Chapter: 03
Tell Me the Real Reason You Came to Me
Perhaps he liked seeing her flustered, because after widening the distance between himself and Yuri slightly, Hushin spoke in a deep, heavy voice.
“Well, forget that. Let me make you an offer, Ms. Jin Yuri.”
“…….”
“I really need a secretary who works as devotedly as you do. Would you consider coming to work for me?”
“Ha! What kind of ridiculous… You’re saying you want to recruit me, even though I’m your fiancée’s secretary?”
Yuri could only be dumbfounded by his absurd proposal.
“I mean I want you because I find you too good to let someone else have you. What’s so strange about that?”
“Vice President Park Hushin, please stop joking around. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear what you just said. Then.”
Not wanting to hear anything more from Hushin, Yuri merely bowed her head briefly in greeting before hurrying toward the entrance.
Just as she was about to turn the doorknob, his deep voice struck her ears from behind.
“I’m not joking, so tell me whenever you’ve made up your mind. The sooner you decide, the better.”
After that, Yuri deliberately avoided meeting Hushin alone. Honestly, she was afraid.
She didn’t know how her feelings might change if she met him again. That was why she no longer had the courage to face him.
For a moment, Yuri was lost in memories of her past with Hushin, but then she immediately remembered meeting him just last night at Seol-ah’s instruction.
She had gone there to persuade him to attend the year-end party, and she still vividly remembered the shocking thing Hushin had said.
“If I’m going to attend that party, you should first tell me what you’re going to do for me, Ms. Jin Yuri. Then I might at least consider it….”
“There’s nothing I can do for you, Vice President. I’m only here because Director Baek asked me to.”
“Oh, dear. The problem is, I want to receive something from Jin Yuri, not Baek Seol-ah.”
“I… I have someone I’m going to marry. If you keep saying things like this….”
At Yuri’s words, Hushin let out a short, mocking laugh.
“I didn’t ask you to sleep with me, so why are you suddenly putting up such a wall? I only wanted to hear your answer to the secretary position I offered you last time. Or perhaps you wanted me to say that? If you want, I can.”
“No, how can you say something like that….”
Yuri didn’t want to continue the conversation with Hushin anymore. His words were undeniably rude, but the blatant desire he held for her made it feel as though he genuinely wanted her.
Yuri was afraid that if Hushin said even one more word, she would truly be swept along by him.
She felt pathetic for finding herself unable to breathe properly and her heart racing whenever Hushin uttered such vulgar remarks.
“I’ll let her know that you won’t be able to attend. Then.”
Not wanting him to see her face, which had turned red all the way to her earlobes from humiliation, Yuri hurriedly bowed and rushed out of his office.
＊＊＊
Yuri impulsively searched for Hushin’s address, which was saved in her navigation system, and pressed it.
It was a place she had visited several times on Seol-ah’s errands. Perhaps her fingers remembered the way, because she entered the gate password with astonishing naturalness.
“Ah… I must be crazy. Of all places, why did I come here?”
She could only be astonished that she had actually turned such a dangerous thought into action, as though she really had intended to have an affair with him right away, just as Seol-ah had said.
Hushin lived in a luxury villa complex, a place with such strict security that no one could even enter through the entrance without entering a password.
The villas had been built in various designs according to each client’s preferences, and they were spaced far apart to ensure privacy.
December 31, 8:00 a.m.
Although Yuri regretted doing something so crazy first thing in the morning, for some reason she couldn’t bring herself to move from inside the car.
Perhaps because she had been up since dawn and had been rushing around, exhaustion suddenly washed over her, and her eyelids grew heavy.
The area in front of Hushin’s house was quiet beneath the warm morning sunlight. When Yuri turned off the engine and rested her head against the driver’s seat, her eyelids naturally began to close.
Tap, tap, tap.
When she heard a sound close by, as though someone were knocking on the window, Yuri reflexively opened her eyes wide. Her gaze met Hushin’s eyes as he stood outside the driver’s-side window.
“Gasp!”
Startled by the sudden sound she made, Yuri covered her mouth. Then she opened the car door and stepped outside.
Perhaps he had just returned from exercising that morning, because he was wearing nothing more than light training clothes, yet his firm, muscular body was clearly visible. Perhaps because he was sweating, his damp face and slightly labored breathing looked strangely seductive.
His eyebrows were drawn together at an angle, as though something displeased him. Hushin immediately asked Yuri,
“What are you doing in front of my house at this hour? Did Director Baek Seol-ah tell you to bring me something again?”
“Ah, no…. It’s nothing like that.”
