An Instinctive Proposal (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 33

“W-What? Suddenly?”

Sung Won, caught off guard and not even thinking about wiping the coffee splattered all over, asked with wide-open eyes.

Tae Han merely frowned as if the droplets on the table were filthy.

“Are you serious?”

“Lately, a lot of people keep asking if I’m being serious.”

Sung Won’s heart pounded in shock, yet Tae Han had already returned to his aloof demeanor and calmly drank his coffee.

Only belatedly did Sung Won snap out of it and start wiping the table with a tissue, but the back of his head still felt numb.

He’d thought he knew Tae Han at least a little—clearly, that had been a mistake.

“Did you already have a woman you were seeing? I hadn’t noticed at all.”

“Hmm. Not sure if you’d even call that ‘seeing someone.’”

Tae Han set down his coffee cup and ran a hand along his smooth jawline.

“It just felt natural to be together.”

“Who is she? Is it Vice President Sung Min Hee from Ohsan Mulsan?”

At that, Tae Han narrowed his brows slightly, as if the suggestion were absurd, and replied,

“Seo Yeon Woo.”

“Oh—Seo… What?”

“I’m thinking of marrying Seo Yeon Woo.”

In that instant, Sung Won wondered if he might be dreaming.

Maybe he’d collapsed from exhaustion after endlessly sorting through resumes and fallen asleep—hence this utterly nonsensical nightmare, pinned down by sleep paralysis…

“Honestly, today’s interview is meaningless.”

As if that weren’t enough, Tae Han personally confirmed Sung Won’s all-night effort had been wasted.

“Our company has a policy allowing rehiring within one year.”

Across all subsidiaries of the Tae Sung Group, former employees who resigned could rejoin within a year, undergoing only one interview unless there were exceptional circumstances.

Usually, returning employees would receive a lower position and salary, though occasionally, based on individual capability, they could retain their prior terms.

“Seo Yeon Woo will return within a year.”

It was a declaration of intent—he absolutely intended to have her rejoin within that year.

Sung Won recalled, belatedly, Tae Han’s ruthless streak.

“Sir… let me get this straight. Are you saying you plan to marry our Secretarial Office’s Assistant Manager Seo Yeon Woo—this very year, by year-end?”

“Yes.”

“I knew you two were close, but I never imagined you were already considering marriage.”

Though he said it calmly, Sung Won was flustered to the point his back stiffened.

Even amid all the office gossip, he’d always believed he understood their relationship better than anyone.

“Were we really that close?”

But instead of explaining, Tae Han gave a faint, amused chuckle, focusing oddly elsewhere.

Only then did a sense of foreboding begin to wash over Sung Won.

He pressed on, nearly sweating.

“But… this marriage—you’ve reached an agreement with Assistant Manager Seo Yeon Woo, right?”

Of course it must be consensual. Otherwise, it’d be criminal.

Even Tae Han, who’d never dated before, surely knew that much as basic common sense.

“I haven’t told her yet.”

“Sir!”

“But she won’t be able to refuse.”

Tae Han’s confident eyes sparkled with absolute certainty—as if refusal were utterly impossible.

“Because Seo Yeon Woo simply can’t.”

So then, had approving her resignation merely been a generous gesture, telling her to take a short break?

Meeting Tae Han’s unwavering gaze, goosebumps rose on Sung Won’s neck.

***

Yeon Woo passed the time with a heavy heart.

Rumors began appearing on the company intranet bulletin board shortly afterward—confirming she’d indeed been called in for an interview.

Word had spread that last night, out of the blue, a secretarial position interview for the CEO had been announced exclusively for current employees, and due to its urgent, internal nature, it started before dawn.

“Is this new hiring? Our department doesn’t have any vacancies.”

As the rumor spread, the Secretarial Office grew restless. Though they handled corporate management duties and had many staff, there were no open positions.

Employees couldn’t focus, buzzing with speculation.

Yet Yeon Woo couldn’t bring herself to say a word about their chatter.

Once her replacement was decided, news of her resignation would follow.

And in two months, it would truly be over.

She’d never see Tae Han again.

Foolish as it was, she felt less relief than an empty, aching sadness at that thought.

Now was the time to finally put her feelings in order.

‘I should call my landlord.’

She needed to vacate her rented apartment in Seoul and sell off five years’ worth of belongings.

‘All that’s left is to go home and tell Mom about Tteun Tteun.’

She couldn’t imagine how Sun Ok—her mother, who’d lived toughly without a husband—would react to the news of her daughter’s pregnancy.

Yet she trusted Sun Ok would accept both her and Tteun Tteun, no matter what chaos it caused.

With that resolve, Yeon Woo forced herself through her work until her phone buzzed with a notification.

[Yeon Woo, I’m flying back to the U.S. on Sunday. Can we meet before then?]

It was Gyu Bin.

Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t contacted him since that night she’d simply sent him off from her doorstep.

Feeling guilty for being so careless toward an old friend, Yeon Woo quickly tapped a reply.

[Of course. Should I see your mom too on Saturday?] [Mom already has a dinner appointment with some acquaintances.]

After a moment’s hesitation, Yeon Woo typed back.

[Then let’s meet just the two of us.]

***

The interviews finally concluded past noon.

While Sung Won met with the selected candidate, Tae Han stepped into the elevator heading to his office.

“Phew…”

He let out a long, weary sigh.

