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Chapter: 16
He hadn’t truly seen her for eight whole years.
He had hoped that if he stayed away from her, he might eventually forget her. But that hope had been in vain. He missed her terribly. Perhaps that was why the mere sight of a man lingering around her made him anxious, and even hearing her talk about leaving filled him with fear.
“President.”
Despite her cold voice, Mu-hyeok buried his face against the back of her neck.
His warm breath made it feel as though her heart was collapsing.
“…Okay. Just… give me a moment. Let me stay like this for just a little while.”
Mu-hyeok already knew what she was about to say, so before she could even open her mouth, he cut her off with a desperate plea.
Hae-ru bit her lip hard, trying to hide the emotions that were threatening to overflow.
Like a reed bending helplessly in the wind, her wavering heart surrendered to feelings she could no longer suppress. She slowly placed her hand over the one wrapped tightly around her waist.
Grasping his cold hand firmly, she gently removed his trembling hands one by one, starting with the one resting on top.
“Since today is your inauguration ceremony and a special occasion, I’ll let this pass just this once. But from now on, I hope you won’t approach me like this in a personal manner.”
She sounded as emotionless as a block of wood.
This was something she had learned after years of working.
Never show emotion in front of your superior.
After forcing herself to say words she didn’t truly mean, she turned around, lowered her head slightly, and left the room.
Mu-hyeok remained standing there with his hand still suspended in the air where she had slipped away.
Only after Hae-ru had completely disappeared and the door closed did he let out a long breath and place a hand over his heart.
A dizzying pulse continued to pound in his chest.
His hand remained pressed against his heart as he stood there with his eyes closed for a long time.
As time passed and night fell, Hae-ru was completely absorbed in preparing for tomorrow’s meeting.
She sat staring so intently at her monitor that it seemed she might bore a hole through it when Assistant Manager Im Eun-jung from the executive office approached, bent down, and whispered in her ear.
“I’m heading home.”
Startled out of her concentration, Hae-ru straightened up and spun her swivel chair around.
Eun-jung was standing a short distance away with her back slightly bent.
Although Eun-jung worked at a somewhat slow pace, she was diligent and dependable. She wasn’t very talkative and always worked hard, mainly handling accounting tasks related to expense processing. Thanks to her meticulous personality, she rarely made mistakes, and the work suited her perfectly.
Turning around, Hae-ru glanced past Eun-jung and looked at the round white clock hanging on the wall.
It was already 7:50 p.m.
“Huh? You’re still here?”
Eun-jung was the type who never procrastinated and always left work on time, so it surprised Hae-ru to see her still in the office.
Straightening her back, Eun-jung casually leaned against the desk behind her.
“I had a little work left to finish.”
There must have been extra work because of today’s event.
Even as she said that, Eun-jung smiled brightly. Despite being only twenty-six and having to work late, her face remained cheerful.
“You should head home.”
“Aren’t you leaving, Manager?”
“I still have a bit more work to do. You go ahead.”
“Okay! Then I’ll be leaving first.”
Nodding, Eun-jung stood up and gave a small bow before leaving.
After she left the office, Hae-ru pulled her chair closer to her desk.
She finished checking tomorrow’s schedule.
Stretching her neck toward the monitor as she reviewed everything, her gaze eventually drifted toward the president’s office visible through the secretary’s office window.
She couldn’t see inside because the blinds were drawn, but light leaked through the gaps, making it obvious that Mu-hyeok was still there.
Her eyes shifted back and forth.
After hesitating for a moment, she suddenly looked up and began packing her bag.
Once she had quickly gathered her things, she shut down her computer and stood.
It would probably be better not to see Mu-hyeok today.
She wasn’t confident she could face him without feeling awkward.
More importantly…
She wasn’t confident she could resist being shaken by him.
Even now, just thinking about him made her heart race.
Standing on tiptoe, she silently stuck a yellow sticky note reading I’m leaving first. onto the door of the president’s office.
Then, worried that the sound of her high heels might alert him, she took off her shoes, carried them in one hand, and quietly slipped away.
