REH 11

Chapter 11

He couldn’t have heard the conversation she had with Minho, could he?

Growing anxious, Jaekyung abruptly pulled her hand free from Minho’s grasp and stepped backward.

“I have to go. Oh, right—the wedding ring is at the office. I’ll definitely return it next time. No, I’ll send it by courier.”

“Return it? What are you talking about? We’re getting married this year.”

“Secretary Seo! The Chairman is looking for you. The event is about to start, so hurry!”

Chief Kwon’s urgent voice and frantic wave came from a distance, and Jaekyung waved back.

She had to end her three-month relationship with Minho as quickly as possible.

“Minho, our marriage isn’t happening. And… let’s break up. Okay? We’re breaking up. I’m sorry.”

“What? Break up? Jaekyung!”

Jaekyung casually announced their breakup.

Seeing her hurriedly run away without even looking back despite saying she was sorry, Minho became convinced that something bad had happened to her.

It couldn’t be easy to escape the threats of a chaebol family, especially when she couldn’t even freely wear the expensive engagement ring he had given her.

For the sake of their love, he was the only person who could help Jaekyung right now.

“I found you… Haa…”

By the time Jaekyung reached the front of the main building, she was breathing heavily, her shoulders rising and falling.

Yugam swept his gaze over her short-sleeved gym clothes, which revealed the curves of her figure, and frowned disapprovingly.

“What were you doing, running around by yourself?”

“I had… haa… something to inspect.”

“Was there really that much to check? Let’s go together and inspect the booths behind the field.”

The booths behind the field were where she had just been with Minho.

He had singled out that exact location as though he had been watching her.

“No, I already checked that area. Everything is clean and neatly arranged.”

As though he didn’t believe Jaekyung, Yugam started walking toward the direction where Minho was.

If the two of them ran into each other, there would certainly be trouble. And since she had just told Minho they were breaking up, she had no idea what he might say.

“Chairman, you need to move to the stage. The opening ceremony is about to begin.”

Fortunately, Chief Kwon’s schedule report made Yugam stop.

“Secretary Seo. Make sure the facilities are thoroughly managed by dividing the areas so none of the children get hurt.”

“Yes, understood.”

Jaekyung, who had been momentarily startled, rubbed her chest in relief. Pretending nothing had happened, she relayed Yugam’s instructions to the staff group chat.

Not only Jaekyung, but all the faculty members were extremely busy inspecting the large-scale event, which included numerous outside guests.

It was when Jaekyung was checking the next part of the schedule without even having lunch that the students she had taught for the past month came over to greet her.

“Teacher Jaekyung! Can you run in our class relay race? Our homeroom teacher has indigestion and can’t run.”

Although she was only an assistant teacher, the students from Class 1, who had always followed Jaekyung affectionately, surrounded her happily when they saw her.

Unable to refuse the children’s request, Jaekyung obtained Chief Kwon’s permission and did some simple stretching with the students beside the track.

The homeroom teacher from the neighboring class approached her.

“Ms. Seo. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. If you fall, I’ll catch you.”

“Just hearing you say that gives me strength, Mr. Choi.”

Jaekyung smiled awkwardly.

Then she noticed Yugam coming down from the VIP section, stroking his chin with a cold expression.

A sudden sense of déjà vu struck her memory.

‘Touch it.’

He was her husband, lying on a bed in the darkness and guiding her hand to stroke his chin.

‘It’s rough.’

‘My wife should shave it for me.’

‘I don’t know how to shave… and it’s dark.’

‘Then turn on the light.’

‘If I turn on the light… that would violate the contract.’

Seeing Yugam’s habit of lightly stroking his chin brought back a forgotten memory.

The inside of Jaekyung’s mouth went dry with tension.

As though he had noticed the turmoil in her heart, Yugam approached her without a word.

“Secretary Seo, don’t you know that personal jokes are prohibited during work?”

“I wasn’t joking.”

Ignoring Yugam’s warning as though it meant nothing, Jaekyung walked past him.

She could feel his gaze burning into her back, but she went to the starting line and explained the order and precautions to the students.

“What’s that male teacher’s name?”

Chief Kwon looked toward the male teacher with Yugam’s cold, displeased gaze.

“Ah… That’s Mr. Choi, the math teacher for the first-year high school students.”

Chief Kwon, who had memorized the faces of the teachers, even mentioned the man’s name, address, and marital status.

“Make sure that teacher doesn’t get near Secretary Seo. He seems to keep trying to pry into confidential information from the Chairman’s office.”

“What? Mr. Choi from Class 2 is trying to obtain confidential information?”

Chief Kwon took out his work tablet and added the math teacher to the watch list.

Yugam, however, remained focused on Jaekyung, who had boldly ignored his words and was surrounded by students.

