TSG 115

Shin Tae-oh’s plan to stay at the hotel after the meeting fell through. He had to return to the company to assess the situation as Managing Director Kim Yi-jun was leaving.

“I was just thinking I should find out how things were going when Vice President Jung Kyung-hoon called in the middle,” said Chief Secretary Lee Jin-ho, who had been waiting, as he approached to inquire about the situation.

“He said he sent his nephew… Nothing happened, right?”

Managing Director Kim Yi-jun had come instead of Vice President Jung Kyung-hoon. That alone would have been fine, trusting that Shin Tae-oh would handle it well, but the problem was the vice president’s casual remark at the end:

“He’s never shown interest in anyone before, but he asked for a favor this time. My apologies— I’ll definitely make up for this rudeness later.”

With personal interests added to the mix, it was impossible to predict how things had proceeded.

“Wrap it up,” Shin Tae-oh said, patting Lee Jin-ho’s shoulder without further comment before entering his office.

His steps didn’t seem particularly heavy, but they weren’t exactly light either. Lee Jin-ho watched him for a moment before finally turning to Se-hyun. If he couldn’t get an answer from Shin Tae-oh, Se-hyun was the alternative.

As Lee Jin-ho stared at him, Se-hyun pondered how to explain what had happened earlier in the cleanest way possible.

“It ended well with bragging about my lover.”

Saying it ended well suggested there were no particular problems, but the preceding ‘my lover’ was a sticking point.

“You didn’t actually reveal it, did you?”

“Ah, I just stayed quiet while the CEO introduced my lover on his own. He said it was someone anyone would like – handsome, capable, and with a good personality.”

“Who said that?”

“The CEO.”

Lee Jin-ho’s brow furrowed. What was this about?

So, Shin Tae-oh had apparently declared himself handsome, capable, and had a good personality…

“That’s all, right?”

“No. He also said they had sense, consideration, wit… and I think he mentioned being family-oriented too.”

Despite recalling it all in such detail, Se-hyun’s expression remained utterly calm, as if he’d come to terms with it.

“Anyway, since the meeting ended well, I’ll organize this and report it.”

“R-right…”

Lee Jin-ho replied glumly, watching Se-hyun’s retreating back.

“What is this indescribable feeling?”

The list of Shin Tae-oh’s virtues that Se-hyun had calmly recited didn’t seem entirely wrong, and yet he didn’t want to accept it. If Se-hyun had directly bragged about his own lover, he wouldn’t have felt this way.

It seemed best to quickly give up on trying to understand this situation. Lee Jin-ho glanced at Se-hyun, who appeared no different than usual, before entering the CEO’s office.

“Sir…”

Lee Jin-ho’s voice gradually faded as he saw Shin Tae-oh frowning deeply with his arms crossed. Contrary to expectations, Se-hyun had remained calm, while the one who had enthusiastically praised himself seemed to be in a foul mood.

“What’s the matter, sir?”

“He took a liking to Se-hyun.”

“You mean Managing Director Kim Yi-jun? I heard he was interested in you, sir.”

“That’s right.”

Shin Tae-oh didn’t deny it. Indeed, from the start of the meeting, Kim Yi-jun had made no effort to hide his interested looks towards him.

He had been subtly sending glances until all business was concluded, seemingly trying to find the right moment as the conversation was wrapping up. But then Se-hyun appeared, and he quickly looked him over before immediately showing interest.

“Se-hyun is very handsome, after all.”

The only comment he made upon seeing Se-hyun was that ‘that one’s not bad either,’ but Kim Yi-jun’s eyes had remained fixed on one person since Se-hyun entered. Whether intentional or not, it seemed Se-hyun was more to his taste than himself.

“To think another person would come on so strongly. I let my guard down.”

If Kim Yi-jun had heard this, he might have felt wronged, thinking he hadn’t even had a chance to make a proper move.

“So, you ended up complimenting yourself?”

As Lee Jin-ho tried to address the most important point, Shin Tae-oh’s furrowed brow smoothed out.

“I was just making it clear that Se-hyun has a boyfriend and shouldn’t be flirted with.”

“Ah, of course you did.”

It wasn’t strange that he hadn’t just let it slide, given how sensitive he was when it came to Se-hyun. As Lee Jin-ho nodded vaguely, Shin Tae-oh frowned again.

“Is there another problem?”

“Who knows that I’m dating Se-hyun?”

