Chapter 68
- It's Nothing, This Is
2023.07.07.
So-eun couldn't answer Jae-young's question right away.
[Well, Chief, I think you need to explain. I'm so distressed. I have a fiancé, and one of his friends works at our company, so it's a bit awkward. Actually, it's very awkward...]
Jae-young expressed her displeasure at being caught up in such gossip and hung up.
A lively discussion was taking place in the comment section. Some people completely believed the exposé and made harsh criticisms, while others didn't trust the story itself, calling it a rumor. Some felt it was a smear campaign and wanted to hear from the person involved if there really was one.
"It's okay. We can just delete this kind of thing."
Tae-joon, who had finally accessed 'Blahblah' on his phone and checked the post, comforted So-eun.
"Don't worry. I'll take care of everything."
"No. It's too..."
So-eun clicked on another post and confirmed that this false exposé had already spread beyond the company's anonymous community to general internet forums.
What if they forcibly deleted the post in this situation?
If the writer was truly malicious, they might become even more agitated and run wild. It would be like throwing them a bone. Moreover, the post contained a lot of misinformation, which could make even those watching suspicious.
First, they had to correct the misinformation.
"...Director, I'm really grateful, but I think the best way is for me to be honest about it."
Tae-joon shook his head.
"Yang Hee-wook either got a Blahblah ID and logged in, or it's his family. We can find the poster and punish them."
"No. You shouldn't get involved. Yang Hee-wook knows about you too."
"..."
"This is my issue, so it will seem most genuine if I speak directly, rather than through someone else."
Of course, the fastest and easiest solution would be for the person involved to step forward.
But you.
Tae-joon was worried that So-eun would be hurt by the world again.
"I'll handle it first. Director."
Despite Tae-joon's reluctant reaction, So-eun didn't budge. Instead, she smiled confidently, as if trying to reassure him.
"I've never had any trouble with my colleagues in my three years at the company. I think everyone has a good impression of me. If I speak directly, I think my colleagues will support me."
Tae-joon stared, mesmerized, at the smile that appeared in that precarious moment. He couldn't believe it.
Smiling like that. Trusting people again. You.
Faced with that unwavering smile, Tae-joon gave in. He felt he shouldn't stop her. It seemed his duty to protect her so that her plan would be perfect.
"If you post, it will have a big impact. Especially if outsiders are starting to pay attention."
But he couldn't forget to give her a warning.
"I'll take responsibility for deleting all of Han So-eun's personal information, but you might still get hurt. There might be people who tear Han So-eun apart."
"Then, won't you fight with me?"
"Of course, I will."
"Then that's enough. For me."
So-eun replied with satisfaction, as if she had gained a thousand soldiers.
"I can do it."
His heart swelled with a hot, aching feeling.
The person I love is this strong.
You, who get up like a tumbler doll without giving up, are stronger than I can ever fathom. So strong that I can never break you, so I had to pretend to be strong for you every time.
Tae-joon realized that he had been greatly underestimating Han So-eun.
"Hello. I'm the engineer from the Central Headquarters who has been the subject of controversy since yesterday."
So-eun opened the post by briefly stating her affiliation. Since the reception team employee had been harmed, it seemed better to be specific to some extent.
"I have read the post in question and checked all the subsequent comments. I am taking the courage to clarify my position on the post, which contains many false statements.
Last April, I took a month's leave from the company and donated 65% of my liver to my ex-boyfriend's mother.
Those who haven't undergone surgery won't know what that decision is like, what that courage is like. I don't think the act of sharing something precious for someone you especially love should be criticized for any reason.
I didn't want anything when I decided to have the surgery. The post claiming I wanted alimony is false. My relationship with him soured after the surgery, and I broke up with him, but I still don't want anything from them. It wasn't given to be loved, but because I wanted to be loved so much. I did it because I loved them, so I don't regret it.
Because my heart, which wanted not only the person I loved but also their family to be healthy and happy, was genuine. Because I was truly happy that they had the opportunity to become healthy. Because I had achieved my wish in itself.
There's no need to pity my personal breakup.
The experience of saving the life of a loved one with great courage in life is not something everyone can do. I know that I was a wonderful person until the end. Since this wonderful me is mine and won't leave, I think that alone is something I've gained.
