Chapter: 16
He hadn’t truly seen her for eight years.
He had hoped—just a little—that if he didn’t see her, he might be able to forget her. But that hope proved meaningless; he missed her terribly. Perhaps because of that, even the faintest shadow of another man around her made him anxious, and the mere suggestion that she might drift away filled him with fear.
“Sir.”
Even at the sound of her cold voice, Mu-hyeok buried his face into the back of her neck.
At his breath against her skin, it felt as if her heart was collapsing.
“I know… Just for a moment… just let me stay like this for a moment.”
Mu-hyeok already knew what she was about to say, and before she could even open her mouth, he cut her off with a desperate plea.
Hae-ru clenched her teeth, wanting to hide her wildly pounding heart.
Her heart, bent like reeds swaying helplessly in the wind, pushed aside unavoidable emotions. She placed her hands over his hands that were tightly gripping her waist.
Grabbing his cold hands firmly, she removed them one by one—starting with the trembling right hand on top.
“It’s your inauguration and a special day, so I’ll let it go just for today. From now on, I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t approach me like this privately.”
Her voice was like a lifeless block of wood.
Everything she had learned over the years at work was being used here—never showing emotion in response to a superior.
After saying words she didn’t mean, she turned around, lowered her head slightly, and left the room.
Mu-hyeok stood there, unable to do anything with the hands left suspended in the air after she slipped away.
Only after Hae-ru completely disappeared and the door closed did Mu-hyeok let out a long breath and place a hand over his heart. Dizzying tremors pulsed repeatedly through his chest.
With his hand still on his chest, he stood there with his eyes closed for a long while.
Time passed, and as night fell, Hae-ru was fully absorbed in preparing for the meeting scheduled for the next day.
She sat staring intently at her screen when Assistant Manager Im Eun-jung from the secretarial office approached, bent her waist, and whispered near her ear.
“I’m heading out.”
Startled, Hae-ru straightened up. She pushed off with her foot and spun her swivel chair around.
A short distance away, Eun-jung was standing with her waist bent.
Eun-jung was a bit slow, but she was diligent. She didn’t talk much and worked hard, mainly handling accounting tasks related to expenses. Thanks to her meticulous nature, she rarely made mistakes, and the work suited her personality well.
Turning her body, Hae-ru glanced past Eun-jung at the round white clock hanging on the wall. It was already 7:50 p.m.
“Oh? You haven’t left yet?”
She was surprised—Eun-jung usually left exactly on time and never postponed work.
Eun-jung straightened up and perched herself on the desk behind her.
“I still have a few things to take care of.”
With the event coming up, it seemed there was a lot of work.
Even while saying that, Eun-jung smiled brightly, lifting the corners of her lips. Despite being only twenty-six and having to work late, her expression was cheerful.
“Go home soon,” Hae-ru said.
“Aren’t you heading out too, Director?”
“Ah, I still have a bit more to do. You go ahead.”
“Yes! Then I’ll head out first.”
Eun-jung nodded, stood up, and bowed lightly before leaving the office.
After Eun-jung left, Hae-ru pulled her chair close to the desk and continued reviewing the next day’s schedule.
As she leaned forward, neck stretched toward the screen, her gaze drifted toward the CEO’s office visible through the glass wall of the secretarial office. She couldn’t see inside, but light was seeping through the gaps in the lowered blinds—it seemed Mu-hyeok was still there.
Hae-ru’s eyes darted back and forth. After a moment of hesitation, she suddenly lifted her head and began packing her bag.
She quickly gathered her things, shut down the computer, and stood up.
It felt better not to run into Mu-hyeok today.
Not only was she unsure she could face him without awkwardness—more than that, she wasn’t confident she could keep herself from wavering. Even now, just thinking about him made her heart race.
Standing on tiptoe, she silently stuck a yellow Post-it note reading [I’m heading out first] onto the door of the CEO’s office. To avoid the sound of heels, she even took off her shoes, holding them in one hand as she quietly moved away.
Once outside the building, she realized she had no car—she had come to work with Mu-hyeok.
Since she had to take a taxi home, Hae-ru headed toward the taxi stand.
As she walked slowly, the spring breeze gently brushed against her cheeks.
Come to think of it, the weather was nice, and the night air felt good. She decided to walk a bit for once.
She changed direction from the taxi stand toward downtown.
She wandered aimlessly for quite some time.
When she reached a crowded commercial area, her legs started to ache from walking too much. To make matters worse, her stomach let out a loud growl. Needing to eat something, she began looking around for a restaurant.
As she turned her head, scanning the street, a familiar way of walking caught her eye in the distance. Without thinking, she hid herself behind a building.
“Kim Tae-jun?”
Her brows knitted together.
The man who had hit on her earlier that day—and who, before their connection was severed, had shamelessly told her he loved her for three years while hiding the fact that he was married—was smiling brightly as he entered a restaurant with a woman.
Hae-ru peeked out from behind the white building, rubbing her eyes with one hand. She had seen something hard to believe.
The woman clinging to Kim Tae-jun’s arm wasn’t his wife—it was Kim Ja-ryeon, the division head’s secretary.
Ja-ryeon was infamous at work for bullying Hae-ru. In the past, she had even pointed fingers at Hae-ru, claiming she had met a married man—Kim Tae-jun.
“…Why are those two together?”
Her frown deepened.
Unable to tear her eyes away, she cautiously entered the same restaurant and sat at the table behind them.
Thanks to the partitions, she could only vaguely see their silhouettes reflected in the window. But she could hear their voices—and that was enough.
As soon as she sat down, she turned on her phone’s recording function and placed it on the table. A staff member approached.
“How many people?”
Lowering her voice, she raised one finger.
“Just one.”
“Um, I’m sorry, but this table is for four or more people…”
The staff spoke apologetically.
It made sense—they were four-person booths, and she was alone.
But she needed that seat to hear their conversation. After a moment of hesitation, she held up four fingers and whispered:
“Four servings, please.”
“Pardon?”
She glanced around.
She had entered without knowing what kind of restaurant it was and hadn’t even checked the menu. It turned out to be a pork cutlet place—something she disliked.
After a brief struggle, she showed four fingers again.
“Four king-size pork cutlets, please.”
“Four servings? By yourself? The portions here are pretty big…”
The staff looked troubled.
It was a well-known franchise, famous for both taste and large portions.
“If there’s leftovers, I’ll take them to go. Please. I’m really hungry right now.”
She rubbed her stomach with both hands, acting hungry, forcing a strained smile. The staff member sighed and walked away with the menu.
Until the food arrived, she listened closely to their conversation.
Ja-ryeon spoke first.
“Oppa, doesn’t your wife say anything?”
“About what?”
“About you having dinner with me like this. Doesn’t she say anything?”
“I told her work ran late.”
Were they always that close? Or has something changed?
She stole glances at their reflections in the glass, trying to read their relationship.
Though she couldn’t see clearly, she could easily guess what they were doing.
When the food arrived, they fed each other pork cutlet with their forks.
Hae-ru covered her open mouth with one hand. Her own food arrived, but she barely took a bite, focusing entirely on them.
It was obvious—they were acting like lovers.
Ja-ryeon wiped sauce from Kim Tae-jun’s lips with her thumb and then sucked it off herself.
“Ha…”
A scoff escaped her in disbelief.
The shameless behavior continued, followed by sickeningly sweet conversation.
“Oppa, did you know? It’s been a while since we last went to a hotel.”
“Has it?”
“Yeah. Your love for me hasn’t cooled off, right? We’ve only been together for a year.”
