TSG 39

Se-hyun looked out the window. Even though the only view was of the city near the hospital, the sky was quite beautiful.

‘Why did I do that?’

Why did he put a number in front of their name?

He had just done it to fit in better in this world, but he hadn’t expected to regret it like this. If he had known, he wouldn’t have done it.

He looked at the clear sky while sipping the coffee that was supposed to go to Shin Tae-oh. It was almost entrancing.

“I thought you were sick.”

Hearing the sudden voice, Se-hyun turned his head to check the other person.

“I thought Secretary Ahn was sick.”

Shin Tae-oh mentioned the misunderstanding that led to this point.

“You saw me until yesterday.”

“You might have faked it until yesterday.”

Se-hyun unconsciously nodded in response to Shin Tae-oh’s wrinkled nose. Honestly, he had faked it.

“When someone who usually takes regular breaks suddenly uses vacation days, it’s suspicious.”

“Ah… That could be possible.”

As Se-hyun nodded, he tilted his head again, not understanding something.

“But why would that make the CEO come…”

“I thought you were having a heat cycle or something.”

While Se-hyun was caught off guard, Shin Tae-oh brushed his head.

“Maybe you wanted to cool off your body by turning on the water, not realizing you ended up coming to the hospital.”

When Shin Tae-oh muttered something as if he was frustrated, Se-hyun couldn’t find anything to say and kept his mouth shut.

Back then, he was so out of it that he didn’t remember anything properly, but if something like that happened again this time…

‘I don’t know if I want to remember everything. I wonder how far did Shin Tae-oh take me…’

Se-hyun shook his head, not wanting to dwell on it further.

“My father underwent surgery, so I came to visit. I’m perfectly fine.”

“Well, that’s fortunate. Or maybe not.”

Anyway, since someone was lying in bed, Shin Tae-oh changed the subject. He paid attention to even the most trivial matters. No wonder Lee Jin-ho couldn’t resent Shin Tae-oh.

“Well, my father’s hospitalization… ”

“I heard he needs to stay in the hospital for a week. It would be good for him to rest comfortably this time.”

“A week.”

Se-hyun recalled the price he found out for the private room halfway through. A week’s stay would significantly exceed his monthly salary.

“Do you feel burdened?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then work hard to pay me back. I don’t mean pay me with money, I mean pay me with your body.”

Just telling him to work hard would have sufficed, but saying to repay with his body… Today, Shin Tae-oh’s words seemed harder to overlook.

Anyway, he was thankful to Shin Tae-oh for arranging a good hospital room for his father.

“Someday, I will definitely repay you.”

“I don’t trust verbal promises much, should we write a contract?”

“A contract?”

“The more grateful you are, the more you should show your determination.”

Se-hyun didn’t hide his surprise at Shin Tae-oh’s meticulous personality.

“I ‘ll write it.”

Since he didn’t intend to end it with just words, it was okay to write a contract.

“You thought well. I’ll send the contract through the chief secretary.”

As the situation escalated with the involvement of the chief secretary, Se-hyun felt unable to decline.

“Yes.”

Shin Tae-oh seemed to be satisfied with Se-hyun’s answer and turned around. It looked like he was about to leave, so Se-hyun followed him to see him off. Then Shin Tae-oh looked at Se-hyun and asked curiously.

“Are you leaving already? I saw your mother was pleased to see you earlier.”

“Isn’t it the CEO who’s leaving?”

“I’m staying a bit longer.”

What’s going on?

“It’s already evening.”

Se-hyun pointed to the sky. Winter was slowly fading, but the days were still short.

“Mother said we should have dinner together.”

Who’s your mother?

“She said it’s like having her own son and asked me to have dinner before leaving.”

Doesn’t he think about her son’s discomfort?

“So, I asked for some boxed meals from a nearby hotel. The chief secretary will bring them.”

“I’ll open the door for you.”

Se-hyun passed Shin Tae-oh and opened the door to the hospital room.

Since ancient times, the person who gives food is the best.

⍣⍣⍣

“Oh my, the sushi melts in your mouth.”

Se-hyun’s mother’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she admired the sushi. Shin Tae-oh held out another lunch box in front of her with a gentle smile.

“Try the Gujeolpan(Platter of Nine Delicacies) here. It’s quite tasty,” he recommended, even adjusting her dish to make it easier to eat.

“Thank you.”

Se-hyun’s mother excitedly ate the food recommended by Shin Tae-oh. Sehyun’s father, who was not yet able to eat a complete meal, couldn’t eat anything like the Gujeolpan, but he was happy with the abalone porridge.

Thanks to Shin Tae-oh recommending various things to his mother, Se-hyun didn’t have much to do. Just picking up nearby food and eating made him wonder why things turned out this way. He thought they should have gone to that restaurant they visited last time.

Se-hyun glanced at Shin Tae-oh. It was amazing how well he adapted to his mother, whom he met for the first time today.

Shin Tae-oh seemed to sense Se-hyun’s gaze and turned around, understanding belatedly what it meant.

“This is delicious.”

Then he offered Se-hyun a steak. It wasn’t meant to imply anything.

“Thank you.”

