Chapter 8

“What?”

What was he telling me to do? Or not to do?

When Sunwoo asked dumbly, Director Kang Jinwook spoke again, almost shouting:

“Come to work whether you’ve lost your memory or whatever.”

Director Kang Jinwook threw those words out and turned around abruptly. Sunwoo didn’t have time to catch him or argue.

Sunwoo watched Director Kang Jinwook’s retreating figure with an incredulous expression. Coming suddenly, leaving suddenly. He really lived up to his ‘madman’ reputation, doing exactly as he pleased. More importantly, who was he to prevent Sunwoo from quitting? Shouldn’t he be happy if Sunwoo said he was resigning?

Director Kang Jinwook’s attitude had been strange since yesterday.

“Is it just my imagination? It feels like he keeps paying attention to me…”

Sunwoo could understand him showing up at the hospital, since he had collapsed in front of him.

But calling him constantly with unnecessary tasks after he returned to work the day after being discharged, demanding to know if he was sick somewhere, and even coming to his home to pressure him not to resign…

“Isn’t this harassment?”

Yes, that seemed more convincing. Preventing him from quitting, keeping him close to torment him continuously.

‘No, surely not. The ‘madman’ character has some weight to it. He wouldn’t be so petty.’

But judging by how the secretarial staff had treated him today, it didn’t seem like they were worried about him.

This won’t do!

‘I’ll submit my resignation directly to Director Kang Jinwook as soon as I get to work tomorrow! And I’ll pack up all my things and leave.’

If he gets stuck here, a terrible future might be waiting for him.

“Hey, why did Director Kang Jinwook come here anyway?”

While Sunwoo was making a firm resolution to quit tomorrow no matter what, Yeoltaeng, who had been looking equally bewildered in the direction Kang Jinwook had disappeared, asked.

“I don’t know.”

Sunwoo’s head was complicated because he didn’t know either. No, it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t know.

I’m quitting tomorrow anyway!

Sunwoo snatched the mart bag that was still in Yeoltaeng’s hand and strode into the building resolutely.

“Hey. Wait up!”

Yeoltaeng quickly followed behind Sunwoo.

“You said you had something important to tell Director Kang Jinwook back then, right? Is that why? What did you talk about?”

He asked what he had been itching to know.

“What conversation?”

“Ah! Right. You said you lost your memory.”

Yeoltaeng chattered away, closely following behind Sunwoo, who was walking briskly without looking back.

“You don’t even know who I am, right? Right? Huh?”

As Sunwoo pressed the elevator button and waited, Yeoltaeng stood beside him. His rapid, incessant talking was overwhelming.

“Who are you then?”

“Me? I’m your lover. You know? We’ve been dating since high school.”

Yeoltaeng said with a grin, placing his hand on Sunwoo’s shoulder. The palm on his shoulder was hot and clammy.

He’s lying. Even without his memories, Sunwoo knew that was a lie. Sunwoo snorted and brushed off Yeoltaeng’s hand like swatting away a fly.

Lover, yeah right. Looking at him now, he seemed like someone who was just trying to take advantage somehow. Now that he thought about it, Yeoltaeng didn’t even seem like someone he could call a friend.

Yeoltaeng, who had been leaning diagonally against Sunwoo, staggered backward as he lost his support. Just then, the elevator doors opened wide.

Sunwoo quickly entered and repeatedly pressed the close button.

“Huh, hey! Choi Sunwoo!”

Yeoltaeng, who had been standing awkwardly, tried to follow, but the elevator carrying Sunwoo mercilessly closed the gap.

Returning home, Sunwoo put the mart bag on the dining table and drank a glass of water first.

“Should I just be absent without notice?”

Sunwoo muttered to himself as he set down the cup with a clank.

“Then I’d be fired for negligence of duty.”

That seemed like it could be grounds for dismissal. Sunwoo thought for a moment and then shook his head. No matter how reckless he might be, his conscience, moral sense, and sense of responsibility wouldn’t allow him to go that far.

Above all, Director Kang Jinwook had already come to his home. Judging by that, it seemed like he would come to the house again as soon as he found out Sunwoo hadn’t come to work.

“Alright! Resignation it is, resignation!”

Sunwoo clenched his fist and shouted “Fighting!” Then he took out what he had bought at the mart and filled his stomach heartily.

After finishing his shower, he sat on the sofa idly when suddenly he wondered what he should do after quitting his job.

‘First, I need to go somewhere quiet.’

He shouldn’t think it would be okay to keep staying here. If by mistake Director Kang Jinwook found out about the pregnancy, and moreover that the child was his…

“Ugh…”

It was terrifying just to imagine.

