The Woman Who Stole My Flower
Chapter 23
Chapter 23
#23.
‘I suppose we do look alike. In the sense that we both have two eyes, one nose, and one mouth.’
A dry laugh escaped her at her own absurdity.
‘Then again, you’d have to be a beauty of this caliber to get tangled up in a scandal with Kang Joo-heon.’
Thinking back on how she had lost sleep and trembled in terror for days, dreading that anyone might find out she was the culprit who left that hickey on Kang Joo-heon’s neck, she felt like a total fool. Even if she stood in the middle of Gwanghwamun Square screaming that it was her, who would ever believe it? She’d be lucky if they didn’t call a psychiatric hospital on her.
In any case, a strong candidate had emerged. Just as she was thinking she should show the photo to Kang Joo-heon when he arrived later, her phone vibrated. It was a message from her friend Min-ah.
[Min-ah] Yeon-seo Yeon-seo Yeon-seo!
[Min-ah] Is it true?
[Min-ah] Did Kang Joo-heon really come to work at your company?
Seeing the messages pour in before she could even reply, Yeon-seo let out a sigh. Checking the time and seeing that it was almost lunch, she typed back:
- Let’s talk over lunch.
A short while later, they met at their usual spot—a restaurant in the arcade within their office building. The moment Min-ah saw Yeon-seo’s face, she gasped out her question.
“Seriously, is it true?”
“How did you find out?”
“How could I not? There’s more than a few people at my company who’ve seen Kang Joo-heon over the past few days!”
It made sense; with their companies in the very same building, rumors were bound to spread.
“It’s true. Player Kang Joo-heon is working at our company for the time being.”
“No, but why on earth?”
At first she had wondered if it could really be true, but thinking about it now, the reason was crystal clear: he was here to get revenge on her. Naturally, she couldn’t say that, so Yeon-seo came up with a vague excuse.
“Apparently he’s always had an interest in corporate social responsibility work. He’s known for donating a lot, after all.”
Min-ah grew even more excited.
“Social responsibility? Yeon-seo, aren’t you on the CSR team?”
“I am.”
Yeon-seo hesitated for a moment before deciding to come clean. If Min-ah found out later, she would throw a fit about not being told beforehand.
“So for the time being, I’ve been assigned to act as Player Kang Joo-heon’s secretary.”
“What?”
At those words, Min-ah’s eyes widened as if they might pop right out.
“No way……!”
The reaction was so intense that Yeon-seo couldn’t help wondering: what would Min-ah say if she learned that the person behind the hickey she had been so curious about the other day was none other than Yeon-seo herself?
“What’s he like up close? Is he handsome?”
“Just like how he looks on TV, I guess.”
“How’s his personality?”
“Well, I haven’t talked to him much yet.”
It was true that they hadn’t spoken much. Though she could probably make the Guinness World Records for the person who had seen the whites of Kang Joo-heon’s eyes the most.
Min-ah let out a sigh laden with all the envy in the world.
“Yeon-seo, you really must have some kind of fate with soccer players. First getting tangled up with Player Seo Hyun-woo, and now becoming Kang Joo-heon’s secretary……!”
In fact, Min-ah was a supporter of Gyeonggi Bukbu FC, just like Yeon-seo. Since fans of a third-tier league team were few and far between, almost everyone ended up knowing one another. They had met while sitting side by side cheering, and after chatting, they discovered they worked in the same building, becoming fast friends in no time.
“Anyone listening would get the wrong idea. What do you mean tangled up with Player Seo Hyun-woo?”
Player Seo Hyun-woo was the captain and ace of Gyeonggi Bukbu FC. With exceptional skill, impeccable manners, and handsome looks, he was the favorite player of both Yeon-seo and Min-ah. In truth, the very reason Yeon-seo had started cheering for Gyeonggi Bukbu FC in the first place was Seo Hyun-woo.
“Come on, it’s a long-standing connection. You said you’ve been watching him since high school.”
“He doesn’t even recognize me, though.”
Min-ah wore an expression of sheer regret on her behalf.
“Why don’t you bring it up first? Ask him if he remembers meeting you back in the day.”
“Why bother? Even if he did remember, what difference would it make?”
Since Gyeonggi Bukbu FC was a third-tier league team, the distance between players and fans was close. With few supporters, the players were genuinely grateful to those who showed up to cheer them on. They never turned down requests for autographs or photos anytime or anywhere, and win or lose, they always made sure to greet the fans after every match. Thus, seeing them up close was hardly a difficult feat.
