Chapter 4.3

<Taepyeong Construction Headquarters>

Chief Cheon, who got on the elevator with Jeong-hyeok, looked cheerful.

‘As expected, I prefer the city view to the ocean view.’

It was Jeong-hyeok’s first commute to the headquarters in nearly a month. Until now, he had been staying in Seoan County, Chungcheongnam-do, commuting to the Chungnam branch.

‘I wish the CEO would stay at the Seoul headquarters and not go back to Seoan County.’

However, Chief Cheon’s position, as the closest secretary to Jeong-hyeok, was entirely determined by his superior.

The official reason for Jeong-hyeok’s sudden move to Seoan County was the luxury resort complex being built there. But in Chief Cheon’s eyes, that wasn’t the real reason.

It was work that could have been sufficiently handled from the headquarters with occasional business trips. If anything, the disadvantages outweighed the benefits.

At first, he found the decision extremely puzzling, but he soon realized that everything was because of Eun-sol.

From the time Eun-sol visited the township office to retrieve a marriage registration form, to her stopping by a store near the mansion, what she did, how long she stayed, and what she said to the store owner—all of this reached Kwon Jeong-hyeok’s ears.

Of course, the one relaying all this information was none other than Chief Cheon himself.

‘Why on earth is the CEO going to such lengths? What is he so afraid of…?’

Chief Cheon still couldn’t understand.

The elevator soon stopped on the floor where the CEO’s office was located.

“CEO, hello. It’s been a while. And hello to you too, Chief Cheon.”

A new female secretary was the only one there to welcome their temporary return.

Most of the secretary team had been working at the Chungnam branch alongside Jeong-hyeok, leaving only the new secretary to manage things at the headquarters.

The nervousness on the new secretary’s face was evident. Meeting a superior she wasn’t yet familiar with must have been daunting.

“You’re doing well. Don’t take it personally; the CEO is naturally cold.”

Since Jeong-hyeok had walked straight into his office without even a curt nod of acknowledgment, Chief Cheon took it upon himself to offer the new secretary some encouragement.

He felt a bit sorry for her. With no senior colleagues around, she likely hadn’t received proper job training.

Chief Cheon followed Jeong-hyeok into the office.

Jeong-hyeok came to a sudden stop inside the room.

“Ah!”

Following his gaze, Chief Cheon noticed what was sitting on the office table, and he was taken aback.

On the desk in the CEO’s office was a vase filled with an abundance of flowers.

‘Why flowers, of all things, and tulips at that!’

Chief Cheon sighed inwardly.

People might say it’s no big deal to have flowers in an office unless someone has allergies. But as far as Chief Cheon knew, his boss, Kwon Jeong-hyeok, hated flowers. Specifically, flowers with bold, vivid colors. And tulips—he practically despised them.

This wasn’t something his boss had explicitly told him. It was knowledge gained through trial and error.

On the day Kwon Jeong-hyeok first took office as CEO of Sowon Construction, the secretary assigned to assist him had placed a beautifully arranged bouquet of flowers in his office.

That secretary happened to be the daughter of a florist. Decorating her superior’s vase with flowers sourced from her parents’ shop was both her talent and her pride.

When Kwon Jeong-hyeok arrived for his first day at work, he saw a vase filled with bright yellow tulips in his office. He didn’t say anything about it. He simply threw the flowers straight into the trash can.

“Um… CEO, should we stop placing flowers here?”  

The secretary cautiously asked.

“Do as you like.”

He responded nonchalantly.

However, the roses placed the next day were shredded in the document shredder, and the red tulips placed the day after that met the same fate.

When he finally called the secretary, he said just one thing:  

“The shredder’s broken. Replace it with a better one.”

It wasn’t “Don’t place flowers here anymore,” but rather, “Replace the shredder.”

That day, the secretary saw the half-shredded red tulips in the shredder. The large tulip blossoms, torn in half, reminded her of a body being gruesomely mutilated, and she found it horrifying.

“C-C-CEO, I’m sorry. I won’t place flowers here anymore.”  

“Do whatever you want. Didn’t you say you liked flowers, Secretary Park?”  

“No, I don’t like them anymore.”

