I’d Rather Live as a Villain

I’d Rather Live as a Villain – Part 2

(Please send to Mulsan)

Sweating in the hot bath and successfully slimming down my worries, it’s only now that it doesn’t feel real.

Until now, I must have been intoxicated by the proposal given by the executive.

Is my rationality finally returning?

I’m to marry Kang Moon-jung, the sole legitimate heir of Daeyoung?

How?

Is this even a plausible situation?

Can I really go through with this marriage just because I’ve set my mind to it?

Ah, who knows.

There must be a reason for such a proposal.

Having roughly finished soaping up, I stepped outside.

Using the public bath.

No matter how long I try to wash, anxiety keeps me from going over 40 minutes.

Such is the life of an executive assistant.

Never knowing when the call will come.

The anxiety of dropping my phone is unsettling.

I casually shake off the moisture from my body and stand in front of the mirror where the hair dryer lies.

As expected, I look my best right after a shower.

Do I have… the kind of face that would captivate a chaebol family?

The thought is so amusing that I can’t help but let out a laugh.

After drying my hair until it’s fluffy, I turn towards my locker.

That’s when my eyes catch the beverage fridge.

“…”

Normally, I find the drinks sold inside the bathhouse overpriced, so I prefer to use the convenience store after my bath.

10 billion.

Strangely, I don’t seem to mind this level of overcharge anymore.

Yet…

Yet, I resist.

After all, once I step outside, convenience stores are scattered everywhere on the streets, offering more choices at cheaper prices.

Pocari Sweat.

It’s just not human to buy that for 2,000 won.

I unlock the locker with the key I had around my ankle.

And immediately, I check my phone…

Sure enough, there were several messages from the executive director.

First, two missed calls, and when I didn’t answer, he left a message on KakaoTalk.

– Can’t see my pad.

Pad?

Why can’t he see something that big?

I hastily put on my underwear and call the executive director.

“I’m sorry for not answering your call, sir. I was taking a shower.”

– Sorry for calling at this hour. If it’s okay, could you check if my pad is in the back seat of the car?

“In the car?”

– Didn’t I use the pad in the car earlier?

I really couldn’t remember.

Usually, I would have remembered something like that.

After receiving the bombshell proposal from the executive to enter into a contract marriage, it seems I’ve been somewhat intoxicated with the idea throughout the afternoon schedule.

“I’ll go out and check right now. Is there anything important inside? Like confidential information?”

― No, nothing as confidential as that. It’s locked with facial recognition anyway. But it’s such a hassle, you know. Getting a new one, reinstalling everything, transferring data.

“Understood. I’ll go check right away and call you back.”

― Sorry to bother you. I need a favor.

“No problem at all.”

Executive Kang Moon-jung.

He really requires a lot of attention.

Externally, he’s crafted an image of being flawless, but occasionally, he surprises you with his carelessness.

Of course, I know.

He’s someone who needs to be concerned about many significant things.

He’s someone who has many battles to fight to maintain his position.

Perhaps he even thinks he’s taking on the world all by himself.

Sometimes he can’t even remember what he had for lunch that day, asking at dinner, “What did we have for lunch today?” unable to recall.

His focus is solely on work, on business.

So much so that he doesn’t pay much attention to anything else, even the food he eats.

That’s why I have to keep looking after him.

*Sigh…*

My thoughts grow heavy again.

As I hurriedly dress to check the back seat of the car, suddenly, the words she said to me before leaving the office come to mind.

“Deputy Director Yoon, you’re someone I absolutely need. Among the few on my side, you’re the only one who can come to me without worrying about others whenever I need you.”

Damn it…

Is the reason I decided to go through with this marriage really just because of the huge sum of 10 billion won the executive offered?

And for the past three years and three months, without a day off, not even weekends or holidays, I’ve rushed to the executive’s side at her call without any complaints. What really drove me to do that?

Was it because my salary depended on it?

Because she was the boss I served?

Because she was the sole legitimate heir of the Daeyoung family?

Or… was it because of a personal fan’s affection?

To tell you the truth, when I first saw Executive Kang Moon-jung, who joined Mulsan as a manager for the European region while I was working there as an assistant, I thought she was from another world.

Even before she started her group life to receive management training, she was already a star comparable to IU.

He is the sole legitimate heir of the Daeyoung family.

How many in South Korea could possibly be unaware that Vice President Kang Young-jin was the long-awaited illegitimate child of Chairman Kang Man-ho, born outside of wedlock?

And as if by a twist of fate, just as Vice President Kang Young-jin was born, Executive Director Kang Moon-jung was miraculously born to the then-living matriarch of the Daeyoung family, the late Ahn Young-hee.

It was the scandal of the century, the drama of the century, and at the heart of that story was Executive Director Kang Moon-jung, which is why seeing her for the first time at Mulsan felt like encountering a celebrity.

It was as if I could see the aura people often speak of emanating from her.

I’ll never forget our first conversation in the company cafeteria, when she sat down next to me with a smile and placed her tray down.

“Deputy Yoon Tae-sik? I’m Kang Moon-jung. I’ll be counting on your help from now on. Please take good care of me.”

At that moment, I was so nervous and trembling that I blurted out a curt “Yes, I understand,” as if I really could be of help to her, as if I was someone who should take good care of her.

And I’ll never forget the time at Mulsan when I was tied to her direct line, a special team, and had to play a supporting role on a business trip to Andalusia, Spain.

