TSG 37

When the phone rang again, he asked which hospital it was. It felt like something was off in the conversation, but he couldn’t be sure what it was. After giving the name and room number of the hospital, Se-hyun pondered.

What am I missing?

When it comes to Taenyang-i, he was confident he knew him to his core, so why did he feel like he didn’t?

“Who is it?”

“Oh, it’s my boss.”

“Which boss? The chief secretary? Or the CEO?”

In response to a question from his mother who was peeling fruit, Se-hyun walked over and sat down with his cell phone in his pocket.

“It’s the CEO.”

“Didn’t you say you were taking the day off today? He told you to come up because you’re busy?”

“It’s not like that.”

Se-hyun shook his head, poked an apple with his fork, and handed it to his father. Then, he tried to feed his mother the apple too, but she was more eager to speak.

“Why did he call to ask where you are?”

“Oh…”

“Se-hyun, what’s wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

While talking with his mother, he found out why he felt uncomfortable.

‘Where is there a boss who comes to see the secretary who took a day off?’

And he obediently told him under his pressure. Indeed, he didn’t realize that Taenyang-i was a man who seized opportunities well.

He took out his phone and sent a message to the chief secretary, saying that he had spoken with Shin Tae-oh. Soon after, a short vibration followed by a reply came.

He said Shin Tae-oh had an urgent schedule today, so he was going instead.

‘I’m sorry.’

When Se-hyun heard that the chief secretary would fill the vacancy for him as an attendant, he smiled awkwardly. He should express his gratitude when he returns to work on Monday.

“Oh, come on, get a grip. The boss will be here, so we should offer him something to drink at least.”

“Huh? No, it’s fine. The boss isn’t coming.”

While he was thinking about the chief secretary, his mother quickly got up from his seat. So Se-hyun stopped her and told her that she didn’t have to go.

“He’s not coming?”

“Yes, I was going to tell him that I’m not in Seoul in the first place.”

Now that he thought about it, he did mention being in front of the house during the call, but when did he suddenly have a schedule?

‘I guess I should check it when I get to work?’

“Please sit down again and tell me. How have you been?”

He put aside thoughts of Shin Tae-oh for a moment. His parents’ circumstances were more important right now.

⍣⍣⍣

The harmonious family conversation turned into Se-hyun’s one-sided nagging.

“Please pay more attention to your health from now on.”

“Okay.”

His father absentmindedly caressed his leg in a cast. Se-hyun shot a stern glance at his mother as well.

“You know drinking coffee on an empty stomach isn’t good, right?”

“I have it occasionally. Not every day, just sometimes…”

“But you have chronic gastritis? And reflux esophagitis too.”

“I won’t drink it anymore.”

“Don’t skip meals either. Should I call you at meal times?”

“Oh, no, I’m fine.”

His mother shook her hands vigorously. With an air of truly being fine, she looked at him with an unjust gaze. It felt like she was the one enduring the long nagging, even though she wasn’t the one hurt.

However, because it was all about the son’s affection, the parents immediately smiled and liked it.

“It’s nice to see you after a long time. Should we go up today?”

“I’m planning to go at night.”

Se-hyun also delayed the time even a little with a regretful heart. Taking the late-night bus would mean sacrificing a few hours of sleep, but it would still be possible to manage tomorrow’s schedule. Above all, he didn’t know how long it had been since he last saw his parents. So, he wanted to linger a bit longer, even if just a little.

“You know, can Mom ask you something?”

“Yes, go ahead and ask.”

“What kind of person is your boss?”

Se-hyun hesitated as he reached for a strawberry. Why would Sin Tae-oh be brought up here suddenly?

“I didn’t know, but they said he was an impressive person?”

“Oh, well… ”

Sin Tae-oh is impressive… well, he certainly has it all.

“I was curious because he’s someone you work for.”

Se-hyun nodded while wondering what to say.

“First of all, he’s tall.”

Anyone who sees Sin Tae-oh for the first time would be overwhelmed by his large stature. Even without boasting pheromones and claiming to be an Alpha, his presence is so strong that people naturally shrink themselves in his presence.

“And he’s capable.”

He didn’t just sit as a boss and observe the world. He actively scouted and brought in the people he wanted. If he saw a design that looked promising while wandering around, he tried to apply it to the apartment. That’s why the apartments built by SR received particularly good reviews.

“He’s handsome.”

It’s something that should have been said when talking about his tall stature. Anyway, when talking about Sin Tae-oh, you can’t leave out his face.

“If he has everything else, isn’t his personality usually bad?”

His mother, who had been quietly listening, asked.

“In dramas, even if they have everything else, there’s always something wrong with their personality, isn’t it? Well, if even that is perfect, then the drama wouldn’t be interesting.”

“Hmm… If you think about it that way, isn’t your boss perfect?”

“Oh, Mom.”

