Just Twilight Novel Chapter 79

Beomjin nodded with his usual indifference. Junyoung exhaled sharply and bit her lip.

“I haven’t even finished sorting out my old place yet. The lease still has ti left.”

“Take your ti. As long as your heart is here, that’s all that matters.”

“Seriously. I can’t tell if you’re impatient or not.”

Shaking her head, she leaned back against his chest again. His embrace felt like it was made just for her—warm, steady, and strong.

Beomjin’s hand found her head once more, stroking it slowly as if to soothe her. His voice ca in a low murmur.

“I never thought about doing anything that wasn’t work. But with you, there’s a lot I want to do. Just… small things.”

“Like what? Watching movies? Holding hands and going for walks?”

“Going on a picnic when the weather’s nice. But keep the strawberry jam to a reasonable amount.”

His voice turned unexpectedly firm at the ntion of jam, making Junyoung laugh. Lifting her head suddenly, she grabbed his shoulders and turned toward him.

“Let’s go biking too. And I want to travel. You do the cooking. I’m fine with just ran—you know I’m not picky.”

“I want to take a family photo.”

Beomjin’s lips curled slightly as his gaze flicked to one side of the living room.

“It would look good hanging over there.”

Junyoung followed his gaze to the empty wall, her lips quirking. It was just idle conversation, yet sothing about it made her chest tighten. She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself, then gave him a sharp look.

“You haven’t planned out kids yet, have you?”

“Not interested. I wouldn’t know how to raise one properly.”

He shook his head but then absently rubbed his chin.

“But… if it was your kid, I’d want to see. No matter who they took after, they wouldn’t be easy to handle.”

“I can’t believe you. Just how far ahead are you thinking?”

“Yoon Junyoung.”

He caught her hand as she kept shifting on his lap, pulling her down firmly as he whispered.

“How long do you plan on pretending you don’t notice?”

Feeling the tension in his body beneath her touch, Junyoung smirked and tilted her chin up.

Strangely enough, whenever she was with Beomjin, she found herself thinking about the future. And that future was always brighter than one where she was alone.

Cupping his face in both hands like a well-trained puppy, she grinned mischievously.

“I’ll only give you a kiss.”

“That’s all you get, then.”

With a lazy flick of his eyebrow, he pulled her close, pressing his lips softly against hers. The warmth of their bodies overlapped. Sowhere between the cool air of the room and the lingering heat of her shower, her bathrobe slowly slipped away.

***

The general eting proceeded as planned. As soon as the resolution for appointing new executives was finalized, the dia broke the news of Seungwoon and Jang Sera’s engagent. There had been discussions about the power structure between President Hong Inseob and the Hongs as a whole, but everything had been carefully controlled to prevent any unnecessary exposure of their internal conflicts.

Junyoung, who had been monitoring the eting from the conference room while handling all dia communication, practically lted into her chair the mont it was over. Now that the tension had drained out of her, exhaustion ca crashing in.

She realized sothing then.

This wasn’t sothing she could bla on Kwon Beomjin.

It had always been her own decision.

No, but that didn’t an Beomjin wasn’t at fault. Last night, he was particularly determined to drown

in sugar, as if he were trying to…!

“Great work, Assistant Manager Yoon.”

“Thanks for your efforts.”

Manager Im waved a hand from across the table, making Junyoung sit up straighter. But given their dark circles and haggard faces, they both ended up laughing instead.

“Well, that’s another one down. Considering how quickly this team was thrown together, we worked well, don’t you think?”

“I learned a lot.”

Her polite response made Manager Im wave his hand lazily.

“You’re efficient. It’s refreshing. People like , who work slow, need people like you as motivation.”

“You’re just careful.”

“By the way…”

He was about to say sothing when Junyoung’s phone lit up. It was always a mystery why that na only seed to appear when she was with other people.

With an awkward smile, she flipped her phone face down.

“Probably just calling to take credit. He’s not one to hold back when it cos to patting himself on the back.”

“I see.”

“You can continue. I don’t need to take it.”

“No, it’s fine. Let’s get out of this suffocating conference room first.”

As he stood up, Junyoung followed suit, tidying up her seat. But just as she was about to grab her laptop, Manager Im suddenly hesitated.

A corporate email notification had popped up.

Their eyes t in the air.

“Let’s hope it’s not another assignnt.”

“I’d rather read it at my desk.”

Shaking her head, Junyoung started walking—only to notice Manager Im’s gaze slowly shifting toward her as he read through the email.

Blinking at his odd expression, she tilted her head.

