Chapter 40
40. Just you wait, Lee Jung-oh2021.09.15.
Jeong-o wanted to cry. She wanted to become as thin as a piece of paper and escape through the gap under the office door.
“No, I'm……”
It wasn’t like she had deliberately hidden to eavesdrop on their conversation. It was because of her pride, because she didn't want Chae Eun-bi to see her in this state, but she couldn't honestly say that……
“Director, you almost made a mistake with me yesterday, so can't we just call it even and move on……?”
If she could just escape from here, she felt like she could shake off yesterday's commotion as well.
“It's not like I wanted to eavesdrop on purpose……”
“I know.”
Ji-heon, who had walked around the sofa, knelt down in front of her. Their eye level was roughly the same. Jeong-o didn't want to talk to Ji-heon, so she just kept her head down.
“I was going to create the same situation as Wednesday, but thinking about it, now is better.”
“……”
“Because the truth is easier to see when you listen in secret.”
Jeong-o, who was about to cover her ears because she was ashamed to hear his voice, hesitated as she brought her hands to her ears. She slightly raised her head and looked at Ji-heon. He was smiling at her. What was this man saying?
“……You're saying you did this to tell me the truth?”
He nodded.
“Why? Why?”
“Because I'm bothered that you're misunderstanding something.”
“……”
“I don't have anyone I'm going to marry. Not yet.”
Heart, calm down. This must be fear, not excitement. Just a moment ago, this man was spewing coldness and harsh words at someone else, but now he was smiling kindly at her, making her feel dizzy.
“Yes. Yes. I understand……”
Jeong-o carefully got up from her seat. She couldn't be alone with this man any longer.
“So, you called me here not because of work, but because of a misunderstanding? Then, can I go now? Since the misunderstanding is resolved.”
Little by little, Jeong-o moved away from him with a wary, crab-like gait. Finally, click, the door opened. As soon as the door opened, she hurriedly left the office before Ji-heon could stop her, just like she had in front of the pork cutlet restaurant last night. Ji-heon stared blankly at the opened and closed door. It was good that they had called it even for last night's mistake. But other than that, it was ambiguous whether things had gone well. Even though he had properly told Jeong-o the truth, he felt a lingering unease, as if he hadn't resolved the misunderstanding. This is so difficult. Lee Jung-o.
‘What's going on? What is all this?’
Jeong-o kept muttering to herself as she ran away from Ji-heon. She belatedly understood the situation. Chae Eun-bi and Jeong Ji-heon had been in a fake relationship for a long time. Chae Eun-bi was obsessed with the relationship. And the marriage plan was also fake, created by Chae Eun-bi. She had misunderstood so much. She couldn't help it. It was all Chae Eun-bi's doing!
“Assistant Manager, where have you been? Is something wrong?”
Gi-hoon asked, seeing Jeong-o breathing heavily, as if she had just finished running the 100-meter dash three times, even though she had only gone to Director Jeong Ji-heon's office and returned.
“No, no, no. It's nothing.”
“But why are you covering your mouth? Did you eat something by yourself?”
“No, no, it's not that. I didn't eat anything.”
Of course, she had eaten two cookies, but that wasn't why she was covering her mouth. It was because her lips felt like they would move against her will. It was because she felt like she couldn't control her expression. She must be too surprised. Too surprised. Jeong-o sat down and barely managed to catch her breath, then tried to organize the things she had heard in the office in her head.
‘So, the reason the two of them started dating, no, pretending to date, was because of the rumors from four years ago?’
She didn't know what the rumors from four years ago were, but anyway, the two of them were in a fake relationship. Jeong Ji-heon didn't pay much attention to that fake relationship, so four years had passed, and during those four years, Chae Eun-bi had been working hard to please Jeong Ji-heon's mother. Jeong Ji-heon's mother liked Chae Eun-bi, so Chae Eun-bi believed that she would marry Ji-heon someday…… Because Jeong Ji-heon didn't have any other women!
‘Can I understand it that way?’
