Chapter 10
Waking up late, Sojin sat at the dining table waiting for her mother, Younghee, to serve her a meal that was both breakfast and lunch.
Then, remembering Jian getting out of a luxury car in the alley the day before, she gritted her teeth.
“Mom. You know what I saw yesterday?”
“What did you see?”
Younghee asked as she set a bowl of white rice down in front of Sojin.
“Look at this.”
Sojin showed Younghee the photo she had taken of Jian the previous night.
At first, Younghee looked puzzled, then her eyes widened.
“Goodness. Isn’t this near our house?”
“Exactly. I was so surprised to see this expensive-looking car in this run-down neighborhood, and then suddenly, Seo Jian gets out of it?”
Even as she spoke, Younghee scooped up some rice with a spoon, topped it with a piece of meat, and brought it to Sojin’s lips.
It was such a daily routine that Sojin naturally opened her mouth to eat it.
But just before the rice went in, Sojin closed her mouth.
“What’s wrong?”
“Instead of this, give me a salad. I’m going on a diet.”
“What? You don’t have any weight to lose! If it were Jian, maybe!”
Younghee snapped, offering the rice again.
But Sojin firmly refused.
“It’s a matter of pride. Someone who has no talent compared to me got out of a car like that. I can’t stand it.”
The more she thought about it, the more disgusting the scene became. Sojin got up from her seat, walked to the refrigerator, took out a salad bowl that she always bought but never ate, and set it on the table.
Younghee pounded her chest, looking utterly distressed.
“I’ve never once seen Seo Jian do anything helpful for us.”
“Exactly.”
“I could understand anything else, but it makes my blood boil that she’s even stopping my daughter from eating.”
Ignoring her mother, Sojin stared at the photo again and again. She was jealous and furious to the point of madness.
“Did you see a man’s face?”
Younghee’s question made Sojin let out a small “Huh?” because it was something she hadn’t considered.
“No. He didn’t get out of the car.”
If they were an ordinary couple, the man would have gotten out to escort the woman. He would have lingered in front of her house several times, not wanting to part.
But Jian had gotten out alone and bowed her head in greeting.
As if addressing a superior.
“Doesn’t it seem like he’s not someone she’s dating? If they were together, the man would have gotten out too. Or maybe he dropped her off. It seems like they’re not a couple, just colleagues or something.”
“Hmm…”
Younghee might be right, but Sojin kept leaning the other way.
Because of how long the car had been stopped, and the look in Jian’s eyes as she watched the car drive away — it was unusual.
‘There’s definitely something going on.’
Sojin narrowed her eyes and crunched on a piece of lettuce.
It might just be a rumor.
But Sojin wanted to believe that Jian was having an inappropriate relationship.
Preparing for the executive meeting at 10 a.m., Jian printed out the meeting materials early and went up to the main conference room.
As she neatly arranged the organized files at each seat, another secretary prepared refreshments beside them.
‘Done.’
Jian, who had hurried to prepare for the meeting for fear of being even a little late, finally straightened her back and caught her breath after arriving at the conference room.
Checking the wall clock, there was still quite some time before the meeting. Thinking she had time for a drink, Jian headed to the break room.
She bought a cold soda from the vending machine, opened the can immediately, and took a refreshing gulp.
“Phew.”
Letting out a deep sigh, she felt a slight relief from the frustration she had been feeling because of Taejun.
In fact, she had been disheartened, remembering Taejun’s expressionless face as he kept saying he didn’t care what relationship she had with Yuhyun.
If she didn’t expect or attach meaning to things, she wouldn’t get hurt, but Jian kept being disappointed and hurt by Taejun.
Even though she knew it was foolish.
‘Seo Jian. You’re the one who pretended not to notice first.’
What if she hadn’t? How would things be different now?
Replaying the past wouldn’t change anything, but Jian kept repeating meaningless actions.
Feeling upset, she was about to bring the can to her lips for another sip when she sensed someone behind her.
“Seo Jian-ssi.”
“…Hello, Director.”
Even before turning around, she recognized the unfamiliar voice calling her name. Realizing it was Yuhyun, Jian bowed to greet him.
