# Chapter 19
“Why don’t you just live with me? Just come in now.”
When Jaehyun opened the door wide, Woojin thought he had no more escape routes. He knew he looked exactly like a petty thief.
Even if Jaehyun was suppressing his temper, seeing this situation, he would have no choice but to crush him. Frankly speaking, even if Jaehyun buried him alive in the backyard, Woojin wouldn’t have much to say.
But Jaehyun didn’t hit or scold him. In fact, even an ordinary person wouldn’t gently let go of an intruder who broke into their house while they were away.
Instead, he said he understood Woojin’s situation and offered him to come to his house. Even after hearing the offer, Woojin couldn’t believe what he’d heard.
At first glance, it seemed like a lucky day where Jaehyun didn’t get angry and even suggested they live together so Woojin could watch him better, but Woojin thought differently after seeing Jaehyun’s eyes and attitude.
Jaehyun’s eyes always looked somewhat empty and loose, as if a screw was missing. Looking at those eyes, Woojin often thought that Cha Jaehyun was pathetic even in his gaze. After all, living steeped in alcohol and stimulants, and spending days having one-night stands, his eyes couldn’t help but look hollow.
But now Jaehyun’s eyes weren’t the usual stupid gaze. They were clear eyes that seemed to be thinking about something, though what he was thinking was unclear.
Outwardly, he forgave Woojin generously and invited him into his house, but Woojin felt uneasy seeing Jaehyun’s enigmatic gaze. It was to the extent that Taehan briefly came to mind from Jaehyun’s gaze.
“What are you doing? You’re being uncharacteristically slow, Secretary Han. Quickly pack your things and move in.”
When Woojin was spacing out due to the sudden situation, the guy even urged him to come into the house quickly. Cha Jaehyun was just a stupid idiot who spent his life meaninglessly. Could a person’s aura change at once, whether he hit his head or was acting? Woojin absolutely didn’t believe in superstition, but looking at Jaehyun in front of him, he even recalled stories of people possessed by ghosts.
As Woojin returned to his house and quickly packed his things, his conclusion was that Jaehyun’s action of opening his space wide was definitely not positive.
From his English skills to the inexplicable gaze he showed in front of him today. Did he hide everything? Did he act stupid in front of Cha Taehan and reveal his true colors in a distant foreign country?
Either way, Cha Jaehyun had invited him in first. The guy he had always considered stupid had become someone not so easy, and he had to find out the truth about this opponent.
‘From now on, it’s sleeping with the enemy.’
Woojin thought.
* * *
Han Woojin moved into my house. Whether it was to avoid upsetting my mood or not, he was barely visible to me. Of course, he could search the entire house when I wasn’t home, but it doesn’t matter. I’m innocent anyway.
It had been quite a while since he moved into my house, but there was really no difference from when he lived next door. Though living together wasn’t entirely comfortable, I was gradually getting used to living with Han Woojin.
Super luxurious study abroad life. Of course, I was enjoying it with a grateful heart, but regardless of having a lot of money, studying wasn’t easy.
Especially that class I took with David was the biggest problem. On the first day of orientation, I didn’t notice anything strange about the professor, but as I attended classes, I understood a hundred times why David had warned me to be careful of that professor.
Other classes proceeded smoothly without any problems, but that particular class had many issues. Since I was absent on the second day.
On the third day of class, the professor asked me a question in a cynical tone, and I answered sincerely with my own views. But the professor snickered at my answer and publicly humiliated me.
“Derek, that doesn’t seem like your own thought? Don’t just repeat someone else’s opinion like a parrot; can you tell us what you think? Well, with a mentality that skips class from the second week, I suppose you can’t really think properly.”
The professor harshly criticized me. Although I spoke based on another scholar’s opinion, I didn’t just repeat his theory like a parrot. It was clearly just intended to humiliate me.
David definitely said he had fooled the professor well, but that wasn’t the case. The fake medical certificate didn’t work at all. The narrow-minded petty professor used my one absence as an excuse to pick on me and humiliate me at every opportunity.
“David, you said it would be okay.”
After class ended, I said to David with an almost tearful face.
“Derek, I’m surprised too. Just think of it as bad luck. How could we know what’s in the professor’s mind? Let’s just quietly attend classes from now on, trying not to catch the professor’s eye.”
David offered some words of comfort. But it wasn’t particularly reassuring. If he’s making such a fuss about missing class once, I felt like I’d get a biased low score even if I worked hard on assignments.
* * *
Before I knew it, the day of the crazy professor’s team project was approaching. The team project weighed heavily in the course evaluation, so it was very important.
Team project. Some might like it, but most dislike this demonic name. I briefly grimaced, recalling the countless freeloaders I had encountered during past team projects. But I thought there wouldn’t be freeloaders since this was a small class and everyone seemed passionate.
