BTUB 08

Chapter: 08

“Ah, Vice President, that…”

Moon Assistant Manager backed away slightly, her face turning red. With such an incredibly handsome face suddenly right in front of her, she seemed too flustered to even know how to react.

“Are you sick?”

Regardless of her reaction, Joo Taegeon continued questioning her with an impassive expression. His gaze remained fixed solely on Eunjae. His eyes scanned her from head to toe, sharp and intense like lasers.

“N-No! I’m fine!”

“Then I’ll see you at the restaurant in a little while.”

Joo Taegeon smiled with a satisfied expression before turning around and leaving. As Moon Assistant Manager watched his retreating back, she let out an admiring sigh.

Eunjae, however, was in despair and clutched her head. She had been desperately trying to find a way to escape, but now even those intentions had been completely seen through. There was no way out anymore.

The short morning work period came to an end, and the office became noisy as everyone hurried to the restaurant they had hastily reserved.

“Let’s go, Assistant Manager Han!”

“Y-Yeah…”

After swallowing some stomach medicine, Eunjae reluctantly followed the excited Moon Assistant Manager.

When they stepped into the hallway, the employees from Teams 1 and 2 were already mingling together and chatting noisily. Everyone looked curious and excited about having a meal with their new team leader.

Of course, the person who attracted the most attention among them was the accompanying Vice President, Joo Taegeon.

‘Is he really planning to eat with us?’

Eunjae fidgeted with her phone for no reason, stealing glances at Joo Taegeon, who was standing some distance away. Fortunately, he seemed preoccupied with talking between Team Leader Woo and Team Leader Seo.

She quietly observed Joo Taegeon from head to toe. He was dressed in a neat suit similar to the one he had worn last time, but unlike when he was at home, his bangs had been neatly swept back, making his appearance even more noticeable.

It was ridiculous that he even looked handsome with his forehead exposed.

How were ordinary-looking people supposed to live with this kind of injustice?

“Doesn’t Vice President look just like a model?”

“Exactly. I wonder why he hid his identity so thoroughly all this time. We wouldn’t even need to hire a promotional model. Vice President could do it himself.”

“My thoughts exactly!”

The employees standing nearby were also busy whispering praises about Joo Taegeon. Team Leader Woo Seokhyun was handsome as well, so everyone was dazzled by the sight of the two handsome men and didn’t know what to do with themselves.

Only one person, Han Eunjae, was clutching her stomach with a bitter feeling inside.

Her already severe gastritis symptoms seemed ready to act up again. Fortunately, she had managed to take her stomach medicine.

Unlike Eunjae’s worries, however, Joo Taegeon did not join them for the meal. After confirming that everyone from the Marketing Team had entered the restaurant, he gave Woo Seokhyun some instructions and immediately left.

Naturally, the team members who had expected him to eat with them were quite disappointed, but when Team Leader Woo stood up and introduced himself, their attention soon shifted toward him, their eyes shining with interest.

‘So he wasn’t planning to eat with us.’

But Eunjae kept staring at the door through which Joo Taegeon had disappeared while sipping barley tea.

She was curious about why he had acted as though he would eat with them only to leave first. At the same time, she couldn’t deny the sense of relief she felt.

However, her peaceful state of mind lasted only a moment.

As if mocking her, the phone in her pocket vibrated briefly.

Eunjae took it out, saw the name displayed on the screen, and immediately froze like a stone.

[Come outside for a moment.]

[I’m at the stairs.]

It was a text from Joo Taegeon.

She had thought he had left long ago, but apparently he had decided to wait for her on the stairs.

Eunjae swallowed nervously and rose from her seat.

“Assistant Manager Han, where are you going?”

“I’m just going to the restroom…”

Fortunately, everyone seemed too focused on their conversations to pay attention to her slipping away. Moon Assistant Manager briefly tried to stop her as well, but soon became absorbed in another conversation and burst into laughter.

Meanwhile, Eunjae escaped from the spacious private room.

The chilly air of the hallway brushed against her cheek.

She hurried down the corridor, and soon spotted the emergency door leading to the stairs.

When she pushed open the heavy emergency door, a dimly lit space and a staircase came into view.

Only after the door slammed shut behind her did she cautiously part her lips.

“Um… Vice President?”

“I’m over here.”

The voice came from above.

Startled, Eunjae raised her head and saw Joo Taegeon leaning casually against the railing. With his arms crossed, he looked down at her with a relaxed smile.

“You came faster than I expected. I was wondering if you were planning to run away again.”

