Private Secretary – Chapter 10
“Chairman, your guest has arrived.”
As Lee Seol stepped into the enormous mansion, her shoulders instinctively shrank.
She had only ever seen houses like this in movies. Never once had she seen one in real life.
For the past five years, she had served the chairman of a small-to-medium-sized company, but even that man had not lived in a house anywhere near this grand.
Everything felt so cinematic that it hardly seemed real. It left her almost dazed.
Guided by an employee, she arrived at Chairman Kang’s study. The room resembled a small private library.
“Come in. I’m sorry for calling you here on your day off.”
“It’s quite all right.”
“Have a seat over there.”
As Lee Seol sat down on the sofa, an attendant asked whether she would like tea or coffee.
She asked for water. With how nervous she felt, she suspected she would get thirsty.
“Were you very surprised to hear from me?”
“…Ah, yes. I couldn’t quite figure out why the chairman would contact me.”
“At the moment, I’m not here as a chairman but as Taesan’s father. So don’t worry—just treat me comfortably.”
As if that would actually make her feel comfortable.
Lee Seol, who enjoyed watching baseball, had seen Chairman Kang several times on broadcast screens at games, appearing as the owner of the opposing team.
That was the full extent of her familiarity with him.
She had never imagined she would meet such a famous figure in person like this. No matter how she thought about it, it still didn’t feel real.
Knock, knock.
She had been sitting stiffly and awkwardly in front of Chairman Kang when the door opened.
An employee entered, placed a glass of water in front of Lee Seol, and quietly withdrew. In the meantime, Chairman Kang moved to the seat opposite her and sat down.
“By the way, an old classmate of mine strongly recommended Secretary Han, so I didn’t even bother asking questions—I just took the recommendation letter and sent it straight to the Management Support Team. But now I think I know why.”
“You flatter me. I’m simply doing my best.”
“Oh, come on. I know better than anyone that Taesan isn’t an easy person to deal with. Yet you’ve already lasted several weeks, haven’t you? What do you think that means? It means you’ve been doing your job well enough to satisfy that picky fellow.”
Is that so? Perhaps it was.
Lee Seol offered an awkward smile.
“Ah, if you’re uncomfortable with the way I’m speaking casually, just let me know. Since you’re my son’s secretary, I feel at ease speaking like this. But it seems young people these days sometimes find that uncomfortable.”
“No, it’s fine. Please speak however you like.”
“Good. Hmm… The reason I called you here isn’t anything complicated. I just want to dig up a little information about what that boy has been up to lately.”
“…Excuse me?”
“I know he works hard, but he never says anything one way or the other. As a parent, it makes me worry. What exactly does he do in his personal time?”
Lee Seol hesitated for a moment.
Even though she belonged to the company, the person she directly served was Kang Taesan. She felt she had to be careful with her words.
So she decided to mention only things anyone might reasonably know.
“If he doesn’t have any special schedule before work, he always exercises. After work, he sometimes meets friends, but usually it seems he continues working even after returning home. Other than that, I haven’t noticed anything particularly unusual.”
“No women he’s seeing?”
Lee Seol hesitated again, wondering whether she should mention Kim Sena, whom Taesan had been with the day before.
But it seemed improper to speak about something that had clearly left him with painful wounds.
“I’m sorry. I’m not sure about that.”
“He met Kim Sena yesterday, didn’t he?”
Just as Lee Seol was about to take a sip of water to ease her sudden thirst, her hand froze.
“Kim Sena. You know her, don’t you?”
“……”
“Right. Loyal, I see. You know how to protect the private life of the boss you serve. But you can speak freely to me. I already know most of what’s going on anyway. I’m just asking you to confirm it.”
If that was the case, wouldn’t it be better to call your son here and ask him directly?
The words rose all the way to her throat.
But Lee Seol forced a calm smile. Chairman Kang interpreted her silence as confirmation.
“I knew it. Just as I thought. That foolish boy… Why is he still clinging to a woman who left him while weighing him against his own classmate? As if Kim Sena is the only woman in the world.”
As he spoke, the chairman openly fumed, clearly overcome with anger.
“And Kim Sena too. How could she leave our Taesan and choose to marry someone like Ryu Hwapyeong?”
Perhaps overwhelmed by the heat of the moment,
Chairman Kang continued speaking without hesitation, even with Lee Seol sitting right in front of him.
The atmosphere made it clear she should pretend she hadn’t heard anything. She kept an awkward smile on her face, but her mind was busier than ever.
She had roughly guessed that Kang Taesan and Kim Sena came from families close to each other, but learning that Sena’s fiancé was Ryu Hwapyeong—and that he was Taesan’s classmate—was entirely new information.
How could that even happen?
If that was true, then Kang Taesan had essentially lost the woman he loved to his own classmate.
Only then did Lee Seol finally understand why her boss had been so emotional the day before.
“Oh dear, I’ve said all sorts of things in front of Secretary Han.”
Chairman Kang seemed to regain his composure and gave an embarrassed chuckle as he opened a drawer in the table and took out an envelope.
He gestured for her to open it, so Lee Seol did so with a puzzled expression.
Inside were résumés of women she had never seen before.
Instead of formal ID photos, each résumé had two or three natural-looking photos taken in everyday settings.
Reading the personal information on the documents only deepened her confusion.
Why was he showing these to her?
“You’ve only been Taesan’s secretary for about a month, but still—there’s probably no one in Korea who’s been around him longer than you lately. So I have a favor to ask.”
“…Yes?”
“Pick three women from there who seem like they might suit Taesan’s taste. They’re candidates for blind dates.”
Was this how wealthy families usually arranged blind dates—by exchanging documents like this?
Unable to hide her bewilderment, Lee Seol fidgeted with the papers.
“If you don’t pick from them, I’ll make him meet every woman in there. And it’ll be your job to send Taesan to those meetings.”
“I’m sorry, but I neither have the authority nor the ability to do something like that.”
Only then did Lee Seol realize just how difficult a position she had been placed in.
But the chairman’s attitude remained firm.
“Whether you persuade him or threaten him doesn’t matter. Use whatever means necessary. Just make sure he shows up and sits in front of those women.”
“He’s not someone who would listen to me.”
“That’s why I told you to narrow it down to just three. I’m considering your position.”
Three or one—it didn’t matter.
Who was she to send Taesan to a blind date?
Even if it were his father’s command, he was not the type of man who would move an inch if his heart wasn’t in it.
And now, when he was drowning in loss over Kim Sena’s upcoming marriage, she was supposed to arrange blind dates for him?
Even Lee Seol, who normally enjoyed carrying out difficult tasks, could not accept this one.
Her boss seemed like the kind of person who would hate anyone interfering in his personal affairs. Forcing such a thing felt wrong.
“Choose the one who suits him best and contact her. Tell them he’ll start meeting them from this Saturday.”
“Chairman… I’m truly sorry, but—”
“If I could, I’d marry my son off before Sena even walks down the aisle. Do you understand? Just to show that Kim Sena—who weighed her options and discarded my son—was wrong.”
“……”
“But if that’s not possible, then at the very least I want to show that my son isn’t some fool clinging only to that woman. My pride as his father is at stake here. Treating my son that way is no different from insulting me.”
“……”
Chairman Kang spoke passionately until his voice turned hoarse.
Lee Seol didn’t think it was the right approach, but she could feel how earnest his concern for his son was.
“Of course, I’m not asking Secretary Han to do this for free.”
Chairman Kang took out another envelope and handed it to her.
“Take a look.”
Lee Seol didn’t want to.
Opening it would mean accepting the assignment.
