Ye Rin swallowed hard.
She also internally swallowed the thought that she was that woman.
“I was mesmerized, wondering how someone could look so beautiful even while crying.”
I Hyun, who had been briefly lost in memories of that woman, soon put on an apologetic face.
“My thoughts were short-sighted. I’ve heard it’s rude to talk about another woman in front of one’s lover.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m learning yet another thing.”
I Hyun had already finished speaking to himself and coming to his own realization.
“From now on, I’ll try to refrain from comparing Secretary Han to that woman.”
“No, it’s alright.”
She didn’t feel bad at all.
After all, that woman was herself.
And truthfully, she wanted to hear about that day, even like this.
She was curious about what emotions I Hyun had felt that day.
I Hyun gently raised his eyebrows, as if surprised.
“You don’t mind?”
“If we were real lovers, it would certainly be an unpleasant situation.”
Ye Rin continued speaking, unable to meet I Hyun’s eyes.
“But we’re not real lovers, and the more you tell me about that woman, the easier it will be for me to find her.”
“Is that so?”
I Hyun was silent for a moment.
‘Ah, was that excuse too awkward?’
Well. Who would say they like hearing about another woman right in front of them?
The words she had just spoken seemed to have gone too far.
‘I hope he doesn’t realize I’m that woman because of what I just said.’
She was very tense, unable to ask and yet unable to brazenly remain as is.
I Hyun smiled, pulling up the corners of his mouth as if amused.
“Now that I hear Secretary Han’s words, it does make sense.”
“Pardon?”
I Hyun nodded as if pleased.
“From now on, I’ll occasionally mention if there are similarities between that woman and Secretary Han.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“No need to thank me.”
I Hyun slowly started the car again.
Due to the conversation ending, silence fell inside the vehicle.
Ye Rin cautiously spoke up.
“Director, there’s something I’ve been curious about.”
“What is it.”
“Before, when we met with CEO Cheto, you mentioned that you suffered financial losses because of that missing woman, right?”
While asking this question, Ye Rin unknowingly gripped her bag strap tightly.
“That’s right.”
“May I ask what kind of losses?”
Ye Rin swallowed hard.
She didn’t want to have unknowingly caused him any harm.
Eventually, I Hyun’s mouth slowly opened.
“It’s an enormous loss.”
“What? When?”
She almost blurted out, ‘When did I do that?’
Fortunately, she omitted the subject ‘I’ and spoke.
“I mean, when did you suffer such losses?”
“Ever since I spent the night with that woman, I haven’t been able to sleep well.”
“Ah.”
“Whenever I close my eyes, her image lingers.”
As he said this, I Hyun smiled slightly, amused even by his own thoughts.
“Well, it’s the same even when my eyes are open.”
To summarize what I Hyun said, he thought of her constantly, whether asleep or awake.
No matter how much she pondered what aspect of herself could have affected him so, she couldn’t find an answer.
Finally, Ye Rin couldn’t contain her curiosity and asked.
The pretext was to gather more information about that woman.
“What kind of image comes to mind……”
Chuckle−
I Hyun, while driving, turned his head with a small laugh.
Because of that, their gazes momentarily intertwined in mid-air.
Ye Rin quickly turned her head away. Though their eyes had merely met, her cheeks flushed red.
‘What’s wrong with me, really.’
Ye Rin caressed her cheek with one hand while trying to laugh nonchalantly.
Instead of answering Ye Rin’s question, I Hyun brought up something else.
“Hearing that might be a bit difficult for Secretary Han.”
“For me?”
“It might be a bit too explicit and make you uncomfortable. Still want to hear it?”
“Yes.”
After answering, Ye Rin tightly shut her eyes.
She couldn’t understand why her mouth answered first without consulting her brain.
“Everything that happened on the bed.”
“……”
“It’s all stored in my head, truly without missing a single detail.”
“Ah, I see.”
Her lips became parched, and Ye Rin unknowingly moistened her lower lip with her tongue.
Unaware that I Hyun’s gaze lingered there for an unusually long time.
“It must have been a very impressive night.”
“Secretary Han.”
“Yes?”
“I suddenly wonder what it would have been like if it were Secretary Han.”
“Ah, you mean if I had a one-night stand……”
I Hyun seemed very eager to hear Ye Rin’s next words.
“I’ve never done that before.”
“I see.”
How could she possibly recount stories of one-night stands in front of her superior?
So once again, she had no choice but to lie.
“I’m not the type to enjoy or engage in one-night stands either.”
“I see.”
“Really.”
“I believe you.”
Ye Rin smiled with sparkling eyes.
“That woman was my first.”
“That might be why she remains so vivid in your memory.”
“Perhaps that’s true.”
I Hyun tapped the steering wheel with his index finger.
“Anyway, that’s why I can’t sleep well at night thinking about her. And during the day, I can’t concentrate on work because of her.”
“Is that so?”
“All the tasks I need to handle are piling up, causing no small amount of damage.”
