Chapter – 58
Fortunately, she seemed unaware of the desire that had involuntarily stirred in Tae-uk.
Judging by the way she just looked up at him with flickering eyes.
“Team leader… did you want to say something to me?”
“Yes. Get some rest, and can you make time for lunch next Saturday?”
“Next Saturday should be fine. I don’t have any plans that day.”
“Alright, then I’ll keep that time free…”
Knock, knock.
At that moment, someone knocked on the office door.
Seol-ah and Tae-uk, who had been holding each other tightly like desperate lovers, were startled.
They separated so quickly it was almost like chickens flapping their wings in panic, and pretended to look elsewhere.
“What is it?”
“Yes, team leader! Oh, it’s Manager Oh.”
“Come in.”
The door swung open, and Manager Oh entered, holding an approval file.
“Seol-ah, our meeting is over, so please step out.”
“Yes, team leader.”
Seol-ah bowed and left the office.
Lately, because of the workplace bullying Seol-ah faced in the Management Support Team, the office atmosphere had been tense. Even Manager Oh looked at her with a sympathetic expression.
Once Seol-ah left and the door closed, Manager Oh put down the approval file and whispered:
“I never imagined that our female staff would do something like this. Team leader, apparently, they didn’t show much in front of others, but when they were alone with Seol-ah, they really tormented her.”
“That’s why it pains me.”
“We should have noticed earlier and reported it to you. We were too complacent. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault, Manager Oh. I will hold a disciplinary meeting and handle it soon, so wait for that.”
Opening the file Manager Oh brought, Tae-uk spoke firmly as he gave instructions.
This time, it was Jung-wook’s turn.
Tae-uk had been calling each employee in for interviews to investigate the incident, and Jung-wook was the last.
Knock, knock. Jung-wook opened the door and strolled in leisurely, plopping down on the guest sofa.
Tae-uk closed the document he had been reviewing, walked over with measured steps, and sat on the main sofa.
Sitting with his legs apart, arms resting on his thighs, Tae-uk narrowed his eyes and started speaking.
“Choi Jung-wook.”
“Yeees…”
“You knew Seol-ah was being bullied at work and even though you were also being excluded, why didn’t you say anything? What were you thinking?”
“I wanted to.”
Tae-uk stared at him, unable to comprehend.
“You really find nothing satisfactory, do you? The woman you like was suffering, and you were okay with that?”
“No. I was helping her as much as I could.”
Jung-wook stared at Tae-uk confidently.
“That’s not practically helpful. Right? You should have told me to solve the problem.”
“Why would I?”
“What?”
Tae-uk’s brows instantly furrowed. Why would you…?
Jung-wook continued without hesitation.
“Why should I tell you? I wanted you to be the only one who didn’t know. Even if everyone else knew, I wanted only you to remain unaware.”
“What…?”
“Thanks to that, Seol-ah relied solely on me. We had lunch together, went to the supply room together, talked only to each other, shared everything.”
One of Tae-uk’s eyebrows rose as a peculiar gaze formed in his eyes.
“But you didn’t know. You weren’t carefully looking after Seol-ah. And now you show up acting righteous, pretending to be a hero after the fact.”
Finally losing his patience, Tae-uk grabbed Jung-wook by the collar and lifted him up.
“What kind of behavior is that toward the woman you claim to like? That’s your style? At least I wouldn’t let the woman I like suffer. Because of your silence, Seol-ah suffered more.”
Recalling the days he had misunderstood Seol-ah because of Jung-wook, and how Jung-wook had selfishly stayed silent despite seeing her being bullied, he grabbed him by the collar and got right in his face.
Jung-wook, the same height as Tae-uk at 188cm, looked down at him lazily.
“Fire Park Ruby. Make sure she doesn’t come near Seol-ah. You and your father ignored me, and now you want to play hero? You and Park Ruby are the same.”
The topic suddenly shifted to family matters. Tae-uk’s face turned cold as he addressed each point with a chilly mid-tone.
“I didn’t exclude you from the start. Your father didn’t exclude you at birth. You did it yourself. You separated from us voluntarily. You left to seek freedom because you were a ‘free spirit’ and a ‘mutant’ in the family. Don’t blame us, Jung-wook.”
Jung-wook’s brows furrowed in response.
“The Seol-ah incident and your family issue are very different. She was forced, you were voluntary. Right? Don’t mix them up.”
When they were young, Hoe-chan and Bu-hyun gave Tae-uk a lot of advice. If Jung-wook had been more mindful back then, the brothers wouldn’t have gone down such different paths.
Entering adolescence, Jung-wook rebelled and sought freedom on his own, leaving Tae-uk to bear the family’s expectations.
So Tae-uk’s point was clear: no excuses.
Jung-wook’s right eye twitched, unable to argue further.
“I’ve prepared to handle the staff who bullied Seol-ah. You don’t need to worry. If any issue regarding Seol-ah arises, report it to me immediately. I’ll take care of it.”
Tae-uk released Jung-wook’s collar and sat back on the main sofa.
“Don’t get involved and make things worse like this again. Understand? Now get out.”
Tae-uk gestured toward the office door and picked up his tablet to check something.
“……”
Jung-wook glared at his brother silently and then walked toward the door.
As he walked, his chest burned with frustration. I was the one who genuinely supported Seol-ah when she struggled. Now he shows up…
He thought Tae-uk’s sudden display of heroism was laughable.
Thanks to this workplace bullying incident, Jung-wook had grown much closer to Seol-ah. He decided to seize the opportunity and make her his woman before Tae-uk could take his “puppy” away.
Tae-uk, sitting cross-legged behind the large executive desk, picked up the office phone.
Truu- truu- truu-
He dialed Ruby’s extension. The faint ring of the internal phone echoed outside the office as well.
“Yes, team leader… This is Park Ruby.”
Ruby’s voice trembled with fear.
Tae-uk narrowed his eyes and spoke firmly.
“Park Ruby, come up to the rooftop right now.”
“Yes…”
After hanging up, Tae-uk left the office and headed to the rooftop.
Ruby, trembling, dragged her feet up to the rooftop like a cow being led to slaughter.
The early summer afternoon sky was high and blue.
A gentle breeze brushed against Tae-uk’s hair as he rested his arms on the rooftop railing.
“Do you remember?”
Hearing the calm, indifferent voice, Ruby lifted her head to look at his profile.
“When you had just joined two months ago, you were crying on the rooftop after being scolded by Manager Oh.”
Ruby felt as if she’d been struck on the head with a hammer.
Suddenly, two years ago, the moment she had just joined the company flashed before her eyes.
