BR - 65

“Hello?”

Eun-chae carefully opened the door and greeted them, and the department members who were working looked up at her.

“Oh my, Eun-chae-ya!”

Hyun-jung was the first to stand up with a welcoming smile and greet her.

“Oh, Ms. Eun-chae? What brings you here without any notice?”

“I had some business in the area, so I stopped by for a moment. I also felt bad for leaving without properly saying goodbye before.”

“You had no choice back then.”

Team Leader Park said with a bright smile.

The department members who had been close to Assistant Manager Yang now seemed to be getting along well with others and approached Eun-chae without hesitation to greet her.

Hyun-woo also smiled as he looked at her.

“I should have contacted you sooner, but I’m really sorry for visiting only now, Team Leader.”

After handing out coffee and desserts to the department members, Eun-chae sat facing Team Leader Park and Hyun-woo in the small attached conference room within the department.

“No, no. I should have contacted you first, but I didn’t. I should have stopped Ms. Eun-chae somehow, but I was unqualified as a team leader, I guess.”

“No. I learned a lot at the company thanks to you, Team Leader.”

She said, dissuading the apologetic Team Leader Park.

Unlike other companies, Team Leader Park had given her, a contract worker, tasks that even regular new employees would do, and had been considerate in inviting her to lunches and company dinners.

Thanks to him, she had adapted to the company easily, and she had even received compliments from others for doing a good job in areas she didn’t even know she was good at.

The fact that she had hoped to continue working here without transferring elsewhere even after her contract ended was all thanks to Team Leader Park.

“Thank you for saying that.”

“Weren’t you troubled because of me? I suddenly threw my resignation and left... of course, I wasn’t doing any important work, but still, it must have been short-handed...”

She rambled, feeling sorry.

“It would be upsetting if I said it was okay, and you would feel guilty if I said it wasn’t okay, right?”

Hyun-woo, who had been watching from the side, interjected with a smile.

“That’s right, Ms. Eun-chae. No matter how we answer, it’s a difficult question for us.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Eun-chae blushed and smiled, seeing the two of them trying to ease her guilt with their jokes.

“Did you come to see the CEO today?”

“Oh, did you know?”

“Today is his last day coming to Studio FIRST. Director Baek Kang-won of Baedo Group will be taking over as CEO now.”

“Director Baek Kang-won?”

“Ah, Ms. Eun-chae knows him. President Baek’s younger uncle.”

“Yes, I know him...”

Until recently, her mother had disliked her younger uncle-in-law the most. Now, she disliked her the most.

Eun-chae’s face darkened for a moment.

Was appointing Kang-won as the CEO here a demotion or not? It was difficult for her to immediately understand such complex management matters.

“I feel like we’re holding a busy person, Team Leader. Let’s get going.”

“Oh, shall we?”

Team Leader Park chuckled awkwardly at Hyun-woo’s words and stood up.

“Ah, Section Chief Kang. There’s something I wanted to tell you.”

Eun-chae quickly called out to Hyun-woo.

Team Leader Park looked strangely at the two of them, then shrugged and left the conference room first, telling them to talk.

“Yes?”

“That’s...”

Sitting back down and facing Hyun-woo, who was staring at her intently, she found it difficult to bring up the topic.

“Hmm. I should congratulate you on getting back together, right?”

“Yes?”

“You wanted to apologize to me, didn’t you?”

Eun-chae slowly nodded at him, who was giving her a warm smile and saying what she wanted to say for her.

“I’m sorry. I don’t think I can accept your feelings, Section Chief Kang.”

“Yes, I figured.”

“But we’re not getting back together immediately, so please congratulate me later.”

“Oh? Why not right away?”

“Even though we were once married, we don’t know much about each other. We’re going to try to get to know each other slowly, little by little.”

She couldn’t repeat the same mistake.

As she lowered her gaze, her face flushed with embarrassment, she heard Hyun-woo chuckle.

“The CEO must be having a hard time.”

“Yes?”

When she looked up, Hyun-woo still had a smile lingering on his lips.

“He must be having a tough time emotionally. He probably wants to announce to the whole world right now that Ms. Eun-chae is his wife, but he’s holding back.”

“Emotional hardship, what do you mean?”

“Anyway, I’ll cheer you on. Ms. Eun-chae is wise.”

“Thank you.”

Eun-chae lowered her head.

Section Chief Kang will surely meet a good person too.

Those words rose to the tip of her tongue, but she held them back. She thought it would be rude to say such a thing to a man who had just been properly rejected by her.

For a while, the two of them smiled warmly at each other before getting up from their seats.

________________________________________

“Wow! This is so nice, so nice!”

Her mother hopped around as she entered the apartment.

Seok-kyung had told her mother to move into the K apartment he had given Eun-chae again.

Since there were several rooms, it wouldn’t be too small for her and her mother to live in alone until her father was released from prison.

So today, she had cleaned out her studio apartment, and her mother had packed her belongings from her aunt’s house and moved in here.

“Yes, a house should be at least this size.”

