Couldn't Help But Love You - Chapter 16

Did you ask me to accompany you to meet Vice President Choi?

Gyeo Wool narrowed her eyes and looked at Tae Wook suspiciously.

“You just need to join in the conversation naturally while we have lunch together.”

“How can I… It doesn’t seem like a place for me to intrude on a business discussion.”

Gyeo Wool clearly had no intention of accompanying him.

“What do you mean intrude? You’re the person helping with my resort work.”

“I’ve been helping with your work, sir?”

“I told grandfather that a secretary has been helping with the resort work all this time.”

“Well, that’s…”

Gyeo Wool trailed off, staring at Tae Wook with an unfamiliar look.

Could it be a joke?

But Tae Wook’s serious expression didn’t look like someone making a joke.

“I’ve been thinking. When we go up to Seoul, I’d like you to support the resort work besides ‘The Space’ work.”

“Me, doing resort work?”

“Starting with secretary duties first. Then moving towards taking on overall resort work. What do you think?”

“What do you mean by overall work?”

Gyeo Wool asked suspiciously.

“Exactly what it sounds like. You’ll learn about the business. Then become an executive, even CEO. Not a bad plan, right?”

Is he really saying he’ll involve me in management?

What on earth is he scheming?

“It seems like the most natural way to avoid grandfather’s suspicion too.”

Tae Wook spoke as if he had read Gyeo Wool’s thoughts.

“Grandfather may have memory issues, but he’s still sharp. If he were to ask the secretary about the resort…”

Gyeo Wool inhaled sharply at Tae Wook’s words.

Their lie could be exposed very quickly.

“It would be better to prepare in advance before something like that happens.”

Tae Wook’s words seemed persuasive to Gyeo Wool.

Still, she found it difficult to say she would follow his words.

“But…”

“Just listening will be a helpful experience. So think of it as a learning opportunity. Besides, you already know Vice President Choi of L Hotel.”

For a moment, Gyeo Wool’s eyes wavered as if lost.

“Have you met or seen Vice President Choi separately before?”

“No.”

Tae Wook replied briefly but firmly.

I thought so.

He must have taken Do Hoon’s words to heart.

Otherwise, there’s no way he would have asserted that Gyeo Wool knew Vice President Choi, whom he’d never met.

“How did you make an appointment for tomorrow with someone you don’t know?”

Gyeo Wool’s question was mixed with both curiosity and suspicion.

“I contacted him saying I wanted to meet for advice on resort management. Of course, I was curious about Vice President Choi as a person too.”

Tae Wook’s enigmatic gaze bored into Gyeo Wool’s eyes.

She was certain.

As expected, Tae Wook must have taken Do Hoon’s words to heart.

“You’ll come with me tomorrow, right?”

“What? Well…”

“That is, if meeting Vice President Choi with me isn’t uncomfortable for you.”

“No. It’s not like that.”

Gyeo Wool denied it strongly enough to sound resolute.

She wasn’t in any special relationship with Vice President Choi and particularly didn’t want to create any misunderstandings for Tae Wook.

“What time should I be ready?”

“I’ll come pick you up at the company at 11:30 tomorrow.”

Tae Wook grinned and leisurely took a sip of his coffee.

“The coffee tastes really good, maybe because of the rain.”

[This is the timeline separator]

The next day.

The rain that had poured heavily until dawn had stopped, and the sky was clear.

Gyeo Wool looked at herself in the bathroom mirror from various angles.

A toned-down gray skirt suit and white blouse.

Hair neatly combed and tied back.

Light makeup that looked barely there, except for mascara to emphasize her eyes.

Her reflection looked like she had returned to being Tae Wook’s secretary in the past.

“I’ll be late.”

Gyeo Wool left the bathroom, put on the coat she had hung up, and went to the CEO’s office.

“Senior.”

Eun Young looked up from her documents at Gyeo Wool’s call.

“You said you had a lunch appointment, but you’re leaving now?”

Gyeo Wool had told Eun Young she would go out and come back before lunch time.

“Yes. I’ll be back before it’s too late.”

“You can take your time coming back.”

“Enjoy your lunch.”

After leaving the company, Gyeo Wool walked towards the bus stop.

She had agreed to meet Tae Wook there.

It was far enough from the company to avoid the eyes of coworkers.

Tae Wook’s car was already there waiting.

Seeing her walking over, Tae Wook got out of the car.

Thinking he might have waited long, Gyeo Wool quickened her pace.

“If you had arrived, you could have called…”

Gyeo Wool couldn’t finish her sentence and widened her double-lidded eyes.

The tie Tae Wook was wearing caught her attention.

“I just got here. Get in.”

“Okay.”

Gyeo Wool got into the passenger seat through the door Tae Wook opened.

Then she watched him with still surprised eyes as he went around and got into the driver’s seat.

More precisely, she was looking at the tie he was wearing.

It was definitely the tie she had left as a gift at the apartment.

She had worried he might have thrown it away.

Come to think of it, the suit Tae Wook was wearing was also the one he wore the day she bought the tie.

As if he had deliberately matched the suit and tie.