I also felt an inexplicable competitive spirit. I wanted to show the professor, who kept trying to humiliate me, that I wasn’t as stupid as he thought and that I was a student with my own thoughts.
Of course, I knew it was impossible to surprise or humble the professor, whose depth of learning was much deeper than mine. I just wanted to show that I was also a smart and enthusiastic student.
“I’ll do the presentation. Let’s do the research together.”
I boldly volunteered to do the presentation to my team members. I wanted to stand up squarely to the professor and counter all the questions he would throw at me.
“We’re glad not to present, but are you okay? You seem to be on the professor’s bad side.”
“Yeah, I understand you want to change your image, but I don’t think this is a good way.”
When I suddenly volunteered as the presenter, my team members responded with concerned looks.
“No, it’s okay. I’ll do it.”
“Alright. If you’re okay with it, that’s good for us. But don’t change your mind later.”
After the team was formed, I practically stayed up all night focusing on the team project. During team meetings, we exchanged ideas fiercely, and when I was alone, I searched the internet and related books to find more insightful material. But I always felt like I could do “just a little more.”
That night was no different from usual. However, on my way home late at night, a strange idea occurred to me.
Han Woojin. A perfect scorer on the college entrance exam and an ace of Daejin Group’s management strategy team. And the topic of our team project was to analyze management strategy cases and present new strategies.
‘Wouldn’t this be a piece of cake for Han Woojin?’
Although Han Woojin wasn’t noticeable, the fact that we were living together wasn’t exactly comfortable. Thinking I should make use of Han Woojin at times like this, I immediately texted him. It was clear that he would be a great help for this assignment.
[Secretary Han, see me at home today.]
[Yes, Young Master. I will be waiting in the living room.]
As soon as I sent the text, he replied immediately as if using an auto-response function. When I arrived home, Han Woojin was already in the living room.
Even in ordinary home wear, he pulled it off as fashion, and his face was still radiant. Looking at him, I briefly thought, with such a handsome face, how could he also excel at studying?
“Young Master. Welcome back. Why did you call for me?”
Han Woojin greeted me with the same stiff attitude.
“Well, nothing special. Aren’t you a perfect scorer on the college entrance exam? And you also worked in the management strategy team at Daejin.”
“…Yes. That’s correct, Young Master.”
Han Woojin hesitated before answering.
‘Why is he like that? Was he surprised that I suddenly recited his background?’
“It’s nothing much. I’m doing a team project, and I was wondering if you could help me today?”
“Yes, Young Master, of course.”
“Then come up to my room. Let’s meet in 30 minutes.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
* * *
Woojin expected Jaehyun to ask why he quit his job to become his secretary. But what came out of his mouth was an unexpected small request. To think the day would come when Cha Jaehyun would ask for help with a team project. Perhaps the team project this guy was talking about was different from what he knew.
The 30 minutes passed quickly. During that time, Jaehyun changed his clothes, took a shower, and opened the materials he had prepared and a roughly made PowerPoint file on his laptop screen. When Woojin entered his room, he was busy flipping through his major textbooks as if searching for something.
“Young Master, I’m here.”
“Yeah, sit here next to me.”
Jaehyun patted the cushion of the chair next to him and told Woojin to come in. As soon as Woojin sat down, he got straight to the point.
“Secretary Han, this is the material I’ve roughly put together so far, but there are still some blank parts. I’d like you to first check if there are any unusual parts.”
“Yes, Young Master. I’ll read it right away.”
Jaehyun’s anxious gaze was directed at Woojin. He looked like an enthusiastic student nervously waiting for feedback from a teacher.
“Young Master, you’ve done well. However, in my opinion, strategy A is a somewhat outdated case, so in terms of timeliness, strategy B might attract more attention.”
Woojin went through everything Jaehyun had prepared and explained it kindly.
Jaehyun was quite a good student. Following Woojin’s guidance, they created the flow of the material together, and filled the PowerPoint content as if it had grown wings.
“It’s already this late. Secretary Han must be tired too.”
Before they knew it, it was past 1 AM as he taught Jaehyun various things. He seemed quite apologetic for keeping him up late, and even showed the strange behavior of asking for understanding because there wasn’t much time left.
“This is better than I expected? You’ve been a great help. Let’s take a 10-minute break and meet here again.”
“Yes, Young Master. Then I’ll step out for a moment.”
Woojin himself wasn’t tired at all, but the guy seemed to be tired first.
Woojin observed Jaehyun’s figure from outside the door for a moment. After he left, Jaehyun seemed to be organizing the PowerPoint content alone.
But whether he was getting sleepy or not, his eyelids started to flutter down.
Ah, I know that feeling very well. The feeling of your brain’s power flickering precariously, about to turn off. Watching him, Woojin smiled unconsciously before going downstairs to take a break.
