EHR 09

Chapter 09

The power of a word backed by authority was indeed tremendous, it seemed. As soon as the call ended, the materials the vice principal sent arrived at the chairman’s office, filling boxes to the brim.

“That’s a huge amount. Reviewing ten years’ worth will take quite a while.”

Even at Jaekyung’s surprised voice, Yoo Gam showed no particular reaction and went to sit at the desk across from her.

“Check every single number, every single letter without missing anything. I’ll give you a generous performance bonus since Seo Jaekyung likes those.”

He even threw in a performance bonus, which was something to be grateful for, but Jaekyung gave Yoo Gam a slight glare for the way he always had to say things so snidely.

But he was already absorbed in his work and didn’t notice.

Anyway, now that the materials were secured, she had to speed things up. Following the instruction to prioritize the matter regarding the vice principal, Jaekyung focused until her eyes grew dry and gritty.

It was when she had eaten lunch with Teacher Kim Juyoung and was returning to the chairman’s office.

“Ms. Seo.”

The vice principal, who had appeared suddenly, beckoned to Jaekyung with a wag of his hand.

“You’ve got a lot of work these days, haven’t you?”

“…Yes.”

“It’s problematic when a contract worker gets too far ahead.”

The vice principal looked at Jaekyung with a displeased expression.

“Things like this should be let slide with some sense.”

He seemed displeased about being told off over the phone by the chairman that morning.

“That’s… because it’s procedurally necessary.”

“Ms. Seo!”

His voice dropped low.

“Look here. Even if you’re the chairman’s secretary, your status is still a contract worker. I’ve been at this school for twenty years. Since you’re also an alumna of this school, aren’t you my student?”

The vice principal tossed a document file at Jaekyung.

“This—if you process it as if you did it, things will quiet down.”

Jaekyung’s face went pale.

“Then… when you’re preparing for employment, I’ll write you a letter of recommendation or so.”

“Wouldn’t this cause problems?”

“Heh heh, problems? You entered it, Ms. Seo, so what’s the problem?”

The vice principal, glancing around, glared at Jaekyung and spoke as if threatening her.

At that moment, the chairman’s office door opened and Yoo Gam and Chief Secretary Kwon walked out.

“What’s going on here?”

The vice principal calmly bowed his head toward the chairman.

“Hello, Chairman. I’m in the middle of handing over work duties.”

Yoo Gam took the file from Jaekyung’s hand and opened it. His gaze, reading through the fabricated materials the vice principal had made, wavered for just a very brief moment.

“Is there any work to hand over to a secretary directly under the chairman?”

“They say it’s material Ms. Seo made. She had many questions, so I came to explain during lunch.”

He lied with a sly smile.

Yoo Gam should have noticed that it wasn’t material Jaekyung made, and Jaekyung’s mouth went completely dry.

“Without evidence, and if the sums don’t add up, I don’t carelessly reference even material Ms. Seo made.”

“Indeed, you’re right. So that the chairman needn’t worry, I’ll personally check the data Ms. Seo entered accurately.”

Yoo Gam stared for a moment at the vice principal’s eel-like smile.

“I’ll be at a meeting for about an hour, so Ms. Seo, contact me immediately if any problems arise.”

“Yes. Have a good trip.”

As Yoo Gam and Chief Secretary Kwon left first, the vice principal whispered to Jaekyung.

“See that. Do you think the chairman will trust you? If you do as I say, I’ll make sure you keep your position.”

“Excuse me. Vice Principal! I don’t need anything like that.”

Regardless of Jaekyung’s urgent call, the vice principal patted her shoulder a couple of times and disappeared with a good-natured smile.

Jaekyung looked at the file in her hand, at a loss.

‘Should I report to Yoo Gam right away that it’s material the vice principal made?’

Her bad premonition about the vice principal seemed likely to be fact, not conjecture.

The best she could do right now was to verify whether the materials had been fabricated or omitted, and report it.

[I’ll be late because of a meeting, so go home first. Driver Yoon will take you.]

At Yoo Gam’s message, she arrived home, opened the front door, and went in. No matter how luxurious it was, like a hotel, staying in someone else’s house couldn’t be comfortable.

Even though no one was home, she felt self-conscious about the dust-free floor.

Jaekyung went into the room she was staying in and turned on her laptop. The way to sort out her relationship with Yoo Gam was to finish the work as soon as possible.

When she looked up, it was dark outside the window.

Hasn’t he come in yet? Staying in the same house, she couldn’t help but be conscious of his movements.

*Growl.*

She was hungry—she should have bought something at a convenience store. Moving around in a chauffeured vehicle meant many restrictions on what had been her natural daily life.

She wanted to avoid going out to the living room and running into Yoo Gam for no reason. But her stomach made an even louder noise.

She didn’t know what was in the fridge, but it seemed better to quickly eat anything.

