TPG 24
by Cherry“Come to think of it, our relationship is pretty ambiguous.”
Lee Si-woo had been persistently asking him to get engaged. But it was strange that the person who had been changing the subject every time was the first to bring it up.
“Like this, there’s no excuse to keep holding onto you.”
What did that mean?
He thought he hadn’t missed a single word Han Soo-hyeok said, but somehow it felt like a gap he didn’t know about had formed.
“We ride in the same car, commute together, and even had clothes tailored.”
As soon as Han Soo-hyeok finished speaking, the car came to a sudden stop. Si-woo’s body jerked forward and when it touched the seat, he snapped to attention. He belatedly realized that the tie he was wearing and Han Soo-hyeok’s tie were the same color. The suit was also black, but when light hit it, it seemed to have a navy blue tint.
“They’ll probably suspect you’re an insider hire anyway, so I’ll handle it myself.”
After Han Soo-hyeok smiled with his eyes, he got out of the car.
Watching him walk away leisurely, Si-woo couldn’t bring himself to unbuckle his seatbelt.
“Why is he suddenly acting like this?”
He rode the elevator with Han Soo-hyeok. He was about to continue the conversation they had left unfinished earlier, but seeing other people there, he closed his mouth again.
After getting on the elevator, he pretended to look at other people while stealing glances at Han Soo-hyeok. He seemed to be in a good mood, and Si-woo felt like he might cause some trouble at this rate.
After thinking for a moment, he took out his phone and sent a message. A short vibration sounded from within Han Soo-hyeok’s jacket, and Si-woo sent a second message timed to when he took out his phone.
[CEO
I am your secretary.]
It might seem strange to suddenly start with a self-introduction, but it was something he had to say.
Han Soo-hyeok calmly replied.
CEO Han Soo-hyeok: [So?]
[Secretaries can ride in the same car and go up together]
CEO Han Soo-hyeok: [So?]
The same question was repeated, which made Si-woo feel strange.
[Will you get engaged with me?]
Because I typed hurriedly, there were occasional typos, but I didn’t have time to worry about that. Fortunately, Han Soo-hyeok didn’t look uncomfortable about it either. Rather, he raised his eyebrows thoughtfully, giving my opinion serious consideration.
CEO Han Soo-hyeok: [What kind of villain are you going to be?]
The answer had changed slightly.
[You’re really accepting? Really? Really?]
Si-woo couldn’t believe what Han Soo-hyeok had said, so he confirmed it several times.
“I’m not saying this lightly. I’ve gotten serious too.”
Because Han Soo-hyeok spoke out loud, Si-woo looked up and paused. The people in the elevator were looking at Han Soo-hyeok and him.
“It’s nice having you by my side all the time.”
Wait a minute.
“I’ll buy lunch today. It’s good to take turns taking care of meals.”
Please don’t say any more.
“And make sure to tell the chairman that you were with me.”
…Please.
* * *
The company messenger caught fire.
The story from the elevator passengers who heard the conversation between the CEO and his secretary spread like wildfire.
‘It’s nice having you by my side all the time.’
‘I’ll buy lunch today. It’s good to take turns taking care of meals.’
‘And make sure to tell the chairman that you were with me.’
The CEO’s words circulated everywhere without a single syllable wrong.
That wasn’t all.
-They were both looking at their phones, and anyone could tell they were sending messages to each other.
-They moved as if they were in sync, how could we not notice?
-I didn’t read the text on the screen out of courtesy, but when one person’s hand rested, the other would look and move.
-What, are they dating?
-That secretary is pretty good-looking, maybe from the beginning…
-Did he bring him to date?
The dopamine inducing story from the morning kept growing with more details.
-Otherwise why would the CEO take care of the secretary’s meals
-Didn’t that sound kind of like couple dialogue?
-Wow, they must not be planning to hide it
In conversations that were swelling up, there was always someone who was suspicious.
-But they spoke so openly that it’s actually confusing? They talked as if they wanted everyone in the elevator to hear
-It’s not like there’s only one chairman in this universe, so it’s suspicious
-The secretary’s father probably isn’t the chairman
-But why specifically mention the chairman? I find that really strange
Once the spark of suspicion was thrown, it started blazing in that direction.
-Would they really talk so openly if they were actually dating?
-But they were texting each other
-So why say out loud what could be said through text?
-Confession?
-Making up
Amid the growing confusion, their story was also posted intact on the secretarial staff’s messenger. And those watching from the closest distance just calmly typed on their keyboards.
