MFYBS 15

Chapter: 15

But she merely bit down hard on her lip and said nothing.

“Say something. That was your very first greeting as president. Do you know how people reacted? The company community is already filled with comments calling you arrogant. If you had just read what I wrote, you would have come across as humble. Why did you do that?”

At last, he raised his head.

With dissatisfaction written all over his face, he lifted one eyebrow crookedly and met her gaze.

“…Ha.”

Letting out a sigh, he stood up. Feeling stifled, he loosened his tie, tossed it onto the desk, and slowly walked toward her.

Mu-hyeok stopped only after reaching Hae-ru, who was standing in front of the desk. Leaning casually against the desk behind him, he looked directly into her eyes.

“So you’re saying this is all my fault?”

“Don’t you think it is?”

Without the slightest hesitation, Hae-ru answered firmly. She straightened her posture again and smoothed down her rumpled clothes.

The speech had been carefully prepared by her. If he had simply read it as written, he would have appeared modest. Every sentence had been strategically planned.

“Why do you think I acted like that?”

As if he felt suffocated, Mu-hyeok began unbuttoning his neatly fastened white dress shirt from the top.

Click.

Click.

Click.

Each button that came undone revealed more of his well-defined collarbone.

Startled, Hae-ru instinctively frowned.

Unlike her surprise, he looked openly irritated. He frowned deeply, lowered his head, and scratched lightly beneath his eye with his index finger.

Watching him silently, something suddenly crossed her mind.

“Ah… was there something in the speech that bothered you?”

It was the best explanation she could come up with.

Since he had become upset after saying what he wanted during the speech, perhaps one of the lines she had written had rubbed him the wrong way.

Situations like this were common for secretaries. Even though she had known him since childhood, personal relationships and work were completely different matters. They had only just finished his inauguration ceremony, so naturally there was still a lot she didn’t know about him as her boss.

Still lowering his head, he finally looked up at her and spoke quietly.

“It bothered me.”

“What exactly bothered you? Even if there was a line you didn’t like, you could have simply skipped it. Walking off the stage like that only damaged your image from the very beginning.”

Frowning, she raised her voice as she scolded him.

“Because it wasn’t something I could just leave out.”

“What do you mean?”

Tilting his head slightly, he suddenly grabbed her wrist.

“Gasp!”

Startled, Hae-ru inhaled sharply.

Her body was pulled tightly against his.

She hurriedly tried to pull away, but she was trapped between his legs. No matter how much she twisted, she couldn’t escape.

Like a small animal caught in a trap.

Embarrassed, tiny beads of sweat formed on her forehead as her eyes darted between his face and his thigh.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to properly explain what bothered me.”

“…What?”

“What bothered me…”

He looked straight into her eyes.

“…was you, Yoon Hae-ru.”

“…Me?”

She stopped struggling.

Resting her hands on his shoulders, she blinked repeatedly as she stared down at him.

That answer had been completely unexpected.

“How could I stay calm while watching you exchange numbers with another guy?”

His voice was filled with anger.

“I wasn’t exchanging numbers!”

She frantically waved both hands.

She had never intended to exchange numbers with him. Why would she want the contact information of someone she disliked?

“If I hadn’t called you over, you would have, wouldn’t you?”

“No! Why would I give my number to that trash— I mean! Anyway… are you saying you ruined your speech just because you saw me talking to Kim Tae-jun?”

She raised her voice in disbelief.

Earlier, she had only restrained herself from cursing Kim Tae-jun because she didn’t want to ruin Mu-hyeok’s inauguration ceremony.

Now she was even angrier knowing that Kim Tae-jun had been the reason Mu-hyeok had completely botched his speech.

Heat spread from her neck all the way to her face.

But Mu-hyeok still looked troubled, as though Kim Tae-jun continued to bother him.

“What kind of relationship do you have with that man?”

“Nothing more or less than coworkers. No… honestly, even calling us coworkers is giving him too much credit.”

Even after her firm answer, he continued pressing her.

“Then why do you call the head of the PR team so casually?”

It was simply a habit.

Until the eraser had rewritten their relationship, they had dated for three years.

Although it had ended badly, affectionately calling him by name had become second nature.

Unable to explain any of that, she answered defensively.

“Is that really a problem?”

“You don’t call me Cha Mu-hyeok.”

For some reason, his drooping eyes suddenly looked sorrowful.

“Because you’re the president.”

In truth, that wasn’t the only reason.

The moment she spoke his name, she felt as though strange emotions would begin to grow.

He was already slipping into her heart without her realizing it.