“What? Don’t tell

it’s actually more work.”

Wordlessly, he turned his laptop toward her.

Junyoung’s brows furrowed as she read the ssage.

It was an HR announcent.

Her overseas reassignnt to the European branch.

“…Project Manager?”

She repeated the title, half laughing at how absurd it sounded.

It was technically a promotion. A huge one.

The only major project she had handled was TANDOZ, and that had rely been the opening move in breaking into the European distribution market. Hankeong was setting its sights on sothing much bigger now.

The problem was that she wasn’t even remotely qualified for the position. A Project Manager at the European branch had considerable autonomy, but that also ant shouldering massive responsibilities.

Soone with just five or six years of experience wasn’t supposed to take on a role like this.

“Do they just need a scapegoat to spearhead the new business? What kind of logic is behind this?”

“I heard Team Leader—no, Executive Na Seungwoon—was showing a lot of interest in that project.”

Manager Im exhaled lightly.

“I didn’t ntion it before since it was just a rumor, but… Apparently, he’s considering taking over the European branch entirely.”

“…What?”

“He’s an executive now, so he has to show results to the shareholders. It’s a big market, and since it’s still in its early stages, people will give it at least a few years before they judge its success or failure. It’s high risk, but it also has enormous potential. There’s no reason for him to turn it down.”

Junyoung’s lips parted slightly.

No way.

There was no way he reassigned her there with that in mind.

Not after making a whole spectacle with his engagent to Jang Sera.

A chill ran down her spine.

The mory of his iron grip on her wrist flashed through her mind. Her brows furrowed deeply.

Just then, a sharp ringing cut through the silence.

It was the conference room’s internal phone.

Glancing at Manager Im, who was watching her cautiously, Junyoung nodded once and reached for the receiver.

A clear, steady voice ca through the line.

—“Assistant Manager Yoon Junyoung?”

“Yes, this is Yoon Junyoung speaking.”

—“Executive Na Seungwoon is requesting your presence.”

Her expression hardened instantly.

Manager Im sighed under his breath.

The tension in the room plumted to the floor.

***

The newly renovated executive office had an entirely different atmosphere from before. Given that it now housed the youngest executive in Hankeong’s history, it was clear that considerable effort had been put into its design.

As Junyoung stepped inside, she saw Seungwoon standing by the window, gazing outside. He turned his head at her entrance.

“Have a seat.”

The polite formality in his tone made Junyoung dip her head slightly before taking a seat on the sofa. His deanor was effortless as he ordered tea from his secretary.

Dressed in a neatly tailored navy suit, his face appeared sharper and thinner than before, giving him an even more severe impression.

“I assu you’ve seen the personnel announcent. You must have found it sudden. I had planned to give you a heads-up, but I wasn’t able to get through to you.”

This was the last thing she had expected from him.

Junyoung sat upright and looked at him directly.

“I heard that you recomnded

for the position. I’d like to know why you thought I was the right choice.”

Seungwoon walked over slowly and took a seat across from her, a faint smirk pulling at his lips.

It was hard to believe that this was the sa man who had been so violently agitated the last ti they t. Now, he was composed, polite, and completely in control.

Loosening the knot of his tie slightly, he began speaking.

“I’ve watched you work. I know what kind of person you are, Assistant Manager Yoon. I know how hard you work, how much you’ve accomplished, and how undervalued you’ve been.”

Junyoung studied him carefully.

Was this distance between them ant to be an apology for the way he had acted that day? Was this his attempt at atonent?

But Seungwoon t her gaze calmly and continued.

“In a situation where a new market must be developed, I don’t need soone with more experience or broader knowledge. You handled the TANDOZ deal, which ans you understand the local conditions well. You’re decisive, competent, and highly capable. I simply recomnded a skilled employee. HR must have agreed with my assessnt, or they wouldn’t have approved it.”

“There’s a rumor that you’ll be directly overseeing the European branch yourself.”

At her words, Seungwoon’s sharp brows twitched slightly.

But almost imdiately, he smiled.

“That’s true. I see it as an opportunity to prove myself as an executive.”

Junyoung’s lips curled faintly as well.

After a brief pause, she lifted her gaze.

“I’m sorry, but I won’t be taking this position. I think you already know why.”

His pupils shook violently.

The smile faded from his face, twisting into sothing unreadable.

Slowly, he clenched his fists.

His voice, when he finally spoke, was hard and clipped.

“You need to learn how to separate the personal from the professional, Assistant Manager Yoon. My feelings have nothing to do with this appointnt.”