Chaebol Romance · Scene 1 of 10
Scene 1: The Coffee in the Lobby
A new hire rushes across a company lobby and spills coffee on a stranger's shirt. Neither of them knows who the other is yet.
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- The assistant
어머, 정말 죄송해요! 괜찮으세요?
Oh no, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?
haeyo (polite) - The heir
괜찮아 보여요? 셔츠가 다 젖었는데요.
Do I look okay? My shirt is soaked.
haeyo (polite) - The assistant
저기요, 세탁비라도 드릴게요.
Excuse me — let me at least pay for the cleaning.
haeyo (polite) - The heir
됐어요. 앞을 좀 보고 다니세요.
Forget it. Just watch where you're going.
haeyo (polite) - The assistant
오늘 첫 출근이라 급해서 그랬어요.
It's my first day, so I was in a hurry.
haeyo (polite) - The heir
첫 출근이요? 어느 부서인데요?
Your first day? Which department?
haeyo (polite) - The assistant
처음 보는 분한테 그걸 왜 말해요?
Why would I tell that to someone I just met?
haeyo (polite) - The heir
곧 알게 되겠죠. 엘리베이터 왔네요.
You'll find out soon. The elevator's here.
haeyo (polite)
Vocabulary
| Korean | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 죄송하다 | to be sorry (polite) | Stronger and more formal than 미안하다. |
| 젖다 | to get wet | 다 젖었다 = soaked through. |
| 저기요 | excuse me (to a stranger) | Gets attention without a name or title. |
| 세탁비 | cleaning fee | 세탁 (laundry) + 비 (fee). |
| 첫 출근 | first day at work | 출근 = going to work. |
| 부서 | department | 어느 부서? = which department? |
Speech-level and title notes
Strangers default to haeyo. Both speakers end every sentence with -요, even when they are annoyed: the mood drops, the politeness level does not.
저기요 literally means something like "over there", but it works as "excuse me". It lets you address someone whose name and title you don't know — exactly the situation in a first meeting.
보고 다니세요 is a polite command (-(으)세요). The form is polite, but 좀 plus a command about someone's behaviour makes it sound like a scolding.
Quiz
Original dialogue inspired by genre tropes — not show scripts. AI-assisted.