# Chapter 31
‘Tomorrow evening? But I have to see Seo Hanryul at 6 tomorrow.’
From the very first day, I was placed in a lamentable situation. Tomorrow evening, he said. What time exactly was he planning to come?
It was obvious he wasn’t coming home for anything good, but I couldn’t exactly ask Chairman Cha Taesan, ‘I have an important prior engagement that I can’t miss, so would it be possible for you to come another time?’
On the other hand, if I told Seo Hanryul that an important person was coming to our house tomorrow so I couldn’t keep our appointment, he’d say I was acting up from the very beginning. It was obvious he’d make a fuss about violating instructions.
‘What exactly am I supposed to do!’
Cha Taesan or Seo Hanryul. The endless weighing began.
I hadn’t even adjusted to the time difference yet, and here I was faced with this absurd crossroads. What was even sadder was that now that I’d come to Korea, situations like this would probably happen as regularly as eating meals.
‘Right, it has to be Cha Taesan. I have to choose Cha Taesan.’
In the end, I painfully chose Cha Taesan.
Seo Hanryul was the protagonist after all. No matter how blunt he acted on the surface or how he threw tantrums, I judged that he would have understanding. Even today, he kept making sarcastic remarks at me with that disagreeable expression, but surely he’d have enough magnanimity to let it slide just once.
‘Right. He’ll let it slide just once. After all, I showed enough effort to come all the way to America to find him – what could he possibly do over missing one appointment?’
But it was clear that Cha Taesan wasn’t that type of person. Based on what I’d experienced during breakfast over the past two weeks, he seemed like someone I absolutely shouldn’t cross.
‘I hope my choice wasn’t wrong.’
I headed home with heavy steps.
* * *
My heart was anxious. It had become around 5:40, but Chairman Cha Taesan was still nowhere to be heard from.
First, I hurriedly sent a text to Seo Hanryul, filled with an apologetic tone.
[I’m sorry to tell you this news from the very first day. An important guest is suddenly coming to my house today, so I don’t think I can make our 6 o’clock appointment. From now on, I’ll absolutely match your schedule.]
Anyway, since Seo Hanryul had installed GPS on my phone, he would know that I was at home.
‘Right. I’ll think about the aftermath tomorrow. For now, Cha Taesan is important.’
After sending the text, I was anxiously waiting to see if Seo Hanryul would reply, but even after 30 minutes passed, no answer came. He must be quite angry, as expected.
While waiting for Seo Hanryul’s reply and just staring at my phone screen, the phone suddenly rang.
“Yes, Chairman.”
“Cha Jaehyun, I’ve arrived. Open the door.”
Finally, he had arrived. With my heart pounding, I approached the front door and carefully opened it.
“Have you arrived, Chairman?”
“Let’s go straight inside.”
“Yes.”
When the Chairman entered first, I quietly followed behind him.
Upon reaching the living room, the Chairman stared at me intently without saying anything. What could the meaning behind those eyes be?
Smack—
A large hand struck my left cheek hard. It happened in an instant. From the shock, the glass I was holding fell to the floor and shattered into pieces.
Soon, a burning pain arose in my left cheek, and I began to feel something warm from my nose.
Had I ever been hit so mercilessly by someone in my life? I could say with certainty, not even once.
I had expected Chairman Cha Taesan’s reaction to be explosive. But when the situation actually hit me, overwhelmed by feelings of injustice and bewilderment, a tear unknowingly rolled down my cheek.
“Didn’t you confidently tell me last time? That you would have time for reflection in America and come back after studying. You said that just two months ago. And yet, without a word of consultation, you crawled back into Korea!”
The Chairman shouted at me, apparently very angry. Looking at the Chairman, I wanted to shout back just the same. That I’m not Cha Jaehyun. And asking if he could do such brutish behavior to Cha Taehan. But if I did that, I’d be ruining my own future.
“I’m sorry. Chairman, I have no face to show you.”
Barely suppressing my turbulent emotions, I answered calmly.
“I was wrong to trust you. You always only disappoint me.”
“I’m sorry. I have nothing to say.”
“I’m tired of hearing sorry now. My ears are festering. I now clearly know for certain that you’re hopeless. If it were up to me, I’d want to kick you out with nothing but the clothes on your back right now, but thinking of the bond of having given birth to you, I’ll give you one last chance.”
“Yes, Chairman. …Thank you.”
“Six months, exactly six months. If even one small incident reaches my ears during those six months, you’ll be permanently banished from Daejin.”
