Chapter: 21
She brought her hand to her tightly pursed lips and forced a smile, twisting her words in a strangely sarcastic way. Her expression hardened.
The hand that had been resting loosely clenched into a tight fist, as if gripping a baton.
“What do you mean by that?”
Her mood had soured from early morning.
In a world where life is hard enough even when people speak kindly to one another, she couldn’t understand why someone would be so desperate to torment others.
To commit all the wrongs and then get angry about it—how absurd.
“No, it’s just that you’ve always seemed to have a lot of interest in men who already have women.”
She smiled slyly, her eyes curving like a fox’s.
“Ha—.”
A sigh escaped her.
She knew exactly what kind of nonsense this was and what words were going to follow next.
When Jaryeon first joined the company, there had been a man she liked. But that man liked Haeru instead, and after being rejected by her, he changed jobs.
After that incident, the already sharp-edged Jaryeon became even sharper, constantly tripping Haeru up over every little thing. Perhaps Jaryeon’s relentless bullying was what had turned her into such a hardy weed.
After all, she could even smile at provocation now.
She smiled brightly, as if something good had happened.
“I’m not really into married men with wives.”
“Really? Didn’t seem like it. At the inauguration ceremony.”
Jaryeon, who seemed to have something more she wanted to say, blurted it out—but then suddenly shut her mouth as if she’d misspoken and turned her gaze away.
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s nothing.”
Waving one hand dismissively, Jaryeon tried to take back the words she had already spilled. But Haeru already knew exactly what she had been about to say.
She must have seen Haeru talking with Taejun at the inauguration ceremony. While dating a married man herself, she apparently wanted to claim ownership over married men. It was ridiculous.
The memory of being scolded in the past—back when their fates had been different, when Jaryeon had pretended to be morally upright—made her grind her teeth.
She wanted to slap her, but instead she smiled and struck back with words.
“I’m not interested in Kim Taejun.”
At Haeru’s confident statement, Jaryeon’s eyes widened.
“W-What are you talking about?”
Flustered, Jaryeon’s face turned as red as a radish.
“I’m just saying.”
She didn’t spell everything out—hoping Jaryeon’s thoughts would tangle and torment her, and deliberately withholding how much she actually knew.
Imagining Jaryeon suffering over it made the smile on her lips deepen. Just as Jaryeon was about to ask something, the elevator that had dropped Haeru off earlier came back up and its doors opened.
Chae Muhyeok stepped out.
“What are you doing here?”
“It’s nothing, sir. Please go inside. I’ll explain today’s schedule in detail.”
In truth, they had already talked through everything work-related in the car due to the awkwardness, so there was nothing left to explain. But she didn’t want to say another word to Jaryeon, so she made up an excuse to leave.
“Alright.”
The two of them went into the CEO’s office.
Watching their backs as they walked away, Jaryeon’s forehead wrinkled.
“What on earth does she know?!”
Jaryeon spat out the words irritably, glaring at Haeru’s retreating figure.
Inside the CEO’s office, she found herself curious about Jaryeon’s expression.
She wondered what kind of face Jaryeon would make now—Jaryeon, who always bullied her and wore an expression of superiority, now anxious and on edge.
Regardless of whether he went over to his desk, she stood by the blinds and looked out at Jaryeon, who was still pacing the hallway, not yet returning to her office.
A faint smile curved her lips.
Until now, someone else’s misfortune had never once been her happiness. But today, Jaryeon’s unhappiness felt deeply satisfying.
She was still smiling contentedly at the sight when a sudden, low, heavy voice snapped her back to reality.
“What are you doing?”
Feeling warm breath near her ear, she flinched.
Muhyeok had set his bag down on the desk and, finding her behavior of peeking through the blinds cute, couldn’t resist coming closer.
He was pressed right up against her back, his face near her ear.
Startled, she hurriedly turned around—but it was a mistake. He was standing far too close.
Her eyes widened in embarrassment.
“Is there something interesting to see?”
