LIGHTNOVELONLINE Ch24 - It's mine, don't touch it.
When Jeong-o couldn’t respond at all, Team Leader Seong Mi-ran awkwardly brushed her hair back.
“No. You don’t have to say anything. There must be a reason.”
“……”
“I could sense it from the beginning. Every time you talked about Director Jeong Ji-heon, your expression changed a bit.”
Last Tuesday, after the meeting, Mi-ran overheard a conversation between Eun-bi and Si-nae in the bathroom.
It was about Jeong-o.
Having worked at the company for nearly ten years, Mi-ran had heard all sorts of strange rumors, so she didn’t usually pay much attention to gossip in the restroom.
However, it bothered her a little that the source of the gossip was Manager Chae Eun-bi.
Mi-ran also didn’t know that Jeong-o and Eun-bi were acquainted. Neither had shown any signs of it.
Mi-ran recalled the events since Jeong-o joined the company, one by one.
Jeong-o had definitely acted strangely when she first met Ji-heon. Even Director Jeong noticed Jeong-o’s unusual reaction and called her back to his office.
Then there was the incident in front of the elevator when Ji-heon had grabbed her wrist, and particularly the moment when Jeong-o had asked about Ji-heon’s accident seven years ago.
And yesterday, when Jeong-o had gone out to entertain the client, Ji-heon had followed her.
It seemed like there was something between them, as if they had known each other for a long time and had quickly grown close.
However, Mi-ran wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to inquire about their relationship, which made her cautious in her tone.
Still, still… if Jeong-o’s work life were to suffer because of Director Jeong Ji-heon, Mi-ran felt she would regret it for a long time, prompting her to speak up.
“…I’m just worried. Director Ji-heon is getting married soon, right? Plus, you both work for the same company.”
Jeong-o lowered her head deeply. It was a half-hearted acknowledgment.
Mi-ran felt a pang of regret for bringing up something so uncomfortable.
“…Have you thought about seriously talking to the director?”
“I’m still not sure.”
“Jeong-o, if you want to drink, just say so. Even if I can’t solve your problems with the director, I can listen to your troubles.”
Jeong-o’s eyes turned red.
She was grateful that Mi-ran wasn’t prying into her life or chastising her for her situation. It seemed Mi-ran wouldn’t show any signs of discomfort.
“And.”
“Yes, Team Leader.”
“You can’t resign. Got it?”
This was actually what Mi-ran wanted to say.
For a team leader, losing a team member is critical. Mi-ran was determined to protect her team members diligently.
Jeong-o nodded with a smile.
.*. *. *. *. *. *.
Ji-heon went with the members of Production Team 1 to review Jo Si-nae’s work from the previous night.
Assistant Manager Jo Si-nae nervously pulled a file from the recycling bin on her PC with trembling hands.
“Is this it?”
“Yes. But the client didn’t like it this morning, so I have to redo it.”
“Then yesterday’s work is useless.”
Jo Si-nae’s face turned bright red. The atmosphere in the office became tense, like the calm before a storm. Everyone gulped dryly, glancing at Ji-heon’s expressionless face.
“It’s disappointing. You worked so hard, yet there’s no result.”
“……”
“Perhaps you should go for a team dinner instead.”
At the sarcastic mutter that felt like a calm whisper, Si-nae couldn’t even lift her face.
“Anyway, I understand. It can’t be helped. It’s tough to win over clients.”
Ji-heon took a step back after a moment, as if to say it was unavoidable.
Thank goodness it ended there. Si-nae secretly let out a sigh of relief.
However, before Ji-heon left the team, he added one more thing.
“From now on, Assistant Manager Jo Si-nae is to report her work daily at 6 PM.”
“……What?”
“There’s no need to come in person; just send it to me via email.”
Just when she thought she could take a breather!
Even after Ji-heon left, the members of Team 1 continued to look at Si-nae with pity.
What she had done to help Eun-bi had completely backfired with Director Jeong Ji-heon.
Si-nae desperately grabbed Eun-bi’s sleeve.
“Manager, what should I do…?”
“Oh dear. I was in a tight spot yesterday too. It’s okay. It’s okay. I’ll talk to oppa and sort it out.”
Eun-bi comforted Si-nae and then headed to Ji-heon’s office.
Si-nae clenched her fists at her desk. She couldn’t forgive Jeong-o for snitching on her for getting the work done.
After Ji-heon entered his office, Eun-bi followed him in.
“Oppa.”
Ji-heon didn’t respond and sat down, flipping through the papers in front of him.
“Did something bad happen?”
“…….”
“Assistant Manager Jo Si-nae works hard, and if you scold her for that, the other employees will get scared.”
When Ji-heon didn’t reply again, Eun-bi changed her question.
“Why weren’t you reachable yesterday?”
“…….”
“Yesterday, Eun-yeob oppa came by to meet you too. Did you contact him?”
After a long pause, Ji-heon finally answered.
“Yeah.”
“What did he say?”
“He didn’t say much.”
Eun-bi felt hurt by Ji-heon’s indifferent response, especially after receiving a scolding from Eun-yeob yesterday.
