chapter 58

(Se-hyeon's pov)

I was about to come to the office, leaving Shin Tae-oh behind, who intended to go elsewhere after the light meal. I knew Shin Tae-oh was following me, but I thought if he felt unwell, he would go back inside, so I just left him be.

However, I felt a stronger presence than Shin Tae-oh following me.

Feeling strange, Sehyeon looked around. It was a familiar daily commute to the office, but something felt odd.

Why did people seem to be looking at me instead of Shin Tae-oh?

Just as Se-hyeon was about to turn around to see someone passing by right next to him, Shin Tae-oh grabbed his shoulder.

"Don't look back."

With Shin Tae-oh holding onto my shoulder, we entered the elevator. It was clearly different from usual. Normally, as the company's representative, most gazes were directed at Shin Taeoh.

Se-hyeon followed behind him, observing the surroundings, but this time, they were

looking at Se-hyeon.

What could be the reason?

"Boss."

As the elevator doors opened, Lee Jin-ho hurriedly approached. His gaze briefly touched Shin Tae-oh before swiftly passing by Se-hyeon.

Lee Jin-ho knows something too. And...

"I'm here because I'm feeling better. So, don't ask why I came."

Shin Tae-oh, who preemptively interrupted Lee Jin-ho's words, seemed to know something.

"I see. You recovered remarkably fast."

As Lee Jin-ho nodded and observed the awkward reaction, Shin Tae-oh pushed Se-hyeon's back.

"You should go and work."

Se-hyeon nodded in response to Shin Tae-oh's unusual words.

"Understood."

Realizing the intention of Shin Tae-oh and Lee Jin-ho wanting to be alone, Se-hyeon

obediently stepped back.

As I turned around, I faintly heard them engaging in a conversation.

"Where should I investigate?"

Knowing that Shin Tae-oh is not the type to simply overlook things without saying anything.

Then I can't withstand being by Shin Tae-oh's side. If I have to act cautiously, not knowing much could lead to unexpected trouble.

With such rationalization in mind, Se-hyeon went to find the person he can sought...

The person who carries the most weight.

Of course, it was Yoo Jin-ha. Since the events revolved around him, there was no need for deep contemplation. Se-hyeon came to meet him without hesitation.

Considering that he had delivered a gift to Yoo Jin-ha last time, Se-hyeon thought that if he spoke well, Yoo Jin-ha might provide some information.

"Assistant Manager Yoo Jin-ha."

Spotting him as he came out into the corridor, Se-hyeon raised his hand, pretending to recognize him. It was a pleasant surprise to see Yoo Jin-ha, who had been the only person oblivious to the constant attention from people wherever Se-hyeon went.

Upon hearing Se-hyeon's voice, Yoo Jin-ha glanced briefly, and his body flinched before swiftly turning his head. Se-hyeon raised his hand to express his joy at making eye contact, but Yoo Jin-ha quickly approached and grabbed his wrist as if snatching it.

It wasn't his wrist that was supposed to be grabbed, so why...?

"Come here."

As Yoo Jin-ha forcefully pulled Se-hyeon, he couldn't hide his surprise and reluctantly followed along. Despite being smaller and having a noticeable size difference, Yoo Jin-ha’s strength felt immensely overpowering.

The place Yoo Jin-ha took them to was the emergency staircase. Checking by stretching their necks all the way down to see if there was anyone, Se-hyeon also looked around instinctively.

"Secretary Ahn, I thought you wouldn't come since I didn't see you in the morning. Did something come up?"

"Yes. I came for external business accompanying the CEO."

Unable to say that they had gone to eat, Se-hyeon turned the conversation discreetly. He used the excuse that discussing superiors' work externally was prohibited.

"Then, did you hear about the post that came up last night?"

"The post?"

"Yes, there was a post about Secretary Ahn on an anonymous forum..."

As Yoo Jin-ha hesitated to speak, he kept glancing at Se-hyeon.

"No, this doesn't make any sense. Even if it's anonymous, it's strange for an employee to post about the CEO. And when I went down in ten minutes, everyone in the company was already talking about it..."

Yoo Jin-ha hadn't even revealed the content yet, but the picture was already forming in Sehyeon's mind.

Words that could not be spoken openly often appear on anonymous bulletin boards. It could be light everyday conversation or hidden stories within the company. Se-hyeon also kept an eye on the anonymous bulletin board by setting up alerts.

"You mentioned that it was about the CEO and me, right?"

"...Yes."

Yoo Jin-ha nodded obediently in response to the question of who was mentioned, not what the post was about. Se-hyeon sank into thought for a moment before lifting his head.

"Thank you."

"Are you leaving? We haven't finished talking yet."

"I think I should hear it from the CEO."

Se-hyeon thanked Yoo Jin-ha with a gesture that seemed to imply gratitude and opened the emergency door to leave. Yoo Jin-ha reached out but couldn't grab him, only extending his hand.

"But still..."

The conversation wasn't over yet.

***

While Se-hyeon was gone, Shin Tae-oh received an oral report from Lee Jin-ho regarding the post that had appeared on the anonymous bulletin board.

As Lee Jin-ho talked about the information he had gathered so far and the overall atmosphere of the company, Shin Tae-oh's expression became complicated.

"You came to the company too quickly."

"Don't you think there's a problem with the director's ability to handle unfinished tasks?"