Shin Tae-oh asked very seriously about how far the information of his office romance had spread. The heavy atmosphere made it seem like he was asking about this year’s operating profit, but in reality, it was an utterly trivial personal matter.

“Well… at least everyone in the secretarial office knows.”

“And?”

“Should I find out more now?”

“No.”

Shin Tae-oh showed his displeasure as if he had expected this. Outsiders might not know unless Ha Jin-seong had spread it around, but it was odd that it hadn’t spread within the company.

For Shin Tae-oh, who hadn’t been hiding his relationship with Se-hyun, this situation was hard to understand. Naturally…

Naturally, he thought rumors would spread… Why hadn’t they spread?

“Does everyone really need to know?”

“That way no one will try anything.”

No matter how desirable Se-hyun might be, they would know better than to try anything.

“It was wrong from the start.”

Focusing on Se-hyun, he hadn’t paid attention to other things. He should have proudly announced that Se-hyun was his lover.

“I’m not sure what you’re thinking, but shouldn’t getting Secretary Ahn’s permission be the top priority?”

“Don’t worry about that.”

Shin Tae-oh waved his hand dismissively, understanding immediately. It was a much lighter reaction than before.

“Se-hyun won’t stop me. He might even be more enthusiastic than I am.”

Lee Jin-ho gave a look that asked why he was so confident, but Shin Tae-oh didn’t elaborate.

“Why explain in roundabout ways what can be summed up with just the name ‘Shin Tae-oh’?”

That Se-hyun had settled the matter with a single word.

“Chief Sectretary Lee.”

“Yes, sir.”

Shin Tae-oh’s voice lowered as if trying to move away from personal topics. Lee Jin-ho, sensing the change in atmosphere, immediately adjusted his attitude as well.

“Anyway, I’m going to openly announce our office romance this time, so find a good opportunity.”

Ah, so he wasn’t actually trying to work?

“I’ll look into event options.”

Lee Jin-ho quickly sorted through suitable candidates.

“The most straightforward options would be the New Year’s ceremony or year-end ceremony, and a workshop or sports day could work too.”

He thought they could quickly choose from these immediate options, but Shin Tae-oh shook his head.

“I’d prefer something a bit different…”

Shin Tae-oh spoke as if none of these particularly appealed to him, then suddenly proposed a new idea to Lee Jin-ho.

“How about creating something entirely new?”

“Something… new?”

Lee Jin-ho responded reluctantly. Events might be fun for participants, but they meant a significant workload for organizers. And now, instead of just tweaking existing events, he wanted to create a new one from scratch.

“That sounds good.”

Shin Tae-oh had already made up his mind.

Shin Tae-oh imagined with eager eyes what would happen after he announced Se-hyun as his lover. He needed to create an unforgettable event to preemptively cut off any possibility of others approaching Se-hyun.

“But why is Ha Jin-seong being so tight-lipped?”

Shin Tae-oh suddenly mentioned Ha Jin-seong while talking about Managing Director Kim Yi-jun. Given his extensive network, he might know Kim Yi-jun…

So he immediately called Ha Jin-seong to ask, but Ha Jin-seong scoffed as if it was ridiculous.

-I’m the one who wants you two to break up the most. Why would I spread rumors?

Ha Jin-seong sharply jabbed at Shin Tae-oh’s feelings.

-Call me first if you break up.

Shin Tae-oh ended the call without hesitation.

***

“A company event?”

The secretaries, each looking at their own schedules, all turned to look at Lee Jin-ho. Se-hyun was among them. Suddenly, a completely new task had appeared.

“Yes. It’ll be newly established. The planning department, general affairs, marketing, and management support will each dispatch personnel to create it, so keep that in mind. As for who’s in charge…”

Not knowing yet who would be assigned, the secretarial staff watched Lee Jin-ho with tense eyes. Se-hyun was no exception. As he handled the second-most work after Lee Jin-ho, he hoped he wouldn’t get this task… but you never know.

If this came from Shin Tae-oh’s mind, he might have to do it.

“Would Assistant Lee like to take this on?”

“Oh, um, alright.”

Assistant Lee, who had half-expected that the task would fall to Se-hyun, reacted slightly late. He quickly added it to his to-do list and began asking for more details.

As Lee Jin-ho carefully answered, Se-hyun, now out of the spotlight, returned to looking at his own task list.

A new task had appeared, but it wasn’t his.