Marriage.
She had been running toward a clear goal, believing that she could finally see the finish line. She had thought Ji-heon would naturally accept marriage, but now she felt anxious for some reason.
With a twitch at the corner of her mouth, Eun-bi found it hard to smile.
Finally managing to open her mouth, she spoke.
“Mom mentioned marriage. What should I do?”
“You can just figure it out.”
That was the only thing she managed to get out, but his answer seemed as lackluster as the fingers flipping through the documents.
“Figure it out how?”
“Our mom knows you better than I do, right?”
His callous attitude didn’t just leave her cold; Eun-bi was merely holding back. For the sake of the marriage she would someday grasp, she was swallowing her pride and enduring.
That’s why she could only count the days until the marriage.
“Okay. Let’s say I vaguely tell Mom about it. What about you, oppa?”
“…….”
“What do you want to do?”
“I’m not so shameless as to ask you for marriage.”
“……What if I want to? What if I ask?”
At her question, he slowly stopped what he was doing and looked at her. He just stared. Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to speak again.
You? Someone like you?
It felt as if words he had never uttered were being lodged in her mind by some unknown force.
His expression held a mix of contempt and laughter, neither one truly there.
The arrogant, cold gaze looking down on her sent shivers down Eun-bi’s spine.
After staring at her for a long moment, he finally spoke.
“Then we should break up.”
“…….”
“Of course, we never even dated.”
Without changing his expression, he looked down and casually returned to his work.
“It’s not like there’s any history between us, right? Just tell Mom we broke up.”
Eun-bi shook her head stubbornly, unable to say a word.
She couldn’t do as Ji-heon suggested. This was no longer something that could end with just a word.
There was so much Ji-heon didn’t know.
Eun-bi had spread rumors about her relationship with Ji-heon to many people in the company, and about 95% of it was lies.
Without marriage, she wouldn’t be able to maintain her dignity or hold her head high at work.
It would shock all her family members.
“Does it really come out so easily for you?”
“I don’t understand why it’s so hard for you.”
“…….”
“I’m busy, so I’ll be leaving now.”
His always emotionless voice tightened around Eun-bi’s chest. She knew that if she pressed him further, she would lose even the freedom to storm into this office. Gritting her teeth, she left the office.
On her way out, she ran into Seung-kyu.
He appeared annoyingly cheerful, humming a tune for no good reason, and Eun-bi looked at him with a sour expression before letting out a huff of laughter.
“Oppa, I’m busy right now.”
“Oh, really?”
Even though Ji-heon had warned him that he was busy, Seung-kyu didn’t turn around. Eun-bi’s face twisted in irritation.
“Are you going in?”
“I’m just checking how hard my friend is working.”
“Hah!”
Eun-bi scoffed again and walked away with heavy footsteps.
Seung-kyu glared at Eun-bi’s retreating figure, then turned his head.
Seung-kyu and Eun-bi had not gotten along well since seven years ago. Seung-kyu disliked Eun-yeob, Eun-bi’s older brother, who was a high school classmate, and he didn’t like Eun-bi either.
He hated Eun-yeob’s cunningness and disliked Eun-bi’s pretentiousness. He simply didn’t impose his standards on Ji-heon.
When Seung-kyu opened the office door, he hesitated at Ji-heon’s fierce gaze.
Thinking it was yet another confrontation with Cha Eun-bi, Ji-heon’s glare softened upon recognizing his friend.
“Did something happen with Cha Eun-bi? She looked really angry. Did you two fight?”
“No.”
“Right, you wouldn’t fight.”
Seung-kyu plopped down on the sofa as he spoke.
“She’s particularly respectful toward you, isn’t she?”
“I can’t treat her lightly.”
Ji-heon answered while resting his chin on his hand and flipping through documents.
He had no choice but to be respectful to Eun-bi. Seven years ago, she had reported Ji-heon’s accident and helped catch the hit-and-run driver.
When Ji-heon was in a coma, she took great care of his mother, Jang Young-mi, to ensure she wouldn’t fall into despair. It seemed that bond had helped them maintain a good relationship since then.
Besides, their families knew each other, and she was the sister of his friend, Cha Eun-yeob.
With so many connections, he couldn’t simply ignore her.
Seung-kyu knew all of this too.
“Still, you should sort things out. If there’s someone you really want to date.”
“There’s no one.”
Ji-heon immediately denied Seung-kyu’s advice without hesitation.
“Right. It’s not like you want to date anyone right now, but you wouldn’t mind sharing an umbrella, would you?”
“…….”
“No, wait. Not an umbrella, a coat. You were sharing a coat, weren’t you?”
“…….”
“I saw everything yesterday, Jeong Ji-heon. You were filming it all out in the open.”
As Seung-kyu teased him again, Ji-heon fell into deep thought.
“Do you want to deny it? That’s all romantic feelings.”
Even so, accepting the awkward phrase “romantic feelings” was difficult.
The feelings Ji-heon had were fairly clear.
It was a reaction to the appearance of a woman named Lee Jeong-oh.
It was an emotion that arose simply because she was a woman and he was a man.
