CHAPTER 84

[No, well… it’s not exactly that—]

[Well, it makes sense given his looks—romantic, sexy, and all.]

Luka gave Minhee a sympathetic look, then snapped his fingers as if he had an idea.

[By the way, I think we should change the seating arrangement at the gala table, Sweetie, I put your seat next to the boss, it’s going to be…… awkward, isn’t it?]

[No, it’s not that big of a deal―]

[It’s fine, it’s fine! I can take care of that. By the way, is the live-in tutor contract up until the beginning of June?]

[Yeah.]

‘If I don’t sign the new contract.’

Minhee added silently.

[Just hang in there for one more month. You’ve come this far, you should at least get the bonus.]

It seems Luca didn’t know that Taejun had offered Minhee a blank check and an extension of the contract until next June. Luca patted Minhee’s shoulder.

[And! Don’t lose hope completely yet! In the four years I’ve worked as the boss’s personal secretary, you were the only woman he’s ever let get close to him, that monk-like man.]

Minhee lifted her head slightly.

[Really? Taejun hasn’t had a single girl in his life?]

[Of course! The women who’ve tried to get close to the boss could fill the Central Park reservoir. But they all fell victim to his impenetrable defenses. You’re the only one who managed to break through, my sweet cotton candy! So it’s not too late to give up yet.]

[……] 

[Oh! Sweetie, why are you about to cry? Come here, hug time!]

Seeing Minhee’s eyes brimming with tears, Luca pouted his lower lip. Then he embraced Minhee and patted her back.

[Don’t cry. I always thought that someone like our boss would only be happy if he met someone with a bright personality like you, Minhee. He’s been living so lonely and isolated for so long, that he’s probably not very good at expressing his emotions. No, he barely expresses any emotions at all, right?]

Minhee nodded vigorously, sniffling.

[There are some men who are a bit slow with their emotions, and my boss is one of them. He’s probably more honest with his body than his words. I’ve got a good idea. Try doing what I tell you, and then decide if you want to give up or not, okay?]

The two, who had been hugging in the middle of the dress section, released their embrace. Minhee pressed her fingers firmly against the area under her eyes to wipe away the moisture. Luca quickly scanned through the dress racks again, pulling out a few more dresses and hanging them on his arm.

[Um… about last time. The thing you told me to try…]

[Huh? Me? What did I ask you to do?]

[You know, the foot washing―]

Luca’s eyes bulged out as if they were about to pop out.

[Hehe! You actually did that? To the boss? Not to anyone else? To him, Baek Taejun?!]

[You told me to try it!!]

[No, I meant it figuratively―! Oh my! Is that why you got rejected? Because you asked him to wash your feet?]

[No, he washed my feet without any fuss. Actually, I confessed to him while he was washing my feet… But he ignored me.]

Luca’s mouth drops open, and his hand flaps like a fan.

[Oh. My. God. TJ’s washing feet, how f*cking hot!]

Images of Taejun’s back muscles moving as he washed her feet, his sweater off to reveal his broad shoulders and toned pecs, flashed through his mind. Minhee sighed and reluctantly shook her head a couple of times. But that’s not the issue right now, is it?

[I think I’ve got it now! Sweetie, there’s an effective way to bring out hidden emotions from a dull man like our boss that he doesn’t even know he has.]

[……What is it?]

Minhee looked at Luca, who had piled a mountain of dresses on his arm, with a mix of suspicion and curiosity.

[There’s a timeless cliché that works for both men and women, dating back to the days of stone axes and hunting.]

[So what is it?!]

[I think I’ve got the dress picked out. Follow me, we’ll talk about the details on the way to the fitting room.]

***

― Hyung, your girlfriend is asking you to get her a star?

“…..”

As Taejun remained silent, Jaehee’s cheerful laughter could be heard from the other end of the line.

After Taejun had generously donated and bought a $20,000 round table for the charity gala Jaehee’s fiancée was hosting, Jaehee called to express his gratitude.

Trying not to give anything away, Taejun asked Jaehee what he thought it meant when someone say ‘Get me a star.’ 

He chose to ask Jaehee because asking Junhee would have led to a lifetime of teasing. However, Jaehee, with his uncanny insight, hit the nail on the head.

“Not a girlfriend…… anyway. What the hell does that mean?”

― Hmm. I think she was just being playful with you.

“Playful?”

― Yeah. It’s a cute way of saying she wants you to love her and cherish her.