No one can speak carelessly about me like this.
Thank you for reading this long post. You will be able to find out the truth of this post when you come to work on Monday morning."
So-eun's fingertips trembled with a strange tension as she pressed the post registration button. She ran her hand over her heart, rereading the post she had read at least twenty times.
Pressing the button and not pressing the button are conflicting crossroads. So-eun, who was happy to live her life only worrying about whether to eat jajangmyeon or jjambong, had never had so many choices poured out on her. Perhaps the courage of those many choices was training for today, she thought.
With a fearful heart about where her fate would flow now, she put strength into her trembling fingertips.
With a click, the post was registered.
The neatly written post was also sad.
My long worries, fearful choices, heartbreaking love, and the afterword were simply summarized in a one-page post.
Thinking that this was one aspect of my life, I couldn't help but cry.
How did it come to this? This isn't what I wanted.
'No, So-eun. You haven't failed.'
You made the best choice.
That post is real. You were a really good person. You worked hard.
So-eun patted herself and wiped away her tears.
Knock, knock. Tae-joon made his presence known, knocking on the already open door. He had rushed to check the post So-eun had uploaded from another room.
So-eun quickly put on a smile and looked up, but Tae-joon's eyes were sharp.
"Did you cry?"
"No."
"You cried, you cried. You're a crybaby."
"I didn't cry."
So-eun denied the obvious fact, wrinkling her nose.
"Oh, you little bunny."
"Huh? What..."
"Like a little bunny, leaving your liver somewhere."
"Geez. That's too much."
So-eun glared, thinking Tae-joon's joke was too much. But Tae-joon teased her regardless.
"Little bunny. Crybaby little bunny."
"Wow. You're really taking advantage of my weakness..."
The tears had disappeared somewhere. As So-eun got up from her chair, flustered, Tae-joon grabbed her arm. And so, the words that followed were swallowed into Tae-joon's mouth.
After teasing her past as if punishing her, the kiss that came to her lips like a reward was so sweet that So-eun's mind was confused. So-eun also hit him with her hands and accepted him with her lips.
"You did well. You worked hard."
The lips that had been enjoying the ticklish punches barely parted.
"Han So-eun has done everything she can, so you can relax now."
So-eun felt much more at ease with his praise and encouragement. She felt like she was going to cry again.
"It's nothing, this is. I'm just going to shake it off and move on."
"..."
"Later, we'll be able to laugh about it together, like a funny dark history."
He teased me as a bunny, which upset me, but it was a good shock therapy.
I hope so. I wish that heavy past would become such a light joke. I wish it would flow by, consumed by laughing about it once a year.
Just as the warm atmosphere was about to bring tears to her eyes again, Tae-joon couldn't stand it and started making fun of her again.
"But how many hours did it take you to write one post?"
"Am I the same as a liberal arts major..."
"How can you hold on to one post for four hours? I can't understand it at all."
"Well, does the director know the first law of thermodynamics?"
"Liberal arts majors don't learn that. Writing is taught the same to science and liberal arts majors."
"Then what about the quadratic formula? Do you remember it?"
Tae-joon suddenly grabbed So-eun's chin and pulled it up again. Until just now, the sweet breath in her mouth was all crushed and smeared. It seemed like he was sulking. He had clearly forgotten the quadratic formula.
So-eun, who escaped from his persistence with a laugh, asked.
"Director, have you ever been caught up in such gossip?"
"No."
"How can you not have been?"
"Because I delete everything."
"Does it really get deleted? The people who spread rumors keep appearing."
"Then we have to delete those people too."
"Delete? ...You don't mean kill them, do you?"
"I haven't done that yet."
His sly smile was somehow chilling.
"...In the future?"
"The future is unknowable."
Tae-joon chuckled as So-eun's expression hardened as if she was frightened.
"I'm kidding. How can I kill someone?"
But the things this man says, even jokes, always sound like the truth.
The head that remembers one by one how he has tormented her while saying he liked her makes her hesitate to laugh along with him.
Tae-joon, who had been staring at her, smoothly changed the subject again.
"But I know the quadratic formula."
And he has such a long memory.
