The meeting had been going on forever. At least that was how Ji-Ah felt.
Or would have felt. If she was awake.
The large conference room was quiet except for the occasional click of a presentation slide.
Kai-Wen was speaking. Very seriously. Very professionally. Something about Vancouver logistics.
Or maybe budgets. Or maybe taxes.
Nobody knew anymore. Do-Yoon nodded thoughtfully.
Hye-Rin typed notes on her tablet. Soo-Min pretended to pay attention.
Ha-Joon sat at the head of the table looking annoyingly handsome while reviewing documents.
Meanwhile. Ji-Ah was fighting for her life.
Her notebook sat open. Her pen moved. Stopped. Moved again. Stopped.
Blink.
Blink.
Blink.
Her soul left her body briefly.
Soo-Min looked over. "Oh no."
Ji-Ah jerked awake. Immediately writing nonsense.
The page now read:
"Vancouver potato schedule forty-seven penguins."
Soo-Min stared. "What are you writing?"
Ji-Ah stared at the page. "...important business."
Then immediately started falling asleep again.
Kai-Wen continued his presentation completely unaware. "Therefore, we estimate a fourteen percent increase—"
Ji-Ah nodded. No one had asked her anything.
Do-Yoon noticed. Her shoulders started shaking.
Soo-Min kicked Ji-Ah lightly under the table. Wake up.
Ji-Ah opened one eye. "I am awake."
"You were literally snoring."
"I was thinking loudly."
"You are impossible."
Three minutes later she was gone again. Head tilted. Hair falling across her cheek. Pen still in her hand.
Sleeping peacefully in front of six executives discussing millions of dollars.
Ha-Joon noticed immediately. Of course he did. His eyes lifted from the document.
Paused. Stayed there.
Soo-Min followed his gaze. Saw Ji-Ah. Saw disaster.
She slowly reached toward Ji-Ah. Trying to wake her before Ha-Joon noticed. Unfortunately.
He had already noticed. Very calmly. Very quietly.
Ha-Joon closed his laptop. Click.
Everyone stopped talking. Kai-Wen stopped mid-sentence. Do-Yoon blinked. Hye-Rin looked up.
"Meeting dismissed."
Silence. Kai-Wen looked at the unfinished presentation.
Then at sleeping Ji-Ah.
Then at Ha-Joon. "...we still have twenty slides."
"Tomorrow."
Nobody argued. Nobody was brave enough. Everyone started packing.
Soo-Min immediately rushed toward Ji-Ah. "Wake up."
Nothing. "Ji-Ah."
Nothing. "Park Ji-Ah."
Still nothing.
Soo-Min looked genuinely impressed. Then Ha-Joon looked up. Just looked.
Soo-Min immediately stood straight. "Well."
She grabbed her laptop. "Suddenly I respect sleep."
Do-Yoon almost choked.
Kai-Wen looked ready to explode. The room emptied. One by one. Except nobody actually left.
Because outside the glass wall three heads immediately appeared. Soo-Min. Do-Yoon. Kai-Wen.
All spying. "Move."
"No you move."
"I can't see."
"Your forehead is blocking the window."
Inside Ha-Joon walked around the table quietly. Ji-Ah was completely asleep. One cheek squished slightly against her arm. Hair messy.
Notebook open. He glanced down.
The last thing written on the page said: "Penguin budget emergency.
Ha-Joon looked at it. Then actually laughed. A real laugh. Small. But real. "Idiot."
He gently brushed the hair away from her face. Nothing.
Still asleep. "How tired were you."
The answer was apparently very.
So Ha-Joon sighed. Then carefully slid one arm beneath her knees and another behind her back.
And lifted her. Ji-Ah immediately made a confused sleepy noise. "Mmm..."
Her hand grabbed his shirt automatically.
Then instead of waking up she snuggled closer.
Ha-Joon froze. Outside.
Soo-Min's jaw dropped. Do-Yoon grabbed Kai-Wen's arm.
Kai-Wen looked like he was witnessing history. "Oh my God."
