Dinan returned to her desk at a slightly faster pace than usual. She found Tara sitting in her chair, propping up her chin as she stared dreamily ahead.
“Get back to your desk, Tara!”
“Dinan’s desk is in such a great spot. I can see Mr. Ganin working perfectly from here.”
Dinan followed Tara’s line of sight. Her desk was directly across from the door to Ganin’s office. Through the office’s windows, anyone sitting in Dinan’s chair could clearly see what Ganin was doing inside.
And vice versa.
Dinan looked back at Tara. “I don’t mind if you want to switch desks.”
Tara’s behavior reminded her of herself years ago. She used to happily sit in the gardening club’s room for the entire lunch break, watching Ganin focus on reading a book on a bench in the back courtyard. More than once, Ganin had caught Dinan staring at him, after which she would hurriedly pretend to water some plant whose name she didn’t even know.
Now, Dinan had no interest in keeping track of Ganin’s every move in his office.
Dinan was just about to chase Tara away from her desk again when the door to Ganin’s office opened once more. Dinan automatically turned toward it, then quickly looked away when she realized the man was walking toward her.
“Tara, come with me to the director’s office!”
Tara looked far too enthusiastic as she followed Ganin’s instructions, like a puppy following its owner.
“Okay, Mr. Ganin.”
Dinan flinched at Tara’s overly soft, sweet tone. Tara was sweet, don’t get her wrong. The girl clearly liked Ganin.
None of Dinan’s business.
Dinan turned her attention back to her computer screen. Ganin was just like all her other supervisors. They were connected only as coworkers. And that was exactly how Dinan intended to treat him. Professionally. Nothing more.
If she had to deliver documents, she would deliver them. If she had to take instructions, she would carry them out. If she had to discuss something, she would say only what was necessary. There was no need to remember high school. No need to remember the foolish feelings she had once harbored. And most importantly, no need to find out whether Ganin still remembered her.
Besides, a man like Ganin surely had far more important things to do than remember a high school girl he had never truly known in the first place.
For the next few weeks, everything went fairly well. Much more smoothly than Dinan had expected, in fact. Her work rhythm returned to normal. Meetings, reports, revisions, emails, then heading home with her head full of numbers and a list of tasks for the next morning.
There was one other thing Dinan was both grateful and sorry about. Tara stopped interning. After returning from the director’s office some time earlier, the college senior suddenly said goodbye to the entire team, complete with a tearful breakdown in Dinan’s arms.
What a spoiled girl.
Dinan didn’t know the exact reason Tara quit before her internship was over. What she did know was that she was free from the responsibility of mentoring a student who so often made her wonder whether she was working or had somehow become an impromptu academic advisor.
Everything returned to normal. Almost.
Since Ganin had become her supervisor, Dinan’s workload had actually increased. Not by a little, either. It had increased in a way that made her start wondering whether the papers on her desk secretly reproduced every night.
“Working late again, Dinan?”
Dinan raised her head and gave Saras, who was standing beside her desk while straightening her bag, a listless nod. “You’ve got this.” Saras gave her two thumbs-up before walking away.
Dinan turned her attention back to the computer screen. It was nearly eight at night. She let out a long sigh.
Mr. Handoko was suspected of taking actions that had harmed the company. Ganin had discovered this while reviewing several old financial reports. Some of the figures didn’t match, and there were several suspicious transactions made with his approval.
As a result, nearly all the old reports had to be reviewed again.
As Ganin’s assistant, Dinan was naturally responsible for helping examine documents thick enough to put her wallet to shame—though Dinan’s wallet had never been thick to begin with.
The two of them. Almost every night.
Dinan had even forgotten how awkward she used to feel around Ganin. All she cared about was finding a way to finish the stacks of documents on her desk as quickly as possible. Their work would be done much faster if Ganin would involve the other staff.
“Mr.…” Dinan opened the door to Ganin’s office without knocking and leaned her head around the doorway—just her head.
“Ganin, Dinan. Ganin. Just call me Ganin. Being called ‘Mr.’ makes me sound like an old bachelor.”
Oh… so he could joke after all. Dinan didn’t even feel like laughing.
“I’m going to buy dinner first, Mr. Ganin,” Dinan said firmly.
Without waiting for Ganin’s response, Dinan headed for the elevator. Honestly, she wasn’t that hungry. She was just sick of looking at all those documents all day. She needed coffee.
Dinan thought of Tara. There was no one left to voluntarily bring her free coffee every morning. Without realizing it, she found herself wondering what the girl was doing.
Dinan stepped inside when the elevator doors opened. She was about to press the button for the first floor when Ganin suddenly appeared in front of her and stepped into the elevator as well.
Dinan shifted over, making sure there was still enough space between herself and Ganin. As far as she could remember, this was the first time the two of them had been this close.
Awkward.
“You think I’m not hungry?”
Huh?
Dinan blinked and looked at Ganin in confusion, making sure the man wasn’t talking on the phone.
“Were you talking to me?” She pointed at herself with her index finger.
Ganin clicked his tongue in annoyance. “How many times do I have to say it? Just call me Ganin outside of work hours.”
“Mr. Ganin, I’d like to remind you that we’re still on the clock. We’re working late,” Dinan said flatly, turning her face away.
Suddenly, the air around her felt hot. What was wrong with Ganin tonight? He had never rambled this much before. About things this pointless, no less.
The elevator chimed, signaling that they had reached their destination, but Ganin pressed the button to keep the doors closed.
“Mr.…”
Dinan could clearly hear the man beside her let out a heavy sigh. “Can you stop pretending we don’t know each other?”