SELA - 55

“Pardon?”

“I’m asking if you were really okay with me getting engaged and the woman I’m going to marry asking you to choose a dress.”

Of course, she wasn’t okay. But she couldn’t reveal her true feelings. Sa-hee quietly swallowed her dry saliva and looked down at her feet. Forget it, smile. Sa-hee composed herself again and raised her head with a smile.

“Of course. As I said, giving an opinion is just...”

“But why were you so stiff?”

“I wasn’t.”

“You were the only one who didn’t know. Everyone there knew. Yoon Sa-hee was completely frozen.”

“I wasn’t.”

“You looked pale as a ghost.”

“That’s really not...!”

Sa-hee stopped talking, realizing she had raised her voice unintentionally. Ji-hyuk looked at her calmly with languid eyes. Sa-hee gripped the strap of her bag tightly. Don’t get caught up in his words, stay focused, she thought, filling her mind.

“Do you think I’m serious about this engagement?”

“...”

“Come on, surely not.”

“...”

“I’m just living as things go. Because of someone.”

Sa-hee bit her lower lip. She wanted to say something, but she couldn’t figure out what to say.

“Are you relieved?”

“It has nothing to do with me.”

Ji-hyuk chuckled. Sa-hee, who had been looking down, raised her eyes and met his.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Because your expression is too transparent. If you’re going to pretend it’s nothing, don’t look at me with those teary eyes.”

“When, when did I? I didn’t look at you.”

“In the director’s office. And well, since you say so, I’ll pretend that’s the case.”

“It’s not about pretending. I really didn’t...!”

“Are you saying I saw wrong?”

“Yes, you did.”

“Impossible.”

“I’m telling you, I didn’t!”

“Okay.”

“You don’t really think that, do you?”

“You know me well.”

“Director!”

“Now you’re acting like yourself.”

“Huh?”

At Ji-hyuk’s words, Sa-hee realized she had been agitated. Feeling her face heat up, she cleared her throat. But the embarrassment left a long shadow.

“I like Yoon Secretary, who does her job well, but I cherish Yoon Sa-hee more. You know that.”

“...”

“Breaking up is breaking up, but can’t we have this much distance, us?”

Us? The word “us” made Sa-hee’s heart ache.

“I think this much distance is appropriate.”

“You never give me an opening.”

Sa-hee straightened her posture and spoke the words that had been swirling inside her.

“This might sound strange, but you’re getting engaged soon. I don’t think it’s good to interact with anyone other than your fiancée. So...”

“Since I’ll soon be on a leash, I should keep my lower body in check?”

“I never said that...! Never mind.”

Sa-hee sighed audibly and leaned against the wall. Her feet, sore from wearing heels, made her rotate her ankles one by one for a stretch. Ji-hyuk, watching her, opened his mouth.

“If you’re uncomfortable, take off your shoes for a while.”

“I’m fine.”

“I’m not fine watching you.”

“Then look somewhere else.”

“Should I look somewhere else and carry you?”

“...”

Sa-hee glared at him openly. Ji-hyuk shrugged with an innocent expression, as if asking why.

“Just stay like this.”

“...”

“I know you’re trying to break up with me, but I feel sorry for you because it’s so obvious.”

“...”

“Or do you want me to hug you?”

“No? No.”

“Then just relax.”

“Yes.”

Silence fell again. The silence lasted quite a while until the broken elevator started working again.

“Oh my, you’ve had a hard time. Are you hurt anywhere? Why did this thing suddenly malfunction?”

As soon as the doors opened, Sa-hee thanked the security guard, who asked about their well-being. Ji-hyuk also bowed. He told the people that they needed to do a complete regular inspection again soon.

Sa-hee and Ji-hyuk, who started walking towards the lobby exit, ended up walking side by side. They glanced at each other, but didn’t say anything.

“Well then. Go in.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow.”

Ji-hyuk and Sa-hee, who had reached the exit, said awkward goodbyes. Sa-hee bowed lightly and turned around. At that moment, a sleek car slid up in front of them.

“Are you alright? I was surprised by the message. Oh? Secretary Yoon, you were here too?”

It was Driver Song, Jin-ha. He had rushed over, worried about Ji-hyuk, who had casually mentioned being trapped in the elevator as if it were nothing.