"Did she just—"
"She did."
"She cuddled the CEO."
Inside. Ji-Ah was still half asleep. Eyes closed.
Brain offline. "...five more minutes..."
Ha-Joon looked down at her. "You slept through a meeting."
"Not true."
"You were snoring."
"...lies."
Then she immediately fell asleep again. Outside.
The spying trio collapsed against the wall trying not to laugh.
Then "Hm."
All three froze.
Hye-Rin stood behind them. Arms crossed. Expression blank. "What are you doing?"
Silence. "...security inspection?"
Kai-Wen offered. Hye-Rin stared. Do-Yoon looked away.
Soo-Min looked at the ceiling. "Back to work."
Three adults immediately scattered.
Inside the private resting room Ha-Joon carefully lowered Ji-Ah onto the couch. She rolled immediately. Stole half the couch.
And the blanket.
Without even waking up. "Unbelievable."
Ha-Joon covered her properly anyway. Then returned to his desk.
For ten minutes he worked peacefully.
Then his eyes drifted toward the couch.
Ji-Ah was sleeping.
Five minutes later again. Sleeping.
Three minutes later again. Still sleeping.
Ha-Joon sighed. "...you really stayed up all night."
The sleeping Ji-Ah offered no defense. Only a tiny sleepy smile.
Like even unconscious she had found something funny.
And somehow that made him smile too before returning to work.
Ji-Ah woke up slowly.
Not the dramatic movie kind of waking up. Not the graceful princess kind either. The kind where your soul comes back in stages.
First came consciousness. Then confusion. Then the realization that her neck didn't hurt. Which was suspicious. She blinked at the ceiling. The private resting room.
The couch. The blanket.
Then suddenly sat upright. "Oh no."
The blanket slipped into her lap. Her hair immediately exploded in every direction. One side flattened. The other side sticking up.
She looked around frantically. "THE MEETING."
Silence. "THE NOTES."
More silence. "THE PRESENTATION."
And finally the door opened. Ha-Joon walked in carrying two paper bags and drinks.
One look at her and he paused. "...good afternoon."
Ji-Ah pointed dramatically. "Why didn't you wake me up?"
"Because you were sleeping."
"That's not the point."
"You looked dead."
"I wasn't dead."
"You were drooling."
She froze. "...I what?"
Ha-Joon calmly placed the food on the small table. "You drooled."
"I DID NOT."
"You did."
"PROVE IT."
"I have witnesses."
Ji-Ah gasped. "You're lying."
"Ask Soo-Min."
Immediately she covered her face with both hands. "Oh my God."
The worst part?
He sounded believable.
Ha-Joon sat down across from her while opening the food containers.
The smell immediately filled the room. Warm rice. Soup. Grilled meat. Vegetables. Ji-Ah's stomach betrayed her. A loud growl echoed through the room. The two of them looked down at it.
"..."
"..."
"Not a word."
"I didn't say anything."
"You thought it."
"Yes."
"Rude."
Ha-Joon's shoulders shook slightly.
That tiny almost-laugh he always tried to hide. Ji-Ah climbed off the couch.
Then instead of sitting in the chair... She dropped onto the floor.
Cross-legged. Comfortable. Like she was sitting in her own bedroom.
Ha-Joon looked at her. Then at the perfectly good chair.
Then back at her. "What are you doing?"
"The floor is comfortable."
"There's a chair."
"The chair feels corporate."
"...corporate."
"The floor feels honest."
Ha-Joon stared at her.
Ji-Ah nodded seriously. "The floor understands me."
Another pause.
Then to her surprise...
He took off his suit jacket. Folded it carefully. Placed it beside him. And sat down on the floor too.
Ji-Ah blinked. "You don't have to do that."
"I know."
"Then why are you?"
He opened another food container. "Because if I stay in the chair you'll complain."
"I would not."
"You absolutely would."
"...that's fair."
The corner of his mouth twitched.
Then they began eating.
Or rather... Ji-Ah tried to begin eating.
