Chapter 12. Underestimation  

Yerin swallowed hard.

The thought that the woman was herself was also swallowed down.

“I was captivated, wondering how someone could look so beautiful even while crying.”

Lee Hyun, who had momentarily reminisced about that woman, soon wore a face of apology.

“I was shortsighted. I’ve heard it’s rude to talk about another woman in front of one’s partner.”

“Excuse me?”

“I realize this now.”

Lee Hyun had already finished talking to himself and coming to his own conclusions.

“I will try to refrain from comparing you with that woman from now on.”

“No, it’s fine.”

She didn’t feel bad at all.

After all, that woman was herself.

And in truth, she wanted to hear about that day, even if it was like this.

She was curious about what emotions Lee Hyun had felt that day.

Lee Hyun raised his eyebrows as if surprised.

“Don’t you dislike it?”

“If we were true lovers, it would indeed be an unpleasant situation.”

Yerin continued speaking without making eye contact with Lee Hyun.

“Since we’re not really lovers, the more you talk about that woman, the easier it is for me to find out about her.”

“Is that so?”

Lee Hyun was silent for a moment.

‘Ah, was that excuse too awkward?’

Who would be happy to hear about another woman while sitting in front of them?

It seemed that what she had just said was too much.

‘Would he figure out that I am that woman because of this?’

She couldn’t ask, nor could she be brazen, so she was quite tense.

Lee Hyun smiled, lifting the corners of his mouth as if he found it amusing.

“Listening to you, that makes sense.”

“Pardon?”

Lee Hyun nodded as if he liked what he heard.

“I’ll let you know whenever I see similarities between that woman and you from now on.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“There’s no need to thank me.”

Lee Hyun slowly started the car again.

Silence filled the car due to the halted conversation.

Yerin cautiously spoke up.

“Director, I have something I was curious about.”

“What is it?”

“During the meeting where we met CEO Chetto, you mentioned that you suffered financial damage because of that missing woman, didn’t you?”

While asking that question, Yerin unconsciously gripped her bag tightly.

“That’s right.”

“Could you tell me what kind of damage it was?”

Yerin swallowed hard.

She couldn’t let it be that she had caused any damage to Lee Hyun.

Finally, Lee Hyun’s mouth slowly opened.

“It was a tremendous loss.”

“Pardon? When?”

She almost asked, ‘When did I do that?’

Fortunately, she omitted the subject ‘I’ from her response.

“What I mean is, I was asking when you suffered that loss.”

“I haven’t been able to sleep well since I spent the night with that woman.”

“Oh.”

“Whenever I close my eyes, her figure lingers.”

As he said that, Lee Hyun smiled slightly, as if he found it funny even by himself.

“Well, it’s the same even when I’m awake.”

To summarize what Lee Hyun said, he was thinking of her whether asleep or awake.

Yerin couldn’t find an answer to what aspect of herself had made him feel this way, even when she thought about it alone.

In the end, Yerin couldn’t hold back her curiosity and asked.

The pretext was that she wanted to gather more information about that woman.

“What kind of image comes to your mind…?”

Chuckle—

Lee Hyun, who was driving, turned his head slightly and smiled.

Because of that, their gazes momentarily tangled in the air.

Yerin quickly turned her head away. Just a gaze had made her cheeks flush red.

‘What’s wrong with me, really.’

Yerin gently touched her cheek with one hand and smiled nonchalantly.

Lee Hyun, instead of answering Yerin’s question, brought up something else.

“That might put you in a bit of a bind.”

“Me?”

“It could be uncomfortable since it’s a rather explicit comment. Still, would you like to hear it?”

“Yes.”

After answering, Yerin squeezed her eyes shut.

She couldn’t understand why her mouth would answer before her brain processed it.

“Everything that happened on the bed.”

“……”

“Every single detail is stored in my mind without omission.”

“Ah, yes.”

Her lips were parched, and Yerin unconsciously wet her lower lip with her tongue.

Unaware that Lee Hyun’s gaze lingered there for a long time.

“It must have been an incredibly memorable night.”

“Secretary Han.”

“Yes?”

“I wonder how it would have been if it were you.”

“Oh, I’ve never had a one-night stand…”

Lee Hyun seemed to be eagerly awaiting Yerin’s next words.

“I’ve never done it before.”

“Oh.”

How could she recount a story about a one-night stand in front of her superior?

So in the end, she had no choice but to lie again today.

“I’m not someone who enjoys one-night stands or anything like that.”

“I see.”

“I truly mean it.”

“I believe you.”

Yerin smiled brightly, her eyes sparkling.

“That woman was the first.”

“So it might stick in your memory more.”

“Maybe that’s true.”

Lee Hyun tapped the steering wheel with his index finger.

“Anyway, I can’t sleep at night because I’m thinking about that woman. During the day, I can’t concentrate on work because of her.”

