TLR 24

Chapter 24 …

‘It’s not you! It’s our Jiwan! Our Iju! My babies! My precious babies!’

She would never be able to forget those words for as long as she lived.

Though she couldn’t say how many more years she had left to live, it was a wound that wouldn’t fade until the day she died.

“Why are you just standing there without saying anything?”

“I’m heading out.”

“Oh, right. So how much did you say your salary was again? I was so thrilled that I forgot to ask until now.”

“Around forty million won a year.”

“Wh— That’s all?”

Her mother’s husband had earned good money back in the day, to be fair.

Seol barely managed to suppress the urge to ask her where that husband was right now.

“Hahaha… Well, it’ll increase over time. Right, it’ll go up, it’ll go up…”

Donghee changed her tune with an awkward laugh.

Seol turned around without saying a word.

‘What if she abandons me and runs away?’

It was hard to watch Donghee’s timid behavior, walking on eggshells ever since Seol had stayed out overnight, as if her mother were silently broadcasting those exact words.

She wanted to believe there was no way her mother evaluated her worth based solely on material usefulness.

So even though she tried to brush it off as overthinking, once the thought took root, erasing it completely proved impossible.

“First day of work, first day of work. Get it together, Seol.”

Seol patted herself on the back as she walked, trying to clear away the bitter thoughts.

Her destination was a paid parking lot near the station. It was the meetup spot Junhyuk had chosen.

‘I’m sorry for not picking you up right in front of your house.’ ‘Huh? No! This is an absolute windfall for me! You have no idea how great it is just not having to ride the subway!’

Besides, Donghee might look out the window, so this setup was far better.

Though hearing that Junhyuk had already paid for the parking on a monthly basis added yet another weight to her conscience.

‘The alley in front of Seol-ssi’s house is narrow. I can’t drive properly if the road strays even slightly from standard dimensions.’ ‘Ah, yes. It is a bit narrow over there.’ ‘It’s not so much that I can’t drive, but more that it pisses me off.’ ‘Right…’ ‘When a car comes from the other direction, we both have to pull as close to the side as possible, come to a complete stop, and let one pass first.’ ‘Yes…’ ‘Moments like that make me just want to abandon the car right then and there.’

“…”

Just the memory of it narrowed the space between Junhyuk’s brows in irritation.

Why did I have to rent that house and make things inconvenient for everyone? Seol shook her head to shake off another round of negative thoughts.

“Ah…”

Even though it was fifteen minutes before their agreed time, Junhyuk was already there.

Leaning against the side of the car, Junhyuk straightened his posture as she approached. Seol grabbed the strap of the bag slung over her shoulder and hurried over with quick, light steps.

“Have you been waiting long?”

“I just got here.”

“Ah, okay.”

“Don’t run next time. I’m not going to leave without you.”

“Okay.”

Seol gave an awkward nod. As Junhyuk scanned her up and down, she felt utterly flustered under his gaze.

She was wearing a suit, makeup, and had carefully tied her hair back. She thought she’d look a bit better than usual, but his narrowed eyes made him look incredibly displeased.

“You’re wearing a skirt?”

“Yes, my mom said I should wear a skirt since it’s my first day of work.”

“What kind of mindset is that even?”

His voice, low by default, suddenly dropped an octave deeper.

Unsure if it was a rhetorical question meant for himself, she stayed silent, but Junhyuk tilted his chin up as if demanding an answer.

“Um… an old-fashioned mindset, maybe?”

“Evidently.”

“Yeah, but I’ll probably be wearing skirts pretty often going forward. I mean, pants are more comfortable for me, too…”

“Why?”

Junhyuk cut her off abruptly.

Seol swallowed her breath. Even though Junhyuk didn’t know about her older sister’s situation, bringing up the word ‘secretary’ felt uncomfortable.

“I got assigned to the executive secretary’s office. When I was first hired, it was a different department. Well, I’m just glad I got a job at all…”

Seol trailed off mid-smile.

The man in front of her had turned bright red in the face. She couldn’t believe a person’s complexion could change so drastically in a matter of seconds.

“Are you okay?”

Panicking, Seol grabbed Junhyuk’s arm. She was terrified that he might be experiencing something severe, like a heart attack or a stroke.

Junhyuk raised a single hand to signal he was fine. He looked up at thin air for a moment before meeting her eyes again.

“Did they specify whose secretary’s office it is?”

“I heard it’s for Director Kim Jin-shin.”

“Right.”

“Yes.”

“The name is Kim Jin-shin.”

Completely oblivious to the fact that Junhyuk was muttering What a damn awful name under his breath, Seol spoke up.

“Yes, Kim Jin-shin. They said he’s part of the owner family. This is the first time in my life I’ve ever seen a chaebol.”

“Yeah. First time in your life seeing a chaebol.”

“I’m a bit nervous, but honestly, no matter who my boss is, I just need to work hard.”