Flustered, Yuri fidgeted and hesitated for a moment. She needed some time to figure out how on earth she was supposed to explain this situation to Hushin.
“If not, then what possible reason could Jin Yuri have for being in front of my house at this hour?”
Hushin stared intently at Yuri as if urging her to answer.
Under his oppressive gaze, Yuri felt as though she couldn’t breathe, and her heart tightened. In that instant, she remembered his offer to become his secretary and blurted out,
“Well, I came to give you my answer… about the matter you mentioned to me last time.”
Hushin’s expression remained unchanged, but the faint tremor in his eyes revealed a hint of surprise.
“Ha! Are you saying you came all the way here this early in the morning without even contacting me, just to say that?”
“…….”
Unable to say anything in response, Yuri merely bit her lower lip. Whether it was because the outside air was cold or because she was anxious, her body suddenly began to tremble.
Seeing her like that, Hushin spoke calmly.
“It’s cold, so let’s go inside first.”
Without a word, Yuri followed him into the house. She had felt it every time she came here, but the place was excessively spacious for Hushin to live in alone.
Even this living room alone was larger than several of the fifteen-pyeong officetels where she lived combined. Suddenly, the place felt strangely unfamiliar, and she even began thinking that she should leave again.
‘What am I even going to say…? That just because I quit being Baek Seol-ah’s secretary, I’m going to proudly become this man’s secretary instead? Now that I don’t have a man to marry, am I going to openly tell him to sleep with me? Ha….’
Her thoughts were a complete mess. She hadn’t decided to marry Hyun-woo because she loved him desperately. She had simply wanted to build an ordinary family.
She had been swayed by Joo Sang-hee, who spoke like an experienced matchmaker, and because she had been pushed along in that atmosphere, she had naturally felt as though she had no choice but to go through with the marriage.
Now that she had even decided to break off the engagement, Yuri couldn’t help but regret how she had lived under Joo Sang-hee and Seol-ah without ever properly asserting her own opinions.
“Don’t just stand there looking uncomfortable. Sit down. It’s making me uncomfortable watching you.”
“Ah, yes.”
Yuri, who had been lost in thought for a moment, returned to reality at Hushin’s words. And then she made up her mind.
From this very moment, she would do whatever she wanted.
For the most certain revenge she had resolved to take before coming here.
“I’m going to make some coffee. What about you, Ms. Jin Yuri?”
“I’d like coffee too. Thank you.”
After answering Hushin, Yuri sat down on the sofa with a determined expression.
A little while later, Hushin placed a luxurious mug filled with the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee on the table in front of Yuri. Along with it, he brought a warm-looking blanket.
“Cover yourself with it if you need to.”
“Yes….”
There was something strangely warm about his casually tossed-out words.
Yuri sat on the sofa across from him and silently watched Hushin’s dignified figure as he drank his coffee. Her lips moved slightly, but no words came out.
Hushin noticed the expression immediately and spoke first.
“Now, tell me the real reason you came to me.”
“The secretary position you offered me last time… If it’s still available, I’d like to take it.”
If she wanted to seduce him, staying close to him would give her more opportunities.
She had merely said the words, yet Yuri’s spine turned cold as though she had committed a crime. Her tightly curled fists were already damp with sweat.
Hushin looked at Yuri, who had lowered her head and was keeping her gaze down. Her fair skin, almost devoid of makeup, made her look exceptionally pure and delicate. Her lively lips were moist, as though she had applied pink lip balm, and his gaze lingered on them of its own accord.
He suddenly remembered the first time he had seen her at Seol-ah’s birthday party. She had looked elegant and innocent, yet there had been something strangely sorrowful about her.
After that, Yuri was always beside Seol-ah, so he had no choice but to see her often. Yet he had never once seen her smile or laugh.
His gaze kept drifting toward her. He had tried to ignore her, but he couldn’t help paying attention to her despite himself.
That day, he had secretly followed her all the way to the terrace and played the role of a prince on a white horse, something completely unlike him.
Never once in his life had he experienced such pointless feelings toward a woman.
Although it had been a coincidence, he had even saved her when she was in danger, yet the woman had run away without so much as thanking him. As time passed, he became increasingly curious about her, and the way she blindly obeyed Seol-ah strangely irritated him.
The reason he had offered Yuri a position as his secretary was because he wanted to see her obeying him instead of Seol-ah.
But she seemed to have absolutely no intention of doing so.
He had clearly seen her secretly stealing glances at him several times, yet she never once let on that she was interested.
She was obviously somewhat interested in him, yet she shamelessly pretended otherwise.
And that attitude stirred up a strange possessiveness in Hushin once again.
