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Chapter 9
Eunse’s home was tucked inside a cramped cluster of small villa buildings.
A tiny one-room apartment in a building without an elevator.
Taeheon arrived earlier than expected.
As Eunse hurriedly finished tidying up and was just slipping her feet into her shoes, bang, bang!—the front door rattled violently.
That’s when she remembered the doorbell had been broken.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me. Secretary Han.”
When she cracked open the door, a man with a sharply furrowed face stood there.
“Where were you planning to go?”
He pushed one foot inside, eyebrows raised.
Backing away in a fluster, Eunse answered,
“I just— I ran out of drinks, so I was going to buy some…”
“No need. I’ll come in.”
Without hesitation, Taeheon took off his shoes and stepped into the space that served as her living room, kitchen, and bedroom all at once.
The sight of a tall, well-dressed man in such a small, modest room was jarringly out of place.
Without a word, Taeheon’s sharp eyes swept across the entire room.
It was small but cozy—
A single-person table with a yellow folding chair.
Sky-blue sheets and pillow covers.
A soft, pale-yellow blanket.
A moon-shaped mood lamp attached to the head of the bed.
Maybe because it was near a university, it looked exactly like a student’s place.
Come to think of it, Eunse herself had only graduated a few months ago and was still a newcomer to working life.
Taeheon turned abruptly and stared at her—
her face stiff with fear and tension.
Early twenties.
An orphan.
Just starting out in life.
For a moment, Taeheon felt as though he had been punched hard in the gut.
When he had exited the highway earlier, he had been seething—unable to calm down no matter what.
He had gripped the steering wheel and pressed the accelerator just enough to avoid an accident, muttering curses through clenched teeth.
Do I really look that pathetic? Fuck, does she think she’s so high and mighty?
As if I couldn’t find another woman, so I had to go for my own employee?
She must have seen my schedule. So tight it made you sick to look at it—
no room to rest, no room to breathe.
Even with my aides fainting from nosebleeds, I cut the trip short to four days and caught the first flight home.
And the first thing she says to me?
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so furious.
She made him sound like some shameless bastard who’d used her for a one-night fling and now needed her silence.
It was absurd.
And it hurt his pride.
But then, when he saw her wide, frightened eyes—
the anger inside him completely dissolved, leaving not a trace.
From Han Eunse’s point of view…
If she was that gentle, that timid, that insignificant in society’s eyes—
of course she would think that way.
She was the kind of woman who felt guilty even for liking someone far above her reach.
Suddenly, he understood.
And he realized—
how terrifying this must all be for her.
Right now, to her, Yoon Taeheon was nothing more than an intruder who had barged into her quiet, peaceful life.
“Sit down. I need to talk to you.”
He unfolded the chair and sat down calmly.
As he gathered his thoughts, he noticed she was still standing awkwardly, still wearing her padded jacket, visibly anxious.
“Sit down too, Secretary Han.”
“There’s only one chair…”
“Then take off your coat.”
He gave a faint smile and nodded toward the bed.
Finally, she moved—rustling softly as she hung her coat and hesitantly walked past him.
As she brushed by, a faint, warm scent reached his nose.
Not perfume, not shampoo, not soap—
just her own gentle, sweet scent.
And in that moment, he realized again what had driven him nearly insane these past few days.
Without thinking, he spoke impulsively.
“I like you, Secretary Han.”
“Cough!”
She hadn’t even sat down yet before she started choking and coughing in surprise.
“C-President! P-Please, don’t joke around like that.”
“Do you think I’d do all this for a joke?
Cutting my conference short, losing sleep, rushing overnight flights—
just to end up in Incheon today?”
Her eyes trembled wide open, impossibly large.
It was only then Eunse realized—
he had returned two days earlier than his scheduled Monday flight.
“Y-you really don’t have to do this, President.”
But of course, what came next was pure Han Eunse.
“I’m fine. Really. It’s something that could happen between a man and a woman.
It’s not like you forced me or anything. We can just pretend it never happened.”
“How can something that happened not have happened?”
