Runaway Secretary - Chapter 45

CHAPTER 45

After greeting Song Hyun goodbye, Yeonseo walked with Taeheon toward the hospital lobby. Yeonseo hesitated but then took his hand. Her heart pounded, wondering what would happen if he rejected her, but Taeheon didn’t say anything.

He just squeezed her hand a little tighter.

Her heart beat faster. After walking a short distance from the hospital entrance, Yeonseo spoke up.

“Sir, you can go ahead. I can take a taxi from here.”

“Secretary Kim Hyun-kyung will bring the car, take that.”

“I’m not going to the officetel, Hyeonho is in an another hospital…….”

Taeheon’s steps abruptly halted, as her words trailed off. The thickening sky hung over the two of them. Yeonseo released the hand she had held discreetly as a nervous chill crept over her.

Taeheon didn’t react at all, as if he hadn’t been interested in her from the beginning.

“Take it off.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t wear anything you just picked up.”

Understanding Taeheon’s meaning in hindsight, Yeonseo took off the thin cardigan that flowed from her shoulders.

It was Hyeonho’s clothes. When she rushed to Hyeonho’s house, she had spilled water while hurriedly looking for fever medicine. She had hastily thrown it on to cover her wet clothes, and it seemed that Taeheon had noticed.

But why does he want me to take it off?

Yeonseo dutifully took off the cardigan, though she was confused and then Taeheon’s jacket lay lightly on top of her thin short-sleeved T-shirt.

She clutched Taeheon’s large jacket and looked at him.

“Sir.”

“Don’t carry around evidence of another guy. Whether it’s clothes or anything else, keep it hidden from me.”

Yeonseo’s breath seemed to get caught in her throat like a lump of rock. A tiny glimmer of expectation flickered in her hazel eyes.

“Why?”

“Shouldn’t you have some manners?”

“Manners aren’t something you possess.”

Taeheon’s gaze was so stern that it made her flinch, but she felt somewhat elated by the warmth covering her shoulders. She might not even have known whether she wanted to harbor some hope for him.

She’d been hurt by his cruelty when he’d stood in front of Song Hyun and talked about his potential partners without offering any excuses for her. But even so, even if it was a small hope, she wanted to find happiness in it.

It was a foolish love.

Yet, despite everything, Taeheon may not have been looking at her for mere lust, and she couldn’t help but ask, even if it was a far-fetched idea.

“Are you jealous…?”

“Yeonseo.”

“Yes?”

“Didn’t I tell you to have some manners?”

“Hyeonho is just a friend. So, you don’t have to be jealous.”

“You’re quite audacious.”

At that moment, a sedan slid up in front of the two of them. Secretary Hyunyoung got out of the car and opened the rear passenger door.

Taeheon slid his hand around her waist and gently pushed Yeonseo into the car, as if shoving her.

“Take her to the officetel.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Taeheon’s instructions were directed to Hyunyoung, not Yeonseo, and she turned her head backward to watch Taeheon as the car door closed. But he didn’t wait for her, and the car started moving.

“Secretary Kim, can we make a quick stop somewhere other than the officetel?”

Yeonseo asked cautiously.

“I’m sorry. The boss ordered to take you to the officetel, so I have to do as I’m told.”

“He’s being domineering.”

“What?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Yeonseo swept a hand through her dishevelled hair. She sighed softly, not knowing whether Taeheon’s indifference to trivial matters was hurtful or joyful in her strange feelings.

*

Yeonseo carefully parked the foreign car in a parking space as if the slightest mistake would cause a catastrophe. The car given to her by Taeheon for work was excessively expensive. Apart from the advantage of getting through crowded streets easily, it had nothing but disadvantages.

A luxury car that didn’t fit her status was a pain in the arse. She had to grip the steering wheel tightly throughout the drive, fearing she might make a mistake.

After parking in the department store parking lot, Yeonseo got out of the car.

“Ugh, it’s so hot.”

The suddenly hot weather made her nasal passages feel humid. She briefly thought about the cellphone she had left in the car but then decided to continue without it. It should be fine since Taeheon had given her a work phone.

She waited for the elevator while thinking back to the time when Taeheon had given her this phone.

[ What’s this phone for? ]

[ You might as well use it. Use this number for official communication only. ]

[ Official use? ]

[ You’re a secretary. Think efficiently. ]

The idea was that she could only communicate with people related to Taeheon with this new number.

Since then, Taeheon had used this new number for all personal or work-related communications. He had said that any changes regarding Mrs. Kang would be conveyed through this phone. So, Yeonseo couldn’t put down the new phone.

The problem was that Taeheon had been piling up work for her lately, leaving her with no time to use her old phone. She spends her days working and her nights dealing with Taeheon, leaving her no time for herself. She hadn’t even been able to visit Hyeonho after hearing that he had been discharged from the hospital.

She couldn’t remember the last time she had contacted Jiyeong. When she replied to Jiyoung’s late-night messages, she would check them the next day and then plunge back into her daily routine, focused on work.

