Chapter 9
- Because It's a Waste
2023.05.09.
After a long time, So-eun took off her thick-rimmed glasses and left home. Wearing lenses made her feel as if she was missing a piece of clothing, making her feel self-conscious.
No, it seemed to be because of what she had done last night.
Why did Han So-eun from last night say such crazy things to Director Kim Tae-joon, who was like the sky?
If she had done something embarrassing, she should have cleanly forgotten it, but why did her memories come back in such sparse, drought-stricken Beans, tormenting her so much?
She wished these fragments of memory were all just a dream. It would be great if she had a dream even better than a 4D experience...
So-eun loosened her hair, which she had always tied up tightly, and clocked in with her head bowed low.
Her colleague Park Bo-bae greeted her.
"Assistant Manager, good morning."
"Bobae, hello."
But it's not a good morning.
So-eun hid her inner thoughts and sat down at her desk.
Then, someone shouted in a cheerful voice.
"Director! Good morning!"
Gasp.
So-eun quickly slid off her chair and under the desk, curling up into a ball. Her heart was pounding. It was the instinct of a human who knew shame well.
She glimpsed a tall man walking by. Tears welled up in So-eun's eyes.
Please don't come this way. So-eun begged and begged. Fortunately, Kim Tae-joon received greetings from several employees, turned his head to scan the space, and left.
Bobae, who thought So-eun was hiding because she was avoiding being scolded by Director Kim Tae-joon for causing an accident during work hours yesterday, looked at So-eun hiding under the desk with pity.
"Assistant Manager, come out. The director is gone."
Bobae took So-eun's hand to help her get up.
"Okay. Thank you."
So-eun took Bobae's hand, got up, and sat back down at her desk.
But this time, she heard someone calling for So-eun from another direction.
"Is Han So-eun here?"
Her heart, which had been startled by the director's voice, was equally startled by the sound of her name being called. So-eun pulled her chair back, trying to hide under the desk again. But the person who called So-eun's name was unexpected. It was a delivery driver holding a bouquet of flowers in one hand.
"Yes, I'm here!"
Since So-eun didn't answer, Park Bo-bae waved her hand. The delivery driver came to Bobae.
"Are you Han So-eun?"
"This is Han So-eun. Is this a flower bouquet gift?"
"Yes. Here's the gift and flowers. Han So-eun, please sign the receipt."
The delivery driver answered Bobae's question and handed over a confirmation slip. So-eun blankly signed and received the bouquet and gift.
"Assistant Manager, what is this? Is it herbal medicine?"
It was a large bouquet of flowers and three packets of hangover relief medicine. It was a tonic with a long explanation of precious medicinal ingredients that were gentle on the liver.
At the bottom of the confirmation receipt received from the delivery driver, the sender's address was written.
'Yulkyu Law Firm'
It was a gift from Hee-wook from the firm.
So-eun's face, which had been hardened with worry, finally brightened. Clear dew formed at the corners of her eyes.
She was disappointed that she hadn't heard from him this morning, but he still cared!
Her resentful feelings from yesterday melted away.
Hee-wook, who had come to work, received a call from So-eun just before starting work.
[Oppa, I checked the gift you sent. Thank you so much. I'm so touched.]
"Huh?"
He hadn't been able to contact her because he was still tired from the alcohol, so what was this about a gift? Touched? He couldn't understand what So-eun was saying.
While he was blinking like an idiot with his phone in his hand, Choi Hyun-ji, who had come to his side, waved a memo in front of Hee-wook's eyes.
- Is that So-eun? It's probably a call saying she received the gift. Tell her you're glad she received it well.
Hee-wook understood Hyun-ji's memo and nodded.
"I'm glad you received it well. I'm working hard, and I have a lot of work, so I'll hang up."
Hee-wook answered roughly and hung up the phone, tilting his head at Hyun-ji.
Hyun-ji smiled brightly and confessed the truth.
"I sent a bouquet of flowers and hangover relief medicine to So-eun's company. I didn't write a separate sender, just the address, but So-eun thought it was Yang Byeon-nim. I think it's better that way."
Hee-wook's pupils shook at Hyun-ji's confession. It was a kind thing, but frankly, it was excessive meddling.
Choi Hyun-ji was an innocent, bright person. Her actions and words were polite, and she knew how to take care of people with a sense, so she was popular with her colleagues. He had recently become quite close to Hyun-ji, and he felt good about it. Recently, he had even received a handkerchief as a gift and was proud of it... But he couldn't honestly welcome that special attention extending beyond himself to his girlfriend.
For some reason, he didn't want to talk about So-eun with Hyun-ji.
"You don't have to worry about things like that."
He didn't want So-eun and Hyun-ji to become close. No, he didn't want So-eun to become close to anyone at the law firm. He didn't want anyone to know that So-eun had donated part of her liver to his mother.
Hee-wook kept So-eun's liver donation a secret. Immediately after his mother received the liver donation, he created a confidentiality agreement for the donor and had it confirmed by the hospital, and he anonymized all records. Now, it was not easy to find So-eun's liver donation record. Hee-wook was a person with excellent ability to manipulate documents.
He liquidated a selfish past that could be an obstacle to his promising future as a lawyer. If only Han So-eun would stay still, the fact that she was his mother's liver donor would not be known to the world. No one would point fingers at him and his family for being selfish.
"Yang Byeon-nim also drank a lot yesterday. I thought you might have forgotten and couldn't take care of it, so I took care of it for you. I thought it was a thoughtful gift. I wanted to be praised."
