Ch 40

<40>

 

The Beginning of a New Time (1)

 

Perhaps it was right after lunch, but the conference room was filled with the rich aroma of coffee that everyone had brought to fight off drowsiness. As the company’s performance continued to improve and investment inquiries poured in, the secretarial team had a rapidly increasing workload due to the addition of new personnel and the creation of new teams.

 

Secretary Han, who was sitting next to Eunho, stirred her caramel macchiato filled with whipped cream and lightly nudged Eunho’s shoulder. Unlike the other secretaries who gathered in groups of three or five to talk about what was going on in the company until Chief Yoon came in, Eunho was busy organizing reports.

 

“Is Executive Director doing better?”

 

“……Yes. Since yesterday… he’s gotten a lot better.”

 

Eunho’s answer to Secretary Han’s question was fragmented as he rechecked the figures. It wasn’t that he couldn’t multitask, but the documents he had to send were important, so he was busy pressing the monitor with his hand to double-check and press the send button.

 

Secretary Han noticed that Eunho had meticulously processed the data she had requested in the morning and tapped her coffee cup against his as a gesture of thanks.

 

“Even though he’s not feeling well, he still attends all the meetings. I can’t stop Executive Director.”

 

She had known he was a workaholic for a long time, but she didn’t expect him to attend every meeting, morning and afternoon. Thanks to this, Secretary Han, who had been going in and out of the conference room to connect video calls, complained for three days straight because she had to keep interrupting her existing work. Secretary Park, who was sitting across from Eunho and swallowing iced Americano like water, subtly joined the conversation.

 

“Secretary Yoo, were you at Executive Director’s house for three days straight?”

 

“……No, I commuted to and from Executive Director’s house.”

 

Eunho felt a little guilty, but he glossed over it, thinking it was a well-intentioned lie. There was no need to share the details of how he couldn’t go home for three days, borrowed Executive Director’s clothes, and stayed by his side.

 

“Looking at the reports posted on the secretarial bulletin board, it doesn’t seem like there’s any time to rest.”

 

Eunho, startled by Secretary Park’s sharp question, just smiled and avoided answering. Indeed, Yoonjae had kept him from leaving the house for three days, so he had been working regardless of commuting, even organizing and uploading reports after work hours. He didn’t think anyone would care, but it turned out to be Secretary Park.

 

“Hey, do it moderately, keeping an eye on things. If you do too well, it’ll look like we’re not working and just playing around.”

 

“……How could that be?”

 

Secretary Han poked Eunho as if she couldn’t help it. In reality, Eunho and Secretary Han were Yoonjae’s only secretaries, but at some point, Eunho had become entirely responsible for Yoonjae’s every move, and Secretary Han was supporting Eunho. Recently, Eunho had been taking care of Choi Yoonjae’s every move, and Secretary Han, whose workload had relatively decreased, was struggling to fill in the blanks in her weekly reports. Eunho belatedly realized this and tried to divide the work so that Secretary Han could take on tasks, but even that was not being handled properly, and the work was coming back to Eunho.

 

“Hey, take it easy.”

 

Eunho was helping with more than one or two of the reports that went up under Secretary Han’s name. Frankly, no one likes doing other people’s work. Eunho didn’t like the situation where he had to take on Secretary Han’s work because it was an excessive burden. It wasn’t like he had extra time, and he was always rushing, but since Choi Yoonjae was the final reviewer of the reports, Eunho didn’t want to show him sloppy reports. The reports that Secretary Han submitted were not only difficult for Yoonjae to read, but they also contained frequent mistakes that required a double-check.

 

Secretary Park, timing the conversation, pointed to the back of Eunho’s neck with his finger.

 

“Secretary Yoo, it looks like there’s hair on your neck?”

 

“Here?”

 

Eunho asked, touching his left shirt collar.

 

“No, not there.”

 

Secretary Park, who was giving detailed directions because it wasn’t the right spot, got up from his seat, frustrated, and picked a strand of hair from Eunho’s left neck and threw it on the floor.

 

“It’s gone.”

 

The hair that disappeared to the floor before Eunho could even check was actually a lie, but Eunho didn’t notice. Eunho smiled gratefully, but then made a vague expression at Secretary Han’s next question.

 

“By the way, doesn’t Executive Director look like he’s in a good mood today?”

 

“Does he?”

 

“Yeah, it shows. It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve seen him smile. He’s been like that since this morning. Did something good happen?”

 

At first, Eunho was puzzled because he didn’t understand what was so good, but after listening to Secretary Han, he remembered what Yoonjae had said a few days ago. He said that he was only kind and smiled well in front of him, and that other employees still perceived him as cold and aloof. Confirming that his words were true, Eunho’s lips twitched and he felt a surge of emotion.