After organizing it as she had heard, her heart started pounding again. She didn't know why. She shouldn't have any feelings of excitement for a man named Jeong Ji-heon anymore. She shouldn't. It must be because she felt like the day she would introduce him to Yena was fast approaching. That must be it…… Jeong-o got up from her seat and looked around for Chae Eun-bi. Everyone in Production Team 1 was at their desks, but Chae Eun-bi's seat was empty. Jeong-o tried to calm herself and recalled the anxiety that was still there. Just because she knew the true relationship between Jeong Ji-heon and Chae Eun-bi didn't mean that her child's safety was guaranteed. She still didn't know anything about his mother, Ms. Jang Young-mi. The phone call from seven years ago was definitely related to his mother, and unless she knew how much influence his mother had on him, she couldn't act rashly. There was a high possibility that Ms. Jang liked Chae Eun-bi, so Jeong Ji-heon couldn't honestly tell his mother about his fake relationship with Chae Eun-bi. That meant that Jeong Ji-heon valued his mother.
‘Who doesn't think their mother is important.’
She had a feeling that she might have to confront his mother, Ms. Jang Young-mi, someday. * Saturday afternoon. Jeong-o was in a situation where she had to go to work today because of the Competitive Presentation preparations. Yena, who was staring at Jeong-o as she prepared to go to work, said.
“Mom, Do-bin is going camping with Mom and Dad and Do-yoon.”
Jeong-o bent her knees to meet Yena's eyes and asked.
“Does our Yena want to go camping too?”
“No. I was just saying. Mom is busy.”
The child should be more like a child. Her precociousness in hiding her true feelings was sometimes heartbreaking.
“Even if I'm busy, we can still go. Summer is too hot, so let's go in the fall.”
Yena's face brightened at Jeong-o's promise.
“Mom, then can I tell Do-bin?”
“Yes. Go ahead.”
“Call him for me.”
She couldn't wait even a moment. Jeong-o had no choice but to call Do-bin's mother, Jin-seo.
[Yes. Yena's mother!]
Jin-seo answered the phone in a friendly voice.
“Do-bin's mother, how have you been? Yena said she has something to tell Do-bin, so I'm calling you.”
[Oh, really? Okay, I'll put Do-bin on.]
Jeong-o handed the phone to Yena. Yena put the phone to her ear and shouted happily.
“Hello. Park Do-bin!”
[Yena. I'm sorry.]
But Do-bin suddenly apologized before even hearing what Yena had to say.
“Huh? Why?”
[Actually…… my dad says he can't share. Mom says it's not allowed.]
The story that had been bothering Do-bin for days. Jin-seo had said that there was no need to talk about it again, but it was a very important issue for Do-bin. From the other side of the receiver, Jin-seo's voice was heard urgently shouting, 'Park Do-bin!' Yena, who had been blinking, wondering what they were talking about, recalled the conversation from last Tuesday and answered nonchalantly.
“Ah, it's okay.”
“You're not mad?”
“No. I knew it wouldn't work out anyway. But you know what! I'm going camping too! In the fall!”
“Really? Did you also know that if my dad becomes your dad, we can't get married?”
“Huh?”
The children were diligently continuing their conversation while only wanting to say what they needed to say. But when the topic of marriage came up, the phone was quickly passed to Jin-seo.
[Yena, hello! Hello! Do-bin is saying all sorts of things. Is your mom next to you?]
“Yes. Just a moment.”
Yena immediately handed the phone to Jeong-o.
“Hello.”
[Yena's mother, hoho…… Our Do-bin has many shortcomings. Thank you for letting him be friends with Yena.]
Behind Jin-seo's laughter to smooth over the awkwardness, she continued with her usual words of gratitude.
“No, I'm always grateful to you.”
[Then I'll see you on Monday. Please tell Yena to see you on Monday too.]
Jin-seo politely said goodbye and hung up the phone. After finishing the call, Jeong-o asked Yena.
“What was Do-bin apologizing for?”
“Do-bin said he would share his dad with me. But he can't.”
“He said he would share his dad?”
Jeong-o's heart stung as she belatedly realized what the children were talking about.
“It's not like I asked him to.”
Yena retorted sullenly. How did they even get to that conversation? She couldn't just laugh, thinking about how the child's heart must have felt to accept that conversation so calmly. With a heavy heart, she continued her preparations when her phone vibrated. The studio had sent her the radio advertisement work. She had clearly finished working on up to version 5, but one was missing. She asked the PD, but he didn't remember properly. Jeong-o was in a situation where she had to urgently send the email again. She needed to use the company computer to send the email.
