“He acted so cocky, serves him right. What was he thinking grabbing the mic like that? Did you see? Pretending to be nonchalant?”

It was a familiar voice. It belonged to Kyung Mi, who had just left behind a strong perfume smell while doing the handover, forcing Da Eun to open the window.

“I was struggling not to laugh. Now I get why she doesn’t wear makeup. The bridal makeup looked so awful on her, didn’t it?”

Da Eun was the official outcast of the secretarial office. The reason was that she only wore lip balm and didn’t use other makeup.

They said she was pretending to be pure and young. Even though everyone knew it was because Yu Kwon disliked the smell of cosmetics, they still talked like that.

“You must be so comfortable. I wish I could sleep in and not wear makeup too.”

Senior Kyung Mi always said that, even though it was Da Eun who came to work an hour earlier than others to prepare everything in advance.

Thinking about it now, maybe they just needed an excuse. Because Da Eun was assigned to the only young, and excessively handsome, Yu Kwon.

Not just Kyung Mi, but everyone in the secretarial office coveted that position. Not knowing how unpleasant of a man Cha Yu Kwon really was.

If they knew how harsh of a boss Yu Kwon was, they should have pitied Da Eun and Yu Kwon’s long relationship.

“I thought she was a robot. No wonder the man cheats when she’s so heartless. If I were Song Da Eun, I’d run away right after being humiliated like that.”

As Da Eun listened quietly, she wondered why she had to hide in a corner enduring such harsh words.

And at some point, she found herself opening the door and approaching them.

“What would have been different if I ran away?”

Her voice was so cold that she could hardly believe it came from her own mouth. Da Eun washed her hands, pretending to be nonchalant as they had said.

Kyung Mi and Hwa Young pressed their lips shut and exchanged glances.

“Still, wouldn’t it be better than forcing through and enduring a marriage while knowing he’s cheating?”

Kyung Mi’s eyes widened at the words aimed at her. Da Eun had unintentionally overheard her phone call before. She had pretended not to know since it wasn’t her business, but there was no need to keep quiet in this situation.

“What are you talking about?”

“Never mind if you don’t know.”

Da Eun dried her hands in the hand dryer with an indifferent face. Kyung Mi shouted in desperation, but her voice was drowned out by the unusually loud hand dryer.

After drying her hands completely, Da Eun lightly patted them, smiled faintly at the two, and left the bathroom.

This time it was a smile without a drop of pretense. Her past self might have been hurt, but after being pushed around under a harsh boss, this kind of thing didn’t even tickle anymore.

But on the other hand, it was a bit bitter.

“Come on, that kind of rumor is no fun. It’s so cliché too.”

Young Hoon was in the sales team, so they rarely crossed paths even working at the same company, but he was outgoing enough to visit the secretarial office. Whenever he found colleagues gossiping about Da Eun, he always stood up for her.

That’s why she had opened her heart to him.

Ah, if I ever date a coworker again, I swear I’ll grind my surname to dust!

Da Eun made an inner vow and walked into the battlefield.

She wasn’t sure how she finished work. When Da Eun came to her senses, she was in front of her house.

Da Hyun wasn’t home. When she went into his room, it was even messier than before.

It seemed he had hurriedly packed only the essentials and left. Geum Suk stood behind Da Eun, unable to look her in the eye like a guilty person.

Da Eun took out the 100 million won rice from her bag, handed it to Geum Suk, and left the house. She couldn’t think of any friends to call on a day like this. That’s what happens when you lose a friend and a lover at the same time.

Da Eun sat down at her usual food cart.

“Auntie, I’ll have my usual!”

“Are you back from your honeymoon already?”

“No. Give me a bottle of soju first.”

The owner, who had been quietly observing Da Eun, seemed to sense something and brought soju and glasses without asking further questions.

Da Eun poured soju into a water glass and gulped it down. It was her first time drinking on a weekday. It was because of Yu Kwon. When she first joined the company, she unknowingly drank at the welcome party and received a 1-meter approach ban from Yu Kwon the next day.

As she was sipping soju without any side dishes, lost in thought, her phone rang.

The caller was Hyang Mi, Young Hoon’s mother.

Should I answer or not. After contemplating, Da Eun picked up. She intended to threaten her never to call again.

“You said it was over for good, yet you’re calling.”

—Da, Da Eun? I was in shock that day, so I might have spoken a bit harshly.

“That’s enough. Don’t call again.”

—Wait, child. Are you really going to end it like this?

“No, it’s already over.”

—I talked to him, and he said it wasn’t that deep of a relationship. He said it was really just once. Men can slip up once, can’t they? I’ll raise the child so you don’t have to worry. You two just live happily together. You don’t even need to come for ancestral rites! Just come twice a year, only on major holidays.

