THE grill restaurant was filled with noise and laughter as the new Design Department had their first ever department dinner with their new department head. For a huge FMCG company like them, the Design Department plays a very important role.

The Design Department is very much responsible for anything visual related to the product. They do product design, packaging design, and even their product logos.

They are also responsible for making product advertisement designs starting from posters, banners and billboards. Their company is widely known for their eye-catching designs that's why customers often grab their products even before looking at others. 

And now, 32-year old Bae Joohyun was entrusted with that very important department. And oh, to put more pressure, the Chairman even entrusted her to make a band not just to join but also to win a TV competition. 

There are still a lot of things to do but being the human form of the word competitive, Joohyun is ready to face everything, not even saying no to whatever comes her way. She'd just face it like the tough woman she made herself into. 

And now, Joohyun found herself eating and drinking with her new subordinates, trying to know them one by one and trying to form a bond with them. It's a time where she could show the other employees that she can be a dependable superior despite her young age and she can be treated like a friend at free times like this. 

"Woah, Director Bae is really strong! I am really impressed that you can drink this much!" One of the managers commented before he offered to pour soju on Joohyun's shot glass. Joohyun accepted it with just one hand. 

"I always get that compliment." Joohyun answered before taking the bottle from the said manager. She then poured soju back on his glass and he received it with two hands.

No one from Joohyun's family liked drinking. It was on her own accord that she made herself strong with alcohol. She believes that in order to be successful, she must know how to take and handle alcohol.

"It's really refreshing to have a new and younger director. I feel like fresh and innovative ideas are more welcome now." That was Team Manager Yoon, taking his turn for the toast. Everyone raised their shot glasses. "To Director Bae and progressive designs!"

"TOAST!"

Everyone on that long table emptied their glasses in one go. Joohyun thought that she was already strong in terms of alcohol intake but she can already feel its effect on her. Since it was in the agreement of everyone to finish everything in just one stop, they were all eating and drinking to their hearts' content. The Design Department’s drinking ability is no joke.

Knowing that she might be in a pinch, Joohyun sent a message to that person. A message that wasn't read until 2 in the morning. 

The young director just finished sending the message when the table suddenly fell silent after one move of a chair. When she looked back up, she saw all the other employees watching the swaying Seulgi on her way to the restroom. 

"Yoon-gwajang." Joohyun called the guy who immediately turned to her. "What's wrong? Is Kang-daeri going to be okay?"

"Ah! Don't worry about her, Director!" The team manager laughed. "She's more than okay! You're about to see one of the highlights of Design Department's Dinner~"

Joohyun's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"You'll find out when Seulgi-ssi comes back, Director~"

Joohyun was about to ask more about it when the said manager was invited out to smoke by the others. That’s when the infamous section manager sat on the vacant seat beside her. It was the senior manager's seat but the man went out to smoke as well.

"Director Bae~" Shin-chajang greeted her with a huge smile on his face. In his hand was a freshly opened soju bottle, the one with the red cap. "Please~"

Joohyun gave him one meaningful look before she raised her glass. The man poured alcohol to the point that it almost overflowed. The young director then took the bottle and well, she wasn't that surprised when the man received alcohol from her using only one hand. The other hand wasn't even lifted up at all. 

They had a toast and emptied their glasses but the man was quick to refill Joohyun's glass. "Director, by any chance, do you have any ill feelings towards me?"

Joohyun rolled her eyes. Just as expected, the man only came to complain and have a one on one drinking match.

"What made you think that way, Shin-chajang?" She asked back. 

"Well, you see..." The man hiccupped, filling his own glass. "I think you don't like my style of work."

'Who would like your work ethics?' Joohyun thought to herself. 

“It’s not like that, Shin-chajang.” The young director answered with a straight back. “I just don’t think it is right for you to take credit for your subordinates’ work. While it is true that they should be working under you, you are the one who should be ca—“

“Director!” The man cut her sentence with a shout followed by a light push by her arm causing the glass filled with soju to spill on her clothes. Joohyun looked at the spill before glaring back at the clueless drunk guy. 

“I can’t believe you, Director! Do you know how much I’ve worked hard for this position?” The man asked as he swayed all over, spilling more alcohol everywhere. The other non-smoking employees just watched them, not only because they were afraid of the said section manager but they knew someone else would come to handle him.

“Do you know how much I strived and how much I had to deal with just to get this place? Ahh… I bet you didn’t know because you jumped straight to being a director!” Shin-chajang laughed sarcastically. 

“Excuse me?” Joohyun asked with distaste. She dropped her shot glass back to the table.

“I am just treating them the way I was treated. That’s what I learned~! What’s wrong with that?” The man forced Joohyun to hold her shot glass again.

“Shin-chajang!”

