10 rules of a Secretary chapter 55

* * *

From Monday to today, Friday, I’ve had only one thing on my mind: Does Han Doha know the truth, or doesn’t he?

Or maybe, he knows but is pretending not to?

Fortunately or unfortunately, he hasn’t shown any signs of knowing all week.

Apart from his ruthless comment on Monday morning about chewing people up in the TF team’s office, he’s been pretty quiet.

Or maybe not that quiet—he’s been calling my name at all hours, and it’s been making my heart race.

‘Seonyul.’

My name, Seonyul, which no one calls anymore.

As a child, I heard it so often from my parents, but as I grew older, my name became either “Seonbi” or “Secretary Seonyul.”

So hearing CEO Han call me by my actual name every time he spoke to me was enough to make my skin crawl.

Why is he suddenly turning his attention toward me?

Wasn’t he supposed to focus on his fling?

Or maybe he decided to leave that issue aside for now.

There were some subtle differences, though.

For one, we started leaving work together every evening.

We also began having dinner together—every day.

So what if we’re having dinner?

We used to do that sometimes anyway.

The title of “executive secretary” felt embarrassingly hollow, as I had been enjoying something close to a break for the past month, with free evenings at my disposal.

I was starting to feel guilty about the numbers on my paycheck.

It felt like I was getting a taste of the average office worker’s life, to the point where it seemed I should be waving a huge banner with CEO Han’s name written on it in bold.

But right now, I was annoyed. Is this how fans turn into anti-fans?

Does he know or does he not?

With just those two questions in mind, I glanced at CEO Han, then shifted my gaze to the lavishly arranged flowers next to him.

The conversation from Monday kept replaying in my head.

Based on that exchange, it seemed like he knew.

But judging by the current scene unfolding before my eyes, he looked clueless.

What should’ve been a happy Friday was now completely ruined.

My mood was all over the place, which probably meant I was getting old.

I barely managed to stifle a sigh as I gazed at him absentmindedly.

“How about this?”

CEO Han waved a bouquet in front of me like some clueless kid.

Or maybe a lovesick teenage boy.

I stood there holding the thick booklet I had picked up from the print shop, just watching him.

His careful selection of flowers was getting on my nerves.

“Oh, give me the book.”

I quietly handed over the book that had been tucked under my arm.

It was a hardbound book with an elegant gold pattern printed on the dark cover.

He had specifically told me not to look inside, so I brought it over without peeking, but I couldn’t help being a little curious.

It looked like something meant for decoration on a stranger’s bookshelf, with no title or author to be seen. Still, I wasn’t that interested.

It wasn’t like meddling in someone else’s business would do me any good.

After a long while of inspecting flowers, he finally seemed to have made a choice, holding the bouquet up for me to see.

The tag on it read “Eden Roses.”

“This one’s good, right?”

“…No.”

It was a bouquet of roses, white with a soft pink edge delicately spreading across the petals. White and pink.

His choice was a pretty obvious message.

I randomly grabbed a bouquet nearby.

Coincidentally, it was also roses, pastel peach ones, exuding elegance.

The price tag read 700,000 won.

Wow, 700 for a bouquet? The tag identified them as “Juliet Roses.”

“This one seems better.”

“Why?”

“The meaning of the flowers is good. Plus, most people would like it.”

In truth, I had no idea what the flower meant, nor did I know what most people liked. I was just saying whatever came to mind.

“Is that your taste?”

It wasn’t.

What use did I have for flowers?

Maybe if they were made of gold, but even then.

Flowers wilt, and that’s the end of it.

Spending effort on something that’s only momentarily beautiful is a pointless waste.

As I held the bouquet, I stared at him.

“I don’t like flowers.”

“What about a bouquet of money?”

“Thank you very much. Can we place the order now?”

I nodded in response, and CEO Han chuckled as he took the bouquet from my arms.

Strangely enough, the flowers suited him better than they did me.

Buried in the peach roses, he peeked out at me with just his eyes showing. Honestly, he looked handsome.

“Why didn’t you just ask for golden roses?”

“…You didn’t even give me the tail last time, CEO.”

“And you’d actually wear it if I gave it to you.”

He muttered as his eyes scanned over me.

His gaze was heavy, lingering. I licked my lips briefly in response.

“Give it to me and find out. I’ll wear it all day.”

“You wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

As if wearing a tail would be so hard. I responded with a sarcastic tone.

“If you keep giving me false hope, I might just switch jobs.”

“Where are you going to go? Is there someone who pays better than me?”

“…Ms. Gayun?”

There was a soft rustling sound.

