Chapter 16
- That Wasn't a Kiss 2021.06.23.
Jeong Ji-heon had never been this annoyed recently. Lee Jung-o, who said she had something to say, went out to make a phone call and left work without a word. Park Seung-gyu, his self-proclaimed best friend, turned his back as if he would never see him again. With two people bothering him, Ji-heon even had trouble sleeping. Still, he had to work, so he went to work. On the way to his office, he stopped for a moment and looked at Jeong-o's seat from afar. She didn't seem to have come to work yet. Chae Eun-bi and her colleague's voices were heard from the pantry. Ji-heon moved to his office.
“Director, you're here?”
“Yes.”
He answered the secretary's greeting perfunctorily and stepped into the office. He was sitting on the sofa, but his head hurt so much that he lay down. After a while, he heard light footsteps outside the office. Thinking it was Chae Eun-bi, Ji-heon immediately closed his eyes. Everything was a hassle. He didn't want to exchange a single word with Chae Eun-bi. Soon, the door opened and someone came in. It would be polite for the person to think that he must be tired if he was lying on the sofa and turn around immediately, but the woman stood there. Displeased with that, Ji-heon's brow furrowed slightly. The approaching steps were even more suspicious. He felt a heat as if she was sitting by his head and observing him. The faint breathing, almost inaudible, seemed to wish for his peace. The skin touched by her breath felt ticklish. The strength in his fingertips increased. The desire to face the other person arose, but Ji-heon held back, fearing he would regret it if he opened his eyes. But then, something hot and wet landed on his lips. As something hot like a brand slowly seeped between his lips, he felt his body heat up. The woman also seemed surprised. He felt the woman, who had risen, quickly turning around.
‘What am I doing right now.’
Ji-heon couldn't bear it and opened his eyes wide. And he recognized Lee Jung-o's back. He pretended to be asleep because he didn't want to talk to Chae Eun-bi, but it turned out to be Lee Jung-o.
“Where are you going?”
“……”
“Where are you going, after doing this?”
Ji-heon nimbly grabbed her.
“Uh, uh, uh... I didn't do anything.”
She turned her head with a flustered look and replied. Her face, which was always pale, was flushed red today. Ji-heon immediately got up from his seat. She was sneakily backing away. She was going to open the door and run away with that backing away someday. Ji-heon took a step further and stood with his back to the door. When the passage was blocked, her face contorted this time. Even that flustered look pleased him. It was his taste. His pride was a little hurt to admit it. It wasn't just that he liked her, it was definitely his taste. Even in this situation, his heart and body were moving to touch her, it was a very definite taste. Soon, he would exceed the limits set by his body. His head sent a warning. It was dangerous to be with this woman. He could just not create situations where he could be with her as much as possible, and he could even kick her out of the company, but Ji-heon didn't want to do that. Then he had no choice but to get used to the stimulation she gave him. He wanted to keep her as close as possible, by his side. He wanted her to make a mistake. He was thinking of digging into that mistake. So he couldn't miss this opportunity either.
“I don't want to make a big deal out of this, how are you going to take responsibility?”
“Pardon? For what?”
“……”
“I have no idea what you're talking about.”
She replied, pretending not to know anything. Ji-heon's lips twisted at her brazen reaction. Should I insist too?
“I see. I don't know either.”
“……”
“I've been through a lot, but this is the first time I've been kissed while sleeping.”
Ji-heon said wickedly, wiping his lips with his thumb. Jeong-o was speechless at Ji-heon's stubbornness. Is he stupid? A kiss with just a drop of tear?
“That's not a kiss...!”
“Right. Not a kiss, but a peck.”
As he continued to insist, Jeong-o had no choice but to confess.
“...It's a tear. Director.”
“……”
“It's not a kiss, not a peck, just a drop of tear that fell.”
His brow furrowed like curtain pleats. He still looked like he couldn't believe it. Of course, it was probably a pretense.
“How could you misunderstand that? Like someone who's never been kissed.”
Sneaky bastard. Anyone would think he's never even had a peck.
“Then why?”
“Pardon?”
“Why. Why did you drop a tear in front of me?”
“That's……”
Jeong-o closed and opened her eyes tightly. I don't know either. Whatever will be, will be.
“Director... you look like my deceased father!”
His expression became even more fierce than before. He seemed shocked. But after a while, he narrowed his eyes and took two steps closer.
“You want me to believe that?”
“It's true.”
“How much, how do I look like him?”
Ah, damn it.
“Do you have a picture of your father?”
She sold her father, whom she had never seen, and was cornered. Jeong-o had to come up with another idea.
‘He said he doesn't like being called handsome, right?’
She recalled what Mi-ran had told her on her first day at the company.
“Just the handsome part. My dad was really handsome.”
There. I made you feel bad, so glare at me. Hurry up and stare at me like I'm a bug. Criticize me! Kick me out! Hurry up and get rid of me! But contrary to Jeong-o's expectations, he took a step back without saying a word. As if trying to calm himself down, a long, rough breath escaped from between his tightly closed lips. Anyway, it seemed like her quick thinking worked. Jeong-o slowly moved her feet in a semicircle. He didn't move as she barely grabbed the doorknob. I'm sorry for lying right now, but this much is okay, right? You hid your true self from me too. I didn't know for a whole 7 years. Who you are, what kind of person you are. Jeong-o twisted the doorknob behind her back.
