Jisoo, who was at the site with her, commented.
Startled, Yoo-eun quickly raised her head and looked at Jisoo.
“No?”
She felt like a child caught doing something wrong.
“But why are you checking your phone every 10 seconds?”
“Me?”
“Yes, you. You seem like a teenager anxiously waiting for a call that never comes.”
Yoo-eun couldn’t deny Jisoo’s words.
With a bitter smile, Yoo-eun put her phone in her trench coat pocket.
“I’d like to say it’s nothing, but it’s not.”
Yoo-eun sighed lightly, trying to appear nonchalant as she continued.
“I’m waiting for a call from Director Cha Hyun or Executive Cha Doha, but there’s been no contact.”
Jisoo must know she’s waiting for their calls.
Jisoo is probably anxiously waiting for Cha Hyun’s call too, considering the company’s fate depends on it.
But Jisoo couldn’t know the significance of Yoo-eun’s fifth meeting with Doha.
Nor did she need to.
“Seems I’m anxious. They’re my lifeline, those two.”
Yoo-eun brushed it off and finished the last sentence of the image evaluation report she was working on.
She then called over the trainer she was supporting today.
“Teacher Jung Uk-ho, let’s drop the ‘um’ filler and the habitual ‘In my opinion’ when you speak. Being cautious is good, but too much makes it dull.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Not to remove it entirely, just reduce the frequency.”
“Yes.”
As Yoo-eun stood up after handing over the evaluation report, her phone in the trench coat vibrated loudly.
It was a call from Cha Hyun.
Seeing the name on the screen, Yoo-eun involuntarily showed disappointment but quickly composed herself and answered.
“Yes, Director.”
Are you busy?
“No.”
No contact from Doha?
Cha Hyun also didn’t know what the next meeting with Doha meant to her.
So he casually asked if there had been no contact.
“There wasn’t.”
He had said to seduce and be seduced, but he wouldn’t actually want that to happen.
Just to use seduction as a tactic if necessary, not to captivate him.
So, Yoo-eun couldn’t share that she had proposed something else to Doha for their next meeting with Cha Hyun.
It could end her career if she upset him.
And so, Cha Hyun would nonchalantly test her like this.
Unexpected for Doha. Thought he’d call you to bed immediately.
“Director!”
How could he say such a thing…
Why? Is my comment offensive?
If it were anyone else, it would’ve been a deeply offensive comment. But for Yoo-eun, who had already harbored impure thoughts about Cha Doha, she couldn’t say it was offensive.
Instead, it felt like a push into deeper inappropriate feelings.
“It’s not that…”
Yoo-eun paused, choosing her next words carefully.
Words that wouldn’t reveal her impure emotions and wouldn’t offend Cha Hyun.
Would such words even exist?
“Even though it’s part of the training, I think it would be better not to think about inviting me to the Executive’s bed. For both of our sakes.”
Why?
Cha Hyun’s voice, overly monotone, was frightening.
There was no sweet-talking this man.
So Yoo-eun decided to be honest.
“Because my life would become harder if it became a reality.”
It was a hint that it could become reality.
Having said just that, Yoo-eun calmly waited for the response.
But Cha Hyun continued in the same monotonous voice, as if it were no big deal.
Are you worried that I’d push you away in anger if Yoo-eun ended up in Doha’s bed?
It’s a very plausible scenario.
Through this incident, I’ve come to realize just how dearly she loves her nephew.
Cha Hyun would brush her off like a filthy bug clinging to her precious nephew.
Or are you worried about what the chairman might do to Yoo-eun?
This is also a strong possibility.
How many conglomerate heads would sit back and watch their heir, under consideration, get involved with an image trainer?
“Either way, it’s me who’ll end up suffering. So please, don’t corner me, Director.”
You’re really naive, Yoo-eun.
There was a slight hint of laughter in Cha Hyun’s voice.
The once monotonous tone now lightly scattered.
Don’t worry. That won’t happen.
Compared to the serious Yoo-eun, Cha Hyun was far too nonchalant.
When adults agree and are attracted to each other, sharing a bed is natural. Both I and the chairman have considered that.
The implication was clear, though unsaid.
A casual fling might be overlooked, but don’t create anything more.
However, for Yoo-eun, even a casual fling was not just a light matter.
It felt like a lead weight on her chest, heavy and burdensome.
Despite Doha’s cold voice, sharp gaze, and fleeting touches, her heart raced.
Her heart was ready to burst with just a short kiss, a meaningless handhold, or a touch of heat.
Could she really regard such an encounter with him as just a fling?
“What if I end up holding Doha back?”
You?
Cha Hyun laughed as if he had heard the funniest thing.
You’re too funny, Yoo-eun.
His laughter, interspersed with remarks about how amusing she was, eventually subsided.
That will never happen. I know you better than anyone else.
Yoo-eun bit her lip at Cha Hyun’s words.
Even if you fall for him, you’re not someone he would hold on to. He knows what’s more important to him. He’s aware of his situation.
Biting her lip to keep from trembling, the taste of bitter blood filled her mouth.
“What if… Doha doesn’t let go of me?”
Once again, Cha Hyun’s laughter repeated.
Do you see Doha as a fool?
It felt like a hard slap to the back of her head.
He might seem reckless, but he’s wiser than most. Smart, too.
All her worries over the past four days, the sleepless nights full of doubt, seemed almost futile now.
He knows his place and worth better than anyone. He won’t do anything foolish. Absolutely not.
“Foolishness,” she thought, with a hollow laugh.
Cha Hyun then quietly shifted to the next topic.
If you’re drawn to him, go ahead. I won’t stop you.
Cha Hyun cheerfully defined the boundaries of her relationship with Doha and finally adopted a serious tone.
But do your job well.
He reminded her where her focus should be.
Special instruction from the chairman. Tonight at 9. Bring Doha to the family house in Itaewon. Not just the elders, but close group owners will be there too.
He also mentioned that many group owners, connected through social networks, would attend.
As soon as she stepped out of the office, Yoo-eun received a call.
An unsaved number.
Based on her memory, this number was one she had blocked the night before Doha’s arranged meeting, thinking it was Son Gyu-won.
Having unblocked all those numbers, Yoo-eun had remembered the most likely one.
“2708… Could it be Doha?”
The thought that the caller might be Doha sent a heavy thud through her heart.
Taking a deep breath, Yoo-eun managed to press the call button only after the eighth ring.
Her fingertips trembled lightly.
“Hello?”
Her voice quivered faintly.
In contrast, Doha’s voice was utterly monotonous.
No typical ‘hello’ or identification of who he was.
9 PM tonight.
All the trembling anticipation before the call seemed meaningless given the briefness of the matter.
Come to the party room at the Lotus Hotel in Sinsa-dong. I’ll give you a chance to make your move.
Yoo-eun futilely called out “Director?” but the call had already been disconnected.
The Lotus Hotel in Sinsa-dong? That’s where the wild party Cha Hyun mentioned is taking place.
It’s known that he’s with Kim Hae-ri, and now he’s asking her to come there.
To Doha, her existence was just as Cha Hyun said – a foolish diversion, a brief escape from the boredom of everyday life, nothing more, nothing less.
To have spent four days in vain hopes about him.
A sharp pain, like the sting of a blade, coursed through her heart.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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