MBFT 06

Chapter 06

“Don’t you have anything to do? I’m sure I gave you several tasks to handle. Ah. Do you want me to send you to a tougher department?”

“No!”

“No, Director…!”

Jehyeon slowly lowered his eyelids and calmed his slightly startled heart.

Then he remembered what had happened that morning.

“Please organize and submit all the contracts I’m currently handling and all the reports that haven’t been fully processed yet. Make sure there are no problems when I hand everything over.”

Even though he had acted as if he would be leaving the company soon, he never expected his secretaries to actually follow him.

At that moment, Secretary Kim tightly grabbed the hem of her skirt and murmured,

“We just… were worried. About whether you really were… quitting your job, Director…”

“Nothing has been decided yet. I was thinking of taking a week to decide what to do, so why did you come here and disturb me?”

Manager Hyun pleaded in a somewhat loud voice.

“Director! Rumors have already spread everywhere that the chairman’s illegitimate child is joining the company. If you quit at the same time, isn’t that basically the same as openly declaring that you’ve been pushed out of the successor position?!”

“So what?”

At Jehyun’s cold voice, suffocating silence fell around the three of them despite being outdoors.

“I’m taking some time to think, not because of the successor position itself, but because of the projects I’m in charge of and the employees under me.”

That was exactly how he felt.

He did not want the secretarial office employees who trusted him and worked for him, or the employees of Taekyung Motors’ battery division that he was responsible for, to suffer because of his family problems.

So even if he decided to quit, he had no intention of leaving immediately. He planned to finish the businesses he was responsible for first.

By attending only twice a week, for the meetings.

“I understand what you’re worried about, but I’ll personally lead the businesses I’m currently in charge of until they’re finished. And if I decide to quit, I’ll take responsibility until the end and make sure everyone in our secretarial office gets an even better position.”

Perhaps they felt sorry for following their boss this far.

Or perhaps it was because they had confirmed that he really was thinking about quitting.

Secretary Kim’s eyes filled with tears.

Manager Hyun quietly handed her a handkerchief. Then he looked at Jehyun again.

“…I didn’t know you would think so deeply about our positions, Director. And it’s not that we were worried about our jobs being threatened. We were just startled because you suddenly left as if you were going to quit right away. We’re sor…ry.”

The two secretaries bowed their heads at the same time.

Looking down at the backs of their heads, Jehyun let out a faint sigh and said,

“If you’re sorry, let me ask you for one favor.”

“Please tell us anything, Director!”

“Buy several outfits for a woman in her early twenties. Outfits for going out, homewear, pajamas, everything. Ah. Make sure they’re in a modern style.”

Silence fell.

Then Manager Hyun tilted his head.

“…A woman in her early twenties…”

“Director… are you seeing someone…?”

Neither of them could finish their words, too cautious to say it outright.

Just as Jehyun was about to tell them it was nothing like that—

Creak—

The main gate of Geukju’s family home opened behind them.

Both secretaries turned their eyes diagonally at the same time.

“Gasp!”

“Su-surely not…”

The secretaries’ voices trembled like frightened sheep.

Following their gaze, Jehyun turned his head.

Standing awkwardly after opening the gate was Haesom.

“…Are you dating that young woman in her early twenties?”

“She looks so young… She, she isn’t a minor, right, Director? That would seriously damage your reputation… No, more importantly, you’d go to prison…”

“Haa.”

Jehyeon roughly ran a hand through his hair as if he had a headache.

“It’s not like that. Don’t get any strange ideas. Just prepare what I asked for and bring it today.”

Jehyeon gave them a sharp look and gestured with his chin toward the tops of their heads.

It meant they should hurry up and leave.

However, perhaps because they really thought a man who would be thirty next year was involved in some forbidden romance, the secretaries stood frozen in place with pale faces.

This is seriously ridiculous.

How wild do they think I’ve lived? I’ve never even been involved with a woman before.

He awkwardly shoved his hands into his pants pockets.

Just then—

“Honey…!”