Se-hyun didn’t refuse what was given. As he ate the small steak one by one, it quickly disappeared, leaving only one piece.

Se-hyun, who had just finished eating the last piece, was worried that someone else might not have eaten it.

“I guess it was worth ordering a lot.”

Shin Tae-oh handed Se-hyun another bowl of steak as if to tell him not to worry. There was so much variety that it was hard to find the same menu.

Se-hyun’s mother said as she was eating a large cut of steak.

“Se-hyun eats well. It shows how satisfying it is for the person who cooks it.”

“It also makes the person who buys it satisfied.”

Se-hyun plugged his ears and focused on eating the meat, no longer trying to understand the conversation between his mother and Shin Tae-oh, which flowed effortlessly like water.

⍣⍣⍣

Eventually, they returned home in Shin Tae-oh’s car.

“I’ll brief you on tomorrow’s schedule.”

Seated in the passenger seat, Lee Jin-ho seemed intent on finishing the briefing before parting ways. It was nearing midnight, so Se-hyun silently focused on driving.

His primary goal right now was to get there as quickly as possible. Se-hyun’s expression as he stepped on the accelerator and increased speed was more than serious.

“You decided to have lunch with Yoo Jin-ha. I will contact him again in the morning to confirm.”

“Wait for a moment.”

Shin Tae-oh’s voice sounded lower than usual, perhaps because it was late.

“Did I make an appointment with Jin-ha?”

“It was a set schedule every year.”

At this time of year, there was one unchanging event. Shin Tae-oh seemed to have immediately remembered what it was and pressed his temple.

‘Yoo Jin-ha’s birthday.’

Se-hyun had been Shin Tae-oh’s secretary for three years already. They often met for lunch or had tea around lunchtime, but it was their mutual choice. Simply leaving that time open for each other and confirming was the secretary’s responsibility.

Se-hyun glanced at Shin Tae-oh through the rear-view mirror. He saw Shin Tae-oh’s profile as he looked out the window. As Se-hyun followed the beautiful line, his tightly closed lips were visible.

It had been a while since he had seen Shin Tae-oh’s expression like that.

He always had a relaxed appearance and a gentle smile, yet there were occasions when he would hide his expression. At such times, it was best to wait without saying anything. Lee Jin-ho seemed to have the same thought, as he stopped the briefing and just looked ahead.

After passing through the tollgate, he quickly became familiar with the surroundings and drove towards Shin Tae-oh’s house.

“We’ve arrived.”

At Se-hyun’s words, Lee Jin-ho unfastened his seat belt and got out of the car. When Lee Jin-ho opened the backseat door, Shin Tae-oh, who had been waiting, slowly stepped out. Once Shin Tae-oh had left and the door closed, Se-hyun started the car again.

Se-hyun was parking the car. But just before the car started moving, someone got into the passenger seat as the door opened.

At first, Se-hyun thought it was Lee Jin-ho. But before turning around, he turned his head at the scent of pheromones wafting in.

“Why… ”

Is he riding in?

“Let’s just go for now.”

When Shin Tae-oh spoke while pulling on his seat belt, Se-hyun could not say a word and stepped on the accelerator. Even as they entered the underground parking lot, Se-hyun continued to wonder why Shin Tae-oh was acting like this.

‘I don’t know.’

There was a time when Se-hyun was confident that he knew Shin Tae-oh inside out, and could read him like a book. Se-hyun thought he knew everything about him. He knew how to get his attention and who he liked. He often moved before Shin Tae-oh even spoke. But lately, he couldn’t see through him at all.

“I’ve parked.”

So get down now.

As Se-hyun unbuckled his seatbelt, he didn’t relax his vigilance towards Shin Tae-oh. In fact, he felt more on edge, making even Shin Tae-oh’s unbuckling of the seatbelt feel frustratingly slow.

“I won’t make any excuses.”

He hadn’t asked, but Shin Tae-oh had managed to steer the conversation. Even though it wasn’t what Se-hyun wanted.

“Now I’m not saying that I never liked Jin-ha.”

Se-hyun didn’t even ask. But mentioning Yoo Jin-ha made him wonder if Shin Tae-oh was bothered by the schedule he mentioned for tomorrow.

“But you know I’ve changed a lot, right?”

I don’t want to know.

“I’m really being careful with my words.”

Yet his tone was anything but cautious.

“I…”

As always, Se-hyun waited for Shin Tae-oh to finish his vague sentence without showing any emotions.

Or should he avoid it?

It was glaringly obvious that he wanted to ask Se-hyun for a date…

It took him a moment to cancel his plans with Yoo Jin-ha and extend his hand to him.

“Can I go to Secretary Ahn’s house?”

As expected.

“I’m sorry. I…”

“I paid a lot of money to buy it, but I’ve never been able to use it.”

Se-hyun knew right away that he was talking about the dishes. No, but he had those dishes at home too. It wasn’t like Shin Tae-oh brought them all to Se-hyun’s house.

“If it’s about the dish… feel free to come anytime.”

Se-hyun said it casually, knowing it wouldn’t make a difference if he tried to argue.

“Sure. Let’s have dinner together tomorrow.”

As usual, Taenyang-i did not miss the opportunity.