Chapter 17. Why Are You Here?

The food arrived right on time, and Yerin, who was hungry, quickly picked up her fork.

“But what kind of man is the Director?”

“Uh?”

What kind of man should I say he was?

While she was pondering that, Nari began listing her impressions of Lee Hyun.

“When he came to our headquarters that day, he looked really handsome even for a moment.”

“That’s true.”

“He’s good-looking and has a great physique. What’s his personality like?”

Personality.

The reason she couldn’t answer right away was that there was a wide gap between the Lee Hyun she knew and the personality others described.

Seeing Yerin hesitate, Nari asked.

“Could it be that his personality is really bad?”

“No, it’s not that.”

Yerin put down her fork and continued speaking.

“He can be kind sometimes.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s got it all, that guy. I’m telling you, just try to seduce him seriously!”

That was impossible.

Yerin simply shook her head.

“Why not?”

Nari looked puzzled.

“He’s good-looking, has a great body, is kind, and is capable.”

Nari started counting Lee Hyun’s advantages on her fingers.

“He’s a guy you could marry right away, right? Is there some flaw I don’t know about…?”

Yerin placed her finger on her lips as if to tell her to be quiet.

“It’s not that.”

Yerin had a thoughtful expression.

Yes, as Nari said, Lee Hyun was indeed a perfect man without any flaws.

Ah, if that could be considered a flaw.

He lived in a completely different world from hers, and that was the reason she couldn’t get close to Lee Hyun.

“Nari, that party your company hosted, it was only for famous political and business figures, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Nari shrugged her shoulders as if it was no big deal.

“The Director must have thought that the woman he met that day was someone of his caliber.”

“Ah…”

Nari’s face finally showed that she understood the real reason Yerin was worried.

“So that’s why he’s looking for her?”

“Yeah. The Director’s family is making a big fuss about setting up a blind date and getting married.”

As they talked, Nari’s expression mirrored Yerin’s.

“The Director wanted to meet that woman again and have a romantic marriage.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“He probably thought he could date someone of his caliber and then get married. How disappointed would he be if he found out that it was me?”

Of course, Yerin had thought about whether to reveal her identity to Lee Hyun.

She didn’t dislike that night, and her feelings for Lee Hyun weren’t bad either.

However, she realized that Lee Hyun wasn’t simply looking for the woman who had disappeared out of curiosity, so she couldn’t do that.

It was obvious that he would judge that it was better to find a woman he liked, who also met his criteria, rather than waste time at a matchmaking event.

Thus, it was better to make him give up rather than let him be disappointed after finding out that she was that woman.

Understanding Yerin’s situation, Nari sighed deeply with her.

“This is truly an unexpected obstacle.”

Nari pressed her palm against her forehead as if her head was starting to ache.

“So what are you going to do?”

“For now, I’ll say I’m looking for that woman and serve the Director well so he can go on the matchmaking date.”

That was the duty of a secretary.

Who knows? While going on the matchmaking date, Lee Hyun might meet someone more appealing than that woman and change his mind.

“Who’s the matchmaking partner?”

“Ah, that’s…”

The list of Lee Hyun’s potential matchmaking candidates came to mind.

Thinking of the woman mentioned as the first choice, Yerin’s eyelashes fluttered.

“Kwak Seoyoon.”

“Seriously? No way.”

Nari frowned in apparent displeasure.

It was natural for Nari to react that way.

“What a small world, huh?”

Nari slammed her glass down hard, expressing her frustration.

“Out of all the women, why does it have to be Kwak Seoyoon?”

Yerin simply smiled.

“Objectively speaking, Seoyoon’s family is well-off.”

“Yeah, so what? Her personality is completely terrible.”

“It’s harder to find someone among the chaebols who isn’t like that.”

Nari drank cold water in frustration.

She fanned herself with her hand, but her anger didn’t subside as she swept her hair back with one hand.

Seeing that, Yerin began to comfort Nari.

“You don’t need to get so worked up too. It’s my job to handle the Director’s matchmaking.”

“Are you really going to make your Director meet that woman?”

She didn’t really want to either.

It was Seoyoon, who had given her a lot of pain, after all.

Though she didn’t want to, if that was what had to be done, then so be it.

Yerin had no choice.

Trying hard to act okay, Yerin smiled.

“Nari, let’s get up now that we’ve finished eating.”

“Ugh, I’m still angry.”

As Nari opened the door to the private room, she fluttered her blouse and said to Yerin.

“Shall we have a drink before going in?”

“I…”

Before Yerin could say anything, the door to the next room opened quickly, revealing a very familiar man.

Yerin recognized the man’s face and covered her mouth with both hands in surprise.

‘What the heck, why is the Director coming out from there?’

The person who appeared from the next room was none other than Lee Hyun.

Nari also recognized him and widened her eyes in surprise.

