Chapter 27
- Dying to Catch Me
2023.05.27.
"Wolf, wolf, why is my skin so white?"
"That's so I can pinch you."
"Wolf, why is my hair so long?"
"That's so I can pull it."
"Then, wolf, why is my body so weak?"
"That's so I can knock you down."
"Then, wolf, why am I so pretty?"
"That's so I can eat you!"
Friday dawn. Future Service Team office.
"Ugh! Ugh!"
Wall! Wall! Escaping the wolf, now a wall appeared!
So-eun, convulsing, woke up from the dream, groaning again and collapsing onto her desk.
Thirty minutes. She had dreamt during a brief nap.
In the dream, So-eun was on a stage resembling a kindergarten talent show, playing a princess-disease-ridden Little Red Riding Hood. The one disguised as the wolf was none other than Kim Tae-joon. Not Yang Hee-wook, but Kim Tae-joon.
Being tormented by her boss was making her have all sorts of dreams. So-eun groaned, massaging her stiff shoulders.
Yesterday and today, So-eun had been working non-stop. Yesterday, she worked until 4 a.m., took a short nap at home, and came back, and today she stayed up all night at the company. As a result, the work Tae-joon had assigned was almost finished. She had vowed to finish it by 9 p.m. on Friday, but if she came up to the 7th floor to work even during lunch, she felt she could finish the work even earlier than the target time.
Then it would be a happy Friday. She should go home early and get a good night's sleep.
Get a good night's sleep and go to the blind date tomorrow.
Her eyelids felt heavy as if they weighed a ton, but So-eun got up from her seat, thinking about the exciting tomorrow. She went to the bathroom to wash her face, and some of the fatigue was washed away. So-eun started her day by rotating her stiff shoulders.
Before going to work, Hee-wook first stopped by Mal-hee's hospital room. It was easier to talk in the morning when the caregiver was away.
"Oh my, what brings my son here from the morning?"
Madam Kim Mal-hee's pride. The most filial son in the world. Mal-hee's face brightened as she recognized Hee-wook, who opened the hospital room door and came in.
"Have you had breakfast?"
"I ate something roughly. I haven't had much appetite lately."
"You still need to eat well."
"Oh, yes. My son is the only one who worries about his mother."
Hee-wook smiled and approached, taking Mal-hee's hand.
"Mom, I have something to tell you."
"What is it? Tell me."
"I broke up with So-eun."
"...What happened? Was it because of Heejin's blood type?"
"Well, one thing led to another."
"Did you break up with her?"
"No."
"Then, did she break up with you first?"
"Yeah."
"Goodness! How dare that thing break up with you first! So?"
Mal-hee's dark complexion turned red at Hee-wook's answer.
"So, we broke up."
"When you broke up, she didn't ask for money or anything like that?"
"So-eun isn't the type to do that."
"Still, you never know. Her eyes rolled back as soon as she found out Heejin's blood type was O."
Mal-hee seemed unable to shake off her anger, sighing deeply and grinding her teeth several times.
"You should have gotten a written statement. So she can't say anything different later."
"Don't worry, Mom. I'm a lawyer, she can't fight with me."
Hee-wook soothed the agitated Mal-hee.
He felt reassured that his mother unconditionally took his side without asking anything about what he had done wrong.
"If she contacts you, don't answer and tell me. I'll take care of it."
"...Are you sure this is the right thing?"
"Of course. It's the right thing."
"Oh, yes. If that's what you want, I'm happy too. I felt like you were too good for her every time I saw her."
Mal-hee relievedly poured out the words that had been building up inside her, as if she could finally reveal them.
"She gave me her liver, so I should be grateful, but maybe it's because she grew up without anything, she's a bit like a leech and I just couldn't get attached to her. She was so burdensome that I couldn't recover well either. Oh, it's good. Oh, it's good."
Hearing his mother's words, Hee-wook became even more convinced of his choice. Han So-eun and he were an incompatible couple. Han So-eun should have appreciated that fact, but she was too dissatisfied.
So it's a good thing. It's all a good thing.
"But she's so strange. Where does she think she can go after rejecting you, that she broke up with you first? She has nothing."
Hee-wook, nodding in agreement with Mal-hee's words, suddenly stopped.
At that moment, the scene of Kim Tae-joon and Han So-eun hugging in front of the hotel flashed through his mind.
...That can't be. How could someone like Han So-eun be with Kim Tae-joon?
In fact, it was something that had been bothering him for days.
Shaking his head to shake off the thought, Hee-wook changed the subject.
"That's enough. Let's not talk about her anymore, Mom. I have something else to tell you."
This was the really important story.
"Hyun-ji, you know, Choi Hyun-ji. She likes me."
At the unexpected news, Mal-hee asked with wide eyes.
"That lawyer? She likes you?"
"That's why she even came to visit you in the hospital despite being so busy. We started dating as soon as I broke up with So-eun."
"Oh my, two pieces of good news! My son is so capable! Women just keep coming!"
Mal-hee's face, which had been dark and red just a moment ago, was now blooming like a spring maiden. Her eyes were also sparkling.
"I should settle down now. I'm really going to marry Hyun-ji. I'm going to propose soon."
"Yes! That's a very good idea!"
"So, Mom, you should recover quickly and get discharged from the hospital. You have to watch me prepare for the wedding."
"Yes! I need to get my strength up soon! I need to get discharged from the hospital right away!"
As if she could really be discharged right away, Mal-hee quickly became energetic.