It was fortunate he’d managed to pick even one acceptable candidate from the thirty disappointing applicants.

Not that he expected anyone to truly fill Yeon Woo’s place.

Leaning against the elevator wall, Tae Han recalled what Sung Won had just told him.

“Aren’t Assistant Manager Seo Yeon Woo’s own wishes the most important thing here?”

He knew that much, of course.

But since nothing else had worked, he’d decided it was time for his last resort.

Until Yeon Woo submitted her resignation, Tae Han had never once imagined—even in dreams—that she might leave him.

Though she was merely an office staff member, Seo Yeon Woo had always belonged by his side—and he’d taken it for granted that he’d care for her.

He didn’t know why. From the very beginning, Seo Yeon Woo had simply been different to Ki Tae Han.

Lost in thought about his own inexplicable feelings, Tae Han looked up as the elevator stopped and the doors opened.

And there, as if by fate, stood Yeon Woo.

“…Hello.”

Meanwhile, Yeon Woo, arms full of documents, flinched as she stepped toward the elevator.

Tae Han was inside—of all times, without even Sung Won around.

Flustered but pretending otherwise, she greeted him and stepped in. They were headed to the same floor, so she didn’t need to press any buttons.

“Why didn’t you take the elevator from your floor?”

“I was just coming back from the document handling room.”

She answered without looking at his face.

They still had many floors to go before reaching the CEO’s office.

After a moment of silence, Tae Han spoke.

“Today, we chose your replacement. Handover will start tomorrow.”

Yeon Woo, still facing the LCD panel with her back to him, bit her lip against a sudden surge of emotion.

“Yes, I’ll start preparing the handover documents today too.”

“Right. If it’s you, I’m sure you’ll handle it well.”

Even his reply felt deliberately distant.

Yeon Woo fell silent for a moment.

Wasn’t this exactly what she’d wanted? Then why did she feel so hurt by Tae Han? She didn’t understand herself.

“But why the sudden change of heart? You told me to put my resignation on hold.”

With the end in sight, she decided to ask what she really wanted to know.

“Because I realized I had to let you go.”

Yeon Woo, unaware he’d swallowed the words “for now,” bit her lip tightly.

As silence settled again, the elevator steadily climbed upward.

Just three floors away from the CEO’s office, Tae Han stepped up beside her, his shoes clicking against the floor.

“You’ll regret leaving me, Secretary Seo.”

When she looked up, Tae Han was gazing down at her.

“Do you really think it’s easy to find a boss like me?”

His expression seemed to say, “Go ahead and suffer out there,” leaving Yeon Woo speechless.

“…Yes, I agree.”

She answered mechanically—but it was the truth, and he probably knew it too.

As the doors opened, Tae Han strode out first.

Watching his retreating figure, Yeon Woo adjusted the stack of documents in her arms and followed.

“Good afternoon, sir.”

A male voice called out to Tae Han, who’d already walked far ahead in the blink of an eye.

The same voice then called her name.

“Seo Yeon Woo?”

Yeon Woo stopped walking and peeked out from behind her documents, eyes widening.

“Oh? Kyeong Ho, you’re—!”

Her fellow recruit from back then—Lee Kyung Ho.

She nearly called him “oppa” out of habit, just like during their training days, but quickly clamped her mouth shut. Kyung Ho approached with a bright smile.

“Long time no see. How’ve you been?”

“Yeah, I’ve been well. What brings you to our floor?”

Aside from a slightly changed hairstyle, he looked exactly as he had the last time she’d seen him—two years ago.

“I came up quickly on an errand for the CEO’s office. I was disappointed not to find you here.”

“I’m just returning from an errand myself.”

“That looks heavy. Here, let me take that.”

Despite her protests, Kyung Ho took the stack of documents from her arms.

Her arms instantly felt lighter.

“But are you okay? I just heard some strange things about you.”

“Huh? What kind of things?”

Could news of her resignation already be spreading?

She wasn’t planning to deny it anyway and was ready to respond—but Kyung Ho simply glanced sideways cautiously instead of answering.

Instinctively, Yeon Woo turned to look as well—and flinched.

Tae Han, whom she thought had already gone inside, was holding the doorknob and watching them.

Though too far to read his expression, she could almost feel the chill in his gaze.

“What are you doing after work today? I have something to say—how about grabbing dinner together, just for old times’ sake?”

Kyung Ho forced a slightly awkward smile, changing the subject.

“Oh, I have plans for dinner…”

Since her morning sickness hadn’t fully settled, she wanted to be careful about eating out.

“But I could spare an hour for a drink.”

“Alright, then. Let’s meet at the café in front of the office.”

Yeon Woo declined Kyung Ho’s offer to accompany her back to her office and took the documents back.

“Why aren’t you going in?”

Tae Han remained where he stood, waiting until she approached.

“Do you keep in touch with that employee?”

Here we go again, she thought. He’d been suspicious of Gyu Bin just the other day too.

“He’s just a former fellow recruit. You hired him yourself—don’t you remember?”

Tae Han shot Kyung Ho a cold look, then wordlessly opened the door.

She’d expected him to slip inside immediately—but instead, he held the door open, seemingly for her. Hesitating briefly, Yeon Woo slipped in.

Yet Tae Han didn’t follow. He kept his sharp gaze fixed down the hallway.

For some reason, he didn’t look away until Kyung Ho had boarded the elevator and disappeared from sight.