10 rules of a Secretary chapter 30

The sound of the camera shutter echoed in my ears as I gloomily lowered my gaze. I had arrived too late, and with all the other staff gone, only Cha Chiyeon and I remained in the studio.

I wasn’t in the mood to wear the veil that usually covered my head, and thankfully, today was one of those days.

I haphazardly gathered the wig that cascaded down to my shoulder blades, moving it aside with irritation as I adjusted my posture.

Almost immediately, Cha Chiyeon’s sarcastic remark followed.

“Why do you look like you just drank some bitter tea?”

“Bitter tea would be sweeter than my current situation.”

“Oh? Turn your waist a bit more.”

I twisted my waist slightly as instructed, my mouth mumbling words I couldn’t quite find the right way to say.

Should I tell him that our CEO had just ignored the chairman’s orders? How does one get an adult who doesn’t listen to start obeying?

I’ve seen counselors on TV—do they have those for adults too?

The more I thought about it, the more depressed I became. And tomorrow’s contract situation wasn’t helping either. It was utterly frustrating, not knowing what to do.

“It’s everything, really. Tomorrow’s contract included.”

“They know all the terms anyway, don’t they? Did you review the contract I sent you?”

“That’s not really my responsibility… I skimmed through it and handed it over to the legal team. They said there were no issues. I suppose the CEO will make the final decision tomorrow and sign off on it.”

“Oh, that pose was good. Now, push your hips out a little more.”

Cha Chiyeon seemed entirely uninterested in what I was saying, instead focusing on making me push my hips back further. I sighed as I complied.

The rhythmic clicking of the shutter made my eyes blink slowly.

“Hey, didn’t I tell you to apply lotion to your butt?”

“I did.”

“Don’t lie. Your butt’s lost its shine!”

Wondering what kind of nonsense this was, I shot a glare at Cha Chiyeon, who was passionately lecturing me while holding the large camera.

“Aren’t you supposed to be a lingerie model? Your skin needs to be smooth! Look at the outer thighs! They’re all rough! I told you to apply lotion regularly. Don’t forget the inner thighs and your waist too!”

“Just Photoshop it. Everyone does it these days.”

“Are you crazy? I’m against retouching! How am I supposed to handle customers complaining that what they see on screen isn’t what they get? Just apply the lotion, okay?”

As Cha Chiyeon stomped her feet in frustration, I leaned on a shelf and sighed.

This year seemed cursed. I’d never felt my job as a secretary was this extreme, and I thought being a lingerie model would be manageable.

But that was clearly just a midsummer night’s dream.

“Bend your waist more and push your hips out!”

When I did as instructed, the straps tightened slightly.

Grimacing at the discomfort, I heard Cha Chiyeon repeatedly muttering her approval as she clicked the shutter. I didn’t even want to imagine what the final results would look like.

After being under the hot lights for so long, my face was burning.

I tried to cool down by patting my cheeks with the back of my hand, but it wasn’t easy.

My head was beginning to feel fuzzy.

“Chiyeon, let’s take a break for a bit. I think I’m coming down with something. My body feels chilly.”

“Do you want me to bring you a blanket?”

“No, it’s fine. Let’s just take a short break.”

I let out a heavy sigh as I said this, then habitually grabbed my phone and slipped on a thick robe-like cardigan.

It was nearing 10 PM.

Considering it wasn’t just a simple dinner but a summons from the family estate, there was no way things would be quiet.

I unlocked my phone with a nervous feeling, wondering if I had missed any messages.

As if on cue, the phone vibrated.

Seeing the six dreaded characters on the screen, I wiped my face dry and answered the call. The timing was impeccable.

“Yes, CEO”

“Call me exactly five minutes from now… No, make that exactly ten minutes. Don’t be late; it has to be ten minutes.”

Every time we had to go to the family estate, the CEO would make an excuse to avoid it.

This had been going on for a while now. Initially, they’d let it slide, but recently, not so much.

“CEO, I don’t think the chairman will be fooled anymore. Especially not on a Friday night.”

“If push comes to shove, we can just head to the office together.”

If the chairman insisted on seeing evidence, our CEO wouldn’t have many options. He’d probably have to go to the office, which would mean dragging me along as well.

Resigned to this, I calmly replied.

“I’ll call you.”

With the call ending abruptly, I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. So, for some reason, they said I could leave work early. I awkwardly smiled as I turned to Cha Chiyeon.

“I’m heading to the office now. Do you need more photos?”

“Good luck, corporate slave.”