“Ah.”

A moment of silence passed. Taejun felt a pang in his chest. These days, whenever he saw Minhee, he was overwhelmed with a peculiar sense of guilt. He knew what she wanted from him.

Mimicking her feelings and saying the words back to her would be easy enough. Although he wasn’t keen on it, if that was truly what she wanted, he could force himself to say it.

But Taejun couldn’t figure out how Minhee could be so sure she loved him.

‘What is love, anyway?’

His father had obviously loved his mother, so as soon as she was gone, his father had died while still alive. Love, as Taejun knew it, was a terribly dangerous act that involved taking your heart out and putting it in someone else’s hands, so he didn’t want to love anyone. He had no desire to be like his father.

‘People die too easily.’

Taejun was willing to do anything for Minhee, as long as it didn’t involve love. If she left because she wasn’t satisfied with that, he couldn’t help it.

But he was going to use every resource at his disposal to make sure she never thought of leaving him. His brain, accustomed to the tidy rules of a precise formula, pointed out the contradictions in his clumsy, desperate logic. But Taejun quickly shook it off and dismissed the contradiction.

Minhee… was an ‘exception’ that didn’t fit into any category or rule, anyway.

Jaehee’s voice interrupted his train of thought.

― If you want to at least pretend to get her a star… I had a fan once give me a star,  or rather, they named a planet after me. It’s more accurate to say they attached my name to some planetary coordinates. Apparently, there are commercial websites that offer that kind of service now.

“The IAU (International Astronomical Union) sells planet names? Most planets’ names are designated with alphabets and coordinates.”

― It’s not from an official organization, just a commercial website service. It’s symbolic, you know. Ah! How about jewelry?

[Jewelry?]

– Yeah. Like a diamond or something. They sparkle.  I once bought Jia a star-shaped diamond bracelet in Paris, and she loved it. She still wears it on special occasions.

“…..I see. Thanks.”

― No problem. But, Hyung…

“Hmm?”

― I’ll keep this a secret from Junhee. In return, will you be my groomsman at our wedding?

Jaehee’s voice had a hint of laughter in it. Taejun sighed heavily. 

‘Damn.’

“……Alright.”

*

[Sweetie. What you need is……. Wait, that dress doesn’t look good with your skin color. Next!]

Luca, who was leaning at an angle against the wall outside the fitting room, looked at Minhee and shook his head. As Minhee, looking exhausted, ran her fingers through her hair, which was matted from taking the dress on and off, and disappeared into the fitting room to change into another dress, Luca continued.

[To provoke that man, hard as stone and cold as ice, what you need is a ‘makeover’.]

[A makeover……? You mean, like wearing heavy makeup and sexy clothes to transform myself?]

[Sweetie, the way you say it makes it sound so clichéd.]

[Not necessarily……. What difference does it make if I dress up a bit? Mr. Baek wouldn’t bat an eyelid if a beauty queen ran into him anyway. Besides, I don’t have what it takes to be a femme fatale.]

[Who says you have to be a femme fatale? Sweetie, what’s the most memorable scene in Cinderella? It’s when she transforms into her dress! If she had just gone to the party in rags, do you think Prince Charming would have noticed her? Oh, not that your regular clothes are rags or anything. But they are a bit… conservative, which is understandable since you’re a schoolteacher.]

Minhee came out wearing the eleventh dress and twirled around. It was a peachy pink satin dress with a simple sleeveless design and an A-line skirt that fell to her ankles.

[How’s this? I think it’s the best one so far.]

[Hmm. It definitely looks good on you. But it’s a bit too… ‘the kind of dress you would pick.’ Demure and sweet. It’d be more fitting for a high school prom than a gala.]

Come to think of it, she had worn a similar dress to her high school prom.

[Step aside. I’ll pick the perfect dress for you!]

Luca entered the fitting room and quickly rifled through the dresses hanging on the rack, then suddenly gasped. Carefully taking out one dress, he held it up in front of Minhee, presenting it dramatically.

[Voila, Mademoiselle.]

[Isn’t this… a bit too dark in color?]

[Just because you’re not a Southern Belle, doesn’t mean you have to stick to light colors. This isn’t just ‘dark,’ it’s midnight blue! Not black, not navy, but a mysterious shade of the night sky! When someone as fair-skinned as you wears it, oh… I got a little chill. Perfect, perfect, perfect!]