He didn't want to thank Hyun-ji for her meddling, so he just responded politely, but Hyun-ji made a gloomy expression at Hee-wook's reaction. In the end, Hyun-ji's sulky voice made him say something insincere.
"Thank you. But you don't have to do that in the future."
"Still. I called So-eun all the way here, and then I couldn't take care of her. Our conversation was so boring that I made her leave early. I feel so sorry for So-eun."
"It's really okay. You don't have to worry about it."
"It can't be okay. She's going to be Yang Byeon-nim's wife someday."
Hyun-ji mumbled with slumped shoulders. Hee-wook's heart sank as much as Hyun-ji's shoulders.
He didn't want to marry So-eun. If he had met her in a normal relationship because she was pretty and had a good body, he would have enjoyed it for a couple of months at most and then ended it.
If it hadn't been for his mother's surgery...
After the surgery, as reality dawned, he felt more and more regretful.
"When are you going to marry So-eun?"
This time, Yang Hee-wook's voice became smaller.
"...You never know what will happen."
"What kind of answer is that?"
"..."
"Gasp. Did you guys fight yesterday?"
"No, well..."
"Really? Did you fight?"
Hyun-ji's eyes widened as if they would spill over.
"Did So-eun get angry? It's not because of me, is it?"
"Haha, why would we fight because of Choi Byeon? It's not like that."
"Still. I seem to be close to Yang Byeon-nim, and I am actually close to you. A woman's eyes can see that. She might have been uncomfortable. Well, even if I were Yang Byeon-nim's girlfriend, I would be jealous and upset if there was another woman who seemed closer to you."
If. Hee-wook was newly excited by Hyun-ji's expression.
Hyun-ji, who had been making a worried expression, soon changed her words again.
"Come to think of it, didn't I make a slip of the tongue? I think I called Yang Byeon-nim 'Oppa' yesterday? Was it a dream?"
"Pfft."
Hee-wook, who was enjoying the conversation with Hyun-ji, let out a faint laugh.
"Uh-oh? Really? Did I? Oh my gosh!"
"Well... it could have happened. It's true that I'm your 'Oppa'."
"..."
"You can call me comfortably when it's just the two of us."
Hee-wook said generously to Hyun-ji, whose face had turned red with embarrassment at her slip of the tongue. Hyun-ji's face, which had been stiff with embarrassment, brightened up.
"Really? Oh! Then do I have an 'Oppa' now?"
"Well, you can think of it that way..."
Hee-wook answered awkwardly.
"Really? I'm a person who does what I'm told."
Hyun-ji grabbed Hee-wook's arm and shook it as if urging him to answer. Hee-wook's heart became more and more complicated because of her cute appearance.
Now that he had laundered his past, he felt that the present was a waste.
If it weren't for his promise to marry Han So-eun, he could have gotten closer to Choi Hyun-ji.
The only colleague who had made a fuss close to anger after hearing that his mother had been hospitalized and had taken time out of her busy schedule to visit her.
A woman with a good family, good education, good job, pretty, and even polite.
Choi Hyun-ji was a woman who was desirable in many ways. She was a woman who was so different from Han So-eun.
Tae-joon, who had come to work early, visited the Mobile Service Team first.
Of course, he stood at a distance and looked at So-eun's seat first. If it had been quiet, he could have gone closer to her, but because one of the employees greeted him loudly, he was only able to see So-eun from afar.
Seeing her hide under the desk as soon as the word 'Director' came out, it seemed like she remembered what happened yesterday. Tae-joon smiled a little because her foolish appearance was so funny.
Even if you hide like that, you're someone who has to come when I tell you to.
He liked his current position.
Tae-joon went up to his office with a light heart.
Secretary Song Mun-gyeong, who was guarding the front of the office, stood up from her seat and greeted Tae-joon when she saw him.
"Director, you're here."
"Yes. Good morning."
Tae-joon, who bowed his head in greeting as he passed by, added one more word as if he was in a good mood.
"You don't have to get up every time."
Song Mun-gyeong, who got married at the age of forty and was now two months pregnant, was one of the secretaries who had served Tae-joon's aunt, Kim Seok-hwa, the head of the K Electronics Home Appliance Division, for a long time. Tae-joon and she were also acquainted with each other, so Seok-hwa sent Mun-gyeong to K Electronic Service with the hope that Tae-joon would be able to start his company life a little easier.
One might feel uncomfortable with a secretary who was ten years older than him, but Tae-joon was treating Mun-gyeong kindly without any complaints. Veteran secretary Mun-gyeong also took care of her work skillfully without feeling burdened by her much younger boss. Thanks to Mun-gyeong, Tae-joon was able to roughly grasp the system of K Electronic Service in just a few days after taking office.
"Contact Assistant Manager Han So-eun of the Mobile Service Team and tell her to come to my office."
"Yes. I understand."
Tae-joon, who gave instructions to Mun-gyeong and entered the office, took out his glasses from his pocket and put them on the desk.
After organizing the events of last night, which were uncharacteristic of Kim Tae-joon, and his mind became clear, he felt rather relieved.
He will do as he pleases.
If he came to Han So-eun with impure intentions, he should play according to those intentions.
If he doesn't do anything, this trouble of returning to Korea early would be too much of a waste.
He was a person who knew how to calculate.
And he was a person who could start his day by bringing Han So-eun to his eyes.