“Hello, Driver Song. Yes, that’s what happened.”

“Oh, did you two make up? Is that it? I knew you would!”

“Huh? It’s not like that...”

“Get in quickly. I’ll take good care of you!”

It seemed Jin-ha had misunderstood. Approaching with a beaming smile, he opened the back door of the car, trying to escort Sa-hee. Sa-hee waved her hands, embarrassed.

“Come on, get in!”

“No, Driver Song, it’s not like that.”

“Song Jin-ha.”

Ji-hyuk called Jin-ha to a halt. Jin-ha’s hand, which was pulling Sa-hee, stopped immediately. Ji-hyuk, approaching, grabbed the back door of the car and pulled Sa-hee towards him.

“Listen to people. She said it’s not like that.”

“No, I...”

Jin-ha, deflated, scratched the back of his neck. Sa-hee, watching, smiled to calm them both down, saying it was fine. Oh, I can’t think straight.

“Teacher!”

And what was this sound? Following the honking of the horn, the headlights flashed. Sa-hee, who had frowned at the blinding light, was taken aback when she realized the source of this small commotion was Seo-won. He was leaning halfway out of the car window, waving his hand cheerfully.

“Lee Seo-won?”

At Sa-hee’s bewildered voice, Ji-hyuk turned to look at her. His expression was unreadable.

Seo-won parked his car behind Ji-hyuk’s and ran towards Sa-hee. Then he smiled and extended his hand to Ji-hyuk for a handshake.

“Hello. We met before, right?”

“Did we?”

“Why? We even exchanged messages.”

He’s not completely clueless. Ji-hyuk, picking up on the hidden meaning in his words, chuckled.

“Ah, that’s right.”

Seo-won smiled and stared at Ji-hyuk, who responded nonchalantly. It was a formal smile, with his eyes cold and only his lips smiling.

Sa-hee, watching the two of them, pulled Seo-won towards her and took a step back.

“We’re going.”

“We?”

“We?”

Ji-hyuk and Driver Song both asked at the same time at Sa-hee’s words. Seo-won, seemingly touched by Sa-hee’s use of “we,” smiled brightly at her.

“Let’s go, let’s go, ‘we’ go!”

This time, Seo-won pulled Sa-hee towards him and urged her to go. Confused, Sa-hee bowed to Ji-hyuk and Jin-ha, wanting to at least say a final goodbye.

Seo-won, who had already linked arms with her, turned Sa-hee around and led her to the car. Sa-hee was almost pushed into the car.

“Seo-won, slow down! I got it...!”

At that moment, there was a thud behind her. Turning her head, she saw Ji-hyuk’s car, with the doors closed, driving away. The car left without hesitation, quickly disappearing, leaving only a red dot of its taillights.

“Teacher, get in quickly.”

“Oh? Oh, okay.”

When did he open the door again? Unable to resist Seo-won, who was opening the passenger door and escorting her, Sa-hee got into the car. While Seo-won went around to the driver’s seat, Sa-hee stared at the spot where Ji-hyuk’s car had disappeared, as if chasing a ghost.

“By the way, how did this happen? Wasn’t our appointment next week?”

Seo-won looked at Sa-hee and reached out to fasten her seatbelt for her. He answered the question casually, as if it were nothing.

“I had nothing to do anyway and had some time. I’ll just drop you off, teacher.”

“I feel bad.”

“I’m doing this because I want to. Why feel bad?”

Seo-won smiled and fastened his own seatbelt before starting the car. The smoothly moving car quickly left the familiar company scenery behind.

“How did you know about the company?”

Sa-hee’s voice filled the quiet car, where no music was playing. Seo-won, who turned to look at the sudden question, seemed slightly taken aback.

“Teacher, even if you drank a lot, how can you not remember what you said? You told me you work at Taesung when we drank together the other day.”

“Ah, did I?”

“Yes, you did.”

Feeling a bit awkward, Sa-hee scratched her cheek and turned to look out the window. Seo-won smiled quietly.

“Are you angry that I came without saying anything?”

He was quiet for a while, which was unusual for Seo-won. She thought he was worried about this. Sa-hee turned to Seo-won and shook her head.