chapter 21

In his journey through life, se-hyeon have come to realize two things.

First, no matter how hard he try, he cannot escape from his nature as a secretary.

And second, Shin Tae-oh will never have feelings for Jin Hye-in.

So, even if he sever the connection between Jin Hye-in and himself, he doubt Shin Tae-oh will say anything.

Se-hyeon looked at Shin Tae-oh, who was away from him, and thought about how to make Jin Hye-in feel frustrated.

'Darling, take my hand.'

Or perhaps running towards him and saying, "Stop right there. I'll come and give you a passionate kiss."

'Not bad, but it's not the best approach.'

There were many pitfalls in blindly shouting out such things. Se-hyeon thought many plans to irritate Jin Hye-in for threatening his job.

First and foremost, Se-hyeon was a secretary. He had to consider the implications of making a surprise announcement in this position and creating an issue.

It might seem like going off-topic to argue about the position of a mere secretary, but as a secretary, he had to be more careful. The matters he caused will ultimately be handed over to the boss who relies on him.

Next was his personal preference that came into play. If someone were to ask what preference it was all of a sudden...

'It wouldn't be interesting if I revealed it all at once.'

Se-hyeon looked at Jin Hye-in, who was behind Shin Tae-oh, and slowly opened his mouth.

"CEO Shin Tae-oh..."

He deliberately stumbled over Shin Tae-oh's name.

"Your... prospective husband is looking for you."

"What?"

Jin Hye-in's reaction was quicker. She seemed to ignore Se-hyeon's confident announcement, as if she hadn't seen it.

Seeing one of Shin Tae-oh's eyebrows raise slightly, Se-hyeon calmly continued with his lie.

"Shall I tell him to wait?"

As the secretary, he had set the stage, and now it was up to the boss to make the choice. Shin Tae-oh looked at Se-hyeon's nonchalant face as if asking what he was up to, then nodded.

"Let's go now."

"Understood."

Se-hyeon swiftly walked out of the room to fulfill his instructions. In the midst of passing by, he overheard Jin Hye-in muttering to herself.

"Prospective husband?"

In response to her questioning gaze, Se-hyeon replied, "I can't provide you with detailed information."

"Isn't it you?"

If he had threatened to sever ties with her, she would be curious about who the unexpected prospective husband dropped from the sky would be. Think about it from a different perspective.

Under Jin Hye-in's piercing gaze, Se-hyeon stood up straighter, his posture even more rigid.

'If she hadn't mentioned cutting me off, I wouldn't have stepped forward.'

Confronting Shin Tae-oh is not his concern. But he shouldn't let her shake his well-being.

Caught up in the joy of returning the favour to Jin Hye-in, Se-hyeon didn't notice his surroundings. Suddenly, his wrist was grabbed, and his body was pulled to the side. He stumbled in an unexpected direction, but thanks to Shin Tae-oh's firm grip, he didn't fall.

"Come here."

Se-hyeon was pulled along by Shin Tae-oh's decisive strides without hesitation. It wasn't until the sound of footsteps changed abruptly and the intense movements subsided that Se-hyeon realized where he had been taken.

Gasping for breath, he looked beyond Shin Tae-oh's shoulder and saw a sign with a vivid depiction that seemed to leap out—a green figure racing away. It was an emergency staircase.

"Now that I think about it, it seems the always expressionless secretary can also show startled express. huh?"

As Shin Tae-oh's nonsensical words echoed, se-hyeon felt the urge to escape.

"Did you say something?"

"Well, there are terms like fiancé or lover. But calling someone a prospective husband.... doesn't it feel a bit strange?"

"Ah..."

Now he understand why Shin Tae-oh is acting this way. Se-hyeon had deliberately called him a prospective husband.

Se-hyeon purposely stumbled over the words, annoyed by Jin Hye-in confidently mentioning Shin Tae-oh as his husband despite having no relationship with him. Now he wanted to explain to Shin Tae-oh why he did that, but...

"Where is this prospective husband? Is he here? Are you, standing in front of me, that

prospective... hus...band?"

"..."

He didn't want to say it anymore.

If he spoke, he felt like Jin Hye-in would seize upon it and ask, "Did she say that?" instead of understanding his intentions. In such a situation, there was only one reaction for him to take.

"I apologize for lying."

Se-hyeon bowed his head. If he turned back, he could face the wrath of the Chairman of Jinmyeong Group.

"Apologies, even though it wasn't a lie."

Why isn't it a lie? Se-hyeon thought about it and quickly understood. If Shin Tae-oh was thinking of Yoo Jin-ha, he could see why he would consider it that way.

"Well done."

Shin Tae-oh patted Se-hyeon's shoulder and spoke.

"Uh... Thank you."

Finding it strange, Se-hyeon nodded his head in greeting and casually looked to the side. He couldn't see Shin Tae-oh's face directly. Even though it wasn't a particularly great compliment, his heart fluttered once. The cause of this emotion was undoubtedly one thing.

'Why am I so moved by this...'

After he unilaterally caused trouble and put Shin Tae-oh in an awkward position, he unexpectedly praised him for doing well. It came back as a source of emotion.

