Chapter 21. Not Knowing How to Tie a Necktie  

The object Yerin picked up was a soft cushion.  

Since it was a cushion filled with fluffy cotton, at least it wouldn’t hurt if she used it to nudge Lee Hyun.  

Yerin gently struck Lee Hyun’s arm with the cushion.  

“Director.”  

As Yerin tapped his arm with the cushion a few times, Lee Hyun, seemingly uncomfortable, turned his body the other way.  

“Oh, really…….”  

All the effort she put into covering him up with the blanket to his neck was for nothing.  

Lee Hyun, seemingly feeling stifled, pulled his arm out from under the blanket and dragged it back down to his waist. 

His sculpted abs became more prominently visible.  

‘Ah!’  

Yerin squinted her eyes to confirm Lee Hyun’s figure.

The blanket was once again precariously positioned around his waist.

The only thought that came to her mind after confirming this was that she needed to wake him up quickly.

Yerin began to tap Lee Hyun’s arm more earnestly with the cushion.

It looked like a pillow fight between friends, but there was no other option. She couldn’t bring herself to touch him directly.

“Director.”

“Mmm.”

“You need to get up.”

No matter how much she poked and prodded, he only furrowed his brows slightly and didn’t respond.

‘Should I just go up and actually hit him with my hand?’

Just as she was thinking that, Yerin decided to change her approach.

She grabbed a tissue from the box placed next to the bed.

She rolled it up long and thin, then brought it toward Lee Hyun’s face.

“You must be ticklish, right?”

Yerin used the well-rolled tissue to rub near Lee Hyun’s nose.

“Director, please wake up. If you wake up, I’ll really do anything you ask.”

That was how desperate she was.

Before she knew it, five minutes had passed while she was trying to wake up the sleeping Lee Hyun.

That meant the two of them only had 25 minutes left.

Just as she was thinking that she’d have to drag him out of bed if this didn’t work, Lee Hyun finally opened his eyes slowly, seemingly tickled.

Overjoyed, Yerin couldn’t help but shout.

“You’re awake?”

“Secretary Han?”

“Yes, Director. It’s me. We don’t have much time left, so…”

“You said you’d do anything I ask.”

“Pardon?”

Lee Hyun suddenly grabbed Yerin’s wrist, the one holding the tissue that had been tickling his nose, with a loud snap.

Feeling the unexpected strength, Yerin momentarily lost her balance.

Pulled by Lee Hyun’s strength, Yerin’s body wavered.

The marble floor, polished so diligently, was as slippery as an ice rink, and her slippers slid smoothly.

Where her body ended up was—

On the bed, or more precisely, on Lee Hyun’s chest.

“Huh?”

Yerin was so shocked that she couldn’t breathe.

Meanwhile, Lee Hyun, seemingly amused, smiled faintly and looked up at her.

Lee Hyun reached out and, in a lazy voice, still half-asleep, stroked Yerin’s cheek.

Wait, hold on.

Could it be that he had been awake all along?

Since when?

Without even realizing that Lee Hyun’s hand was touching her cheek, Yerin asked,

“Don’t tell me you were awake and pretending to be asleep?”

“I was just about to wake up, but then you said something so interesting that it caught my attention.”

Yerin narrowed her eyes in annoyance.

The two of them locked gazes at a very close distance.

As Lee Hyun gradually woke up, he blinked his eyes open and shut slowly.

“You definitely said you’d do anything I ask.”

Since it was something she had said herself, she couldn’t take it back.

If she refused, Lee Hyun might insist on skipping the breakfast meeting and going back to sleep.

“Well, only within what I’m capable of…”

“Of course. It’s not like I’d ask you to buy me an island in Hawaii or something.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m joking. It’s just a figure of speech. I’m not actually asking for that.”

Why did she feel so relieved in this moment?

“I’ll think about what to ask later.”

Lee Hyun gazed intently at Yerin, who was still on top of him.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

Realizing belatedly how close she was to Lee Hyun, Yerin quickly got up.

She then tidied up her wrinkled blouse and erased all traces of emotion from her face.

“Now that you’re awake, you need to get ready quickly.”

“Hah.”

Lee Hyun glanced at the tissue that had tickled his face and the cushion that had hit his arm, and chuckled softly.

“You’re surprisingly strong.”

“If it hurt, I’m very sorry.”

“No, thanks to you, I’m wide awake now.”

Lee Hyun didn’t throw away the tissue but placed it on the drawer next to the bed.

“If you give it to me, I’ll clean it up.”

“No, I’ll save it for the next time you come.”

“Pardon?”

“For when you come to wake me up again.”

Lee Hyun tilted his head slightly and asked,

“Are you not going to wake me up anymore? Do you not care if I’m late?”

“No, it’s not that…”

Why had I foolishly thought I’d only have to wake him up today?

Lee Hyun pressed his lips together and stared intently at Yerin, who was standing in his bedroom.

“By the way, when did you get here?”

“Not long ago.”

