BTUB 09

Chapter: 09

Perhaps it was because he suddenly called her name.

Eunjae stiffened, unable to shake off his hand. Even if he was the Vice President, she should have told him that he couldn’t just grab her face like this, but the words wouldn’t come out.

Besides, when she thought about it, hadn’t she committed an even greater offense by recklessly pressing her lips against his? If she told him not to touch her face now, what kind of expression would he make…

“I-It really is the worst.”

“You know that well.”

Fortunately, when she honestly admitted it, he chuckled and lowered his hand. Just when she thought his hand was moving away, it rose slightly and gently patted her head.

“Then what should you do from now on?”

For some reason, her childhood suddenly came to mind. Back in elementary school, when she answered a teacher’s question correctly, they would praise her just like this…

Thinking about that, Eunjae pouted her lips slightly in a small act of rebellion.

“…Honestly, I’m not confident I can quit coffee.”

“I won’t ask you to quit completely, but I recommend that you at least try reducing the amount.”

“How much should I reduce it by…?”

“Well, how much do you think you should cut down, Assistant Manager Han?”

“Ugh…”

Eunjae thought carefully.

Even now, she could easily drink five or six cups of coffee a day. Even if she reduced it, she wanted to cut down by only one cup or so.

“I could still have up to four cups a day…”

“Two.”

“Th-Three cups…”

“Two.”

But Joo Taegeon refused to budge.

In the end, Eunjae couldn’t hold herself back and shouted.

“I already drink five cups a day! How am I supposed to work if I cut it down to two?!”

“…You drink five cups?”

His low voice sounded ominous.

Eunjae let out a frightened squeak and pressed her back tightly against the wall. Joo Taegeon leaned his head toward her, his eyes burning fiercely like flames.

“You have gastritis, and you drink five cups of coffee a day? Are you insane?”

“I-I take stomach medicine, so that much should be okay…”

“Did a doctor tell you that?”

Of course not.

Her doctor had probably told her a hundred times by now to stay away from coffee.

But after constantly working overtime at her previous company, she had naturally become addicted to coffee and simply couldn’t quit.

“Do you eat your meals properly?”

“Vice President.”

Eunjae was overcome with the uneasy feeling that this conversation was never going to end.

Her parents had never really fussed over her or taken care of her like this, so his concern felt unfamiliar to her.

She stared intently at Taegeon with a wary gaze.

“I-I already apologized properly for what happened that day! I’ll make sure nothing like that ever happens again, and I’ll pay the price somehow…”

She was about to ask him to refrain from interfering this much in her personal life since she would take responsibility for what she had done, but Joo Taegeon spoke first.

“That’s right. The condition was that you take responsibility for me.”

A mischievous smile had already spread across Joo Taegeon’s lips.

His features were so handsome that Eunjae almost became captivated by him and forgot the situation entirely.

She stared blankly before finally coming to her senses.

“Ah, n-no! I haven’t actually said that I agreed yet!”

“Then… are you saying you’ll just wipe your mouth clean of this and pretend you don’t know me?”

His eyes swirled darkly once again.

Eunjae’s voice trembled more and more desperately as she made a distressed expression.

“It’s not like that, but you have to tell me specifically what you mean. When you said you wanted to meet me, you didn’t mean that you wanted to date me, right?”

“I did.”

Eunjae’s expression fell apart as she was about to argue again.

She blinked her round eyes like a rabbit. She probably looked rather foolish, but Joo Taegeon didn’t laugh at all.

He was completely serious.

Naturally, Eunjae couldn’t hide her confusion as she answered.

“…What?”

“What you thought is the correct answer.”

For some reason, Eunjae suddenly felt that her conversation with Joo Taegeon was like the red ginseng extract she had just swallowed.

The first taste was bitter…

“I’m asking you to date me, Han Eunjae.”

But the ending was subtly sweet.

After returning to her seat, Eunjae couldn’t concentrate on her meal at all.

Once the meal was over, they returned to the office, and she worked diligently as usual. She went into the meeting room to organize materials, reviewed their previous performance, and discussed ways to improve things with everyone while repeatedly letting out deep sighs.

Just as Joo Taegeon had told her, there really was a box of red ginseng extract under her desk in the office.

