10 rules of a Secretary chapter 33

“Hmm… that’s not necessary. But a promise is a promise. I even went to Jeongdongjin at dawn for this.”

With that, he let go of my hand. The warmth that had gathered in my wrist slowly dispersed into the air.

“Rest. Don’t get sick. I’ll let it slide this time. It’s only fair.”

As soon as he finished speaking, I felt a faint sensation as if something was slowly covering my head, constricting my body.

It was an unrefined feeling I hadn’t experienced in a long time, sticking to my skin.

Before I could finish wondering why, my throat tickled.

“Uh…uh…!”

“Secretary Seonyul?”

“It’s nothing, just…uh, uh!”

It felt like a thin thread was poking and wandering around inside my throat.

The tickle forced a rough cough out of me. I quickly covered my mouth with my arm.

“I’m fine…uh, uh!”

As I covered my mouth, I took a step back from the CEO. The only reason I insisted I was fine was because I felt uneasy.

Even though I had work to do, leaving him alone felt wrong…and there were so many things to worry about, like the meeting in the afternoon.

“Lately, you’ve been making me repeat myself, Secretary Seonyul. Go home. Don’t take any work-related calls over the weekend. Even if it’s from the chairman or the family butler, ignore it.”

He lightly pointed outside with his head and kindly added, “Hurry up and get out.”

After hesitating for a moment, I reluctantly bowed my head and left the CEO’s office.

The thick door closed behind me, separating me from the CEO. I felt the tickle in my throat ease up a bit. Suddenly, I noticed an ache in my lower back.

Outside the company, a driver the CEO had arranged was waiting for me.

Thanks to him, I arrived home comfortably and sprawled out on the sofa, listening to the soft clacking of a keyboard.

It was the sound of Cha Chiyeon, a night owl.

Occasionally, I’d hear her curse under her breath, “Damn it, block that!”

That’s when I remembered the message Cha Chiyeon had sent a few days ago.

Something about taking over a castle in a popular RPG game and needing to defend it.

It was all irrelevant to me, though.

I sleep so deeply that I wouldn’t notice even if someone carried me away, so hearing those raw curses was practically a first.

As I slowly blinked, I felt a faint heat around my eyes, causing me to frown. It seemed I had caught a cold.

They say even dogs don’t catch colds in the middle of summer, but here I was, the exception. How pitiful.

I pulled the thick blanket that was always on the sofa over myself, my eyes darting around at the scent that reminded me of dry firewood.

The scent, sweet and woody…

“Rosewood.”

It was similar to CEO Han’s pheromone scent.

It had been a long time since I smelled it, so why now?

I didn’t even have time to finish the thought before I found the answer on the label of the diffuser on the low table in front of the sofa, which read “ROSE WOOD.”

I barely managed to reach out and check the small glass bottle.

The yellow liquid inside made me chuckle dryly.

The thought that suddenly crossed my mind was too absurd.

“Pheromones, really?”

There was no way the cough that erupted just before I left the CEO’s office was due to pheromones.

Most importantly, there was no scent.

Besides, isn’t CEO Han the last person to emit even the faintest whiff of pheromones?

It was just a cold, and I’d been unlucky enough to get a tickle in my throat at that moment.

I scrunched up my nose as I curled up. The wooden sticks of the diffuser soaked in the scent flickered at the edge of my vision.

People say you get all sorts of thoughts and become sentimental when you’re sick, and that was exactly the case for me now.

Burying my face in the blanket, I let out a light cough, exhaling hot breaths as my body grew heavier and my temperature rose. It seemed I had caught a nasty cold.

Through the gaps in my fading consciousness, I suddenly realized that CEO Han had only said, “Leave on time” this afternoon.

It wasn’t the usual Friday phrase of “I’ll miss you.”

I shot up from my seat, clenched my fists in anger, and muttered a curse under my breath.

“That bastard…”

No wonder he let me go so easily, telling me to enjoy Friday night.

It meant that getting called back at 10 p.m. was all part of CEO Han’s grand plan.

“Oh, my fever’s rising.”

I collapsed back onto the sofa, pulling the blanket over my head to block out the persistent scent of rosewood.

Huffing and puffing, I kept repeating the word “patience” in my mind as I curled up even more.

The fever was definitely climbing.

They say steam rises to your head when you’re angry, and it seemed to be true.

Not just my head, but my back was also starting to feel unpleasantly warm.

