Chapter 8
Seungwoo got up and roughly brushed the dust off his clothes.
“Are… are you okay?”
Feeling embarrassed, Yoonseo asked without even being able to look him in the eyes.
At the same time, she couldn’t help but wonder.
Why had he grabbed her? A woman he never particularly liked, and whom he had just suspected of being Jung Seungwon’s spy.
Was it just coincidence? Was she overthinking things?
What felt even stranger was her own heart. When had it started? Was it from the moment she realized she had fallen on top of him? Her heart had begun pounding wildly, as if it might burst out of her chest.
“What about you?”
Seungwoo asked her without saying anything about his own condition.
“I’m not hurt anywhere.”
“Let’s go.”
Without another word, Seungwoo turned and walked away. Judging by the way he walked, he didn’t seem seriously hurt either.
“Get in.”
When they reached the car, Seungwoo personally opened the passenger-side door for her, then got into the driver’s seat himself.
“Suspecting innocent people once is enough. If something like today happens again, I won’t let it slide.”
He said this as he started the engine.
Yoonseo lowered her eyes and stayed silent.
She understood why he suspected her. But even so, she felt hurt. If you knew my true feelings, you wouldn’t say something like that.
If you hadn’t broken my glasses, none of this would have happened.
“Why aren’t you answering?”
Seungwoo spoke again when she remained quiet.
“I’m sorry. About Manager Han. I think I spoke without properly confirming things.”
Yoonseo answered while barely holding back her surging emotions.
“Now that you know, be careful from now on.”
“Yes.”
Yoonseo let out a quiet sigh.
There was nothing she could do. She hadn’t prepared well enough, and in front of the thorough Seungwoo, she had exposed her weakness.
After calming herself, Yoonseo lifted her head. Only then did she see Seungwoo gripping the steering wheel.
“Didn’t you say you were busy?”
“On the way home is my meeting location. I’ll go past the house, so you get off on the way.”
Even so, she couldn’t understand why he was driving himself without a secretary or a driver.
The car drove quietly down the road. Neither Yoonseo nor Seungwoo spoke, both staring straight ahead like strangers.
Before long, they arrived at the house.
“Go.”
Yoonseo bowed her head.
His gaze briefly brushed past her necklace before returning forward. She noticed his hand resting on the steering wheel trembling slightly. She stared at those long, pale fingers, then suddenly came to her senses and straightened up.
“I’ll go inside.”
Just before closing the door, Yoonseo looked back inside.
Their eyes met.
Her lips trembled slightly. As Seungwoo’s brow faintly furrowed, another sentence slipped from her mouth.
“Please… take care of yourself.”
Before Seungwoo could respond, the door closed.
Silence filled the car for a moment.
“Ha…”
A sigh escaped Seungwoo’s lips. At the same time, the corner of his mouth lifted.
Why did such simple words affect him so much?
Like a kid who had never even experienced first love.
Of course, Seungwoo himself had never truly loved anyone either.
He had run nonstop, focused only on work and results, with no room to meet anyone. He had thought he would live forever cut off from things like love and affection.
So why did the warm, secret sensation from when she fell keep coming back to him? Why did his eyes keep going to the necklace dangling from her neck?
And why did his heart start racing again at her words telling him to be careful?
When he came back to his senses, Yoonseo was looking his way. She must have found it strange that he wasn’t driving off yet. Trying to erase her image from his mind, Seungwoo pressed down hard on the accelerator.
When Seungwoo returned to the hotel, he shut himself away in the CEO’s office.
“I told you that you didn’t have to come out today.”
Manager Han Juseok scolded Seungwoo for coming in anyway and served him lemon tea that was good for fatigue. But Seungwoo didn’t drink it and muttered quietly instead.
“I want to smoke.”
“No. You finally quit.”
Seungwoo had started smoking during his military service. Unlike other chaebol heirs, he hadn’t used connections and enlisted as an active-duty soldier, where he ended up under the worst senior imaginable.
Of course, Seungwoo hadn’t endured it quietly. He eventually gathered evidence and sent that senior to the brig. But while enduring it all, he learned to smoke.
He quit smoking after becoming the hotel’s president—after Yoonseo joined.
“I’m a bit sensitive to cigarette smoke. My bronchial tubes aren’t very strong.”
One day, he had seen Yoonseo laughing and talking with coworkers from a distance. Watching her cough lightly at air he couldn’t even sense, Seungwoo immediately cut up every cigarette in his office with scissors and threw them away.
