10 rules of a Secretary chapter 28

As I chewed on the slightly salty vegetable porridge, I made a firm resolution to the boss.

“I’m never drinking again.”

“If I do, I’m not human.”

I thought if I said it like this, I’d stick to it. The boss just smirked and told me to do as I pleased.

Seeing that clean-cut face, I vowed to keep my promise and reaffirmed it over and over.

After entering the office, I placed the two hangover remedies I hadn’t been able to hand over the previous day on Yoon Sanghye’s desk and began my usual tasks.

Checking the schedule, monitoring the media, and forming a task force with the legal and HR teams.

Fortunately, in recent times, the minor tasks like appointments and interviews that were directed to the boss were being handled by the junior secretaries.

That freed up my hands a little and gave me some breathing room. Of course, other tasks would soon pile up, but for now, they hadn’t.

“Is this the entire list?”

The paper in my hand was thin. Even by eye, there were less than ten pages.

Since we couldn’t bring in outside personnel to form the task force, we were searching internally, but nothing seemed to stand out.

“Given the limited applicants and few with relevant experience… But if you look here…”

The HR deputy flipped through a few pages, adding comments about this one being good or that one having potential, but to me, they all seemed the same.

As I reviewed the resumes with a sense of disappointment, one name caught my eye, and I rested my chin on my hand.

The neatly dressed person with a blue tie in the photo was a colleague from Marketing Team 2.

The resume noted that they had graduated from Seoyeon University’s Industrial Design Department. It wasn’t fashion design, but surely, they had an eye for things. After some thought, I carefully filed the resume.

“I’ll discuss this with the boss and get back to you. It seems there will be some personnel changes soon.”

“I’m curious who will take on the burden. Who will jump into a task force that’s bound to be dissolved soon…”

Hearing the HR deputy’s worried tone, I smirked slightly. Dissolved soon, they said. This could be a major player in the new apparel subsidiary.

If word got out, the entire staff would clamor to join the task force.

But for now, both the boss and I knew it was advantageous to keep this information under wraps.

Whether they were forced into it or joined willingly, we needed people with some degree of relevant skills and determination to form the team. We had no interest in those who only saw personal gain.

After wrapping up the conversation with the HR deputy, the afternoon had already passed. I wondered if the boss had summoned me, but my phone was unusually quiet.

As I stepped out of the small conference room and stood in front of the elevator, I felt the vibration in my palm and checked the caller ID.

[Chairman Han Taewon of Daewon]

It had only been a few days since he’d reprimanded me at the party, so I wondered what else he had to say.

After a moment’s hesitation, I pressed the answer button. There weren’t many options at this moment anyway.

“Yes, Chairman.”

―Tell Doha to come home tonight.

There was no such thing as phone etiquette, which would be expected in modern society.

Was it a trait of chaebol families to disregard basic manners?

The warm, neighborly image you’d see on TV was just a façade, image-making at its finest.

Recently, Chairman Han Taewon had been building a comfortable image, so much so that young people affectionately called him “Taewonnie” as various memes circulated.

But to be honest, I wasn’t fond of that either.

Whenever I saw things like [Taewonnie Beam.jpg] on the internet, I felt an overwhelming sense of frustration.

Did people not have eyes?

Why did they see him as approachable when he was like a snake? But that damn non-disclosure agreement kept my mouth shut.

“Tonight, sir?”

―Does he have other plans?

“I can’t disclose that information.”

―Don’t get cocky. Does he have plans or not?

“Don’t climb up.” What nonsense. I’m just doing my job to the best of my ability.

Yet, I had to tamp down the discomfort that I couldn’t fully express, tapping my toes on the ground.

I swallowed a sigh and let the elevator go without getting in.

After the doors closed, I pressed the button again and finally managed to utter a hesitant response.

“…No, there’s nothing scheduled.”

―Then make sure he comes in, even if it’s late.

There wasn’t anything on the schedule, but just because it wasn’t there didn’t mean there was nothing.

People want a drink at night, or to chat with friends.

But instead of saying that, I told the chairman what he wanted to hear.

That’s the life of a salaried worker—you follow orders.

“Yes, Chairman. I’ll pass that on to the CEO. I’ll suggest he returns to the main house if possible.”

In my heart, I wanted to say, “Your son needs some breathing space too,” but all I did was nod.

I had no desire to be suffocated by the weight of power.

Staring blankly at the phone that had just ended the call, I moved my fingers to open the message inbox.