It would be a lie to say she hadn’t secretly harbored hopes that he might recognize her. The first time she stood face-to-face with him one-on-one to get an autograph, she had even indulged in such daydreams.
‘Oh, could it be from high school……?’
‘Oh, Player Seo Hyun-woo, do you remember me?’
‘Of course! Thank you so much for back then.’
But nothing movie-like ever happened. No matter how many times they met, Player Seo Hyun-woo didn’t remember Yeon-seo in the slightest. At this point, Yeon-seo had no desire to bring it up either. It wasn’t anything momentous anyway, and if she mentioned it only for him to say he still didn’t recall, that would just be awkward in its own right.
“Who knows? It could become a spark and turn into something great. If it were me, I would’ve told him the second I saw him.”
Min-ah looked at her enviously, but Yeon-seo cut her off flatly.
“I have no intention of doing that.”
It was true that Player Seo Hyun-woo was her ideal type. By any standard, he was a wonderful person. However, the feelings Yeon-seo held for him were different from romantic affection—it was purely the heart of a fan cheering him on. Because she knew all too well how sincerely devoted to soccer he had been since the old days.
“Yeon-seo. Can’t you let me see Kang Joo-heon just once sometime?”
“Like that’s up to me. I’m the one serving him.”
“Still! You could give me a subtle heads-up when he has an outside schedule or something. Please?”
Unable to withstand the badgering, Yeon-seo gave a reluctant nod.
“Fine.”
Having gotten her answer, Min-ah asked as if suddenly remembering something.
“By the way, Yeon-seo. You wouldn’t happen to want to go on a blind date, would you?”
“A blind date out of nowhere?”
“A manager from another branch transferred over recently. He must’ve seen you and me together by chance. He’s been making a huge fuss asking me to introduce you two.”
“A manager? How old is he?”
“Ah, now that I think about it, he is a bit up there in age.”
Saying that, Min-ah balled her fist and gave her own head a light knock.
“Sorry. Hearing it out loud, I was in the wrong. I shouldn’t have even brought it up.”
“As long as you know.”
Yeon-seo didn’t blame Min-ah. Given her eye-catching looks, it had never been rare for people around her to be pestered like this, even in the past.
“See you at next week’s match, then!”
Parting ways with Min-ah and waiting for the elevator up to the office, Yeon-seo drifted into memories of the past for a moment.
……The first time she saw Player Seo Hyun-woo was when she was seventeen, in her first year of high school.
*
Yeon-seo’s mother had left home when Yeon-seo was barely five years old. Though she couldn’t even remember her mother’s face, seeing her just once had been Yeon-seo’s wish since childhood.
So as soon as Yeon-seo grew old enough to understand, she began searching for her mother behind Dad and Grandmother’s backs. After searching high and low, it was only upon entering high school that she finally managed to meet someone who had been an old friend of her mother’s. From that person, she learned the name of the neighborhood where her mother lived.
[I think she remarried and lives in Yeonsa-dong…… Beyond that, I don’t know.]
From that point on, once school was over, Yeon-seo began heading to Yeonsa-dong, an hour away. At home, she lied that now that she was a high school student, she was staying out late studying in the reading room.
Of course, it wasn’t even certain whether her mother truly lived there, and Yeon-seo barely knew her mother’s face. Grandmother had thrown away all of her mother’s photos, leaving only a single picture Yeon-seo had secretly tucked inside her pillow. Thus, the only thing she could do was wander the streets aimlessly, checking the face of every middle-aged woman passing by. Wondering if she might be her mother.
Walking endlessly like that made her legs ache. In Yeonsa-dong, there wasn’t even a common park to be found, leaving nowhere suitable to sit and rest. Then, she discovered Yeonsa Citizen Soccer Field. There were always people playing soccer and stands set up, making it the perfect place to sit, watch, and rest.
Among the people playing soccer there was the Hanguk High School soccer team. As she watched, one player particularly stood out to her.
He didn’t stand out because of his physique. In high school, their builds were already virtually identical to adults. While most players stood well into the 180-centimeter range, this player was in the low 170s—on the shorter and leaner side, noticeably outmatched in build compared to the others.
The reason this player caught her eye was purely down to skill. Even to Yeon-seo, who knew nothing about soccer, he looked vastly different. Not only was he the fastest, but his level of ball control wasn’t even comparable. Without exaggeration, amidst what looked like child’s play, he alone seemed to be playing real soccer.
Naturally, Yeon-seo found herself continually following the boy with her eyes. Printed across the back of his uniform, which somehow looked a shade more faded than the others’, was the name: ‘No. 8 Seo Hyun-woo.’