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Chapter – 02
A Free Ride
The sudden scream from the back seat startled the executive secretary so badly that he swerved the car onto the shoulder and slammed on the brakes.
He turned around in alarm.
His boss sat there with one hand clamped over his mouth, staring in utter shock.
In front of him crouched what looked like the ghost of a young woman, sobbing uncontrollably.
Could it actually be a ghost?
The mournful crying was so heartbreaking that it almost seemed as if she had come searching for a groom for a ghost marriage.
The “ghost”—or rather, the uninvited passenger—finally climbed fully onto the back seat and slowly lifted her head.
As the long black hair covering her face slipped aside, a tear-soaked face came into view.
“Sniff… It’s so unfair… Sob… It’s so unfair… Waaaaah…”
She kept crying about how wronged she had been.
Around her neck hung an employee ID badge.
Still trying to calm his racing heart, Dogyeong reached out almost unconsciously and looked at the badge.
Product Development Team 2
Assistant Manager Cha Gyeoul
“…Ha.”
She’s human.
Rubbing his throbbing temples, Dogyeong let out a deep sigh.
His secretary asked in bewilderment,
“Are… are you alright, sir? Who in the world is this crazy woman dressed like a ghost?”
Dogyeong pinched the bridge of his nose.
Throwing her out onto the street wasn’t an option.
Taking her somewhere with him wasn’t one either.
Who knew who might be watching?
If he dropped her off at a motel or hotel, people could easily misunderstand the situation.
After a moment’s thought, he turned to his secretary.
“Let’s go to the company first.”
“She doesn’t seem capable of having a coherent conversation right now.”
“Yes, sir.”
Whether they left her in Product Development Team 2’s office or figured out her address and took her home…
She certainly couldn’t stay in his car.
After crying for quite some time, Gyeoul eventually fell asleep with tears still clinging to her eyelashes.
Once they reached the company, they tried shaking her awake.
Nothing worked.
Dogyeong was beginning to wonder whether they should have taken her to a hospital instead.
Finally…
Her eyes slowly opened.
Her eyes were still red from crying.
Her nose was pink.
Even her eyelids were swollen.
Dogyeong looked her over from top to bottom before clicking his tongue irritably.
He had mountains of paperwork waiting.
Instead, he was wasting time sitting in his car because of a woman he’d never even met before.
And Product Development Team 2…
Weren’t they today’s stars?
Even several minutes after waking, Gyeoul still looked completely lost.
She rubbed her dry cheeks with both hands before sniffing softly.
Then something felt strange.
Tilting her head, she slowly opened her eyes…
…and looked at the man sitting beside her.
Their eyes met in the darkness.
This time…
The scream came from Gyeoul.
“AAAHHH!”
The secretary waiting in the front seat jumped in surprise.
Only moments earlier, this woman had secretly climbed into the president’s car on her own and cried her eyes out.
Now she was desperately trying to open the locked car door.
Closing his eyes for a brief moment to suppress his growing irritation, Dogyeong spoke.
“Miss Cha Gyeoul.”
“Assistant Manager Cha.”
“W-Who are you?!”
“How do you know my name?!”
“Where am I?!”
“Miss.”
“Please calm down and stay still.”
The secretary spoke gently in an attempt to soothe her.
Out of the corner of his eye, however, he noticed Gyeoul’s hand reaching for the door lock.
If she jumped out now before understanding the situation, this could become an even bigger misunderstanding.
He quietly activated the child safety lock on the rear door.
The feature was meant to keep children from opening car doors while driving.
At the moment…
The woman in the back seat wasn’t behaving much differently from a panicked child.
No matter how hard Gyeoul pulled the handle…
The door wouldn’t open.
Her face gradually crumpled.
Seeing that she looked ready to burst into tears again, Dogyeong switched on the interior light.
The cabin instantly filled with light.
Squinting against the brightness, Gyeoul finally got a clear look at the man beside her.
Her eyes widened.
“P-President?”
“That’s right.”
“I’m Kim Dogyeong.”
“I recognized who you were from your employee ID.”
Following his gaze, Gyeoul looked down at the badge hanging around her neck.
She squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lower lip.
She almost wished she couldn’t remember anything.
But seeing the handsome president of Hanju Freshion brought everything rushing back.
Right after Yehee had gone to find a taxi…
Gyeoul had spotted Dogyeong walking toward a luxury sedan parked nearby.
Normally she would have avoided him.
But alcohol had completely clouded her judgment.
He’s higher up than my team leader…
Maybe if I tell him what happened… he’ll listen.
Besides… he’s the chairman’s son.
That single thought had been enough.
Without thinking twice, she’d climbed into the back seat of the expensive foreign car while its engine was still running.
She assumed the rear seat was where the president would sit.