On the evening of visiting Mrs. Kang.

Yeonseo, who had reluctantly headed to the officetel, scolded Taeheon over the phone. In response, Taeheon tidied up the room in the officetel as if he was being punished.

Yeonseo realized that, even in awkward situations, she didn’t dislike Taeheon’s excessive involvement. Any amount of interest was better than indifference. She found herself cherishing even his twisted form of care Taeheon showed her and felt a strange mix of hurt and happiness.

For the past few days, Yeonseo had been visiting the department store. Taeheon had his own personal shopper, but he entrusted Yeonseo with the task of buying casual clothes for him.

She’s supposed to work as his secretary while she’s in Yongin, so that’s why Yeonseo had agreed to it, but Taeheon had started using her in a different way. He’s entrusted her with all the items to fill his residence, which has been empty for a while.

However, shopping was a real challenge for Yeonseo, and while it wasn’t difficult to find clothes that suited him, paying outrageous amounts of money and getting VIP treatment was like sitting on a th*rny seat.

She felt like she was stealing someone else’s crown. Suddenly, Taeheon’s voice came to mind.

[ You said you wanted to repay me, use your abilities to the fullest. ]

Entering the store, Yeonseo smiled weakly.

“I’m looking to buy a tie. Can you show me something elegant?”

*

After a long meeting, Taeheon walked out of the conference room. It didn’t take long for him to return to his office on a higher floor.

He thought about taking a moment to call Yeonseo. However, as he walked past the sofa in the guest area outside his office, a woman stood up upon seeing him.

It was Taeheon’s older sister, Woo Taeseon, who had married the grandson of the head of a conglomerate on par with Sewon the year before. Recently, she had been working as a lawyer at a major law firm and was rumored to be making a lot of money from her cases.

“What brings you here?”

Taeheon asked dryly.

“It’s been a while since I saw you, is that what you call a greeting?”

“Come in.”

The two of them sat facing each other in Taeheon’s office. Steaming cups of tea were placed on the table and neither of them spoke.

It was Taeheon who broke the silence, annoyed with the situation.

“Say what you have to say, I don’t have time, I’m busy.”

“Being busy is nothing new for you. You’re still the same as before.”

“Just get to the point.”

“Alright, I will. Are you seeing someone?”

“I’m interested in anyone I am set up with.”

Taeseon’s groomed eyebrows quirked slightly at the cheap shot. She blurted out the words she’d been considering.

“Are you going to keep seeing that girl?”

Indifference had been Taeheon’s initial response, but his expression slowly sharpened. His crossed legs shifted slightly, and his chin tilted upward.

“You think Mom will just let it be? Marriage outside of our level, that’s not how it works in our house, Taeheon.”

“Who’s talking about marriage?”

“Then are you just seeing her? Our mom isn’t the type to step back easily. You know that, that’s what happened to me.”

Taeseon had a long-term partner, a senior associate at the same law firm. They had been passionately in love for over five years, their mother, Park Seonye, had designed a marriage proposal that was impossible to refuse.

Being at crossroad and had to make a decision, Taeseon had chosen family, duty, and her background over love. And Taeheon likely would have to follow the same path.

“You’re not saying you’ll marry that girl, are you?”

When Taeheon didn’t say anything, Taeseon shook her head. Yes, she was right. It wasn’t in Taeheon’s nature to do such a thing. Marriage was merely a business tool for him.

“Then what?”

“What?”

“What if I say yes.”

“Then you’re just crazy! If you’re meeting that girl while having engagement candidates lined up, you think Mom and Dad will just sit idly by? They’ll scrutinize everything from your head.”

Taeheon smirked. He was tired of them thinking he was still a child seeking comfort in their parents’ arms. He was tired of parents who only intervened when they felt like it.

He remembered a day when he was younger. He had merely stood in front of his parents’ room after having a terrifying dream, but his mother, Seonye, had screamed upon seeing him.

That day, Seonye had pointed out flaws in the art foundation project she had been working on, and Taeheon was treated like a creepy monster for spying on his parents’ room.

Seonye had been terrified of her own child. The more he learned to speak and the more questions he asked, the more she couldn’t answer and the more she showed him perverse affection.

Seonye, a world-class violinist, had to put her dreams on hold because she was pregnant with the child of Woo Leehyuk of Sewon Group. She had to put an end to her career for the sake of her family.

She had suffered from severe hysteria. Taeheon’s father had been indifferent about it, and his older sister, Taeseon, had always been naturally docile, never causing any trouble for their mother. As a result, Taeheon, the unwanted child, was the one who received the brunt of his mother’s erratic emotions.

Mom. Dad. Mommy. I love you.

Sequential developmental milestones like these did not apply to Taeheon, who had learned to speak before understanding those emotions.

He had grown up receiving his mother’s distrustful and guarded glances throughout his childhood. Naturally, he had begun to prioritized logical thinking over emotions.

It was the only way he could survive his mother’s harsh words and his father’s indifference without choking on his own feelings.