He didn’t look around as if searching for where Hyedam was before fixing his gaze here. He looked directly at him, as if he knew Hyedam was there. Facing the man’s face head-on, strength entered Hyedam’s jaw.
He’s bigger than I remember. His facial lines seemed to have gotten thicker, but it was definitely a face he knew. His eyes narrowed, and Hyedam, reading an expression that seemed lost in thought, couldn’t move a single fingertip.
The sweet and bitter coffee scent seemed to caress his face. It lingered as if examining each part of his face carefully, then slowly and wetly traced down from his face to his neck, to his shoulders, to his chest, exploring him as if searching his body. Just like that day.
“I’ll guide you to the director’s office.”
At the same time the man turned his head, the scent that had clung to his body disappeared. The group surrounding him entered the director’s office, and the moment he disappeared from his field of vision, Hyedam plopped down on the spot.
If he met him again, there were so many things he wanted to say.
The emotions toward that heartless person who left without looking back, who left behind so many things he wouldn’t have known if he’d never appeared in the first place, grew endlessly.
He was someone who appeared when things were hardest, completely captivated him, then disappeared entirely and made him worry. He might have been enchanted by that handsome face and the coffee scent he loved. Anyway, where he came from, where he went, why he only said such riddling words… lastly, what that night was about. And he was curious if he was living well after leaving like that.
Huh.
A hollow laugh escaped from Hyedam’s mouth as he sat on the floor.
The emotion Hyedam read from his narrowed eyes, from those green eyes that scrutinized him thoroughly, gripped his heart. A gaze as if seeing him for the first time. And what is this? Despite there being quite a distance between the two, along with what seemed like curiosity, what Hyedam felt was that the gaze was absolutely not pure.
Eyes like a child who’d found an interesting toy.
Eyes that didn’t recognize him at all.
The other person doesn’t know him. Having reached that one conclusion, Hyedam hurriedly got up from his spot and sat in his seat. And he searched for one person’s name. He didn’t even expect photos or anything to come up.
Evan Lewis, Kim Siwoo. Leo Lewis.
Leo Lewis. Ondal’s name is Leo Lewis.
His father is the second son of the Lewis family, and his mother is… Kim Siwoo. Both are members of a boy group that even he knows.
Even without trying to find them, countless videos and photos came up. True to being from a boy group, photos of his parents overflowed without even trying hard to find them. On the other hand, there were almost no photos or information about him.
His head was a complete jumbled mess.
There’s a castle, a lake, horses, dogs, and cats. So there must be guns too, and hunting…
Hyedam’s fingertips trembled. Daddy? Komom? Kim Siwoo. His mother’s nickname is Koko? His mouth went dry and it felt like the sound of his heart beating roughly was echoing in his head.
They’ll come looking even if you don’t search? He didn’t want to go to the police station or hospital?
It just comes to mind and surfaces?
I’m ugly?
Being familiar with Korean food and culture…
“Fuck.”
The curse burst out on its own.
Personal secretary? Who is whose personal secretary?
He lost his memory? That can’t be. He remembered everything. Who his parents are, what his background is—it was all melted into what he said. It was Hyedam who was stupid enough not to realize it.
Was it the amusement of a rich aristocratic family’s offspring? Were you so bored and tired that you came all the way to a small mountain village in Korea to experience commoner life?
Memory loss isn’t even common. As numerous thoughts arose simultaneously, Hyedam raised his hands to his head.
You deceived me, used me, and played with me?
“Hyedam-ssi, are you okay?”
Caught up in chaotic emotions, Hyedam flinched at the hand touching his shoulder and released the strength from his hands.
“Yes? Yes?”
“Ah, you were looking up information. He’s really handsome, right? Both his parents are amazing people, but he inherited only the good parts. You know that well-built blonde who was with him? That person is apparently his personal secretary.”
Listening to Stella’s additional explanation, Hyedam opened a file containing company forms.
Where’s the resignation letter? How much severance pay can I get? I need to look into changing jobs too, but first, quitting comes first…
Hyedam’s fingertips trembled as he moved the mouse.
“Resignation letter?”
