Runaway Secretary - Chapter 51

CHAPTER 51

On the bed, clutching her stomach, Yeonseo, drenched in cold sweat, reached for her phone. After nausea came the high fever and pain in her right abdomen. Her suspicion that it might be appendicitis grew stronger as time passed.

Seeing that the stomach medicine she got from the local clinic didn’t help, she knew it was a serious situation.

Hyeonho mentioned he had a magazine shoot before his departure out of the country, and Jiyeong said she was going to assist her sister with a wedding preparation today.

Before dialing Secretary Hyunyoung’s number, hesitating, Yeonseo decided to call Taeheon first. Wednesday, 10 o’clock. Two hours from now, he would be in matchmaking date, but she waited with faint hope, anticipating he’d take the call.

• What’s going on?

His tone was devoid of any warmth or affection.

“Sir… Are you busy?”

• I’m at the office. I’ll be heading over after finishing up. You don’t need to come today.

“I don’t want to go either.”

• What’s the matter?

“Can you stop by the officetel for a minute?”

• I’m in a meeting right now.

“I…..I’m in pain.”

Yeonseo wrinkled her nose. The unbearable pain struck her small body constantly.

• Did you contact Secretary Hyunyoung?

“…Yes. We went to the hospital together before.”

• Contact her again and go back. It’s foolish to endure the pain.

“…Yes.”

• Call me back when you get back.

He ended the call before her. Even though she knew she wasn’t good at being sick, she waited to see if Taeheon would come to the officetel even just this morning.

It took  Secretary Hyunyoung less than ten minutes after her call to get to the officetel. She found Yeonseo writhing in pain on the living room floor.

“Miss Yeonseo!”

“Secretary, I think it might be appendicitis. It hurts every time I lift my leg…”

“App-appendicitis? Are you okay?”

“Appendicitis. What if it bursts……?”

Yeonseo asked, blinking her swollen eyes, and Hyunyoung was horrified.

“L-look at your cold sweat! My god, you have a fever too!”

Hyunyoung immediately scooped Yeonseo up and rushed her to the emergency room. Being a part of the security team, she moved swiftly without showing any signs of distress.

While being carried on Hyunyoung’s back, Yeonseo, lost in her thoughts, wished that it was Taeheon carrying her. She had a slow and aimless thought.

The diagnosis was indeed acute appendicitis. Her appendix had burst, and the situation was critical. Peritonitis was also suspected.

Preparations for surgery were made swiftly. Hyunyoung acted as her guardian, signing various documents and comforting Yeonseo, assuring her that everything would be okay.

Yeonseo, dressed in surgical attire, was wheeled into the operating room. Her consciousness is stopped along with the nurse’s instruction to count.

*

While Taeheon was away on his business trip, he found himself more engrossed in thoughts about Yeonseo than ever before. He often found himself lost in contemplation, so much so that his Secretary Shin had to raise his voice to bring him back to reality.

It gave him a headache. Whether he wanted to make her cry or laugh, two conflicting emotions swirled in his mind, arguing for an opinion.

He had witnessed her crying many times before. She would easily shed tears when he was with her, or when she was hurt. But even then, it didn’t bring him the satisfaction he sought.

Had she ever smiled at me?

No.

How could I make her smile so genuinely?

Would she ever smile at me like she did with Baek Hyeonho?

After deep and profound contemplation, Taeheon decided that he had to see her smile. He promised himself he’d look for Yeonseo when he got back, but urgent matters arose, pulling him straight back to the office.

The emergency meeting convened over the leak of the new product design, a matter critical to the company’s future. However, even that was hard to concentrate on.

The matchmaking date he was arranged for today had started to feel distasteful. It used to be enjoyable to attend these meet-ups with Yeonseo. After making the decision to make her smile, this arranged meet-up seemed pointless.

Before entering the meeting room, he received a call from his father, Lee Hyeok. It wasn’t hard to tell that it was about his mother.

The call was a sort of deal, a request for Taeheon to attend a couple more matchmaking dates in exchange for calming his mother down.

Since Taeheon had already planned to let things follow a similar course, he didn’t oppose his father’s idea opinion. However, if Seonye, his mother, intervened any further in Yeonseo’s affairs, it would be difficult for Taeheon to remain passive.

Seonye had a lot more to lose, and if she started a fight, the mud would splash her way. Taeheon just wanted to avoid complications.

Entering the conference room, another call came, from Yeonseo this time. Taeheon signaled to his employees to excuse him and went to the window. The atmosphere was still chaotic, so a brief conversation was possible.

• .. Are you busy?

Her careful tone washed away some of his bottled-up anguish. He felt like he was stumbling, his mind already somewhat hazy.

• I…..I’m in pain.

His back stiffened at the mention of pain. Taeheon immediately checked the time and approached the desk.

He knew she had been to the hospital. He thought it was just a simple stomach problem, but it seemed to be more serious than that.

Taking out a notepad, he wrote a note for Hyunyoung, instructing her to go to Yeonseo. He had arranged an empty officetel a few floors below Yeonseo for Hyunyoung to wait, a detail Yeonseo was unaware of.

