DFLT 27

Whenever Ji Yeonoh was weighed down by worries, life always seemed to lie, shattering those concerns into dust with yet another trial. Seowon, who constantly caused his parents grief by fighting with friends due to his mischievous nature, became a leukemia patient overnight. His father, tormented by troublesome passengers, died a tragic death.

The anxieties Ji Yeonoh harbored over his unrequited love ultimately turned to dust before Seo Heonyoung. Why hadn’t he stopped sooner? He regretted it deeply. He had resolved to quit countless times, so how had he let things escalate to this point?

“…Hic.”

Yeonoh bit his lip to swallow his sobs. He should have been content with achieving his lifelong dream of joining TG. As Seo Heonyoung had said, he never should have harbored such feelings. This was an opportunity he missed. It was all his fault.

He had fallen in love seeing Seo Heonyoung’s unbiased gaze, but now those eyes held only disgust for Ji Yeonoh. His heart plummeted to his feet, rolling beneath the soles of his shoes.

The thought of boarding the subway drenched and dripping gave him a headache, but thankfully, he spotted an empty taxi near the station. The driver eyed Yeonoh’s drowned-rat appearance with reluctance but, taking pity, handed him something to sit on and told him to get in.

“I was about to pass by, but you remind me of my son, so I’m giving you a ride.”

“…Thank you.”

Yeonoh’s words of gratitude were drowned out by the sound of wipers roughly scraping the windshield.

“Man, this rain’s coming down like crazy. It was sunny as anything until early afternoon, no hint of rain. On days like this, us taxi drivers pack up early, go home, and have a hot bowl of fish cake soup with some soju…”

Listening to the driver while trying to steady his fading consciousness, Yeonoh blinked hard. Soaked in cold rain on a chilly day, his body refused to warm up. The driver’s gruff voice faded and returned, and Yeonoh mustered the strength to nod along, agreeing weakly.

The taxi stopped at the main road, unable to enter the narrow alley. Yeonoh paid more than the meter showed and got out. Dragging his body, which felt like it might collapse, he trudged home. Seowon, hearing his arrival, rushed out, his face paling.

“Whoa, hyung, what’s wrong?”

Drenched and with a face twisted in distress, it would be strange if Seowon wasn’t shocked by his pitiful state. Too exhausted to respond, Yeonoh waved him off and headed straight to the bathroom.

As warm water touched his skin, his body, shivering from the cold, began to relax and loosen. Feeling human again, Seo Heonyoung’s cold gaze filled his mind once more. Before his thoughts could consume him, Yeonoh shook his head vigorously. Unable to let go of his lingering attachment, he’d spent three years in turmoil and now risked losing his job, yet he still couldn’t pull himself together. He felt pathetic beyond endurance.

After washing with warm water, he checked his phone and saw a message from Office Manager Kim Jinhwan, stating he’d handle Heonyoung’s commute starting tomorrow.

“…Haa.”

Yeonoh let out a deep sigh. Heonyoung seemed truly resolute. It was a bad omen.

His head throbbed, as if a cold was coming on. This couldn’t happen. He had to go to work tomorrow, kneel before Heonyoung again, or cling to his legs, begging to change his mind somehow. After swallowing cold medicine, Yeonoh skipped dinner and went straight to bed.

Waking up, his body felt heavy as lead. Thanks to the medicine and sleep, he didn’t feel too sick, so he hurriedly prepared for work. His steps, instinctively heading toward Heonyoung’s residence, froze when he recalled Kim’s message.

He hadn’t slept properly, tormented by endless worries all night. Thoughts spiraled into self-blame, leaving his heart in tatters. Yeonoh quickened his pace toward the office.

“Good morning.”

Greeting colleagues at the company, he noticed the atmosphere seemed off.

“…Uh, yeah. Mr. Yeonoh, you’re here?”

They exchanged glances, as if gauging his reaction. Had a dismissal notice gone up without room for reconsideration? His blood ran cold. He quickly sat at his desk and logged into the intranet.

[Personnel Announcement]

As expected, a personnel notice was posted. Yeonoh hesitated to click it. Opening it would force him to accept he’d been fired. His pounding heart was uncontrollable, his breath ragged as if sprinting.

No, there had to be a way out. He could find a part-time job to survive while preparing for a new position. Closing his eyes, taking shallow breaths to steady himself, he clicked the mouse.

[The following personnel changes are announced. Name: Ji Yeonoh Change: Department (Reassignment) Details: Executive Secretary Team → Management Support Team]

Yeonoh’s eyes widened as he read to the last line. Rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand and checking again, the word ‘dismissal’ was nowhere to be found.

Not fired, just reassigned…? As he processed the notice, Seo Heonyoung and Kim Jinhwan arrived, and everyone began greeting them. Yeonoh stood to greet them as well.

“Ji Yeonoh, come in.”

Seo Heonyoung gestured toward his office with a dry nod and entered first. With a department change announced and Heonyoung calling him in, colleagues stared at Yeonoh with curious eyes, oblivious to his heavy heart.

Knocking at the door, he heard a command to enter. Inside, Seo Heonyoung, removing his suit jacket, glanced at Ji Yeonoh and asked in his characteristic curt voice.

“Are you sick?”

Thinking his cold had subsided, Yeonoh realized the medicine’s effect was wearing off, and a fever was creeping back. Planning to visit a hospital during lunch, he shook his head.

“No, I’m fine.”

“Good. You saw the announcement, right?”

Seo Heonyoung, sitting down and opening a file, asked without looking up.

“…Yes, I saw it.”

“I said I’d fire you, but Kim talked me down to a department reassignment. Don’t forget to thank him.”

Perhaps having thought deeply overnight, Heonyoung’s tone was softer than yesterday. What could a sinner say? Yeonoh bowed his head, grateful his livelihood wasn’t cut off.

“Your feelings are your own, but now that I know, I can’t pretend I don’t and go back to how things were. I’ll instinctively keep my distance, and if that happens, you won’t need to be my secretary.”

“…I understand. I’m sorry for causing you concern.”

“You understand so well?”

“…….”

The sound of a fountain pen scratching paper was sharp and fierce, as if reflecting Seo Heonyoung’s mood. Silently organizing his thoughts, Heonyoung opened a few more files and signed them. Yeonoh simply waited for him to continue.

“If it was so easy to sort out, why didn’t you end it before I found out?”

Seo Heonyoung’s sarcastic tone dripped with untraceable irritation. It was almost confusing. Was he mocking Yeonoh’s incompetent one-sided love for not cleanly ending it before being discovered, or resenting that Yeonoh could so easily move on despite causing such a mess?

The brief question was swept away by harsh reality. Logically, it couldn’t be the latter. As Yeonoh tried to clear his muddled mind, a soft thud came from nearby. Following the sound instinctively, he spotted a bank pamphlet—a guide for loan products from a major bank.

“Transfer your loan to this. I’ve spoken to the head office contact working with TG, so they’ll handle it.”

“Oh…”

Yeonoh, reading the pamphlet, couldn’t hide his bewilderment. Despite exploring loan transfers extensively, his credit rating had kept dropping since borrowing from a capital firm, barring him from crossing the threshold. Gratitude for Heonyoung, who freed him from crushing double-digit interest rates, surged, but—

“Ji Yeonoh, you—”

Tears he’d tried to hold back flowed again, and a hint of dismay crossed Seo Heonyoung’s face. Why did Seo Heonyoung shake his heart with such indifferent kindness until the end? Knowing his shameless feelings despite receiving only help, the conflicting emotions were hard to suppress. The tears burst because of Seo Heonyoung’s final confirmation. A cursed premonition told him he’d never move on in this lifetime.