Translator: Nox

Chapter 26

26. Instead of Saying "I Like You"

2023.05.26.

At ten years old, elementary school student Tae-joon was sometimes less busy than seven-year-old So-eun, who attended daycare. Han So-eun was in the all-day daycare program, so she returned home from daycare at 5 PM. On days when she had no academy classes or private tutoring, Tae-joon was the one waiting for So-eun.

That day, Tae-joon, who was subtly waiting for So-eun to come, was reading a book on a garden bench when he couldn't fight off his eyelids and fell asleep.

And not long after he had fallen into a dream.

Tae-joon woke up with a start when he felt a grape drop on his cheek.

Tae-joon raised one hand to his cheek and looked ahead.

Foolish Han So-eun was standing in front of Tae-joon, smiling like a prankster.

"Does kissing wake you up like it does my dad?"

"Hey!"

Tae-joon shouted, his face as red as burgundy wine.

"If you touch my face again, I'll hang you from that tree over there."

Tae-joon pointed to a large tree in the garden, panting.

"Oppa, is it okay if I don't touch you with my hands? Can I touch you with my lips?"

"If you can't use your hands, how can you use your lips!"

"Then can I use my feet?"

The child kept asking with an innocent expression. She was so serious that it seemed like she wasn't joking but was sincere. Tae-joon raised his hand to flick the child's forehead.

"Aaaaaah!"

Having been through so much with Tae-joon, the child screamed, raising both arms above her head to protect herself before Tae-joon even hit her. Tae-joon couldn't help but laugh at the sight.

After laughing for a while, Tae-joon took something out of his pocket and handed it to So-eun. It was a jelly with a goblin face on it.

"Wow! What's this?"

"It looks just like you, so eat yourself."

"Wow! That's amazing!"

Whether she heard Tae-joon or pretended not to, the child just jumped up and down, seemingly happy.

The day after they broke up.

So-eun had slept a little restlessly the night before, but she went to work energetically.

Bobae spoke to So-eun, who was browsing various online shopping malls before work started.

"Chief Han, I've never seen you shop online before."

"Yeah. I'm trying to buy some clothes."

"Are you going somewhere nice?"

"Just... I have a blind date."

"Huh? Chief Han, didn't you break up with your boyfriend...?"

Bobae, who had raised her voice in excitement, lowered her voice, conscious of her surroundings.

"Chief Han, you broke up? When?"

"Yesterday."

"But you're already going on a blind date?"

At Bobae's question, So-eun dropped her gentle smile and blinked. It was a similar reaction to Director Kim Tae-joon.

"Is it a bit much?"

"Isn't it too soon?"

"They said it was okay on their end."

"Ah. If they know about it, then, well..."

Bobae nodded as if it would be okay then. It was then that Chief Jang Eun-pyo was lingering behind the two people who were having an important conversation.

"Chief Jang, is there something you want to say?"

"...No."

At Bobae's question, Eun-pyo immediately returned to his seat.

Bobae continued in a low voice.

"Chief Han, is that why you were sick the other day? Because you were worried about whether to break up or not."

"Yeah. I guess so. But I'm okay now."

"Yes, Chief Han. But if there's anything I can do to help, please tell me anytime. You've helped me a lot too."

"I know. It would be nice if I could do that."

So-eun was grateful for Bobae's energetic support, but she couldn't help but sigh. It would be nice if she could play and rest a lot, but So-eun was tied to Director Kim Tae-joon. She had to stay late every night until 9 PM without fail.

"Ah, the TF Team... Does the director make you work a lot?"

"It's simple labor, but there's a lot of it."

"Chief Han, if I can help, I will. You've helped me a lot too."

Bobae, who had been looking at her worriedly, promised to help in an energetic voice. So-eun smiled gratefully, touched by her kindness.

So-eun went up to the 7th floor a little after 6 PM.

For some reason, Tae-joon had come to the office first and was waiting for So-eun.

"You've arrived."

"Yes, Director. Good evening."

"Dinner?"

"I ate with a colleague."

"I told you to come at six."

"The director said that meal times are also work hours."

So-eun had become a little bolder. She had come to think that she should speak her mind. But as expected, Tae-joon was like a god-like superior, so she couldn't help but be conscious of him.

"I thought it would interfere with my work if I was hungry, so I ate before coming."

So-eun quickly added an explanation and pressed her lips together.

Fortunately, Tae-joon didn't make any further complaints. Instead, he asked with a straight face, without even raising an eyebrow.

"Are you busy this weekend?"

"Yes. I have a blind date."

"I'm sorry to hear that. It looks like Chief Han will have to come out and work on the weekend too."

"......"

"I'd like you to finish the work by Monday morning. I need to review it urgently."

...Are you really sorry?

There was a man who could say he was sorry so shamelessly.

I don't really know what men are thinking, but that doesn't mean So-eun is stupid. So-eun was someone who was more conscious of others than anyone else.

In the meantime, there had been more than just a superior-subordinate relationship between Tae-joon and So-eun. Of course, it was all interference by chance, but even so, Tae-joon was interfering too much in So-eun's personal affairs. Until yesterday, I could understand it as the unique meddling of a boss who liked morning dramas, but not today.

