Chapter 11
11. The Person Who Will Be My Wife 2021.06.05.
After being scolded once by his friend Seung-gyu, Ji-heon stood in front of the elevator trash can again. The item he had dropped into the trash can in its paper bag was still there. He reached out and picked up only the box from the paper bag. There was a card attached to the box. He opened the card. - Thank you for inviting me. I will learn a lot and become a great person. Enjoy the cookies! His face contorted as he checked each awkwardly written letter. He thought about throwing the card away again but put it in his pocket. Ji-heon returned to his office with the box and checked the contents. There were brown cookies with various nuts embedded in them. The shape was as bad as he had expected. But without much hesitation, Ji-heon picked up a cookie and tore open the plastic packaging. He put the cookie in his mouth and chewed slowly, carefully. It wasn't a bad taste. He originally refused food gifts, but he had accepted it out of courtesy. He wouldn't be seeing the children and chaperones from the orphanage anymore, so he threw it away with a light heart. Throwing away gifts was always a common occurrence, so he didn't have any feelings about it. Until that woman appeared.
“How could you throw that away?”
It wasn't that he was upset about her speaking informally. There was something in her tone, her intonation, her timbre, and the sincerity felt in her trembling eyes that seemed to go beyond simple resentment. It was as if she was demanding, 'Why do you live like this?' How could a mere employee dare to confront a company executive so audaciously? If she had some ulterior motive, she was truly cunning, and if it was pure-hearted, she was incredibly bold. And in the middle of the afternoon, Ji-heon met Jeong-o again in the break room. She, who had come in a hurry, asked a question before he could even speak.
“……Do you know who I am?”
“I know.”
“……”
“Copywriter Lee Jung-o.”
“……Besides that?”
He couldn't grasp the point of her question. It felt like a rebuke for grabbing the wrist of a woman he didn't know well, and it also felt like a hint that she was pressing him about something he had missed. Either way, it wasn't pleasant. Ji-heon didn't like being swayed by anyone. Above all, he didn't want to reveal that his heart was gradually being moved.
“Is there something else I need to know?”
“……”
“Rather than that, I want to talk about what happened this morning.”
He decided to seize the opportunity before she could say anything more absurd. You questioned how I could throw it away. So, I picked it up. But suddenly, a thick tear fell from her eye. She's crying? Why? Ji-heon, who had been planning to coldly retort no matter how she argued, was also lost. What on earth is the problem this time? He furrowed his brow and retraced his steps. He suddenly felt uneasy about Seung-gyu taking her away. Did Seung-gyu scare her? He thought Park Seung-gyu would be flexible in this kind of situation, but it seemed he had handled it more harshly than expected. It was something Seung-gyu had done to protect him, but he didn't feel comfortable about it. But apart from that, he thought the woman was pretty. For the first time. The woman was crying. He felt a longing for that weakened appearance. He wanted to watch her cry like that for hours in a confined space, in his office with the door firmly closed. But was it really just tears he wanted to see?
“Oppa. Were you here?”
At that moment, a voice was heard from the break room entrance. It was Chae Eun-bi. Ji-heon quickly lowered the hand he had unknowingly raised towards Jeong-o. Jeong-o also hurriedly wiped away her tears, looking flustered. Nevertheless, her eyes were still bright red. Was she very upset? He should have asked her that.
“Oppa. Didn't I tell you? Lee Jung-o is my friend. A high school classmate.”
While he was still feeling awkward, his arm was grabbed by Eun-bi's hand.
“Jeong-o, what's wrong?”
“Ah, no, I just came to see some books.”
Jeong-o answered, stiffly turning her head. Ji-heon knew it was an excuse.
“What books?”
“Books to refer to for liquor advertisements.”
“Oh my, Jeong-o, let's drop the formalities when it's just us. You're not doing this on purpose to make me uncomfortable, are you?”
“Ah, no. No. I'll go now.”
She answered Eun-bi's question vaguely and left in a hurry, as if someone was chasing her. After Jeong-o left, only Ji-heon and Eun-bi were left, and their arms also fell apart. Eun-bi was left with an awkward question. What on earth was that? It seemed like there was some story behind it. Lee Jung-o was blushing in front of Ji-heon, and Ji-heon was frozen.
“Oppa, what's wrong? Did Lee Jung-o say something to you?”
As expected, Ji-heon didn't answer. He never gave her the answers she wanted. Eun-bi also doesn't get hurt by such things every time.
“I'm just saying this in case, but don't trust Lee Jung-o too much. She's not someone you can trust with something.”
His eyebrows twitched slightly.
“Back in high school, she secretly touched my makeup. And then she pretended she didn't. All my friends knew, but she kept denying it, so it was a bit scary.”
“……”
“I think she's corrected her habits a lot now, but anyway, Oppa, be careful too.”
He showed no reaction. He just lowered his eyelids and looked down at the ring on her left ring finger. She had boasted to people that it was a ring he had given her as a gift. Ji-heon, of course, doesn't know this fact. Feeling unnecessarily guilty, Eun-bi hid her left hand behind her back. Nevertheless, his fierce gaze did not subside. There were times when she felt chills from his gaze, which seemed to overwhelm his opponent, and yet his attitude showed no emotion. But today.
“You, too. Chae Eun-bi.”
“……”
“Don't cross the line.”
It seemed like something more than that was stirring. Eun-bi also felt a surge of emotion. After Ji-heon left, Eun-bi stood there for a long time.
‘We're pretending to date because you're worried about annoying people like that.’