If she even started calling him by name, she feared she would become even closer to him.

That frightened her too much.

“I want to be Cha Mu-hyeok to you, Yoon Hae-ru.”

He gazed at her pleadingly.

“Can’t you call me that?”

“I’m your secretary. How could I possibly address you like that?”

“But you used to call me ‘Mu-hyeok.'”

His eyes filled with nostalgia.

She really had.

Back then, she used to call his name warmly.

Because back then…

He had simply been her friend’s younger brother.

She let out a long sigh.

“That was before you became president… Besides, let go. We’re at work.”

Deciding she couldn’t stay in his embrace any longer, she tried twisting away again.

Instead of releasing her, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her onto his lap, leaving her completely unable to move.

Then he gently took one of her hands and placed it over his chest.

Looking at her with heartbreaking sincerity, he whispered,

“What’s different? I was the same then… and I’m the same now.”

“…My heart still beats the same.”

She frowned.

He kept confessing to her.

Her heart had already been wavering, and every confession shook it down to its roots.

She had only just thought the issue with Kim Tae-jun was finally over.

Now Mu-hyeok had suddenly appeared and overturned everything again.

She clenched her fists tightly.

“President… you’re mistaken.”

Thinking about it carefully, the sudden change in the past and Mu-hyeok’s feelings for her all felt strangely artificial.

It seemed as though the mysterious eraser had somehow caused him to fall in love with her.

But Mu-hyeok alternated his gaze between her hand resting on his chest and her face.

“Even after feeling this heartbeat… you still think it’s a misunderstanding?”

She could almost feel his racing heart.

Her own heart began trembling in response.

Flustered, she shook her head to regain her composure.

Her cheeks flushed red as she quickly withdrew her hand.

Hiding it behind her back, she let out a deep sigh before speaking with deliberate formality.

“This is the office, and I’m your secretary. Please don’t do this, President.”

She had returned to being nothing more than his secretary.

The line she drew between them seemed to carve a deep wound into his heart.

Biting the inside of his lip, his brows twitched.

“So… you’re drawing a line between us?”

“Please let me go.”

Placing both hands against his chest, she pushed herself free and stood up.

He immediately rose as well and cupped her face with both hands.

Pulling her close until his face was only inches from hers.

It felt as though all the emotions he had been suppressing were finally exploding.

Just being this close to her made his breathing grow rough.

“…Ha…”

His voice trembled.

“When I look at you like this, all I want is to touch you… to kiss you. Do you think people can control feelings like that?”

Equally tense, she swallowed hard while hiding her own emotions.

“Those are one-sided feelings. Try harder to control them… before things become uncomfortable.”

He stepped even closer.

Her heart nearly stopped.

It felt as though every inch of her body had become her heartbeat, trembling uncontrollably.

Slowly, he brushed his thumb across her flushed cheek while searching both of her eyes.

“Even now… you still think it’s one-sided?”

But she clenched her fists even tighter.

“I have never thought of you as anything more than my friend’s younger brother… or my superior.”

His expression darkened.

A fierce impulse surged through his chest.

Like a wild beast.

Before he realized it, he leaned in.

Her pupils trembled violently.

Just as their lips were about to touch—

She grabbed his wrist and quickly turned her head away.

Her heart pounded so hard that she breathed heavily.

She had almost closed her eyes and given in again.

Grinding her teeth so hard that the muscles in her jaw twitched, she shut her eyes briefly.

Her thoughts became a tangled mess.

If simply being near him made her this shaken…

How could she continue working here?

For a brief moment, she even wondered whether she should request a transfer to another supervisor.

Opening her eyes again, she looked at him.

He was still standing there with his head lowered, breathing heavily.

Unable to bear it anymore, she scolded him.

“I’m sorry, but if you keep doing this…”

“…I won’t be able to do my job.”

It was her final warning.

After delivering those words to the man staring silently at the floor, she turned and headed toward the door.

She should have been this firm from the very beginning.

Hae-ru convinced herself that everything was merely the result of the strange eraser’s prank.

The altered past had made both of them mistakenly believe they loved each other.

Quickly walking to the door, she grabbed the handle and pulled it open.

Bang!

The door slammed shut again.

A large hand appeared before her eyes.

Mu-hyeok had closed it.

Moments later, she felt a warm presence behind her.

Turning slightly, she saw his face.

He had wrapped his strong arms tightly around her from behind.

As though he had no intention of ever letting her go.

“President…”

Startled, she struggled to move.

But the more she tried to escape, the tighter his powerful arms wrapped around her.

“…Don’t go.”