‘I wonder if Gi-hoon has come to work yet?’
Jeong-o immediately called Gi-hoon. But Gi-hoon didn't answer. Knowing that Gi-hoon often puts his phone on silent, Jeong-o called Gi-hoon's desk at the company again. After a long wait, the hold music stopped and a man's voice was heard.
[Yes.]
“Gi-hoon, are you at work? I'm sorry, but could you turn on my computer and send me a file? Please send an email to the studio right away. The password is…”
[Lee Jung-oh, Assistant Manager?]
Huh! After hearing only the short answer "Yes," Jeong-o mistakenly thought it was Song Gi-hoon, a member of the same team, and asked for a favor, but it turned out to be Jeong Ji-heon. What a mess. * It was Ji-heon's first time coming to work on the weekend in a long time. The production team had worked late until yesterday, so they would probably come to work in the afternoon. Ji-heon, as a habit, checked Lee Jung-o of Production Team 2's desk and was about to move to his office but stopped. The phone rang at Production Team 2. It was Jeong-o's next-door neighbor, Song Gi-hoon's desk. Since no one around was answering, Ji-heon answered the phone.
“Yes.”
[Gi-hoon, are you at work? I'm sorry, but could you turn on my computer and send me a file?]
It was none other than Assistant Manager Lee Jung-o. After a short answer, the impatient Jeong-o rattled off requests without even properly checking the voice.
[Please send an email to the studio right away. The password is….]
“Lee Jung-o, Assistant Manager?”
At Ji-heon's question, a gasp was heard. Even at that sound, Ji-heon's heart tingled. He suppressed a laugh and asked in a serious voice.
“What's wrong? What happened?”
[Yes. The studio missed one of the works. I need to resend the email I sent urgently….]
Ji-heon immediately hung up the phone at Gi-hoon's desk and called Jeong-o again on his cell phone.
[Hello….]
Unlike before, Jeong-o answered the phone in a dying voice.
“I'm at Assistant Manager Lee Jung-o's desk. I'll do it, so tell me the password.”
[No, no, no, no, no. I'll go quickly and do it. I'll be there in an hour.]
Jeong-o refused in horror.
“You said it was urgent.”
[No. No. I can do it.]
“I know how to send emails too, so tell me. It's okay.”
[No, no, no… I can't tell you the password because it's personal information!]
According to Max Planning regulations, it cannot be considered personal information. If an employee has a sudden problem and cannot turn on the PC provided, the company can take measures to extract the PC's information at its discretion. For this reason, the company also advises employees not to set the password to be the same as the one they use privately, but it seemed that she was not aware of this.
“Weren't you going to tell Song Gi-hoon?”
Ji-heon was slightly offended. He even thought about sending Song Gi-hoon to another team since Assistant Manager Jo Si-nae was gone, took a deep breath, and persuaded her.
“I'm sorry that it turned out like this too. I'll listen to the password with one ear and let it out with the other, so tell me.”
She also sighed deeply, then reluctantly recited the English consonants one by one.
“...W, J, D, D, L, T, K, R, T... is it.”
Ji-heon turned on the PC and typed on the keyboard as she said. wjddltkrt. Soon the computer desktop appeared. Ji-heon immediately opened the mailbox.
“It's open. What email should I send?”
[Please resend the email you sent to Audi Studio.]
“Sent.”
It was a very simple task. Ji-heon smiled proudly after completing the transmission. Greetings were heard from the other side as well.
[Yes. Thank you!]
But, that was the end. Watching the abruptly cut-off phone, Ji-heon sighed again. A woman who doesn't move according to my will at all. Why am I so obsessed with this woman? He couldn't understand himself, but he didn't hate himself for focusing on her. Ji-heon chuckled and got up from his seat, then stopped as he was about to turn off the computer. Something felt strange. What was this uneasy feeling? Ji-heon sat back down and opened the computer notepad and pressed the English consonants that Jeong-o had pronounced with the Korean keyboard. wjddltkrt. And a burst of hollow laughter erupted from between Ji-heon's lips as he checked the screen.
“Huh.- Director Jeong S.K. Just you wait, Lee Jung-o.
