Chapter 9
Because she had trouble sleeping at dawn and then briefly fell asleep in the morning, Jian was later to work than usual.
Perhaps because of that, all the secretaries were already in the office.
“Good morning.”
The three people who had been gathered and talking quickly stopped their conversation upon Jian’s appearance.
The look they gave her seemed similar to one she had received from her previous team, making her flinch for a moment, but Minju smiled brightly and greeted her.
“Good morning, Secretary Seo! We were just about to go get some coffee. Would you like to join us?”
“I’d love some coffee. Let’s go together.”
She needed caffeine to wake up anyway.
“Then let’s all go together.”
Minju linked arms with Jian.
Although a bit awkward, Jian tried to match her pace.
Chatting about this and that, they arrived at the first-floor café.
After waiting for the other employees to choose their orders, Jian ordered her share—a café latte—and took out her card.
“I left early from the company dinner yesterday, so let me treat you to coffee.”
It wasn’t strictly necessary, but Jian didn’t want to cause any issues.
She had enough on her plate with Taejun.
“Oh, Secretary Seo, you really didn’t have to!”
Eunyoung waved her hands, but Jian’s card was already handed to the café staff.
“No, it’s fine. I know I left because I wasn’t feeling well, but I felt bad all evening for ruining the first dinner with the secretarial team. Next time, I’ll stay no matter what.”
“Oh, well, if you insist.”
“Manager Seo! Then we’ll gratefully enjoy this.”
As several cards were awkwardly exchanged in front of the counter, Minju stepped in.
“Next time, we’ll treat you.”
“Okay. Please don’t feel burdened, just enjoy it.”
Jian mouthed a silent ‘Thank you’ to Minju.
Minju smiled brightly and shrugged her shoulders, making Jian laugh as well.
She suddenly felt sorry for having prejudged Minju unfairly.
It seemed like she could lower her guard around Minju from now on.
A short while later, the drinks arrived. After sipping their coffee in the café for a bit, they agreed to head back upstairs to the office.
No sooner had they chosen seats by the window than the conversation resumed.
“Hye-na. Continue what you were saying earlier.”
Minju urged Hye-na while sipping her strawberry smoothie through a straw.
Hye-na, holding her steaming cup of coffee with both hands, glanced around the empty café.
Curious about what story required such secrecy, even Jian, who knew nothing, became interested.
“Not long after Secretary Seo left yesterday, I stepped out for a smoke.”
“You already told us that part.”
“Did I? Anyway, I was having a cigarette when suddenly the Director’s car appeared from somewhere. He pulled over to the side of the road and picked up a woman.”
“……!”
Thump.
Jian’s heart dropped to her feet.
Because the woman Hye-na was talking about was her.
‘She didn’t see my face, did she?’
The thought crossed her mind for a moment, but if Hye-na had seen her face, she wouldn’t be bringing it up in front of Jian.
Although flustered to the point her hand holding the cup trembled, Jian drank her coffee diligently to calm her loudly beating heart.
“What was she like? Was she pretty?”
“Unfortunately, I didn’t see her face. I’d taken off my glasses to go out, so I couldn’t see far away clearly. It was blurry, but even through the blur, I could tell she had a great figure.”
Hye-na gave a thumbs-up.
Minju then clinked her coffee cup down on the table and crossed her arms.
“Well, I suppose he’s single, so there’s no reason he wouldn’t date. But why do I feel like crying?”
Minju pretended to wipe tears and sniffled, making Hye-na and Eunyoung chuckle.
But Jian, the person in question, felt her heart grow troubled.
Her palms became sweaty, and her heart felt increasingly tight.
Just then, Eunyoung leaned towards Jian.
“Did you happen to see anything, Secretary Seo? It seems like you left around the same time.”
“My bus came right away, so I ran for it. I guess I didn’t see the Director’s car either.”
“Really? Oh, that’s too bad. Considering someone was in the Director’s car at that hour… they probably aren’t just ordinary acquaintances. I’m envious of that woman.”
Seeming to share the same thought, the others just smiled silently.
Jian felt upset that she unintentionally had no choice but to keep another secret from the colleagues she had to face every day.
Why was a normal, ordinary life, something everyone else took for granted, so difficult for her?
Everything was just hard.
After Taejun arrived at work, Jian knocked on his office door for the briefing.
“Come in.”
At Taejun’s voice from inside, Jian opened the door and entered.
She walked up to his desk and bowed her head slightly, but Taejun, with an expressionless face, didn’t spare her a glance.
When Jian got out of Taejun’s car the night before, he had that exact same expression.
