TSG 72

After parking the car and taking his hands off the steering wheel, Se-hyun checked the rearview mirror and was startled by what he saw.

“Sir?”

Shin Tae-oh was hugging the bouquet tightly, staring at it intently. Se-hyun couldn’t tell if Tae-oh had been glancing at it intermittently or staring at it the whole time, but either way, it felt burdensome.

“We’ve… arrived.”

Although he said this to help him come to his senses, Shin Tae-oh still only looked at the flowers.

Stop looking!

He had given them to show that he knew what daffodils were. It wasn’t meant to have any other meaning, but Shin Tae-oh’s face was so relaxed.

He needed to immediately emphasize that he didn’t know about the safe, but he couldn’t say it outright, and it seemed like strange misunderstandings were piling up.

This isn’t it. This really isn’t it.

Though he desperately wanted to clear up Tae-oh’s misunderstanding, there was no chance to address it until they entered the office.

“Why the sudden bouquet?”

“I received it.”

When Shin Tae-oh smiled shyly in response to Lee Jin-ho’s question, Se-hyun secretly rubbed his arm. It was an action to calm down the rising goosebumps.

‘Please don’t react so strangely.’
People were getting the wrong idea.

“Everyone is looking at me.”

It would have been nice if Shin Tae-oh could just go into the CEO’s office without saying a word, but Shin Tae-oh just stood there and looked at the people in the secretary’s office. It seemed clear what kind of response he wanted to hear.

Resisting the urge to grab Shin Tae-oh’s tie and shove him into the CEO’s office, Se-hyun sat down at his desk.

Better not to look.

Not looking would be better for his mental health.

While Se-hyun checked the calendar and schedule simultaneously, Lee Jin-ho was dealing with Shin Tae-oh.

“A man walking in with a bouquet in broad daylight is not ordinary.”

“Is that all?”

Sensing Shin Tae-oh’s voice becoming dejected, Lee Jin-ho reluctantly said:

“Did you receive a confession?”

As if he had been waiting for this question, Shin Tae-oh’s face brightened.

“Does it look that way?”

“Well… there are limited occasions where someone gives a bouquet.”

Shin Tae-oh looked at the bouquet of flowers in response to Lee Jin-ho’s hesitant answer.

“So everyone thinks that way. I briefly thought so too when I received it, but then thought it couldn’t be. But I guess it is after all?”

No, it’s not. It’s not that.

Se-hyun, pretending not to listen, shook his head. He felt frustrated but didn’t want to reveal that he had given the flowers, so he couldn’t speak up. He was just pressing down hard on innocent paper, not even noticing Lee Jin-ho’s occasional glances.

“Or there could be another meaning.”

As if telepathically connected with Se-hyun, Lee Jin-ho mentioned another possibility. As Shin Tae-oh looked at him with inner expectation, Lee Jin-ho recognized the bouquet, specifically that they were daffodils, and said:

“Self-love.”

“…”

Shin Tae-oh was speechless and Se-hyun quickly bit his lip as he was about to burst out laughing.

“Chief Secretary Lee, you know I don’t like jokes like that. I didn’t buy this for myself; I received it.”

“The flower language of daffodils is self-love. In other words, narcissism.”

Well done, Chief Secretary Lee Jin-ho.

With the unexpected mention of the flower’s meaning, Se-hyun felt a rush of relief, as if a burden had been lifted. This was why he couldn’t help but appreciate Jin-ho.

“I think it’s a confession…”

As Shin Tae-oh continued to deny it, Lee Jin-ho smiled brightly.

“Whether it’s a confession or the flower’s meaning, there’s a simple way to determine it.”

Shin Tae-oh looked at Lee Jin-ho with anxious eyes, while Se-hyun watched expectantly.

“If someone knows you well and is close to you, they would have given it with the flower language in mind.”

Taenyang was knocked out!

⍣⍣⍣

Walking to the cafe in response to Ha Jin-seong’s message, Se-hyun muttered as he saw his reflection in the glass window.

“I shouldn’t be like this in front of Ha Jin-seong.”

He slapped his cheeks a few times, trying to wipe the smile off his face. Although he hadn’t resolved the issue of the safe yet, it was satisfying to have caught Shin Tae-oh off guard.

He’d been working in that good mood when Ha Jin-seong contacted him to meet. Well, he said he had documents related to this consortium to give, so it was killing two birds with one stone.

“I shouldn’t smile.”

Shin Tae-oh was one thing, but he couldn’t smile in front of Ha Jin-seong either, so he tried to compose his expression somehow…

Beyond his own face reflected in the glass, he spotted a familiar face. No, it had been there all along, but he only noticed it now.

Ha Jin-seong was sitting by the window…

All attempts at controlling his expression were futile now, and his steps lost their energy. He wished he could turn back now saying something came up, but his ingrained sense of responsibility wouldn’t let him.