In the original story, as soon as Director Kang Jinwook found out about Secretary Choi’s pregnancy, he suspected who the father was and ordered an immediate test, saying he couldn’t trust him.

And he said he would do a DNA test as soon as the child was born, keeping Secretary Choi confined until then.

“How many months along was it?”

Sunwoo recalled the content of the original novel where it mentioned ‘Secretary Choi appearing with a visibly swollen belly.’ That meant it was at least 6 months along.

That means being confined for at least half a year… This isn’t some depressing imprisonment novel.

“Really… I can’t be around such a madman. Wo, wo…”

Sunwoo shook his head as if pushing away terrible thoughts. Then he opened a map app and looked at places far from Seoul.

Would the seaside be good? Or the mountains? Actually, a small city in the provinces might be better to live in…

Would an apartment be okay? Or a villa?

“A country house would be most comfortable. It’d be good for the child’s emotional development too. A single-story with a small yard. We could plant flowers, grow vegetables, raise a dog…”

Imagining it, it seemed nice.

“But the maintenance…”

We could hire a caretaker. And it would be good to do something. A leisurely unemployed life might be nice, but it could get boring.

“Business might not work out? Should I open a bookstore? Though these days, that kind of thing would probably fail…”

Sunwoo had always wanted to open a bookstore. Not a big one, but a very small one.

There was a time when independent bookstores were trendy. Sunwoo had thought about opening such a store, selling books and hosting reading groups.

Of course, it was a dream difficult to achieve realistically.

“Why not?”

Thinking about it, it seemed fine. Choi Sunwoo had an enormous fortune anyway. Even if it was inherited from Secretary Choi’s parents.

“Come to think of it, how much was that…”

Curious, Sunwoo got up from the sofa and went to the bedroom.

He thought there might be documents like a bankbook left somewhere. But the main bedroom had no furniture besides the bed, no safe, and nothing in the dressing room either.

“Should I go to the bank?”

He must have entrusted it to such a place, right? But which bank? It seemed he’d need to look into this carefully.

Sunwoo searched online for quiet small cities outside Seoul before lying down on the bed. Perhaps due to the pregnancy, his body quickly felt lethargic, and fatigue set in, making him sleepy.@@novelbin@@

In his dream, Sunwoo saw himself opening a small bookstore and welcoming a child and a customer. The customer was a tall man neatly dressed in a suit. Incongruously, he held a large bouquet in one hand.

Beautiful, bright sunflowers that suited summer well.

As Sunwoo stared blankly, the man triumphantly held out the lush sunflower bouquet.

Sunwoo raised his head to see the man’s face.

“Gasp! Crazy!”

Sunwoo’s eyes flew open, and he cursed without realizing. His heart was pounding wildly.

“It was a nightmare. No, a stupid dream.”

The one who appeared in Sunwoo’s dream bookstore was none other than Director Kang Jinwook. Why dream about him of all people?

Sunwoo grumbled inwardly as he checked the time on his phone. It was just time to prepare for work.

* * *

5 AM. Just as dawn was breaking.

Director Kang Jinwook was running hard on a treadmill, watching the rising sun. His first task in the morning was to drink a glass of water and exercise for over an hour.

Kang Jinwook especially liked running where he could overlook the city skyline. Not because of the arrogant satisfaction of having the world at his feet, but because he could enjoy the feeling of running in a space with an open view.

But today, even after 40 minutes of running, his mood hadn’t particularly brightened.

“Report.”

Kang Jinwook coldly ordered, seeing a faint reflection in the window.

Secretary Kwak, who had been waiting in Kang Jinwook’s personal fitness room for 10 minutes, promptly spoke.

“It doesn’t seem to be fainting due to overwork.”

“Then?”

“I couldn’t confirm the hospital records, but a hospital office worker reportedly overheard a conversation between the doctor and Choi Sunwoo.”

“What did they say?”

“They heard the words ‘two months’.”

Kang Jinwook stopped the treadmill and turned around.

“What?”

“They didn’t hear the preceding context clearly, but in the call with Choi Sunwoo, the doctor apparently said it was about two months, so he should be careful from now on.”

As soon as Secretary Kwak finished speaking, Kang Jinwook’s face hardened.

What flashed through his mind were images of Secretary Choi retching, Secretary Choi turning pale, and Secretary Choi fainting as if his fuse had blown after shouting that he was sick and demanding Kang Jinwook take responsibility.

“Two months?”

That was like…

“Is Secretary Choi terminally ill?”

Seeing Kang Jinwook’s utterly hardened expression, Secretary Kwak bowed his head deeply, looking ashamed.

“I need to go to the hospital.”

Kang Jinwook said coldly. He felt he needed to meet the doctor directly and talk.