Chapter 48
- You Look Great 2021.10.13.
Even after leaving Ji-heon's office, Jeong-o's heart continued to pound. She felt dizzy from the rush of blood. If his secretary hadn't reminded her of her next schedule, she might still be stuck in his office, she thought, making her legs tremble.
‘No, how could he have lived for seven years and become so…'
…sexy? Just the way he looked at her made it hard to breathe, and when he persistently touched her with those eyes and hands, she couldn't think straight. In the conversation she'd overheard between Ji-heon and Eun-bi, Eun-bi had said that Ji-heon didn't have a girlfriend. Did he not have a girlfriend but just play around a lot? Did he flirt with many women and live a promiscuous life? Somehow, it seemed like he would. Otherwise, she couldn't explain his fox-like behavior at all. It wasn't just his fox-like behavior; many things seemed to have changed. Or should she call it changed? It felt like the level of his abilities had jumped so high that he seemed like a different person. More powerful, more aggressive, more persistent, and sexier. Anyway, Jeong Ji-heon had changed a lot. In the midst of it, glimpses of his self from seven years ago would appear, startling her. Because what had changed had changed, and what hadn't changed hadn't changed, Jeong-o couldn't move as if she were held captive by him. She was surprised at herself again, as she had been before. In fact, Jeong-o had once resented him so much that she had deliberately tried to erase her memories of Jeong Ji-heon. She probably forgot quite a bit as much as she tried. Nevertheless, there were things engraved in her body that she could never erase. Just as a retired ballerina still draws the same choreography to the same music decades later, she realized that she was showing the same reaction to his actions.
‘Jeong Ji-heon must be feeling really good right now. Because I'm moving like I'm his.’
She felt a little resentful about that. She must have unintentionally given him satisfaction. Anyway, she couldn't turn back time, so she couldn't help what had happened, and Jeong-o now had to think about the future again. She had to use her head. Ms. Jang Young-mi hates me. That's for sure. If she already knows about Yena, my approaching Jeong Ji-heon might offend her. Maybe it could harm Yena. But what if she didn't know about Yena and is only finding out now? She might want to just take Yena away and hope I don't approach him.
‘First, let's meet a lawyer.’
Just in case Yena is taken away, I need to move urgently. As she was thinking about the various things that could happen in the future, her cell phone vibrated.
‘Gasp!’
Jeong-o immediately turned off the screen as soon as she checked the text message that popped up on her phone.
- I'll come back to the company. Let's leave work together. I'll take you home.
This man has no discretion at all! It seemed that the first thing to do was to warn Ji-heon.
- No! I'm going home alone! And when we're at the company, never! Contact me personally! And don't make it obvious at the company!!!!!!
Jeong-o sighed and pressed the send button. It felt like a countdown had begun. Thinking about the future made her heart race and feel scared.
\ Despite their secret rendezvous in the office, Ji-heon missed her as soon as they parted. Ji-heon couldn't stop thinking about Jeong-o throughout his business trip. He had lived a life of distraction, so it didn't interfere with his work. As Seung-gyu said, he only needed to put in 80% effort into his work, and there would be no problems. He could easily accomplish it with minimal energy. It felt like the rest of his free time was suddenly filled. It was like a long-dormant heart had awakened. That unfamiliar feeling energized his work as well.
“Director, do you have something good going on? You look brighter somehow.”
An executive from a Sehyun Group affiliate, a client, greeted Ji-heon in a friendly manner. Normally, he would have just said, "No, I don't," but Ji-heon responded cheerfully.
“Does it seem that way?”
“Yes. You look much better.”
“Thank you. I'm in a good mood these days because my employees are doing a good job.”
Ji-heon didn't say a word about his personal life and gave credit to his employees. As he was moving, he sent a text message to Jeong-o, and she sent back a reply with ten exclamation marks. It was a cute message, as if he could hear her voice next to him. Ji-heon also agreed with her request not to make it obvious at the company. Because Chae Eun-bi's problem was intertwined, and because Chae Eun-bi mistakenly thought that Lee Jeong-o had interfered between them, he couldn't reveal his feelings rashly. While he was briefly thinking about his affair with Jeong-o, the executive spoke to him again.
