Chapter 15
- How Much I Like Someone Like You
2023.05.15.
Han So-eun groggily opened her eyes.
What time is it?
As soon as she opened her eyes, So-eun checked the time on her phone and jumped up in surprise.
"Huh! Huk!"
And she almost fell over, even more surprised than she had been a second ago when she had startled awake.
Kim Tae-joon was sitting right in front of her, playing a game on his phone. Tae-joon glanced at So-eun, not seeming to care about her surprise, and then went back to his game.
"I was waiting for Chief Han So-eun to wake up, and it's already past eleven."
In fact, she should have said, "I'm sorry," but So-eun felt a surge of resistance.
"...You made me wait too, Director."
But she wasn't in a position to raise her voice. Tae-joon recognized that tone like a ghost.
"Do you think the value of my time is the same as the value of Chief Han's time?"
How valuable could the four hours he spent playing a phone game be?
So-eun felt a surge of desire to retort in the same sarcastic way, but she lowered her tone and firmly replied. Her voice was still small.
"I have 24 hours in a day, and you have 24 hours in a day, don't you?"
At So-eun's retort, Tae-joon turned off the game and put his phone on the desk.
So-eun flinched at his direct gaze. She wondered if she had been too assertive, and her head bowed involuntarily.
"I thought you were just a fool, but you're someone who knows how to argue."
Contrary to So-eun's worries, Tae-joon seemed pleased.
"Well, I know how to argue. I just don't know how to take care of myself."
"......"
"Did your boyfriend catch you doing something wrong?"
So-eun's face turned bright red at Tae-joon's light sarcasm. As expected, the incident at the hospital had become So-eun's weakness. He must think of her as someone lacking, putting up with such treatment from her prospective in-laws.
But I have my reasons too.
She wanted to say something, but there was nothing she could say. While So-eun was biting her lower lip in frustration, Tae-joon got up from his seat.
"Get up. I'll take you home."
"It's okay. I'll take a taxi."
"Just get in when I offer you a ride."
"......"
"I won't make you get out in the middle of the road."
She had been kicked out of his car before. It was a past she hadn't even thought about because so many things had happened since then. After Tae-joon, who had brought up the past that didn't need to be brought up, left first, So-eun also took her bag and followed him, sniffing.
Tae-joon's pace was quite leisurely as he walked ahead. As if he was waiting for her.
"Did you have dinner?"
"Yes. I ate at the office."
"I didn't."
So what?
She grumbled inwardly, but she was still concerned about his hunger. So-eun rummaged through her bag and touched the sandwich. Yesterday, while waiting for Tae-joon, she had been so sad because she was hungry, so she had splurged today. She had bought two sandwiches, but in the end, she had only eaten one and one was left.
'If I give this to him...'
He'll probably get mad.
So-eun hesitated as she looked at the sandwich in her bag, but in the end, she gave up and put the sandwich down. In the meantime, Tae-joon noticed that So-eun's pace was slowing down and approached her.
"What are you doing?"
"Nothing."
"Is that for me to eat?"
Tae-joon, who had quickly come to her side, stared down at So-eun's bag.
She had only shown him the inside of her bag, but So-eun felt ashamed, as if he had seen into her heart.
So-eun tried to close the zipper of the open bag, but Tae-joon's hand stopped her.
"I don't eat things like that."
"Yes."
"But I'll accept it, thinking of your feelings."
His large hand went into the bag and snatched the sandwich. It happened so quickly that there was no time to do anything.
So-eun felt unjustly treated for no reason. She shouted inwardly at Tae-joon, who was already far away with the sandwich.
I don't have any feelings! It's just a sandwich!
Don't put your heart into the sandwich. I was just trying to give you the sandwich, not my heart!
So-eun couldn't understand why people liked this sarcastic person so much.
*
The car sped down the road late at night. So-eun's house was getting closer much faster than she had expected. Tae-joon really did take So-eun all the way home. And he drove himself.
"It's near here. You can drop me off here."
"I'll go all the way to your house since I'm going that way."
"Uh..."
"Are you uncomfortable?"
"No. Thank you."
She was extremely uncomfortable, but she thought it would be better to follow his wishes than to waste time arguing. It was also dark in front of her house, so she was grateful for the situation itself, that someone was taking her right in front of her house.
Tae-joon's car went into the alley and arrived in front of So-eun's house.
"This is in front of my house."
"It's very dark in front of your house."
At So-eun's introduction, Tae-joon tilted his head and scanned every corner of the villa through the window. It was as if she could read his thoughts. He looked as if he was questioning how people could live in a place like this.
She admitted that it was dark in front of her house, but So-eun felt a little resentful when he pointed it out.
It's because of you that I get off work so late when it's so dark in front of my house.
She couldn't say it out loud, so she was looking for a chance to say goodbye when her bag vibrated. It was So-eun's phone. Because it was dark in the car, the words 'Oppa♥' on the screen shone brightly. It was a call from Hee-wook.
