TSG 67

He should have just let it go. If it was a gift, it made sense to use it rather than let it sit unused, so he should have brushed it off casually. What was the big deal that they used the same fountain pen? Why did he put his foot in his mouth?

“Are you curious about this?”

“No, I’m not.”

Even though Se-hyun said he didn’t need to explain, the corners of Shin Tae-oh’s mouth remained upturned. He soon half-reclined in the chair, examining the fountain pen this way and that.

“So Yoo Jin-ha gave you this fountain pen.”

He could have just said he didn’t know since he didn’t open the packaging, but he spoke like that.

“I just bought it because I thought it was good after seeing Secretary Ahn use it.”

Ah, he was trapped.

Whether Shin Tae-oh had set a trap or Se-hyun had dug a hole with his careless words and jumped in, it didn’t matter. What mattered was that he was thoroughly entangled with Shin Tae-oh.

“This is why I like Secretary Ahn.”

“Sir… ”

Se-hyun tried to stop him from saying such things, but Shin Tae-oh smiled and continued.

“Secretary Ahn has great insight.”

Shin Tae-oh deliberately said it ambiguously, but Se-hyun pretended not to notice.

“I received it as a gift.”

There was no need to say that because Se-hyun didn’t buy it, but Shin Tae-oh didn’t even listen. Se-hyun couldn’t blame anyone since he was the one who caused the conversation to flow like this in the first place.

Se-hyun said, taking his eyes off Shin Tae-oh.

“… I’ll take the documents.”

Now avoiding him was the only way. So he picked up the document but stopped when he saw the signature line was blank.

Somehow it felt like if he said he was leaving, Shin Tae-oh wouldn’t stop him.

“Please sign it.”

So he could leave.

Since Se-hyun was subtly pressing him, Tae-oh readily got up from the backrest as if to comply.

“What are you doing this morning?”

“We have a PR team meeting scheduled…”

Didn’t he just brief him all earlier?

“I wasn’t asking about myself, but about you, Secretary Ahn.”

“I… I’ll be preparing for the meeting.”

“For lunch?”

“I’ll be preparing for a meeting”

“In the afternoon?”

“I’ll be working…”

What else would an office worker do?

After bluntly answering Shin Tae-oh’s questions one by one, Se-hyun realized he had put up a wall without meaning to and closed his mouth.

In an awkward atmosphere, Shin Tae-oh twitched his eyebrows and focused his eyes on the documents.

“How caring our secretary Ahn is.”

Me?

“He was taking care of urgent documents while I was bedridden and sick.”

That’s part of a secretary’s job, though?

“I didn’t even know that and thought you’d be just worrying about me, but you’ve been working all this time. You’re truly dedicated”

If you have a complaint, just say it directly.

Shin Tae-oh’s work was put on hold due to the arrival of his rut ​​cycle, so Se-hyun had to handle special approval documents for those who came looking for him.

Unless it was a special case requiring his direct approval, the secretary could keep documents and get them signed later. That’s all Se-hyun did, but he didn’t know what rubbed Shin Tae-oh the wrong way.

“It doesn’t matter. The past is the past, and the future is what matters.”

Shin Tae-oh was just saying things only he could understand.. Se-hyun was just doing his job, he didn’t know what he did wrong, and he didn’t know how Shin Tae-oh wanted him to act regarding this “future” he mentioned.

“I was looking forward to it.”

What?

“You can go now.”

Why didn’t Shin Tae-oh tell him what he looking forward to before sending him away?

⍣⍣⍣

Shin Tae-oh, accompanied by Lee Jin-ho instead of Se-hyun, entered a boutique shop.

Perhaps he had something in mind from the beginning, Shin Tae-oh headed towards one place without hesitation, and Lee Jin-ho followed him.

“Can you help me pick something out?”

“Me?”

Though his boss wouldn’t normally make such a request, Lee Jin-ho nodded compliantly, wondering why he was acting this way today.

“I will give it to Ahn Se-hyun.”

“You mean Ahn Se-hyun, not Yoo Jin-ha?”

Lee Jin-ho asked, his tone reflecting his surprise. He even used the informal name, showing his uncertainty.

“Yes.”

“Then…is there something going on between the two of you?”

Lee Jin-ho glanced at Shin Tae-oh and asked. He had been suspicious before, but now he was sure after handling the discharge process.

He was certain that Shin Tae-oh’s affections had shifted to Ahn Se-hyun.

“But…”

Lee Jin-ho looked at the coat Shin Tae-oh was holding with a confused expression.

Until now, Shin Tae-oh had chosen a gift to give to Yoo Jin-ha. He always assumed that if it was the wrong size, it was taken with Yoo Jin-ha in mind.

Ahn Se-hyun usually handled delivering the gifts to Yoo Jin-ha, but Lee Jin-ho had seen enough to understand the routine.

“The recipient has changed, but why does the design look exactly the same?”

It’s still that straight bamboo style he prefer.

Or did Shin Tae-oh just choose the design he wanted Yoo Jin-ha to wear instead of looking for clothes that suited Yoo Jin-ha from the beginning?

