Private Secretary – Chapter 8
He refilled the empty glass and quietly began sipping again.
Lee Seol wanted to ask if something had happened, but she couldn’t.
When it came to matters tied to a superior’s private life, it was improper to pry before they chose to speak about it themselves.
She sat comfortably on the floor and gazed out the dark window.
Meanwhile, after slowly finishing another drink, he slouched back on the sofa and stared blankly at the ceiling.
“Are you good at keeping secrets?”
At his question, Lee Seol nodded immediately.
“I have never once disclosed anything my superior said without permission. And I never will.”
“Then just listen and forget.”
“…Pardon?”
When Taesan turned his gaze forward again, the complexity of his expression became clear.
“That woman earlier… she’s someone I liked for a long time.”
“……”
“I thought I had her, but she pushed me away cruelly, saying she had never been mine even once.”
At his confession, Lee Seol’s mind fell into complete confusion.
He thought he had her… but he didn’t? What did that even mean?
It seemed their circumstances were far more complicated than they appeared.
To be honest, she had already guessed the situation was serious from the moment he ordered her to tear up and burn the wedding invitation earlier.
But aside from that, it was still quite surprising that her superior—who seemed like the kind of man who wouldn’t bleed even if pricked by a needle—was revealing his inner thoughts so honestly.
Had he already become that comfortable with her?
Lee Seol quietly looked at him.
Come to think of it… he always acted like he had no interest in anyone else.
The fact that he had loved a woman for such a long time was rather unexpected. It made her realize that he, too, was only human.
“Actually, we were both busy with our studies and work, so we never really had a serious conversation about it,” he said. “Still, because of the arrangement between our families, I thought we would naturally get married someday.”
He let out a short, bitter chuckle.
“A few years ago, I stopped by Korea and talked with her about it. That’s when I realized our thoughts were very different.”
“……”
“After that, we didn’t contact each other for quite a while. Then today, out of nowhere, she asked to meet me alone. Said she had something to say.”
He smirked again after finishing the sentence.
“And who would’ve thought I’d end up hearing news about her marrying another man?”
“……”
“Is the reason I feel this unpleasant because I still have lingering feelings? Or because I regret losing something I thought belonged to me?”
Listening to his self-deprecating monologue, Lee Seol slowly found her psychological guard lowering.
So Kang Taesan has these kinds of human worries too…
Thinking that way made him seem somewhat pitiful and stirred a faint sympathy in her heart.
After finishing his words, he stared at her for a moment and slowly leaned forward.
Soon the distance between them grew so close that she could feel his breath against her forehead.
It had been a long time since they had faced each other at such close range. Though it felt awkward, Lee Seol remained still, pretending to be calm.
“Now that I’ve said it out loud, I feel a bit better. It must’ve been boring listening to all that. You can go now.”
Normally, she would have stood up immediately without making her superior repeat himself.
But for some reason, her feet refused to move.
Perhaps what Taesan needed right now wasn’t just a secretary, but a friend who could listen to him.
Of course, he might not want that.
“Why aren’t you moving?”
“…I know it might be presumptuous, but would you like me to keep you company in conversation—just for tonight?”
“What?”
“Well… it seemed like you needed someone to talk to. Since I’m the secretary responsible for your private affairs, I thought perhaps taking care of your mental well-being might also be part of my job.”
Lee Seol knew very well that she was crossing a line.
But at least this once, she wanted to listen to his true feelings and comfort him sincerely—not as a subordinate to a superior, but as one person to another.
Maybe seeing each other every day at work made me grow a little attached.
Besides, wasn’t it obvious?
With that personality of his, it was hard to imagine he had any real friends he could confide in.
He studied her carefully with clear eyes that showed no trace of drunkenness.
“…Are you serious?”
“Yes. Please feel free to speak. Just think of me as a friend.”
Lee Seol shrugged lightly, trying to sound casual.
Taesan looked at her with a wary gaze, as if he didn’t quite trust her.
“I’m worried you might go around repeating what you hear.”
“You’ve already told me everything, so what are you saying now?”
When Lee Seol widened her eyes in protest, Taesan twisted his lips slightly in dissatisfaction.
But in the end, he said nothing more.
“Then let me ask you something. Answer me honestly.”
Lee Seol quietly nodded.
“What do you think goes through a woman’s mind when she knows a man likes her, yet doesn’t push him away? She keeps him close, leaves room for possibility… and then suddenly says she’s going to marry another man.”
An answer came to Lee Seol’s mind immediately, but it felt somewhat inappropriate to say it outright.
She hesitated and kept her mouth shut.
“Why aren’t you answering?”
“I was organizing my words. If I speak honestly, it might sound a little disrespectful.”
“Say exactly what you think. Don’t beat around the bush.”
“…In that case… it probably means you were good enough to keep around for amusement, but not suitable as someone to marry.”
Having received permission, Lee Seol voiced her opinion carefully.
Taesan’s face twisted as though he had heard something completely unexpected.
For a man whose expression rarely changed, it was quite a strong reaction.
At a loss for words, he slowly leaned back, putting distance between them.
When he returned to his original spot, his face seemed even lonelier than before.
She had always assumed that a man who had everything would have nothing to envy—but she had never imagined he could wear such a desolate expression.
He must really like that woman, Kim Sena.
Even though he had asked for honesty, Lee Seol couldn’t help feeling uneasy.
She wondered if her words had forced him to face a reality he didn’t want to acknowledge.
“…Are you alright?”
“What if I’m not? It’s not like I’m a child.”
Unable to hide his displeasure, he took another drink.
Maybe it would be better to stop overstepping and leave him alone.
Just as Lee Seol was hesitating, wondering what to do—
The man leaned against the sofa and simply turned his head to look at her.
“You really are clever. You’re honest without any pretense, yet you still know how to keep your boundaries.”
Hearing the phrase honest without pretense come out of her superior’s mouth left her unsure whether it was meant as a compliment.
“If I offended you, I apologize. If you’d like, I’ll take my leave now—”
“Since it came from someone like you, it’s probably even more accurate.”
The man turned his head away again and stared ahead.
Something like regret had settled into his eyes.
“We’ve known each other since childhood. We became close naturally—so much that we never even needed to say we were dating. Before I left to study abroad, there was even talk of an engagement. Sena didn’t reject the idea either, so I assumed we’d marry someday… but it seems that was only my own misunderstanding.”
Taesan began revealing his thoughts again.
Did that mean she could stay a little longer?
Lee Seol, who had half-risen awkwardly, sat back down again. This time, she decided she would simply listen without asking anything.
“The reason I feel so damn awful isn’t because Kim Sena went to another man. It’s because she had been weighing me and that guy on a scale all this time. That’s what disgusts me. And what makes me even angrier… is that I lost to him. Can you believe that? Me—being the one who got discarded?”
His emotions seemed quite stirred, the back of his hand turning pale from the force with which he gripped his glass.
It was surprising the glass hadn’t shattered.
Watching him, Lee Seol let out a sigh of disbelief.
So that’s what it is.
She had thought he was suffering from heartbreak.
But the real issue seemed to be something else entirely.
From the perspective of a man who appeared to live on pride and self-confidence, it was certainly the kind of situation that would leave a deep scratch on his ego.
In other words, Kim Sena must have held that much influence over him.
Otherwise, there would be no reason for Taesan to be this shaken or angry.
The Kang Taesan Lee Seol had seen until now had always seemed like someone far removed from love.
When he was younger, he had devoted himself entirely to his studies. As an adult, he seemed obsessed only with work.
A cold, barren personality.
And yet, the fact that he had kept only one woman in his heart all this time was surprisingly unexpected.
