MFYBS 07

Chapter: 07

His low voice slipped into her ears as he cupped her cheek and met her gaze.

Though it was dark and she couldn’t clearly see his face, his sharp features and well-defined muscles were unmistakable. She rested her hand on his body, and perhaps because her touch was so provocative, Mu-hyeok let out a quiet breath.

“…I’ll do that for you.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he lunged at her like a beast, and before long, the two of them passionately gave themselves to each other on the bed.

When the morning sunlight streamed through the window, Mu-hyeok woke up, unable to hide his disappointment.

A note had been left on the bedside table.

I’m sorry. I was too drunk last night. Let’s just pretend nothing happened. I’ve already forgotten about it. You’re Mu-yeon’s younger brother, and I think I lost my mind. You’re like a little brother to me.

The handwriting was neat and orderly, just like her personality.

Clutching the note filled with apologies, he crumpled it tightly in his fist.

“…A little brother…”

From that day on, whenever he tried to talk about what had happened on the night of August 2nd, Hae-ru would look uncomfortable, avoid him, or change the subject.

No—she avoided him altogether.

And when he begged her to stop avoiding him, she wounded him by saying,

“I’ve never thought of you as anything more than Mu-yeon’s younger brother. That night, I slept with you because I mistook you for someone else.”

It was the most cowardly side of her he had ever seen.

He felt abandoned.

She was the first woman who had ever rejected him instead of secretly admiring him.

She was also the first person to leave him so desperate.

“If being your little brother is the problem… then wait for me, Yoon Hae-ru.”

With that vow, Mu-hyeok left Korea.

As memories she had never possessed suddenly poured into her mind, her eyes twitched.

“Th-that’s… that never… never happened.”

They were memories that should not have existed, yet they steadily filled her head one after another. Flustered, she even began to stammer.

Seeing her panic and raise her voice only made Mu-hyeok think she looked incredibly adorable.

It made him want to fluster her even more.

“Didn’t happen? It still feels this vivid…”

“No, seriously…”

Before she could finish speaking, he gently moved her slender hand away from her lips and pressed his own lips against them.

This time he didn’t deepen the kiss.

He simply gave her a quick peck with an audible smack before pulling away.

Slowly opening her eyes again, she frowned.

“You!”

“What? You’re just going to pretend you don’t remember anyway. Just like eight years ago.”

“I’m telling you, that’s not it!”

She covered her lips with both hands and glared at him fiercely.

Only then did he climb off her.

“I won’t do it anymore… won’t make the mistake of being thrown away again.”

He never wanted to hear her call sleeping with him a mistake ever again, especially when she’d only lost control because she was drunk.

He got out of bed.

“Get some sleep. We’ll talk after you’ve sobered up.”

The muscles along his jaw tightened.

He was biting down hard, trying to suppress his desire, making the muscles twitch beneath his skin.

Forcing himself to move away from the woman he couldn’t bear to leave, he walked out of the room.

Watching him leave, she covered her eyes with the back of one hand.

“What… is going on?”

The flood of new memories left her so confused she felt nauseous.

After shaking her head over and over, she eventually drifted off to sleep.

When she woke the next morning, the bed was strangely neat.

Her eyes widened.

As sunlight poured in and Mu-hyeok’s name surfaced in her memories, her eyes flew open.

“Gasp!”

Remembering the kiss they had shared the previous night, she squeezed her eyes shut.

Everything felt like a dream, yet no matter how much she wished to wake up, reality remained unchanged.

Her head throbbed.

And on top of everything else, Mu-hyeok had somehow inserted himself into her memories, leaving her completely overwhelmed.

Picking up her bag from the floor, Hae-ru quietly tiptoed to the door and carefully cracked it open.

She poked only her head outside and looked around to make sure no one was there.

After confirming the hallway was empty, she hurried downstairs, carrying her shoes in both hands before slipping out through the front entrance.

Once she reached the garden some distance away, she finally put on her shoes and looked around.

Just then, Mu-yeon came walking along the stone path through the garden toward Mu-hyeok’s house, her hair a mess and yesterday’s makeup badly smeared.

The moment their eyes met, Mu-yeon shouted,

“Yoon Hae-ru! Why are you coming out of there?”

“Huh? Well…”

Unable to think of a lie, Hae-ru blinked rapidly.

Fortunately, Mu-yeon jumped to her own conclusion.

“Don’t tell me you got drunk and accidentally went into Mu-hyeok’s house?”

“Uh… yeah.”

“I was worried sick after you disappeared last night.”

In truth, Mu-yeon had planned to introduce Hae-ru to a man that evening.

But Hae-ru had vanished while drinking, ruining her entire plan, and Mu-yeon had spent the whole night worrying.

“You were?”

“Yeah. Come on, let’s go inside.”

Placing a hand on Hae-ru’s shoulder, Mu-yeon slowly led her toward her detached guest house.