Da Eun blinked blankly. She wondered if she had really heard those words from the mother of a cheating man.

Da Eun was dumbfounded by the tone that suggested she was giving an incredible privilege.

“I have nothing more to say. I’ve sent the expenses for wedding preparations to Go Young Hoon’s email, so please tell him to check and settle it.”

—No, Da Eun! Wait, Da Eun!

Da Eun hung up and downed the remaining soju in her glass. There was no need to hear more.

As she tried to organize the situation and come up with a plan to overcome the difficulties, her head was so hot that she couldn’t think properly.

“I wish I could find 100 million won on the street.”

At this point, she started to resent Cha Yu Kwon. Why did he have to give her such money, preventing her from fully feeling the pain of breaking off the engagement?

It would have been better if it was someone else, not him.

In college, Yu Kwon was the first person to give Da Eun both excitement and pain at the same time. There was a time when she had unknowingly fallen for him deeply enough to make her heart ache for a long time.

But the result was a cold and perfect rejection, something she had never experienced before. She had hoped to never see him again, but they reunited as boss and subordinate.

After reuniting, she just wanted to avoid him. Unlike Yu Kwon, who treated her as if nothing had happened, Da Eun just felt uncomfortable. No, it was an emotion beyond discomfort.

Having struggled to get into the company she wanted, she couldn’t just quit or change jobs. She had planned to formally request a transfer when a position opened up in Jun Won’s department, which she had originally applied for.

She had resolved to endure until then, to focus only on work and set aside her uncomfortable feelings, but here she was again, stripped bare before him.

Da Eun had consciously tried not to give him any reason to criticize her and tried not to make mistakes. It wasn’t to impress him.

She just didn’t want to show an unsightly appearance like in the past, she wanted to leave only good impressions to erase the past if possible. But all her efforts had gone up in smoke in an instant.

At that moment, coincidentally, Yu Kwon called. Da Eun, who had been glaring at her phone screen, impulsively answered. At the same time, a wave of sorrow washed over her.

“I can’t give you the 100 million. My brother took it and ran away.”

Having blurted out these words in her drunken state, Da Eun swallowed back the tears that threatened to burst out. It was truly miserable.

—Never mind that. Where are you, Secretary Song.

“Never mind yourself, I’ll repay the wedding gift with my severance pay. My resignation letter is in the second drawer of my desk. Please live a long and healthy life.”

Da Eun said what she had to say and hung up. Strangely, it felt satisfying.

Drinking without any side dishes, the intoxication quickly set in. It was also because she hadn’t slept properly for several days.

Nodding off repeatedly, Da Eun eventually fell asleep with her head on the table.

.

.

.

How much time had passed? Tap tap, the sound of fingers tapping on the table woke her from sleep.

Yu Kwon’s face appeared hazily in Da Eun’s vision like an afterimage, then disappeared. When she rubbed her eyes and looked again, his face became clear.

“Oh, what brings the director here?”

He looked displeased at the strong smell of alcohol. Da Eun belatedly covered her mouth.

“I was passing by and saw you.”

Yu Kwon replied monotonously.

“Come on, you’d never pass through this neighborhood in your lifetime.”

Da Eun was about to probe further but just closed her mouth. It didn’t matter. This was just a dream anyway.

Cha Yu Kwon wasn’t the type to come to a place like this food cart.

Da Eun poured soju into her glass and sipped it. Yu Kwon quietly watched her. The alcohol was sweet and the Yu Kwon before her eyes wasn’t frowning.

Da Eun needlessly spread her hand and waved it in front of Yu Kwon’s face. Thinking it was a dream gave her the courage to look at him directly. It even made her laugh.

Yu Kwon looked at her with a slightly surprised face, but Da Eun, drunk as she was, didn’t have the capacity to notice such things.

“What’s so tough that you’re drinking alone?”

At the gentle-sounding voice, Da Eun let out a long sigh.

“The world is trying its best to push me off a cliff, but I wonder if I’m being too oblivious by enduring it.”

Da Eun’s long hair suddenly covered her face as she lowered her head. Just as Yu Kwon unconsciously reached out his hand, Da Eun sighed deeply again and brushed her hair back.

“You don’t have to go that far.”

A brusque comment slipped out of Yu Kwon’s mouth as he felt awkward.

“That’s why I’m asking, why did you give me 100 million won?”

Da Eun spoke as if it was the greatest tragedy in her life. Even though she had been through worse.

“Right. What should we do, Secretary Song.”

Yu Kwon, who had been looking down at her with an emotionless expression, suddenly said. He stared at Da Eun as if not wanting to miss even a moment’s movement.

As the languid voice reached her ears, Da Eun blinked her large eyes.

His red lips drew a smooth arc.

It was a sweet smile. Just like 8 years ago.