Chapter 65
- I Hate You, Director
2023.07.04.
And just like that, So-eun left the office with Bobae.
Tae-joon hurriedly followed So-eun, chasing her all the way to the TF Team office.
"Chief Han, I've been looking for you," Eun-pyo said, seeing Bobae and So-eun returning together.
"I was talking with the director," So-eun replied, and Eun-pyo nodded, saying, "Ah, I see." Tae-joon, who had been trailing behind So-eun, stepped forward.
"If you're all leaving now, shall I give you a ride?"
"I have some things to do, so I'm fine. Bobae and Chief Jang Eun-pyo, you two go ahead. ...Bobae, you were worried about being late for your yoga class today. You can get there faster in the director's car."
So-eun refused outright and urged Bobae on. Bobae smiled, pleased. Tae-joon shuddered, realizing he had been outsmarted.
So-eun went further, pulling Jang Eun-pyo into it as well.
"It'll be awkward for Bobae, so Chief Jang, please go with her."
"Ah, should I?"
What do you mean, 'should I'?
Tae-joon glared at the clueless Jang Eun-pyo, but Eun-pyo remained unfazed, merely adjusting his glasses.
"Wait a moment. I'll pack up and come out," So-eun said.
While a deflated Tae-joon returned to his office to pack up, Bobae whispered to So-eun.
"What were you two talking about earlier? You looked so serious."
"...I asked what would happen to our TF Team now that Iaks and Nukum are in conflict."
"Oh, what did he say?"
"He just told us to continue. Bobae, I'll head out first. Be careful on your way home."
"Yes. I'm excited to get a ride in the director's car."
"Okay. Be careful. Chief Jang, have a good evening."
"Yes. See you tomorrow."
So-eun said her goodbyes and left the office. She heard Tae-joon's footsteps quickly approaching from behind, but she didn't turn around.
Tae-joon couldn't stop So-eun, who had left without properly finishing their conversation, and could only stare blankly after her.
He felt complicated.
What he had done was the same as what Lawyer Choi Hyunji had done: trying to separate Yang Hee-wook and Han So-eun. So, now that the misunderstanding about Choi Hyun-ji had been resolved, he thought he could get away with it at a similar level.
He still wasn't sure. Now that Han So-eun had escaped from a guy like that, and now that Han So-eun had met him, someone who was incomparable to Yang Hee-wook, everything had turned out well in the end, so he didn't know what he should apologize for. Wasn't this not something to apologize for, but something where they should talk and clear up misunderstandings?
Tae-joon quickly dropped Bobae and Eun-pyo off at their homes and then steered the car toward So-eun's house. In the meantime, a text message arrived. It was from So-eun.
- Please give me some time to think. I'll sort out my feelings and then talk to you. Director.
What, what did she say?
Tae-joon quickly pulled over and reread the text message So-eun had sent. In the midst of that, another message arrived.
- I hope you won't come to my house like Yang Hee-wook did. Director.
The title 'Director' at the end of the message sent a chill down his spine.
Haaa. This is driving me crazy.
Tae-joon sighed roughly and slumped over the steering wheel.
It was the moment when the power dynamic in this relationship became clear.
\
Tae-joon was frustrated and anxious, unable to sleep, but So-eun appeared the next day, and the day after that, as usual, doing her work as usual and leaving work as usual.
In fact, he had endured, thinking that she would come to him on her own by the next day, but even when the next day came, she didn't even try to have a conversation, which made Tae-joon angry.
What am I to you, anyway? What are we, anyway?
He wanted to ask such childish questions.
He kept accumulating things he wanted to argue about, but So-eun didn't even glance at him, so he could only fret inwardly.
After being told not to act like Yang Hee-wook, he couldn't persistently chase after her.
In the midst of that, So-eun said that she had a junior refresh lecture on Wednesday, so she didn't even come up to the 7th floor and left work. Tae-joon, who heard that from Chief Jang Eun-pyo, once again fumed inwardly. So-eun also left the experiment report to Eun-pyo. Tae-joon stared at Eun-pyo, who opened the office door and came in, with soulless eyes.
"Director, this is today's experiment report. It seems like there were some meaningful results, so I brought it. I thought it would be good to explain it with a picture, so I drew one."
The report was covered with neat drawings and handwritten notes. Tae-joon, who had been checking the writing without focus, was startled and opened his eyes wide. He remembered that Han So-eun had once said that she was fascinated by his handwriting.
"...Chief Jang Eun-pyo has a wonderful handwriting."
"Thank you. My father trained me for a long time. He told me not to eat if I couldn't write well, so I had no choice but to become good at it."
The storytelling is perfect, too.
"I also improved a lot while working as a secretary when I was in school."
Tae-joon resented Jang Eun-pyo, who answered so well without holding back.
