ADT 09

Chapter 9

It’s Best to Avoid Dirty Things

Seol-ah walked over in heels so high that they looked intimidating. After briefly looking at Yuri, who was dressed in a robe, she stepped right up to her.

Before Yuri could even move away, Seol-ah slapped her across the cheek.

Smack!

“Ah.”

Yuri’s vision flashed, and her left cheek burned. A clear red mark remained on her cheek where Seol-ah’s hand had struck her.

“What the hell are you doing…?”

“That’s your punishment for ignoring my calls. How dare someone like you—”

Before Yuri could finish speaking, Seol-ah cut her off and spat out what she wanted to say. Her jaw looked especially prominent, as if she were clenching her teeth tightly.

“Huh.”

Yuri let out a disbelieving laugh.

Who was actually supposed to be getting slapped here?

“You… Are you laughing right now? You’ve gotten quite bold after not seeing me for a few days.”

Seol-ah couldn’t hide her embarrassment when she saw Yuri’s mocking smile. She was the one who had slapped Yuri, yet Yuri’s absurdly calm attitude had left her surprised.

Seeing Seol-ah’s flustered expression, a faint curve appeared at the corner of Yuri’s lips.

Her cheek still stung, and she felt it was unfair, but the strange thrill she felt when she saw Seol-ah’s eyes shaking wildly made it all worthwhile.

“I think the person who deserves to be slapped is you, Director. And now that I’ve even submitted my resignation, I don’t think I have any obligation to answer your calls.”

“What resignation did you submit without my permission? I told the head of HR to put it on hold, so come back to work.”

As expected, Baek Seol-ah was a complete lunatic who could never be reasoned with.

Yuri was the only person who had ever accommodated that filthy temper of hers.

How much must Seol-ah regret losing her now that Yuri had decided to quit?

As Yuri rubbed her still-tingling cheek, she actually thought that this had worked out for the best.

Since she had already been slapped, she might as well put all the blame on Seol-ah.

“If you were me, could you continue working under someone who not only slept with the man she was supposed to marry, but also lost her temper and slapped you? I can’t.”

“Ah, damn it! That… I already told you it was nothing. It was just a mistake because I was drunk.”

There she went again, saying whatever nonsense she wanted.

Yuri could only sigh inwardly at the absurdity of it all.

“Really? Then if I slept with Vice President Park Hoo-shin, you’d still be able to keep me as your secretary, right?”

Since Seol-ah kept spouting such hypocritical nonsense, Yuri thought she needed to hit her with something direct.

That was why she deliberately brought up Hoo-shin’s name.

After all, he was the one thing Seol-ah had still failed to obtain.

“W-What did you say? How dare someone like you mention Hoo-shin? Ha! You have to say something that actually makes sense before I can even humor you!”

Seol-ah shouted at Yuri.

She couldn’t believe Yuri had dared to mention Park Hoo-shin.

Park Hoo-shin was a man who didn’t even blink at ordinary temptations.

Seol-ah had tried everything she could think of to seduce him.

The men around Seol-ah usually fell for her the moment she gave them a light smile.

So why?

Why was Hoo-shin the only one who showed no reaction?

It was driving Seol-ah crazy.

Hoo-shin was the most difficult man to obtain in Seol-ah’s life.

That was why she had even been willing to accept a marriage of convenience.

She had ambitious plans to become that man’s wife no matter what.

She didn’t care if it was nothing more than a marriage in name.

Even if all she got was the shell of a marriage, she was determined to become his wife.

But Yuri, a naïve woman who had barely even dated a man properly, thought she could do something with Hoo-shin?

Seol-ah found Yuri ridiculous.

Yuri stared straight at Seol-ah, who was openly looking down on her, and spoke.

“Why? Are you saying that because you don’t think I could do it?”

Yuri couldn’t tell her about what had happened between her and Hoo-shin yet.

Since she had already signed the contract, everything private concerning Hoo-shin had to remain confidential.

She wanted to ask Seol-ah right then and there, How does it feel knowing I slept with the Hoo-shin you wanted so badly?

But Yuri kept her mouth shut.

“You? As if you could ever do something like that. Come crawling back while I’m still asking nicely. If you don’t want to get married, then don’t. I’ll explain everything to Mom.”

Seol-ah’s face looked anxious, but she didn’t mention Hoo-shin again.

She wanted to keep Yuri under her control and make full use of her again while pretending to be generous.

So instead, she subtly pressured Yuri by bringing up Joo Sang-hee, the person Yuri feared most.

“……”

Perhaps Seol-ah’s strategy had worked perfectly, because Yuri’s body stiffened for a moment.

Just thinking about Joo Sang-hee was enough to make Yuri feel a sudden fear.

Unlike Seol-ah, Joo Sang-hee possessed an invisible power that could make Yuri completely helpless.

Perhaps because she had controlled Yuri since childhood, Yuri’s body reacted before her will could.

Yuri clenched both fists, forcing herself to remain calm.

“…There’s no need for that. I’ll go and speak to Madam Joo myself.”

“What?!”

Seol-ah was speechless for a moment at Yuri’s unexpected response.

No matter what happened, Yuri had always obeyed her mother, Joo Sang-hee.

Seol-ah knew that better than anyone.

Whenever something didn’t go her way, she would tell Joo Sang-hee everything, and in the end, Yuri would always be forced to listen.