Four years ago, pink rumors about Eun-bi and Ji-heon spread among acquaintances. Using that opportunity as an excuse, Eun-bi proposed a nominal relationship to Ji-heon, and Ji-heon accepted it. It was probably an attempt to escape the excessive attention of many people around them. Anyway, their interests aligned well, and the relationship has continued well until now. At the company, Eun-bi also made good use of her relationship with Ji-heon. She boasted as if she was receiving all kinds of love from Ji-heon, wore a pretty ring and acted as if Ji-heon had bought it for her, and even looked at wedding gifts as if she would be getting married soon. She was enjoying herself so well on her own, but Ji-heon suddenly came to Max Planning as an executive director. At first, she was terrified of becoming a liar. But Ji-heon, unexpectedly, didn't say anything. She couldn't tell if he was pretending not to know or if he really didn't know. However, as always, Ji-heon was indifferent to her. A truly nominal, fake lover. Nevertheless, Eun-bi is doing her job excellently. She calls Ms. Jang Young-mi twice a week, flattering her and receiving her favor. Youngmi already regarded Eun-bi as her daughter-in-law. Thus, Eun-bi's expectations have now become a certainty. Although she and Ji-heon are currently awkward, she is certain that one day she will be his wife. The certainty that he will be hers. Jeong Ji-heon was the man who would make her stand out the most. There were rumors here and there, but when she actually investigated, she was shocked at how clean his relationships with women were. She didn't know what kind of germophobia it was, but Jeong Ji-heon would continue to be alone. So, the only person who could be his wife was herself. All she had to do was chase away unpleasant gnats like Lee Jung-o, like today. Ji-heon didn't know how hard Eun-bi was working. * Evening time. Jeong-o was at her desk, reviewing the materials she was assigned to. She was participating in the Competitive Presentation, so she was stuck working overtime from today. As she sat still, thoughts kept popping into her head. Jeong Ji-heon and Chae Eun-bi. She never thought she would see those two together. Not knowing that, she almost told Ji-heon about Yena. Even if it wasn't amnesia, seven years was a time when even mountains and rivers could change. Hooo. Drrrrr. A sigh was followed by a vibration. It was a call from her mother, Ms. Lee Guk-soon. Only after the vibration did she realize that she hadn't called home while working overtime. Jeong-o got up from her seat and quickly answered the phone.
“Hello.”
[Are you working overtime?]
“Yeah. Where's Yena?”
[She's been singing about wanting ice cream, so when I told her I'd buy it for her after dinner, she said she hates her grandmother.]
“Pfft.”
Imagining her daughter's appearance was a comfort to her parched heart.
[Are you happy? Your granddaughter says she hates her grandmother?]
“Mom, you're laughing too.”
[Have you eaten?]
“Yeah. You don't have to worry about my meals.”
"I see," Guk-soon said, letting out a soft laugh.
[Oh, and that hair pin is at the restaurant. I found it.]
“Huh? What hair pin?”
[The purple one that's round and long. The one with the jewel at the end. You were looking for it.]
“When?”
[It must have been about a year ago.]
“Why are you telling me now after a year? Of course, I'd forget after a year.”
[You might forget, but how could I forget when you talked about it so much?]
“……Did I?”
[You looked for it so hard back then, and now you've forgotten about it?]
“I guess it wasn't that important.”
[If you're not going to wear it, that's fine. I'll have to wear it.]
In the time her mother is thinking of her daughter, the daughter is thinking of another man. A forgotten hairpin overlapped with her life. Is Lee Jung-oh like that hairpin to Jeong Ji-heon? Lost without even knowing it was lost, and never to be found again. Like a useless memory? Not just a year, but someone from a whole seven years ago. I should have forgotten you too. I was sad that I couldn't. A past love is like broken glass. It's already useless, but it sparkles unnecessarily. Even knowing that the shards of glass will hurt me, I keep reaching out. Foolishly. And that makes me even sadder. Thinking her silent daughter might be busy, her mother ended the call.
[Will you be late tonight?]
“No. I won't be too late. It's the first day of the Competitive Presentation.”
[Okay. Don't work too hard, and stay somewhere cool. It's incredibly hot today.]
“Okay. Don't worry.”
Jeong-o hung up cheerfully. The meeting would start soon. Chae Eun-bi gestured to Jeong-o, who was about to move to the conference room.
“Lee Jung-oh, Assistant Manager.”
Since they were in the same division and in adjacent teams, she would be running into Chae Eun-bi often. And there would be many cases of collaboration like this. If she intended to stay at this company, she had to overcome her discomfort. Jeong-o steeled herself and went to Eun-bi.
“Assistant Manager Lee Jung-oh, you're going into the Competitive Presentation meeting too, right?”
“Yes, Manager.”
“Could you take these to the conference room?”
Eun-bi pointed to three laptops. They wouldn't be too heavy all together, but they looked like personal laptops.
“They're needed for the meeting.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Jeong-o nodded and picked up the three laptops. They weren't heavy after all. As she turned to go to the conference room, Eun-bi called out to Jeong-o again.
“Assistant Manager Lee Jung-oh.”
“Yes.”
“Is something bothering you?”
“Huh? No.”
“But your expression looks a bit off.”
My expression? Jeong-o blinked.
“You're not upset because I asked you to do something, are you?”
“Not at all.”
Jeong-o shook her head firmly. She really wasn't bothered at all? But Eun-bi's expression darkened considerably.
“Assistant Manager Lee Jung-oh, getting flustered and excited over something trivial can hurt each other's feelings.”
Jeong-o was stunned by Eun-bi's scolding tone. Carrying laptops was hardly a big deal. I'm really okay, though? On the contrary, Eun-bi's remark made her feel like she was getting heated up. She felt bewildered and wronged. Eventually, Eun-bi sighed deeply, as if the ground was sinking beneath her, and took back the laptops that Jeong-o was holding.
“I'll just carry these myself. Cheer up.”
Her voice was smooth and without sharp edges. The gazes of those around them turned cold as they watched Eun-bi's angelic response to Jeong-o.