“Is that so?”

“All the tasks I need to handle are piling up, so the losses are significant.”

“……”

“So, there has been a lot of financial damage.”

Yerin really wanted to cry.

It wasn’t her intention, but Lee Hyun attributed everything to that woman.

“That’s unfortunate.”

That was all she could say.

Lee Hyun’s lips twitched again for a moment.

“So, you need to find that woman quickly.”

“Yes…….”

Yerin answered in a barely audible voice.

“If this continues, Jiseok Electronics might close down.”

If Jiseok Electronics closed down, she would lose her job too, but there was nothing she could do.

It seemed that that woman would never be found.

No, she shouldn’t be found.

“Because of that woman, every night is really painful and lonely for me.”

“If you can’t sleep well, why not get a prescription for sleeping pills from your doctor?”

Lee Hyun’s eyes deepened ominously.

“I’ve already tried that.”

“Oh, I see.”

“I’ve tried everything that’s supposed to be good for insomnia, but none of it worked.”

She felt like she shouldn’t have asked.

The consequences of her curiosity were overwhelming.

“It’s fine. If a person can’t sleep, they might as well die.”

“……”

Seeing Lee Hyun casually say such chilling words, Yerin made a resolution.

She absolutely couldn’t let it be discovered that she was that woman.

The moment she was found out, it was clear that Lee Hyun would blame her for all the sleepless nights and the financial losses caused by the piling up of unfinished work.

In the meantime, Lee Hyun’s car entered a familiar alley.

While talking with Lee Hyun, she hadn’t properly checked where his car was going, but today it was in front of her house again.

“Director, thank you for dropping me off today as well.”

“What’s there to thank? It’s natural for lovers to do this.”

Unbuckling her seatbelt, Yerin drew a line.

“Director, I still haven’t made a decision about this fake relationship between us.”

“Sometimes, you are really sharp.”

Lee Hyun grabbed the seatbelt that was rising up again with his hand.

And like someone who didn’t want to let her go, he buckled it again.

“Director?”

“You need to bring me an answer by tomorrow morning.”

“Yes, I will.”

“I hope it’s a positive response.”

“I’ll think about it all night.”

“Alright.”

Only after hearing Yerin’s reply did Lee Hyun release the seatbelt.

Phew.

Yerin let out a short breath and got out of the car.

She thought he would drive off immediately, but Lee Hyun got out after her.

“Director?”

“Secretary Han, I drank a lot of water at the restaurant before I left.”

“What?”

“So, may I use the restroom?”

Yerin’s mouth dropped open.

“Are you saying you want to use my house’s bathroom?”

“That’s right.”

Lee Hyun spoke with a slight frown, as if he were unsure whether he was joking.

“Secretary Han, do you think I’m joking right now?”

“Director, are you feeling unwell?”

“No.”

“Thank goodness.”

She was truly relieved.

Yerin rummaged through her bag and pulled out a small bottle of water.

Without hesitation, she poured the water on the ground.

And then she offered it to Lee Hyun.

“What’s this?”

“If you’re in a hurry, you can go in the car and take care of it here…”

Lee Hyun took the water bottle she handed him and laughed heartily.

‘What’s so funny?’

Lee Hyun let out a sigh as he looked at the narrow opening of the water bottle.

“Right here… Ha.”

Lee Hyun brushed his hair back with one hand.

“Are you underestimating me?”

“Pardon?”

“It’s more surprising that someone who should know better is doing this.”

Wondering if the size of the water bottle she offered was too small, Yerin pressed her lips together and asked.

“Isn’t that enough, though?”

It was a 500mL water bottle.

No matter how much water one drank, that should be sufficient.

“The opening is just… No, it’s not.”

Lee Hyun spoke and then seemed embarrassed, crumpling the plastic bottle with one hand.

“Director!”

“I’m not saying I want to do something at your house. I’m really in a hurry.”

“I know that well.”

Still, it felt wrong to bring Lee Hyun into her cramped home.

Lee Hyun’s face had turned even paler than before, indicating he was truly in a hurry.

“With social decorum, it’s a bit inappropriate to urinate in public. The subway station is too far, so I might have an accident on the way.”

Lee Hyun looked at Yerin with a desperate expression.

“Can I write a letter of guarantee or something?”

“What?”

“I promise I won’t touch a single hair on you once I’m inside.”

Yerin, with no other choice, stepped back.

“Really?”

“I swear on all my shares in Jiseok Electronics.”

Lee Hyun declared that he could record what he just said.

That seemed unnecessary, so Yerin took the lead toward her house.

‘Yeah, since the Director was bringing me home, it ended up like this.’

If they had gone straight to his house from the restaurant, this wouldn’t have happened.

Thanks to Lee Hyun, she couldn’t just ignore it and walk away.

“Director, you promised, right?”

“Secretary Han, hurry up and lead the way.”