So-eun hesitated and put her phone back in her bag.
"Aren't you going to answer it?"
"I'll answer it when I get home."
It was the call she had been waiting for. He had called her without sending a single text message, so she didn't know exactly what he wanted, but she could expect Hee-wook to try to make up. Her heart was pounding. She wanted to go home and call him.
"Looks like you've made up with your boyfriend."
"No."
She felt energized when her boyfriend contacted her. She felt a vague courage to snap at this rude director, at least a little.
"I've been working overtime every day. I haven't had time to make up, so I haven't been able to make up."
"Isn't that just an excuse? You can always make time if you want to."
"......"
"So, your boyfriend hasn't even apologized yet?"
However, when So-eun snapped back, the other side attacked as well. Kim Tae-joon, who had figured out So-eun's situation, was a fighter who couldn't even be compared to So-eun. So-eun's lips tightened in anger.
"He didn't even come to see you in person, and now he's just trying to make up with a phone call?"
"My boyfriend is busy too."
"He's too busy to make up? It's not like your boyfriend didn't want to make up, right?"
"......"
"He's only contacting you now, and you're going to accept it with open arms? Is your boyfriend some kind of amazing person?"
"No. It's not that..."
"Then you should break up."
"Excuse me?"
He had been driving her into a corner without giving her a chance to defend her boyfriend, and then he suddenly said something out of the blue, telling her to break up. So-eun's eyes narrowed at the thought that he was being too rude.
"Why are you even dating him if he's not some kind of amazing person?"
But he didn't seem to realize that he had crossed the line. His triumphant voice made her very uncomfortable.
So-eun retorted.
"You don't date someone amazing, you date someone who's right for you."
"So, is he right for you? That person?"
He questioned again.
He was clearly mocking the incident at the hospital. A small, subtle smile was sharp. She felt like he was laughing at her life and belittling the value of that life.
"Why doesn't it look like you're a good match to me?"
"No. We're a good match."
So-eun, who had been listening, spoke up.
"I think you're misunderstanding because you only saw the situation at the hospital. My boyfriend and I are a really good match. Like family. And we've shared a lot of time together."
"Ah..."
Tae-joon, who was listening as if he was interested in So-eun's story, opened his mouth and nodded quietly. The smirk on his lips deepened a little more.
"Like family, so you even take care of your boyfriend's mother when she's sick."
"......"
"You even took a month off to take care of your mother."
So-eun's lips opened wide and then closed.
Each of his words pierced her heart recklessly.
It hurt because it was true.
That month-long vacation was actually for Madam Kim Mal-hee's surgery and recovery, not for taking care of her, but somehow it ended up being a time to take care of her prospective mother-in-law, as he said. Because she was in the same hospital.
So-eun calmly responded with tears in her eyes.
"Director, those words are very uncomfortable. I know you really don't like me, but still..."
"Dislike you? How much do I like someone like you."
Tae-joon cut her off nonchalantly before So-eun could finish her sentence.
"Someone with no pride. Someone who does whatever they're told."
"......"
"I like you a lot. I wish you knew how I felt."
So-eun's face turned as red as a tomato.
She felt like her life was being mocked. Kim Tae-joon seemed like an evil person who was only happy when she was unhappy.
It was a moment when tears were about to fall. But she didn't want to show her emotions in front of a man like this.
"Thank you for the ride."
She quickly opened the car door and ran into her house.
So-eun quickly ran into her house as if she was running away.
Ugh, she felt nauseous because she had run up the stairs without breathing. Or maybe it was a reaction to the humiliation she had faced without preparation.
She had been excited to talk to Hee-wook, but she felt like that feeling had been completely trampled on. The power of the insult that Kim Tae-joon had inflicted on her had finally pushed away her thoughts of her boyfriend.
So-eun, who had calmed down, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and calmed her mind.
Don't let the things people say carelessly break you down.
Kim Tae-joon. Of course, I told you to cross the line, but...
That's what I was thinking in my heart, so there's no way you could have heard it.
'Why are you interfering in other people's lives!'
He was a man she could never like.
Her hatred for Tae-joon made her burn.
'I have to get my act together.'
I can't live the way someone who wants my unhappiness wants me to live.
I have to carve out my own destiny.
So-eun got up and called Hee-wook. It was almost midnight.
Ring, ring, ring...
[The customer is not answering the phone, leaving a voice message...]
However, she couldn't connect with Hee-wook.
Huuuuuaaaaa.
I should have answered the phone instead of fighting with someone like Kim Tae-joon. I just feel worse and lost my chance.
So-eun wondered if she should call one more time, but she gave up and lay down on the bed.
"How much do I like someone like you. Someone with no pride. Someone who does whatever they're told."
Kim Tae-joon's cruel words kept replaying in her mind. She felt like she would be in this mood all night.
