Separation Anxiety

32.

#Broadcasting Club Interview

“We should go in fully prepared,” Na-eun added, taking a deep breath. Despite trying to act nonchalant, she seemed quite nervous.

“Media Communications Department, Kim Na-eun, Jeong Dawoon!”

They were called together, probably because they were from the same department. Both responded with a “Yes” and stood up simultaneously.

“You’re next, so enter when the current students come out,” a senior instructed.

As their turn approached, Na-eun seemed even more nervous, clasping her hands tightly and taking deep breaths.

“Aren’t you nervous?” she asked Dawoon.

Her attitude was not much different from when she was in 10th grade. She was acting as if nothing had happened. Her composure made Dawoon wonder if her previous feelings had completely disappeared. Well, enough time had passed for feelings to change.

“Not really,” Dawoon replied calmly, responding to Na-eun’s familiar demeanor.

“I hope we both get in,” she expressed her small wish.

Dawoon understood her sentiment. Among all the strangers, it would be nice to have at least one familiar face.

There was no further conversation after that. Na-eun closed her eyes, seemingly trying to calm her nerves, while Dawoon didn’t initiate any conversation. About five minutes later, their names were called again.

***

“The Chairman has requested you to join tonight’s dinner appointment,” Director Park said, handing over a file as soon as Hayun returned to his office.

Hayun nodded without any particular expression and asked who the dinner appointment was with.

“Members of the ruling party in the National Assembly.”

The use of “members” suggested there were several. Hayun’s eyes narrowed as he was about to dismiss it casually.

“Is Congressman Choi Min-guk included?”

“Probably,” Director Park answered vaguely, seemingly not having received an exact list.

“The Chairman has been meeting with congressmen quite frequently lately. Is he planning to enter politics?” Hayun joked.

Director Park frowned at Hayun’s jest, implying that Chairman Jeong Tae-seong had no reason to enter politics. Hayun smirked and opened the file handed to him. The front of the file was labeled “Saudi Arabia Cooperation Project.”

Recently, an agreement had been reached at the national level to proceed with the development of a new city in Saudi Arabia. There was intense behind-the-scenes work to determine which domestic company would be entrusted with this task. This was why Chairman Jeong was putting effort into meeting with ruling party congressmen.

Hayun thought it might be better to approach the executive branch, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but Chairman Jeong believed that the executive branch was also influenced by congressmen. After all, with the President as the head of the executive branch, various interests of ruling party members, who were just one step away from the President, were intertwined.

Among them, Congressman Choi Min-guk, the floor leader of the ruling party, was known to have a special relationship with the current President. There were good reasons why Chairman Jeong was suddenly trying to establish connections with him, even going so far as to use Dawoon.

After Director Park left, Hayun took out a tiny USB drive from his drawer and connected it to his laptop. Opening a folder labeled ‘D’, a file named ‘Choi Yu-na’ appeared. It was a file sent by Director Park recently at his request.

Clicking on the file, her photo appeared first. She was a sophomore in the Business Administration department at Yeonhwa University. Hayun thought it was fortunate that she was in a different department from Dawoon. The university campus was large, and the chances of encountering each other were extremely low if they were in different departments.

However… as he scrolled down, he saw information about her club activities below her department.

Yeonhwa University Broadcasting Club, Announcer.

That one line caught his eye. Today was the day, wasn’t it? The day Dawoon said he would have his interview after passing the written test for the Broadcasting Club.

Dawoon had mentioned that the Broadcasting Club test was more difficult than expected, and with only four spots available per field, the chances of failing were higher. That’s why Hayun hadn’t said anything. There was no need to unnecessarily increase vigilance.

If by any chance Dawoon passed the Broadcasting Club test… he would inevitably spend more time with Choi Yu-na, Congressman Choi’s granddaughter.

Just because they spend time together doesn’t mean feelings will develop. Rationally thinking, the chances of Dawoon moving according to Chairman Jeong’s intentions were extremely low. Until now, Dawoon had shown an unusual lack of interest in romantic relationships. Moreover, he was oblivious to the affection of those who liked him.

But why did this bother Hayun so much? It might just be an insignificant, passing relationship like before.

