Translator: Nox

Chapter 46

46. Four Men 2021.10.06.

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All the conversations from just five minutes ago flashed through Jeong-o's mind like a panorama of her life. He was behind the pillar, and I didn't even know... I never knew I would regret acting so ridiculously fatal this much. Besides. He's my man, he's my man, he's my man... Ugh. God! I made so much fun of Chae Eun-bi's lies, and now I've told the exact same lie as Chae Eun-bi. Lee Jeong-o. You idiot. When was this man ever yours? Even when you fell in love seven years ago, this man wasn't yours. How absurd must that sound to him...

“You were quite the talker.”

Ji-heon, standing close, teased her in a chilling voice. Jeong-o felt like she was going to throw up the abalone bibimbap she had diligently eaten, so she covered her mouth. God. Why do you give me such trials? In her desperation, Jeong-o heard the voice of God within her.

‘Run away!’

God gave Jeong-o strong legs to use effectively at times like this. Jeong-o abandoned Ji-heon and ran towards the company. Tears welled up in her eyes. She needs to get closer to him, she barely became his friend. Why does this kind of misfortune happen? Me, lying? Jeong-o rushed into the office, grabbed Mi-ran's arm, and asked pleadingly.

“Team Leader, do you have any outside work for me?”

“Oh, I don't know? Why? Do you want to go outside?”

“Yes! Please let me go out, please!”

“Oh, okay, okay. The AE is going to a Sori Telecom meeting, so go with them.”

“Yes! Thank you!”

Jeong-o hurriedly packed her bag and left the office. Avoiding Ji-heon, Jeong-o went down the stairs and hid in the restroom on the first floor lobby, only coming out after receiving a call from the AE.

\ Lee Jeong-o ran away. Like a flying squirrel. Ji-heon hurriedly chased after her, but stopped because he received a phone call along the way. After finishing the call, he rushed to the office to find Lee Jeong-o, but she had already run away. He wanted to tell her to come back immediately, but Ji-heon held back. The immediate outside work would also be helpful to her, so he couldn't rashly stop her. After all, she has to come back. He was her boss, and they were destined to meet someday, so Ji-heon decided to enjoy the brief wait. As lunchtime was ending, someone knocked on the office door. The person who came in was none other than Chae Eun-yeop.

“Are you busy? I came to a company in the next building and stopped by for a bit.”

“Yeah. Good to see you. Sit down.”

Ji-heon greeted his friend happily. Chae Eun-bi's Oppa, Chae Eun-yeop. When Ji-heon had an accident seven years ago, Eun-yeop, like Eun-bi, helped Ji-heon recover. So Ji-heon is still polite to Eun-yeop. Eun-yeop freely uses the word "best friend" when talking to Ji-heon, but Ji-heon doesn't feel as comfortable with Eun-yeop as he does with Seung-gyu. Still, he's a moderately good friend who cares about his health. But he didn't know if they could continue to be close in the future. He unintentionally caused worry to Eun-yeop, Eun-bi's Oppa, due to the incident involving Chae Eun-bi, so he should have a serious expression, but he kept smiling because he kept thinking about Lee Jeong-o.

“Why do you keep smiling?”

Eun-yeop asked, seeing Ji-heon repeatedly trying to hold back his laughter.

“Just. Something funny happened.”

“What happened?”

“Just something personal.”

Eun-yeop gave a formal smile. He was actually a little unpleasant. They had been friends for quite a long time and had many things intertwined, but Ji-heon still seemed reluctant to give him that spot next to him. He felt uneasy for some reason. It felt like something he had longed for for a long time was going wrong. In the meantime, Ji-heon asked. His voice was casual, as if asking about the weather.

“By the way, did you hear about that from Eun-bi?”

“About what?”

“That we decided to stop the fake dating.”

“……”

“Did you know? That Eun-bi was going around saying she was going to marry me.”

A twitch occurred under Eun-yeop's eye. Ji-heon was wearing a subtle smile, but his eyes were chillingly sharp. They were eyes that were questioning the truth.

“Why don't you just get married?”

Eun-yeop tried to hide his nervousness and suggested to Ji-heon.

“Anyway, you don't have any close women, do you? It's not just because she's my sister, but Eun-bi is really kind and understanding…”

“Eun-bi should meet her real match, too.”

Ji-heon said, cutting off Eun-yeop's words. He pretended to think of Eun-bi, but his attitude was completely drawing a line. \ Jeong-o, who had a very beneficial outside work, returned to the company and heard a thunderbolt from Gi-hoon as soon as she put her bag down at her desk.

“Assistant Manager Lee, Director Jeong wants to see you.”

“Crazy!”

Jeong-o shouted without realizing it. The team members laughed, unaware of Jeong-o's serious situation. I'm going to quit. I'm going to change jobs. I'm going to end everything. Jeong-o searched the internet for a resignation form and printed it out. Chief Park Young-gwang asked, seeing Jeong-o scribbling something on the printed paper.

“What are you doing?”

“I thought it would be reassuring to carry a resignation letter in my heart.”

Assistant Manager Go Eun-ju also tilted her head towards Jeong-o and asked.

“What did you do wrong again, Assistant Manager?”

Jeong-o, who folded the resignation letter twice and put it in her pocket, smiled at Eun-ju.

“Assistant Manager Go Eun-ju, you know I really like you, right?”

“……Let's go.”

Perhaps Jeong-o's desperate eyes worked, Eun-ju surprisingly agreed to accompany her at once. Gi-hoon also pushed his chair and approached.

“Should I go with you too?”

“Oh. I'd appreciate that.”

“But if we all move together without a reason, won't the director think it's disrespectful? I don't think he'll like it?”

“It's okay. I don't like him either. And I happen to have something to report. It's okay.”

