chapter 67

(Se-hyeon POV)

I should have just let it go even after seeing it. If it's a gift, it should be used instead of

keeping it unused. I shouldn't have made a big deal out of using the same fountain pen. I ended up shooting myself in the foot.

"Are you curious about this?"

"No, I'm not."

Even though I shouldn't have asked, Shin Tae-oh's raised eyebrow didn't come down easily.

Without realizing it, Tae-oh found himself half-lying in the chair, examining the fountain pen from various angles.

“Jin-ha gave me a fountain pen.”

I could have just said that I didn't know because I hadn't unwrapped it.

"I thought it would be fine since I saw the secretary using it."

Ah, I've messed up.

I don't know if Shin Tae-oh set a trap or if I jumped into the pit with unnecessary words...

Well, what does it matter? What's important is that I've been thoroughly caught up in Shin Tae-oh's scheme.

"That's why I like having a secretary."

"Sir..."

I tried to stop him from saying such words here, but Shin Tae-oh added a playful smile.

"The secretary has a keen eye."

He knew I deliberately said it subtly, but he pretended not to.

"I received it as a gift."

There was no need to mention that I didn't buy it, but Shin Tae-oh didn't even pretend to hear. He definitely thinking that I asked about pen because I was jealous, ofcourse I know the pen was given by yoo Jin-ha but Shin Tae-oh didn't use it up until now that's why I asked.(Sign)

Since I was the cause of this conversation going in this direction, I couldn't blame anyone else.

Se-hyeon looked away from Shin Tae-oh and said:

"...I'll take the documents."

Now there was no choice but to avoid him. So I picked up the documents and paused when I saw the empty signature line.

Somehow I seem to say that he wouldn't let me leave without capturing me.

"Please approve."

‘So that I can leave.’

With Se-hyeon subtly pressuring him, Shin Tae-oh willingly detached himself from the

backrest, as if indicating his readiness.

"What are you doing this morning?"

"I have a marketing team meeting scheduled..."

Didn't we just have a briefing earlier?

"I'm asking you, not the secretary.”

"I... I'll be preparing for the meeting."

"What about lunch?"

"I'll be preparing for a meeting."

"And in the afternoon?"

"I'll be working..."

"What would an office worker do?"

In response to Shin Tae-oh's question, Se-hyeon blurted out dismissively, realizing that he unintentionally hit a nerve. He immediately closed his mouth in the awkward atmosphere.

Amidst the tension, Shin Tae-oh furrowed his eyebrows and focused his gaze on the

documents.

"Do you know how caring our secretary is?"

Me?

"While I was suffering from illness, he was receiving urgent documents."

But isn't that part of the secretary's job?

"I thought he would only be concerned about me without knowing anything. He works all day today and even tomorrow... His dedication is truly remarkable."

If you have any complaints, just say it openly.

As Shin Tae-oh's frustration reached its peak, work was disrupted, and he only handed special approval documents to those who came to see him as a result.

Unless it's a special case where someone needs to come in person, it's common for the secretary to keep and receive approval for such documents. Se-hyeon couldn't understand what had triggered Shin Tae-oh's sensitivity.

"It doesn't matter. The past is the past, what lies ahead is important."

Shin Tae-oh was just talking to himself. Se-hyeon didn't understand what he had done wrong when he was just doing his job, and he didn't know how he should act in response to Shin Tae-oh's mention of the 'future.'

"I'm counting on you."

For what?

"Go and see for yourself."

Tell me what you're expecting, and just let me go... Just go?

***

(At a mall)

Shin Tae-oh, accompanied by Lee Jin-ho instead of Se-hyeon, entered the editing shop.

With something predetermined in his mind from the beginning, Shin Tae-oh headed towards a specific place without hesitation, and Lee Jin-ho followed him.

"Will you watch with me?"

"Me?"

"Why is the boss, who never makes such requests, acting like this today?" Lee Jin-ho nodded obediently, even though he wondered.

"I'll give it to Ahn Se-hyeon."

"You mean Ahn Se-hyeon, not Yoo Jin-ha?"

Lee Jin-ho asked with a puzzled expression. It was to the extent that he confirmed using a name that didn't have any formal rank attached to it.

"Yes."

"Well then... Is there something between you two?"

Lee Jin-ho glanced at another person and subtly asked Shin Tae-oh. Previously, he only had suspicions, but now, as he went through the discharge procedure, he was certain. Shin Tae-oh's affection had shifted to Ahn Se-hyeon.

"But..."

With a confused look, Lee Jin-ho glanced at the coat that Shin Tae-oh took out.

Until now, Shin Tae-oh had chosen gifts for Yoo Jin-ha. Even if the size didn't fit, it was

natural to assume that it was meant for Yoo Jin-ha.

So far, Se-hyeon had been responsible for delivering gifts to Yoo Jin-ha, but Lee Jin-ho was not completely ignorant of it either.

"The recipient has changed, but why does the design you choose remain consistent?"

It's an extremely rigid bamboo preference.

Or perhaps, from the beginning, you didn't see clothes that would suit Yoo Jin-ha, but rather picked designs that you wanted him to wear?

"I think this will suit him well."

As expected, Tae-oh was recalling Se-hyeon with a similar design in mind.

"What on earth is this?"

