chapter 09
“Until when are you going to follow me?”
Seo Ha asked, pressing the smart key she had snatched from Seung-oh. The footsteps that had been blatantly following her grew closer and then stopped right behind her.
“I’m just going to my car. Do you have some kind of complex, Yoon Seo-ha? Or are you axe-obsessed?”
“Before you stab me with that axe, why don’t you take Secretary Ryu’s car?”
“Well, you talk well. Try saying that to your husband earlier.”
Seo Ha spun around and glared at Kyung-joon.
“Don’t you have better things to do on a refreshing weekend? Sitting in a cafe, eavesdropping on other people’s private lives?”
“I wasn’t eavesdropping. I was sitting there, and it just happened to reach my ears. In that quiet place, they were openly filming a drama, talking about affairs—how could I not hear it?”
“Your words are getting short. Did you bite your tongue while watching the drama with your mouth wide open?”
“Let’s just wipe the tears and talk. Santa Grandpa might turn around while bringing gifts.”
The handkerchief Kyung-joon lazily tossed landed on top of Seo Ha’s head. She wanted to slap herself for even thanking him last time.
“I’m not crying.”
“Is the mascara running under your eyes the latest makeup trend?”
Seo Ha rubbed her face with the handkerchief on her head. There were no traces of water or mascara—her face was clean.
“Are you joking right now?”
Kyung-joon snatched the handkerchief from midair as she threw it.
“You don’t even know if you’re crying or not. That’s why you get messed with by trash.”
Kyung-joon waited for another sharp retort. But Yoon Seo-ha, who had been glaring at him, said nothing.
This isn’t right.
Turning away, Seo Ha opened the car door and got into the driver’s seat. She had a feeling that letting him go now would leave a lingering discomfort. Kyung-joon ran quickly, opened the passenger door, and got in.
“What are you doing? Get out immediately!”
“Let’s go together. Nothing better to do on a refreshing weekend.”
Brazenly, he had already buckled his seatbelt. He even adjusted the narrow passenger seat to make it comfortably wide.
“Get out. Do you want to get reported?”
“If I get reported and go to jail, who’s going to assist the CEO? It won’t be easy to find a secretary who works as well as me.”
“……”
Seo Ha decided to stop this pointless argument. She was too drained from dealing with Seung-oh and Ji-su to fight anymore.
She also felt a tiny bit relieved not to be alone and pitiful. Just a tiny bit.
The car that Seo Ha always drove with Seung-oh in it left the hotel parking lot. She made a right turn onto the eight-lane road. Traffic shouldn’t have been this bad, but the car wasn’t moving well, and there was commotion ahead.
“What’s going on? Was there an acci—”
Seo Ha’s gaze, scanning the disturbance, stopped across the road.
Seung-oh had jumped over the median and was running toward the opposite lane.
With a passion she had never seen in her life, he grabbed Ji-su tightly and exchanged a passionate kiss. Drivers honked and shouted at him. It was pathetic, humiliating, yet somehow infuriating and sad—a bizarre scene.
“Wow. What a complete idiot.”
Kyung-joon perfectly voiced what Seo Ha wanted to say, then covered her eyes with his large hand.
“Don’t look. You threw the divorce papers so dramatically. Yoon Seo-ha may be obnoxious and rude, but she’s far too good for an idiot like him.”
It was unpleasant but strangely comforting.
“Your stubbornness isn’t any better.”
Seo Ha pushed Kyung-joon’s hand away. Glancing over, Seung-oh and Ji-su were still in their frenzy.
“I told you not to look.”
Kyung-joon held Seo Ha’s head with both hands, making her look straight ahead.
“Step on the accelerator. We need to move forward.”
Seo Ha followed his instructions, pressing the gas. The car bypassed the couple still lost in their world and moved into the straight lane.
“You drive well.”
Kyung-joon smiled and pressed the radio button. A song popular back in middle school played.
“Where’s Secretary Ryu’s home?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Because I need to drop you off before getting out.”
“You’re actually going to take me home? That’s surprisingly kind.”
“I’m tired, so just tell me quickly.”
“Eulwang-ri.”
“Huh?”
Seo Ha looked sharply to the side, thinking he was joking. Surprisingly, Kyung-joon looked serious.
“I live in Eulwang-ri. Let’s go quickly. You said you’d take me there, right?”
“You commute from Eulwang-ri to Gangnam every day?”
“On weekdays I stay at an officetel near the company. On weekends, I’m in Eulwang-ri. Today’s a weekend.”
That sounded plausible. Still, Eulwang-ri was quite far.
“Too far. I’ll drop you here—”
“Let’s go. I helped you.”
“What did you help with?”
“I was watching out. I didn’t want Yoon Seo-ha to cry again.”
“Don’t cut off my words. And who’s crying anyway?”
“I saw you holding back tears. I kept watching, whether you cried or not.”