Eun-ju answered Gi-hoon's question cynically. The Three Musketeers went to Ji-heon's office together again. Jeong-o, equipped with Eun-ju on the left and Gi-hoon on the right, stood bravely in front of Ji-heon. Jeong-o bravely faced Ji-heon's absurd expression.

“Director, you called for me.”

“I didn't call for the two people next to you.”

“Yes. Assistant Manager Go Eun-ju also said she has something to report, so we came together. Song Gi-hoon will listen to the conversation as well.”

Ji-heon, with a cold expression at Jeong-o's brazen answer, asked Eun-ju.

“What do you have to report?”

“It's the new product package draft for Tawon Liquor.”

Assistant Manager Go Eun-ju answered, handing over the document she was holding behind her back. Ji-heon roughly flipped through the document and said dryly.

“We can do it this way. Is that all?”

“Yes.”

Ah, no, Assistant Manager Go Eun-ju... Jeong-o's forehead became chilly at Eun-ju's curt answer. The air was hot. She felt someone's intense gaze. Jeong-o swallowed hard at Ji-heon's gaze, which seemed to be constantly glaring at her. Should I hit the back of his head? Then wouldn't today's memories disappear?

“He's my man.”

If only those five syllables could be erased from his memory, I could somehow endure it. In a situation where I have to work hard to revive his memories, I want to erase his other memories, which is truly a tragedy.

“Director, what did you want to say to me…”

Jeong-o asked, dragging out the end of her sentence.

“I heard you went to Sori Telecom. Does it match the current production direction?”

He asked casually.

“Yes. The CEO of Sori Telecom likes storytelling. I think we can prepare well as planned.”

“I see.”

Tap, tap. He tapped the table with his fingertips along with his short answer. She felt the hairs on her body stand on end. Heat gathered at the tip of her nose. His fingertips. His voice. His gaze. None of them were direct threats, but Jeong-o couldn't move as if her whole body was paralyzed. This person is angry. I dragged the man who suffered because of Chae Eun-bi's lies into the world of lies again. I shouldn't have said those words. Jeong-o lost the will to resist.

“Then I'll call you again next time.”

He said politely, returning the document he had received from Assistant Manager Go Eun-ju. Jeong-o moved her heavy steps with the Three Musketeers. And, at that last step. Click. The moment the door closed behind her, Gi-hoon turned around. Only Gi-hoon and Eun-ju came out of the office.

“Huh? Assistant Manager Lee didn't come out.”

“Looks like they have something urgent to talk about.”

“Shouldn't we protect her?”

“We've done enough. Let's go.”

Eun-ju walked ahead towards the hallway. The door quietly locked from the inside. ……Locked. Only suffocating tension filled the silence. Jeong-o, who voluntarily remained in the office, was trapped between the door and Ji-heon's body.

She spoke cautiously.

“Director, the reason I said that was…”

“Whose man am I?”

However, he interrupted before she could finish her sentence. As expected, he pointed out that phrase first. She was so sorry that her lips wouldn't part any further.

“If you said he's yours, you have to take responsibility.”

Jeong-o slowly shook her head. No, no, it's not mine. Jeong Ji-heon's is Jeong Ji-heon's...

“What courage did you have to say that?”

Ji-heon threw out a random remark and watched her reaction. He had learned a few of her habits in the meantime. When she lost her words, she started calculating. There were moments when her eyes moved from side to side as if she was running numbers in her head. He wanted to seize that gap. To make her think only of him. Ji-heon quickly lowered his head and deeply sucked on her lips before letting go. He didn't ask. She was the one who made him belong to someone. He was just going to say that he was hers, so she couldn't argue with him. He was her man. After the short kiss, she looked even more dazed. The ultimate opportunist, Jeong Ji-heon, would never miss this moment. He lowered his head again. Tap. However, just like in front of the pork cutlet restaurant, a smack flew at his lips. Jeong-o immediately realized that something had gone wrong. Her plan to start as friends had crumbled. Maybe she should have noticed it that day he kissed the back of her hand. She didn't know what kind of person he was, and he showed her so many different sides from seven years ago that she was wary and couldn't think of the easy thing. That this man still regarded her as a woman. That he was approaching her with a man's side that he had never shown to Chae Eun-bi. She felt dazed and tears welled up in her eyes. But she still couldn't let her guard down. She was a realistic person. Tap. She slapped his lips one more time, which were faster than his words, and pushed him away without hesitation. He was pushed back as she pushed him, and he really seemed to be hers. It was so easy that she was rather embarrassed. She wanted to be the only one to come to her senses.

“You were wrong.”

She put strength in her eyes and argued seriously.

“No matter how urgent the situation was, you shouldn't have done that. It's not like being a fake lover is okay but a fake marriage promise isn't. Both are bad, both.”

You were wrong from the start. You shouldn't have done that. Your decision would have been a false hope for Eun-bi. He was pushed to the very edge of the sofa and leaned back against the back of the sofa. When he leaned back, his eyes were level with hers. She was so serious, but he was still smiling as he looked straight at her. A kind smile that seemed to embrace the whole world pierced her heart. She couldn't help but feel weaker. She was flustered and started to stutter.

“So, so... you have to reflect until the Chae Eun-bi thing is resolved.”

“Okay.”

“Again, again! You can't do that. You say okay without a care, you lie, and when it's revealed, you enjoy it again.”

Even though she was huffing and puffing, he had a truly joyful look in his eyes.

“Okay.”

“Ha. Seriously. This is not the time to be laughing. What do you know?”

“I know.”

“……”

“Lee Jung-oh is using shorter sentences.”

With the answer, he kissed her again. His determination to lower his eyelids and persistently seek her lips was no different from seven years ago.