Quickly brushing off her flustered expression, Nari greeted Lee Hyun.

“Hello, Director Cha Lee Hyun.”

“Secretary Han is supposed to spend time with me.”

“Ah, our Yerin…”

Yerin, standing behind Nari, poked her in the back with her finger.

Understanding the meaning of that signal, Nari drew a line, indicating that she and Yerin were not close at all.

“Did Secretary Han have an appointment with you, Director?”

“Yes.”

Lee Hyun took another step forward to see Yerin, who was hiding behind Nari.

He tilted his head slightly, sending a dazzling smile her way as he called out to her.

“Isn’t that right, Secretary Han?”

Appointment.

Yes, there was one.

No wonder Lee Hyun had let her go easily when she was leaving work today.

It was her own fault for overlooking the fact that he was never one to do so without reason.

Yerin slowly nodded and spoke.

“That’s correct.”

Reluctantly, Yerin stepped out from behind Nari.

It seemed Lee Hyun had just had dinner with Secretary Choi.

When Secretary Choi saw Yerin, he smiled brightly, as though he were happy to see her.

“Secretary Han, fancy seeing you here.”

“Indeed.”

“Secretary Han, what did you have for dinner? The pasta here is…”

“Secretary Choi, didn’t you say you were busy?”

“Did I say that?”

Lee Hyun frowned slightly, seemingly annoyed by Secretary Choi, who kept talking to Yerin.

“Secretary Choi, escort CEO Kim Nari home.”

Secretary Choi looked slightly flustered by the sudden work order.

“I’ll take care of my car, so just make sure CEO Kim gets home safely.”

“Yes, understood.”

Whether it was taking Lee Hyun or Nari home, it was the same for Secretary Choi.

It seemed that spending time with Nari would be more pleasant than being with his strict boss, so Secretary Choi readily agreed.

Lee Hyun shifted his gaze away from Secretary Choi.

Then, he apologized for the time he had rushed to visit Nari’s company.

“CEO Kim, I’m sorry for dropping by your company unannounced last time.”

“It’s okay. I understand how much you wanted to find that woman.”

“I’m glad you understand. Secretary Choi will take you home comfortably.”

At this point, it seemed that all business was concluded, so Lee Hyun stared intently at Yerin.

It seemed like it was time for her to greet Nari, so Yerin straightened her back.

And with a smile that resembled a farewell to a business acquaintance, she greeted Nari.

“CEO Kim Nari, please take care.”

After exchanging that very awkward greeting and confirming that Nari and Secretary Choi were moving away, Yerin turned her body toward Lee Hyun.

“Director, shall we go?”

“Let’s go.”

***

As always, Lee Hyun sat in the driver’s seat, and Yerin sat in the passenger seat.

The destination was already decided without asking.

Heading towards Yerin’s house, Lee Hyun asked in a low voice.

“Secretary Han, it seems you had dinner with someone unexpected today.”

He appeared curious about the reason for her being with Nari, someone with whom she had no connection.

“Ah, if it’s personal and you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine.”

Lee Hyun smiled warmly as he gently drove the car.

It felt like she had to say something.

It would be worse to let him draw his own conclusions based on his imagination.

However, revealing that she and Nari had been friends since childhood also posed many problems.

If he found out, it would be natural for him to wonder why they had pretended not to know each other when they visited the Chetto Headquarters.

If he discovered that she and Nari were close friends, it would create a situation where Nari would have to be involved in the search for the missing woman.

Quickly organizing her thoughts, Yerin ultimately decided to lie.

“I didn’t have enough information about the woman you instructed me to find.”

Lee Hyun nodded slightly, as if urging her to continue.

“I thought I might have missed something, so I requested a meeting with CEO Kim Nari.”

While lying, Yerin couldn’t bring herself to look directly at Lee Hyun’s face.

His intense gaze landed on her left cheek.

“I see.”

“Yes, but sadly, the information that she had was everything I had already received.”

A brief silence ensued.

‘Will he believe me? He should believe me.’

As beads of sweat began to trickle down Yerin’s back, Lee Hyun broke the silence.

“I didn’t know you were working so hard to find that woman.”

Yerin just awkwardly smiled.

“Using your personal time after work, too.”

“I just did what I had to do.”

“I’ll grant you a paid leave day on my behalf.”

“What?”

Yerin turned her head sharply.

Lee Hyun glanced at the clock in the car.

“Aren’t you handling a task assigned by your superior even after work hours?”

“…”

She genuinely couldn’t bring herself to admit that.

In reality, she hadn’t been working; she had just gone to vent her frustrations to a friend.

The words almost came out, but she bit her lip to hold them back.

“So I’ll give you a paid leave.”

“No, it’s alright.”

It was a rather strange situation where the person offering was insisting while the one receiving was refusing.