“There, there…” The man laughed as he poured overflowing alcohol on Joohyun’s glass. “I also hate that you don’t call me with -nim. I mean, how can someone younger than me get a higher position just like—”

The shot glass was suddenly snatched from Joohyun’s hand. The next thing she remembered was how the other people started clapping after the one who took it from her also drank the overflowing alcohol in one shot. Joohyun’s eyes widened when she recognised who her black knight was. 

“Stop it, you’re already drunk.”

Without any hint of timidness, without any hint of shyness and especially, without any stammering at all, Seulgi looked down at their section manager. It seemed like she just washed her face from the comfort room but wasn’t able to dry her face properly. Her glasses were also missing. It seemed like she lost her hair tie along the way since her hair was all down. She then brushed her fringe backwards which revealed more of her tipsy monolid eyes. 

Joohyun was at a loss for words. What made her surprised was the sound of camera shutters after that and the cheer from the smoking employees outside. 

‘Don’t tell me this is the highlight that Yoon-gwajang was talking about?’

Seulgi took a look at Joohyun and the latter couldn’t understand it but that one quick look had some sort of impact on her. 

“Ashii…” Seulgi rolled her eyes. “Director’s clothes are ruined because you messed up. Stand up and apologise.”

“Ya!” The section manager shouted as he turned towards her. “Are you cra—”

Joohyun let out an audible gasp when Seulgi grabbed the man by his collar and pulled him to stand up. She then made him face Joohyun and forced him to bow down to their director. 

“If you did wrong you should say sorry, am I right?” Seulgi said a voice foreign to Joohyun. She felt chills all over her body. She was a completely different person. 

And just like that, the drunk section manager actually apologised to Joohyun. Seulgi didn’t let him raise his head up until he properly apologised. Seulgi’s phone suddenly rang and she coolly answered it. The call finished quickly and Seulgi had the guy stand up properly.

“I already called your proxy driver. Let’s go, Chajangnim. I’ll lead you to your car.” 

“Y-Yes… T-Thank you, Seulgi-ya…”

But before leaving, Seulgi took off her blazer and covered Joohyun’s legs with it. This time it was the people at their table who gasped. 

“I am sorry for how our Section Manager acted. He just had a lot of alcohol. Please don’t be mad at him.” 

After bowing and apologising for the man, Seulgi dragged the said guy out who was obviously about to pass out. The employees outside, mainly the other managers, clapped at her when they were already out. Seulgi just bowed at them and led the said man to the parking lot. 

And as if intoxication suddenly left her, Joohyun looked at everyone before looking at Seulgi’s blazer. She then noticed Seulgi’s glasses in the blazer’s pocket. 

“What on earth did just happened?”

WEARING Seulgi’s blazer over her shoulders, Joohyun was waiting outside the restaurant where they ate (that was now actually closing) for that person. She sent more messages, she even tried to call a few times but there was no response at all. There was nothing.

“I’m sure I talked about drinking and wanting to be picked up yesterday…” Joohyun sighed in huge disappointment. “It’s already the weekend but it seems like there isn’t even a plan to meet up with me…”

Seulgi didn’t come back after she sent Section Manager Shin to the parking lot. All of the other employees already left as well. Joohyun just stayed in front of the restaurant for a while, actually hoping that she would be picked up. She also didn’t want the others to see that person so she purposely stayed behind but that person wasn’t even reachable at all.

“How should I get home from here?” She didn’t bring her car to work since she knew she would be drinking (and have I already mentioned that she expected to be picked up?). She searched the way towards the bus stop and followed the map when she noticed someone familiar being surrounded by young girls on the street. 

Joohyun’s eyes narrowed. “Kang-daeri?”

Without thinking, she abandoned her route towards the bus stop and went towards Seulgi’s direction. Her hold to Seulgi’s blazer tightened. 

“Unnie, I think your style is really good!” One of the girls exclaimed, she was even doing little jumps. “Our friend over here actually really likes you! By any chance do you want to go to Coin Karaoke with us?”

Joohyun then saw how a shy girl was pushed towards Seulgi. The said girl was quick to run back to her friends but she was pushed to Seulgi again. The drunk Seulgi caught her by her shoulders and the other girls cheered for the skinship.

“I’m sorry…” Seulgi started while holding her head. “This unnie is really drunk right now. I don’t think I will be able to play with you all. I can’t even see well right now because I lost my glasses.”

“What a bummer! Can you just give me your number then? Are you already seeing someone?”

Just looking at the girls’ appearance, Joohyun knew that they could be dangerous towards Seulgi so she tried to walk faster. It was times like this when she loathes lacking in height a bit more. 

Seulgi then laughed and shook her head. “Sorry… I already have someone in my heart. I can’t just fool around if I am already in love with someone, right?”

Hearing that honesty from the younger girl, Joohyun stopped in her tracks. The young girls also already got bored of her and left her. Seulgi then sat on the pavement and leaned her head o