TSG 18

They came to a seat other than where they were originally. Se-hyun sent a message to the chief secretary but received no response.

‘Is this right?’

Se-hyun, who had taken a seat behind Shin Tae-oh, glanced at the people surrounding the round table one by one.

‘Ha Jin-seong, Ha Jin-woong.’

Se-hyun didn’t know that they would sit at the same table so amicably with the villain of the original story. He even overheard the Ha brothers’ bodyguards mention that one of the two empty chairs over there belonged to Ha Min-hyuk.

He had no idea…

“Do you not know who I am? I said my dad called… I’m Jin Hye-in from Jinmyung Group.”

A woman who did not appear in the original story kept talking to Shin Tae-oh. Since it seemed like a personal matter, Se-hyun did not intervene.

“I don’t know.”

A woman named Jin Hye-in seemed shocked by Shin Tae-oh’s direct response and then looked at Ha Jin-seong who was sitting next to her. It was obvious that the two knew each other implicitly and exchanged meaningful glances. Ha Jin-seong seemed to fully understand the current situation, and Se-hyun didn’t take his eyes off them.

‘This wasn’t what I expected.’

Ha Jin-seong hated Ha Min-hyuk. It was understandable that he hated his half-brother for seemingly targeting his company…

While talking to the woman named Jin Hye-in, he kept stealing glances at Shin Tae-oh.

‘It’s going to be troublesome if Ha Jin-seong gets involved.’

Ha Jin-seong was an extremely dedicated man who never gave up when he chose to confront someone. It wouldn’t matter if it was only directed to Ha Min-hyuk…

“I heard you’re getting married.”

Se-hyun’s heart skipped a beat at Ha Jin-seong’s casual remarks. It wasn’t because of the unexpectedly low-toned resonance. Although Ha Jin-seong acted as if he were talking to Jin Hye-in, his gaze was clearly directed at Shin Tae-oh.

Why did Ha Jin-seong pick a fight with Shin Tae-oh?

“Oh, seriously, oppa? Why are you saying such things here? It’s embarrassing.”

Jin Hye-in waved her hand and criticized Ha Jin-seong, but she was not denying the content.

“Congratulations.”

In response to Ha Jin-seong’s congratulatory message, Se-hyun looked at Shin Tae-oh. He wanted to know what was going on. Although it was appropriate to pretend not to know since it seemed like a personal matter, but… Jin Hye-in and Shin Tae-oh getting married?

Se-hyun thought he had to protect Shin Tae-oh, but when a topic he hadn’t thought of came up, Se-hyun became a bystander.

Shin Tae-oh looked at Ha Jin-seong without hiding his annoyance.

“Did I ever say I was getting married?”

Shin Tae-oh lightly dismissed Ha Jin-seong’s words with a somewhat oppressive tone.

At that one word, Se-hyun clenched his fist without realizing it. It was the moment when he realized that Ha Jin-seong was dealing with Shin Tae-oh, not Ha Min-hyuk.

Ha Min-hyuk, who grew up under scrutiny because he was an illegitimate child, was always depressed at the beginning of the novel, especially when he stood in front of Ha Jin-seong. Later on, it was said that he overcame everything, but in any case, compared to Ha Min-hyuk who was not able to impose himself on Ha Jin-seong right away, Shin Tae-oh was different.

Shin Tae-oh had nothing to lose to Ha Jin-seong, and at the same time, he was not a person who was particularly observant or careful with his words. Furthermore, Se-hyun knew that Shin Tae-oh would not marry Jin Hye-in.

‘I was surprised to learn that the original work had changed.’

“It was strange that my seat suddenly changed, but it turns out you did it, Ha Jin-seong.”

“I thought it would be good to get to know each other before marriage, so I was considerate in my own way.”

Ha Jin-seong pointed to Jin Hye-in with his gaze and showed his sincerity, but Shin Tae-oh was not pleased at all.

“That cheekiness of yours is still the same, Jin-sang-ah.”

“You… call my name properly.”

“I’m just calling you as friendly as you thought of me. But it seems you believe the world revolves around you.”

Shin Tae-oh snorted as he said it, and Ha Jin-seong looked at him as if wondering what he was going to say.

“I created the word ‘Jin-sang’ after seeing you.”

At that moment, Se-hyun turned his head as he nearly burst out laughing. Giving him the nickname ‘Jin-sang’1 from the name Jin-seong wasn’t anything special, but the sense of humor that indirectly attacked him again was rather enjoyable.

“So, is that why you also got the nickname ‘pervert’2?”

Ha Jin-seong laughed it off as if it were the same thing, but he really wanted Shin Tae-oh to feel bad.

“Do you like copying me?”

Shin Tae-oh scoffed at Ha Jin-seong’s childish level of attack. It was a very childish conversation for grown adults, but what was surprising was that those few words tipped the balance in an unexpected direction. Shin Tae-oh became even more relaxed, while Ha Jin-seong showed discomfort.