Had Yuri perhaps been so shocked when she found out about Seol-ah and Hyun-woo that she had lost her mind?

“You… You really have gone crazy. Don’t tell me you actually loved Hyun-woo?”

Yuri clearly didn’t love Hyun-woo.

She had been told that the marriage had been arranged after her mother made a deal with Chief Secretary Jang Moon-soo.

Had Yuri’s feelings somehow grown in the meantime?

In fact, Yuri’s marriage had been something Seol-ah herself had first asked Joo Sang-hee for.

She hadn’t known that the man would be Jang Hyun-woo, though.

As usual, Seol-ah had taken Yuri with her to one of the parties where third-generation chaebol heirs occasionally gathered.

The party had gotten lively, and Seol-ah had deliberately started flirting with Hoo-shin.

Then she felt something only another woman could notice.

For just a moment, Hoo-shin’s gaze, which was usually indifferent toward women, had landed on Yuri.

The look in Hoo-shin’s eyes when he looked at Yuri had been completely different from anything Seol-ah had ever seen before.

What was that?

It irritated her, yet there was something strange in that gaze that she couldn’t explain.

She had sensed something distinctly masculine in it.

There was no way a naïve woman like Yuri would make the first move on Hoo-shin.

But what if Hoo-shin approached her first?

Suddenly frightened, Seol-ah had decided that she needed to make Yuri a married woman.

No matter how interested he was, Hoo-shin wouldn’t be able to do anything with a woman who already had a husband.

Yuri spoke to Seol-ah, who was staring at her with an unpleasant expression.

“Of course not. As you know, my marriage to Jang Hyun-woo was Madam Joo’s decision. I was an idiot for following her wishes. Love? I don’t know what that feeling is, but it certainly isn’t Hyun-woo.”

“Exactly. If you don’t love him, why did you suddenly change?”

“Because it was disgusting.”

“What?”

Seol-ah’s face suddenly turned red with anger.

“Y-You! Seriously!”

She raised her hand again and swung it toward Yuri’s cheek.

But before it could reach her, Yuri grabbed Seol-ah’s wrist.

“Ah! What are you doing? Let go!”

“Once was enough. I don’t think I have any reason to let you hit me again.”

“Ha… Impressive. Do you think you can handle the consequences of doing this to me?”

Seol-ah’s arm trembled as she glared fiercely at Yuri.

“I was taught that when something is dirty, the best thing to do is avoid it. I will never work under you again, so please leave. Before I call the police.”

Yuri released Seol-ah’s wrist and walked toward the front door.

She opened it wide and stared at Seol-ah.

“You? Ha. You really have lost your mind. Fine. Let’s see how this goes. Do you really think someone like you can find another job? I’ll make sure you can’t get into any company. I’ll block you everywhere, so be prepared!”

“Don’t worry. I’ve already decided where I’m going.”

“What a joke. Where do you think you can go? Ah, poor Mom. She took in an orphan who had nowhere to go, and this is how you repay her… Fine. Let’s see where you end up.”

Seol-ah picked up the tote bag she had carelessly thrown onto the sofa and walked straight out the front door.

The moment she left, Yuri immediately closed the door.

When the sound of the automatic lock finally stopped, Yuri sank down onto the floor of the entrance.

The body she had been forcing herself to hold together trembled like a leaf.

Even so, the feeling of freedom from finally escaping Baek Seol-ah was more exhilarating than anything else.

After arriving at work, Hoo-shin spent the entire morning frantically reviewing newly submitted proposals.

He barely ate lunch, making do with a sandwich and coffee without leaving his office.

“Ha… It’s way too hectic starting from the New Year.”

Hoo-shin leaned his head back to loosen his stiff neck and checked the time.

It was only near the end of the workday that he finally had some breathing room.

After stretching his stiff body, he stood up and turned toward the window, where the sun was already beginning to set.

Looking down from the high-rise building at Seoul, which was growing dark so quickly because it was winter, he suddenly felt like going home.

The random thought was so unexpected that Hoo-shin gave a helpless laugh and muttered quietly.

“There isn’t even anyone waiting for me at home… How ridiculous.”

Suddenly, he remembered Yuri sleeping in his bed that morning.

“…Did Jin Yuri get home safely?”

She was the first person who had ever slept in his bed.

He had never let a woman stay at his home before.

There was no way he hadn’t realized that she had used the contract as an excuse to suddenly come see him.

The awkward way she tried to hide her intentions while pretending otherwise had been obvious to Hoo-shin.

She was surprisingly clumsy in many ways.

Hoo-shin had found it amusing to watch, so even though he knew exactly what she was doing, he pretended not to know and played along.

But when Yuri boldly made an unexpectedly provocative proposal and awkwardly tried to seduce him, his reason had become completely paralyzed.

Looking back, it was astonishing that Park Hoo-shin, a man who had never once been swayed by the countless women who had tried to tempt him, had completely fallen for an innocent, inexperienced secretary.

Naturally, remembering the night he had spent with Yuri made Hoo-shin feel annoyed.

“Jin Yuri, now that I think about it, I haven’t heard a single word from you all day. The least you could do is say you enjoyed the meal, shouldn’t you?”

After checking the metal watch on his left wrist, Hoo-shin quickly turned around.

He slipped on the suit jacket hanging on the clothes rack, strode over, and opened the door to his office.