Even though his mother reacted in surprise, Se-hyun took it calmly.

That’s why he was the “Sub-Gong”.

“He has a good personality. He’s witty and laughs a lot.”

Apart from occasionally being overly playful like a cat, his personality wasn’t bad, honestly.

“He’s considerate and kind. You can just think of him as having everything.”

Poor Taenyang-i, who has everything.

Se-hyun smiled brightly for his mother, who had become engrossed in his words. He wanted to express that his workplace wasn’t too difficult.

“I am doing well at the company because my boss takes good care of me. Except for occasionally giving me some unfortunate errands, it’s fine.”

Like when he gave a ridiculous excuse to present the Main-Shou with a gift?

…He mostly enjoyed watching, but there were times when he felt sorry for him.

“But about this boss…”

“Yes?”

Se-hyun looked at her, munching on a strawberry, wondering why she was asking.

“Is he taller than you?”

“Yes.”

Did she ask because he spoke too vaguely earlier?

“You said he’s handsome, but is his face small too?”

He should have even mentioned the size of Shin Tae-oh’s face.

“Yes, it is. If you search his name on the internet, you’ll see his pictures. You can check him out…”

“Yeah… I think I’ve seen him.”

“You did? When?”

Se-hyun was also curious when he heard that they had even searched for Shin Tae-oh in advance, so he asked about it, but his parents’ reaction was somewhat strange.

“Why are you looking behind me…”

What’s behind him? Se-hyun turned his head to see where his parents were looking and then froze.

‘Someone tell me it’s a lie.’

It’s Shin Tae-oh.

When Se-hyun looked at the chief secretary standing behind him, he couldn’t have seen anything wrong. So the hair on the back of his head stood up even more.

‘I hope he didn’t hear it.’

The moment he saw Shin Tae-oh, he was more curious about whether he heard everything than about why he was there.

“What’s the matter, sir?”

Se-hyun stood up and turned to face Sin Tae-oh. It wasn’t difficult to put on a poker face, pretending nothing was wrong. But what’s the point of making it up? Shin Tae-oh wasn’t looking at him.

“Hello.”

Shin Tae-oh greeted his parents, not Se-hyun.

“I think you already recognized me, but…”

Shin Tae-oh’s gaze briefly landed on Se-hyun. And then he whispered something only to him so that no one else could hear.

“I’ll deal with the misunderstanding later.”

Huh? What did he do wrong?

There was something strangely unfair about it, but Se-hyun couldn’t say anything because he didn’t know what kind of misunderstanding it was.

Meanwhile, Shin Tae-oh looked at Se-hyun’s parents again and continued what he was saying.

“I am the CEO. I believe you’ve already heard my introduction, but shall I repeat it?”

In response to Sin Tae-oh’s question, Se-hyun’s parents politely declined.

⍣⍣⍣

“What happened? You said there was an urgent schedule.”

Se-hyun offered coffee to Lee Jin-ho.

“He just called me out of the blue and gave me the name of the hospital. If I had known he was coming to see Se-hyun-ssi, I would have told you sooner.”

Lee Jin-ho, who ran out without knowing anything, said that he only found out when he came here.

“I’m sorry.”

Even though it was Taenyang-i’s fault, Se-hyun felt like it was his responsibility to apologize.

So he bowed his head to Lee Jin-ho, but Lee Jin-ho didn’t take his eyes off Se-hyun as he drank his coffee.

“I just wanted to observe quietly.”

“Then just observe…”

“You’re not dating, are you?”

“No.”

Lee Jin-ho looked even more surprised at Se-hyun’s immediate answer.

“Why are you answering so quickly?”

“I thought you were going to ask.”

He would be an idiot if he did not know what the chief secretary would think of him when he was the one who was rushed to the hospital.

Lee Jin-ho looked at his coffee and then looked around again.

“Surely the CEO isn’t listening in from somewhere?”

At Lee Jin-ho’s muttering, Se-hyun also glanced around. There didn’t seem to be any noticeable faces for now.

Se-hyun breathed a sigh of relief and slowly looked back at Lee Jin-ho. Then, he flinched when he saw the meaningful look in his eyes.

“I guess you care even though you’re not dating.”

Se-hyun fell victim to Lee Jin-ho’s scrutiny.

“Please don’t even involve the CEO in this.”

Se-hyun hoped Lee Jin-ho wouldn’t add to his already difficult situation.

“Just be honest with me.”

“I’m being honest right now.”

“Isn’t the CEO coming because he’s worried about Se-hyun-ssi bothersome?”

“…He’s worried?”

Se-hyun thought he knew everything up to this point, but he was caught off guard by Lee Jin-ho’s question.

“Don’t you know? He came because he thought you were hospitalized.”

Ah, I see.

As Lee Jin-ho continued muttering, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place for Se-hyun.