“Thanks, freelancer.”

Leaving behind Chiyeon, who looked at me with pity, I quickly headed to the dressing room. The moment you start earning a salary, your life is practically mortgaged to the company. And I was a salaried worker.

After changing clothes, I boarded a bus heading straight to the office.

Although it was a little past 10 PM, the bus was filled with college students, drunk and chatting away.

As I watched them, I realized that the only people smiling brightly at this hour were the students.

Those dressed neatly in suits were all gloomily staring out the windows. I felt the same, staring at the cars’ red taillights as they pooled in the window frame, lost in thought.

Friday nights aren’t ‘fire’ Fridays. For office workers, it’s just a ‘pathetic’ Friday.

After riding for a few stops, I finally called the CEO. Before the elegant classical music set as the ringtone could even begin, the CEO’s voice came through.

“Yes.”

“CEO, it’s me.”

“What? A design leak incident?”

Thrown off by his sudden statement, I remained silent for a moment.

What kind of nonsense was this, and how should I play along?

Just then, the bus stopped, and the door opened.

Silenced by the noise, I focused on listening to the voice on the other end.

There were raised voices, and it seemed the chairman was furious again. I wondered what had caused this time, but I soon lost interest.

I watched a few drunken passengers board the bus before responding nonchalantly.

Whenever we had to go to the family estate, the CEO would come up with these ridiculous lies, and I was always roped into them, making lying second nature.

“Yes. It seems a competitor has copied the design of our charitable project. We’re currently investigating whether it’s an internal leak. Sir, where are you right now?”

“I’m at the estate.”

“You should come to the office. We’re still investigating, but I think it’s something you should see for yourself.”

With that, the call abruptly ended. Not long after, I received a text from a butler at the estate.

[Butler] – I’m not doubting you, but are you really heading to the office? The chairman is deeply concerned because the timing always seems too perfect. 22:12

At this rate, I’m going to die before my time. I wondered how long I could keep up with these lies, but I hadn’t been let in on the plan.

I quickly typed out a reply, assuring them I was indeed heading to the office, and turned off the screen.

The usual evening traffic was still visible outside the window. The only difference was that there were a few more cars on the road than usual.

Was everyone else going out to have fun because it was the weekend?

“Maybe I shouldn’t have sold my car.”

Or perhaps I should’ve accepted the new one when it was offered. Regret from the previous night slowly crept in as I pressed my eyes shut.

I hadn’t slept properly in two nights.

Yesterday, I had only managed to get a few hours of sleep after coming home in the early morning, and the day before… I couldn’t even remember.

Staring blankly at the bus ceiling, I pulled out my phone and opened my banking app.

Skipping over the small transactions, I carefully examined the salary, bonuses, and additional allowances.

Eventually, my eyes narrowed on a particular amount that seemed to match up.

“This is just breaking even.”

[January New Year’s Party Additional Allowance: 3,700,000 won]

[Withdrawal: -3,700,000 KRW] (around 2,700 USD)

It was around January, during the season of following the CEO to various New Year parties and events, when my additional allowance nearly doubled.

That withdrawal there was the cash I handed over to those loan sharks. I wondered how a loan shark in this day and age could still demand cash, but since they refused to accept a bank transfer, I had no choice.

As I moved my fingers, the numbers on the screen blurred and tangled together.

The amounts listed below were a jumble of pluses and minuses. In the end, the account balance settled slightly in the positive.

Fucking loan sharks. I had no idea what they were planning to do with all this money. A sigh escaped out of habit.

It hadn’t been long since the amount I had to repay every two weeks had decreased to this level. Most of my salary had been drained into that damned loan company, but now, the end was in sight.

Just a few more years to repay. Then I could start saving diligently, buy a house, properly set up my father’s memorial table…

Maybe even spend my old age with a cute puppy… And then, I could finally quit this exhausting job, and modeling too…

My thoughts spiraled out of control. A cozy two-story house with a quaint yard floated before my eyes.

It was almost within reach, a faint, dreamlike vision as I mentally retraced my steps. Suddenly, I frantically searched my pockets.

“Damn it…!”

The suppressant—it was gone. I must have dropped it in the rush to leave the studio. I immediately got off the bus and sprinted to the nearest pharmacy.

Thankfully, being close to the office meant I didn’t have to search for one.

I practically slammed through the glass door of the pharmacy labeled “Onse World Pharmacy” and shouted urgently.

“Medicine! A suppressant! I need a suppressant from Merion Pharmaceuticals!”