10 rules of a Secretary chapter 11

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“Do you live alone, Secretary Seonyul? I live with my sister, and it’s a nightmare.”

I looked at her, thinking it was nice she had a place to live with her sister. Misinterpreting my expression, she quickly added, “It’s not owned, not leased, but rented. A one-room apartment.”

“So we’re rent buddies.”

“Oh, I’m renting too!”

Kang Yeonkyu chimed in immediately, smiling at me with a pure, untainted grin typical of a newcomer.

He was five months into his job, soon to be six, and I wondered if he’d be crying about quitting soon.

The temptation to quit at the 369-day mark was similar for both rookies and eight-year veterans.

Matching his innocent smile, I replied, “We’re a rent trio. Housing prices in Seoul are no joke.”

“I moved out because the company is far from my parents’ place. It was better living with them. Now I have to handle all the utility bills and everything alone. It’s too complicated. I always ask my parents for advice, wondering how they managed it all. I’ve just moved in, and there’s so much to do…”

Seeing Kang Yeonkyu’s dejected look, I lightly patted his shoulder. I understood his pain well. At least he had someone to ask for help.

For rookies, independence was a sweet fruit for a week, but dealing with the residential registration and utility payments that followed was just the beginning of a series of trivial tasks.

Hoping they would quickly realize this, I encouraged them both.

“Make sure to schedule your move, Ms. Yoon, and if you need a drink, Mr. Kang, just let me know.”

“What about me? Aren’t you going to buy me a drink? Isn’t this gender discrimination?”

Laughing at Yoon Sanghye’s sulky comment, I said, “Ms. Yoon, we’ve already drunk ourselves silly every three months since you joined. How are your knees? My wallet is still complaining.”

Looking at almost a year in the company, Yoon Sanghye had indeed vented to me every three months.

We would get ridiculously drunk at a gopchang place near the company, and she always ended up with scraped knees from falling. And at the second round, she only ate the drumsticks from the chicken, earning my glares, though she seemed to have forgotten that.

“If you don’t remember, let’s have another drink and scrape those knees again.”

“That’s a scary thought. Did Secretary Seonyul enjoy breaking people’s knees when drinking? I’d better avoid drinking with you.”

“I didn’t break them. You clearly fell on your own…”

I instinctively turned around as I spoke.

Standing there was none other than CEO Han, accompanied by a lawyer from the legal team.

The lawyer, whose face was as expressionless as a stone, gave a slight nod in greeting.

I awkwardly returned the greeting and stammered towards CEO Han.

“We were discussing the enemy… I will make sure to keep an eye on your knee, sir.”

“Was the meeting supposed to start at 2?”

“It’s at 2:30. We still have about 50 minutes left.”

“Come to my office, Seonyul. Lawyer Son, join us as well.”

“Yes.”

Lawyer Son bowed respectfully, and after he did, I bowed too, only straightening up after I heard the door close. Looking at the two nervous people, I smiled.

“I think I’m going to need a drink soon. I’ll go in now.”

I grabbed the tablet I had charged in the secretary’s office and quickly went into the CEO’s office.

The two were already deep in conversation.

Casually, I turned on the recording app on the tablet and started moving my pen around.

“If it’s just for that reason, we stand to lose a lot on our side.”

“We have evidence. Do I need to explain everything to someone who is part of our legal team?”

I understood the conversation. One common misconception higher-ups have is that their subordinates think just like them.

As time passed, employees moved more quickly thanks to learned anticipation, but they often thought this meant they were working with the same mindset as the boss.

I paused my pen and interjected to help Lawyer Son.

“The analysis of the Hajeong Pharmaceutical company based on financial statements and securities reports has slight discrepancies. I’ll share the relevant materials immediately. I’ll also provide the analyst report as an attachment.”

I immediately sent the files to Lawyer Son and kept taking notes while listening to their conversation.

There wasn’t much else.

They talked at length about the tedious topic of pharmaceutical company mergers and acquisitions, and at the end, briefly discussed the meeting scheduled for today.

