Younger Man at Work (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 9
They had already decided to live together, but there were still several issues to resolve. Eun Seo immediately brought up the most urgent one.
“We need to figure something out about the company first. If you keep skipping work like this without notice, people are going to get suspicious.”
It had already been a full day since he’d left the hospital on his own. By now, they were surely searching for him everywhere.
Kwon Seung Joo looked troubled.
“If I go to the office, won’t they find out?”
“Of course they will.”
Even someone who didn’t know what a smartphone was couldn’t possibly carry out the duties of a CEO. To begin with, his speech pattern was completely different from the original Kwon Seung Joo’s. After just a few exchanged words, anyone would instantly sense that something was off.
Whereas his tone used to be rigid and clipped to the point of being cold, it was now much gentler and softer. Even his voice sounded subtly different—perhaps due to a change in vocalization. His voice, once a deep, weighty baritone, now had a slightly higher pitch and even felt refreshingly clear.
His expressions had changed too. It was clearly the same face, yet while he used to look as if icicles were dripping off him, he now appeared oddly innocent.
In any case, going to work was out of the question. Eun Seo held her head in her hands, lost in thought.
*
Standing in front of a public telephone, Eun Seo emphasized for what felt like the hundredth time.
“Make it as annoyingly unpleasant as humanly possible. Make sure whoever hears it feels instantly repelled. Got it?”
Kwon Seung Joo looked slightly hurt.
“Do I really sound that unpleasant?”
“Don’t even get me started.”
Eun Seo shook her head vigorously. She should’ve just recorded it.
Holding the heavy receiver, Kwon Seung Joo took several deep breaths, clearly nervous.
“Don’t say ‘I did this’ or ‘I did that.’ Always use ‘I did this’ and ‘I did that’ with past-tense formality. Keep your voice low and rough, too.”
After giving one final stern reminder, Eun Seo dialed the secretary’s office number. After a brief pause, a clink of coins dropped, and the call connected.
“This is Kwon Seung Joo.”
—President!
The female secretary’s voice rang out so loudly it was audible even through the receiver. Kwon Seung Joo quickly recited the lines he’d practiced over and over just moments ago.
“Cancel the demolition of the Yeonsa-dong house. Leave the tenants as they are.”
—Yes, I’ll handle it right away.
The response came back far more easily than expected, almost disappointingly so. Not even asking for a reason revealed Kwon Seung Joo’s usual style—just follow orders without unnecessary questions.
Still, she’d naturally ask where he was.
—But President, where exactly are you?
“I’m thinking of heading out to the countryside. I’ll be taking sick leave for the time being, so please process it accordingly.”
—What? So suddenly?
“The aftereffects from the accident are severe, so I need some time to recuperate.”
It was the excuse Eun Seo had come up with. No matter how hard she’d racked her brain, this was the best she could do.
“I’ve lost my cellphone, so you won’t be able to reach me anyway… I’ll contact you occasionally from my end, so keep that in mind.”
That covered everything. Saying any more would only increase the risk of exposure. Eun Seo frantically waved an X with her hands from the side—a clear signal to hang up quickly.
—President! President?
The secretary’s urgent voice reached Eun Seo’s ears too.
Even after barely a minute of conversation, the listener was utterly drained. On the way back home, he looked around with unfamiliar eyes.
“The neighborhood has changed so much. There used to be a tteokbokki shop right there, a hair salon next to it, and beyond that, it was all single-family homes…”
His words conjured up an old image in Eun Seo’s mind like a photograph. She’d moved into this neighborhood 15 years ago, and his memories dated back just as far. Since redevelopment had started only 10 years ago, they both recalled the same scenery.
“The cup-bokki served in cups with little bear illustrations was so delicious. My younger sibling and I used to buy it sometimes.”
“Oh—I actually had that just a few days ago!”
That tteokbokki shop had already been gone for ten years.
Kwon Seung Joo, who’d looked delighted just moments before, suddenly grew somber, as if a thought had struck him.
“Uh… about our house. Did I really order it to be demolished?”
“That’s what I’ve been telling you.”
“But what if Mom comes back someday? Why on earth would I do that?”
He muttered, his expression full of confusion.
“How should I know?”
She snapped irritably—it was because of this that she’d suffered endlessly. He flinched slightly and slumped his broad shoulders.
Back at home, Eun Seo assigned Kwon Seung Joo the room he’d stay in. Since he’d slept there last night and claimed it was originally his room, they decided he’d just continue staying there.
“What’s this?”
While Eun Seo spread out a blanket she’d brought from the next room onto the floor, he noticed a stack of flyers piled in the corner.
“That’s my younger sibling.”
She nearly blurted out, “The one who said you—the president—were dead,” but swallowed the words. There was no point in being sarcastic when he didn’t even remember.