“……”
“That’s what I meant by financial losses.”
Ye Rin really felt like crying.
Though it wasn’t her intention, I Hyun was attributing everything to that woman.
“That’s unfortunate.”
This was all she could say.
The corner of I Hyun’s mouth twitched again briefly.
“That’s why Secretary Han needs to find that woman quickly.”
“Yes……”
Ye Rin answered in a shrinking voice.
“At this rate, Jiseok Electronics might have to shut down.”
While it would mean losing her job if Jiseok Electronics closed, there was nothing she could do.
It seemed that woman could never be found.
No, she shouldn’t be found.
“Because of that woman, I’m in pain and lonely every night.”
“If you’re having trouble sleeping, why don’t you get a sleeping pill prescription from your doctor?”
I Hyun’s gaze deepened coldly.
“I’ve already tried that.”
“Ah, I see.”
“I’ve tried everything good for treating insomnia, but nothing works.”
It seemed she shouldn’t have asked.
The impact of her curiosity getting the better of her was too great.
“It’s fine. What else can a person do but die if they can’t sleep?”
“……”
Watching I Hyun casually utter such chilling words, Ye Rin made a resolution.
She absolutely must not let him find out that she was that woman, no matter what.
The moment he found out, it was obvious he would make her pay for all the sleepless nights and the financial losses incurred due to the backlog of unfinished work.
Meanwhile, I Hyun’s car entered a familiar alley.
Engrossed in conversation with I Hyun, she hadn’t properly checked where his car was heading, but once again, it was in front of her house.
“Director, thank you for driving me home again today.”
“It’s nothing. Isn’t this natural between lovers?”
Ye Rin drew a line as she unfastened her seatbelt with a click.
“Director, I haven’t made a decision yet about the fake dating we’re supposed to do.”
“Sometimes, Secretary Han, you’re quite sharp.”
I Hyun caught the retracting seatbelt with his hand.
And like someone unwilling to let Ye Rin go, he fastened it again with a click.
“Director?”
“You must bring an answer tomorrow morning.”
“Yes, I will.”
“I hope it’s a positive answer.”
“I’ll think about it all night tonight.”
“Alright.”
Only after hearing Ye Rin’s response did I Hyun release the seatbelt.
Huff.
Ye Rin let out a short breath and got out of the car.
Though she expected him to leave immediately, I Hyun got out as well.
“Director?”
“Secretary Han, I drank a lot of water at the restaurant before we left.”
“Yes?”
“So, I was wondering if I could use the restroom.”
Ye Rin’s mouth fell open.
“Surely you don’t mean to use my home’s bathroom, do you?”
“That’s right.”
I Hyun spoke with a slightly furrowed brow, as if to show he wasn’t lying.
“Secretary Han, do I look like I’m joking right now?”
“Director, are you perhaps having stomach troubles?”
“No.”
“That’s a relief.”
It really was a relief.
Ye Rin rummaged through her bag and pulled out a small water bottle.
Without hesitation, she poured the water inside onto the ground.
Then she handed it to I Hyun.
“What’s this?”
“Director, if it’s urgent, you could go back to the car and use this……”
I Hyun took the water bottle Ye Rin offered and laughed loudly.
‘What’s so funny?’
I Hyun looked at the narrow mouth of the water bottle and exhaled as if deflated.
“You want me to… in this… Haa.”
I Hyun ran a hand through his hair.
“Secretary Han, are you underestimating me?”
“Pardon?”
“It’s even more embarrassing because you should know better.”
Wondering if perhaps the water bottle she offered was too small, Ye Rin bit her lip.
“But isn’t that enough?”
It was a 500mL water bottle, after all.
No matter how much water he drank, that should be enough.
“The opening is just… Huff, never mind.”
I Hyun crumpled the plastic bottle with one hand, seeming troubled even after speaking.
“Director!”
“Secretary Han, I’m not trying to do anything in your house, I’m really just desperate.”
“I understand that, but…”
Still, it felt awkward to let I Hyun into her cramped house.
I Hyun’s face had turned even paler than before, seeming truly urgent.
“I have a social reputation to maintain, so public urination is out of the question. The subway station is too far, and I might have an accident on the way.”
I Hyun looked at Ye Rin with a desperate expression.
“Would it help if I wrote a sworn statement?”
“Pardon?”
“I swear I won’t touch a hair on Secretary Han’s head once I’m inside.”
Ye Rin reluctantly took a step.
“You promise?”
“I swear on all the Jiseok Electronics shares I own.”
I Hyun declared that he could even record what he just said if she was uncomfortable.
Thinking that wouldn’t be necessary, Ye Rin took the lead towards her house.
‘Right, this happened because the Director drove me home.’
If they had gone straight to his house from the restaurant, this wouldn’t have occurred.
She couldn’t just ignore and leave, since she had comfortably gotten home thanks to I Hyun.
“Director, you promised, right?”
“Secretary Han, please lead the way quickly.”
__________
“Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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