SELA - 44

Sa-hee, feeling a chill down her spine, began to rummage through her foggy mind. She was trying to piece together yesterday’s events to figure out how she ended up here.

Just then, the door suddenly opened, and Juri poked her head in.

“You’re awake? Good morning.”

She greeted her with a cheerful voice, waving her hand. Then, she approached Sa-hee and plopped down on the bed. Juri waved her hand in front of Sa-hee, who was sitting on the swaying bed with a blank expression.

“What’s wrong? Snap out of it.”

“Why am I here?”

“Because you came here drunk. Go out and get some hangover soup.”

“Right. Drinks with Seo-won...”

“Seo-won? Who’s that? A guy?”

“Oh, contact! Oh no, I didn’t go back without saying anything. He must be worried.”

“Contact? You mean your director? I talked to that holy director of yours yesterday.”

Sa-hee, who was flustered, was somewhat relieved by Juri’s words.

“What did he say?”

“He said you were very drunk and came here, and he’d let you sleep and send you back tomorrow.”

“Ugh...”

“Why? Did I do something wrong?”

“No.”

Juri scratched her cheek awkwardly, seeing Sa-hee groan as if she was not feeling well.

“Anyway, go out and get some hangover soup. I made some dried pollack soup.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“Your answer sounds half-hearted. You’re thinking about something else, aren’t you?”

“Huh? Oh.”

“You’re being so obvious. Come on, get out!”

Juri playfully pushed Sa-hee and left the room first. Sa-hee, who was sitting blankly, fell back onto the bed as Juri pushed her.

“He said I’d have tea and come right back.”

An overnight stay. Surely he’s not angry or anything, is he?

‘No overnight stays unless there are exceptional circumstances.’

That was what he added when writing down the relationship clauses to be followed. Judging by the nuance, he clearly meant that she should come home to sleep no matter what. But after only a few days, Sa-hee had broken the promise.

Sa-hee picked up the phone next to her pillow and found Ji-hyuk’s number. She wanted to call him right away, let him hear her voice, and hear his voice. That would make her feel relieved. But why? Strangely, her finger wouldn’t move over the call button.

“Ugh.”

Sa-hee threw the phone aside and buried her face in her hands. She decided to just let it go. They would meet at work anyway, so there was no need to do this beforehand.

She decided that she would honestly tell Ji-hyuk that she had met her student after a long time and had a few drinks, and he would understand… though it was unclear if he would, but she decided to do so anyway.

Once she decided on her course of action, she surprisingly felt somewhat relieved.

“Hurry up and eat and go to work!”

Juri’s shout suddenly came from outside. Sa-hee sluggishly sat up and put her feet on the ground. She felt dizzy for a moment when she stood up, but she quickly recovered.

Right, there’s no need to worry too much. Director won’t mind. Sa-hee yawned belatedly and opened the door.

________________________________________

As she picked at the plump rice grains, yesterday’s events began to surface in her mind one by one. Meeting Seo-won, his confession that he liked her, and making an unwanted promise to Young-shin and Ji-young.

Especially the last conversation echoed loudly in her ears. The promise to finish everything and leave within a month.

“Why do you look like someone who’s being forced to do something they don’t want to do?”

“You’re like a ghost sometimes.”

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing.”

“No, tell me. What is it? Huh? Tell me.”

Juri took a bite of the dried pollack soup and put down her spoon. She looked determined to find out what was going on. After some hesitation, Sa-hee told Juri everything that had happened the night before.

“Seriously, it’s not a drama. It’s ridiculous for his mom to interfere in an adult’s relationship like that. It’s too much. And what’s up with that princess? She looks innocent, but her actions are so off.”

The princess Juri was referring to was Ji-young. Juri kept calling her princess because her outfit on the day they first met was so memorable.

“I understand. From their perspective, it’s like I stabbed them in the back.”

“Understand? What are you talking about? Did the director and the princess have some kind of fling?”

“No.”

“See? They’re not even together. ‘I liked him first, so he’s mine,’ that kind of attitude? Ridiculous.”

“I don’t know. Oh, I didn’t mean to stay out overnight...”

This time, Sa-hee put down her spoon. Her hand, trying to smooth her disheveled hair, had no strength.

