The Woman Who Stole My Flower
Chapter 13
Chapter 13
#13.
If I throw myself at their feet and apologize, surely they won’t fire me.
As soon as she arrived at work, she would apologize to the department head first. Next would be Manager Sung Hye-eun. And then, when Kang Joo-heon came in later this afternoon, to him as well.
Honestly, even now, she didn’t feel like she had done anything wrong, nor did she want to apologize. But for her dad’s sake, Yeon-seo could swallow her pride as much as needed.
Sitting on the bus to work, Yeon-seo closed her eyes and prayed. A few months’ pay cut, or maybe a written explanation—please, let it end with a disciplinary measure like that.
“Manager Jung Yeon-seo!”
The moment she stepped into the office, Eun-jin, pale as a ghost, rushed over to meet her.
“The department head wants to see you at his desk the second you get in.”
Yeon-seo felt her heart plummet to her feet. Her worst fears were coming true.
“Sunbae-nim, am I going to be fired?”
When she asked, trembling with fear, Eun-jin looked utterly dejected.
“Well… there was an employee in the past who got drunk, cursed at a higher-up, and got fired for disrupting the workplace hierarchy… Why did you do that? You were enduring it so well all this time.”
It wasn’t a reprimand, but a lament. Eun-jin knew all too well how Yeon-seo must have felt.
Their team leader, shoulders slumped, murmured as well.
“I’m sorry, Manager Jung Yeon-seo. I don’t have enough power to protect you…”
And so, feeling like a death-row inmate being dragged to the gallows, Yeon-seo headed toward the department head.
“Did you call for me, Department Head?”
“Ah, Manager Jung Yeon-seo.”
The wide office went dead silent. Everyone pretended to be focused on their own work, but she could feel their ears straining in her direction. It was only natural; after the massive scene she had caused yesterday, they were bound to wonder what kind of punishment would come down on her.
“It’s about nothing else, but…”
Yeon-seo clenched her fists so hard her fingernails dug into her palms.
“For the time being…”
Was he telling her to stay home for a while? A suspension, then?
“I need Manager Jung Yeon-seo to take on the role of Director Kang Joo-heon’s secretary.”
Yeon-seo stopped breathing. He wasn’t telling her to leave?
The shock of what he had actually said hit her right after. How on earth could the word secretary be placed between Kang Joo-heon’s name and hers?
“A secretary?”
Yeon-seo blurted out before she could stop herself.
“Are you… referring to me?”
“Who else by the name of Jung Yeon-seo is here?”
The PR department head, who had been fluttering like a gentle spring breeze in front of Kang Joo-heon yesterday, instantly scowled like a wicked stepmother as he snapped at Yeon-seo.
“He’s a director; of course he needs a secretary. The CSR team only has two members besides the team leader, so who else should do it if not the youngest, Manager Jung Yeon-seo?”
“No, but I… I don’t know how to do anything like that, so how could I…”
As Yeon-seo stammered, Eun-jin raised her hand from afar.
“Department Head. If it’s too difficult for Yeon-seo-ssi, I can go in her place.”
Other female employees, who had been listening with bated breath, weren’t about to lose and raised their hands as well.
“I want to do it too!”
“If you assign me, I will work hard!”
“I even have experience working as a secretary!”
In an instant, the competition grew fierce, but the PR department head didn’t even spare a glance at the flood of volunteers.
“Director Kang Joo-heon will only be coming in during the afternoons, so you can do your regular work in the morning. In the afternoon, you will assist the director as his secretary.”
To the dazed Yeon-seo, the PR department head stressed repeatedly:
“In any case, while the director is here, set all other tasks aside. The director is your top priority. Understood?”
“Yes…”
“And if by any chance you pull a crazy stunt like yesterday against Director Kang Joo-heon, you’re truly fired. Got that?”
The PR department head glared at Yeon-seo once more.
“Honestly, I’d like to just… You should consider yourself lucky, all things considered.”
She was glad she hadn’t been fired, but instead, she had landed in an absurd position. Yeon-seo returned to her desk, half out of her mind.
“Why on earth assign the person who stepped on his foot to be his secretary?”
“I know, right? She completely froze the atmosphere at yesterday’s dinner, too.”
“Keep it down. Didn’t you see Manager Sung getting scolded yesterday?”
Snide, envious remarks drifted in from all around, but Yeon-seo barely registered them.
Me, Kang Joo-heon’s secretary?
Her mind was entirely consumed by that single thought.
It seemed the PR department head, knowing nothing of the truth, was walking right into a disaster. Putting aside the night she couldn’t remember, just yesterday she had pulled that stunt on Kang Joo-heon—and now she was supposed to be his secretary?