[Real-Life Lord] – Hey, got a reply. Did you schedule something? It’s tomorrow, lol. You’ve got no sense. Calling someone on a Saturday, seriously… 15:21

[Real-Life Lord] – Still, you gotta come to the studio today. We’ve got something hot and pretty here. 15:45

[Real-Life Lord] – Hey, I might need to use the computer for a while after the shoot? There’s a big fortress war tonight, and it’s gonna be loud because we need to defend the fort. Is that cool? 15:46

I squinted at Cha Chiyeon’s messages, who had been upgraded from “[The Land Lord]” to “Real-Life Lord.”

The image that followed was a screenshot of a conversation—someone who’d mastered the art of keeping things brief.

‘Saehwa Hotel, 7 PM sharp.’

There was no name or number, just an image of the message itself, but I instinctively knew who had sent it.

Saehwa Hotel… Saehwa Hotel… The name sounded familiar…

As I stared at the hotel image, I rolled the name around on my tongue.

After repeating the word several times, I finally realized why it was familiar.

It was a hotel owned by Ha Eunjoo’s father, the man who spews nonsense every time he meets with CEO Han.

“Quite the choice of location,” I muttered as I stepped into the elevator, staring down at my phone.

I sighed. I couldn’t understand why we’d pour money into someone else’s hotel instead of one owned by Daewon Group, where they usually frequent with their lovers.

But I realized this was probably a prelude to yet another tiresome task.

At the same time, I felt a pang of bitterness. The meeting place was a hotel even Sun-yul, the secretary, hadn’t stayed in.

Come to think of it, the place where we drank ourselves silly at the Boshingak bell-ringing ceremony earlier this year was a four-star hotel, not a five-star one. (TL: Boshingak bell-ringing ceremony is some sort of New Year’s celebration)

D Hotel was five-star, but it wasn’t exactly a place I’d stayed at. I usually left within an hour, and even then, my visits were strictly for the purpose of driving. It was a really shitty situation.

“When will I ever get to stay in a luxury hotel like this…”

As I imagined the elegant lobby of Saehwa Hotel, I looked at the underwear photo Cha Chiyeon had sent.

This time, it wasn’t exactly ordinary either. There was less lace than before, but this time it was all about the straps.

Crazy… Does anyone in the world actually wear something like this?

The front was plain enough, but the backside was just a few straps connected to each other, with a thin strap around the waist doubling as a garter belt.

I started to seriously wonder if anyone actually wore such a ridiculous piece of fabric. After glaring at the nonsense for a while, I gave up.

“Ha…”

I sighed as I thought about the upcoming meeting with CEO Han. Whatever happens, it feels like there’s no turning back now.

Judging by what CEO Han does, it seems like the contract will go through, which means I’ll have no choice but to jump into this ridiculous modeling job.

“Life is just…”

To hide my mixed feelings, I checked CEO Han’s schedule on the tablet I always carried.

As expected, all his appointments were clear after 6 PM today and tomorrow.

There was no mention of the meeting at Saehwa Hotel. I figured I’d ask him about it when I got upstairs. There was nothing else on the schedule.

The elevator dinged, and I hurriedly stepped out. I scanned my employee ID at the access pad and entered the office.

As soon as I walked in, Assistant Kang and Assistant Yoon, who were stationed near the entrance, blinked at me. I waved my hand casually, and they both bowed deeply.

I was about to ask what they were doing when Assistant Yoon spoke, as if she’d witnessed something extraordinary.

“You came in together.”

Together? What was she talking about? I turned around and saw CEO Han standing right behind me.

No way… Why are you here? How long have you been there? Did you, by any chance, see Cha Chiyeon’s message…?

Seeing my nervous question in my eyes, the taller man behind me spoke, his tone even.

“From the moment you were wondering when you’d ever stay in a luxury hotel?”

Why didn’t you just say you were there from the start? I blinked slowly, trying to mask my embarrassment, and stared at CEO Han.

He raised one corner of his mouth in a half-smile, like a villain straight out of a movie.

“I didn’t know you had such tastes. I understand. As your boss, I should be tolerant of my secretary’s preferences. Should I include that in your next bonus? I know you traded in your car for a potted plant, but you’ll be wearing this, right?”

My face flushed with embarrassment at his sarcastic comment.

It was a relief he hadn’t seen the other pictures, but the fact that he saw something just as incriminating was bad enough.

That damn underwear.

Cha Chiyeon, you jerk…!