“He sounded fine on the phone, didn’t seem angry.”

Juri tried to comfort her by putting the spoon back in Sa-hee’s hand.

“He doesn’t show much emotion anyway.”

“Anyway, don’t break up. Even if you do, don’t break up for such a ridiculous reason, okay?”

Juri, who gave a firm warning, took a big scoop of rice and shoved it into her mouth. Her light chopsticks, picking up side dishes, showed no sign of worry. So envious.

Juri, actually, even if it wasn’t for this, we’d be breaking up in two months when the contract ends. She wanted to say that. What kind of face would her friend make? Would she hold her stomach and laugh, saying it was like a drama? Or would she frown in disbelief?

Sa-hee, who was hesitating whether to say it or not, eventually didn’t say anything. She thought it was enough to deal with the unnecessary troubles alone.

“I should go shower. I have to go to work.”

“You’re only eating this much? Eat more. You’ll ruin your stomach.”

“I ate a lot, thanks to you. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. Hurry up and shower. Oh, what’s wrong!”

Sa-hee, who got up from her seat, hugged her friend tightly as a thank you for making hangover soup early in the morning. Juri, who was hugged by Sa-hee, pretended to dislike it and patted Sa-hee’s back. Sa-hee laughed and pulled away from Juri.

It was 7:45 AM. There was still a little time left. Sa-hee, who entered the bathroom, let her lips droop loosely. The tail of last night’s conversation kept stabbing her heart painfully. It was already a promised and decided matter, and she couldn’t change it. What could she do now even if she did this?

Sa-hee, who was rubbing her cheeks while looking in the mirror, took off all her clothes. When she turned the faucet valve, lukewarm water poured out. Sa-hee closed her eyes quietly and stood under the water for a long time. She just hoped that her distracting thoughts would melt away, even a little.

________________________________________

“Good morning, Director.”

“Good morning.”

Ji-hyuk, who came to work at the usual time, was no different from usual. His back, as he greeted Sa-hee simply and went straight into his office, was the same as any other day.

“That’s a relief.”

He’s not angry. Sa-hee, who breathed a sigh of relief, finally had a smile on her face. Sa-hee followed Ji-hyuk into his office with the briefing materials, schedule, and notepad.

“The meeting regarding the designer scout for the Breguet brand you mentioned last time is this afternoon. However, at their request, it will be held 30 minutes later than scheduled. Dr. Moon Joon-young, your psychiatrist, prescribed more sleeping pills early this morning. It’s enough for about a week. And the CEO and the Managing Director specifically...”

“Secretary Yoon.”

“Yes?”

Sa-hee, who was in the middle of briefing while looking at her notes, looked up at the sound of her name. Only then did she realize that Ji-hyuk was staring intently at her, regardless of the briefing content.

He was sitting in a slanted position, resting his elbow on the armrest of his chair and propping his chin up, looking up at her. His expression and eyes were completely indifferent. He just stared at her intently, as if counting the grains of sand in a sandcastle.

“Director, what were you saying...”

“Do you remember clause 4-1 of our contract?”

“I don’t recall.”

“Contract clause 4-1: We must sleep in the same bed regardless of any conflict or argument. And overnight stays are absolutely prohibited unless there are exceptional circumstances. I didn’t expect you to break the promise so easily.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to last night...”

At Sa-hee’s apology, Ji-hyuk took his chin off his hand and straightened his back. His movement of crossing his legs was as smooth as flowing water.

“We made a mistake.”

“A mistake?”

“We didn’t decide what punishment to give if we broke the promise, did we?”

A sharp light flickered in his dark eyes. The sharp, glittering light was piercing. Sa-hee’s throat was dry because she couldn’t figure out what Ji-hyuk was thinking.

“Tell me. What kind of punishment would be good?”

Sa-hee’s hands tightened at his low, ominous voice. She seemed to be nervous, as there was a faint sweat on her palms.

“Since I made the mistake, please decide, Director.”

“...”

“Or should I pay a fine?”

A fine? Ji-hyuk chuckled at her childish suggestion, like a child’s game.

“Let me do what I want. That should be enough.”

“What you want, Director?”

“Come closer. I’ll tell you what it is.”