It was truly a remark that struck directly at the thoughts she had been nervously harboring.

“Ahem, I was wondering if there was a reason you called me out separately…”

“Why did you run away that day? I said I would take you home.”

Eunjae hunched her shoulders and blinked her large eyes.

She had never expected him to question her about that incident right from the very first thing he said.

Even as he watched her flustered expression, Joo Taegeon didn’t change his expression in the slightest and began walking down the stairs.

“I couldn’t trouble you with something like that, Vice President.”

“You’ve already troubled me enough with other things, haven’t you?”

“As for that… I don’t have anything to say even if I had ten mouths.”

“Thanks to you, I’ve only gained more things I need an excuse for, like this.”

Eventually, Joo Taegeon came down right in front of her and faced her directly.

“Now, explain yourself.”

He was already a large man, but standing directly in front of him made his intimidating presence even more overwhelming.

Eunjae was overcome by a feeling similar to the one she had experienced when she woke up at his house. She could only blink her eyes pitifully.

“I-I’m sorry.”

“I’m not asking for an apology. I want an explanation.”

“I-I kept causing trouble for you… and I was too embarrassed to face you, so I ran away!”

Apparently, he had no intention of letting her go until she gave him an honest answer.

So Eunjae decided to confront the situation head-on and shouted.

Her voice echoed through the deep stairwell.

A refreshing smile appeared on Joo Taegeon’s lips.

Eunjae’s eyes trembled slightly when she unexpectedly found herself facing that smile.

His approaching finger lightly tapped the tip of her nose.

“Good.”

“Uh… what, yes?”

“You did well answering honestly.”

Taegeon lowered his hand while whispering gently, as though he were giving candy to a student who had listened well.

Feeling embarrassed, Eunjae raised a hand and rubbed her nose.

Then something approached her from directly in front of her eyes.

“Vice President, what is this…?”

Eunjae looked at the object Joo Taegeon had held out to her with a bewildered expression.

It was a small pouch of red ginseng extract, individually wrapped in plastic so it could easily be torn open and consumed one at a time.

“When I checked that day, I noticed that your body tends to run a little cold, Assistant Manager Han.”

“Pardon?”

“Red ginseng is quite good for people whose bodies run cold. When you go back to the office, there will be a box under your desk. Starting today, eat one every day.”

Eunjae could only stare blankly at him.

Joo Taegeon’s expression returned to its usual impassive state, and he personally tore open the package.

As soon as it opened, the strong scent of red ginseng wafted through the air.

“I’ll put another box there next month, so don’t even think about skipping a day.”

“What? No, I can’t just receive something like this from you, Vice President…”

Startled, Eunjae waved both hands, but he continued gesturing for her to take it.

He looked as though if she didn’t take it and swallow it immediately, he would force her to eat it.

In the end, Eunjae swallowed the red ginseng with a miserable expression.

She had expected the thick extract to be extremely bitter, but surprisingly, it wasn’t. Instead, she could even taste a slight sweetness at the end.

‘Did they mix in some honey?’

Eunjae looked intrigued as she examined the empty red ginseng packet.

Then a voice filled with suspicion descended from above her head.

“Come to think of it, you seemed to have a stomachache earlier too…”

Gasping, Eunjae raised her head.

Joo Taegeon’s voice sounded as though he were interrogating her.

“You collapsed on the very first day we met.”

“T-That was because I slipped. It’s not like I just collapse for no reason!”

“You seem to have forgotten how you kept muttering that your stomach hurt while I was bringing you home.”

“…I did?”

Joo Taegeon nodded and let out a low hum.

“Do you have a bad stomach?”

“It’s just ordinary gastritis. It’s nothing serious enough to worry about.”

Actually…

Wouldn’t it be harder to find an office worker in this day and age who didn’t have gastritis?

Eunjae couldn’t bring herself to say the words that had risen all the way to the tip of her chin and instead gave an awkward smile.

However, the sharp-eyed Vice President didn’t seem willing to let the matter end with that answer.

“The hospital?”

“I went a long time ago and got medicine. I’m taking it properly.”

“I noticed there was coffee on your desk in the office earlier.”

Urgh.

Eunjae felt guilty again and avoided his gaze.

Seeing her attempt to evade the question, Joo Taegeon’s voice dropped another level.

“Isn’t coffee the worst thing for someone with gastritis?”

“…”

“Han Eunjae.”

Just as she was trying her best to ignore him, a hand reached toward her.

His palm gently cupped Eunjae’s cheek and lifted her face.

“You need to answer.”