I clearly said goodbye yesterday, thanking him for everything so far.

It meant that we should go our separate ways now.

Actually, I thought about it for a moment. Could this man like me? But I'm not a child, and you can't torment someone you like like this. What kind of era is this?

"Director, I have a question to ask you."

"......"

"Do you dislike me a lot?"

So-eun asked if he disliked her instead of asking if he liked her. It was the best question she could ask in her position. Is your emotion involved in assigning me work? How much are you involved?

Now that she had asked the question, she felt nervous.

She remembered the warm embrace she had recklessly hugged yesterday. The comforting scent that made her feel comfortable even amidst the slight trembling as he hugged her tightly and patted her.

I still think. If this man wasn't her boss, if he wasn't someone who seemed so far away even when she just looked at him, she would have felt romantic feelings for him.

That's the line we've drawn, but what about you? How do you define me?

So-eun, who had asked the question, waited for his mouth to open again.

In the quiet moment, he was a sexy man even with his usual expression, gazing at her with narrowed eyes and lowered eyelids.

After a while, Tae-joon looked directly at So-eun with a face that was not even slightly disturbed, and then opened his mouth.

"I'm just Chief Han So-eun's boss, so I'll like her if she works hard. Conversely, I'll dislike her if she's not diligent."

It was a rational answer that felt somehow cold.

"But I still think Chief Han So-eun is a diligent person. So I hope you don't disappoint me."

As if this was just work, as if he had no personal feelings for her.

It was a textbook answer that made So-eun's carefully asked question seem foolish.

Tae-joon, who had given a boss-like instruction, immediately got up from his seat and left the office.

Outside the office, she could hear him telling Song Mun-gyeong that he would give her a ride home.

It wasn't really a sad thing, but the area under her eyes felt hot.

Was it because she realized that even the person who had comforted her so warmly yesterday wasn't really on her side?

So-eun looked at the mountain of documents with blurry eyes in the office where she was left alone.

By next Monday. It was a task that seemed impossible. But she also felt a sense of defiance at being given such a huge homework assignment.

'If I can do this, I'll be overcoming a major hurdle in my life.'

You think I'll give up my blind date?

I'll stay up all night. I'll make it happen if it doesn't. I'll show you the power of a K-worker.

So-eun wiped the tears from her eyes, determined to finish the work before the weekend, even if she had to work all night.

Yang Hee-wook, just you wait. Kim Tae-joon, just you wait.

I won't break down.

I'm going to live well, as if to show you.

All wet things only take shape when the moisture dries.

I have to refine myself when my tears dry.

Tae-joon, who had a prior engagement near Song Mun-gyeong's house, decided to give Mun-gyeong a ride home and went down to the first floor together.

"You're such a caring person."

Mun-gyeong spoke cautiously as she got into the elevator.

"You're especially cold to Chief Han So-eun."

"Do you think so?"I think you're worried about Chief Han.""

It was the first time Mun-gyeong had given him a personal evaluation of him. Song Mun-gyeong was a person who knew how to keep a proper distance and had a clear sense of judgment. If Mun-gyeong was pointing this out, it meant that he had shown a lot of openings.

Last night, Tae-joon had a dream. It was a memory from a day 20 years ago.

Except for Mom, Dad, Grandpa, and Aunt, she was the first person to kiss him, so the memory was engraved in his head without any room for resistance. As he unlocked the lock called 'Han So-eun', the lost memories were returning one by one.

But that doesn't mean he has many memories. Not long after that incident, seven-year-old Han So-eun disappeared from the mansion. Aunt said that she had left one night without saying goodbye.

"Are you very disappointed? It seems like our Tae-joon has become very attached to that child."

"No. That can't be. I hated her."

Tae-joon couldn't help but remember the conversation he had with his aunt at that time.

Tae-joon really couldn't like that child. Candy, caramel, jelly, cookies, ice cream... How many delicious things did I give her, and how much did I play with her? How could that child leave without saying a word? It was so futile, so full of betrayal.

The situation 20 years later was not much different from then. Kim Tae-joon was still nobody to Han So-eun.

Nevertheless, he can't take his eyes off her first.

Han So-eun, who made a blind date appointment as soon as she broke up, Han So-eun, who suddenly laughed like a crazy person when he just scolded her, Han So-eun, who put dozens of question marks in his head and then left with a bright smile yesterday, was so strange, pitiful, and so hateful.

"Because I dislike her."That still small and frail child, that child who was friendly yesterday and became a stranger like a lie today, and that child who was somehow anxious as if she would disappear again someday."

"She's exactly the style I dislike."

Tae-joon crammed many emotions that he couldn't list one by one into the word dislike.

It felt uncomfortable to express it so conveniently.

This masochistic game of keeping what he dislikes by his side was something that no one should notice.

"To my aunt..."

"I won't say anything. That's my pride as a secretary."

Before Tae-joon could finish speaking, Mun-gyeong smiled reassuringly.

"I'm serving Director Kim Tae-joon, not Director Kim Seok-hwa, who is far away."

"Thank you."

"It's a natural thing to do. There's no need to thank me, Director."

He could trust Song Mun-gyeong. But Tae-joon knew very well that he shouldn't stand out any more than this.