Chapter 102: The Drive Into the Storm

“Yes, I do.”

“No….”

At Seunghyuk’s answer, Hyunwoo grew visibly anxious.

But unaware of Hyunwoo’s discomfort, Assistant Manager Oh continued.

“Then are you good at driving?”

“Yes, I’m good.”

“Really?”

Her face brightened as she finally looked back at Hyunwoo.

But she still didn’t seem to notice his troubled expression.

“That’s great, Director.

You can go with Seunghyuk.”

“No, still… making an intern drive is a bit….”

“Why? You don’t trust him?”

“No, it’s not that….”

To the office staff, including Assistant Manager Oh, Seunghyuk was a complicated presence.

He was an intern, not a full-timer, so they couldn’t assign major tasks.

Yet he was a dominant Alpha—the lowest-ranked “intern” who somehow still intimidated them.

His existence alone felt troublesome.

By the end of his first day, he had become the silent “avoid if possible” person in the office.

Professionally speaking, at least.

“Seunghyuk, would you be uncomfortable going somewhere far today?”

“No. I’m fine.”

“Hm.

Director, he says he’s fine….”

“…….”

Hyunwoo looked helplessly between her and Seunghyuk.

Of all days for every other employee who could drive to be absent—of course the only available person was Seunghyuk.

It felt like fate messing with him.

Hyunwoo sighed deeply.

“…Fine.

It’s important and can’t be delayed, so I’ll go with him.”

“You made the right decision, Director.”

“…….”

Assistant Manager Oh smiled brightly in relief.

Hyunwoo felt oddly bitter at how calculating she was.

“Then I’ll head down first.”

With a polite bow, Seunghyuk left the office.

Hyunwoo gathered his documents and prepared to follow.

“…….”

Was this really the right thing to do?

On his way to the parking lot, Hyunwoo questioned himself countless times.

Maybe he should go alone.

But driving four hours alone was impossible.

“Phew….”

Resigned to reality, Hyunwoo exhaled and headed downstairs.

When he arrived, Seunghyuk already had the car running and was waiting for him.

“Where are we going?”

“Hold on, the address….”

Hyunwoo pulled out his phone and opened the map app where he had saved the location.

“Here.”

“Hm… if we leave now, it’ll take a little over two hours.

What time do we need to arrive?”

“We were supposed to get there by twelve and have lunch together first….”

“Traffic should be okay now.

Let’s just go.”

“Right.”

The conversation flowed surprisingly smoothly.

Before he knew it, Hyunwoo was sitting in the passenger seat, fastening his seatbelt.

“I’m starting the car.”

“…Okay.”

He must have gotten used to this—there had been a period when Seunghyuk drove for him after he injured his arm.

As the car began moving, Hyunwoo turned his gaze toward the window.

“Hm….”

The sky, already gloomy in the morning, now held heavy storm clouds.

As if the sunny days leading into summer had been a lie, the entire city was washed in gray.

I heard the rainy season is supposed to start soon.

He recalled the weather report vaguely, but not the exact date.

Still, he always kept an umbrella in the car.

Unless it poured so heavily that driving became dangerous, they would be fine.

And record-breaking downpours were rare—maybe once in decades.

Thinking that, Hyunwoo leaned back into the seat.

“Hyung. Hyung.”

“…Mm?”

“We’re here.”

“…What?”

Hyunwoo jolted awake.

Just moments ago he’d been on the road, yet now he was in a parking lot.

An outdoor lot, with cars lined up neatly on both sides—an unfamiliar sight.

Still dazed, he looked around before turning to Seunghyuk.

“We’re already here?”

“Yes.”

“You said we’d switch drivers at the rest stop.”

“…….”

At Hyunwoo’s bewildered tone, Seunghyuk pretended not to hear.

Hyunwoo let out a dry laugh.

It was over two hours from morning until noon.

And he had driven the whole way alone.

Had he always liked driving this much?

Hyunwoo shook his head and sighed.

“…Fine. I’ll drive the whole way back.”

“It’s okay. I can do it.”

“No. You’ll be exhausted when we return to the office.”

“…….”

Seunghyuk didn’t answer.

He had always been stubborn, but not this stubborn.

Feeling uneasy, Hyunwoo got out of the car.

Rumble.

“Oh?”

Clouds collided overhead with a low roar.

The darkening sky spelled trouble.

Plip, plip—

Soon, raindrops began to fall.

Hyunwoo looked up, troubled.

“It’s raining.”

“Yeah. Let’s grab an umbrella from the trunk.”

“Okay.”

An outdoor parking lot on a rainy day—how annoying.

He would need a car wash after this.

As he watched Seunghyuk take out the umbrella, he froze.

“…….”

“…….”

There was only one umbrella.

It was a large one, big enough for two, but still—standing that close felt strangely awkward.

“…Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Thankfully, the building wasn’t far from the parking lot.

They reached it just before the rain intensified.

“Are you Director Joo Hyunwoo?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Nice to meet you.

I’m Team Leader Lee Seokhoon.

Thank you for coming all this way.”

“No problem.”

The employee who had come out to greet them bowed politely, and Hyunwoo bowed back.

“And this is our intern who came along.”

“I’m Lee Seunghyuk.”

“Ah, yes. Nice to meet you.”

The man greeted him warmly.

Even an intern from Munseong was a valuable prospect anywhere in the industry.

“Please follow me.”

“Yes.”

Following the employee’s guidance, they first ate in the company cafeteria, then toured the facility.

Hyunwoo inspected everything closely.

This visit was important because, before his regression, he had delegated it out of laziness.

Something crucial had been missed in the report.

Communication broke down.

The collaboration fell apart.

And later, this company worked with a competitor, causing major losses to Munseong.

To avoid repeating that failure, Hyunwoo had decided to personally review everything this time.

“Team Leader, this part…”

“Ah, yes, that is…”

Hyunwoo tried to recall events from before the regression, but it had been too long.

He had no choice but to ask countless questions, leaving the team leader sweating bullets.

“Please wait here for a moment.”

“All right.”

After reaching the factory connected to the main building, the team leader went inside to fetch the factory manager.

Hyunwoo took in the vast space with a sweeping glance.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

At that moment, quiet Seunghyuk suddenly spoke.

Hyunwoo turned, puzzled.

“You’re the coolest when you’re working.”

“…….”

Hyunwoo blinked in disbelief.

“…Who? Me?”

“Yes.”

“…….”

Hyunwoo looked dumbfounded while Seunghyuk nodded earnestly, his eyes shining.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Ah, no. It’s fine.”

Just then, the team leader returned with the factory manager.

Hyunwoo bowed with relief.

Why say something like that out of nowhere?

He wasn’t the type to make silly comments.

What a strange guy….

After the regression, Seunghyuk was always like this—unexpected, unpredictable, different from before.

It was truly strange.

Still, Hyunwoo tried to focus on work.

A few hours passed, and the inspection finally ended.

“Thank you for today.”

“No, not at all.

I hope I wasn’t lacking.”

“Not at all.

You were extremely helpful.”

“Haha… then please take care on your way back.”

The team leader escorted them to the entrance.

But as soon as they approached the door, they heard it.

Whoooshhhh—

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

All three stared at the sheets of rain pouring down.

The water beat against the building as though trying to punch through the walls.

Just as the long monsoon season began, a crushing storm welcomed the two on their way back to Seoul.