As he approached Ha Jin-seong, the latter asked instead of greeting:

“Why were you smiling?”

“This is… just my muscles tensing up.”

Why is this the only excuse that comes to mind? It’s all Shin Tae-oh’s fault. He said that strange thing and it got stuck in my head.

“If you don’t want to answer, just sit down.”

As Ha Jin-seong didn’t buy it, Se-hyun stopped worrying and took a seat.

“Why did you suddenly show up, thinking someone would wait for you?”

You asked to meet.

“If it had been Jin-woong waiting instead of me, you would have been hit.”

So you’re the one who asked me to come.

Who’s fault was it that he almost got hit by Ha Jin-woong? Ha Jin-seong was the one who spread strange rumors in the company in the first place, and now he’s saying odd things.

Se-hyun wondered if he shouldn’t have come out today, but he couldn’t completely avoid it as long as they were involved in business. Anyway, as he was staring blankly, not understanding why Ha Jin-seong was saying such unnecessary things.

“Be careful of Jin-woong.”

The strange concern added to the confusion.

“I’m sorry, but you and that person are no different to me. If I should be careful, I should be wary of you too.”

But now he has come to see Ha Jin-seong. Not wanting to meet him didn’t help Se-hyun’s situation one bit.

“I’d prefer not to discuss personal matters any further. If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”

If the promise of giving something was just bait to lure him in, there was no need to stay longer.

“I have something to show you.”

As if knowing Se-hyun would stand up immediately, Ha Jin-seong handed over some documents without further comment.

“Then I will pass this on to the CEO.”

“It would be better if you looked at them here first.”

At Ha Jin-seong’s meaningful words, Se-hyun briefly fiddled with the documents before taking out the file inside. There was a USB drive inside, the papers seemed to be printouts.

Se-hyun’s expression hardened as he turned the pages one by one.

Seeing the unexpected content, Se-hyun took his eyes off the document for a moment and took a deep breath. Suddenly, fatigue weighed on his shoulders and his eyes stung.

He closed his eyes briefly and steadied his breathing, but the content imprinted in his mind wouldn’t disappear.

“What is all this?”

“Can’t you see? It’s evidence of embezzlement.”

Ha Jin-seong lifted the coffee cup and smelled the scent elegantly.

The documents detailed the embezzlement committed by the directors and executives of SR Construction. This was serious enough to warrant immediate arrest.

Anger rose at the thought of them illegally siphoning money from under CEO Shin Tae-oh, who worked hard directly in the field.

However, it was obvious that if he lost his temper now, he would get caught up in Ha Jin-seon’s play.

“Originally, I planned to keep this and use it as leverage.”

As Ha Jin-seong voluntarily brought it up, Se-hyun listened carefully.

“That’s my usual method, but…”

Ha Jin-seong trailed off, as if about to say something.

“This time, I’m trying to use it differently.”

“You mean…”

“Take it.”

Se-hyun frowned deeply.

“Is this the accusation you intended to pin on me?”

Se-hyun twisted his lips at Ha Jin-seong’s obvious gaze. After speaking in a softened, coaxing voice, he was ultimately trying to pin this on him.

“What do you think will happen if I undergo a prosecution investigation? Even if I’m cleared, I’ll be embroiled in scandal and lose trust. Is that what you’re aiming for?”

“That’s quite a sharp analysis.”

Ha Jin-seong showed genuine surprise, as that had indeed been the original plan.

“I won’t resign.”

Though getting caught up in a scandal might be unavoidable, Chief Secretary Lee Jin-ho would trust and wait for him. It might sound selfish, but he was certain Shin Tae-oh would believe in him as well.

“I don’t know if it’s your loyalty to the company or if you have something to rely on.”

Unlike Se-hyun who was on the defensive, Ha Jin-seong responded languidly, almost to the point of nullifying the tension.

“This isn’t for blackmail, but as an apology.”

He said the purpose attached to these terrifying documents was an apology.

“It’s to ask forgiveness for what happened last time. If you think it’s enough, please accept it.”

“Why are you going this far?”

“I thought this much would be necessary, but if it’s not enough, I can find more.”

No, it’s not about being enough or too much. Se-hyun couldn’t let his guard down because he thought the reason for giving this to him made no sense.

“Didn’t you think all charges related to SR were entangled with me? I’m saying I’ll use it like this, yet you still can’t let go of your suspicion?”

Just when he thought everything from last time was settled, Ha Jin-seong was reigniting the flames.

“I’ll give you this, so please forgive me just once.”

Ha Jin-seong unwrapped a candy from his pocket and casually placed the wrapper on the table. Se-hyun naturally looked at the candy wrapper. It was a familiar wrapper, but he couldn’t take his eyes off it due to a strange feeling.

“Let’s get along again.”

As Ha Jin-seong opened his mouth to smile the red candy caught between his teeth became visible.