When I glanced down, I saw CEO Han’s hand gripping the bouquet so tightly that his fingertips were turning white.

“If you worked for her, you wouldn’t last two months before getting fired. And I wouldn’t take you back. I’m not the type to pick up someone else’s leftovers.”

“No.”

“And I’m not a fool who lets go of something I already have.”

“…Just kidding, CEO.”

Come to think of it, I did owe Gayun a favor.

She had kept a secret for me.

If CEO Han had found out that I went to that wedding with Employee Yoon, he would’ve been furious.

I was dragged around the wedding all day because of it.

Even though I said I didn’t have a partner, paranoid CEO Han inspected every corner of the hall, eyes blazing.

Fortunately, Assistant Yoon had already disappeared beside me, so I didn’t get caught. But if I had, I wouldn’t have known what to say.

He’s out there having casual flings, but the moment I show any sign of romance, he freaks out.

Not much I could do, though—he was the one paying the bills.

I resigned myself to keeping him happy.

As I followed him, I decided I’d buy some orange juice soon.

Mindlessly fiddling with my tablet, I counted the stomach pills I had taken this week.

There were a few more than usual. If I normally took three a day, now it was four.

Maybe I should really see a doctor. I was lost in thought when—

“Seonyul.”

“…Yes, I’m listening.”

“Head home from here. Get some rest, recharge.”

Not the kind of thing you’d say in the middle of a department store.

I looked up at him, wondering if I’d heard wrong.

“By myself?”

It made sense, considering that for the past week, CEO Han had been accompanying me home.

He didn’t like eating dinner alone, so we ate together, and he always dropped me off in front of my house.

He’d been my last interaction of the day, whether I liked it or not.

By now, I’d gotten used to his routine.

“I’d take you myself, but something’s come up.”

He reached over and tucked my hair behind my ear, his fingers brushing my earlobe.

Goosebumps ran up my arm, and I didn’t know where to look, so I stared at the ground.

Then, he lightly tugged on my ear.

“You don’t have your ears pierced.”

“I… did, but they closed up.”

“When did you get them pierced?”

“High school, I think. I remember someone I was dating took me to the jeweler for couple earrings.”

Of course, the most intimate thing we’d ever done was hold hands.

He had kept pushing for me to get my ears pierced, and then we broke up less than a week later.

My financial situation was the reason, and my family history was another.

That’s when I realized I wasn’t cut out for relationships.

“Do you just give your body away like that?”

“…CEO, your choice of words might be misleading. It was just a trend at the time, and it’s not like the piercing lasted.”

“Is that so?”

He pressed down on my earlobe with his thumb and forefinger before finally pulling away.

I rubbed the spot he had touched as I hurried after him.

A black sedan was waiting at the entrance of the department store. It wasn’t the car we had come in, but I didn’t think much of it.

I opened the back door and looked at CEO Han.

But he just crossed his arms and gestured for me to get in.

“Get in.”

“…Me?”

“Who else is here?”

You, obviously. It was a car meant for you, not me.

I hesitated, looking between him and the open door, but when he insisted again, I reluctantly got in. He closed the door himself, and the car started moving.

Left alone, I seriously considered whether this was some new kind of kidnapping.

“Driver Jung, am I being trafficked for my organs today?”

“No one would want organs from a tired office worker. I hear even donating them would be an act of pity, but I guess that doesn’t apply to you, does it, Assistant Sun?”

It would’ve been hard to argue otherwise when my body was drenched in all kinds of medications.

Mostly suppressants and stomach remedies, and sometimes cold medicine or preservatives from instant food.

When I laughed it off to avoid the question, Mr. Jung, the driver, turned the wheel and said,

“The CEO has something else to attend to, so he said he’ll drive himself. He also told me to drop you off and then go straight home. I guess that’s good news for both of us.”

“That’s true.”

“These days, I’ve been getting off work on time a lot more, and it makes me happy. Though I’m not sure how long it’ll last. I hope it stays this way.”

His words suddenly brought to mind the CEO’s sweet smile—the one he directed at someone else, not me. His bed partner, to be exact.

It all made sense now why he had been letting me go home early recently. I sighed and nodded.

Like Mr. Jung said, who knew how long this would last?

Might as well enjoy it while it does.

“Well, um… Since I’m getting off early, can I change my destination?”

I cautiously asked him to take me to QK Capital.

Along the way, I also contacted Jeong Gayun’s secretary.

The response came quickly, welcoming me anytime.

It was better to repay debts sooner rather than later.

Since I was finishing work two hours earlier than usual today, I had plenty of time to meet Jeong Gayun and still enjoy a peaceful evening at home.

* * *