The main team had already arrived in Granada to set up the task force, but she, deeply interested in the project, decided she wanted to see the contract site for herself and changed the plan.

I was the only one from Mulsan headquarters who could escort the executive director there, supporting the main team on their business trip.

“What are you doing over there?”

Back then, she still spoke to me with honorifics.

“Oh, I’m in economy class.”

“Why?”

It was truly remarkable.

For us, it was common sense that anyone below the level of department head would travel economy, regardless of the route.

“Well…”

Suddenly, she snatched my passport and dashed to the first-class/business-class ticketing line.

“Excuse me, Manager. You may be a special case, but as a regular employee like me, according to company policy…”

“You expect me to go alone for 12 and a half hours?”

“…”

“Before we even arrive at the site, you need to explain to me the situation at the contract site, the atmosphere, what I need to pay attention to, what I need to take care of. I know nothing about the situation in the Andalusian farms or the Granada task force right now, so what am I supposed to do when I get there? If there’s nothing for me to do, why am I going? 12 and a half hours. Isn’t that enough time to get a grasp of the situation?”

Then she upgraded my seat to first class at her own expense.

That was the beginning.

Ever since then, I’ve been constantly by her side, like a shadow to the executive director.

***

I quickly got dressed and left the bathhouse.

Then, before heading down to the parking lot, I bought a can of Pocari Sweat at the convenience store on the first floor.

1200 won.

If I had drunk it at the bathhouse, it would have cost 2,000 won, but I saved 800 won.

But the executive’s tablet.

It should be here…

If it wasn’t urgent to have the tablet right now, the executive, with his personality, wouldn’t have looked for me at this hour just because he lost one.

That darn tablet.

From the executive’s standpoint, buying a new one would suffice.

“There it is, there it is, there it is!”

I felt relieved, as if I had found my electronic cigarette that I’d lost from my pocket, now sitting on the car seat.

I immediately made a call.

“Executive, it’s in the car.”

― Oh, that’s a relief! Chief Yun.

“Yes.”

― If the facial recognition is blocked, the password appears, right?

“Yes.”

― It’s my birthday. Unlock it and scrape the PDF file from Jeju Daeyoung Stay and send it to me.

“I’ll just bring it to you.”

― No, no. There’s no need for that. Just send me that PDF file.

“That’s unlikely.”

― What do you mean ‘that’s unlikely’?

I know the executive well enough…

“After checking that, you’re going to check one more thing before you go to sleep, right? Then you’ll contact me again while I’m sleeping. Come down in 10 minutes.”

― In 10 minutes? Weren’t you just taking a quick shower? How can you get here from your house in 10 minutes?

“I was at the bathhouse. Trying to sweat it out for a change. 10 minutes is plenty for me.”

I need to see him in person and remind him of tomorrow’s schedule with a nagging tone, so he’ll only look at what’s necessary and go to bed early.

***

It took two days to respond to the offer I received.

It wasn’t an offer that required long deliberation.

I was just waiting for the right timing to give an answer.

Knock. Knock.

Managing and progressing the executive’s schedule was my main job, so I figured this would be a moment when the executive would have some free time.

I took a deep breath and knocked on the executive office door.

Though I knock and enter several times a day to report on work, at this moment, it was no ordinary door.

Opening this door meant crossing a river that couldn’t be crossed.

Perhaps it was that thought, but today, the door felt unusually stiff to open.

Executive Kang Moon-jung was sitting at her desk, reviewing documents.

Upon recognizing me, she shifted her gaze back to the documents she was reading and asked what I wanted.

I brought up coffee, just as she had two days ago when she suggested we have a cup together if I had time, and mentioned a contract marriage.

“Coffee?”

It had been over three years since I started serving the executive as part of the group’s secretarial team.

I had often initiated conversations about coffee—whether to prepare it or ask if she had any—but this was the first time I suggested having it together.

Sensing the reason for my visit, the executive slowly rose from her seat and walked towards the sofa, inviting me to sit.

I waited for Executive Kang to take the prime seat on the sofa before sitting down in the spot she offered, turning towards her.

In the meantime, she contacted the executive floor desk through the intercom.

“Two cups of coffee, please. One as I usually have, and the other a latte.”

It was a trivial matter, but it was then I first realized that Executive Kang knew my coffee preference.

Executive Kang and I had no choice but to maintain an awkward silence until the coffee arrived.

It was a matter that required caution, even from the person who would bring us the coffee.

A strong espresso and a latte were placed before the executive and me, respectively.

Unlike the executive, who found charm in stronger coffee, I believed coffee should be sweet and smooth.

I placed two sugar cubes on top of the milk foam and stirred slowly.

While I did, the executive crossed her legs and turned her posture towards me.

I moistened my dry lips with my tongue and continued to stir until the sugar completely dissolved, pretending not to notice her gaze.

I could imagine the executive’s expression as she inhaled, even without looking.

She had been by my side for over three years.

I knew her tastes, preferences, the small habit of massaging the corners of her mouth with the tip of her tongue before focusing on something, and even her health status better than she did herself.

After dissolving the sugar cubes thoroughly, I lifted my head.

Then, straightening my posture, I looked at the executive and spoke.

“I’ll do it. I’ll marry you.”

I continued before the corner of the executive’s mouth could fully rise.

“But I have one condition, Director.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“Please send me to Mulsan.”

At my words, the Director narrowed his eyes and tilted his head in curiosity.

“For the executive position… I think the Head of the European Division would be suitable.”