Only Remember Her | Hwang Hyunjin

60. Scent of memory

She took a dense breath and smiled brightly. "Good afternoon everyone. My name is Bahng Y/n and I'll introduce the product of this approval meeting." She took out a sample and sniffed it. She couldn't help but look at him. "This scent is starry sky." She let her left hand behind her back and curled her fingers.

Soon the whiteboard came down and the projector started. Jeongin was surprised by the sudden entrance. They never discussed about it but there it was. He got up and closed the lights. As soon as the lights went out, everyone could see the night sky on the board. She continued.

"This perfume is like the summer's starry sky at the end of June. The scent of citrus and orange Sicily. Orange mixes with the freshness of the vegetation. Like the starry night," She turned around to the board and then turned around to face them. "Which looks full of passion but," She looked over to him but he did not glance at her. "There is a feeling of distance."

She paused for a while and sighed looking down. She took a moment and then grasped the spray bottle and sprayed the perfume. The fragrance was mesmerizing. "It smells good." One said. "I like it." The other agreed. Hyunjin closed his eyes and smelled it.

* Why is this so relatable? *

He opened his eyes again. He made a circle on the paper in front of him with the pen he was holding. "No. 1 passed. Next one." His voice was cold as usual. She nodded and took another sample. She sniffed it once and froze.

"Jeongin...I can't do this." She mumbled to him. Hyunjin scoffed. "No Y/n. You can! Come on!" Jeongin encouraged her. She gulped the lump in her throat, she didn't know she was holding. Shaking she took the bottle in her hands and slowly started.

"To me, this perfume is the favorite scent of a man who is important to me. I recovered and improved the scent. On top of it, I used elements of amber wood and shrub. With sweetness, there are bitter and astringent. In addition, I used sempervivum. It...It means, never being apart. So, I named it, memory."

Hyunjin started at her deeply. "Nonsense! This perfume is for marketing purposes. How can you put your personal emotions into it?" Jeongin glared at his uncle and stood up with a smile. He came up beside her.

"A good product is like an artist's work. It should be based upon a real, personal understanding. This perfume is a unique frigid fragrance on market. It has the oriental aesthetics of loneliness. It brings people a sense that seems to be a cold yet energetic life experience. I hope you all can have a try and I promise that none of you had ever smelled it before."

All the managers and directors present in the room smelled the sample in front of them, except for one. Soon after they started to hear positive responses.

The leader of the marketing department stated, "We think that the product of both samples are good. You can make some samples first and put them on the market to have a try. Do you have any other thoughts? Mr. Hwang?" He finally took the bottle and sniffed it and after sniffing it just once he kept it down. He started breathing heavily.

" you have something that is important to me."

" After the rain stops, we will be fine."

He clutched on his head tightly and groaned. "Hyung? Are you ok?" Jeongin went to him and held his hand. Hyunjin grabbed his hand tightly. Jeongin could tell how much pain he was struggling with by the force and his grip on his hand. "Hospital?" Jeongin whispered in his ears. He shook his head.

He let go of Jeongin's hand and stood up with shaky legs. "Both the products are good. Do the needs as Mr. Lee recommended. Bahng Y/n, come to my office." He ended up panting like he just won a marathon.

She knocked on the door. "Come in." He was sitting on the couch with his eyes closed. She stood in front of him. He took his time to open his eyes. "Can you make a more detailed report of the last perfume you introduced?" She said nothing for a while.

"Uh- well I don't remember what I said exactly." She said looking away. "I'll help you remember it. You said that it is the favorite scent of a man very important to you."

"You remember it correctly so why do you need me to retell it?" He sat up straight. "This man has a very similar taste like me. I want to hire him." She blinked a few times. "N-No I don't think that is a good idea. You see, the man cares about friendship more than anything. Sometimes he may be distrait during work bec-because of affections. And you of course don't want to hire such a man, right?"

He nodded and stood up walking close to her. She coughed and stepped backward to maintain the distance. "He cares about friendship more than anything? So you like this man?" He stepped towards her and looked down at her level. She felt a weird heat traveling in her body. She looked away, avoiding eye contact.

"Wow.." They turned to look at the door where the voice came from as Y/n smiled widely. "Mr. Hwang, you have a guest. I should go now." She turned around to walk away. "You're not going anywhere." He looked at the door. "Ms. Jiho, would you mind if you come later? I have some business to talk about right now."

She walked in. "Actually I have something to discuss with you too." She looked at her wristwatch. "Just in time. It's time for lunch. The chairman will join us." She looked at Y/n. "You can also join us." Y/n smiled awkwardly. "I'd better not. You two go ahead. I am Jeongin's staff. It's not good to leave early."

"You belong to Jeongin?" He said in a low and deep voice. He made a poker face and took out his phone. "Come to my office right now." Y/n was stuck in between. Her situation was so bad that she would do anything to get out.

"Yes bro?" He came inside. "You are here too." He looked at Jiho. "I'm here to have a meal with Hyunjin. The chairman too. And I want Y/n to also join us. Will you agree?" Jeongin looked over to Y/n. She shook her eyeballs to a no. "Yes. Of course" She choked on her saliva. "Jeongin will also join right?" She asked. Jiho smiled. "Of course. He is the part of our family."

"Fine then let's go." Jeongin wrapped his arm around Y/n and exited the office.