At some point, the woman named Jin Hye-in also fell silent, and no one around the table spoke. Se-hyun, who had been looking around to avoid getting involved in the psychological fight within the silence, happened to look at Shin Tae-oh when their eyes met.

“Aren’t you thirsty?”

“I’ll get it ready.”

“It’s okay.”

Shin Tae-oh stopped Se-hyun, who was sitting at the table next to him, from standing up and took a drink from the center of the table, then held it out.

“I asked because you were moistening your lips earlier. Drink it.”

Was it he who needed a drink and not Shin Tae-oh?

Continuously being on edge must have made him thirsty. Se-hyun realized he couldn’t reject it and was going to extend his hands to accept it. He felt the coldness of the beverage bottle against his fingertips and was going to hold it, but there was nothing in his hands.

When Se-hyun discovered Shin Tae-oh had taken the drink bottle that should have been in his hand, he raised his head and looked at him.

‘He didn’t give it to me yet, so why return it?’

Shin Tae-oh lifted his other hand and grabbed the cap of the beverage bottle as Se-hyun watched. As he turned it without hesitation, the lid made a popping sound.

“Drink it.”

“… Thank you.”

No need to go so far as to open the lid.

Se-hyun was embarrassed to receive such treatment from his superior when he was not even a child, but there was something even worse. When Se-hyun raised his head to take a sip after accepting the drink, he noticed several pairs of eyes on him.

Jin Hye-in, who had never looked at him before, looked shocked as if an unexpected thought had crossed her mind, while Ha Jin-seong and Ha Jin-woong showed observers’ eyes. Se-hyun froze while holding his drink awkwardly, as it appeared that other people who knew Shin Tae-oh were staring at him.

Let’s assume that Sin Tae-oh giving him a drink was fine, but was it surprising because he was Shin Tae-oh’s secretary? It was particularly difficult to understand the reaction of the woman named Jin Hye-in.

“Should I give you something else?”

Not knowing why Sintaeyo was acting like this, Se-hyun replied with a no to his casual and indifferent words, and took a drink.

And Se-hyun forced himself to drink his drink among the people who couldn’t take their gaze away from his every move. The good thing was that there was nothing to chew on.

‘I hope I won’t choke on the drink.’

Just swallow it and it will go down on its own, so he’ll be fine.

⍣⍣⍣

As the time for the presentation approached, the two people who would fill the remaining seats appeared. It was Ha Min-hyuk and Yoo Jin-ha. Ha Min-hyuk was holding Yoo Jin-ha’s wrist as if he were dragging him, and when Yoo Jin-ha found Shin Tae-oh, he looked uncertain about what to do.

“You brought my employee.”

Shin Tae-oh asked as if he was wondering how to interpret it. Was he asking if they had already reconciled?

“We’re just moving seats; please understand.”

Han Min-hyuk bowed politely towards Shin Tae-oh, and Shin Tae-oh conceded since he had already arrived. If one were to judge their conversation alone, it couldn’t have been very amicable, but Se-hyun was the only one who couldn’t hide the sound of his heart beating loudly.

The two men surrounding Yoo Jin-ha.

It was a silent battle between two men who harbored feelings for Yoo Jin-ha. It was a spectacle that was bound to be more exciting than the conversation between Ha Jin-seong and Shin Tae-oh.

‘It’s gonna be fun.’

Se-hyun couldn’t believe he could witness the fight between those two men from a seat in the first row.

Se-hyun gripped the empty drink bottle tightly while looking at them with excitement. Despite being forced to come, the satisfaction with his job was starting to rise again, knowing he could witness this spectacle because he was Shin Tae-oh’s secretary.

Yoo Jin-ha had no choice but to sit down, knowing that he couldn’t return to his seat despite being forced to come because of Shin Tae-oh’s concession. Even so, he couldn’t hide the look of discomfort on his face. Se-hyun may have been the only one who noticed it, perhaps because he was aware of the complex emotions that existed between them.

That’s how novels are. Characters within only know their individual perspectives, but readers of the novel know the overall flow, so it was fun to watch…

‘Ha Min-hyuk doesn’t know that Shin Tae-oh likes Yoo Jin-ha, and Shin Tae-oh doesn’t know what happened to the two now. I know everything.’

And there’s the added excitement of trying to predict what the major villains might be thinking.

“Secretary Ahn.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I know you’re my secretary, but aren’t you sitting too far back?”

Se-hyun realized he had been leaning on the table while sitting after hearing Shin Tae-oh’s words. However, he couldn’t just turn the chair around.

“It would be uncomfortable to stay like that.”

“It’s okay.”

He was willing to put up with a little discomfort.

“I’m not okay with it…”

He pretended not to hear Shin Tae-oh’s mutterings and ignored them.