“The two of you kept talking this morning, so there wasn’t a good timing to bring it up. I was thinking about retiring. I’m planning to quit after working until December. So I don’t think I’ll be able to be the marketing team leader’s personal secretary.”
“Really? Why? Did something happen? You didn’t show any intention to resign at all…”
Seeing Stella flustered by the resignation letter, Hyedam gave an awkward smile. He had no intention of resigning at all. The work wasn’t difficult, nor were the people he worked with. Being a large corporation, the benefits were good, and the salary was good compared to his years of service.
Until just before meeting that one person, he’d been thinking he’d bury his bones in this company until retirement age while working as the marketing team leader’s personal secretary.
“While I was on vacation, some things happened.”
Hyedam stared intently at the resignation letter form on the screen. No one knows what will happen to a person. Whether they’ll die today or tomorrow, they don’t even know what’s for lunch today, so how could he have known he’d meet Ondal in this place in this way?
He had waited, thought and thought again. Now it had dulled, been forgotten, and disappeared.
Was there really nothing between us besides the physical? Was there really nothing at all?
Even now, those green eyes shining in the moonlight vividly came to mind. The feeling of the coffee scent that wrapped around his body wasn’t something he could explain in words. He thought it wasn’t just simple pleasure.
Now he only thought of him occasionally when drinking or feeling down, but it had become light enough to laugh it off once. How is it different from getting drunk and having a one-night stand?
But.
No. The complicated emotions he’d been forgetting came vividly back to life as if they’d just happened, confusing him.
He wanted to know the exact truth, yet he wanted to run away. The moment he saw his face and felt the coffee scent, his breath stopped. His heart beat like crazy, his mouth went dry, and the sensations that had faded came back to life.
He who he’d thought was just a distant memory that meant nothing anymore had come back to life, and if things continued like this, anxiety washed over him that he might be enchanted by him again and do something foolish.
Not wanting to give him even the chance to intervene and wreak havoc in his life like this, Hyedam quickly moved his fingertips and began filling out the resignation form.
“Hyedam-ssi. You’re going to resign?”
Whether she’d heard from Stella, at the team leader’s words as she appeared beside him, Hyedam had to give an awkward smile again.
“Yes, you heard from Stella?”
“You didn’t say anything until just a moment ago, so I thought Hyedam-ssi was positive about the department transfer.”
At Seoyun’s words full of bewilderment, Hyedam deeply agreed inwardly. Since it was something he’d just impulsively decided, the emotions she was feeling now were natural.
“You have to say something a month before resigning, right? So I was going to say something today or tomorrow, but there were too many things since this morning, so I didn’t have time to say…”
Repeating the same words, Hyedam looked not at Seoyun but toward the director’s office. And when his eyes met a man beyond Stella who stood with a troubled expression, he excused himself from Seoyun and stood up.
“Lee Hyedam-ssi. Have you made your decision?”
A quiet conference room.
Having ended up with Ondal—no, Leo—and the person who was his personal secretary, Hyedam only nodded. He was a bit surprised by the fluent Korean pronunciation of the personal secretary who asked him questions instead of Leo, who sat across from him with his arms crossed, still exuding a strong coffee scent, but he was at an age where he could easily hide that much.
“Let’s have you start working from tomorrow morning.”
At the one-sided conversation, Hyedam frowned. Since it was a company he was going to quit anyway and there would be no more entanglement with him, there was no need to hide unpleasant emotions or bow his head.
“I just reported to our secretarial team leader my intention to resign.”
In his heart, he wanted to shout, “I won’t work under a bastard like you,” but from his mouth, thoroughly broken in by social life, came relatively polite words.
“……”
Along with his refusal, silence descended on the office. I guess you didn’t expect me to refuse at all? He hadn’t received contact from the accounting team yet so he didn’t know exactly, but his salary might increase dramatically. Work-life balance would be about the same either way, so there was no reason to particularly consider it.
“May I ask the reason?”
Not soft or kind. It was the voice in his memory, but at the heavy and stiff tone, Hyedam pressed his lips tightly shut. At the same time, his dimples that had been hidden revealed themselves. The sight of the other person not remembering when he remembered everything created another wound on top of a wound.
