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Chapter: 21
When Jian opened her eyes, she found herself alone in the hotel room again.
“Ha…”
An emptiness far greater than before enveloped her.
Her body and mind felt as heavy as waterlogged cotton.
Because what she had done had been so impulsive, the regret was even stronger.
‘Why did I do that?’
After sitting there for a long time with her head buried in her hands, Jian let out a long breath and raised her head.
No matter what, she still had to go to work, so she decided to shower first. She got out of bed and headed to the bathroom.
Still in a daze, she stood beside the shower, turned on the water, and waited for it to warm up. As she casually glanced at the mirror—
“Ah!”
Jian gasped in horror when she saw her reddened collarbone.
She remembered how Taejun had hugged her from behind yesterday and kept pressing his lips against the back of her neck.
Those marks must have come from then.
They had been obsessively left around the areas near her wound.
‘This is pretty bad.’
Wearing the same clothes she had worn yesterday wouldn’t have been a problem, but unfortunately, the neckline dipped slightly, making it likely that her battered collarbone would be visible.
Even while washing herself in the shower, Jian kept agonizing over how she was supposed to deal with this situation.
In the end, she left the bathroom wondering whether she had even properly washed herself, having spent the entire time lost in thought.
“Why did he leave them here like this…”
As soon as she came out, Jian checked her clothes.
The outfit that had gotten soaked in the rain yesterday had dried, but as expected, it wasn’t enough to cover the red marks.
“Ha…”
Her body ached terribly.
It was irresponsible, but she even considered calling in sick because of how much she hurt.
Countless worries swirled through her mind as she paced around the room.
Just as her confusion continued to grow, the doorbell rang.
“Room service.”
She almost told them to take it back since she hadn’t ordered anything, but then she remembered that Taejun might show up again like last time.
Pulling her hair forward as much as possible to cover her collarbone, Jian opened the door.
A hotel employee entered with a polite smile.
What the employee carried to the table wasn’t food, but a shopping bag bearing a department store logo.
“Director Yoon Taejun asked me to deliver this to you.”
“This… what is it?”
“I don’t know what’s inside either. Would you like breakfast as well?”
“No. I’m fine without breakfast.”
“Then please let us know if you need anything else.”
With that, the employee left the room.
Jian stared blankly at the shopping bag on the table for quite some time before finally approaching it.
Inside the box she pulled out were a tweed dress, a matching handbag, and a pair of shoes.
The white dress fell just above the knees and featured a high neckline.
Apparently, Taejun was fully aware of what he had done to her body.
Still, all the items were expensive luxury goods, and rather than feeling grateful that he’d solved her problem, she felt burdened.
Besides, hadn’t Mijin, her former team leader, already given her grief over a nonexistent love bite before?
If Mijin spotted her again today…
She would undoubtedly come after her with a vengeance.
‘What should I do?’
After agonizing for a long time while biting her lip, Jian finally picked up only the dress.
Thanks to hurrying, she managed to avoid being late.
“Good morning.”
The moment Jian entered the secretary’s office and greeted everyone, all eyes turned toward her and widened simultaneously.
Minju was the first to rush over. She almost reached out to touch Jian’s dress before pulling her hand back.
“Secretary Seo. This is real, right?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“This dress! It’s the limited-edition one that came out from Sha○ recently!”
“Ah…”
She had thought this was the best solution, but judging by all the attention she was receiving, apparently it wasn’t.
As Jian hesitated, unsure how to respond, Hyena hurried over and stared intently at the button near her neck.
Jian flinched, worried that she might have noticed the marks, but Hyena seemed interested only in the button.
“It really is authentic. I heard the fake ones have a slightly different design on the top button. Even when the stores get stock, it sells out immediately, so it’s hard to see one in person. I can’t believe I’m actually seeing it.”
“Really?”
“The blouse you wore yesterday was from the same brand too.”
“Haha…”
With so much attention focused on her, cold sweat began forming on Jian’s back.