 

“Maybe one of the investment firms had a huge success?”

 

“Everything is generally in good shape.”

 

“Or maybe he got a huge dividend?”

 

“Someone who already has so much money wouldn’t suddenly smile because of that, would he?”

 

The secretaries near Eunho, as if they had joined forces, gathered around a single topic. Various meaningful opinions were expressed, but Secretary Park, who dismissed the opinions of others, saying that none of them seemed to be the reason, swallowed the half-finished iced Americano in one gulp and suddenly spoke in a meaningful tone.

 

“Could it be that he has a lover?”

 

Eunho, startled by his last words, gave an awkward smile.

 

While the employees were divided in their reactions to Secretary Park’s opinion, saying “that could be” and “he’s so busy that he doesn’t even have time to sleep, how could he have time to date?”, the door opened and Chief Yoon entered. The employees, watching Chief Yoon’s reaction, quickly sat down and opened their laptops.

 

Eunho was bothered by Secretary Park’s last words throughout the meeting. The heated topic melted away like ice cream dropped on the asphalt in summer due to Chief Yoon, but it was an issue that could come to the surface at any time.

 

‘He smiled all day today?’

 

Eunho pondered Secretary Han’s words and realized why she said that after following Yoonjae’s afternoon schedule. He, who never had any expression in meetings, was enjoying the situation with a relaxed smile.

 

Eunho, who had compiled and sent Yoonjae the resumes of the final interviewees for the General Investment Division from the HR department, went down to the underground parking lot in advance and waited for him to come down.

 

“Did something good happen today?”

 

“No.”

 

He says no firmly, but the corners of his mouth still won’t come down. Eunho, who hadn’t noticed anything strange because he had been like that since the day before yesterday, realized that his behavior seemed a little more excited than usual when he remembered that this was the company.

 

“You’re smiling right now.”

 

“…Can’t I smile?”

 

“No, that’s not it.”

 

While Eunho was stammering, trying to come up with an excuse, Yoonjae reached out and entered an address into the navigation system. Pil-dong, Jung-gu…?

 

“Where is this?”

 

“I just thought of it after a long time.”

 

“……Ah.”

 

Adding the words “I just thought of it after a long time” to the address led to the conclusion that it was a Korean restaurant. Eunho pressed the start button with a good feeling and turned the steering wheel.

 

As they rose to the surface, the sun, shining between the forest of buildings, emitted a subtle energy and slowly sank. Yoonjae, noticing that Eunho’s breathing was mixed with a cold, quietly turned down the air conditioning and leaned back in his seat.

 

In fact, they had passionate sex last night, and Eunho had fallen asleep with his clothes off after setting the air conditioner temperature when his body was hot, and he had caught a cold. His face had been flushed since morning as if he had a slight fever, and when there was no sign of improvement in the afternoon, he thought of the Korean restaurant. He thought that if he fed him a health food course from the menu and let him rest, he might get better.

 

Yoonjae, checking that the car had stopped at a traffic light, reached out and stroked Eunho’s cheek. Fortunately, he didn’t have the fever he had feared.

 

As soon as they arrived at the Korean restaurant, Yoonjae went into the room and ordered the course he wanted, then poured half of the hydrangea tea in front of him into Eunho’s empty cup. As the steam rose and a non-artificial sweetness rose, Eunho grabbed the teacup with both hands and drank the tea, blowing on it. Yoonjae fixed his gaze to not miss every little movement of Eunho.

 

“It was probably our first meal together.”

 

Yoonjae spoke as if reminiscing about that day, but he didn’t lose his smile. Eunho, who was immersed in emotion and returning his memory to that day with a low and deep tone, let out a breath and laughed softly.

 

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

 

At his question of what was so funny, Eunho’s eyes drew an arc and reached Yoonjae.

 

“Do you remember it raining that day?”

 

“After the meal?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Many emotions crossed that day. Because of his cold attitude of putting him on pins and needles, his efforts to bring him here passed without meaning.

 

“I was so nervous chasing after Executive Director.”

 

“Ah……”

 

“You were walking so fast toward the car in the rain. I quickly opened my umbrella and ran because I was afraid your clothes would get wet.”

 

While Eunho was shaking his head with a serious expression, the table was filled with colorful food. Eunho checked the menu, which was different from last time, and let out a silent exclamation. Eunho, who was taking a bite of ginseng porridge, met Yoonjae’s eyes as he put tteokgalbi on his plate.

 

“You must have thought I was crazy back then.”

 

“……At the time, Executive Director was difficult.”

 

Even though it had only been eight months, the events of that time felt distant and far away, as if it had been more than a year. It seemed to be because he spent a lot of time at the company and there were many incidents.

 

“The Executive Director I used to work with was old and had a fixed pattern, but you were bouncing around, so I had a hard time.”