At her mother’s voice, which sounded very satisfied, Eun-chae felt rather drained.

It was as if she was acting like it was her own house.

Everything belonged to Seok-kyung, and it was all debt that had to be repaid.

“Why do you look so gloomy?”

“I wish I could be as carefree as Mom.”

“What are you talking about?”

Her mother asked, taking out a bottle of water from the refrigerator and drinking it.

“It’s all debt, debt. It’s not something to be so happy about.”

“Surely Seok-kyung isn’t making you pay it back?”

“Even if he told me not to, I have to pay it back. Who is he to give us all this?”

“What? Aren’t you getting back together with Baek Seok-kyung?”

Her mother asked again, as if doubting her own ears.

“I don’t know yet.”

“Why don’t you know? What’s so difficult about it?”

“It’s not an easy problem.”

“Ugh, you’re so frustrating.”

Suddenly, her mother grabbed her wrist and pulled her to sit on the sofa.

“What’s not an easy problem? Baek Seok-kyung wants to get back together. He wants to live together, so what’s the problem?”

“Mom. We have nothing right now.”

“So? Baek Seok-kyung is the CEO of Baedo Group, what does it matter? No other family can even compare to Baedo Group.”

“Think about it the other way around.”

Did she have to spell out empathy?

Eun-chae sighed softly and continued, “If we were very well-off and I brought home someone penniless and said I was going to marry them, would you allow it, Mom?”

“What? Don’t tell me Madam Cha is against you?”

“W-Well...”

Without realizing it, Eun-chae had let slip the biggest problem to her mother and lost her words.

“I figured as much from your inability to answer. No wonder, it was strange from the moment he came all the way to the countryside to bring me gifts and whatnot.”

After shopping so happily.

Eun-chae stopped herself from pouting.

“Hey, don’t be discouraged. What does it matter if his mother doesn’t like you when Baek Seok-kyung likes you? Looking at him last time, he seemed like he’d be a good shield. Just pretend you don’t know and follow Seok-kyung’s lead.”

“Well, I’ll figure it out.”

“Hmph! You ruined all my excitement.”

Her mother frowned, got up, and flounced towards the bedroom.

Eun-chae felt sorry for upsetting her mother, who had been in a good mood, but she couldn’t help it since she hadn’t fully decided to accept Seok-kyung yet.

And she also somewhat wanted her mother to be mindful of Seok-kyung’s feelings.

Buzz-

The vibration of her phone in her pants pocket shook Eun-chae out of her thoughts.

“Hello?”

-It’s me.

It was Seok-kyung, his voice always missed no matter how many times she heard it.

-Did you finish moving?

“Yes, I just brought in the luggage.”

-I should have helped.

“It’s a weekday. And the luggage was just two suitcases, what’s the big deal?”

Eun-chae said, looking at the suitcases still left by the entrance.

-Does your mother like it?

“Yes, she likes it a lot. She went to the bedroom because she was tired.”

-Really? Then can you come out for a bit?

“Huh? Now?”

Eun-chae looked at the clock on the wall. There were still a few hours left until quitting time.

-I miss you.

Ah...

Hearing “I miss you” from the person she loved was as ticklish as a breath fluttering in her ear.

-Huh?

“Okay.”

-I’ll come pick you up.

“I’ll be waiting.”

Hanging up the phone, Eun-chae fanned her face with her hand to cool down her flushed cheeks.

Still, the corners of her mouth kept turning upwards, and her face grew even redder.

________________________________________

“Wow! The ocean!”

Eun-chae spread her arms wide and embraced the sea air.

It had been so long since she had seen the ocean, and the sight of the golden waves crashing as the sun set almost brought her to tears.

“Do you like it that much? It’s just the West Sea, though.”

Seok-kyung said with a smile beside her.

When he had suggested going to see the ocean, she had secretly hoped they would go all the way to the East Sea, even though she thought it unlikely.

So she had been slightly disappointed when she saw their destination was somewhere in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, but the ocean view from Oido was just as beautiful as the East Sea.

“The sunset is so beautiful.”

“Yeah, it is beautiful.”

Seok-kyung whispered, hugging her from behind.

A shiver ran down her spine at the warmth of his body felt through her nape.

She must be crazy.

Without realizing it, she had imagined being held by him.

“What’s wrong?”

“Yes?”

“Your ears are bright red.”

“Ah...”

Eun-chae squeezed her eyes shut in embarrassment. Then, his breath touched her ear again.

“Were you having strange thoughts?”

“N-No!”

“I think you were. The same thoughts as me.”

Seok-kyung, whose face was also slightly flushed, turned her around, surprised.

Hearing that they had the same thoughts made something flutter in her heart.

“Should we eat first and then do it, or do it and then eat?”

N-No more.

Eun-chae squeezed her eyes shut and lightly pushed Seok-kyung’s chest with her hand.

“L-Let’s eat first... and then do it.”

“Heh, alright. Let’s do that.”

She thought he would let go, but instead, Seok-kyung tightened his arms around her, holding her even closer.