Hayun’s eyes turned to Choi Yu-na’s investigation report. It was clean to the point of being suspicious. She had been exemplary since middle and high school, and even in university, there was nothing to fault. It was as if she had been acting flawlessly, conscious of someone’s gaze.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Hayun muttered softly, putting the documents back in the drawer. It wasn’t just Choi Yu-na’s investigation results that were making him uneasy. Dawoon was no longer the same as when he was a child. He was gradually becoming an ‘adult’, moving away from his guardian’s protection. He was even showing curiosity about sex.

Hayun’s brow furrowed involuntarily as he recalled the incident on graduation day. Although they had been acting as if nothing had happened since then, there had been many changes within Hayun. He couldn’t yet tell what kind of variable Choi Yu-na’s presence, which stuck like a thorn, would become.

***

About a dozen Broadcasting Club seniors stood opposite Dawoon and Na-eun. Some of them were seated in chairs. Dawoon couldn’t understand why so many people needed to watch the interview, but they all had stern expressions, looking as if they would pounce at any wrong word, making it hard to breathe.

“You two graduated from the same high school? Same department too. And you’re even applying to the Broadcasting Club together. Are you dating by any chance?”

The tone of the question wasn’t very pleasant. It wasn’t just Dawoon being overly sensitive; there was truly a smirk on the questioner’s face.

“Not everyone in the same school, same department, and same club is dating,” Dawoon calmly answered on behalf of Na-eun, who seemed flustered.

“Just like you’re not dating the senior next to you just because you’re in the same Broadcasting Club,” he added, gesturing to the female senior standing next to the questioner.

The female senior burst into laughter at Dawoon’s response. Even the male senior who had asked the question smirked. Fortunately, they didn’t pursue the issue further.

Dawoon quietly exhaled and as he turned his gaze, his eyes stopped on the person standing at the end. Something seemed familiar. Who was it? After a moment of thought, he remembered it was the person who had spilled a drink on his clothes recently.

So she’s a Broadcasting Club senior.

That was all. The incident from that day held no more significance than that. If she hadn’t behaved strangely by immediately offering her card to buy new clothes, he probably wouldn’t have even remembered her face. She also seemed to recognize Dawoon, visibly flinching.

“Who among us looks the most senior-like?” one of the seniors asked, pointing at Na-eun.

As Na-eun looked up at him, he grinned. “You better answer carefully,” he added, causing Na-eun’s face to cloud with bewilderment. Choosing anyone could imply that the person looked older. Na-eun’s eyes darted around. The seniors remained silent, waiting for her answer. As Na-eun’s silence lengthened, unable to answer, the pressure intensified.

“Seems like you can’t choose. You answer,” the senior said, turning to Dawoon.

Dawoon slowly looked from the seniors on the left to the right end.

“That person,” he said, pointing to a male senior sitting slightly to the right.

“I guess I looked that old,” the senior replied, a response that would have come no matter who was chosen. Dawoon, not flustered at all, calmly met his gaze.

“It’s because you’re sitting the most comfortably,” Dawoon explained.

That was the only reason. Unlike the others who were standing or sitting with straight backs, only that senior was sitting deeply in the sofa, leaning back. For better or worse, Dawoon was accustomed to difficult and uncomfortable situations. Even among chaebol families, there was a hierarchy of their own. The more at ease someone was, the less they had to be wary of others.

“Do you think you got it right?” the senior asked again.

Dawoon didn’t answer. Whether he was right or not, he thought what the seniors wanted wasn’t the correct answer, but to see how he would react and how flustered he would get when faced with an unexpected question.

“Aren’t you nervous?” a female senior standing nearby asked Dawoon.

“Everyone else is so nervous they can barely answer, but you’re incredibly calm,” she added with a smile on her face. She seemed quite pleased with Dawoon’s responses so far.

“I’m actually quite nervous, despite how I may appear,” Dawoon replied with a slight smile, as if reciprocating her demeanor. Simultaneously, the facial muscles of the seniors twitched.

“Good job. You can both leave now,” they were told.

As Dawoon and Na-eun left the interview room, the seniors immediately began to chatter.

“I like him,” said the senior who had been pointed out as looking the most senior-like, with a satisfied smile.

“He’s incredibly calm. Doesn’t seem his age at all,” another commented.

“Has he been through a lot?” someone speculated.

Everyone chuckled at this far-fetched guess, saying what nonsense it was.

“He probably hasn’t been through the kind of hardships you’re thinking of,” came a response from the far left, drawing everyone’s attention.