“Seatbelt…”

“Pardon?”

Distracted by the tie, Gyeo Wool had missed Tae Wook’s words.

“You forgot the seatbelt again.”

“Oh, I’ll do it.”

Gyeo Wool quickly moved her hands to fasten the seatbelt.

“Well then, shall we depart?”

Tae Wook started the car, acting as if he had no idea where Gyeo Wool’s gaze had been lingering.

.

.

.

Vice President Choi was already waiting at L Hotel’s Chinese restaurant.

“Oh my!”

Vice President Choi looked surprised to see Gyeo Wool entering with Tae Wook.

“What brings Team Leader Han here?”

“Hello, Vice President Choi.”

“Well, I… Oh dear. How rude of me.”

Too surprised by Gyeo Wool’s appearance, Vice President Choi forgot to attend to Tae Wook.

“I’m Kang Tae Wook.”

Tae Wook extended his hand first for a handshake.

“I’m Choi Min Gyu.”

While shaking Tae Wook’s hand, Min Gyu kept looking at Gyeo Wool with curious eyes.

Because of this, he failed to notice the sharp light that flashed and disappeared in Tae Wook’s eyes.

“Please, have a seat. Team Leader Han, you too.”

Min Gyu offered seats to Tae Wook and then to Gyeo Wool.

“Just a moment…”

Tae Wook went behind Gyeo Wool’s chair and pulled it out for her to sit comfortably.

“It’s, it’s fine.”

Gyeo Wool hesitated with an embarrassed expression.

It wasn’t the first time Tae Wook had done this for her.

But now they were in front of L Hotel’s Vice President, Min Gyu.

Sure enough, Min Gyu’s eyes, which had been full of curiosity, had now changed to questioning.

“Thank you for graciously agreeing to meet me despite your busy schedule.”

Tae Wook sat down and expressed his gratitude to Min Gyu.

“I recently saw an interview article featuring you as the CEO of J Chemical in an economic magazine. The photo doesn’t seem to do you justice.”

Min Gyu seemed surprised by Tae Wook’s overwhelming appearance.

“You’re too kind.”

“But… how do you know Team Leader Han?”

Min Gyu’s expression showed he couldn’t contain his curiosity.

“Our company is going to construct a vertical garden at Flore Resort, Vice President.”

Gyeo Wool answered.

She was anxious in case Tae Wook might say something strange to Min Gyu.

“I see. Team Leader Han was in charge of that construction.”

“More than being in charge of the construction…”

Tae Wook suddenly turned his head to the side and looked at Gyeo Wool with gentle eyes.

His slightly upturned lips even revealed an affectionate smile.

“Han Gyeo Wool was my secretary until she came down to Jeju Island.”

“Is that really true?”

Min Gyu asked in surprise.

“Since you just acquired the resort, then Team Leader Han must have been the secretary for J Chemical’s CEO.”

“Yes. She was such a capable secretary that I was reluctant to let her go.”

“No wonder her work handling seemed extraordinary…”

At Tae Wook’s words, Min Gyu gave Gyeo Wool an admiring look.

Gyeo Wool found this situation extremely uncomfortable. She felt beads of sweat forming on her back.

Why on earth was Tae Wook saying things he didn’t need to say?

“Then you must have pushed for the construction for the sake of your former secretary.”

“Not at all. I only found out Gyeo Wool was there when I went to ‘The Space’ to request the construction.”

Of course, Tae Wook’s words were not true.

However, Gyeo Wool had no intention of correcting his words and raising more suspicion from Min Gyu.

Min Gyu seemed to believe Tae Wook’s words at face value.

“You must have been really surprised to see Team Leader Han.”

At that moment, a waiter came in with food and placed it on the round rotating table.

“Let’s talk while we eat.”

Min Gyu offered the food to Gyeo Wool and Tae Wook.

Fortunately, Min Gyu and Tae Wook ate slowly while discussing business.

Tae Wook, like a learner, asked many questions.

“I wonder if it’s okay to share so much with a competitor.”

Min Gyu said jokingly with a chuckle.

“I’ll refrain from expanding into the hotel business.”

“Let’s put that statement in writing.”

“Gyeo Wool will be the witness.”

At Tae Wook’s words, Min Gyu laughed heartily and shared his valuable business experiences.

And the things Min Gyu shared were difficult to hear anywhere else, befitting an expert who had risen from hotel staff to Vice President of L Hotel.

When dessert was served, the topic of conversation naturally shifted from business to Gyeo Wool.

“When Team Leader Han said she was going to Jeju Island, did you try to stop her?”

Min Gyu thought Gyeo Wool had come down to Jeju Island right after submitting her resignation to J Chemical.

“Wouldn’t I have tried to stop her? But she left stubbornly.”

Gyeo Wool realized that Tae Wook was not talking about the company, but about the time of their divorce.

“Haha… I’m sure you did. I don’t know how much effort I put into trying to keep Team Leader Han too.”

Words that were perfect for Tae Wook to misunderstand flowed from Min Gyu’s mouth.

Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.

The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…

Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.

Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.

The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”

When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…

The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced