Chapter 8. A Crucial Mission
As Yerin sat down in front of him, Lee Hyun picked up the menu with a blank expression.
‘I’m here for the first time today. I need to act naturally.’
It was truly a series of unexpected situations.
Lee Hyun spoke in a low voice.
“What do you want to eat?”
“I’ll just have a simple ricotta cheese salad.”
Lee Hyun’s brows furrowed slightly.
Then, he called over the staff and placed the order.
In addition to the dish Yerin mentioned, several other dishes soon filled the table.
“Eat.”
“Thank you for the meal.”
Sitting face-to-face with Lee Hyun and having a meal felt so foreign.
After having a one-night stand with him, meeting him again so closely like this was never part of her plan.
She felt tense, her heart uneasy, and she had no appetite at all.
Seeing Yerin not eating properly, Lee Hyun asked,
“Why are you eating so little?”
“I’m not very hungry…”
As she said that, her stomach growled loudly, completely out of sync with her words.
“I wasn’t really hungry, but now that I think about it, maybe I am.”
Babbling nonsensically, Yerin stabbed a piece of steak with her fork and lifted it.
It was undoubtedly high-quality meat and probably delicious, but unfortunately, she was too nervous to taste it properly.
After a few bites, Yerin eventually put down her fork.
Lee Hyun, too, didn’t eat much and left most of the food untouched.
“Secretary Han, I hope you handle the task I assigned without any issues.”
“But what if I can’t find that woman?”
Lee Hyun furrowed his brows slightly.
“Secretary Han, you will find yourself in a difficult position.”
“Why?”
“You’ll find out tomorrow.”
She didn’t want to know.
She didn’t want tomorrow to come, and honestly, if she could turn back time, she would do so without hesitation.
‘Should I just confess that I was the one who spent that night with him?’
However, seeing Lee Hyun’s cold face, that thought vanished immediately.
‘Right. He mentioned suffering a lot of damage. What if he tells me to compensate him?’
No, that can’t happen.
No matter what, she had to keep it hidden.
She had no intention of leaving this company, and for that reason, Lee Hyun must never find out that she was the woman he spent that deep night with.
Lee Hyun glanced at the leftover food and spoke in his pleasant low voice.
“Secretary Han, if you’re done eating, shall we leave?”
“Yes, I think that’s a good idea.”
When they reached the lobby, Yerin straightened her back, intending to see him off without getting into his car.
Suddenly, the passenger-side window rolled down, revealing Lee Hyun’s face.
“Aren’t you getting in?”
“Pardon?”
The car behind them honked loudly.
“I think it would be better if you got in.”
Reluctantly, Yerin got into Lee Hyun’s car.
“Director, are you heading back to the office by any chance?”
“I’m going home.”
“Oh, I see.”
Yerin couldn’t figure out why he had asked her to get in his car.
If he were going back to the office, I might have thought he was dropping me off there, but he said he wasn’t.
Then maybe he was offering me a ride because the subway station was far from the hotel?
But if he was the kind of person who cared this much about his secretary, why had previous secretaries quit within a week?
As Yerin pondered this, Lee Hyun tapped the navigation screen a few times.
“Address.”
“Sorry?”
“Enter your home address, Secretary Han.”
“……”
Yerin stared at Lee Hyun with a bewildered expression.
He gave her a look as if to say he didn’t understand why she was hesitating.
“Director, you’re not seriously planning to take me home, are you?”
“I am.”
“Why…?”
“Secretary Han, did you bring your car?”
“No.”
“Exactly.”
What does he mean, “exactly”?
It’s common for a secretary to drive their boss home, but it’s unheard of for a boss to drive their secretary home.
It’s definitely not normal.
Moreover, being alone with Lee Hyun in this situation felt incredibly unfamiliar to Yerin.
The overwhelming presence he exuded kept her entire body on edge.
His cologne filled the car, and because of that, memories of that intense night came flooding back, even though she didn’t want to recall them.
Yerin hesitated, unsure of what to do.
In the meantime, Lee Hyun furrowed his brows slightly.
“Secretary Han, do you know how many times we’ve circled the same spot?”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
Having no other choice, Yerin entered her home address.
“I’m fine with just being dropped off at a nearby subway station…”
“What if you get into an accident?”
“Pardon?”
“And if you can’t come to work tomorrow because of it, I’ll be in a lot of trouble.”
That was just absurd.
Yerin put on a polite business smile and spoke in a soft voice.
“That won’t happen, Director.”
“Secretary Han, you have a tendency to be overly certain about everything.”
How likely is it to get into an accident on the way home after work?
But Lee Hyun was truly relentless.
His car continued driving toward Yerin’s home, as entered into the navigation system.
If only the situation were reversed, and she were driving Lee Hyun home, it might have been less uncomfortable.
No, on second thought, that probably wouldn’t have been very comfortable either.
“If you can’t come to work, Secretary Han, then you won’t be able to find that woman. And that means I’ll have to wait another day, won’t I?”
Could that really be the reason he was giving me a ride home?
