SELA - 11

How much time had passed?

Sa-hee opened her eyes, still lying in the exact same position she had fallen asleep in. Outside the window, the sky was painted with the deep red hues of a setting sun.

Startled, she scrambled to check her phone—it was just past 6 p.m. She couldn’t believe she had skipped lunch and slept until now.

“Hello? Chauffeur Song? Where are you?”

- “Me? I’m in the company’s underground parking lot. Why?”

“What about me?”

- “Ah, you’re finally awake?”

Embarrassed, Sa-hee fumbled through her response.

- “You were told to rest today and then head home. Director Ji-hyuk saw you sleeping and left.”

“…Who did?”

- “Director Ji-hyuk. Oh, I need to get back to work upstairs. Sorry, I have to hang up now.”

“Ah, okay. Got it.”

He had seen her sleeping and simply left without waking her. Why? Had he felt sorry for her because she looked so exhausted?

Feeling flustered, Sa-hee quickly ended the call and sat there in a daze. Despite her recent lack of sleep, she hadn’t expected to drift off so deeply, especially during work hours. A heavy sigh escaped her lips.

Pressing her hand against her throbbing forehead, Sa-hee collapsed back onto the bed. The crimson glow outside had already faded, and the sun had disappeared from view in what felt like an instant.

---

“I transferred the money, so they shouldn’t bother us for a while. Don’t worry. Even if they come, don’t engage with them, alright?”

After hanging up, Sa-hee exhaled deeply.

She had scraped together every penny—breaking into her savings—to pay off part of Cheol-woo’s debt. With her fixed deposits gone, she was left with barely enough to cover a month’s living expenses. 

It felt like an endless cycle, a suffocating merry-go-round of debt that kept pulling her back in no matter how hard she tried to escape. Sa-hee knew she’d have to keep sacrificing herself to settle Cheol-woo’s mounting obligations. The future seemed bleak.

Skipping lunch, she spent the afternoon in the pantry and returned to her desk with a cup of coffee. The office was unusually quiet since most employees were still out for lunch.

“Hello.”

Hearing the greeting, Sa-hee looked up to see a woman standing there. Something about her face felt vaguely familiar.

“Is Director Ji-hyuk here?”

The woman exuded sophistication—her sleek bob haircut, polished features, and clear voice radiated intelligence and urbanity.

“If you mention Cha Jung-min, you’ll probably know who I am.”

Ah, yes. Cha Jung-min, the prominent news anchor from a major broadcasting network.

“The director isn’t here at the moment.”

“Oh. It seems I arrived early.”

Checking her wristwatch, Jung-min muttered softly.

“May I wait inside?”

“Did you have an appointment?”

“Well, I assume so.”

Jung-min smiled brightly, her lips curving into a confident grin.

After a brief pause, Sa-hee circled around her desk and opened the door to Ji-hyuk’s office. Jung-min gave a slight nod of thanks and entered.

About ten minutes later, Ji-hyuk returned. When informed of the visitor, he tilted his head slightly, puzzled. Sa-hee, on the other hand, felt a wave of panic. She had let someone into his office assuming it was a scheduled meeting, but Ji-hyuk clearly didn’t know anything about it.

Just as Sa-hee stood to explain, Ji-hyuk seemed to grasp the situation and walked toward the office without waiting for further instructions. His expression remained impassive as always.

What should I do? Did I make a mistake? Watching the closed office door, Sa-hee sank back into her chair. She stared at the intercom, hoping for some guidance, but no call came. Not even a request to bring tea. Clearly, this guest wasn’t welcome. Her error became painfully obvious.

“Stupid…”

There was no undoing what had already been done. No matter how hard she tried to focus on her monitor, her thoughts kept drifting to what might be happening inside the office. What if this was an appointment Ji-hyuk wanted to avoid, and she had inadvertently facilitated it?

At that moment, Jung-min emerged from the office.

Still poised and elegant, she approached Sa-hee’s desk with crisp, deliberate steps.

“It’s not something I wanted to do out of wounded pride…”

She handed Sa-hee her business card.