“Yes, Chairman. I’ll keep it in mind. I’m truly sorry for disappointing you.”
The Chairman didn’t even listen to my last words, dusted off his hands, and left the house as if there was nothing more to see.
Six months. It wasn’t even funny. Both Seo Hanryul and Chairman Cha Taesan mentioned six months as if they had made some sort of agreement.
I am not Cha Jaehyun. I must completely separate Seo Jiwon and Cha Jaehyun. Cha Taesan was angry at Cha Jaehyun, not me.
Judging from Cha Jaehyun’s track record so far, the behavior Chairman Cha Taesan showed today could even be considered gentlemanly. Even when I was reading the book, I had been busy criticizing that if I were the Chairman, I would have long since banished Cha Jaehyun from Daejin.
But when such a thing actually happened, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t think rationally. Injustice, frustration, sorrow, irritation, disgust – all sorts of negative emotions were exceeding their limits. I wanted to put everything down and just scream, when I finally noticed Han Woojin behind me.
Even though I’m not even Cha Jaehyun. I felt ashamed and embarrassed to show myself hearing such cursed words and even getting slapped in front of Han Woojin. Moreover, my heart ached even more knowing he would obviously be pleased inside after seeing this scene.
“Haha, Secretary Han, you saw something unseemly. That’s enough for today.”
Though my insides were already in shambles, I pretended to be fine with a laugh and tried to send Han Woojin away. I hoped he would leave quickly.
Tonight is so difficult. And lonely. I’m also a precious child in my own home, but just because he’s a major corporation chairman, is it okay to beat someone so roughly?
When I turned around, Han Woojin was still there, not leaving.
“Secretary Han, why are you standing there making a person feel embarrassed? You worked hard today too, so go on home.”
The direction of Secretary Han’s eyes was strange. His eyes were fixed on my left cheek. Was it that satisfying to see me get hit?
I understand the feelings of resenting Cha Jaehyun, but seeing that blatant gaze directed at my cheek made me think he was callous.
“Young Master, your cheek is very swollen. It seems you need treatment quickly.”
“No, I’m fine so—”
Without even listening to me, he just said what he wanted to say, then went toward the kitchen and started taking out ice.
That guy doesn’t listen to me anymore, probably thinking I’ve become easy to handle. After bustling about by himself, he brought an ice pack and medicine in front of me.
“Young Master, I think you should lie down on the bed and rest first. I’ll help you.”
Just go home. Why won’t he listen?
“Secretary Han. I’m fine, so please go now.”
“I’ll treat your wound and then leave. If you don’t treat it now…”
“If I don’t treat it?”
“You might get a scar on your cheek.”
What does it matter to him whether someone else’s face gets scarred or not? Without asking for my opinion, he sat me down on the sofa, squeezed ointment onto his hand, and began spreading the ointment on my cheek.
Is this the psychology of giving one more rice cake to someone you dislike? Since my heart was already a wasteland, I didn’t have the energy for meaningless arguments and just sat quietly waiting for his treatment to end.
How long was he going to keep touching my face? The way he looked at me was also somehow strange. Not a cold gaze, but one that carried an indescribable tenderness.
No matter how skilled he was at hiding his emotions, could that really be the kind of look someone could give while touching the face of a person they dislike? If that was acting, Han Woojin should become a celebrity right away instead of being a secretary.
‘He’s wasting his talent in the wrong place…’
For a moment, our eyes met. Han Woojin didn’t avoid eye contact as if he wanted to have a staring contest with me. In the end, feeling awkward for some unknown reason, I was the first to look away.
“When will this end? You’ll use up the whole night applying medicine.”
“It’ll be finished soon. Young Master.”
He responded lightly with a laugh, as if soothing a child, apparently pleased about something. Is this situation funny to him? Someone’s heart is burning with anger here.
Beep beep beep beep—
Just as I was becoming embarrassed by Han Woojin’s warm touch, the sound of someone entering a passcode came from the entrance.
As soon as the door opened, someone seemed to be walking quickly toward the living room with heavy footsteps.
“This bastard is pulling a no-show from the very first day?”
Seo Hanryul entered the living room. From slapping to breaking and entering, it was a makjang drama in itself. War-like situations were being created without a break. The problem was that I was the protagonist of that drama.
“Hey, you must think appointments are a joke…”
Suddenly, Seo Hanryul’s irritated words were cut off.
The scattered glass fragments, bloodstains on the floor, the swollen face. He must have just now noticed that the situation was not ordinary.
