CHAPTER 16 – Sickness (Part 1)

The second week of the new year was peaceful. Time flew by and it was Friday again. The store remained unchanged except for the fact that Assistant Manager Eun Jinyoung went to the main office and Assistant Manager Chae Sohee, who had been working at the Busan Centum branch, had come anew.

“Ms. ……it’s …….”

Seo-yeon’s fingers slowed down as she cleaned the dinner plates. Since waking up in the morning, she had felt a deep sense of emptiness, and it was getting worse as time went on.

Lost in a daze, Seoyeon couldn’t hear Seongmi’s voice clearly, so she shook her head and moved her hand again, asking.

“I didn’t hear you well. What did you say, Miss Seongmi?”

“These days, the flu is spreading. Thanks to that, there are fewer customers, which is convenient, but the moms with kids seem to be struggling. My sister also had to take a vacation because my nephew got sick…”

Once again, Seongmi’s voice faded away. Talks of her sister taking a leave, getting vaccinated, and so on, came closer and then disappeared again.

“Manager, are you okay? Your complexion doesn’t look so good.”

The newly arrived Assistant Manager Chae Sohee asked Seoyeon, looking concerned. Seoyeon smiled faintly and replied, 

“I think I might have the flu. I feel a bit dizzy.”

“You should go to the hospital. They say the flu is really rampant these days. If it’s the flu, you need to get a separate prescription for TAMIFLU (a prescription medicine used to treat the flu in people 2 weeks of age and older who have had flu symptoms for no more than 2 days). My sister said that if it’s the flu, you’ll have a high fever. How are you feeling?”

Seo-yeon checked her own forehead. Her face and hands were also warm, so she wasn’t sure if her forehead was hot.

“I’ll check.”

Seongmi stepped closer and touched Seo-yeon’s forehead. After checking her own forehead and Seo-yeon’s, Seongmi shook her head.

“You don’t seem to have a fever?”

“I think I’m just tired.”

Seoyeon’s words made Seongmi nod knowingly, her expression indicating that she had expected as much.

“I’ve been telling you, Manager, you’ve been pushing yourself too hard lately. Sending you to the head office, and yesterday you were entertaining Mr. Kang until late at night, right? Today, you have to go to Hannam-dong too.”

Seoyeon smiled without saying anything. It was true that she had been working from Monday to Thursday. Her physical condition was at its lowest since Monday morning, but Seo-yeon deliberately pushed herself. She knew it was too much, but she had no choice.

She had to.

Seoyeon sighed. Each day seemed to pass without anything happening, but underneath the surface she had covered, it was a muddy mess. Her father, her father’s new woman. Sehyun and Haewon. And…

Hwang Dojun.

Seo-yeon stared into the distance and thought of Dojun. She hadn’t heard from him since they parted ways that day.

It was only Lee Se-hyun who had contacted her to ask if she was okay as if they were actually fiancées. Whenever the phone rang or a message notification sounded, she would tense up.

It wasn’t until the end of the day on Monday that she remembered Dojun’s business trip to Singapore. Despite having received a call from his secretary in the office last week while she was choosing clothes and having picked out a summer suit, she had completely forgotten and was nervous that Dojun would contact her.

It became unclear whether she was nervous about him calling or worried he wouldn’t. So she deliberately took on more tasks. If her body was busy, she wouldn’t have time to dwell on thoughts.

She took on tasks that could be entrusted to the staff, and she personally served all the demanding customers. She even went to the exhibition requested by the head office herself.

Was it because of pushing myself too hard? 

Even in the warmth of the store, she felt chills running down her spine. Even when she was still, she felt dizzy and disoriented, suggesting that she might be getting sick.

“Miss Seongmi, I’ll take half a day off today.”

Seoyeon said, looking at the clock. If she finished up and visited Dojun’s house in Hannam-dong before leaving work, it would be around 2 o’clock.

“You can go straight home from Hannam-dong, so let’s go to lunch first.”

The staff left through the back door of the store, saying they would eat first. After finishing setting up the outfits, she would go to the hospital. She needed to rest deeply over the weekend. That way, she would surely feel better.

Feeling her head spinning, Seoyeon sighed and leaned against the wall. When she turned her gaze, she could see the outside scenery through the glass wall.

Black luxury sedans were coming into the hotel one after another. Someone would turn around and leave again. 

Would Hwang Dojun be among them?

She didn’t know.

Right now, she doesn’t want to think about anything. She just wants today to be like yesterday and tomorrow to be like today.

If I were to meet Hwang Dojun again…

She decided not to think about it until then. Perhaps because she had hit rock bottom, she didn’t have any thoughts. She even thought it would be nice if they lost contact. Living numbly again would be enough.

Seo-yeon grabbed the dinner plate from the table. She carefully wiped it with a soft cloth and put it into the box. That was all she had to do now.

* * *

Ding dong.

The bell rang. Dojun, who was lying on the bed, turned his body slightly. He opened his eyes, squinted, and turned his head to see a long beam of light streaming through the blackout curtains.

Turning his head, he checked the clock on the bedside table. It was 1:10 PM. He had returned home around 10 AM after finishing a meeting with Chairman Hwang at the headquarters following his early morning flight. It wasn’t time to get up yet.

He had told the housekeeper to stop working for the day, and Secretary Kang, who had accompanied him on the trip to Singapore, was the one who had suggested earnestly that he take the day off. Dojun hadn’t expected a call; let alone a doorbell.

Who would be looking for me at this hour? 

His mind worked slowly. As he wiped his face, he suddenly thought of Seo-yeon.

Dojun checked his phone. 

Friday. 

The letters caught his eye. It was a word that he didn’t consciously consider even as he saw it. One day of the week. The day he returned to work after a business trip. The day of the breakfast meeting.

Was it Friday when Yoon Seo-yeon comes? 

Dojun thought, craning his stiff neck back. He’d never really paid attention to what day of the week Seo-yeon visited. The sole purpose of hiring her as a personal shopper was to make Yoon Seo-yeon uncomfortable.

He pushed himself up by the arm. Smooth sheets flowed down, revealing his bare upper body.

Ding-dong.