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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Let's Go to Work Together
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I must have fiddled with it too much.
Yi Yeon straightened her posture as if refocusing on the movie, fixing her gaze on the screen.
She pretended to watch the movie nonchalantly, but in the end, Yi Yeon couldn't concentrate on it.
She had no idea how the movie ended.
It was the first time she'd been unable to focus on an SF film like this.
"Was it fun?"
The two walked out side by side after the movie ended.
It was her first time watching a movie with Do Hyun, and she felt upset that she hadn't been able to concentrate.
On the way back home, to avoid showing her disappointment, Yi Yeon tried talking about the movie she barely remembered past the halfway point.
"It wasn't bad."
So, did that mean it was fun, or not?
"Get some rest, then."
As soon as Yi Yeon arrived home, she greeted Do Hyun without looking back.
"I'll walk you in."
Yi Yeon whipped her head around.
"You're walking me all the way to my room?"
"Let's go to work together tomorrow."
"Sure... It'd be convenient and nice to go together."
Though her mind would probably feel more uncomfortable than her body.
* * *
Yi Yeon washed up thoroughly and lay her languid body on the bed.
She kept recalling the moment when she'd kept wiping her hands. No matter how she thought about it, it felt like she'd fiddled with them too long.
Would Do Hyun think it was weird?
Lying in the quiet room, one thought led to another, constantly bringing it back to mind.
Why did you do that, Yu Yi Yeon?
But she hadn't wanted to let go.
Deep down, she wanted to just clasp their hands together like that.
"Ha, I'm going crazy."
Yi Yeon pulled the blanket all the way over her head.
This was serious.
Her feelings for Do Hyun seemed to be swelling more and more.
Every time they ran into each other and got tangled up, more reasons piled up for why she liked him.
Her heart would shrink tight whenever she saw Do Hyun, then loosen up when she was alone again, repeating the cycle.
She'd never liked someone like this before, so the emotion felt fresh. It was even fun discovering these new feelings.
But on the other hand, she was worried.
If she ended up liking this man this much, what would she do later? What would she do when the time came to part from Do Hyun forever?
The end of this one-sided love was already set: parting ways.
She felt like she should stop, but she didn't know how.
It was absurd how she was starting to hold even a sliver of hope because of Do Hyun's seemingly changed kindness and subtle affection.
She felt like he'd opened up to her a little. She let out a hollow laugh at herself for daring to hope that maybe his feelings toward her had changed.
"I hate feeling this depressed."
But she kept on the verge of depression. She even felt sad.
To stay by Do Hyun's side as long as possible, she couldn't let him find out how she felt.
Yi Yeon tossed and turned amid her tangled thoughts before finally falling asleep.
* * *
"Sorry. I'm a bit late, right?"
Yi Yeon dragged her tired body down the stairs.
Sure enough, Do Hyun was sitting on the first floor, fiddling with his metal watch after getting ready, waiting as always today.
"Did something happen last night?"
Anyone could see she looked like something was wrong.
Her bloodshot eyes and hollow gaze announced that she hadn't slept properly.
"Did you see a ghost or something?"
Do Hyun asked with utmost seriousness.
"I saw something even scarier than that."
How could she tell him she'd had thoughts more terrifying than ghosts?
"What was it?"
"I'm late. We have to hurry."
Yi Yeon pushed Do Hyun's back. Do Hyun glanced at her pushing him, smirked, and prepared to head out.
Riding in the car with its smooth ride, the accumulated fatigue seemed to come crashing down.
Yi Yeon's eyelids, slowly closing and opening in drowsy blinks, were gradually shutting.
Gurgle.
Yi Yeon startled and forced her drooping eyes wide open.
That was my stomach.
Do Hyun must have heard it too. There was no way he hadn't in this quiet car.
Heat rushed to Yi Yeon's face.
Why was her tactless stomach sounding the alarm right now, of all times?
Gurgle.
Her crazy stomach was protesting for food.
Yi Yeon jabbed at it frantically, as if telling it to be quiet.
Please hold it together in front of this guy.
Do Hyun kept driving without a word.
He was pretending not to hear. Since when had he become so considerate?
But looking closely, it seemed like the corner of his mouth was twitching.
Was he holding back laughter?
No, no way. Shame flooded Yi Yeon.
Poke, poke.
In the end, she spent the entire commute poking at her stomach, which seemed to need more scolding.
* * *
Do Hyun was in a pretty good mood from the morning.
At the mala tang place, the movie theater, and even in the car on the way to the office today, watching Yi Yeon had been quite entertaining.
Before he knew it, time spent with Yi Yeon had become enjoyable. She had more quirky charm than expected.
Do Hyun habitually glanced toward her seat, curious what Yi Yeon was doing.
Her seat was empty.
"Where'd she go?"
When Yi Yeon wasn't in sight, he got curious. He couldn't help worrying where she was.
She was probably just wandering around the office somewhere, but why did it keep nagging at him?
Must've gone to the bathroom.
Do Hyun's lips curved up when he spotted Yi Yeon's back as she'd been waiting for.
Yi Yeon sat down, wiping the water from her hands.
To think she'd make that gurgling stomach noise this morning after eating so much yesterday. Recalling how her face had turned beet red with embarrassment, Do Hyun's mouth twitched.
What was he supposed to do with this glutton?
- Yu Secretary, come in for a sec.