Yet she couldn’t very well tell the department head the truth about why she couldn’t do it.
What should I do?
As she sat blankly at her desk, someone approached.
“Manager Jung Yeon-seo, do you have a moment?”
It was none other than Manager Sung Hye-eun.
Yeon-seo flinched. She had been planning to apologize first anyway, but the shocking news about becoming Kang Joo-heon’s secretary had driven it completely from her mind.
“Let’s go somewhere quiet and talk.”
Hye-eun led Yeon-seo into an empty conference room.
“I crossed the line yesterday, Manager.”
Once they were alone, Yeon-seo bowed her head and apologized right away. She still didn’t think what she had said was wrong, but it was true that her behavior had crossed a line. Regardless of the situation, Hye-eun was her superior; she shouldn’t have clashed with her in front of everyone like that. It had been right in front of Kang Joo-heon, too, so how hurt must Hye-eun’s pride have been?
“I’m truly sorry.”
Hye-eun had never been kind to Yeon-seo before. Yeon-seo was certain she had brought her here to reprimand her for yesterday, but surprisingly, the voice that answered was soft.
“No, hearing what Manager Jung Yeon-seo said yesterday made me rethink things too. The CSR team’s work is clearly important company business, but I think I was only looking at things from my department’s perspective. I’m sorry as well.”
Startled by the candid response, Yeon-seo looked up at her. Genuine regret lingered on Hye-eun’s pretty face.
As the tension drained away, a wave of relief and gratitude washed over her. Had Manager Sung Hye-eun actually been a decent person all along?
“Our ranks may be different, so Manager Jung Yeon-seo calls me Manager, but in truth, we’re basically in the same hiring class. We’re about the same age, too.”
A fair, pretty hand reached out toward her.
“Let’s forget about yesterday and get along from now on.”
“Manager…”
Yeon-seo took her hand with heartfelt gratitude. To have a superior she had always felt uncomfortable around extend a hand first like this—she couldn’t have been more grateful.
After letting go of Yeon-seo’s hand, Hye-eun subtly studied her expression.
“I heard earlier that Manager Jung Yeon-seo was assigned to be Director Kang Joo-heon’s secretary?”
Yeon-seo slumped again. To become the secretary of a man who was grinding his teeth at her—thinking of what lay ahead made her future look pitch-black.
“Yes…”
“Why the gloomy face, though? Everyone else seemed so eager to go.”
Because everyone else didn’t steal Kang Joo-heon’s innocence…
“It’s just that I’ve never done secretarial work before, and I’m worried I might make a mistake.”
As Yeon-seo fudged the reason, Hye-eun suddenly asked:
“Then should I go in Manager Jung Yeon-seo’s place?”
“You, Manager?”
Yeon-seo looked at Hye-eun in surprise.
“Then what about your own work, Manager? Aren’t you busy?”
Yeon-seo was just a regular employee, but Hye-eun was a full-fledged manager. She couldn’t understand how Hye-eun could just take that position and leave her own duties behind.
“It’s only for a few hours in the afternoon anyway. There won’t be much work for him to give me, so I can just sit at the secretary’s desk and do my own tasks.”
To Yeon-seo, it was an immensely tempting offer. She dreaded going there in the first place, and now someone was offering to take her spot. But at the end of the day, it was a work assignment from her superior; Yeon-seo couldn’t simply hand it off to someone else on a whim.
“Still…”
As if reading Yeon-seo’s mind, Hye-eun added:
“I’ll talk to the department head. I’ll tell him I wanted to go, so Manager Jung Yeon-seo gave up the spot for me. Well, if he absolutely insists on refusing, there’s nothing we can do about that.”
It sounded convincing. If Hye-eun spoke to him directly, the department head wouldn’t likely refuse. Who in this company could stand in the way of what Hye-eun wanted to do?
Still, Yeon-seo wondered why Hye-eun was so eager to become Kang Joo-heon’s secretary.
“But why do you want to take that position, Manager?”
Hye-eun was candid. She didn’t beat around the bush or try to hide it.
“I’m a fan of Kang Joo-heon. Now that we’re working at the same company, I don’t want to miss a chance to get close to him.”
Yeon-seo thought it over.
Her being dumped into Kang Joo-heon’s secretary position was definitely the PR department head acting on his own, completely unaware of what had happened between them. Joo-heon despised her so much he had even called her trash. If Yeon-seo showed up later pretending to be his secretary, he might lash out in anger and severely reprimand the department head.
But if Hye-eun went in her place?