Checking her wristwatch, Yerin replied in a businesslike tone.

“Director, you need to leave in 20 minutes. It’s not much time for you to shower and get ready, but…….”  

“Don’t worry. I’ll take a quick shower and be out.”  

As Lee Hyun tried to get out of bed, Han Yerin quickly turned her body away.  

She wasn’t sure whether or not he was wearing clothes.  

“Then I’ll head down to the first floor. Please make sure you’re ready on time.”  

“If I take my time.”  

“Pardon?”  

“You will be in trouble, so I shouldn’t do that.”  

He was truly a man who could lift her up and drop her down with just a single sentence.  

Soon, the sound of Lee Hyun putting on his slippers reached her ears.  

“Then I’ll prepare an outfit suitable for today’s breakfast meeting in the dressing room.”  

And like someone without any lingering attachment, Han Yerin quickly left the bedroom.  

After closing the door, her legs gave out, and she leaned against the wall in the hallway, barely catching her breath.  

“Hah.”  

It had been an incredibly exhausting morning.  

Her heart was racing uncontrollably for some unknown reason.  

***

Lee Hyun stood under the hot water for quite a while.  

It was a strange feeling.  

At first, when he heard Yerin’s voice in his sleep, he thought it was a dream.  

Ever since that night with her, Yerin had haunted his dreams every single day, tormenting him.  

There had been countless times when he opened his eyes, realized it was just a dream, and felt utterly empty.  

When he saw Yerin’s face today, he initially thought it was another dream.  

He had almost kissed her naturally, as he always did in his dreams.  

“If I had, I probably would’ve gotten slapped.”  

Then it suddenly dawned on him that, starting today, it was Yerin, not Secretary Choi, who would be waking him up.  

That realization seemed to bring him back to his senses.  

If he had continued believing it was a dream…  

“That could’ve been a disaster.”  

Yes, it could have been.  

After all, in his dreams, he wasn’t a considerate and kind man to Yerin.  

He was more like a wild beast.  

That was the perfect word to describe Lee Hyun in his dreams.  

Even under the stream of water, he couldn’t understand why Yerin’s scent seemed to linger around him.  

Seeing her face earlier had startled him as well.  

The memory of that night came rushing back so naturally that his body tensed up, but he pretended to be nonchalant.  

In reality, he was more nervous than anyone.  

Looking at Yerin’s wide, startled eyes as she lay in his arms made it feel like he had been transported back to that night.  

A grin kept creeping onto his face.

“People might think I’m crazy.”  

Well.  

He probably was.  

Crazy about Han Yerin.  

Lee Hyun quickly finished his shower, wrapped a large towel around his lower body, and stepped out.  

When he entered the dressing room, he saw that Yerin had already laid out a suit and tie for him. 

“She really knows my taste well.”  

As he was putting on the suit jacket, Yerin’s urgent voice called out from outside.  

“Director, you really need to leave now.”  

Fully dressed except for the tie, Lee Hyun grabbed the tie in one hand and swung the dressing room door open.  

Yerin’s face lit up with a bright smile, likely out of relief from her anxiety.  

“Are you all ready?”  

Then, noticing his bare neck, she asked.  

“I also prepared your tie. Did you not see it?”  

“Here.”  

Lee Hyun casually handed the tie to Yerin.  

“I’d like you to do it for me.”  

“Shouldn’t you do it yourself?”  

“I have to button up my shirt.”  

It was only then that Yerin noticed how his half-buttoned shirt left much of his chest exposed.  

“What are you doing? Didn’t you say we don’t have time?”  

“Oh, yes.”  

Yerin placed her bag on the floor and took the tie from Lee Hyun’s hand.  

“And, to be honest, I’m not very good at tying ties.”  

“…….”  

It was a complete lie.  

Then who had been tying his perfectly knotted ties all this time?  

As if reading her mind, Lee Hyun spoke.  

“Until now, I’ve been asking Secretary Choi to do it, even though I felt bad about it.”  

“Is that so?”  

That meant Yerin, as Secretary Choi’s successor, would now be in charge of tying Lee Hyun’s ties.  

“I’m really not good with my hands.”  

Lee Hyun slowly began buttoning his shirt, as if to show he had no other intentions.  

With only two hands, he seemed to be trying to save time, flashing a sly smile.  

‘This is just work.’  

Telling herself that tying her boss’s tie was part of her basic duties as a secretary, Yerin stood on her tiptoes.  

Lee Hyun bent his knees slightly to adjust his height, making it easier for Yerin to tie the tie.  

Even though their breaths were close enough to be felt, neither of them said a word.  

The tension made her feel like she might explode at any moment.  

Ignoring the intense gaze she could feel from Lee Hyun, Yerin draped the tie around his neck.  

Her hands trembled slightly from the tension, but she moved as if nothing was wrong.  

A moment later, she finished tying the tie neatly and stepped back.  

“All done.”  

“Then let’s head out.”  

The tense atmosphere surrounding the two showed no signs of dissipating.