Seung Joo’s eyes widened as he examined the flyer, then quickly turned sorrowful.
“Did you find your sibling?”
“No. I’m still looking.”
After staring at the flyer for a long while, reading each line as if memorizing it, Seung Joo finally turned to Eun Seo.
“You’ll definitely find them. Hang in there, Nuna.”
Faced with a man wearing the exact same face yet speaking in a completely different voice, Eun Seo didn’t know how to respond.
*
Overnight, she’d become the guardian of an eighteen-year-old. Both her shoulders and her heart felt heavier.
“In movies and dramas, memory often returns after a second head injury. But in reality, memory rarely comes back; most people never recover what they’ve lost for the rest of their lives…”
The next day at work, Eun Seo read aloud from something she’d looked up online and let out a sigh. What if his memory truly never returned?
To make matters worse, Kwon Seung Joo had neither a wallet nor a cellphone. Whether they’d been lost in the accident or he’d simply forgotten to take them when leaving the hospital was unclear. Either way, it meant he was currently penniless.
She’d managed to stop the demolition for now, but just thinking about what came next made everything seem pitch black. It wasn’t easy supporting herself—now she had another mouth to feed. An eighteen-year-old was still growing; how would she even afford groceries…?
‘Wait—his body’s still thirty-three, isn’t it?’
Her thoughts were a tangled mess. She hadn’t even decided whether to see him as eighteen or thirty-three. Until now, she’d always addressed Kwon Seung Joo formally as “President.” She understood the situation, yet couldn’t bring herself to speak informally to that face.
While lost in these thoughts, she received a call from the CEO’s secretarial office. Steeling herself, Eun Seo headed upstairs.
“This way, please.”
Among the several secretaries, the male one she’d seen at the hospital guided her into the reception lounge. He was likely the personal secretary.
As soon as she sat down, Eun Seo struck first.
“How’s the President doing? Hasn’t he been discharged yet?”
Instead of answering, the secretary asked in return,
“Have you spoken with the President at all yesterday or today?”
Her heart pounded, but Eun Seo feigned complete bewilderment.
“What? Why would the President contact me…?”
The secretary studied her expression over his glasses, as if trying to read something hidden in her face.
“You’re absolutely certain you haven’t heard from him?”
“Yes. You know I kept trying to reach him, but he wouldn’t meet me—I only managed to see him after blocking his way to work. Why would he contact me of all people?”
Only then did the secretary’s expression soften, as if conceding, “Well, I suppose that’s true.”
“Actually, the President canceled the demolition of Yoon Eun Seo’s house in Yeonsa-dong.”
“Really?”
Eun Seo summoned all her acting skills to look genuinely shocked.
“Why all of a sudden?”
“He didn’t say. Do you know anything about it?”
“Me? Nothing at all! Really, truly, thank you so much. Please be sure to tell the President I won’t forget this kindness—I’ll work even harder from now on.”
Eun Seo jumped up from her seat and bowed repeatedly toward the secretary.
She seemed to have pulled it off successfully, yet lying still didn’t sit well with her nature. On her way out, her legs trembled so badly that she had to lean against the hallway wall and take several deep breaths.
“Haa…”
Was this really the right thing to do? Doubt began creeping in far too late.
*
A female secretary from Kwon Seung Joo’s team entered the room. Not the personal secretary, but the in-house secretary who’d personally taken his call the day before. Madam Ji Yeon Hwa skipped pleasantries entirely and asked urgently,
“You said you got a call from our Seung Joo?”
“Yes. He called late last night.”
“Then where is he right now? Tell me!”
“He didn’t say exactly, but based on the public phone number he called from, it was Yeonsa-dong.”
“Yeonsa-dong?”
“Yes. He also instructed us to cancel the demolition of the Yeonsa-dong house.”
The secretary clasped her hands together and spoke respectfully.
“He said due to post-accident symptoms, he’d be recuperating in the countryside for a while and asked us to process his leave as sick leave—then hung up immediately.”
“What? If he’s unwell, he should stay in the hospital! Why go all the way out there!”
Yeon Hwa stomped her feet anxiously and even shed tears out of worry.
“Anything else? Did he say anything else?”
“He only said he’d lost his phone so he couldn’t be reached, but that he’d contact us occasionally.”
“That brat—even a single call to his own mother! How much longer does he plan to keep us all worried sick…!”
After pounding her chest in frustration, Yeon Hwa finally wiped away her tears.
“If he calls again, be sure to notify me right away.”
“Yes, Madam. I will.”
The moment the secretary left, all traces of worry vanished from Yeon Hwa’s face. Wiping away the lingering tears with irritation, she muttered to herself,
“What’s with this guy? Did he figure something out?”
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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