"I raised my son well, so Mom got better from cancer and will now live in luxury. Oh, my wonderful son."
It was an incredibly happy day for Mal-hee. Hee-wook was also relieved and pleased.
Friday evening, 6 p.m.
For the past two days, Tae-joon had been spending a lot of time outside due to many external affairs. Now that the external schedule was almost cleared, he could be in his office.
He had left the work to So-eun and hadn't paid attention for two days, but today he felt he could stick by her side.
He wanted to see Han So-eun struggling with the work. If she started to cry around Sunday evening, saying that she couldn't possibly finish it in time, he was willing to generously work with her, pretending to have no choice.
After finishing all his work, Tae-joon sauntered over to So-eun's office.
He was puzzled by So-eun's unusually bright expression. He wondered if she had become detached because the work was too overwhelming.
"Have you done a lot of work?"
"Yes! I finished it!"
Tae-joon's eyes shook at So-eun's loud report.
Tae-joon immediately rushed over and scanned the files So-eun was showing him.
He couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was an amount that would take him two full days to complete himself.
How did she do this?
Did a fairy do it overnight? Or an ox? A toad? Is she raising a fairy wife somewhere?
"...Did anyone help you?"
"No. I did it myself."
"By yourself?"
"Yes!"
"How?"
"If you have the will to do it, there's nothing you can't do."
So-eun answered cheerfully.
Tae-joon looked at her with hazy eyes.
Did she want to go to the blind date that badly?
Your determination to go to the blind date is commendable, but.
"Okay. Good job."
He absolutely couldn't let her go.
No one is without flaws. Tae-joon meticulously reviewed the data, hoping that So-eun had made some mistakes. However, no mistakes were found even after more than 30 minutes. Not only had she properly marked the revisions, but she had also created a separate final report, making it easy to check. It was a flawless result.
Han So-eun, who was squinting and grinning next to him, was extremely annoying.
Unable to find any errors in the results, Tae-joon had no choice but to slightly advance the schedule of the new project.
"Good job. I can trust Han So-eun with work from now on. ...Then let me tell you about the Future Service Team's full-fledged mission. I was originally planning to start on Monday, but since Ms. Han is showing so much enthusiasm, we should start right away from the weekend."
So-eun blinked at Tae-joon's shocking announcement. Her vision blurred every time she blinked.
What is he saying?
Is this man dying to catch me?
I did everything you told me to do. Please stop tormenting me and let me go home...
The day before yesterday, she couldn't sleep well after breaking up with Yang Hee-wook, and she had stayed up for two nights since then, and now more work on top of that.
I shouldn't be loyal to the company after all.
If you give them your liver, they'll ask for your gallbladder next, right?
"Ms. Han So-eun."
Tae-joon called her name. His voice sounded muffled, as if it wasn't from reality.
Director. I'm sorry.
Even if it's not just the director, but the director's grandfather who comes, I can't do it anymore...
So-eun, nodding her head like a spinning top, couldn't overcome the drowsiness and collapsed onto her desk.
"Ms. Han So-eun!"
Tae-joon's face hardened as he saw her collapse before his eyes.
"Han So-eun!"
The shout was so loud that even Song Mun-gyeong, the head of the department who was preparing to leave work, rushed over.
Song Mun-gyeong, who had learned about first aid, checked So-eun's condition and called her doctor husband to get his opinion.
After confirming that So-eun's breathing and pulse were normal, Tae-joon immediately picked So-eun up and carried her down, driving the car. Song Mun-gyeong moved to the emergency room with Tae-joon, calling So-eun's colleague, Park Bo-bae, to ask how So-eun's condition had been today.
"Ms. Han So-eun stayed up all night at the company yesterday and today, Director."
Mun-gyeong reported to Tae-joon after finishing the call with Bobae.
"Two days?"
"Yes. She went home early yesterday to wash up and came back, and she stayed up all night at the company today."
Tae-joon's hand gripping the steering wheel tightened.
Crazy.
This woman is crazy.
How can she be so sincere about everything?
"But Director, Ms. Han..."
While Tae-joon was seething inside, Mun-gyeong, who was looking after So-eun in the back seat, carefully called out to Tae-joon.
Snoring, snoring, snoring, snoring...
Without Mun-gyeong saying anything more, the sound of a woman snoring filled the silent car. Just listening to the sound, it was hard to tell whether it was a woman, a man, a person, or an animal. The sound was so loud that the two people listening were embarrassed.
Tae-joon arrived at the emergency room and laid So-eun on the bed, but So-eun didn't wake up. The doctor who came to examine her said that it seemed to be simple overwork.
Still, he had to watch over So-eun until she woke up, so he would spend this night in the emergency room.
Tae-joon said to Mun-gyeong, who had come to the hospital with him.
"Thank you for your trouble. Please go home quickly."
"I'll stay. Please go home first, Director."
"No. You need to take care of yourself too, Head of Department."
Tae-joon was worried that he had startled Mun-gyeong, who was in the early stages of pregnancy. Besides, today was Friday night. Mun-gyeong also needed freedom.
After gently persuading her a few times, Mun-gyeong said goodbye.
"Then I'll go first. Please contact me if anything happens."
"Yes. Thank you for your trouble."
After sending Mun-gyeong away and being left alone, Tae-joon finally became aware of what kind of space he was in.
Was it 20 years since he had been to the emergency room?
It was his first time in the emergency room since the day he lost his parents at once.