“That’s a great mindset.”

“Yes. Luckily, I had saved my older sister’s clothes. We’re a similar build, so it saved me from worrying about the cost of work attire… Wait, are you really okay?”

Junhyuk’s face had flushed crimson once again.

Startled, Seol grabbed both of his arms with her hands and shook him.

“Ah, am I not supposed to touch you recklessly? I’ll call an ambulance, an ambulance!”

While Seol reached frantically into her bag, Junhyuk swore every curse word he knew in his head.

He grit his teeth so hard his jaw throbbed. If he let go of a single nerve cell, he felt like he’d lose his mind.

So the bottom line of this conversation was that Han Seol was wearing Han Iju’s clothes and going to work as Kim Jin-shin’s secretary.

Junhyuk grabbed Seol’s hand, which was holding her phone.

“Are you in a lot of pain? You have to let go of my hand so I can make the call!”

“I am fine.”

“Pardon?”

“I am fine.”

Though Junhyuk’s complexion returned to normal, the worry didn’t leave Seol’s eyes.

“Still, it’d be better to go to a hospital…”

“I am fine.”

“If an ambulance is too much, should I call a taxi?”

“I am fine. Everything is fine.”

His icy tone made Seol pause for a second before softly replying, “Okay.”

“We should get going. Get in.”

Junhyuk opened the passenger door.

After Seol took her seat, Junhyuk walked around the back of the car toward the driver’s side.

Han Seol is Han Seol, nobody else. So everything is fine. Even after reaching that conclusion logically, his dark, sunken gaze showed no sign of softening.

There was no training period. Even so, she had expected someone to explain her duties once she arrived for work.

Instead, she was assigned a desk in an office shared by five people, and that was it.

Seol bowed deep to the room, announcing, “I’m Han Seol, starting today. I look forward to working with you.”

The only responses she received were either “Ah, right” or “Huh? Oh, yeah.” No one offered their names, let alone their job titles.

Whenever people discussed work around the room, Seol peeked over tentatively.

When someone stood up, she’d stand up too, only to end up sitting back down without gaining anything.

“Um… is there anything I should be doing?”

Seol plucked up the courage to ask the man sitting next to her.

“Beat me. How should I know?”

Without taking his eyes off the document he was reviewing, the man made his annoyance painfully obvious.

“Okay.”

Seol replied softly and stared at her monitor. The reflection of her pale, nervous face on the black screen looked like a ghost.

She finally understood what people meant when they said their blood was running dry. She understood what it meant to feel like dying of anxiety, too.

Still, she forced herself not to show it, ate lunch alone in the cafeteria, and returned.

The shift came at 2:00 PM.

“Han Seol-ssi, step over here for a moment.”

The woman who appeared to hold the highest rank in the room spoke up.

“Yes!”

Seol stood up from her seat with a brisk, energetic reply.

“We’re going to pay our respects to the Director, so follow me.”

“Yes.”

The woman knocked twice on the black door at the end of the hallway. After waiting about ten seconds, she opened it.

“Excuse us, Director.”

“Ah, Team Leader Choi. Good, you’re here.”

“I’ve brought Han Seol-ssi.”

Team Leader Choi stepped aside slightly.

Seol bowed to the young man sitting on the sofa.

“Nice to meet you, Director. I’m Han Seol.”

“Han Seol. Yes, you’re Han Seol. I’m Kim Jin-shin.”

Jin-shin nodded with a smirk playing on his lips.

“Our Han Seol-ssi joined the team at an awkward time, so things must be tough for her. Make sure to take good care of her, Team Leader Choi.”

“Yes, Director.”

“Teach her everything from A to Z so she can adjust well.”

“Yes, Director.”

“And… is wearing skirts a requirement for us? As far as I know, there’s no such rule.”

“There’s no specific rule.”

“An implicit one, then?”

“That is correct. For the secretary’s office, at least. I’m not sure about other departments.”

“Then starting today, let’s break away from those dusty old customs—at least in our executive secretary’s office.”

Jin-shin broke off mid-sentence with a fake cough.

Jin-shin had been the exact person who instructed them to leave Han Seol alone and give her nothing to do.

Why is this bastard suddenly changing his tune? While Team Leader Choi shot him a suspicious look, Jin-shin spoke again.

“Han Seol-ssi can head back out. Team Leader Choi, stick around.”

“Yes, I’ll take my leave then.”

Seol bowed and turned around to leave.

Click— Once the door closed, Jin-shin grimaced and pulled out a cigarette.

“This is a non-smoking building, Director.”

“I’ll just pay the fine. The fine. Ha, seriously, I’m seeing all kinds of ridiculous crap in my lifetime.”

“Did something happen at lunch?”

“Oh, plenty of ridiculous things happened.”

Leaning back against the sofa, Jin-shin recalled the events of two hours ago.