Shortly after, the conversation wrapped up.

As I saw Lawyer Son out, I reminded CEO Han about the upcoming meeting.

“There’s a meeting for the House of Sharing this afternoon.”

“Secretary Seonyul.”

His hand, pale and straight like wax, moved slightly.

Without thinking, I placed my hand on his palm.

He then grabbed my hand tightly and pulled.

The sharp pain made me look down, seeing him squeezing my injured finger.

“Who were you with today? I don’t understand why you have other people’s marks all over you.”

I blinked slowly, confused by his sudden comment. When I didn’t respond, he clicked his tongue and changed the subject.

“You still haven’t treated this. Why? Are you planning to take sick leave with such an injury? Secretary Seonyul, do you not know how dangerous tetanus is?”

“I got a tetanus shot five years ago. I often… work in rough conditions. Please let go, sir.”

“Get it treated immediately.”

“But the next meeting—”

“There are plenty of people who can take the minutes. If I tell you to go, just go. Why do you have so much to say?”

With that, CEO Han sighed heavily and pulled me closer.

Before I knew it, my body tilted over the low sofa armrest, and I found myself colliding with his shoulder.

I heard a soft breathing sound near my ear, followed by a warm breath on my neck, making the hair on my skin stand on end. As I tried to pull away, a low voice spoke.

“Get treated. Don’t think of taking a break for something trivial.”

A soft breath touched my neck. When I came to my senses, I was alone in the office.

I glanced at my stinging finger to see blood dripping from it. The barely-healed wound had reopened.

Who wouldn’t know that Han had a terrible temper? He treated his sole assistant like a dog. No, dogs had it better.

Considering Han’s pets, Dduki and Ddolboki, I might be worse off than a dog.

They got good food and a warm place to rest, not to mention their only rent was their endless love for their owner.

Love is much cheaper than money.

Thinking this, I felt truly unfortunate.

“Ah…”

I was treated worse than a dog. How could I live with such sorrow?

I reached the medical office on the third floor and quietly slid open the door.

“Ah, you’re here? I got a call from the CEO.”

“Hello, Dr. Jeong.”

The woman with short bobbed hair, wearing a white coat and leisurely drinking tea, smiled warmly at me.

“Come over here.”

Following her gesture, I sat on the round stool in front of me. Dr. Jeong pulled a tray over and started spraying a minty-smelling mist on me.

“Cough, cough. What is this?”

“I can’t stand it, so just bear with it.”

Did I smell or something?

I couldn’t understand why she was doing this, but she kept spraying until my cheeks were damp, then finally looked satisfied and held out her hand.

“You said you hurt your hand.”

“It’s just a small cut. It’s already clotted.”

“Even so, I have to at least pretend to treat it so I don’t get scolded by the CEO. Also, be careful with cuts. Paper edges are really sharp.”

Dr. Jeong applied disinfectant to the wound and neatly placed a peach-colored bandage on it. After casually tossing the trash onto the tray, she handed me a teacup.

“Drink this before you go. It’s rose tea… It’s very calming.”

I knew chamomile, mint, and jujube tea were calming, but I had never heard of rose tea having the same effect.

I could have recited the list of teas I memorized for CEO Han, who occasionally complained about insomnia, but I quietly took the tea she offered.

“Thank you. How have you been lately? Busy?”

“Not really. Everyone’s quite healthy, so it’s a cushy position. How about you, Secretary Seonyul? Anything difficult? Even if you’re a beta… the CEO is an alpha.”

“There’s nothing particularly difficult. The CEO is good at controlling his pheromones.”

“Well, even betas can sense pheromones to some extent. And you’re right, the CEO is very good at controlling them. I could feel it strongly today.”

She could feel it strongly today? What on earth did she mean by that? I examined her expression but saw no change.

Thinking back, a few employees in the elevator had pinched their noses and made faces at me on the way down.

Some even looked like they were going to throw up.

What smell could they be talking about?

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