Chapter 22
“What is that?”
Seonghan’s brow furrowed.
Sea had already expected that Seonghan wouldn’t accept the clothes. A man with money piled as high as a mountain wouldn’t ask pettyly for women’s clothes back.
So she had brought a separate gift.
“It’s tea. If you work long hours, your throat might get scratchy. I made it myself.”
As she spoke, Sea reached into the shopping bag to take it out—then let out a scream and quickly shoved it back in.
She had brought the wrong thing.
In her rush, instead of the citron tea, she had grabbed a completely different bottle.
“What is it?”
Seonghan shot to his feet.
“It’s nothing. I’ll bring it properly next time.”
He easily snatched the shopping bag she tried to hide behind her back. In the process, her arm and body brushed against his.
Sea had to stop breathing for a moment at the warmth of his breath and scent.
The solid muscles she had glimpsed beneath his shirt now pressed against her body, hard as stone, and her heart pounded for no reason at all.
“Well.”
“This looks like it’d taste better.”
Seonghan finally pulled out the item from the bag and smirked.
It was yagwanmun liquor that Sea’s mother had given her. It was commonly said to boost men’s virility, though it was also good for women’s blood circulation, so her mother had made it herself.
Sea had accepted it but never drank it, and somehow mixed it up with the citron tea she had prepared herself.
“I really brought that by mistake.”
Sea blinked rapidly in embarrassment.
“So, you’re saying you can’t give it to me?”
She swallowed dryly at his question.
“It doesn’t taste good. That’s why I wasn’t drinking it—”
“It’s yagwanmun liquor, isn’t it? What part of a man was it supposed to be good for?”
He smiled teasingly, and Sea’s eyes wandered aimlessly in the air.
“I don’t really need it, but since you’re offering, I’ll accept it.”
With that, Seonghan carried the shopping bag back to his seat. Sea stood frozen in place, letting out a deep breath.
Yet her heart refused to calm down.
Why, of all things, did it have to be that?
Why do I always end up like this in front of him?
“How’s your body? Have you recovered?”
Still seated, Seonghan looked up and asked her.
Hearing that, she remembered how he hadn’t contacted her once. Had he deliberately pretended not to know? She felt hurt.
Sea forced the emotion down.
He’s asking as the chairman, that’s all.
“Yes. Thanks to you, I recovered well.”
“Hwang Min-young has decided to transfer schools. It seems it was a rushed decision.”
Seonghan exhaled deeply and lowered his gaze.
“She probably won’t cross paths with you again, Ms. Han Sea.”
Sea parted her lips, then bit down on them.
Were you the one who arranged that? Did you remove her from my sight yourself?
She almost asked.
But since that couldn’t possibly be true, she chose to say nothing.
“What a coincidence. That couldn’t have been easy.”
“Indeed. Life rarely is.”
Seonghan nodded lightly, then lifted his head.
“And.”
The moment their eyes met, Sea felt her mind go blank again.
Why does this keep happening?
He hadn’t done anything, yet she felt as though her body was being swallowed whole, pressure tightening her chest until it was hard to breathe.
“Yes.”
She barely managed to answer.
“The chairman, principal, vice principal, and administrative staff exist to support and assist the teachers.”
Seonghan rested his chin lightly atop his interlaced fingers.
“From now on, I will support teachers in every possible way. Don’t hesitate to ask for help.”
Why is he suddenly saying that?
Sea looked at him warily. He lifted his chin and added,
“I said it in my inaugural speech, but you weren’t there to hear it.”
“Oh. Right.”
“And you don’t need to bring gifts anymore. In the future as well. But I’ll make an exception this time. Since it’s a gift with your sincerity in it, Ms. Han Sea.”
The corner of his lips curved upward.
“…Thank you.”
Sea bowed her head deeply.
That should have been the end of it.
She could just leave.
But hesitating, she found herself speaking without meaning to.
“Um, I broke up with Mr. Lee Dongjun.”
She clapped a hand over her mouth.
What did I just say?
“I see.”
Seonghan replied without even lifting his head.
“I just mentioned it because… you happened to be there that day. Even dramas need to know their ending.”
Sea squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them.
“I’ll wear the clothes well. Thank you.”
She hurried to the door and opened it.
A cool breeze blew in, clearing her hazy mind.
Right. Get a grip. Just leave.
Just as she stepped outside—
“However, I don’t think that drama has ended yet.”
“Ended?”