“I think this will suit him well.”

As expected, Shin Tae-oh brought a similar design when he was thinking of Se-hyun.

“What is all this?”

“What.”

Lee Jin-ho shooed away the staff around them so they were alone, then moved closer to Shin Tae-oh.

“What kind of perverse act is this?”

Shin Tae-oh, who was looking at the coat, turned to meet Lee Jin-ho’s incredulous gaze.

“Would it be a bit weird to just give him a coat? Maybe I should get a matching suit too?”

“That’s not what I mean.”

Jin-ho spoke in an exasperated voice, gritting his teeth.

“You’re trying to dress Ahn Se-hyun in the same designs you picked out for Jin-ha.”

“Did I…do that?”

Lee Jin-ho clenched his fists in response to Shin Tae-oh’s oblivious response. If he wasn’t his boss, he would have punched him, but he held back and said:

“The recipient has changed. So you need to change too.”

Lee Jin-ho kindly explained for the sake of his school junior, who seemed destined for another rejection.

“You have to show that you think of that person as special. That way, the other person can also know your feelings.”

Lee Jin-ho gave him sincere advice so that his lifelong unrequited love would not end, and Shin Tae-oh was deep in thought with a serious face.

Lee Jin-ho wondered why someone who had never paid attention to others was suddenly acting this way toward Ahn Se-hyun, but there was only so much he could intervene.

With nothing left to say, Lee Jin-ho looked at the clothes while waiting for Tae-oh’s response. When was it? Se-hyun had brought a white padded coat once, saying it was for Jin-ha. Se-hyun calmly ran that personal errand imbued with his boss’s feelings.

‘Are you sending it to Assistant Manager Yoo Jin-ha?’

‘That’s right.’

Ahn Se-hyun said that this was his first time working as a secretary, but he was able to distinguish between his boss’ official and private work well and was not emotionally disturbed by it.

Moreover, he deftly avoided any sensitive topics Shin Tae-oh seemed averse to, which was likely why he quickly rose to become Shin Tae-oh’s personal secretary.

Was that why Shin Tae-oh took a liking to him?

Thinking it was about time for Shin Tae-oh to have made up his mind, Lee Jin-ho turned to look at him. If he understood the advice, he should put away the chosen items and picked something new…

“This one is the prettiest.”

“… What?”

Lee Jin-ho looked at the coat Shin Tae-oh pointed to with a puzzled expression. It was the one he picked out first.

“Did you understand everything I said?”

“It’s special.”

Shin Tae-oh handed out a cashmere coat to the employee and asked for it to be wrapped, then turned to Lee Jin-ho.

“I didn’t realize it, but Se-hyun was who I had in mind from the start.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

“I said I chose it while thinking about Ahn Se-hyun.”

As Shin Tae-oh muttered something about the first one maybe being the white padded coat, Lee Jin-ho just stared at him incomprehensively before finally recalling something belatedly.

“So you mean…”

“I didn’t know at the time. It just turned out that way.”

Meaning he saw no need to choose a new design.

“Instead, I should become special to Ahn Se-hyun.”

Only then will Se-hyun notice him.

“How can I look good in Ahn Se-hyun’s eyes?”

Lee Jin-ho glared at Shin Tae-oh with dumbfounded eyes before grabbing his own head.

“Se-hyun from the start…? Now that I think about it, you kept giving Jin-ha gifts with ridiculous excuses. I just thought you were being a fool back then…”

Lee Jin-ho muttered as he watched Shin Tae-oh accept the packed clothes.

“The poor kid had no idea about your feelings.”

“Please understand me, hyung, I had my reasons.”

Shin Tae-oh patted Lee Jin-ho’s shoulder and left the store.

“What if he rejects you like Yoo Jin-ha did?”

“He won’t refuse.”

“So confident?”

Did you give Yoo Jin-ha a gift before, knowing that he would reject it?

“Well, it’s something Ahn Se-hyun seemed to like, so it should suit his taste.”

“How would you know?”

“Because I saw Se-hyun touching it and staring at it.”

As if it didn’t matter if Lee Jin-ho couldn’t understand, Shin Tae-oh added the following words.

“All his current clothes have frayed sleeves. It’s perfect timing to get him a new one. And I have a very fitting excuse to give it to him.”

Shin Tae-oh had devised every scheme to give Se-hyun the coat.

So Shin Tae-oh, who said that Se-hyun had no choice but to receive it, was even too excited to contain himself.  To the point where Lee Jin-ho looked at him with pity.

“Are you sure you want to give it to him like that?”

It was just a gift.

Why was something so simple as handing it over so difficult?

At least Shin Tae-oh would be happy giving the gift, and Ahn Se-hyun would be happy getting new clothes, so no harm done.

“What is the justification?”

Lee Jin-ho still couldn’t erase his doubts.

⍣⍣⍣

Se-hyun was now in a bewildering situation.

“What do I have to do for you to accept it?”

What was Taenyang-i thinking while holding out the coat and spouting such nonsense?