"It's nice, but please submit all reports as printouts. Be careful not to leave any handwriting."
"Ah, yes. I'll tell the team members as well."
"No."
"..."
"Only Chief Jang Eun-pyo needs to be careful. Don't write by hand."
Tae-joon, who had given him a scolding, said that the report itself was very interesting and praised it roughly, saying that it was so wonderful that he couldn't help but applaud, and then sent Eun-pyo out.
Since Eun-pyo was bringing him the work that So-eun always did, he felt like he hadn't properly finished his day. He felt empty and drained.
Tae-joon leaned his heavy head deeply against the back of his chair and closed his eyes.
Was I only that much to you?
\
Friday, the day before the weekend.
So-eun finished her regular work and went up to the 7th floor with her colleagues. As always, Bobae was the first to greet Manager Song Mun-gyeong.
"Manager, hello! Where's the director?"
"Oh. He didn't come in today either."
"Ah. He must be very busy."
So-eun nodded expressionlessly. It would be a relief if he was busy. However, Manager Song Mun-gyeong quickly grabbed So-eun's arm as she bowed and tried to enter the office. And then she delivered some urgent, top-secret information.
"I heard the director isn't feeling well."
"Ah. Yes."
"So he's absent today too."
"Yeeees..."
"He told me to make sure to tell you."
"......"
"He told me to make sure to tell Chief Han."
So-eun's face flushed. Had even Manager Song Mun-gyeong found out about this secret relationship? Another strike was added to the already resentful Kim Tae-joon.
"Chief Han So-eun."
Seeing So-eun, who was flustered and unable to make eye contact, Mun-gyeong called So-eun again.
"You don't have to give a man everything just because he's whining. Your feelings are the most important."
"......"
"If he's bothering you too much and you're in a difficult situation, tell me. I'll help you somehow."
"No, it's not like that..."
"And, even though they're both good people, you don't have to choose someone. Do what your heart tells you. You're always right."
"Am I, choosing someone?"
So-eun asked, her eyes wide, not knowing what this was about, and Mun-gyeong blinked, looking like she had misunderstood something, and then quickly left.
"Anyway, I told you... Work hard."
Now, only So-eun's choice remained.
*
As soon as So-eun got off work, she went straight to Tae-joon's house.
When she pressed Tae-joon's apartment number at the entrance on the first floor, the door opened immediately. That meant Tae-joon was home. And it meant that he knew she would come here.
The journey up to the 30th floor wasn't easy.
Since it was nominally a visit to the sick, she had stopped by the mart and pharmacy to buy various things, but she wondered if he really needed these things. She had come, also guessing that he was faking it. Still, she couldn't shake off the worry that 1% of it might be true, so it was all her fate.
30th floor. She rang the doorbell, and the door opened immediately.
"I knew it."
A sigh burst out.
That wayward young master.
His appearance, which showed no signs of illness other than a pale face, and was simply elegant, neat, and smooth, made So-eun feel drained. And, his shameless expression, which showed no signs of remorse, or rather, the look in his eyes that seemed to blame her, made So-eun even more resentful.
"You're not sick. Why did you lie?"
"Han So-eun won't meet me. She won't let me contact her, and she told me not to come."
"I didn't say not to contact you."
"You told me not to do the same things as Yang Hee-wook."
"......"
"Then I have to make you come to me. Isn't that obvious?"
As if to say that it was all her fault that he was doing this. Tae-joon was extremely arrogant.
I had a liver donation surgery and took a month off before returning to work desperately, but this man can cancel all his scheduled appointments and lock himself in his house just because he has a conflict with me.
He was, as expected, someone whose position was too different from hers. Even when they faced each other so closely, they were people who were too far apart.
Tae-joon seemed to feel that distance as well, and took a step closer and grabbed So-eun's hand. So-eun gently pulled her hand away. Tae-joon didn't grab her hand again. He sighed bitterly and went into the house first, offering her a seat.
"Sit down, first."
So-eun took a seat far away from where Tae-joon was sitting.
"'It's not because I regret or miss breaking up with Yang Hee-wook.' I heard up to there."
"......"
"I waited four days to hear the next words."
Tae-joon clearly recalled the conversation from Monday, word for word. The four days that he had been unable to bear the frustration had made Tae-joon's voice cold.
But as he watched her hesitate, rolling her lips in and out several times, he soon became anxious.
"I just... I hate you, Director."
His expression, which had been arrogantly sharp, crumbled.
No, why do you hate me? I can hate you, but you can't hate me.
Even though he thought that way, his attitude quickly became humble. Tae-joon unfolded his arrogant arms and sat up straight in his seat.
"I broke up with that person to live my life independently, but in the end, it was all in your palm."
"Is that side of you quietly sitting in my palm?"
"......"
"I feel like Han So-eun is sitting on top of my head."
Their positions were clearly different.