Apparently, showing up in expensive designer clothes two days in a row had been a mistake.
The situation was so awkward that she almost wished she had been late or taken sick leave instead.
She was struggling to endure all the attention directed at her clothes when a very welcome voice suddenly rang out.
“Director Yoon is coming out.”
At Taejun’s appearance, the secretaries who had gathered around Jian immediately scattered.
Soon, Taejun walked into the office.
“Good morning, Director.”
“Yes, good morning.”
After giving a slight nod in response, he immediately looked at Jian.
His gaze slowly traveled down her body.
The moment his eyes landed on the black shoes she was wearing, his expression darkened.
With all the other secretaries present, Jian felt uncomfortable. It seemed as though he was staring at her far too openly.
“Secretary Seo. Come inside.”
“Yes, understood.”
He even summoned her directly into his office.
Jian had no idea what the others might be thinking, but she was anxious to avoid giving anyone any reason to gossip.
Unlike the rumors involving Yuhyeon, what was happening with Taejun was either something that had already happened or something that was bound to happen.
Taking a small breath to calm her racing heart, Jian quietly followed him.
Click.
As the door closed, only Taejun and Jian remained in the office.
Turning around immediately, Taejun frowned.
“I don’t believe I sent only the dress.”
“All I needed was something that covered my neck, so I wore only this. I’ll return the dress as well.”
The moment she firmly stated her position, Taejun let out a dry laugh.
“It seems Secretary Seo finds it very easy to throw things away once they become unnecessary. People and possessions alike.”
His voice carried particular weight as he spat out the final words.
Jian pressed her lips together.
The more they talked, the more complicated her feelings became. It was better to stop here.
But Taejun continued.
“It was a gift for accepting my proposal. Why not just take it? If the word gift bothers you, then let’s call it compensation.”
The moment the word compensation reached her ears, Jian felt as if her heart were being torn apart.
Because it made painfully clear exactly what kind of woman she was to Yoon Taejun.
“Perhaps it doesn’t seem like much to you, Director, but it’s too expensive for me to accept. I’d have to save several months’ salary without spending a cent to buy clothes like this. Walking around wearing them would only make me the subject of workplace gossip.”
Whether it was a gift.
Or compensation.
She didn’t want anything meant for a partner.
But Taejun looked at her as though she were being ridiculous.
“It’s only a few bucks.”
That casual remark slashed through Jian’s heart.
Her finances were already weighing heavily on her, and she swallowed hard.
His cruel words hurt.
But what hurt even more was something else.
‘The fact that I still can’t stop liking a man who sees me as nothing more than an easy toy. How pathetic, Seo Jian.’
She hated herself for still not coming to her senses, even after everything that had happened.
Clenching her teeth tightly, Jian finally raised her voice.
“Isn’t it unfair to force something on me that I never wanted and then insult me when I refuse to accept it?”
Taejun looked amused and casually sat on the edge of his desk.
“You’re right. I overlooked your tastes, Secretary Seo. Then tell me. What is it that you want?”
“…”
“If I don’t put something in your hands, there’ll only be trouble later, won’t there?”
Jian hated Taejun so much in that moment.
It felt as though he was determined to keep tearing apart her pride until the very end.
But she decided this would be the last time she allowed herself to be hurt.
‘I didn’t want to show him just how low I’ve fallen.’
Her first love.
And the man she still loved.
She had endured everything because she couldn’t bear the thought of seeing pity in Taejun’s eyes as well.
But if she wanted to take back the feelings she had given him, perhaps the fastest way was to reveal every card she had desperately tried to hide.
She intended to completely break down in front of him, so thoroughly that she would never even think of staying by his side again.
Unable to end things herself, Jian silently wished Taejun would be the one to do it for her.
“Go ahead. It seems Secretary Seo wants something too.”
As Taejun pressed for an answer, Jian’s fists clenched tightly.
Swallowing nervously and steeling herself, her lips slowly parted.