At his question, she cleared her throat and sidestepped away like a crab to escape him.
“Ah, no. It’s nothing.”
He smiled as if he already knew. He always wore that kind of expression. After gazing at her for a moment, he went to the desk and sat down. Watching her fidget and roll her eyes as she organized the bag on the desk, he spoke.
“What schedule were you going to explain?”
“Ah, well…”
He frowned.
“Did you forget again?”
“Pardon?”
“You lose your memory every time you kiss me.”
She was left speechless. After a brief pause, Haeru decided that pretending not to know anything was the best option.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir.”
Her face reddened as she feigned ignorance without even being able to put on a proper poker face.
At the word “sir,” he lifted his head, crossed his arms, and looked at her.
“Fine. Then why did you come here?”
“Well… um… I was wondering if there was anything you needed me to do.”
With nothing specific to say, she blurted out something routine.
“Something for you to do.”
Resting his chin on his hand, he thought for a moment, then crooked his finger up and down—signaling her to come closer.
Her eyes widened, and she froze.
“Come here.”
“Yes? Why—”
“Can you even hear me from there? You’re too far away.”
Though his intention seemed a little suspicious, she slowly approached and stopped in front of the desk. He frowned slightly and spoke in a low voice.
“Closer.”
She clenched her fist tightly, pressing her thumbnail into the inside of her index finger. Her heart was already trembling.
Whenever she got close to him, her body reacted.
“Here—are these figures correct?”
Unexpectedly, he blinked innocent eyes and pointed to a figure in the materials for today’s meeting. Since the numbers were very small and hard to see, she leaned in close beside him, bent forward, and furrowed her brows deeply.
After blinking a few times, she did the calculation on the spot.
Since it was a simple calculation she could check without a calculator, she tilted her head and puckered her lips to one side in dissatisfaction.
“Hmm… it’s wrong. The decimal value.”
Even if the decimal was off, it wouldn’t have much impact on the meeting, so she said it casually and turned her head to look at Muhyeok.
But as soon as she did, she flinched.
He was far too close—and staring straight at her.
Startled, her hands tightened, crumpling the back of her pants.
Avoiding his gaze, she quickly straightened her back and casually patted it with one hand.
“Oof, my back hurts.”
Unlike her flustered self, he didn’t take his eyes off her. She tried to move away naturally while patting her back, but he grabbed her wrist.
Muhyeok stood up, sat her down in the chair he’d been using, and then perched lightly on the desk in front of her. Startled, Haeru tried to spring up like a toy doll—but immediately, Muhyeok pressed a firm hand down on her shoulder.
Her face flushed bright red, and his hand gently brushed over her heated cheek.
Wanting to change the atmosphere, she lightly shuffled her feet, keeping a bit of distance, and steered the conversation back to work.
“Are there any other figures you need to check?”
The gentle expression on his face twisted into something almost frightening.
“Do you think I called you all the way over here because I don’t know some trivial numbers?”
Stretching out his long legs, he hooked his shoe around the wheel of her chair and pulled it back toward him exactly as far as it had moved away. Then he bent his waist slightly.
Sensing danger, she tried to stand, but his warning came immediately.
“Don’t stand up—unless you want to kiss.”
Because he was already leaning forward, if she stood, their lips would more than likely collide.
She froze mid-motion, gripping the armrests tightly, her brows twitching in clear irritation.
At her scrunched-up face, he responded with a smile and stared at her intently.
In truth, he hadn’t had a good look at her face today. Maybe because of yesterday’s kiss, she’d only stared out the car window while he drove, and even when choosing clothes for her, she’d rushed off quickly.
As he quietly studied her face, she frowned deeply and snapped at him in a sharp, irritated voice.
“What do you think you’re doing—at work?”
“Why? Are you scared? Afraid someone might walk in?”
“Yes. I am. Aren’t you scared, sir? What are you going to do if someone finds out?”
“I see….”
“See what?”
“That you didn’t know.”
“Know what?”
“That I don’t care.”