She planned to wait and speak to him.
While waiting, she’d accidentally dropped her phone onto the floor.
She bent down to pick it up…
At that exact moment, Dogyeong got into the car.
The instant she looked up and saw him…
All the sorrow she’d been suppressing burst out at once.
She cried like a ghost carrying generations of resentment.
I’m doomed.
Without realizing it, she grabbed both sides of her head and clenched her fists in her hair.
The pull hurt her scalp.
She didn’t care.
Next week…
She could already picture herself writing either a resignation letter…
…or an incident report.
Compared to that, a little scalp pain was nothing.
As she sighed deeply while pulling at her hair, Dogyeong crossed his arms and legs.
“So.”
“What exactly was so unfair that you climbed into my car?”
“Um…”
“I…”
“I was just… really drunk…”
“I know.”
“So what happened that made you drink yourself into that state?”
Would he really help if she told him?
Gyeoul hesitated.
He might have been newly appointed…
But he was still the company president.
Would he believe someone who had worked there only seven years…
Or a team leader who had been with the company for well over a decade?
She couldn’t be sure.
Then she changed her mind.
I’m probably writing a report—or quitting—next week anyway.
Adding a few more lines won’t make much difference.
She finally spoke.
“The new product…”
“The one Product Development Team 2 released…”
“That…”
“Hic…”
“…was mine.”
“My…”
“My idea…”
“And my team leader…”
Before she could finish, all the injustice she’d been holding back flooded over her again.
The alcohol still in her system loosened every restraint.
Fresh tears streamed down her cheeks.
Her words were so choked with sobs that barely half of them were understandable.
But Dogyeong already understood enough.
Kim Seokjun.
Leader of Product Development Team 2.
A man with an unimpressive résumé who had somehow gotten lucky enough to join Hanju Group despite graduating from an obscure provincial university.
His work performance was poor.
He lacked even basic awareness.
Despite spending well over a decade at the company…
He had never achieved anything noteworthy.
Yet through sheer “good luck,” he’d not only kept his position but eventually become a team leader.
The source of that “luck”…
Was Kim Miju.
Dogyeong’s aunt.
One of Hanju Group’s directors.
Something had always seemed suspicious.
Kim Seokjun—who had never produced any meaningful achievements before—had suddenly overseen a blockbuster project.
And it happened shortly after Dogyeong took over as president.
So Aunt Miju must have warned him about me.
Even back in the U.S., Dogyeong had been famous for judging employees solely by performance.
Years of service meant nothing.
If someone couldn’t produce results, he transferred them to insignificant positions.
Sometimes…
He fired them outright.
That ruthless reputation had spread throughout Hanju Freshion.
Employees secretly called him…
The Grim Reaper.
Until recently, one of his aunt’s closest allies had been president of Hanju Freshion.
When that man retired and Dogyeong unexpectedly took over…
Kim Seokjun had probably panicked, afraid he’d lose his position.
So… the real owner of that idea was this woman?
At last, Dogyeong’s suspicions became certainty.
His gaze settled on the woman still crying in front of him.
Her drooping eyebrows.
Her clumsy attempts to explain herself through tears.
Without realizing it…
He chuckled.
How could one person produce so many tears?
It almost seemed as though every drop of alcohol she’d drunk had turned into tears.
“Hic…”
“I’ll do anything.”
“Please…”
“If you just help me get my idea back…”
“I’ll do anything…”
“Anything?”
She truly looked desperate.
Her expression said she’d gladly give up everything if only she could reclaim what was hers.
He had no intention of asking for compensation.
Still…
The words I’ll do anything were unexpectedly tempting.
“Then stop crying.”
“Go home.”
“I’m busy.”
His cool tone and relaxed posture caught Gyeoul off guard.
Her eyes grew round.
Tears still shimmered there…
But at least she’d stopped crying.
“If I stop crying and go home…”
“You’ll really investigate it?”
Dogyeong nodded.
His expression remained cold.
He still looked thoroughly inconvenienced.
But…
He had said yes.
Relieved, Gyeoul repeatedly bowed her head in gratitude.
After she finally got out of the car and looked around uncertainly, Dogyeong spoke to the secretary waiting in the driver’s seat.
“I’ll stay here and finish some work.”
“Secretary Jung…”
“Take Miss Cha home.”
“Then head home yourself.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And sorry for keeping you this late.”
“I’ll tell Chief Choi.”
“Take Monday off.”
“I’ll see you Tuesday.”
“Thank you, sir!”
Listening to Gyeoul’s heartbreaking story had taken far longer than expected.
It was now nearly one o’clock in the morning.
After granting his overworked secretary a short holiday, Dogyeong stepped out of the car.
The vehicle immediately drove out of the company parking lot.