“Why were you watching that? Are you a pervert? A stalker?”
“If you cried, I was just going to drag you out.”
Seo Ha was speechless. Kyung-joon had indeed helped her. In the moment she was about to lose her composure, his gaze helped her maintain her pride.
“Why?”
“I told you. Yoon Seo-ha may be annoying, but she’s too good for that idiot. Letting the daughter of the CEO I serve be treated that way feels like negligence.”
Kyung-joon murmured to himself, looking out the window.
“Still, you did well. That idiot got a satisfying hit just from seeing his back.”
He was truly a strange man. The rudest person she knew, yet his words were oddly comforting and refreshing.
Going home alone would leave her feeling restless. A drive to Eulwang-ri didn’t sound so bad.
Breaking through the congested road, it took three full hours to reach Eulwang-ri. Kyung-joon had reclined fully and slept comfortably.
“Ah, that was a good nap.”
Seo Ha looked at him in disbelief.
“How can you sleep so openly?”
“I was sleepy. Don’t you sleep when you’re sleepy, Yoon Seo-ha?”
Seo Ha resisted the urge to flick him on the forehead, smiling at his refreshed face.
“Where’s your house?”
“Go straight, then right. Uh, yes. Go straight… okay. Now turn left there. Go straight again.”
Kyung-joon pointed directions like a human GPS. Following him, they arrived at a seaside grilled shellfish restaurant.
“Park over there.”
“Secretary Ryu runs a shellfish restaurant?”
“Just park. They’re honking behind us.”
Pushed by Kyung-joon and the car behind, Seo Ha parked in the restaurant lot. Kyung-joon quickly got out and opened the driver’s door.
“Get out.”
“Why?”
“You’re not going to eat shellfish in Eulwang-ri and leave?”
The scent of butter-grilled scallops floated into the car. It smelled delicious.
She realized she hadn’t eaten properly for days. Her stomach growled immediately.
“What are you spacing out for?”
Kyung-joon leaned over and fumbled with her seatbelt. The refreshing scent from his neck hit her—a mix of post-rain grass and early winter sea air.
“Secretary Ryu,” he said, turning to her while holding the seatbelt.
“What perfume do you use?”
The eyes that always looked down coldly at her blinked slowly twice.
“…Soap.”
“Huh?”
“Soap.”
Click. The seatbelt finally released. Kyung-joon got up, leaving the fresh soap scent lingering.
“Ah. Soap.”
Seo Ha got out and closed the door. Kyung-joon had already gone ahead into the restaurant.
“What can I get for you? Quickly! Ah, two people. Window seat, please.”
Chased by his urgency, Seo Ha hurried to the second-floor window table. The unblocked view of the sea spread fully before her eyes.
“Wow. The sea!”
She had never paid attention to the sea while being busy. Now that she saw it, it was beautiful. Her bright smile clung to her face as she held the window frame.
Kyung-joon leaned back, watching her.
It was the first time he saw her smile genuinely, not in a business-like way. She was indeed pretty when smiling, even if objectively annoying in other ways.
Better than crying.
Though it was because of “business,” sitting in that hotel cafe now seemed like a fortunate coincidence. Going home without a car seemed daunting.
Well, she’d think about that after eating the shellfish.
“Food’s here.”
A charcoal grill with well-prepared shellfish appeared on the table, including the scallops that had tempted her earlier.
“……”
“……”
They stared at each other across the food and spoke at the same time.
“Aren’t we grilling?”
“Aren’t we?”
“……”
“……”
After a brief silence, they spoke again simultaneously.
“I can’t grill this.”
“I can’t grill this either.”
What kind of person is this?
Seo Ha repeated the thought she had when she first saw him.
“You suggested coming here. Let’s grill quickly.”
“I’ll pay, so you grill a bit, Yoon Seo-ha.”
“Do I look like someone who grills just to pay off the meal? Who drove us here?”
“True.”
Kyung-joon ended up holding the tongs. He grilled the shellfish diligently, even as staff came running when smoke rose. The food still turned out delicious.
“Drinks?”
Kyung-joon shook the recently opened soju bottle.
“Will you pay, though?”
“Why not.”
“Deal.”
Seo Ha waved at a passing staff member.
“Here! One bottle of beer and two glasses, please!”
Kyung-joon paused mid-pour.
“…Soju and beer mix?”
“Yep.”
“Not bad, you know your stuff.”
“I studied abroad, after all.”
Seo Ha poured half a glass of beer into each glass, dropped the soju shot in fully, covered the top with a napkin, and handed it to him.
“One shot. For the idiot.”
It was absurd. On the day her husband, whom she had loved all her life, cheated and threw divorce papers, she was in Eulwang-ri with a man she disliked, grilling shellfish and mixing soju and beer.
“Why for the idiot? Quick thinking.”
Kyung-joon took the glass, swirling it.
“One shot. For the idiot ex-wife, Yoon Seo-ha.”