"What?"

Once they were alone after shooing away the surrounding employees, Lee Jin-ho leaned closer to Shin Tae-oh.

"What kind of perverted behaviour is this?"

In response to Lee Jin-ho's reaction, which seemed to question his sanity, Shin Tae-oh turned his head and locked eyes with him, still holding the coat.

"If you're only going to put on the coat, isn't it a bit lacking? Shouldn't you also match it with a suit to wear underneath?"

"That's not what I meant."

Lee Jin-ho firmly held onto his words and spoke with a cold tone.

"You're trying to make Ahn Se-hyeon wear the same design that you intended for Yoo Jinha."

"Did I... do that?"

In response to Shin Tae-oh's flippant reply, Lee Jin-ho clenched his fist. If he weren't his boss, he would have wanted to punch him right then and there, but he held back and restrained himself.

"The recipient has changed. So you should change too."

Lee Jin-ho kindly explained to Shin Tae-oh, who seemed clueless and likely to repeat the same mistake for his junior from school.

"You need to show that you value that person specially. That's how the other person can understand your feelings."

With sincere advice that aimed to prevent his unrequited love from ending in vain, Lee Jin-ho handed it over, and Shin Tae-oh fell into deep thought with a serious expression.

He couldn't help but wonder why someone who had never paid attention to anyone else suddenly acted this way towards Ahn Se-hyeon. But well, this was as much as he could interfere.

As Lee Jin-ho found himself speechless, he looked at the clothes while waiting for Shin Taeoh's response. When was it? There was a time when Se-hyeon had come carrying a white padded jacket. He claimed it was for Yoo Jin-ha, but effortlessly carried out the errand with the boss's personal emotions involved.

"So, you're sending it to Assistant Manager Yoo Jin-ha?"

"Yes."

(Tl: past memories of Shin Tae-oh when he was buying a coat  for Yoo Jin-ha and Se-hyeon give suggestions)

Even though Se-hyeon said it was his first time as a secretary, he seemed to distinguish between the boss's official duties and personal matters, without any emotional fluctuations.

Moreover, he smoothly avoided the disliked elements that Shin Tae-oh was wary of, and quickly rose to the position of Executive Secretary.

Was that what appealed to Shin Tae-oh?

Now, thinking that his thoughts were gradually being organized, Lee Jin-ho turned to Shin Tae-oh. If Shin Tae-oh understood his advice, he would put away the things he had taken out and start

anew...

"This one is the most beautiful."

"...What?"

With a perplexed look, Lee Jin-ho looked at the coat pointed out by Shin Tae-oh. It was the very first item he had picked.

"You did understand everything I said, right?"

"It's special."

Shin Tae-oh extended a cashmere coat to an employee, asking for it to be wrapped, then turned to Lee Jin-ho.

"I didn't know either, but it turns out it was Ahn Se-hyeon from the beginning."

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"I chose it while thinking of Ahn Se-hyeon at that time too."

Perhaps it was the white padded jacket at first, but as Lee Jin-ho struggled to understand the situation, he belatedly recalled something.

"So you...?"

"I didn't know back then. It just happened that way."

So, it meant that there was no need to choose a new design.

"Instead, I need to become special to Ahn Se-hyeon."

That way, I can make him look back at me.

"How can I appear attractive in Ahn Se-hyeon's eyes?"

Lee Jin-ho stared at Shin Tae-oh with a bewildered look and then grabbed his own head.

"To think it was Ahn Se-hyeon from the beginning... No wonder he would say things that didn't make sense to Yoo Jin-ha. Back then, I just thought he was crazy..."

As Lee Jin-ho watched Shin Tae-oh receive the wrapped clothes, he muttered to himself.

"He didn't know my feelings. I had my own reasons for that, so please understand, hyung."

Shin Tae-oh tapped Lee Jin-ho's shoulder and left the store.

"What if I get rejected again like with Yoo Jin-ha?"

"Se-hyeon won't reject you."

"So you're confident?"

Did he know Yoo Jin-ha would reject him and still give him the gift?

"Well, first of all, it's a gift that caught Ahn Se-hyeon's eye, so it should suit his taste."

"How do you know that?"

"He touched it and looked at it carefully last time we came to the store."

Even if Lee Jin-ho didn't understand, Shin Tae-oh added the next statement as if it didn't matter.

"The sleeves of the clothes Se-hyeon's currently wearing are worn out. It's the perfect timing to buy a new one. And I have a very suitable excuse to pass it on."

Shin Tae-oh successfully executed all the strategies to give the coat.

As a result, when Shin Tae-oh said that Se-hyeon had no choice but to accept it, he became even more excited, not knowing what to do. Lee Jin-ho looked at him with pity, unable to bear it.

"Do you want to give it to him so badly, even if it means doing all that?"

He called it a gift.

Why is it so difficult to hand over a single item?

Anyway, it wouldn't be bad if Shin Tae-oh gave the gift, and Se-hyeon would be happy to receive new clothes. There was nothing wrong with it.

"What's the excuse?"

Lee Jin-ho couldn't erase his doubts until the end.

***

Se-hyeon found himself in a perplexing situation.

"How can I accept it?"

What could be going on in Taenyang's mind as he extended the coat and rambled  with nonsense?