Minra came prepared.
Prepared to do her job.
Prepared to sit quietly and take notes.
Prepared to avoid unnecessary attention.
But—
She was not prepared for Reyne.
Because the second they walked into the meeting room, he leaned over and whispered.
"If this meeting gets too boring, wanna fake a stomachache so we can escape?"
Her entire soul left her body.
"We are literally in a meeting with the CEO…" she was dumbstruck.
“Exactly!” he grinned. “Which means it’s gonna be long and miserable.”
She swallowed her irritation. Why was she seated next to him?
But before she could say more, Shuun spoke.
"Let’s begin."
His voice was calm, low—the kind that commanded absolute attention.
Minra straightened, determined to stay invisible.
And for the first ten minutes, everything was fine.
Until Jiho turned to Reyne.
"Reyne, can you update us on the client negotiations?"
Minra held her breath.
And Reyne—the absolute disaster that he was—
Leaned back in his chair and said,
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
"Well— so, about that."
Everyone stared.
Minra prayed for divine intervention.
"Technically," he continued, "we haven’t lost them. But, err.. they kinda hate us now."
Silence.
Shuun slowly turned his head.
"Explain."
Reyne shrugged.
"There was a miscommunication. I may have called the client ‘bro’ in an email."
Minra almost choked.
Su-Jin exhaled sharply through his nose, like he was fighting the urge to strangle someone.
Eunhe?
She, who was Reyne’s direct boss, immediately slammed her pen down.
"You— WHAT?"
.
"It wasn’t that bad!" Reyne defended himself. "He signed off with ‘best regards.’ I was just matching his energy."
Eunhe’s eye twitched.
"‘Best regards’ is FORMAL. NOT BRO-LIKE!!”
Jiho, who had been holding back laughter, finally spoke up.
"And what exactly did you say?"
Reyne cleared his throat.
"‘Yo bro, let’s make this deal happen. You feel me?’"
Minra was dying inside.
Su-Jin slowly closed his laptop, visibly done with life.
Seo-Yeon?
Sipping her coffee, clearly enjoying the chaos.
Suan?
Looking mildly entertained.
And Shuun?
He simply exhaled.
Then—his gaze landed directly on Minra.
"And you, Miss Seo?"
She froze.
"Yes, sir?"
"Did you assist in this?"
She felt her entire world crumbling.
Why is she suddenly got called out? For something she didn’t even do?
"No! No, sir! I had absolutely nothing to do with this!"
A pause.
Shuun did not look convinced.
"Yet, you are seated next to him."
Her mind went blank.
"That’s… not my fault?"
Jiho, who had no business enjoying this, smirked.
"I don’t know, boss," he said, amused. "They did interview together. Maybe they’re secretly a team."
Minra?
Absolutely betrayed.
"No, we are NOT!!”
And Reyne?
Grinning.
"You wound me, Partner."
She wanted to throw herself out the window.
.
"Okay," Eunhe sighed. "First, we are drafting an apology email. Second, REYNE, I swear—if you send another email like that, I will actually kill you."
"Noted, Noona."
"STOP CALLING ME NOONA AT WORK—!!!”
Su-Jin, still visibly done, finally turned to Shuun.
"Do you want me to reassign him?"
Reyne immediately held up his hands.
"Whoa, whoa— no need for such drastic measures—?? 😭😭”
Minra prayed Shuun would say yes.
But instead—he just looked at her again.
"No." he finally said, voice even. "Let’s see if Miss Seo can keep him in check."
She stopped breathing.
"Excuse me?"
"You two seem to work well together.” he continued smoothly. "Consider it part of your professional development."
Minra couldn’t believe this.
Reyne? Grinning like he won the lottery.
"Looks like we’re officially a team now, Partner."
She felt actual despair.
.
As soon as the meeting ended, Minra stormed out.
Reyne? Following her, of course.
"Hey, don’t look so miserable. We’ll make a great team."
She quickened her pace. But he still caught up.
"WHY are you like this?!"
"Like what?"
"A walking workplace disaster!"
"I’m hurt.” he smirked. "Isn’t disaster too much of a word?"
Before she could strangle him, Eunhe appeared, looking like she was one complaint away from committing a crime.
"Reyne, one more mess-up and I will personally bury you in paperwork until you cry."
"Noted, Boss Noona."
"I SAID STOP CALLING ME NOONA!"
Minra just sighed.
This was her life now.
And worst of all?
She had a terrible feeling this wasn’t the last disaster Reyne would drag her into.
.
Chapter 03: "Why Am I Babysitting Reyne?"