The secretary, who used to love flowers, stopped liking them after that incident. From that point on, she never placed flowers in Kwon Jeong-hyeok’s office again.

That was the kind of person Kwon Jeong-hyeok was. Instead of simply instructing not to place flowers, he had to break a shredder and even change the secretary’s personal preferences to feel satisfied.

‘How could anyone deal with a personality like that? No wonder his wife ran away. Even I would feel suffocated and unable to live with him.’

Chief Cheon, who had initially hoped Eun-sol would get along well with Jeong-hyeok so he could request a transfer back to Seoul, quickly gave up on that hope.

“I’m sorry, CEO. It seems the new secretary didn’t know any better. I’ll make sure to train her properly…”  

“It’s fine. Just leave it.”  

“Pardon?”

Chief Cheon instinctively glanced at the document shredder. 

Was he planning to teach the new secretary a harsh lesson?

“The tulips smell nice. And they’re fresh, too.”  

He simply caressed the tulips lightly with his fingers.

“Send a bouquet of these to my house, too.”  

“Pardon?”

Chief Cheon, startled, instinctively asked again. Hearing Kwon Jeong-hyeok say he liked tulips left him utterly bewildered.

“…Forget it. Pretend I didn’t say that just now.”  

It was the first time he had ever taken back an order.

“Pardon? Ah, yes.”  

Chief Cheon felt flustered, but for a completely different reason this time.

Kwon Jeong-hyeok sat at his desk, brushing back his suit jacket. For some reason, his face seemed to carry a hint of enjoyment.  

Though it wasn’t overtly apparent in his expression, it was there.  

Since he was usually so expressionless, even the slightest trace of amusement became all the more noticeable.  

* * *

Having only one bed turned out to be less of a problem than expected. Over the course of three days, Kwon Jeong-hyeok spent less than eight hours total at home.  

On the first day, he leisurely went to work late in the morning, leading one to believe that his work schedule in Seoul might be more relaxed. But that didn’t seem to be the case.  

“Perhaps it’s because there are many tasks to take care of while he’s in Seoul. Chief Cheon mentioned that it might even be difficult for him to return home at all today.” 

Housekeeper Woo relayed this unsolicited information during breakfast.  

‘As much as sharing the same bed feels burdensome, it’s a relief if he can spend his days like this instead.’  

Yet, for some reason, she didn’t find the news particularly comforting. Tae Mari kept bothering her thoughts.  

“Um, by any chance…?”  

“Yes, Madam, please go ahead.”  

“No, it’s nothing.”  

She almost asked, “Is that work he has to stay out for related to Tae Mari?” but stopped herself at the last moment.  

“More than that, staying inside all the time is suffocating. I was thinking of going for a walk.”  

The only time she had gone out in the past few days was to visit the hospital for her knee disinfection treatment.  

Even though it was just a hospital visit, she had felt a little excited. She had wanted to sit in the waiting room, sip vending machine coffee, and watch the people come and go.  

However, it seemed arrangements had been made in advance. Upon her arrival, she was treated with excessive care and received her treatment far too quickly, leaving the hospital in just 20 minutes.  

The only meaningful interaction she had was a 15-minute conversation with the nurse in charge during the treatment. The nurse, who was around her age, was very cheerful. Even though she had merely listened to the nurse’s chatter, she found it enjoyable and was left wanting more.  

For the first time, she felt a desire to go outside, meet like-minded people, and communicate with them.  

Until now, she had been too consumed by doubts and anxieties to even consider building relationships with others.  

“A walk sounds lovely. I’ll give you a security card. Within this townhouse, you’re free to go anywhere except for the other residents’ homes. It’s a master-level security card. As I mentioned yesterday, this townhouse was both constructed and sold by Sowon Construction.”

Housekeeper Woo handed over the security card and spoke.  

“The artwork on the security card is truly beautiful.”  

“I heard it was painted by a famous French artist who visited this townhouse. It was created to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the townhouse’s construction.”  

“Ah, that explains it.”  

She had thought it was a luxurious townhouse, but it truly seemed to be built exclusively for the upper class.  

“I’m heading out now.”  

Eun-sol stepped out of the mansion. She decided to start by walking along the private trail.