Seeing it reminded her of Joo Taegeon again.

She deliberately ignored the thought and desperately tried to focus on her work.

Half the day passed in a blur.

When she finished work and stepped outside, it was already 10 p.m.

She had worked overtime again today, but she had finished somewhat earlier than usual.

‘Dating? He wants to date me?’

As she trudged toward the bus stop, Eunjae blankly replayed the conversation they had shared earlier that day.

Joo Taegeon’s voice, asking her to date him, kept echoing in her ears.

“Why… me?”

Dating just because he had been kissed once?

Neither Han Eunjae nor Joo Taegeon was young enough to have such an innocent idea.

Eunjae sat down on the bench at the bus stop and quietly looked up at the night sky.

The night she had accidentally kissed Joo Taegeon had been this dark as well.

Bzzzt.

She closed her eyes while waiting for the bus to arrive, but her phone vibrated inside her pocket.

Could it be another message from Joo Taegeon?

She hurriedly pulled out her phone.

‘…Ah.’

But the caller was someone completely different—and someone she wanted to hear from even less than Joo Taegeon.

She hesitated before reluctantly answering the phone.

She couldn’t avoid his calls forever.

“Uh… why?”

—Why? Seriously, are you really asking why right now?

Han Eunwoo.

Her older brother.

—I’ve contacted you so many times, but you ignored every single one.

[Han Eunjae, do you happen to have around 200? I’ll pay you back double. I’m serious this time.]

[Hey, don’t ignore me.]

[Reply. I said reply.]

The messages Eunwoo had sent immediately came to mind.

Even thinking about them again made her sigh.

Eunjae’s voice sank coldly.

“I don’t have any money.”

—Why don’t you have money? I know you already got your salary.

“…Does Oppa just wait for my payday? I really don’t have any this month. I told you last time. I had to pay off my student loan, so I had to spend a large amount of money. I really don’t have any…”

—Ah, why do you make decisions like that on your own?! If you knew you were going to have to spend a large amount of money, you should have prepared for it beforehand!

Her older brother shouted angrily.

His voice was so loud that it practically rang even through the phone.

Eunjae frowned and raised her head.

As if to make matters worse, the electronic signboard showed that the bus she needed wouldn’t arrive for another fifteen minutes.

All the strength drained out of her.

“Why do I have to discuss how I spend my own money with Oppa?”

—Are you finished? Huh?

It was always like this.

Even though her older brother received spending money separately from their mother, whenever her payday came around, he would regularly pester her for money.

He could have simply worked and earned the money himself during all the time he spent doing this, but he made absolutely no effort in that direction.

Only Eunjae, caught in the middle, was driven to the point of desperation.

“Anyway, I really don’t have any. Not this month.”

—I guess I’ll have to go to Mom, then.

“What?”

—You probably gave Mom her living expenses, didn’t you?

The moment her mother was mentioned, Eunjae clenched her teeth, overcome with emotion.

“That’s the allowance I gave Mom! Why would you take that money? Do you seriously have no conscience, Oppa?”

—Mom’s money is my money, and my money is Mom’s money. That’s how it works. Hang up. I’m going to call Mom.

“Don’t call her! Oppa, seriously…!”

—Then you give me the money.

The conversation always went around in circles.

Whenever he was cornered, Eunwoo dragged their mother into it with practiced ease.

He acted so confidently, as though he knew very well that Eunjae was especially weak when it came to their mother.

In the end, Eunjae sent him some money.

He immediately replied, thanking her and saying he was counting on her again next month.

Seeing the message made her feel as though a heavy stone had dropped onto her chest and was pressing down on her.

“Ugh…”

Her stomach hurt again.

She thought it was probably because of her gastritis, but her eyes also grew red.

She already had enough other things giving her a headache, and having to deal with a brother who kept talking about money pushed her stress to its limit.

“Han Eunjae.”

As she covered her face with both hands and sighed, a familiar voice came from above her head.

“Are you leaving work now?”

Eunjae looked up in surprise.

Under the bright lights of the bus stop stood a tall man.

He looked down at Eunjae for a moment before speaking sharply with a hardened expression.

“…Why are you crying?”