TUW | CHAPTER 08

Chapter 08

“Let’s Have Dinner Together”

Wuseong Card was known as one of those rare companies where the cafeteria food was genuinely good.

Not only were the main dishes excellent, but there was a separate salad bar and even an ice cream counter.

“Seriously, in this day and age, asking an employee to wash your personal car?

Isn’t that too much?

Should I report him or not?

And get this when he leaves the office door wide open, I’m sitting right there in front of it, and he lets out these loud farts, over and over!

I have to hear that sound from right in front of him!

It’s disgusting, I swear.”

The cafeteria, located on one of the upper floors, had tables by the windows where you could eat while looking out at the view.

As soon as Sujin sat down next to Lee Yeon, she leaned in and whispered her workplace woes into her ear.

Lee Yeon listened, nodding as if well-accustomed to Sujin’s barely audible complaints.

“I swear, that old man kills my appetite.

Then again, maybe that’s the one good thing thanks to him, I’m basically on a diet.”

Lee Yeon’s own appetite vanished just from the vividness of Sujin’s story.

She shot her a dark look and muttered,

“Sujin, you’re killing my appetite now.

You really don’t have to help me diet like this.”

“Well, at least the Vice President doesn’t fart in his office, right?

I mean, yeah, he’s got a bit of an attitude, but a perfect man like him can get away with anything.

Speaking of which, isn’t he about the right age to get married?

I’m jealous.

Whoever becomes the future Mrs. Wuseong Group is going to be from a top-tier family smart, beautiful… You know what I mean, right?”

Cough!

Cough!

Lee Yeon’s shoulders stiffened mid-bite.

“What’s with you?

Why are you choking all of a sudden?

Hang on, I’ll get you some water!”

She gulped down the water Sujin hurried back with, cooling the burn in her throat from that sudden coughing fit.

The topic of “Dohyun’s future wife” was practically a favourite pastime among Wuseong’s female employees, but Sujin’s comment had hit her out of nowhere.

Sujin… you’re sitting right in front of her.

If Sujin ever found out that Lee Yeon was, in fact, already Dohyun’s wife, she’d probably faint on the spot.

Lee Yeon briefly considered whether she should stock up on some calming herbal pills, just in case that day ever came.

“You okay now?”

“Yeah.

Thanks.”

“No problem.”

Sujin waved it off.

Her hunger finally sated, her tray was starting to look empty.

Figuring now was as good a time as any, Lee Yeon spoke up.

“Sujin, you know pretty much everything there is to know about Wuseong, right?”

Sensitive to the scent of fresh gossip, Sujin’s ears perked immediately.

“Oh, you know it.

Why?

Got something you’re curious about?”

After a quick glance around, Lee Yeon leaned in close, her lips nearly brushing Sujin’s ear, and whispered.

“It’s an old story, but… was there ever a big incident or scandal involving the Wuseong family?”

At Lee Yeon’s question, Sujin pressed her lips together, thinking.

Her eyes rolled up toward the ceiling a few times before she finally spoke.

“The Vice President’s family?

Why are you suddenly curious about that?”

The question was innocent enough, but it still made Lee Yeon flinch.

Truthfully, she had never once wondered about the private affairs of the Wuseong clan it was a world far outside her own interests.

Which was exactly why Sujin found her sudden curiosity odd, her eyes widening slightly as she asked again.

“Just… thought of it all of a sudden.”

“Why?

Did the Vice President start acting weird or something?

Hmm… if we’re talking about major incidents, the biggest one would be his mother’s car accident.”

“Car accident?

Did she… pass away from it?”

“Yeah.

But Wuseong kept it so quiet, locked up tight, that nobody knows the exact details.

All that was made public was: there was an accident. That’s it.”

What could have happened that they’d go so far as to bury even the fact of the accident?

Sujin shook her head, as if to say she didn’t know more.

“Ah, so you don’t really know either…”

“But come on this is me we’re talking about.

According to my sources, it wasn’t just some ordinary car accident.”

Sujin… where on earth do you get this stuff?

“Really?

If it wasn’t ordinary, then what was it?”

“They say there was a man in the passenger seat with Madam.

And rumour had it… the two were in that kind of relationship.

That’s all I know.

I think the accident happened when the Vice President was still in elementary school.”

Losing your mother in an accident at such a young age… how devastating must that have been?

They say there are two kinds of death one can face: a prepared death, and a sudden one.

When illness takes a life, the living have time to accept the inevitable, to steel themselves for the goodbye.

But a sudden death, no warning, no chance to brace for impact, forces the bereaved to let go before they’ve even grasped what’s happening.

For a child whose whole world revolved around the existence called “Mom,” the abrupt farewell alone must have been unbearable.

And on top of that… to have whispers of infidelity swirling around it?

It must have been a weight far too heavy for such small shoulders.

Even though the story was only a rumour, Lee Yeon felt a tight ache in her chest.

“With all that, I’d say you know at least half the story.”

Sujin shrugged as if to say, That’s nothing.

Lee Yeon raised her thumb toward the ceiling in exaggerated praise, partly to hide the heaviness in her heart.