And now, because of her, he wanted to smoke again.
Why had she spoken badly about Juseok? And with such an obvious lie.
She knew how much he valued Juseok. She knew he considered him a perfect work partner. She knew he had come this far trusting him.
“I’ll get you candy. Or chocolate?”
“No.”
Seungwoo glanced at his overly attentive friend and slumped into the chair in front of his desk, as if all the strength had left his body.
For no reason, even Manager Han Juseok began to irritate him.
He glanced at a picture frame. When he removed the landscape photo placed in front, a photo of Yoonseo smiling brightly appeared behind it.
He kept it hidden, not wanting others to see it, and looked at it alone.
Juseok placed a report on Seungwoo’s desk and said,
“Is something really going on? What’s wrong with you, suddenly looking for cigarettes?”
In front of others, Juseok spoke formally and fulfilled his duties as a secretary perfectly, but when it was just the two of them, he treated Seungwoo comfortably.
Seungwoo preferred it that way too.
“How’s your mother’s surgery?”
Juseok’s mother had recently been diagnosed with cataracts and was scheduled for surgery.
“It’s next week. How did you know?”
“I found out when I called to check on her. Take good care of her. Call her often.”
“She already scolds me for an hour every time I call, saying you’re better than me.”
Back in high school, Seungwoo had visited Juseok’s house more often than his own. Juseok’s mother had taken great care of him.
Juseok used to complain about why a rich guy liked their house more, but he never knew Seungwoo’s real situation.
Even now, Seungwoo occasionally called Juseok’s mother to check in.
“That’s because you don’t do it enough. Did you take time off? You should accompany her to the surgery.”
“Got it. Anyone watching would think you’re my older brother.”
“Aren’t I?”
Juseok chuckled and nodded.
“Then I’ll head out first, boss.”
“Wait.”
Seungwoo opened his desk drawer and took something out.
A white envelope.
“What’s that?”
“Put it toward the surgery costs.”
“No, it’s fine. Last month’s bonus was enough.”
Without even checking, Juseok placed the envelope back on the desk, but Seungwoo stood up and forced it into his hand.
“It’s not for you. It’s for your mother. Take it.”
Left with no choice, Juseok took the envelope and left the office.
Staring at the closed door, Seungwoo lowered his gaze, his brow furrowed.
There was no reason to suspect Juseok.
Or maybe he simply didn’t want to.
During his most miserable years, Juseok and his mother had been the light that stayed by his side.
Keeping Juseok close wasn’t just because he was competent and sharp—it was also because of his mother’s request.
Please don’t abandon our Juseok.
That meant he had to find out why Yoonseo had framed Juseok.
She’s not really on Jung Seungwon’s side… right?
If someone truly was ordering her to separate Manager Han from him…
Closing his eyes tightly, Seungwoo rubbed his temples.
Yoonseo let out a quiet sigh and lowered her gaze.
She needed to speak.
Two days had already passed while she hesitated. Seungwoo was so busy with overtime that she couldn’t even see his face.
If she made the same mistake one more time, he might truly believe she had ulterior motives and push her away. That would be the end.
To gather real evidence, she needed to stay close to Juseok and observe him. She had to catch something—anything—and tell Seungwoo. That was the only option left.
Thinking back to what she had read from Juseok’s inner thoughts, it felt like there wasn’t much time left. He had said that within a month, someone would disappear from this world.
She didn’t have time to hesitate like this. But she had no idea how to break through.
This won’t work.
Yoonseo picked up her phone.
Who should she ask for help?
Going back to the secretary’s office seemed like the best answer. From there, she could find evidence somehow.
The moment she thought that, her mind suddenly cleared.
Why hadn’t she thought of this earlier?
She hurriedly searched her contacts. The name of the colleague she had been closest to in the secretary’s office appeared.
“Hey, Minjeong.”
[Oh—Yoonseo! Wow, it’s been forever! How have you been?]
Minjeong reacted dramatically the moment the call connected.
Minjeong had also been the most shocked when she found out Yoonseo was marrying Seungwoo. She was the one who complained the most behind his back whenever his workload became excessive.
She had even begged Yoonseo never to reveal the marriage, and Yoonseo had kept that promise, even writing a formal agreement.
“I’ve been… okay.”
[Don’t be like that. Let’s meet. I have so much to tell you!]
“Okay, let’s meet. I have things to talk about too.”
Yoonseo said calmly, even as she felt her heart pounding with excitement.