Because before she could reach for something.. Ha-Joon quietly removed the green peppers from her side dish.
She paused. Then he removed the onions.
Paused again.
Then moved the spicy kimchi farther away.
Ji-Ah slowly turned toward him. "..."
He continued eating. "..."
Still eating.
Finally she couldn't take it anymore. "What are you doing?"
"What."
"THAT."
"What."
"You keep doing things."
"Helpful."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
Ha-Joon pointed with his chopsticks. "You hate peppers."
She blinked. "You hate onions."
Another blink. "You cried because kimchi was too spicy once."
"It attacked me."
"It was cabbage."
"It was evil cabbage."
Ha-Joon sighed.
Then handed her water. She took it automatically.
Halfway through taking it she realized. "...see?"
"What."
"You did it again."
"What."
"You're being nice."
Ha-Joon looked genuinely confused. "Should I stop?"
Ji-Ah immediately grabbed the water tighter. "No."
"..."
"..."
"Then drink."
She huffed dramatically. "You're impossible."
"And you're hungry."
Which unfortunately was true.
The conversation died down slightly after that. Not awkward. Never awkward.
Just comfortable. The kind of silence where neither person felt rushed to fill it. Sunlight spilled through the windows.
The city visible far below. The office quieter now that the meeting was over.
Ji-Ah leaned back slightly while chewing.
Then suddenly remembered. "Canada."
Her eyes immediately lit up. The change was so fast Ha-Joon almost laughed. One second sleepy.
The next excited. "Canada."
She repeated.
"You said that already."
"I know. But Canada."
He shook his head.
Ji-Ah hugged her knees loosely.
A small smile tugging at her lips. "When I was little..."
Ha-Joon looked over.
"My teacher once showed us pictures."
"Of Canada?"
She nodded. "There was snow. A lake. Mountains. And this little wooden cabin."
Her smile softened. "I remember staring at it for the entire lesson."
The memory made her laugh quietly. "I even drew myself there."
"How old were you?"
"Nine."
"Was it a good drawing?"
"No."
"Honest answer."
"It looked like a potato wearing boots."
Ha-Joon finally laughed properly. A real one.
Ji-Ah looked offended. "Don't laugh."
"You called yourself a potato."
"It was emotional art."
"It was a potato."
She kicked his shin lightly. He didn't even react.
Then her voice softened again. "I always wanted to go."
The smile remained.
But there was something quieter underneath it. "Just once."
She looked out the window. "But trips like that cost money. So eventually..."
She shrugged. "I stopped thinking about it."
For a moment neither spoke.
Then Ha-Joon calmly reached over and placed another piece of meat into her bowl. "You have me now."
Ji-Ah blinked.
The words came so naturally. So casually.
Like he wasn't saying something that made her chest tighten unexpectedly. "You wanted to go."
He took another bite. "So you're going."
Like it was obvious. Like it was simple.
Ji-Ah stared at him. Then smiled. A real one. The kind that reached her eyes.
And Ha-Joon noticed immediately.
Because somehow... Seeing her happy always made him feel strangely satisfied.
Then he ruined the moment. "Also Min-Hyuk is planning something."
Ji-Ah nearly inhaled her water. "What."
"I don't know."
"Proposal."
"No."
"Engagement."
"No."
"Secret wedding."
"No."
"Triplets."
"Ji-Ah."
"He's definitely having triplets."
"How would that even happen?"
"I don't know."
"Exactly."
Ji-Ah nodded seriously. "Which makes it suspicious."
Ha-Joon dropped his head into one hand. Across the room his phone buzzed.
A message from Min-Hyuk. "Stop telling people I'm planning things."
Ha-Joon looked at it.
Then looked at Ji-Ah. Who was still creating theories.
And for the first time that day... The stress. The meetings. The family. The scandals. The engagement. All of it felt a little farther away.
Because somehow sitting on the floor eating lunch with Park Ji-Ah while she accused Min-Hyuk of secretly preparing triplets...
Was a lot more enjoyable than any executive meeting had ever been.