She was smiling brightly, looking unusually full of life.

It was an expression he had never seen before.

“Teacher, our class has to come in first!”

“What am I going to do? I really don’t have any confidence.”

“Hey! Don’t put pressure on the teacher. Then how about second place?”

The children’s chatter and fresh smiles made Jaekyung laugh freely.

She had to live up to their expectations.

Perhaps because she had barely slept for the past week and hadn’t even been able to eat lunch, she had little energy and wasn’t feeling well.

She was demonstrating the running technique with the students when—

Jaekyung’s foot caught on a high pile of sand, causing her body to pitch forward.

Her ankle suddenly twisted, and she heard the distinct sound of her muscles spasming.

“Teacher! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. It’ll get better if I rest for a moment.”

She declined Mr. Choi’s offer to help and limped off the track.

Jaekyung sat down on a bench and wrapped her hands around her ankle.

The words she had overheard from the other teachers on the field kept bothering her.

‘What’s the story with Ms. Seo becoming the Chairman’s secretary?’

‘She must’ve gotten in through the back door. The Chairman is always keeping her close.’

‘I guess she seduced him. You can’t judge someone by appearances. She looks so meek, too.’

Only the audit office knew about the relationship between Yugam and Jaekyung.

But she had no idea when rumors that they were legally married might spread.

Between Minho and her colleagues, she had spent so much energy worrying about unnecessary things that exhaustion suddenly overwhelmed her.

She leaned her head against the bench and closed her heavy eyes.

“Be more careful. Does it hurt a lot?”

A dark shadow fell over her head.

Jaekyung slowly opened her eyes.

As always, Yugam was looking down at her with an expressionless face and cold eyes.

“Get up.”

His tone was commanding.

Perhaps he thought she was pretending to be sick.

Because of her pride, she didn’t want to show any sign of pain in front of Yugam, so Jaekyung stubbornly forced herself to stand.

Her ankle throbbed, and she staggered.

What happened next was so quick that her memory of it was hazy.

The cool sensation of an arm around her waist.

A refreshing scent behind her.

A breath brushing against her ear.

“Lean on my arm.”

His low voice brushed against her earlobe as Yugam pulled her into his arms.

“Ah…! You’re not letting go?”

“If I let go, you’ll fall.”

Yugam looked down at her with deep blue eyes, and Jaekyung’s heart began pounding violently.

“Please… let go quickly.”

Yugam’s strong arms suddenly dropped away from her waist.

“Ugh.”

Jaekyung plopped down onto the grass.

Embarrassed, she desperately hoped Yugam would leave her alone.

“Are you all right?”

Was he really asking if she was all right after she had fallen onto the grass?

His empathy had to be broken.

“I’m fine, so please go ahead, Chairman. …I’ll follow you.”

Jaekyung lowered her head and waved her hand, silently begging him to leave.

Whenever she was with this man, she seemed to find herself in one humiliating and embarrassing situation after another.

“People usually say they’re fine when they’re not.”

Please, just go.

It was only a sprained ankle. She just needed to put on a pain-relief patch.

“Go to the nurse’s office. Should I carry you?”

“No. I can take care of myself.”

Despite Jaekyung’s continued refusal, Yugam put his arm around her and helped her up.

If she struggled in his arms, someone might misunderstand the situation.

So Jaekyung stopped resisting and quietly followed him to the nurse’s office.

“Just apply an ice pack for twenty minutes. The swelling should go down quickly.”

The school nurse placed a cold pack on Jaekyung’s reddened ankle as she sat on the edge of the bed.

“Only twenty minutes?”

Yugam looked at the nurse skeptically.

“Yes. Twenty minutes. It’s just a muscle strain, so once the swelling goes down, she’ll be fine. Keeping it cold for too long can also damage the skin.”

“I think it’ll take at least an hour for it to go down. Don’t bother going outside. Just rest here.”

“I’m fine. I’ll sit for a moment and then go back out. The guests will be looking for you, so please go first, Chairman.”

Jaekyung, sitting on the infirmary bed, looked up at Yugam pleadingly.

The children were waiting for her, and she intended to receive some basic treatment and then participate in the race.

She really wished Yugam would just leave quietly.

Why wasn’t Chief Kwon looking for the Chairman?

Yugam put his hands into his suit pockets and spoke firmly.

“Lie down before I tie you to the bed. I’m not going to say it twice.”

Faced with the Chairman’s forceful command, neither Jaekyung nor the nurse could say anything more.

It was a strangely overbearing display of authority.

The nurse shook her head and looked sympathetically at Jaekyung.

“My goodness, Ms. Seo. You must be lucky. The Chairman takes such good care of his secretary.”