“It’s my first time meeting you as the General Manager’s secretary. It’s only been a few days, but how is it? Is the work manageable?”
Yuhyun asked in a soft tone, like a gentle spring breeze. Seeing him smiling brightly, she felt awkward maintaining a stiff expression, so she forced the corners of her mouth up.
“Yes, it’s fine. I heard you recommended me, Director. Thank you so much for giving me this great opportunity.”
“That was a secret, how did you find out? But you have something wrong, Seo Jian-ssi.”
“Huh?”
“It wasn’t because of my recommendation. You got that position because you did well. No matter how much I recommend someone, if their performance report is a mess, they won’t get promoted. So you don’t need to thank me. Got it?”
“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”
His answer, which boosted her self-esteem, made her feel good, and her forced smile softened naturally.
“Oh? Seo Jian-ssi, you have dimples.”
“Ah, yes. I do.”
“They’re pretty. Smile a lot.”
“Thank you.”
“Then, see you in the meeting room later.”
Leaving those words, Yuhyun exited the break room. After confirming he was gone, Jian poked her dimpled cheek with her finger.
‘Jian, when you smile, your dimples are really pretty.’
The single word “dimples” brought back an old memory.
It reminded her of Taejun, who used to poke her cheek with his finger every time she smiled and kiss her dimples.
No matter how much Taejun made her uncomfortable or treated her badly, this was the reason she couldn’t shake him off.
Growing up persecuted by her stepmother without her father’s knowledge, her life had always been lonely and sorrowful. But Taejun had briefly turned her life into spring.
Even though the ending wasn’t good, the memories of the days they spent together were nothing but warm and happy, without a single one to discard.
They were the only memories that comforted her whenever things got hard in life.
It was sad that she now had this kind of relationship with Taejun, who meant so much to her, but it was Jian’s own doing.
Taejun headed to the main conference room to attend the executive meeting.
Since Jian wasn’t available, another secretary offered to accompany him, but Taejun refused and got on the elevator alone.
“Phew.”
Just thinking about greeting the executives and facing their stares already made his face tighten with tension.
Having appeared suddenly and taken the General Manager’s seat, and being connected to Chairman Junghoon, it was clear everyone would be wary.
His mouth kept getting dry, so he had to wet his lips with his tongue several times.
In the meantime, the elevator arrived at the 15th floor.
He hurried his steps to go straight to the conference room when…
‘…!’
Jian and Yuhyun standing facing each other in the break room caught Taejun’s ankle.
He could have just walked past, but Taejun held his breath and watched them.
‘What are they talking about?’
He couldn’t hear their voices, but the two were smiling brightly at each other.
Seeing Jian, who always had a sullen expression in front of him, smiling even showing her dimples to Yuhyun, he couldn’t contain the rising fury.
‘After acting so indignant, insisting they were nothing special.’
They looked special enough to anyone to arouse suspicion.
Taejun was furious at Jian, who constantly lied to him.
He put so much force into his clenched fist that his knuckles turned white, and his throat burned as if his insides were on fire.
While he didn’t understand Jian’s intentions at all for acting like that, at the same time, he was grateful.
‘She keeps provoking me so that I don’t grow weak-willed.’
Taejun wasn’t even given room to feel guilty about his revenge.
Soon after, Yuhyun left the break room first. Taejun quickly hid around the corner and fortunately escaped Yuhyun’s notice.
After Yuhyun had moved away a bit, just as Taejun was about to move…
‘What is she doing…’
Jian’s image was seared into his eyes: she had her hand on her flushed cheek, touching the spot where her dimple appeared.
‘And after acting like that, did she claim Cha Yuhyun wasn’t a man?’
She looked exactly like a girl in love.
It might be a delusion, but it seemed similar to the way she used to look at Taejun in the past.
Damn it, no matter how much he tried to erase the memories he wanted to tear to shreds, they wouldn’t fade in the slightest.
They were so disgusting he wanted to cut them all out completely.
‘How long do I have to live like this?’
Glaring at Jian’s happy appearance, Taejun gritted his molars.
He wasn’t happy with the situation that wasn’t going his way.
