The next day.
Sitting at her desk, Alice rested her chin on her hand.
“I’m so tired I could die.”
She had tried to sleep last night, but sleep wouldn’t come. It felt like dark circles had descended to her cheeks.
What on earth was the reason she couldn’t sleep?
It was probably also because she had never been in a relationship. She might have been nervous about having dinner alone with a man after such a long time.
Across from Alice, Ryan, visible through the transparent glass, seemed completely unfazed. He sat with his usual composed posture.
Lost in thought, Alice noticed the blinking notification from the company messenger on her monitor.
“Today’s menu: stir-fried pork, bean sprout soup, rolled omelet…….”
It was a message from Vera. She was listing the menu for the cafeteria today.
“You must be really hungry, huh?”
“Stuck to my back.”
“Okay. Let’s go to the cafeteria today.”
“Great, I’ll tell you about a big incident.”
What news could it be this time?
Thanks to Vera’s lively and straightforward personality, she had many close colleagues. That’s why she was also called the information hub of Mobid Holdings.
She was the first to know about things like how much the performance bonuses would be or how the union had reached an agreement, especially news related to money.
So, Vera probably knew something about the issues that had arisen at Mobid.
Alice resolved to casually ask Vera about the incident when they met for lunch.
If she knew about the incident that had occurred in the Mobid family.”
Mobid Motee was one of the companies famous for its delicious food in the company cafeteria.
In addition to the main dishes, there was a separate salad bar and ice cream was also provided.
“Seriously, in this day and age, asking someone to wash their own car is just too much, don’t you think? Should I report this or not? And even when the office door is wide open, he’s right in front of me and still lets out loud farts! I can hear it right in front of me! It’s disgusting, really.”
The cafeteria located on a high floor had seats where one could eat while looking out the window.
As soon as Vera sat down next to Alice, she whispered about the hardships of social life. Alice understood her complaints, as if she was used to hearing them.
“Seriously, my appetite is gone because of that old man. Thanks to hearing that, my appetite has disappeared, and I’m getting the full effect of dieting.”
The vivid complaints made her appetite vanish completely. Alice whispered harshly to Vera, who was happily clearing her tray.
“Vera, thanks to you, I’m losing my appetite. You don’t need to help me with my diet like this.”
“Alice, even though the vice president is rude, he doesn’t fart in his office, right? Well, a perfect man like the vice president can be forgiven for anything. Isn’t he getting close to marriageable age? I’m jealous. I wonder who will become the future lady of Mobid Holdings. She must be incredibly well-off, smart, and beautiful, right?”
Cough, cough.
Alice’s shoulders stiffened as she tried to force down her food.
“Why did you suddenly choke? Wait, I’ll get you some water.”
Alice hurriedly gulped down the water Vera brought, barely calming her throat that felt like it was burning from coughing.
‘The vice president’s marriage partner’ was a common topic among the female employees of Mobid Holdings, and the sudden mention caught her off guard.
Vera, you’re right in front of me.
If Alice were to reveal that she was Ryan’s wife, Vera would be utterly shocked.
Alice seriously contemplated whether she should buy some calming pills just in case.
“Are you okay now?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
“It’s nothing much.”
Vera waved her hand dismissively. As she chased away her hunger, the food on her tray began to dwindle.
Now that Vera was full, Alice thought it was the right time to ask.
“Vera, you have a wealth of information about Mobid, right?”
Vera, sensitive to new information, perked up her ears.
“I have another piece of information. Why? Are you curious about something?”
Alice glanced around and leaned in close to whisper in Vera’s ear.
“It’s an old story, but… has there ever been a major incident or issue in the Mobid family?”
Vera seemed to ponder Alice’s words, closing her mouth tightly. After rolling her eyes a few times at the ceiling, she finally spoke.
“Vice President’s family matters? Why are you suddenly curious about that?”
It was an innocent question, but Alice felt a jolt. In fact, she had never been curious about anything related to the Mobid family, so it was outside her area of interest. Vera, noticing Alice’s odd reaction, widened her eyes in surprise.
“I just got curious all of a sudden.”
“Why? Is there something strange about the vice president? Hmm… if we’re talking about a major incident, the vice president’s mother’s car accident is the biggest one.”