Even if it wasn’t, there was no way to confirm Lee Hyun’s true intentions.
Lee Hyun’s car eventually stopped near Yerin’s home, where several shabby villas were clustered together.
“Director, you can drop me off here.”
Lee Hyun’s car slowed down.
He leaned forward slightly, scanning the surroundings through the windshield.
There weren’t even proper streetlights, and it was a sparsely populated area with poor security.
“Is this where you live, Secretary Han?”
“Yes. Thank you for driving me home.”
Lee Hyun still seemed dissatisfied, biting his lips lightly.
“Director, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Alright.”
Yerin hurriedly got out of Lee Hyun’s car.
After watching his car drive away, she turned around belatedly.
“If only this were a dream…”
How wonderful it would be if, after sleeping tonight, all of this turned out to be just a dream.
With that thought, Yerin began walking.
***
Fortunately, Lee Hyun seemed to have many meetings in the morning and didn’t show up at the office.
While Yerin was working on other tasks, momentarily setting aside the search for the woman Lee Hyun had requested, a call came in from an unfamiliar 11-digit number.
“Yes, this is Han Yerin.”
– Secretary Han? It’s Lee Hyun’s mother, Yoon Haeran.
“Oh, hello, ma’am.”
– Let’s have lunch together today.
With that brief statement, the call ended.
As Yerin stared at her phone’s now dark screen, Secretary Choi approached her.
“Was that Mrs. Yoon?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“It’s finally happening.”
Secretary Choi pressed her palm to her forehead.
Yerin asked, looking puzzled.
“Why would she want to have lunch with me?”
“Lately, Mrs. Yoon has been desperate to get the Director married.”
“I see.”
“You’ll probably have to take on that task too.”
“Me?”
Secretary Choi tapped Yerin’s chair lightly as if to encourage her.
“It’s not hard. You just need to get the Director to sit down at the matchmaking meetings.”
It sounded like an impossible task just from hearing about it.
As Secretary Choi returned to her seat with a carefree expression, Yerin let out a short sigh.
At that moment, she began to understand why her predecessors hadn’t lasted long and had handed in their resignation letters.
***
Yerin entered the café at the address Haeran had sent her.
Although it was lunchtime, the place was completely empty.
Yerin walked up to Haeran, who was already waiting for her, and bowed politely.
“Ma’am, I’m Han Yerin, the secretary who started assisting the Director yesterday.”
“I’ve already seen your resume, so you don’t need to introduce yourself.”
Haeran gestured toward the empty seat in front of her, indicating for Yerin to sit.
“Secretary Han, brunch is fine, right?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
“I’ll speak casually. Is that alright?”
“Of course, ma’am.”
From last night to today, it has been one uncomfortable meal after another.
“There’s just one thing I need you to take care of while working next to our Lee Hyun.”
Haeran continued, lightly brushing her well-manicured nails.
“Our Lee Hyun keeps making excuses about being too busy to go on matchmaking meetings.”
“I heard that from Secretary Choi.”
“All you have to do is help him meet a good match and get married.”
Haeran smiled brightly, as if to say it was a simple request.
“I’ll do my best.”
Since last night, every task assigned to Yerin had been completely beyond her abilities.
“I went to a renowned fortune teller, and she said that Lee Hyun needs to get married within this year to establish a happy family without any issues.”
“Yes.”
“She also said that if he falls in love and marries someone he truly connects with, he’ll live an even happier life.”
Haeran covered her mouth with one hand and laughed softly, as if the thought alone made her happy.
Yerin simply listened quietly to Haeran’s story.
Haeran then pulled out an envelope from her bag and handed it to Yerin.
“I’ve shortlisted some women who would be a good match for Lee Hyun. I’ve ranked them, so schedule meetings with them in order.”
“Understood.”
Haeran suddenly grabbed Yerin’s hand, which was resting on the table.
“Make sure Lee Hyun attends the matchmaking meetings no matter what.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll do my best.”
“Lee Hyun has an older brother, you know.”
Haeran began listing the conditions set by Chairman Cha for choosing a successor.
“The first to get married will inherit the position as the successor. That’s why I’m so desperate.”
Only then did Yerin begin to understand why Haeran had personally called her out and earnestly made such a request.
“Secretary Han, wouldn’t it be fulfilling to serve a boss who becomes the next chairman of Jiseok Group?”
“Yes, it would.”
Feigning agreement, Yerin smiled politely.
She had never harbored such grand ambitions.
She had always been content to do her best within her abilities and assist her boss as much as she could.
The problem was that ever since she met Lee Hyun, all those small moments of happiness had been falling apart.
“Then I’ll leave it to you, Secretary Han.”
Yerin had a strong feeling that if she didn’t get Lee Hyun to attend the matchmaking meetings, she would be summoned to face Haeran again the next day.
***
Back at the office, Yerin opened the envelope Haeran had given her and reviewed the list inside.
When she saw the name of the woman at the top of the list, she bit her lip nervously.
“No way…”
Flipping to the next page, Yerin saw a photo of the top-ranked matchmaking candidate and dropped the paper with a thud.
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