“Ah, An Chan-seop, the team leader, once made a suggestion to me, but I said I would look into it and then forgot. It was a very convincing opinion. Could I ask about it now, by any chance?”
“Is that so? I'll ask right away.”
Ji-heon immediately picked up his cell phone and called the team leader of Production Team 1. However, Team Leader An Chan-seop did not answer the phone. Ji-heon thought he should ask the other team members and called the internal number for Production Team 1, but he paused and hung up. Since it was a nearby team, he thought he could ask Jeong-o.
- Is Team Leader An Chan-seop not at his desk right now? I can't reach him.
He sent a text message, and he got a reply right away.
- He's not here. Should I tell him to contact you as soon as I see him?
- Yes. Please do. Then is no one at Production Team 1's desk right now?
Ji-heon smiled even at the formal text messages that were exchanged. He wanted to keep getting replies because this was more fun than talking to the executive in front of him. His desire was contained in the question mark. But.
- Everyone is nt here.
Ji-heon blinked at the strange three-syllable message. A moment later, new text messages arrived from Jeong-o in quick succession.
- Not here not here not here!!!!
- I said everyone is not here!!!!!
Heup. An unbearable laugh caught between the closed gap of his lips. It was noisy just looking at the text messages. It felt like he could hear her shouting. She must have made a typo in her reply while she was mindlessly working. She must have been so embarrassed by her mistake that she quickly sent a correction message.
“You must have a lot of interesting things going on.”
The executive spoke again, looking at Ji-heon's expression.
“An employee made a typo in a text message, and it's so funny.”
“Ah, you were laughing at an employee's typo?”
“I'm sorry.”
Ji-heon barely suppressed his laughter and sat up straight, straightening his spine. The executive smiled as if he liked it.
“No, it's okay. Other executives scold their employees when they make typos in text messages. Director Jeong is different, as expected. The employees in your division must be so envious.”
Thanks to Lee Jeong-o, he received an unexpected evaluation. \ Jeong-o kicked her feet in the air a few times from her seat, thinking about her mistake. She had been acting like a dazed person all along, and she even made a typo in a text message to Ji-heon. She wanted to be a smart, intelligent, and flawless person, but she felt pathetic for constantly showing Ji-heon that flaw. She was also worried that Yena's existence might be revealed first because of this. Chae Eun-bi did not show up for overtime work today either. She had acted like she was going to work so hard in the morning, but when it was evening, she left again, saying she was sick again. It was understandable.
‘I pushed her so hard, so she must be upset.’
However, she didn't think about apologizing or taking back her words, but she also felt a little sorry for Eun-bi's situation.
“Assistant Manager Lee, what do you think of these ideas for the affiliate collaboration proposal that the director mentioned today? I've come up with a few.”
An employee from the planning team handed Jeong-o a thick document. Jeong-o reviewed all the documents and gave her opinion.
“They're all so good! The ideas are sparkling. I think it would be good to show them all to the director as they are. Since he said he would propose them himself, I think he will make a realistic judgment.”
“Ah, thank you. If I show this to him, will I have to work overtime next to the director too?”
“Do you want to?”
“No. Not at all.”
The AE employee shook her head wildly, making her cheeks jiggle. As the saying goes, speak of the devil, and he shall appear; Ji-heon's figure was seen down the hallway. He had returned from his business trip this late at night. Jeong-o's expression also stiffened. She was thinking of slowly moving away and running away, but Ji-heon stopped right in front of Jeong-o and said to the surrounding employees.
“Don't stay too late today, and go home. It's already late.”
8 p.m. The employees, who had thought they would be working overtime until at least 10 p.m., had brightened expressions. Even the team leader couldn't do anything about the director's orders. Mi-ran said to everyone.
“Let's wrap up and go home today.”
The team members answered cheerfully to Mi-ran's voice and cleaned up their desks. Jeong-o went over to the conference room and cleaned up the mess she had made. Ji-heon followed Jeong-o to the conference room.