His firm tone made her expression sink.
“I-I just meant, since it was my first time, maybe you’re feeling guilty or something—”
“It’s the same for me. Are you feeling guilty?”
“What?”
“It was my first time too.”
“You’re lying…”
“Until then, I’d never even kissed anyone.”
He looked a bit embarrassed after saying that and added gruffly,
“It’s not that I couldn’t. I just didn’t.”
Her mouth hung open for a long moment before she stammered,
“Then how were you so— No, that’s not the point…
You’re teasing me, aren’t you? How could you like me after sleeping together once?”
“I slept with you because I liked you.”
“Th-that’s nonsense.”
“You weren’t the only one with a one-sided crush, you know.
I’ve been struggling with it for quite a while too.”
His voice was calm, but his gaze—
deep, tender, unwavering—
was overwhelming.
“W-What do you even see in me? You don’t know anything about me.”
“You’re right. I don’t.”
Her vision blurred. She shook her head several times.
It can’t be… How could someone like him… someone like me…
“I didn’t even know your birthday was in winter or that you grew up in an orphanage until you told me.
I didn’t want to seem like a creepy boss, so I never even looked at your HR file.”
Her vision was so hazy now she could barely make him out.
And yet—she wanted so badly to believe him.
“But I do know what kind of person you are, Secretary Han.”
His deep, low voice sank into her, word by word.
“I know that when it rains, you worry about the stray cat that lives on the company rooftop and go check on it with an umbrella.
That when the plants in the lobby start to wilt, you look like you’re about to cry.
That when a troublesome task comes down, you’re always the first to get up and do it.”
Each sentence struck gently, warmly.
“You’re the one who always hands out hot packs and bottles of drinks to the drivers and cleaning staff.
You’re diligent, capable, and one of the kindest people I’ve ever met.”
A single tear rolled down.
Through the clear veil of her tears, Taeheon’s eyes met hers—
deep and full of affection.
“I really like you.
The Han Eunse I know… is someone impossible not to like.”
*
A mild spring Saturday.
At Chairman Yoon Jae-ho’s grand mansion in Pyeongchang-dong, the monthly family luncheon was being held.
“Family” wasn’t a large gathering—
just the Chairman and his wife, their son Yoon Euimyeong and his wife,
and the family’s only grandchild—Taeheon.
The Chairman lived with his son and daughter-in-law.
Father and son had never known what it was to be uncomfortable with each other.
The house was enormous and the residents few,
so even living together, they rarely crossed paths.
The daughter-in-law, Min-young, and her mother-in-law, Deokshim, were unusually close as well.
In truth, these family lunches weren’t anything special—
just the same household members, with the grandson joining in.
With the elderly couple, the middle-aged parents,
and their stoic thirty-year-old son—
there was rarely any cheerful chatter.
As always, the meal was nearly over when—
“I checked with the secretary’s office,” Taeheon said, putting down his chopsticks and looking between his grandfather and father.
“They said you don’t have any appointments tomorrow.”
“What, this rascal—couldn’t you just call to ask me that?
Why go through the company?”
Even without his grandmother’s mild scolding, the adults around the table already looked faintly offended.
“I thought there might be something you’d forgotten,” he replied evenly.
Then he continued, his tone unchanged.
“I’ll come for lunch tomorrow—with the woman I’m going to marry.”
Clatter! Clink!
The Chairman dropped his spoon, and his wife spilled her glass of water.
Yoon Euimyeong and Min-young both froze in shock.
“What—what did you just say?
Honey, did he just say marriage? Mother, did you hear that?”
Euimyeong stammered, but no one else made a sound.
It was Taeheon who broke the silence again.
“We’ve been seeing each other for three months.
I plan to hold the wedding as soon as possible.”
“Y-you! Taeheon, you’re not joking, are you?”
His shoulders lifted slightly.
“I don’t recall ever joking in front of you, Father.”
He wasn’t the type to make jokes—not even as a child.
Knowing how serious and curt he was, everyone at the table finally realized—
Taeheon meant every word he’d just said.
