Secretly Meeting With My Boss

If she was curious, she could have asked. If she did that, Taekyung would explain the complete story. However, So-young did not respond. It was because her words couldn't come out.

Come to think of it, Taekyung's attitude was also a little strange. If it was the usual for him, he would have explained the specific reason on her own without asking. No, he wouldn't have to cancel their appointment like this from the beginning…

Soyoung closed her eyes as she felt her head getting flooded. As her thoughts spread, it felt like she didn't want to even speak.

"…I got it. You must be tired, but don't overdo it."

So-young knew ‌she was cowardly, but did not ask Taekyung anything. It was because she didn't dare to confirm the truth right now. Taekyung also hung up the phone without noticing So-young's subdued voice, as if he was busy somewhere else.

So-young remained in place for a while, even after the call was over.

She felt like a calm storm was blowing in her heart.

* * *

"Did you hear that? I heard that he's going to use his annual leave today.

"Gosh."

The next morning, a commotion spread among the team members once. It wasn't a big problem for Taekyung to use his annual leave, but the story changed if he used his annual leave immediately after such rumors broke out yesterday.

"Is the rumor true….”

"I don't know about that, but the timing is a bit off."

So-young left her seat because of the people's gossip. That said, she didn't have anywhere else to go, so she ended up heading to the staff lounge on the other side of the office.

Maybe it was because there was a lot of fine dust, and today the whole world is colored with a hazy and cloudy color. It was an opaque and stuffy scene, as if representing Soyoung's heart. Standing in front of the window, she recalled the conversation she had with Taekyung on the phone last night.

[I think I have to use my annual leave tomorrow because I have a situation.]

[…What's the matter?]

[It's a family affair. It's a little difficult to tell you ‌right now, and I'll explain it later when it's all organized.]

By the time she hung up the phone, she thought she heard a baby crying, perhaps because of her hallucinations. It must have been Soyoung's illusion, but at that time, she was so surprised that she felt her heart aching.

"…Haa."

What are you talking about? That can't happen.

While trying to think so, the shaking of her body did not stop.

Soyoung got her hands on her face. She tried not to overestimate it, but I did not know what would be so serious that the company was excluded. Besides… What do you mean by housework? Even the strangely neglected contact was enough to make her stand on edge.

Soyoung buried her face in her hands. She tried not to exaggerate, but she did not know what was going to be something so serious that he took a leave from the company. Furthermore… It's a family affair. Even that made her stand on the edge.

She couldn't have slept properly in that state. So-young almost stayed up all night and went to work, and her condition hit the bottom. She groaned quietly, pointing at her throbbing temple.

As Taekyung's return date drew nearer, I was so excited, but I felt miserable, as if I had been thrown into mud in heaven overnight. Whatever his circumstances, there was no way to hide her anxiety even after countless times she reiterated that he wasn't the kind of person that people talked about.

"Let's get it together. …Wake up, Han Soyoung."

So-young returned to her seat after making several resolutions. Then she was so absorbed in her work that people hesitated to talk to me. When she volunteered and took charge of all kinds of things, she thought that the nerves that were all focused on Taekyung seemed to be a little dispersed.

"Assistant Manager Han."

As she was so absorbed in her work that she didn't go to the bathroom once, the time to leave work was already close. Manager Joo tapped the table to evoke So-young's attention, who was fiercely focused.

"Do you want to go for a drink?"

Manager Joo pretended to break the glass with an excited face.

"The new gopchang hot pot restaurant in front of the company is said to be good. I guess the team leader won't be here. How about drinking soju with a hot pot?"

"I'm…"

So-young, who was trying to express a reflexive rejection, soon changed her mind. Like this, it was clear that if she was stuck at home alone, she would be bound by Taekyung's contact and bother herself with anxiety or no answer.

"I'll go, manager."

"Okay, let's pack up now."

So-young left the office after Manager Joo. At the same time, she didn't know that her eyes would move away from her cell phone.

"Manager Han, it's been a while."

Several people who had had a drink with So-young once the other day welcomed her.

At that time, they brought up the story of Taekyung's study abroad. Today, she had an intuition that he would be mentioned for some reason, so So-young swallowed a sigh. If such an atmosphere is created again, she thought it would be better to just leave.

"You came on time. Eat this."

Fortunately for So-young, people did not bring up any stories about Taekyung. The rumor didn't seem to have spread so widely yet.

So-young, who was a little relieved, listened to the conversation with one ear and only fiddled with her cell phone. As Manager Joo said, the hot pot was delicious, but she couldn't swallow it because her throat was so dry. If you're going to keep looking at your cell phone, why are you coming all the way here and doing this? It was something that she couldn't even know herself.

It was time for So-young to spend meaningless time like that.

"Oh my god."

A deputy sitting across from me covered my mouth and exclaimed. People's attention was focused on her.

"What's wrong with you?"

"The picture came up."

"What picture?"

"Team leader Cha's picture."