"Yes, Vice President. You called?"
"Get me a sandwich and some coffee."
Do Hyun handed his card to Yi Yeon, who had entered the office at his summons.
Yi Yeon looked at him curiously.
"Yu Secretary, feel free to get whatever you want too."
Do Hyun turned his gaze back to his laptop, as if their business was done.
"Vice President, you usually don't eat breakfast, right?"
"I'm hungry today."
She seemed flustered since this was the first such request.
Truth be told, Do Hyun felt flustered himself.
That gurgling alarm sound, the way she poked her stomach—it was all so cute that he wanted to stuff something into her little mouth.
Yi Yeon probably knew. That she herself had greatly contributed to why Do Hyun suddenly wanted a sandwich.
Yi Yeon bowed her head slightly, rolled her eyes thoughtfully, then scurried out saying she'd be right back.
Thud.
Once Yi Yeon left, Do Hyun leaned back in his chair and let out a heavy sigh toward the ceiling.
Lately, seeing Yi Yeon made his chest feel oppressed, like someone was pressing down on it.
He had no idea why this stifling feeling was arising.
He couldn't pinpoint the cause of why his chest felt so tight and heavy just from Yi Yeon being in front of him—no, even just thinking about her.
Do Hyun pulled out his phone and called Jae Ha.
He desperately needed his friend's advice right now.
-What's up this early?
Jae Ha picked up right away.
"Not working?"
-You think I'm some slacker strumming a guitar at the shop? If I wasn't working, I'd have come in early morning.
Do Hyun chuckled at Jae Ha's indignant shout.
"Needed Kim Jae Ha's sage advice first thing in the morning."
-Long version or short? You seated?
"Sitting now."
-Seated? Let's hear it.
"When I look at a certain woman, I feel stifled."
-Why?
"No idea."
-...You messing with me? You're the one who's stifling, man. Speak properly.
Do Hyun felt at a loss where to even start unraveling it.
He'd called Jae Ha out of that stifled feeling, but now that he had to put it into words, it wasn't sorted out.
So he decided to just spit it out in whatever order came to mind, even if jumbled.
"She's not super pretty-faced, but at some point, her eyes became really beautiful. Especially when she smiles—she's even prettier then, impossible to look away from. Makes me want to smile along with her."
Jae Ha listened quietly to Do Hyun.
"I thought she was unique. She has this painful scar. Deep thinker, different from other women."
-So! Skip the mushy intro and get to the point.
"How do I get more to the point from here?"
Sigh.
"She pops into my head often, I want to touch her when she's nearby, and if she's talking to another guy, I want to shove him aside. She keeps hovering around me."
-There's your answer. You're stifled because you won't admit your feelings for her.
"..."
-Admit it. Say you like her. You'll feel better.
It was simple, straightforward advice.
He probably knew it deep down. Those were the precursor symptoms of interest in her.
He just didn't want to admit it.
It was hard to admit.
"I'm back."
Yi Yeon poked her head into the office.
"Yeah, hanging up."
Do Hyun decided to try accepting the affection he'd dismissed as hard to acknowledge, per Jae Ha's advice.
"I got you the egg cheese sandwich and iced Americano, Vice President."
"Eat before you go."
He had no idea how far these feelings of his would develop.
"Here?"
He didn't even know how Yi Yeon thought of him.
"Sit."
But in this moment, Do Hyun resolved to jump in willingly.
If Yi Yeon had no feelings for him, he planned to toss a small pebble into that calm pond of hers.
Because he wanted her to ripple endlessly because of him too.
* * *
Having eaten a sandwich in the morning, she wasn't particularly hungry for lunch.
She dozed off at her desk, and before she knew it, lunchtime was over.
Her phone rang, as if trying to wake Yi Yeon from her nap.
"Yes, this is Yu Yi Yeon."
-There's a delivery at the first-floor lobby. The boxes are too big and numerous; you'll need to come down with a cart.
"I'll head down right away!"
Yi Yeon grabbed the cart from the pantry and took the freight elevator.
When external guests came to meet Do Hyun, they often needed various teas or coffees. Ordering office supplies for the vice president's office all at once meant boxes arrived in batches sometimes.
In those cases, Yi Yeon would go down to the first floor to pick them up for the lobby staff who couldn't enter the office.
"Could you move them over here?"
"Sure, sure. Whoa, this is too heavy for a lady. Just stay put."
As soon as she got down, the delivery man kindly loaded them onto the cart.
"I'll help."
Suddenly, Ji Hu appeared out of nowhere and assisted the delivery guy.
Yi Yeon felt unnecessarily uncomfortable with Ji Hu constantly butting in and approaching her.
Once the cart was fully loaded, Yi Yeon thanked the delivery man.
It was just as Yi Yeon was about to wheel the cart back up.
"I'll take it. Yu Secretary, it's heavy—stay put."
"Thanks for the help, but this is my job. You don't need to worry about it, Ji Hu."
"I said I want to get close. I'll just help up to the vice president's office."
"Ji Hu, if you keep this up, it'll make me uncomfortable. If our personalities match, we'll naturally get along. I'll head up first."
Yi Yeon felt the need to draw a clear line this time, so she did.
She thought it best not to get involved with Ji Hu outside of work.
Yi Yeon spoke firmly, gave a silent bow, and left.
Ji Hu's brow furrowed as he watched Yi Yeon walk away.