Quietly opening the door and going out, the house—with only automatic sensor lights on in the spacious area—was eerily silent.

Jaekyung quickly entered the kitchen and carefully opened the fridge. It was full of individually packaged salads, poke bowls, and various lunch boxes.

“It’s a complete high-end convenience store. Is it okay to eat this?”

Calling to ask would be ridiculous, so Jaekyung picked something at random and left the kitchen.

“Eating dinner?”

“Ah… yes.”

Yoo Gam, who had come in at some point wearing a suit, alternated his gaze between the lunch box in Jaekyung’s hand and her face.

“Let’s eat together.”

“What? I’ll just eat in my room.”

“Meals are eaten at the dining table. It’s a rule.”

“……”

“You must not have read the 10 rules of cohabitation. Go in.”

There were 10 rules of cohabitation?

She hadn’t checked past the first page, but a few pages of the contract sitting on the desk came to mind.

Jaekyung, sitting at the dining table with the lunch box, lost all her appetite at the thought of the contract.

“There’s soup here too, try it.”

Yoo Gam, who had opened the fridge and stood there handsomely like a model, looked at Jaekyung.

“No. No. I’m fine.”

“Give me the lunch box. I’ll heat it up.”

Before she could refuse, the cold lunch box in front of Jaekyung disappeared.

The warmed lunch box, soup, and a fresh salad garnished with fruit—quite a lot of food was placed on the table.

Jaekyung felt awkward picking up the neatly arranged utensils Yoo Gam had prepared, but he sat at the table without a care and began eating.

“Delivery comes from the hotel every day, so pick whatever you like. You know how to set a table, right?”

“What? Of course.”

She’d been packing her dad’s meals since she was young, and she’d done part-time dishwashing at side-dish shops and restaurants—yet Yoo Gam looked at her as if she were a woman incapable of even feeding herself.

“Are you a picky eater?”

“No. I eat everything well.”

Yoo Gam furrowed his brow, displeased about something.

“Make sure to eat your meals. You need to gain some weight.”

Just like Chief Secretary Kwon had said the chairman was a tsundere, Yoo Gam’s outward appearance was cold, but his actions were quick and he seemed like someone accustomed to taking care of others—it was surprising.

It was so quiet you could hear the hum of the fridge, so Jaekyung carefully used her chopsticks, trying not to make any sound.

Perhaps concerned about her, Yoo Gam turned on the speaker in the kitchen. As music that would suit a café played, her heart eased a little and she was able to swallow the food in her mouth.

When Jaekyung finished eating and carried her dishes to the sink, Yoo Gam followed and stood beside her, turning on the water.

“I’ll clean up, so take out some dessert from the fridge.”

Was there dessert?

At his words, she opened the fridge again and found the lower section filled with fruit, yogurt, and pudding.

“What would you like?”

“Tangerines are fine, and for pudding, dark chocolate. Seo Jaekyung, take out whatever you like.”

“I’m fine, really.”

When Jaekyung took out the mandarin and dark chocolate pudding and placed them on the table, Yoo Gam, having finished cleaning up, strode over.

“The dark one is barely sweet. You don’t like chocolate flavor?”

“I’m full. I’ve eaten enough.”

“If you don’t like chocolate, how about something nutty?”

A white pudding like a snowball was placed down, and sauce was drizzled with a familiar hand.

“It’s peanut pudding, try just one bite. You don’t have allergies, right?”

“No.”

The staring was bothersome, so she put one spoonful in her mouth.

The texture was chewy, like something between jelly and soft tofu, and the cold, nutty taste was quite good.

After confirming Jaekyung was eating, Yoo Gam handed her a spoonful of the chocolate flavor.

“A famous pastry chef made it. Try it. It might make you feel better.”

After hesitating, Jaekyung put the spoon held to her lips into her mouth. The rich flavor with high dark chocolate content wasn’t bad.

At some point, an espresso in a small cup had been placed down, and the balance of pudding and coffee went quite well together.

“This tangerine was sent from a Jeju farm. How is it?”

The sweet-and-sour juice pooled in her mouth, and the texture was soft like eating canned fruit.

“It tastes good.”

“There will be a time we go to the Jeju farm together.”

Was there a reason to go to Jeju Island with the chairman? Even if there were, of course she’d refuse.

“Um… you must be a gourmet.”

Even though her mouth felt prickly, everything on the table whetted her appetite. The lunch box was very luxurious too—though that was natural since it was delivered from a hotel.

“They say rice is medicine. Since my study abroad life was long, I made sure to eat well instead of taking medicine. Thinking of my runaway wife.”

The words “runaway wife” grated on her, but going abroad to study and even cooking for himself was impressive.

“You must cook well.”

“Not bad. If you live with me, I’ll cook for you for life. The wife just has to eat.”

“Pfft.”

Jaekyung, who had almost spat out her coffee for a moment, covered her mouth.