"Now, shouldn't we go back?"

Se-hyeon, wanting to attribute his choked feeling to the necktie, adjusted it while speaking.

Shin Tae-oh shook his head.

"Anyway, let's move on from today and focus on finding a real prospective husband next time. Let's go and wrap things up."

"Understood."

Se-hyeon gladly accepted the excuse to leave and opened the door wide.

'Let's say what I just felt was the secretary's desire for recognition from the boss.'

Strictly speaking, it was a desire for recognition. Se-hyeon rationalized it that way and quickly walked away, no longer wanting to dwell on that thought.

Shin Tae-oh simply watched as Se-hyeon left without stopping him. As he looked at the spot where Se-hyeon had disappeared, he almost overjoyed for a moment when se-hyeon took a bold step and thought himself as a husband, Shin Tae-oh gently stroked his chin.

"I can't tell from his expression…"

Se-hyeon had always been someone whose thoughts and emotions were difficult to discern.

Whether it was when he was hit or when his expression crumbled, revealing his emotions, Se-hyeon, who worked as a secretary, was someone whose expressions were unreadable.

"Looks like the reaction is coming from somewhere else?"

When Se-hyeon turned his head to avoid making eye contact, he noticed that Se-hyeon's ears had turned red.

"The secretary gets embarrassed easily."

It was the moment when he discovered an unexpected side of Se-hyeon, who was usually composed in the presence of the unapproachable man.

"An embarrassed cat. A shy cat with flushed ears..."

As he tried to come up with various descriptions, he couldn't find the right words to fit. After thinking for a moment, Shin Tae-oh mentioned the one that appealed to him the most.

"A cat with flushed ears?"

As Shin Tae-oh mentioned the flushed ears, Se-hyeon's ears turned even redder...

Shin Tae-oh raised an eyebrow.

"Is something wrong?"

***

While Se-hyeon was tidying up his desk, the secretary of the chairman came to find shin tae-oh.

"The chairman is looking for you."

Shin Tae-oh, who had secretly intended to leave with Se-hyeon, hesitated for a moment before realizing that he had no choice.

"Where is he?"

"He asked you to come down to the basement. He's waiting in the car."

"Understood. I'll go there myself, so please take care of my secretary."

Shin Tae-oh, raising his hand to signal that the secretary didn't need to follow him, turned around. The secretary, seeing him heading towards the elevator, went inside the banquet hall to find Se-hyeon.

As Shin Tae-oh descended to the basement, he opened the door of the visible sedan. But the moment he realized that no one was inside, someone swung their hand towards him.

"Ow!"

Chairman Jeong Mi-jeong's hand landed precisely on an area of his back that was already sensitive, causing Shin Tae-oh to let out a dramatic scream.

"Well done. Very well."

"Do you know that it's bad to hit someone where it hurts?"

"After what you did, you're good to hit. I've been waiting for your partner for a long time, and you brought me a lying scoundrel!"

Jeong Mi-jeong, apparently still filled with anger from the previous incident, gave Shin Tae-oh a few more pushes on his back before belatedly realizing the attention from the people around them and forcefully pushing him into the car.

Despite his large build, Shin Tae-oh skillfully manoeuvred his body and squeezed into the car, grimacing in pain from his heated back. He expressed his own sense of injustice.

"I didn't lie."

"Who is he? Who is this prospective husband?"

"You saw it, didn't you?"

"What?"

Under Jeong Mi-jeong's inquiring gaze about whom he was referring to, Shin Tae-oh sealed his lips.

"Why can't you speak?"

"Because I'm not sure yet. What about Jinmyeong's side?

"First, you got rejected for having a partner, and now you being rejected for having a prospective husband. How is someone with such a strong ego going to come out of this?"

"Well, he rejected me anyway."

[ TN:- Here jeong mi-jeong thought tae-oh talking about yoo Jin-ha but tae-oh is talking about se-hyeon]

At Shin Tae-oh's nonchalant and indifferent response, Jeong Mi-jeong let out a sigh.

"I used to think you were mature when you were younger..."

As Jeong Mi-jeong mentioned Shin Tae-oh's childhood, she suddenly realized her mistake and fell silent. The atmosphere shifted as she looked at him with a questioning gaze, and Shin Tae-oh lowered his head.

"Whether back then or now, I'm living in accordance with my age."

"Right. So, do you really not have anyone you're dating? Or is it that you still don't know?"

Shin Tae-oh remained silent for a moment before responding.

"I don't have anyone at the moment, and I'm not sure yet."

Despite Shin Tae-oh's flippant response, Jeong Mi-jeong's expression remained unchanged. She spoke in a subdued voice.

"If you're still unsure about your own feelings..."

"It's my own feelings, so if I don't know, who will?"

"Tae-oh."

"There's no need to talk about things like counselling if it's not a solution. Trust your son. Just as..."

Shin Tae-oh pulled Jeong Mi-jeong closer, as if trying to console her motherly worries, but his gaze was subdued.

"I will become someone who is loved."