in a massive huff and marched angrily out of the building toward the waiting luxury vehicle.
Siwon didn't even look back as she walked straight toward her sleek, ultra-luxury black Mercedes. She opened the door and slid into the back seat, her freezing aura filling the entire car. Minseok, still trembling and holding his breath, quickly scrambled into the driver's seat of the Mercedes. He kept his eyes strictly on the road, not daring to make any sound or mistake this time. The luxury Mercedes roared smoothly to life and immediately drove off the office curb.
Meanwhile, Mr. Nam and Richard headed toward the separate, heavy luxury SUV parked right behind it. Mr. Nam cut Minseok off instantly from a distance, gesturing for him to just get into the other car.
"Shut your mouth! We can talk at home. For now, just get moving!" Mr. Nam muttered to himself.
By the time they reached their own parking spot, Richard was already sitting in the front seat of the SUV. His hands tightly gripped the steering wheel. He let out a deep, highly frustrated sigh as he watched the Mercedes pull away.
He glanced back at Mr. Nam as the older man slid into the passenger side of the SUV, complaining loudly. "Hey, Mr. Nam! You explicitly told me last week that a new professional driver is joining us, so I won't have to touch this steering wheel anymore! But look at this! Since that day, I haven't received a single day's gap or break from driving this heavy machinery around!" Richard muttered, shaking his head.
Mr. Nam settled into the comfortable seat, fastening his seatbelt. He looked out the front windshield, keeping his eyes fixed on Siwon's Mercedes ahead of them. "Stop whining, Richard. Are we supposed to bring a second entire SUV out here just for this? Do you want our whole crowd to stuff into one car when we have the Mercedes?"
Richard twisted his face into a thoroughly annoyed, ugly pout. He adjusted the rearview mirror with a sharp jerk, shifting the gear to follow them. "Mr. Nam, don't act like you are doing me a favor. Let's not forget you get a massive, heavy extra allowance fee for managing this transport system!"
Mr. Nam cleared his throat loudly. He looked away toward the side window to completely avoid the topic as the SUV engine roared to life. The perfect, highly chaotic team was now divided into two separate cars, trailing right behind each other down the streets of Seoul.