After leaving the company, Hae-ru realized she had no car because she had come to work with Mu-hyeok that morning.
She would have to take a taxi home.
Walking toward the taxi stand, the gentle spring breeze softly brushed against her cheeks.
Now that she thought about it, the weather was pleasant, and the night air felt refreshing.
It had been a long time since she’d simply taken a leisurely walk.
She changed direction, leaving the route to the taxi stand and heading toward downtown instead.
She wandered aimlessly for quite a while.
By the time she reached the busy shopping district, her legs were aching from all the walking.
As if that weren’t enough, her stomach growled loudly.
She needed to find somewhere to eat.
Looking around for a restaurant, she suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure walking in the distance.
Without thinking, she quickly hid behind a nearby building.
“Kim Tae-jun?”
Her brows furrowed.
Kim Tae-jun—the man who had shamelessly flirted with her earlier that day, and who, before the timeline had changed, had hidden the fact that he was married for three years while boldly telling Hae-ru he loved her—was now smiling brightly as he walked into a restaurant with another woman.
Peeking out from behind the white building, Hae-ru rubbed her eyes.
The scene before her was hard to believe.
The woman clinging to Kim Tae-jun’s arm wasn’t his wife.
It was Kim Ja-ryeon, the headquarters director’s secretary.
Ja-ryeon was notorious in the company for making Hae-ru’s life miserable.
In the original past, she had even pointed fingers at Hae-ru, claiming she’d been involved with the married Kim Tae-jun.
“…Why are those two together?”
Her brows knitted even tighter.
Unable to suppress her curiosity, she cautiously entered the same restaurant and took the seat directly behind them.
The booths were separated by partitions, so she couldn’t actually see them, only their faint reflections in the window.
Still, she could hear their voices.
That was enough.
As soon as she sat down, she activated the voice recorder on her phone and placed it on the table.
A server approached.
“How many people?”
Lowering her voice, she raised one finger.
“Just one.”
“I’m sorry, but this section is reserved for parties of four or more…”
The employee spoke apologetically.
It was understandable.
She was sitting alone in one of the large partitioned booths.
But Hae-ru needed this seat if she wanted to hear every word of their conversation.
After thinking for a moment, she spread out four fingers and whispered,
“I’ll order four servings.”
“…Excuse me?”
She glanced around.
She had entered the restaurant without even checking what kind of food they served.
Only now did she realize it was a pork cutlet restaurant.
And pork cutlets happened to be something she disliked.
After a brief pause, she raised the same four fingers again.
“Four king-sized pork cutlets, please.”
“Four… servings? For yourself? The portions here are really big…”
The employee looked troubled.
She recognized the franchise.
It was famous for delicious food and enormous portions.
“If there’s any left, I’ll take it home. Please. I’m really hungry.”
Pretending to be starving, she rubbed her stomach with both hands and forced an awkward smile.
The employee finally nodded helplessly and left with the menu.
Until the food arrived, Hae-ru listened quietly to their conversation.
Ja-ryeon spoke first.
“Oppa, doesn’t your wife say anything?”
“About what?”
“About you having dinner with me like this at night.”
“I told her I’d be working late.”
Were they always this close? Or had things changed because the timeline changed?
She stole glances at their faint silhouettes reflected in the glass, trying to figure out the nature of their relationship.
She couldn’t clearly see them.
But she could easily guess what they were doing.
When the food arrived, they speared pieces of pork cutlet with their forks and fed each other.
Seeing that, Hae-ru instinctively covered her open mouth.
At the same time, her own food arrived.
She took only a single bite before returning her full attention to the pair.
Their behavior and conversation were unmistakably those of lovers.
Ja-ryeon reached over, wiped a bit of pork cutlet sauce from the corner of Kim Tae-jun’s mouth with her thumb…
…then sucked it off her own finger.
“Ha!”
A disbelieving sigh escaped Hae-ru.
As unbelievable as their actions were, their sweet conversation continued.
“Oppa, do you know something? It’s been quite a while since we went to a hotel together.”
“Has it?”
“Yeah. You haven’t fallen out of love with me, have you? We’ve only been together for a year.”