It was a primal urge, like hunger.
He wanted to make it clear that this wasn’t a romantic feeling, but Seung-kyu pressed him teasingly.
“You’re worried about her getting wet, but you don’t like her?”
“Yeah.”
“You want to be near her, but you don’t like her?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re concerned about her being hurt, but you don’t like her.”
“…….”
“I saw Lee Jeong-oh wearing the cardigan I bought you. Even so, you don’t have those feelings?”
“……Was that what you gave me?”
“What a heartless kid.”
It felt strange to attach a clear reason to emotions that were hard to define and people that were difficult to understand.
“……It’s just that her appearance is exactly my type.”
“…….”
“I’ve never felt this way before. Not in 33 years. That’s why it’s annoying.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s called pure love.”
A heartless friend had developed pure feelings. Seung-kyu’s smile had stretched to the point that it could be described as overwhelming.
Ji-heon still found it hard to accept.
After all, he had only seen her for the first time just ten days ago; there was no way it could be pure love.
“Anyway, do well. I won’t help you.”
“Who asked for your help?”
“Still, one day you’ll be begging me for help.”
With that boastful remark, Seung-kyu strolled around the office with a leisurely pace before suddenly stopping in a corner.
There was a yellow umbrella leaning against the wall.
“This umbrella—what’s this?”
It was something Ji-heon had left behind after briefly returning to the office following his separation from Jeong-oh the night before.
“You probably don’t need this, do you? Should I take it? I can give it to my daughter.”
“No.”
“…….”
“It’s mine. Don’t touch it.”
At Ji-heon’s serious expression, Seung-kyu sniffed in amusement.
This guy, now that he’s interested in women, he’s also become materialistic.
After all, having human desires was a good sign. Seung-kyu chuckled and left the office.
.*. *. *. *. *. *.
Friday evening. Team members began to leave their seats one by one, liberated from overtime.
This weekend was promised to be free. There would be no peaceful weekends during the war-like competition for presentations.
So they had to rest well this weekend. They would spend a lot of time with Ye-na, too.
After finishing her work, Jeong-oh packed her bag, contemplating how to spend the weekend.
Her hand last brushed against the cardigan she had taken off.
In the morning, when her muscles were aching, she had gratefully accepted it from Ji-heon, but now that she had taken some medicine and was feeling better, she regretted it.
She also felt a bit resentful toward Ji-heon, who had draped the cardigan over her shoulders while she was vulnerable, both physically and mentally.
‘Still, I should wash it and return it.’
Jeong-oh put the cardigan in her bag.
As she left the office and made her way to the central corridor, she ran into Ji-heon again. He seemed to be heading out for the day as well.
Seeing him made her feel heat rise in her cheeks again.
‘Don’t be timid.’
Jeong-oh stepped forward bravely. Of course, with the remnants of her cold, her body wasn’t as spirited as her mind.
The elevator was taking too long. The two of them stood side by side in front of it.
She could feel his eyelids lowering as he looked at her. Stubbornly, Jeong-oh focused straight ahead and said, “I’ll wash the cardigan and return it to you.”
“Just keep it.”
He spread out his large hand, one that seemed capable of effortlessly lifting a basketball.
“I need to take care of the washing since it’s something precious a friend bought for me.”
“Okay.”
Why did she lend something so precious to him?
She couldn’t understand his thoughts, but without further comment, Jeong-oh took the cardigan out of her bag and handed it to him.
“Thank you for letting me wear it. I really appreciated it.”
“Deputy!”
After handing over the cardigan, Gi-hun rushed over from the office, calling for Jeong-oh.
“Director, are you leaving now?”
Seeing Jeong-oh and Ji-heon standing together, Gi-hun politely bowed and then spoke to Jeong-oh again.
“Deputy, I brought my car today. Would you like a ride?”
“It’s Friday evening; don’t you have plans?”
“I’m going to Hwayang-dong, so do you want to go together?”
“Well, if that’s the case.”
Jeong-oh gladly accepted Gi-hun’s kindness. He was the most comfortable colleague at the company.
But then Ji-heon called out to Gi-hun.
“Song Gi-hun, it sounds like the phone is ringing in the office, but no one is picking up.”
Indeed, a phone ringing could be heard from somewhere.
“Ah? Deputy, just a moment!”
Gi-hun dashed back to the office.
Now only the two of them were left in front of the elevator.
Ji-heon draped the cardigan over Jeong-oh’s shoulders again.
“Just wear it while you go.”
It happened so suddenly that Jeong-oh didn’t have time to stop him.
While Jeong-oh stood frozen in surprise, Gi-hun ran out of the office and said, “Deputy, you should go first. I need to quickly send an email.”
“Uh-huh. Got it. Thanks for your hard work.”
“Yes.”
After Gi-hun left, Ji-heon continued speaking.
“Since it’s something precious that a friend bought for me, make sure to return it on Monday.”
“…….”
“You can also give it back over the weekend.”
Was he joking? Was he serious?
The smile he wore seemed somehow wicked.
Jeong-oh couldn’t say anything for fear that he might ask her to come in over the weekend.