"I wanted to come after going to eat at the café with Se-hyeon. I missed it."

Shin Tae-oh couldn't hide his disappointment in Lee Jin-ho's resentment.

Lee Jin-ho's plan to gather information and stall for time with Se-hyeon outside while they discussed the future vision together had failed. Shin tae-oh had planned to have coffee and talk about their future together, but Se-hyeon said he had to go back to the company.

"I didn't expect him to be so passionate."

"Earlier, you were talking as if anything was possible because of his strong feelings towards the CEO..."

Lee Jin-ho muttered his dissatisfaction. If Shin Tae-oh hadn't stumbled over his own abilities in the first place, Lee Jin-ho wouldn't have spoken so confidently.

“Your feelings for me are clear.”

“What on earth do you see that makes you so confident?”

“Because you couldn’t ignore me.”

Yesterday, my wish to see Se-hyeon came true. It was the first time the world hadn't betrayed. Shin Tae-oh. As Se-hyeon appeared like that, he ignored Shin Tae-oh's instruction to leave and entered the room.

It seemed like Se-hyeon only listened to what the boss said when he wanted to. Is it different from their strong feelings?

"Anyway, we can't continue like this. Secretary Ahn also felt something was off."

With his arms crossed, Shin Tae-oh made a statement, and Lee Jin-ho tightly sealed his lips, turning his head away. It was the moment when Lee Jin-ho avoided eye contact and Shin Taeoh frowned, about to call him, after speaking so confidently and looking at him before.

"What is it?"

"...."

Upon hearing Se-hyeon's voice, Shin Tae-oh uncrossed his arms and turned around. The impression of his frowning face as he looked at Lee Jin-ho disappeared without a trace, replaced by a smiling face.

"What is it?"

Se-hyeon stared intently at Shin Tae-oh's natural expression.

Could he just overlook that smiling face?

"If you keep persisting, I'll go ask someone else."

There were plenty of people Se-hyeon could ask right away. Lee Jin-ho, the Chief of the Secretary's Office, was not far away, and there were many people in the secretary's office as well. Or should he go to Yoo Jin-ha?

"It's nothing important."

"I'll be the judge of that."

At Se-hyeon's urging, Shin Tae-oh sealed his lips and subtly leaned his upper body.

"There have been rumours about us having some kind of relationship."

"Is there nothing else?"

Se-hyeon asked calmly, without showing any signs of surprise. Shin Tae-oh seemed more awkward and hesitated before pulling out his phone.

It seemed like he thought there was no way to hide it anymore. Se-hyeon received the phone from him, and it was a screenshot of the bulletin board, capturing everything as it was.

While Se-hyeon was looking at the phone, Shin Tae-oh secretly gestured to Lee Jin-ho. It was a signal for him to go and handle the situation. When Lee Jin-ho took a step back, he understood the meaning.

"I'll take care of it all."

Shin Tae-oh spoke to Se-hyeon, intending to help Lee Jin-ho avoid the situation. However, it was a misjudgment.

"This isn't something to leave to someone else. It should be something we handle together."

Se-hyeon focused his gaze entirely on Lee Jin-ho. Feeling the unspoken pressure not to leave, Lee Jin-ho moved to Shin Tae-oh's side.

Se-hyeon, who had tied their feet together with his gaze, looked at the phone again. As an employee, the IP information would still be available. So, if they investigated, they could probably find out. However, Se-hyeon's thoughts were not solely focused on finding the culprit.

Why did this happen to me? I saw this exact incident in the original work. Someone posted a suspicious post questioning the relationship between Yoo Jin-ha and Shin Tae-oh, causing subtle rumours to circulate within the company.

If it were only that, there would be no need to make a fuss. Whether it was an office romance or not, it could have been ignored. There would be no harm to Yoo Jin-ha even if the rumours spread.

However, the mastermind behind this incident did not intend to stop there. Knowing this, Sehyeon let out a sigh of frustration without holding back.

"We need to find out what happened. We have the IP address saved for now..."

"I'll handle it."

Se-hyeon interrupted Shin Tae-oh and raised his hand.

"Secretary Ahn will investigate?"

"Yes. I have a hunch, so I'll take care of it."

Handing over the captured screenshot on Tae-oh’s phone, I extended it towards Shin Tae-oh. Reflexively, Shin Tae-oh reached out Se-hyeon’s hand, but then hesitated and gently placed the phone back down before turning away.

"Just a moment, Secretary Ahn."

Shin Tae-oh, judging that he couldn't just let it go, quickly grabbed Se-hyeon's arm.

"Can I really entrust this to Secretary Ahn?"

"Yes."

"Then what about me?"

With his other hand, the one not holding onto Se-hyeon, Shin Tae-oh pointed at himself.

"This involves the both of us. It's something that happened to both of us, so why do you want Secretary Ahn to handle it alone?"

That's why I want to handle it alone.

That "we" sound... Even though the only ones present were people from the secretary's office, Shin Tae-oh's

nonchalant way of speaking made the rumours feel more real.

"I have a hunch, that's why."

Se-hyeon subtly shook his arm, naturally releasing Shin Tae-oh's hand.

"So please wait for a moment, will you?"

"Then what should I do?"

In response to Shin Tae-oh's lingering question, Se-hyeon suppressed the turmoil in his heart.

"Just go rest. Get some sleep, your eyes look red."