"Mr. Eejun, did you bring warm winter clothes?"

"No. It's only September… Do you think it will be cold?"

"Germany can be a chilly place, especially in the mornings and nights…"

"Oh, Mr. s.h.i.+n Kim, have you been to Germany before?"

"Oh… yes, for training…"

Eejun Bae from the sales department was going on the business trip to Germany as well. s.h.i.+n and Eejun were chatting at the airport. Getting checked in took a long time as s.h.i.+n feared despite it being an international flight. This trip also only included rather low-ranking employees. No CEOs or team leaders.

Eejun Bae from the sales department had been working about a year longer than s.h.i.+n. As expected of a salesperson, Eejun Bae was an extremely social and chatty man.

He was of an average height, but he wore bold s.h.i.+rts, like the warm grey knitted s.h.i.+rt on top of the checkered plaid t-s.h.i.+rt. He seemed very confident.

The first moment they met, Eejun introduced himself as a graduate from a university in England. He explained that he often went on business trips to Europe. s.h.i.+n and Eejun chatted online the night before to talk about the trip schedule. Eejun suggested that they meet 2 hours earlier so they could meet in person and get to know each other. He texted s.h.i.+n--

-It's ok to go to the airport separately, but wouldn't it be better to meet earlier? I mean, we don't even know what the other person looks like.

When they met, Eejun greeted s.h.i.+n with a kind smile.

He asked s.h.i.+n, "Training? Did you play sports?"

"Yes, just until high school."

"Oh, now that I think about it, I heard the female workers talking about your body… Haha."

Eejun grinned at him and continued, "I hear you are very popular, Mr. s.h.i.+n Kim."

"… Pardon?"

"You know, the four beautiful men of our company."

"…"

"You look shocked. You didn't know? There are four. It used to be three, but when you got hired, you became the fourth, Mr. s.h.i.+n Kim."

s.h.i.+n looked at him as if he was being ridiculous. Eejun handed s.h.i.+n the ticket and continued, "Do you know a.s.sistant Manager Hyunwoo Go from the ad team? He is nicknamed the 'traditional beauty.'"

"No, I work on the 9th floor, so…"

"Oh, that's right. You work on the 9th floor marketing division, right? That floor has two beautiful men, right?"

"…"

"a.s.sistant Manager Jihoon Kang and yourself, Mr. s.h.i.+n Kim."

s.h.i.+n remained silent as he continued to drink his coffee. "Traditional beauty?" The four beautiful men of the company? People can be so absurd and silly in their own workplace. s.h.i.+n felt embarra.s.sed so he frowned, which made Eejun smile again.

"You are acting so uncomfortable abut this, Mr. s.h.i.+n."

"…"

"You know, like in university? Didn't your school have the list of top four beauties? I mean, why should there be a list for girls?"

"Oh, ok…"

"Oh, look over there. The queen is coming."

Eejun waved pleasantly. When s.h.i.+n turned around, wondering who the "queen" was, he saw that it was Woojin Choi walking towards them.

In a dark cobalt blue turtleneck, Woojin looked at Eejun. He was wearing a casual outfit, but somehow, there was an obvious tension about Woojin. When s.h.i.+n saw his face, s.h.i.+n himself became tense. Woojin looked too pale, especially against the blue sweater.

Eejun explained, "You know, he is the one and only 'queen' of our office."

Smiling at Woojin, Eejun continued, "He can't be well enough to be going on a business trip. In a way, he is amazing, our queen."

"…"

"I'm not sure if he is being stubborn, or if he just doesn't care."

s.h.i.+n thought about the nickname, 'Hmm… the queen…'

It actually was an amazingly well-suited nickname. Snow-white canvas sneakers and black slacks looked good on him.

Had it already been a week?

Just watching Woojin coming closer made s.h.i.+n feel rigid.

"h.e.l.lo, a.s.sistant Manager Woojin Choi."

"h.e.l.lo. How are you?"

Woojin bowed lightly and looked at both s.h.i.+n and Eejun.

Thankfully, Woojin looked like he gained a little weight. Since that day he collapsed, he hadn't been coming to work. s.h.i.+n was told he took a medical leave. It had been exactly 7 days since s.h.i.+n saw Woojin on the emergency bed.

Going on an abroad business trip only after a week of being in the emergency room… s.h.i.+n expected everyone to stop Woojin from doing this, but Chief Hyunsoo Lee apparently didn't object to it. It was very strange.

s.h.i.+n asked carefully, "I didn't expect you to be going, a.s.sistant Manager. Are you feeling ok?"

"It's not that bad. Nothing you need to worry about."

s.h.i.+n tried to catch Woojin's eyes, but Woojin kept his head down. He continued, "I will go get my ticket separately. I know there is a quick 2-hour layover in Amsterdam, but we don't have to try to meet there. We will just see each other in Hamburg."

"Oh, ok."

"See you later."

And with that, Woojin walked away. Their conversation was so cold.

After Woojin left, Eejun laughed. s.h.i.+n asked in confusion, "What was a.s.sistant Manager Woojin talking about? Getting the ticket separately?"

Eejun replied, "He is probably getting first cla.s.s. He is a VIP."

"Huh?"

"Didn't you know? a.s.sistant Manager Choi is the grandson of our CEO."

s.h.i.+n froze on the spot.

"… What did you say?"

"He is the future CEO of our company since he is the only son of the CEO's deceased son."

"…"

"I guess you didn't know since you haven't worked in this company for long. I did hear that on the 9th floor, people make a point of not talking about it."

Eejun stood up and suggested they go now. s.h.i.+n followed but kept looking back.

The man who seemed so fragile. A man with such a faint presence...

The man s.h.i.+n kept checking to make sure he was breathing in the emergency room.

When they were still in the emergency room the next morning, Jihoon Kang came to s.h.i.+n and told him, "I got a call from the office. You need to go to work as usual today, Mr. Kim."

Jihoon looked very unhappy.

s.h.i.+n had no choice but to go to work, but he noticed that neither Jihoon Kang nor Woojin Choi were there even the next day.

All s.h.i.+n heard was that Woojin took a sick leave. He apparently moved to a different hospital and no one knew where he was.

People made a point of not talking about what happened to Woojin. s.h.i.+n did think it was strange at the time, and now, it made sense. s.h.i.+n Kim suddenly felt cold.

Eejun Bae called loudly, "s.h.i.+n Kim, hurry up!"

s.h.i.+n finally looked up. He covered his face with his hands, feeling like all his emotions were scattered on the floor.