“When you have time, give me a call. There’s something we need to discuss.”

“Something to discuss?”

“Mrs. Shin Ji-hyuk—Madam of Taesung Group. You know what she mentioned, right?”

That’s when it clicked for Sa-hee. This was one of the women she needed to assist. She hadn’t expected things to move so quickly.

Nodding, Sa-hee accepted the card. Jung-min flashed a knowing smile before turning to leave.

Sitting back down, Sa-hee fiddled with the card when the intercom buzzed. She hurried into Ji-hyuk’s office.

“The companies listed during the last interior renovation project…”

“Yes?”

“Do we still have the list of excluded companies?”

Despite her nervousness, Ji-hyuk acted as though nothing unusual had happened and asked about unrelated matters.

What had they discussed? Sa-hee’s mind raced with unnecessary thoughts. But what could she do? Her task was clear—to help connect Ji-hyuk with someone else.

“I think we still have it. I’ll look into it.”

“Thank you.”

Forcing a smile, Sa-hee quickly exited the office.

Her resolve hardened. She mustn’t fall deeper under his spell. Never again.

---

That night, Sa-hee received a call. It was Cha Jung-min. Fresh out of the shower, drying her damp hair, Sa-hee was surprised by the unexpected caller.

- “I guess you haven’t saved my number yet?”

“No, not yet. How did you get my number…?”

- “I asked Madam Shin. She gave it to me right away.”

“Ah, I see.”

Perched on the edge of her bed, Sa-hee glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Her expression was neutral—neither pleased nor displeased. She wondered what emotion she was truly feeling.

- “You’re not upset that I got your contact separately, are you?”

“No, it’s fine.”

- “Good to hear that.”

Was it really fine? Wrapping a towel around her neck, Sa-hee gently shook out her hair. After patting it dry, the ends were slightly frizzy. She absently smoothed them while waiting for Jung-min to continue.

- “Anyway…”

“Yes, I’m listening.”

- “You probably guessed why I called. It’s about Ji-hyuk.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

On the other end, Jung-min chuckled softly.

- “Since you already seem to know, why don’t you tell me something about him? Anything at all.”

Realizing the direction of the conversation, Sa-hee smirked wryly. Where to begin? She knew Ji-hyuk well, perhaps too well. If her knowledge were a small puzzle piece, she could easily hand it over, but it felt more like a massive jigsaw puzzle—how could she decide which part to share first?

“It’s harder than I thought, deciding where to start.”

- “Don’t overthink it. Just share whatever comes to mind. For instance, his favorite artist?”

“He likes Alain Brézet’s works. He often visits exhibitions in person. There’s a show at the Seoul Arts Center starting last week—I think he’ll likely attend sometime during its opening period.”

- “Great information. What about restaurants or places he frequents?”

“He loves ‘Supren’ in Cheongdam and often visits ‘Dowon,’ a traditional Korean restaurant. He rarely drinks, but when he does, it’s usually at the lounge bar in Hotel C in Eulji-dong.”

- “Hotel C, huh? That’s close. Good. Anything else?”

The conversation continued in this manner. Though the call lasted only about ten minutes, the exchange was concise and devoid of casual chit-chat. By the end, Sa-hee had shared quite a bit of useful information.

“That’s pretty much everything I can think of.”

- “Hmm, yes. I’ve taken quite a few notes.”

Walking into the living room, Sa-hee opened the fridge. Suddenly thirsty, she noticed a row of beer cans nestled among side dishes. Grabbing one, she popped the lid and took a couple of quiet sips.

“…”

A brief silence settled between them. Neither spoke. Shouldn’t they wrap this up soon? Just as Sa-hee thought this, she heard a soft chuckle on the other end.

- “I think I made a mistake today.”

“What? What kind of…”

- “Earlier at the office. I assumed he was avoiding scheduling a meeting, so I dropped by unannounced. Turns out, it was a misstep. Before calling you, I heard from Madam Shin that Ji-hyuk was quite upset.”