‘Why does he seem angry?’
Even though she wanted Taejun to lose interest in her, she couldn’t understand why she felt a pang of regret.
“Here is your morning schedule. You have an executive meeting at 10 AM…”
As the briefing began, Taejun lifted his gaze and looked at Jian.
Even trying not to mind his stare, she couldn’t help it, and she nearly stammered.
“That’s all.”
Fortunately, she finished the schedule report without any major issues.
But the moment she met Taejun’s eyes, her heartbeat, which she had managed to suppress, started racing again.
Taejun was staring intently at Jian’s face.
It would be a lie to say his gaze wasn’t burdensome. Jian, tense, swallowed nervously.
“Is there… something you wanted to say?”
“What is your relationship with Director Cha Yuhyeon?”
Taejun interrupted Jian and asked.
At the name Yuhyeon, which suddenly flowed from between Taejun’s lips, Jian’s mouth went dry.
“I don’t know what you’ve heard, but I have never met Director Cha Yuhyeon privately. Not even once.”
“…….”
Taejun gave her an uncomfortable look, as if displeased with her somewhat lengthy excuse.
Until now, Jian had never once tried to correct that rumor.
Since it wasn’t true, she thought it would eventually die down if she left it alone.
But if that story had reached even Taejun’s ears, it was a different matter.
Not wanting him to misunderstand, Jian continued speaking.
“My promotion was unusually fast as a special case, and being assigned as the Director’s secretary naturally meant converting from a contract worker to a regular employee in a short period, so there are some bad rumors that follow me. But…”
“Those things would have been difficult to achieve without Director Cha Yuhyeon’s help, wouldn’t they?”
“That’s… true.”
As Jian readily agreed, Taejun just gave a short, scoffing laugh.
“I’m not asking because I’m curious about what kind of relationship Secretary Seo and Director Cha Yuhyeon have.”
“…….”
“It doesn’t matter even if you two are involved as the rumors say. It’s not wrong for a man and a woman to be attracted to each other’s bodies.”
Upon hearing those words, Jian felt suffocated, as if someone were gripping her heart tightly.
She had explained earnestly, but it seemed her sincerity hadn’t reached Taejun.
She didn’t care if others misunderstood, but it hurt to have Taejun look at her that way.
She realized that since reuniting with him, the range of her emotions had become ridiculously wide.
“What I’m trying to say is, don’t ruin my reputation with that ugly label of yours.”
“Yes, I understand.”
It felt as rough as if she had shoved sand into her mouth.
She felt wronged, but she knew that continuing to make excuses that the other person didn’t want to hear would only make things worse.
So she immediately closed her mouth.
“Then get out.”
“Yes.”
She stopped there because answering even a word longer felt like she would burst into tears.
As soon as she turned around, Jian’s chin trembled.
Although Taejun’s contemptuous gaze kept coming to mind, there was nothing Jian could do.
For the first time, she regretted not having corrected that nasty rumor.
As soon as Jian left the office, Taejun’s face hardened.
He had only asked about their relationship because Yuhyeun seemed particularly attentive to Jian.
But based on what he heard from Jian’s own mouth, he realized the two were linked by ugly rumors.
So he purposely.
‘It’s not wrong for a man and a woman to be attracted to each other’s bodies.’
He had ventured.
At that, Jian’s face turned as pale as a sheet of paper.
At the same time, Taejun’s mood soured rapidly.
“Just how do you conduct yourself?”
His irritation rising, Taejun pushed back from his chair and stood, approaching the window that overlooked the city of Seoul.
But his frustration didn’t ease one bit.
The discomfort persisted, like a thorn lodged in his throat, so he loosened his tie.
‘Why did it have to be Cha Yuhyeon?’
Yes, it might just be a rumor.
But given what he had experienced with Jian, it might not be entirely baseless.
Because Seo Jian was the kind of woman who could sleep with a man without any love.
If, by chance, it was true, then there must have been a clear purpose for Jian’s inappropriate relationship with Yuhyeon.
But then why.
Why did she have to shake him, who had nothing, who found it hard to give his heart to anyone?
No matter how much he tried to think positively, the answer was the same.
Because she just liked to play around.
As it became clear that Jian had treated him merely for fun, his insides boiled with anger.
That’s why she must have kept avoiding his eyes and denied knowing him when they met again.
‘Disgusting, truly.’
The desire for revenge, which had briefly softened when he looked at the sleeping Jian yesterday, surged again.
No matter how many times he thought about it.
Seo Jian was simply an unforgivable woman.