“A copywriter, you know. Shouldn't you type your texts properly?”
Jeong-o's hand, which was organizing her laptop PC, stopped. She had told him not to make it obvious at the company, but he wasn't getting close to her like he did in his office, and he was just teasing her in a sly way, which was really annoying.
“Or did you write the text properly, but I'm just too clueless to understand?”
When she glared at him sullenly, Ji-heon came over and took Jeong-o's laptop.
“It's okay as long as I don't make it obvious at the company, right?”
“……”
“Let's go quickly. I'll take you home.”
Ji-heon, who had taken everyone else's laptop PCs at once, went out of the conference room first. Jeong-o sighed. She had clearly told him in a text message that she would go home alone, but it was as if this man had forgotten all about it on purpose. Jeong-o hurriedly chased after Ji-heon. Ji-heon turned around and smiled as if telling her to follow him quickly. But Jeong-o couldn't chase after him any further. Chae Eun-bi was seen walking towards them from the front. She didn't know where she had been hiding, but she had reappeared this late at night. Chae Eun-bi, who had looked like she was dying when she left work, appeared with a completely recovered face in two hours and said to everyone.
“Oh, are you trying to leave work now? I took some medicine and regained my energy, so I came back. I was too worried about not being able to participate.”
“Hey, you should have rested. Why did you come back this late at night? Everyone has decided to leave work, so Section Chief Chae should go and rest too.”
Mi-ran said kindly to Eun-bi.
“I guess I should. I'll work hard again from tomorrow. I'm sorry. Team leader.”
Eun-bi greeted them cheerfully. Jeong-o thought that she was really good at jumping on the bandwagon and had really good luck, and she returned to her seat. Ji-heon also didn't give Eun-bi a glance and put the laptops he had brought on Production Team 2's desk.
"Lee Jung-o, with your mom leaving work early, your daughter must be happy."
Then, Eun-bi suddenly called out to Jeong-o with a bright smile. Jeong-o's heart sank.
"Daughter?"
An Chan-seop, the team leader, got up from his seat, showing his face as he asked. Everyone's attention was focused on Eun-bi and Jeong-o. Eun-bi continued speaking, unfazed.
"I have a friend who used to be a colleague of Lee Jung-o. I heard from her. She said she has a beautiful seven-year-old child."
Jeong-o looked at Ji-heon. Ji-heon didn't move. His feet were stuck to the floor. No emotion was revealed on his face. That made Jeong-o feel even more scared. She had one chance. The day he walked her home, he asked if she lived with her mother, and she said yes. If she had known this would happen, she would have revealed that she had a daughter back then. Of course, if she had mentioned it earlier, he might not have approached her so aggressively, but at least she wouldn't have become a liar.
"Team Leader, I think this Competitive Presentation will go well. It's a storytelling about a mother and daughter. Lee Jung-o will understand the mother's heart better than anyone else."
Each word from Eun-bi's clear voice felt like it was piercing her lungs. Jeong-o could guess why Eun-bi had been away for two hours. She must have met Jeong-o's former colleague to dig into her past and weaknesses. Since only a few people at her previous workplace knew about Jeong-o's family situation, she probably only heard a rough story edited with sensational content. The reason for her return was obvious. She must have been itching to reveal this fact quickly. Eun-bi was chattering away happily.
"I thought Lee Jung-o was so pretty that she was unmarried. I can't believe she has a daughter who's already seven years old."
Ji-heon's profile, now with a cold expression, came into Jeong-o's view. He, who had been paused for a moment, slowly began to move. Trust was broken. It felt like her heart was becoming as blurred as he was moving away. Right now, that was inevitable. She had to bear all the consequences for her lie.
"I am unmarried. I have a child, but I'm not married."
Jeong-o revealed the truth with a calm expression.
"I'm a single mom."
The past, where she experienced the pain of the world collapsing, is quite helpful in living life. Jeong-o doesn't despair easily. Chae Eun-bi, you will regret this day someday.