“I'll be going now.”
“You said you had something to say yesterday.”
He had been silent, but he spoke again as if to stop her.
“Ah, that's……”
“……”
“It was that you look like my deceased father, Director. Then I'll really be going now.”
Okay? Squeak. The door was already slightly open. He added another word with lingering feelings.
“I waited 30 minutes. Yesterday.”
“You only waited 30 minutes?”
Words she hadn't prepared popped out. She felt dizzy after saying it. But since words that came out of her mouth couldn't be taken back, Jeong-o quickly rationalized her actions. I have nothing to be afraid of. I'm going to go all out. I'm someone who knows about your scandal from 7 years ago!
‘Of course, I'm the person involved in that scandal.’
Jeong-o finished those words and quickly ran away. He must have never heard such words before. If you said you waited 30 minutes, he must have expected me to apologize and say I wouldn't do it again. Since I retorted like that, he must think I'm crazy. But that was Jeong-o's true feelings, her sincerity.
‘I've been waiting for you for so long, what's with just 30 minutes.’
She rationalized it that way, but her heart continued to pound.
* Yesterday afternoon, Eun-bi discovered Ji-heon's secretary loitering in front of Production Team 2. Everyone in Production Team 2 was in a meeting, so no one was there.
“Ms. Yoon, what's wrong?”
“Ah, yes, Manager. I have a note to leave.”
If Secretary Yoon Ae-ra was leaving a note, it must be a message from Ji-heon. At first, Eun-bi thought the secretary had come to leave a note for Mi-ran. But the secretary placed the note she was holding on Jeong-o's desk.
‘Why is Oppa calling Lee Jung-o?’
After the secretary left, Eun-bi quickly got up and went to Jeong-o's seat. A note was placed in the center of the desk. - 5/13 18:00 Call from Director Jeong Ji-heon.
‘Why?’
The hand holding the note tightened. Her expression, like the note in her hand, was fiercely crumpled. Eun-bi crumpled the note even tighter and threw it in the trash can. And in the morning, Eun-bi, who had been watching Production Team 2, called Jeong-o to her seat as soon as she came out of Ji-heon's office and sat down at her desk.
“Assistant Manager Lee Jung-o.”
“Yes. Manager.”
“Can you come here for a moment?”
Jeong-o got up from her seat and went to Eun-bi. She wanted to tell her to come to her if she had something to say, but she decided to let it go because there were eyes watching.
“Yes. Manager. What's wrong?”
“Where did you go yesterday?”
“I left work early because of an urgent matter.”
“It's not like you're the only one with urgent matters. Everyone is busy. You know that, right?”
“Yes. I'm sorry I couldn't contact you separately, Manager.”
Jeong-o smiled, pulling up the corners of her lips as much as possible, lest she be told she was making a face like she was chewing something. Eun-bi didn't seem to like Jeong-o's smiling face, and this time she looked like she was chewing something.
“The day before yesterday, after the meeting, we divided up the roles for the historical ad study, right? Assistant Manager Lee’s portion, the other team members, including me, had a hard time covering for him yesterday.”
Eun-bi said, tapping the documents on her desk with her fingertips. She subtly emphasized the beginning of each phrase, packaging everything she said as if it were important.
“I did, Manager.”
If she came at him like that, Jeong-o couldn't stay still.
“I organized my part right after the meeting the day before yesterday and uploaded it to the cloud.”
Jeong-o flipped through the materials that Eun-bi had pointed out. Ridiculously, except for the cover, the content inside was exactly as Jeong-o had written it. If you're going to cheat, you should at least put some effort into it.
“The materials you’re looking at, Manager, are also mine. The team members didn’t do it anew. Did you properly check the contents, Manager?”
Eun-bi froze. Last night, she had jumped to the conclusion that Jeong-o hadn't shown up at the meeting room and had left work early without doing his job properly. So, she didn't think that the materials printed out by another team member were Jeong-o's. On top of that, Jeong Ji-heon even left a note looking for Jeong-o, which made her uncomfortable. Lee Jung-oh should be backing down at this point. Hiding her embarrassment, Eun-bi retorted.
“You should have sent it by email. That way, I can check it properly.”
“At the meeting the day before yesterday, we decided to upload it to the cloud for the PT preparation, Manager. You can check the meeting minutes.”
Jeong-o found Eun-bi amusing.
“It seems like everyone else checked it properly. Anyway, I’ll pay more attention in the future. So that you don’t miss anything because you didn’t check properly, Manager.”
Chae Eun-bi. I won't be taken advantage of like back then when you ruined my school life. I have a lot to do here. I have to earn money, and I have to let our Yena meet her father. That doesn't mean I'm going to steal your man. But if you threaten me, I can't just stand by. Don't harass me. Don't try to ruin my workplace. Protecting myself is protecting my daughter. I will defeat the enemy and protect myself. Chae Eun-bi, the same goes for you. If you slander me, you are also my enemy. Everything that blocks me is my enemy.