Haesom called out to him.

The secretaries let out a “Gasp!” and exchanged nervous looks.

“Di-Director. Honey? What on earth is this…?”

Jehyeon closed his eyes at this ridiculous situation, then slowly opened them and looked at Haesom.

“Yeah.”

“Why are you standing outside instead of coming in? I told you to make some formula for the baby! The baby is crying so much!”

“……”

Jehyeon’s mouth fell open.

The secretary in front of him looked just as shocked.

“Get out of here right now.”

Flustered, Jehyun left those words behind and hurried toward Haesom. He grabbed her arm and brought her inside the house.

As soon as the front door closed, Jehyun pushed Haesom into a corner and asked,

“What did you just do?”

He did not even realize how dangerously close they were standing.

Haesom moved her pink lips before timidly answering,

“I was trying to help you in my own way… Was I wrong?”

“What?”

He gave a short, incredulous laugh.

“Why would you suddenly help me?”

“No, oppa… You said you were going to your car, but more than ten minutes passed. I was worried someone might have kidnapped you, so I went outside. And sure enough, there were suspicious people in suits holding onto you.”

Jehyeon was speechless.

“Even though I lived trapped on an island, I still know some things. Sometimes I watched TV at the village chief’s house. You know, those cult fanatics who stop people on the street and try to talk to them. And they were even wearing neat suits…! Their clothes looked exactly the same?!”

My secretaries are cult fanatics?

How could she possibly come up with such a ridiculous idea?

But then again, Jehyun thought that perhaps it really could have looked that way to Haesom, or to anyone else.

The two of them had been standing in front of him with their hands neatly clasped while lecturing him.

Suppressing the laughter that was about to burst out at Haesom’s ridiculous attempt to rescue him, Jehyun put the jacket in his hand over her shoulders.

“Is the clothes you changed into uncomfortable? Just wear this. It’s for summer, so it won’t be too hot.”

“…Thank you. But… you’re not angry, right? I really did a good job, didn’t I?”

“Yeah. You did well. Thanks to you, I escaped safely from the fanatics.”

Haesom smiled, her eyes curving happily because she was glad she had been useful.

She has such pretty smiling eyes.

He was vaguely thinking that when—

Once again, Haesom’s stomach growled.

Jehyeon quietly laughed to himself and opened the front door.

He looked around, and the secretaries had already disappeared.

He went outside again and walked toward the car. Just as he opened the passenger door for Haesom—

“Huh?!”

A woman’s voice came from directly behind them.

Jehyeon and Haesom turned around at the same time.

It was a woman with brightly dyed, medium-length hair, wearing a cropped camisole and jeans.

She had long, snake-like eyes without double eyelids and a sharply raised nose. Her body was as slim as a model’s.

Perhaps because of that, she had quite a fierce-looking impression.

But suddenly, she rushed toward Haesom.

Jehyeon instinctively moved Haesom behind his back and stretched out a hand toward the woman.

“What is it?”

The woman hurriedly stopped and looked up.

Her eyes, which had been fixed on Jehyun, shook as if an earthquake had struck.

“I asked what you’re doing here.”

Only then did the woman clear her throat and glance at Haesom behind Jehyun.

“I think she might be my friend… This is the house where my friend from childhood used to live.”

Jehyeon could clearly feel Haesom flinch behind him.

“Is the person behind you… Yun Haesom?”

Jehyeon was surprised for a moment, but quickly composed his expression.

“Right?! My name is Kwon Mina. I lived next door from when we were little! Haesom and I were always together… Haesom!”

At her call, Haesom leaned her head slightly from beside Jehyun and looked forward.

Mina’s eyes became as round as a rabbit’s when she saw Haesom as an adult.

“It is you! It really is!”

Mina jumped around and continued speaking like water pouring from a bottomless jar.

“You still have the exact same face you had when you were little! This is crazy!”

Then she clapped her hands and even bounced on her feet.

“Hey, Yun Haesom!!”

“Uh, huh?”

“You don’t remember me?!”