Moon Jiwoo's knees were starting to get weak, and the urge to run away from this situation increased within her.
"Hello, I am Oh Sookyung, the new owner to this place," he introduced himself.
Hearing his name and voice made the situation more realistic to her, and fear intensified within her, realizing that there was nothing she was able to do in that instant to escape from here.
As the harsh reality hit her violently, Moon Jiwoo mustered up all of her courage and raised her line of sight. The moment her eyes connected with his she instantly looked towards the ground and bit her lip.
Bowing down, she voiced out, "Welcome. I am Shin Daerin."
After much thinking in her mind, she decided to treat him as a stranger. No matter what his purpose for being here at was, it was best for her to act as if she did not remember about him and show that she didn't want to be entangled with the man again.
The wounds she had received was starting to reopen. It appeared that she wasn't as strong as she expected for herself to be, and her ċhėst clenched painfully at that realization.
She was truly pathetic!
While he was able to look all pathetic in front of her, here she was seeming all weak and vulnerable. She hated herself for not being able to maintain her composure before her.
She wasn't even able to stop herself from trembling!
As if noticing how her voice had been shaky, Youngjae turned back and vocalised, "Are you fine, Noona? What's the matter?"
Moon Jiwoo raised her head and flashed the boy a small smile. In order to make others believe that she had nothing to do with Sookyung, she had to act as if everything was fine around everyone.
"No, everything is fine. I feeling slightly dizzy. Now that both of you have seen him, why don't you leave for University? I am sure I have to show the new owner around."
More than how she did not want to be with Oh Sookyung, she did not want for the two of them to doubt the fact she and Sookyung were strangers.
Unless or until she was able to come in terms with her emotions and fix them, she wanted to avoid meeting Sookyung before two of them.
Yura nodded his head and said, "Handsome owner, don't forget me! I will come to meet you later on, alright? I will be sure to take your number then! Since classes are about to start to start, I have to leave now regretfully. I really want to get to know you—"
Interrupting the girl, Youngjae grabbed her by the collar and pulled her before saying, "Well then, I will be taking my leave, and take care of yourself, Noona."
As both of them had gone off, Moon Jiwoo turned her attention back to Sookyung, and placing on the professional smile she usually directed at the customers, she was proud of herself for finally being able to do so.
"I apologise for the disturbance. Both of them are quite attached to the shop, and therefore, they wanted to check the new owner to this place.
Should I offer you something to drink first or do you want to have a tour of the entire place although there is nothing much to look at?" Jiwoo spoke out.
She was surprised herself when she realized that her voice did not crack in the middle neither did she sound shaky. It sound exactly the one she used with the customers at the place usually, and noticing how she was able to do so made her want to cheer loudly.
It seems that this wasn't as difficult as she had presumed for it to be in the beginning.
"I suppose I will be going around the place first," Sookyung answered.
There were no signs of confusion in Sookyung's eyes, and she couldn't see him mocking her in any way. Seeing how he was not mentioning the past, she reached into the conclusion that he must be wanting to ignore it as well although it was too soon for her to decide that.
Thinking about it like that did give her a peace of mind.
But a slight part within her was disappointed. Being treated as a stranger by Sookyung did manage to hurt some part within her, but she took that to be negligible.
°°°
"That's all," Moon Jiwoo voiced out as both of them stepped into the front of the shop.
She was done with introducing him with how things usually worked in this place and showed him around all the place. Throughout the entire time, she was able to maintain a professional air, which made her incredibly proud of herself.
He nodded after a small 'hmm'.
"Do let me know if there is something you want to change or any new rules that you want to add. If you want to hire anyone to work at here, just let me know about it. Since Boss will not be working at here anymore, I will be mainly looking after the things at here."
"Are you competent enough?" he questioned.
There was nothing particularly wrong with the question. As a owner to this place, it was normal for him to be concerned with the shop and ask such a question.
But what managed to unsettle Moon Jiwoo was how his lips curved after those words left his mouth and the visible mock in his eyes. It clearly showed how he had no trust in her abilities.
"Since owner had left this place in my care, I believe that I have enough capabilities to look after it, and if you have any problems with that, you can go ahead to test me. Of course, I am willing to leave if I am not capable of taking care of this place."
"Well, it seems that you are not that confident of your abilities. Since it is too troublesome to hire someone new, you can manage this place on your own, but you need to get educated on the flowers at here more."
"You don't need to worry about that. I recognize all the flowers at here and can name them. I can fulfill all of the customer's requests and make simple arrangements as well."
"That was how things were previously. Since I am planning to expand this place, I need for you to be more competent. Certainly, I won't be hesitating to fire you from here if you lack, but if you improve, you will get a raise in your pay."
Losing work at here was one of those things she did not want. Getting a job that was able to provide for all of her necessities was difficult for Moon Jiwoo, and since this job managed to pay everything for her, she did not want to lose it.
This was one of the main reasons she did not want to run away from Oh Sookyung.
It goes without a doubt that it would be nearly impossible for her to find a job that would be paying this much, and hearing the name of the raise in pay made her more determined to stay at here.
Maybe, like today, she would be able to put away her emotions when it came to work and be competent.
Seeing how Sookyung acted, it appeared that he was serious about this place as well, and maybe both of them would be able to make it work.
No, it was her who needed to work on her emotions since the man did not seem at all affected by her. Since he was all cool with it, she was determined to do the same as well.
As a smile formed on her face, she said, "I will try my best to not disappoint you, Boss. As for what you need me to get educated on, do let me know about it beforehand so that I am able to prepare for it."
Studying was one of those things that wasn't difficult for Moon Jiwoo. With the brain she had got, she was able to memorize the things she had seen once, and due to this, she didn't think that it would be possible for her to fail the requirements from her boss.
"Follow me tomorrow to this place," he vocalised, "That will certainly help you."
Although Moon Jiwoo wasn't comfortable with travelling somewhere with him, she knew that this was for professional reasons. That's why, mustering up all of her courage, she decided to agree with it.
Nodding her head, she answered, "Yes, boss!"