-Ten thousand won that it’s not true
-Five hundred won that it’s true
-Then I’ll bet fifty thousand won on the ‘not true’ side.
-Why are you saying it’s not true?
Secretary Kim, who had put weight on the ‘not true’ side, tilted her head for a moment then tapped the keyboard again. Throughout this, the keyboard sounds were cheerful.
-First of all, the CEO isn’t the type to hide things like that
-But it is suspicious, isn’t General Manager Yoo’s personnel transfer related to that?
They watched from the closest distance, but there was nothing certain. Then Park Eun-mi, who had the best observational skills, suddenly jumped in.
-I bet one hundred thousand won that they’re dating!!
-Whoa whoa, calm down Eun-mi. Is that wishful thinking?
-I have good intuition about these things.
-It’s risky to bet one hundred thousand won on intuition…
-Eun-mi, you don’t know the CEO well yet
She had never been assigned as the CEOs accompanying secretary.
-Do you really only have intuition?
-I’m really fast at these things…
Park Eun-mi only said that much. To others, it seemed like she boldly joined the bet, but she was confident.
‘Their ties were the same.’
Moreover, when the two passed by, Park Eun-mi felt one thing for certain.
The same scent.
As a Beta, what she could smell wasn’t pheromones. They came in giving off the same shampoo scent, how could you say they were nothing to each other?
-How about someone takes charge and asks?
-Hey, we should be more careful with this kind of issue. Let’s just watch
-I’m curious though. How about bringing it up subtly?
-Do you like causing trouble, supervisor?
While calling it rude, they still glanced at Lee Si-woo who was concentrating on work.
They wanted to ask. They wanted to know. They wanted to congratulate.
All sorts of desires were boiling up, but was there no way? It was then.
-I’m confident! If I’m wrong, I’ll bet 100,000 won, that’s a month’s worth of my snack money.▏
➤
“Eun-mi.”
“For snack money…?”
Park Eun-mi, who had been busily tapping the keyboard, unknowingly muttered out loud and was startled.
“Snack money?”
At Lee Si-woo’s question, Park Eun-mi’s large eyes moved frantically. The people who had been excitedly exchanging messages until just now each concentrated on their work and pretended not to know, so Park Eun-mi’s eyebrows were about to furrow.
“…I bought macarons.”
She happened to notice the macaron box she had bought to eat today.
“Want to eat them together?”
At Park Eun-mi’s question, Lee Si-woo looked at her inexplicably desperate eyes and nodded.
“Yes. I’ll make coffee.”
Park Eun-mi, following Lee Si-woo, who headed to the break room first, hugged the macaron box tightly to her chest.
* * *
“What’s with this coffee? It’s really delicious.”
Park Eun-mi tasted the coffee and really loved it.
“How did you think of this?”
Park Eun-mi asked with a moved expression, gripping the americano that only had vanilla scent with both hands.
A colleague who used to work at a cafe had said that if you like sweet snacks, the coffee shouldn’t be sweet too. Si-woo just reduced the shots to one and added sweet aroma, but the emotion on Park Eun-mi’s face was pure happiness.
“Try this. It’s really delicious.”
Perhaps grateful that he made coffee, Park Eun-mi offered the macaron box, so he tried one. It was smaller than regular macarons, making it easy to eat, and not too sweet.
“It’s good.”
“Right?”
As she happily told Si-woo to eat more, he had another one. While watching Park Eun-mi nibble on the macaron bit by bit, he casually brought it up.
“The CEO and I aren’t dating.”
“…”
Park Eun-mi froze in the position she was eating the macaron.
“If we do start dating, I’ll tell you.”
Si-woo added reassuringly to her.
“I… don’t know anything.”
The macaron was trembling… At the obvious lie, he smiled gently.
Si-woo knew the reason for the unusually noisy keyboard sounds after coming to work today. And Park Eun-mi, sitting across from him, was the one who couldn’t hide things the most.
“I think the conversation between the CEO and me might have sounded a bit strange. Don’t you think so too, Eun-mi?”
“Of course. I’ve been… no, it’s not that, but since it was stimulating, stories came up, but the atmosphere is one of disbelief.”
“I see.”
Even Si-woo himself would find it hard to believe completely. Among all that, what he was particularly worried about was not creating any misunderstanding at all.
The engagement was ultimately a matter between him and Han Soo-hyeok. Although Han Soo-hyeok intended to give him grounds for breaking it off, Si-woo wanted to approach it carefully so as not to cause any harm to him.
It was then. The door opened with a clunk and another person entered the break room. As soon as Si-woo realized it was Han Soo-hyeok, he stood up from his seat.