“Doesn’t the protagonist need to find the next partner for a happy ending?”
When Sea turned her head, Seonghan was looking at her directly.
“Whenever you want to finish the story, let me know.”
“What?”
He only smiled instead of answering.
Sea quickly shut the door and left the chairman’s office.
Her heart pounded wildly, her breathing shallow and fast.
Heat rushed to her face and spread through her body.
‘You’re crazy, Han Sea. What are you even thinking?’
She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.
The reason his words and actions seemed like typical flirting—it must be because of her own feelings.
It hadn’t been long since she broke up with Dongjun. She couldn’t let herself be played again.
Sea steadied her heart and walked quickly away.
After finishing homeroom, Sea returned to the teachers’ office and began packing her bag.
Suddenly, Park Kyung-sik, the head of the Public Relations Department she belonged to, called out to her.
“Ms. Sea, I’m sorry. I completely forgot to pass this on to you.”
Kyung-sik was kind, but not very competent. Because of that, Sea occasionally ended up working overtime unnecessarily.
What he handed her was a report due to the Office of Education by tomorrow morning. Even if she started now, it would take hours.
“Sir…”
Sea pouted her lips. Kyung-sik clasped his hands apologetically.
“It arrived while you were on sick leave. I meant to give it to you when you came back, but I didn’t realize tomorrow was the deadline. I’m sorry.”
Hearing that, she couldn’t complain further since she had taken sick leave suddenly.
“It’s okay. I was the one who took unexpected leave.”
“I’ll buy you beef later.”
At the mention of beef, she suddenly remembered the day she had eaten beef and ended up sleeping at Seonghan’s house.
Sea quickly pushed the memory aside and smiled.
“Okay. You better.”
“Of course. For you, Ms. Sea, anytime.”
Kyung-sik smiled warmly, and she returned it.
He was one of the few teachers who had welcomed her kindly when she first started at the school.
“It’s fine. You don’t have to buy me beef. Don’t worry and go home.”
“Ah, it’s my daughter’s birthday today. On a day like this, I shouldn’t be making you work late.”
“It’s okay. She must be waiting. Please go home.”
After exchanging hesitant goodbyes, Kyung-sik left. Most of the other teachers—including Min-kyung and In-hye—also left the office.
Sea sat down and rubbed her dry eyes before starting the work.
‘That’s life, I guess. I came back after a while, so working late is only natural.’
At first, she focused diligently.
But after about an hour, her eyelids grew heavy.
‘This won’t do.’
She still had a lot left to finish, but her body wouldn’t cooperate. Sea stood up. There was coffee in the break room, but she wanted a “premium coffee” someone else made, so she decided to go to the café in front of the school.
She also wanted to wake herself up with a short walk.
It wasn’t a task that would end quickly anyway. If she had to work long hours, she might as well enjoy good coffee while doing it.
Sea slowly walked out of the school.
The campus was empty at night. The day had been hot, but the night was still cool.
As she walked slowly across the grounds, she suddenly felt a chill run through her body.
“Achoo!”
After sneezing, she rubbed her arm lightly.
Turning her head absentmindedly, she suddenly realized someone was walking beside her.
“Oh!”
Startled, she stepped back—and then was even more shocked when she recognized him in the darkness.
“C-Chairman?”
Why was he here? Since when had he been walking next to her?
“Where are you going?”
Seonghan asked, his face unreadable.
“To buy coffee.”
“There’s coffee in the break room.”
He spoke slowly.
“I want it brewed.”
“I’m going to buy coffee too.”
Without waiting for a response, Seonghan resumed walking. Sea quietly matched his pace.
The wind blew.
Sea felt as though she had returned to childhood.
The night campus, the cool breeze, the wide field, the distant sound of cars passing by on the road.
It felt as if time had disappeared, as though she and Seonghan had gone back to the past and were walking together again.
After a few more steps, Sea sneezed once more.
Unfortunately, carried by the wind, something flew toward Seonghan. Though she turned her head away in shock, it was too late—something had splattered onto his suit jacket.
“Oh.”
Flustered, Sea tried to rub at his jacket with her hand, but when she met his sharp gaze, she lowered her eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
Seonghan removed his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
“I’m not cold.”
“Wash it and return it.”
After saying that, he turned around.
“I’ll have an iced caramel macchiato.”
Leaving those words behind, Seonghan strode back toward the chairman’s office—
leaving behind his suit jacket, stained with Sea’s sneeze.