He gestured for Secretary Shin to come and show Hyunyoung the note. He wrapped up the call quickly, but his anxiety was starting to rise.

Taeheon sat down, his brow set in a hard line, but he couldn’t just cancel the executive meeting and leave.

“Let’s start the meeting.”

Taeheon waited for Secretary Shin to report. A few moments later, the back door opened and Secretary Shin approached with quiet steps and whispered.

“They’re taking Ms. Han Yeonseo to the hospital.”

He felt a rush of air leave his chest.

“She has a high fever and abdominal pain, it seemed quite urgent.”

“Report back on the progress. Find out which hospital they’re going to.”

“Yes, sir.”

The meeting continued, and Taeheon made an effort to focus on the agenda. In the midst of it, he received a note through from Secretary Shin.

[Acute appendicitis with peritonitis. Surgery in progress.]

His eyes burned. Bright red flames flickered in front of his eyes. Taeheon felt a deep sense of fatigue and hurriedly wrapped up the meeting.

Inside the now-empty conference room, Taeheon stood in front of the door, feeling momentarily lost.

“Sir, you need to leave now to make it to your match date on time. Or do you want me to send a message to Ms. Lee Haesin that you can’t make it?”

As if he knew what Taeheon’s priorities were, Secretary Shin suggested to make time for him to Yeonseo,

Surgery would take time anyway. If he postponed the matchmaking date today, he would have to reschedule it again, and he would have to witness Yeonseo’s pale, scowling face again.

“Let’s just go ahead and do it.”

“Okay.”

“Make sure to report any updates about Han Yeonseo to me directly every ten minutes.”

“Yes, I will do that.”

Taeheon closed his eyes momentarily, hearing Secretary Shin call for the driver. He felt a boiling sensation inside him. It seemed like something dangerous was about to erupt like lava hitting its breaking point.

When he regained his composure, he found himself sitting across from Haesin, his matchmaking date, eating their meal. Taeheon’s behavior of checking his phone every 10 minutes would have been rude in Haeshin’s eyes.

But, Taeheon’s mind was not relaxed enough to consider Haesin’s feelings.

“Your tastes are surprising.”

Haesin looked around the bustling surroundings as she spoke. Her comment suggested that this restaurant wasn’t suitable for a first meet-up.

Taeheon hadn’t changed the meeting place because it was a task he had assigned to Yeonseo. Changing the location would require her to spend more time outside looking for new places, and he had already made her choose enough.

“It’s too much trouble to find a new venue, so I took you to a comfortable place, but is it not to your liking?”

“Mr. Woo Taeheon, you’re quite straightforward. You didn’t even try to hide that it’s the same place where you met your previous date.”

Haesin responded calmly, taking a sip of her orange juice. That reminded him of Yeonseo, who often carried warm beverages like hot cocoa or mixed coffee in her small hands.

Taeheon reached for his cell phone on the table.

“I’m going to make a quick call and be right back.”

“Is it that someone you’re seeing seriously?”

“I see there are quite a few rumors circulating.”

Taeheon chuckled softly. The corners of Haesin’s lips quivered slightly at the sound of his wonderful laugh.

Haesin would be lying if she said she had no expectations of marriage with him. But after seeing Taeheon’s poor behavior, Haesin had erased every last drop of hope for this marriage.

She could tolerate a man who was a jerk, but a man with a woman who gave him her heart was unattractive as a husband. Haesin ran her tongue across her red lips.

“Everyone seems to know everything. Lately, there have been rumors about Director Woo Taeheon seeing a woman. These kinds of gossips spread quickly in our world.”

“I can make some good rumors for you to chew on if you’d like, so please excuse me for a moment.”

Taeheon turned his back on Haesin with a blank face. He found the common area and called Hyunyoung himself.

Although he received a report that the surgery had gone well, he couldn’t shake off his discomfort. He connected to the responsible doctor to get a detailed update on Yeonseo’s condition after Hyunyoung’s report.

Taeheon returned after quite a delay. He was aware of his rudeness, but he didn’t bother with Haesin since she wasn’t oblivious to his reputation as a total jerk.

Haesin smiled gracefully.

“How’s she doing?”

“Have you finished eating?”

“What should you do? You should try a bit harder to match my standards, at least for another hour. You know, to justify that you did your best at the matchmaking date, right?”

Taeheon, sitting down, looking bored, said,

“I find these situations boring. I have someone I’m seeing. It hasn’t been more than three months, but she’s adorable.”

Taeheon took a sip of cold water as he sat down. He was still thirsty. It felt like his chest had turned into dense charcoal.

Despite hearing that Yeonseo was fine, he couldn’t shake off his anxiety. He felt restless, as if something terrible would happen if he didn’t see her face in person.

“Why? Is there something wrong with her?”

“They diagnosed her with acute appendicitis. I’m quite concerned.”

Taeheon let out a heavy sigh that he didn’t bother to hide.