Once they arrived, Hae-ru went straight to her room on the second floor.

She immediately headed into the bathroom to wash up.

Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she brushed her hair back with both hands and closed her eyes.

“Ah… I don’t understand any of this.”

She regretted kissing Mu-hyeok… and regretted that she hadn’t pushed him away.

On top of that, those strange memories were invading her mind, leaving her completely disoriented.

Shaking her head from side to side, she leaned closer to the mirror.

“You’re seriously out of your mind, Yoon Hae-ru.”

Staring at her reflection, she slapped her own cheeks about five times.

Then she let out a deep sigh, shook her head again, took off her clothes, and stood beneath the shower, letting the cool water pour over her.

Although Mu-hyeok had said they should talk, he didn’t appear in front of Hae-ru again until Monday.

Meanwhile, Hae-ru remained completely confused.

Little by little, she began accepting that this was reality.

When she found no trace whatsoever of Tae-jun on her phone, she finally admitted that everything happening now was real.

“Should I go find that old woman from the street food stall?”

On her way home from work today, she decided she would visit the old woman who had given her the eraser.

After that, she also planned to look for the eraser she had thrown away on the street.

Amid all the confusion, there was only one good thing.

No one at work criticized her anymore.

If anything, they all seemed eager to stay on her good side.

As the chief secretary, Hae-ru arrived early as usual.

She stood absentmindedly in front of the coffee machine in the break room while waiting for her coffee.

Beep!

Beep!

Beep!

Even after the iced Americano had completely filled her pink tumbler, she didn’t pick it up.

She was so lost in thought that she hadn’t even heard the machine.

Just then, Assistant Secretary Lee Eun-hye, who had been chatting about work while making her own coffee, lightly tapped Hae-ru on the shoulder.

“Senior!”

“Huh?!”

Startled, Hae-ru spun around.

“What are you thinking about so hard? Your coffee’s finished.”

“Oh!”

She grabbed her tumbler and immediately took several large gulps of the cold coffee.

She needed the icy drink to clear her head.

The two of them left the break room together.

“I’ve never seen you this absentminded before.”

It was true.

Hae-ru had always been precise and exceptionally capable.

That was why she’d become chief secretary at such a young age.

Now she not only served as the president’s secretary but also supervised the entire secretarial staff.

No matter how much work she was given, she handled it flawlessly.

Seeing her so distracted was an unusual sight.

“Was I really?”

“Is something bothering you?”

“No. Not really.”

She offered a faint smile.

Perhaps expecting that answer, Eun-hye simply nodded before changing the subject.

“By the way… do you know who our new president is going to be?”

The president Hae-ru had worked under had resigned due to poor health.

The position had remained vacant for quite some time, and rumors said an outsider would be appointed.

Most people believed that outsider would be the president of Seongju Trading.

That person happened to be Mu-yeon’s aunt, Chae Han-mi.

Chae Han-mi was famous for being extremely strict.

Because of that, none of the secretaries wanted to be assigned to her.

At present, the role was being handled by veteran secretary Lee Yoon-hee.

“Has it been decided already?”

Eun-hye glanced around before lowering her voice.

“Not officially… but everyone’s saying President Chae Han-mi from Seongju Trading is coming to headquarters.”

“Ah… a rumor… You know rumors aren’t always reliable.”

Hae-ru smiled as she spoke.

Honestly, even if Chae Han-mi did become president, Hae-ru wasn’t worried.

Her meticulous nature meant she could adapt to almost any superior.

“But this time it’s one hundred percent true!”

Hae-ru had suspected the same thing herself.

Still, she knew there was no point discussing rumors any further, so she changed the topic.

“Anyway, the new president arrives today. You all know how important first impressions are, right?”

“Yes! I’ve already summarized all the precautions and distributed them to everyone in the secretary’s office!”

Eun-hye was exceptionally straightforward and occasionally said the wrong thing to her superiors.

Even so, she had entered as the top recruit, was excellent at her job, and understood instructions quickly.

That was why Hae-ru trusted her.

From early that morning, she busied herself with preparations.

Perhaps because it was the day the new president would officially take office, the secretary’s office was bustling with activity.

Since the president’s office was right next door, everyone checked themselves in their mirrors.

The men straightened their ties, while the women made sure there wasn’t any lipstick on their teeth.

Afterward, Hae-ru clapped her hands once, and everyone gathered beside her, forming a neat line.

Hae-ru had started working as a secretary immediately after graduating from high school.

While working, she had continued her education, earning both a university degree and later a graduate degree.

Because the work was demanding, many people quit before lasting even five years.

In terms of both experience and education, no one around her surpassed her anymore.

Without realizing it, Hae-ru had become the central figure of the secretary team.

Standing beside her, Eun-hye asked,

“So… you really don’t know who’s coming to be our new president?”