If Sujin prided herself on her insider knowledge, then a little compliment was a surefire way to brighten her mood.

“Since it’s hot out, let’s cool off with some iced Americanos.”

After all, every woman has two stomachs one for meals, and one for dessert.

The two of them ordered two iced Americanos and a slice of cake at the café, then instinctively made their way to the most secluded corner seat.

“You know,” Sujin began, “I really think the one who’s going to end up next to the Vice President is Jung Heera.

She’s been chasing after him nonstop.

I mean, if a gorgeous, perfectly polished actress keeps making a move like that, wouldn’t he eventually give in?

Honestly, someone like her is the right match for him.”

Jung Heera was the hottest actress of the moment.

Recently, she’d played the role of the heroine’s friend so compellingly that she’d drawn more attention than the lead herself.

With her doll-like beauty and undeniable acting talent, casting offers were pouring in entertainment news outlets had been buzzing about it for weeks.

And, just as Sujin said, Heera was the only woman who lingered around Do-hyun.

The two had known each other since they were kids, like a brother and sister.

Perhaps that was why, despite keeping almost everyone else at arm’s length, Do-hyun never pushed Heera away completely.

Naturally, people like Sujin speculated.

But from Lee Yeon’s perspective, Do-hyun didn’t treat Heera with much warmth at all.

Whenever Heera stopped by the office with a homemade lunch or snacks, he never truly welcomed her.

If anything, it seemed entirely one-sided Heera chasing, Do-hyun ignoring.

“She’s been scarce lately,” Sujin mused.

“Feels like it’s about time for her to show up again.”

“Right?

If a tree doesn’t fall after ten swings of the axe, that’s not a tree it’s solid steel,” Sujin joked.

Lee Yeon gave a faint smile in response, focusing more on soothing her dry throat with a sip of cold coffee than on the conversation itself.

***

Knock, knock, knock.

“Secretary Lee.

What are you doing?”

She’d barely finished lunch with Sujin hadn’t even had a moment to digest before the interruption came.

Today was the day of the weekly meeting, held once a week without fail, and Lee Yeon had been reviewing the presentation materials for Do-hyun.

The sharp, slightly shrill voice came after the dull sound of someone tapping her desk.

Lee Yeon looked up.

It was Kang Yeonjeong, Assistant Manager of the Brand Marketing Department.

At some point, Yeonjeong had appeared, rapping lightly on Lee Yeon’s desk as if to announce her presence.

A woman who, without a doubt, knew how to make her presence felt.

With her wavy hair tied half-up, see-through bangs framing her face, a form-fitting V-neck knit top, and a slim H-line skirt, Assistant Manager Kang shone almost too much.

Today, the clingy knit only made her chest more pronounced.

Yeonjeong’s personality was just as flashy as her fashion.

She lived in the delusion that every man’s eyes were on her, when in reality, her sharp, sarcastic tone, sidelong glances, constant meddling, and loose lips had made her the number-one least-liked person in the office.

And when it came to Lee Yeon, she had an incurable habit of picking fights at least once a day.

That “chronic condition” was flaring up even now.

“Secretary Lee, didn’t you wear that suit yesterday too?

You really ought to buy some new clothes.

At least something that fits you.

Don’t tell me you don’t even know your own size?”

So today she’d decided to attack her outfit.

Lee Yeon met the jab with practised ease.

“This one’s different.

It’s a deeper shade.

You must have trouble telling colours apart, Assistant Manager Kang.”

A relaxed smile curved her lips.

Once again, Yeonjeong had poked at her, only to come up empty-handed.

Her eyelids twitched with irritation.

She opened her mouth, clearly debating whether to keep pushing, then seemed to think better of it and let the corners of her lips drop.

“I have something to report.

The Vice President’s in, right?”

Without even waiting for an answer, Yeonjeong headed straight for the office.

Why bother asking when she was going to walk in anyway?

With Do-hyun tied up in meetings all day, both the weekly internal one and an external appointment, there was little chance they’d cross paths.

Knowing the outside meeting would run late, Lee Yeon decided to head home early.

Do-hyun hated it when his secretary wasted time just sitting around because an executive was working late.

He preferred her to come and go flexibly.

Of course, “flexibly” wasn’t always easy.

Budae-jjigae.

On her way home, Do-hyun popped into her mind.

That cute moment when he’d said his favourite food was army stew had stuck with her.

“Is there a supermarket on the way?”

She suddenly wanted to make his favourite dish for him.

And wasn’t budae-jjigae her speciality?

But… would he have dinner plans already?

She pulled her phone from her pocket.

[What time will you be home?]

Hmm.

He could just be eating out.

She erased it.

[Are you… eating dinner out tonight?]

No, that didn’t sound right either.

She shook her head.

[Let’s have dinner together tonight.]

Ugh no.

That sounded way too old-fashi

oned.

Delete—

“Aaah!”

She slapped a hand over her mouth.

In gripping her phone, she’d accidentally hit send.

No!

No!

No!

Come back!

“This can’t be happening!”

Get it together, Yoo Lee Yeon.

Just delete it, quick.

But it was too late.

Next to the sent message, the word Read peeked out at her like a tiny raised hand.