 

When dealing with an older executive director, there was a clear line drawn. Like a tacit agreement, they never asked or touched personal matters, and it was enough to just be good at being his scheduler because his commuting hours were certain.

 

Eunho, who had been working within a set framework, was confused about the scope of the secretary and the job itself from the Korean restaurant with Yoonjae. Usually, it is common to have a simple welcome ceremony by eating a meal near the company and checking the direction of work. It was unusual to bring him to a place famous for business receptions, feed him, and take him home, so he briefly thought that Yoonjae might be hitting on him.

 

“So, did you hate it?”

 

“Rather than hate it… it was refreshing.”

 

“I brought you here to try to look good.”

 

How could he not know that? It was obvious enough just by bringing him to this place far from the company.

 

Eunho, who emptied the porridge and took a bite of the tteokgalbi that Yoonjae gave him, chewed the savory and soft meat and smiled happily.

 

“Try this too, they do it well here.”

 

Yoonjae scooped vegetables and skewers from the steaming brazier and placed them in front of Eunho. He noticed that his actions were different from before. So this is what it means to take care of your people.

 

Eunho picked up the tricolor shrimp skewers and matsutake mushrooms from the food that filled the table and placed them in front of Yoonjae.

 

“Please eat, Executive Director.”

 

The two, who were taking care of each other, blushed and giggled as their arms crossed on the table. Eunho was already full of his love that filled him with satisfaction.

 

As they talked and ate slowly, the two consumed almost twice as much food as they usually did. After drinking all the tea that came out for dessert, the two headed to the forest connected to the backyard. A lonely breeze blowing from the nearby mountain brushed past the two and passed leisurely. The sound of the Korean restaurant’s gayageum, heard from afar, soaked their ears and echoed faintly. Yoonjae intertwined his fingers with Eunho’s and slowly walked through the bamboo forest.

 

“Eunho.”

 

Yoonjae had been looking at Eunho since a while ago. The beauty of the forest was useless in front of Eunho. Eunho’s neatly arranged bangs fluttered in the wind. Yoonjae, who raised his hand and gently stroked them, whispered softly.

 

“Thank you for staying by my side.”

 

Eunho, who was about to give a pouty answer, “Then I’ll always be by your side, where would I go?”, saw his moist eyes and his heart was shaken. The one word that seemed to be relieved sounded somehow so sad. Eunho suddenly sniffled at the tip of his nose, which was about to tingle, and lowered his head and hugged him. He didn’t know why, but he wanted to comfort him. He wanted to tell him that he had suffered and that it was okay now.

 

Eunho asked to sleep together first, for some reason. Yoonjae’s ears perked up at the words that he wanted to play a game and that they could sleep together because he might be up late.

 

While driving home after work, Eunho kept smiling. Yoonjae’s questions grew as he laughed from time to time as if his lungs were full of air and he was slowly letting it out. Eunho, who didn’t tell him what game it was or what it was, handed him a mysterious shopping bag after arriving home.

 

“……Love… Jenga?”

 

Even people who don’t know board games know Jenga. However, Yoonjae’s expression wavered strangely when he took out the transparent stickers that came with the shopping bag.

 

“What is this… 19+, 29+, 39+, 49+?”

 

A few days ago, Eunho had been recommended a game by Suyeong, saying it was for checking their affection. Eunho, who bought Love Jenga because of Suyeong’s enthusiasm, felt his face flush as if all the blood was rushing to his face as soon as he checked the mission stickers.

 

Suyeong praised the game, saying it was excellent for fueling a fading affection, but the problem was that there was no time for affection to fade between Eunho and Yoonjae. They were burning every day, and even if they deliberately adjusted the level, it was like pouring a can of kerosene. At first, he was embarrassed and awkward just thinking about it, but when he thought about Yoonjae, he was so curious about his reaction.

 

Yoonjae couldn’t take his eyes off the Jenga mission stickers even while eating the meal prepared by the housekeeper. As Eunho expected, he kept laughing and becoming serious, and finally choked and emptied a cup of water in his seat. Yoonjae exclaimed several times as if he had encountered a new civilization and liked that there were all the questions he wanted to ask on the mission stickers.

 

After the housekeeper left, the two took a shower, changed into light clothes, and sat at the living room table to put the 29+ mission stickers on the Jenga one by one. They decided to start with 29+ because 19+ was embarrassing, and promised to do 39+ and 49+ next time.

 

While Yoonjae was putting on the stickers, he said that he would definitely take them out and ask them, so Eunho glanced at them and saw that they were comments that would make his face flush if he got caught.

 

“What’s the penalty for not being able to answer?”

 

“What would you like me to do?”

 

“How about leaving a kiss mark where it can’t be seen?”