How was I supposed to handle the contract this afternoon with my body like this?

And before that, could I even fool CEO Han with just a wig or a mask… He had told me to come alone, but what else should I do…?

What a crappy job. I kept calculating in my head, wondering how much longer I’d have to do this, before I dozed off.

My ears felt stuffed, and my vision kept blurring. I had to do my best not to show any signs of it, even as I kept my head half-lowered.

I almost rubbed my feverish eyes but stopped, remembering the mask that covered half my face.

The mask that Cha Chiyeon had prepared for me had a double-layered design, so there was no problem with visibility.

It covered half of my face with a cloth, with a thin lace overlay that hid my entire eyes.

It was amazing how much a person could look different when even one eye wasn’t visible.

I lightly touched the sticky nape of my neck. I should have taken some medicine before falling asleep, and that was definitely my mistake.

When I woke up, it was almost 2 p.m., and even though I took a fever reducer, it didn’t work at all. The medicine seemed expired.

I should have checked the expiration date, but I was too out of it to pay attention to such details.

At least I had managed to take my suppressant intermittently, so that was something.

I should have brought Cha Chiyeon with me.

What was I thinking, coming alone?

My mind kept shifting between grogginess and sharp, edgy clarity.

My heart pounded relentlessly as if it had moved up to my brain.

Maybe this was the result of ignoring Cha Chiyeon’s suggestion to come together just before leaving the house.

Upon arriving at the hotel, I was met with CEO Han, who immediately started tossing his underwear as soon as I stepped inside.

The heat that filled my body was about to boil over as if someone had placed a burning coal on me.

I reached up to push aside the bangs of the wig that were pressing heavily against my forehead but stopped.

I was doing this to hide my face, so I couldn’t afford to mess things up just because I was a little hot.

The mask alone would have sufficed, but I couldn’t take any chances.

“Raise your head.”

“…”

“I came all the way here to see that pretty face of yours, so can you get on with it?”

For a moment, I wondered if the man in front of me was really CEO Han Doha, the man I knew.

It felt strange to see him acting so high-handed and speaking with such a complete disregard for others. It had been a long time since I’d seen and heard such behavior.

It was almost like that first time when I walked into the interview room.

Back then, I never imagined I’d become CEO Han’s secretary, but life is full of surprises.

The CEO Han Doha I met during that first interview was exactly as the rumors said.

Rude and completely lacking in any consideration for others.

The epitome of someone wielding power. And back then, he was still young, barely old enough to grasp the concept of human decency, let alone respect for others.

In other words, he had no filter. Just like now.

“I’ve been sitting here for ten minutes staring at your head. Are you aware of that?”

I blinked slowly at his question, struggling to form words as my tongue felt like it might burn from the heat.

Instead, I wrote what I wanted to say on the paper in front of me, as even my tongue felt hot.

[I don’t understand why I’m being treated like this when I’ve come all the way here.]

I deliberately scribbled it out in a messy handwriting, worried he might recognize my usual neat script.

As I was about to add a period at the end, I hastily added another sentence, filled with my true feelings.

[If you don’t like it, then don’t sign the contract.]

“You’re playing hard to get. Selection? This is the first time I’ve heard there are so many people named Jung Yi. It’s funny that you’re clinging to something as trivial as a stage name. Listen, Jung Yi. You were…”

He paused, seeming to find something amusing before cutting himself off.

It wasn’t directed at me, but I was the one who had to listen.

The sourness I’d momentarily forgotten began to rise again, so I lightly pressed my stomach with my hand.

I felt like I was going to vomit.

When I finally lifted my head, CEO Han was looking at me with a crooked smile, his legs crossed.

He was wearing a white shirt with onyx cufflinks, a black vest, and a matching tie.

His long legs were dressed in black suit pants, making him unmistakably the CEO Han Doha I knew.

Except for the expression on his face and the voice that I wasn’t used to hearing.

He glanced at his watch, nestled his arm on the sofa’s armrest, and tilted his head as if propping it up.

His expression was filled with displeasure, as though he was looking at something distasteful.

Under the soft lighting, his expensive watch occasionally glinted.

“The only thing I ask of my models is one thing. Wear whatever I give you. If you find even that simple task difficult, why should I hire a model? Besides, you’re an underwear model, aren’t you? I’m asking to see your body, and all you’re showing me is your head… How am I supposed to take this? If you don’t want to sign the contract, just leave. This isn’t some trash time that I’m trying to waste on you.”