Private Secretary – Episode 5
When she took out her phone to check, she saw that a message had arrived from him. It was sent from a number that simply began with 010.
“Then what should I do if the schedule changes?”
“It doesn’t matter. Just have it ready every day.”
“Yes. Understood.”
“…You’re not bothered by me speaking informally, are you?”
Busy saving the trainer’s number, Lee Seol hadn’t really paid attention to his tone. She paused with a slightly blank expression.
Then she quickly came back to her senses.
“I’ll consider today the day I officially became your secretary, Director.”
“…You’re more enthusiastic than I expected.”
“I really like this job. You can assign me even more difficult tasks. I’ll do my best to live up to your expectations.”
“…Is that so?”
He had been quietly picking at his food, but at her words he turned his head and looked up at Lee Seol, who was standing beside him.
Her eyes inevitably caught the sight of his damp hair and the firm muscles visible beneath the bathrobe.
For some reason, merely seeing it made her feel guilty, and Lee Seol tried her best to keep her gaze from drifting below his eyes.
She believed that staring too closely at her superior in such a relaxed state would be rude.
“Follow me.”
After finishing about half his meal, he rose from his seat.
Even in that moment, Lee Seol found herself thinking that next time she should prepare even better food so that nothing but empty dishes would remain.
The place he led her to was the dressing room.
The clothes hanging densely on the racks along the wall looked like something out of a department store clothing section.
“My schedule will be shared by the secretary’s office. Just prepare clothes that match each schedule every morning.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not confident enough in my fashion sense to pick out your outfits, Director.”
Instead of answering, he took out a business card from a drawer and handed it to her.
Along with a department store logo, it read: Personal Shopper.
“That person knows my taste well. They’ll take care of everything there. You just pick up the clothes and set them out as they are. Prepare an extra outfit as well, just in case.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Lee Seol, who had absolutely no interest in fashion, was momentarily surprised but soon felt relieved.
Picking up the clothes and laying them out neatly without wrinkles was not a particularly difficult task.
She nodded quietly.
At that moment, with his back turned to her, he suddenly removed his bathrobe.
Even though the only thing she saw was the tightly defined muscles of his back, Lee Seol was so startled that she quickly turned around.
“I’ll step outside.”
“You’ll be seeing me change often from now on. Why bother leaving? You can stay.”
But flustered, Lee Seol didn’t even have time to respond before hastily leaving the dressing room.
When she turned back, wondering if she should close the door for him, she saw him walking toward her wearing nothing but his drawers.
This time, she was so startled she couldn’t even look away.
How can an ordinary person have a body like that?
His muscles were perfectly balanced—neither excessive nor lacking—and arranged in a way that was pleasing to the eye. He looked on par with a professional underwear model.
“You said you were leaving, yet you’re standing there admiring the view.”
“Ah— I, um, that’s—”
Looking at Lee Seol, he lifted one corner of his mouth. It was a clear smirk.
Slowly extending his arm, the man deliberately closed the door.
Lee Seol stared at the closed door, steadying her trembling breath.
“…That startled me.”
It had been so long since she had seen a man’s bare body up close that it had caught her off guard.
Serving a young boss, unlike before, certainly brought unexpected incidents like this. The thought made her laugh awkwardly.
She hadn’t meant to look, but his body had been far better than she expected.
“He must be popular. Though once people learn his personality, they’d probably all run away.”
Muttering indifferently, Lee Seol quickly regained her composure and returned to her work.
As instructed, she saved the number of the personal shopper from the business card and began tapping on the keypad to send a greeting message.
Soon, all of Lee Seol’s attention was once again focused entirely on the tasks assigned by her boss.
Two weeks had already passed since Lee Seol started working.
As Kang Taesan began his first days at the office, the number of things she had to manage naturally increased.
As a secretary responsible for his private affairs, Lee Seol didn’t get weekends off.
She had prepared herself for working on holidays, but when it became reality, it still didn’t feel pleasant.
Still, it was work, and she carried it out quietly. One day, Taesan handed her an envelope.
It was an incentive bonus.
Even without opening it, Lee Seol could tell it was thick. Without realizing it, a bright smile spread across her face.
“…I’d rather you didn’t show your feelings that openly.”
Taesan spoke with subtle mockery as he looked at her beaming expression, but Lee Seol didn’t feel offended in the slightest.
So this is the famous financial therapy.
Her official salary was still a long way off, so the cash he gave her was the first income she had received since joining the company.
Her heart swelled as if she had just received her very first paycheck.
From that day on, Lee Seol began actively seeking out more things to do. Once money was involved, it was impossible not to become more motivated.
After all, money was the greatest source of motivation for her.
Around that time, Lee Seol also came to understand Taesan’s daily routine perfectly.
Although he was a picky and sensitive man, his everyday routine was clear and simple.
If there was no early morning meeting, he always woke up at 5 a.m.
For an hour, he drank coffee while checking American and international news, as well as company emails and the day’s tasks.
At 6 a.m., he went to exercise and returned at 7 a.m.
Then he spent thirty minutes eating breakfast while carefully reading the major domestic newspapers.
After that, he finished getting ready for work by 8 a.m. and came out to receive a brief report of the day’s schedule from Lee Seol.
Once he gave her instructions according to the schedule, he would finally head to the company.
He always left the hotel room at exactly 8:25 a.m.
Because of that, unless something unusual happened, Lee Seol would arrive at his hotel room by 7 a.m.
She would arrange the domestic newspapers she bought from a convenience store on the table, set up breakfast, and place the clothes he would wear in the dressing room.
By then, Taesan would usually be returning from his workout.
To give him a satisfying morning, Lee Seol discussed with his trainer and prepared a different breakfast menu every day.
This wasn’t something Taesan had ordered her to do. It was something Lee Seol did voluntarily, moved by the incentive he had given her.
In addition, she took care of his workout clothes and the clothes he wore the previous day, sending them to the dry cleaner every day. She also made sure his nutritional supplements never ran out.
Seeing Lee Seol diligently handle tasks without being told, Taesan remarked one day,
“Unexpected.”
She didn’t know what kind of expectations he had originally had of her, or how much he had anticipated.
But it was clear from his tone that he was pleased.
Even after hearing the comment, Lee Seol pretended not to notice and secretly felt proud.
If you’re getting paid, of course you should earn your pay, she thought.
However, since work involves people, unexpected variables sometimes appear in unforeseen places.
That was exactly what had happened now.
Today, Taesan was scheduled to have dinner at a restaurant with his American university classmates.
All of them were heirs from wealthy conglomerate families like Taesan, so it was less a friendly gathering and more of a business meeting in disguise.
Wanting her boss to look his best in front of them, Lee Seol had prepared an elegant outfit that matched the dress code in advance.
But who would have thought he’d suddenly change the schedule to play tennis on the very same day?
As soon as she heard the news, Lee Seol hurried to Taesan’s personal shopper and picked up an outfit suitable for a tennis match.
Then she arrived at the lounge inside Taesan’s office and began ironing the clothes.
A short while later, she heard Taesan entering the office.
Lee Seol was about to open the door and step out to announce her presence, but she paused when she heard another voice.
The person with Taesan was none other than his father, Kang Shin-jae, the chairman of the Hogan Group.
For some reason, Lee Seol felt that she shouldn’t interrupt their conversation, so she quietly held her breath.
“How’s the newest secretary you hired? The one my friend introduced, not the ones outside.”
Because the wall was thin, their conversation could be heard clearly.
