10 rules of a Secretary chapter 17

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“Sir, are you having bad luck?”

“Your future looks dark. Can that be fixed with money?”

“If you give me money, maybe. Can I get a new passport? Living abroad is one of my dreams.”

“Isn’t it a bit early to be deciding on a honeymoon destination?”

A joke returned in response to my sincere words.

Honeymoon?

I awkwardly smiled, chewing my lip. I couldn’t bring myself to curse him to his face.

When the CEO remained unusually quiet, I looked up stealthily.

He was tapping his thigh with his fingers, staring at me as if deep in thought.

His intense gaze felt like it would burn my skin off, but I tried to ignore it.

The CEO often stared at me while organizing his thoughts when he needed to think deeply.

After a while of tapping his fingers, he sighed and handed me a photo.

I took it calmly, waiting for his explanation instead of looking at it immediately.

“Find that model in the photo yourself. Don’t go through subordinates. I know my taste well, so don’t make unnecessary comments.”

“But sir, I have other tasks too…”

“Hand those tasks off to others for a bit. It’s not confidential anyway.”

“Understood.”

Thankful for being relieved of other tasks to find one person, I nodded and looked at the photo.

“Oh…”

My heart skipped a beat. I felt like my heart would burst out of my mouth if I opened it.

It took a long time for my vision to return after momentarily going white.

“Pretty good, right?”

Suppressing the ringing in my ears, I barely tore my eyes away from the photo.

The CEO, thinking I was impressed by the model, smiled smugly, expecting praise for his taste.

“That person. They seem to be a new model who isn’t famous yet, but they caught my eye.”

“Sir, do you… like this person…?”

“Like? No, I said they were useful. If I liked them, you, Secretary Seonyul, would have to be the model. Are you interested?”

“…”

Normally, I would have made some polite comment about his taste, but I kept my mouth shut as if I had taken a bribe in secret.

“Find them and set up a meeting. From now on, you’ll be in charge of the clothing sector. That dumb guy needs to learn his place. As I said, I have no intention of losing.”

Though he sounded confident, my hands shook as I held the photo, praying it was a dream. I pinched my thigh hard, but the pain was real.

“…Yes. You’ve found a… good model.”

Damn, in a world full of models, why did he bring this photo?

I tried to steady my dizzy head and looked at the photo again.

There, on a soft hill, was a model wearing nothing but thin underwear.

Their private parts were barely covered, and they held their buttocks slightly to show off the underwear, with lace gloves adorning their hands.

Their waist was covered in fluttering lace, making it clear the underwear wasn’t for regular use.

It was a sight I couldn’t bear to look at with open eyes.

Struggling to control my breath, I closed and opened my eyes.

The face wasn’t visible, but I knew the underwear too well.

Because the person wearing that black lace lingerie… was me.

Life, damn it…

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The lighting was hot.

Under the white light that seemed to scorch my skin, I blinked slowly and tensed up at the sudden voice.

“Jung-ah! Don’t be nervous. Everyone feels that way at first. Would you turn around? Your waist is beautiful, so let’s focus on that part.”

Hearing the name “Jung” reminded me where I was. It was a studio.

I looked down at the black underwear squeezing my buttocks, then turned my body as instructed. Soon, my back felt hot.

My face seemed to be burning too.

My fingertips trembled, and I couldn’t lift my head.

Meanwhile, from behind, I heard comments like “stick out your butt more” and “bend your waist lower” as if they were nothing.

I should have gotten used to it by now, but the shame hit me every time.

“Bend your waist a bit more! Put your arm on the wall! Good, stay like that…”

The clicking sound of the camera was constant. I pressed my hand against the wall and bit my lips hard.

Should I just run away?

Would it make things better?

“Can you grab your butt a little? The outfit you’re wearing needs to be shown properly.”

That bastard.

I turned my head sharply, unable to bear it, and saw the CEO standing there.

The words “how” didn’t even come out. I opened my mouth, covering my chest with my arm.

Should I cover the bottom?

Or the top?

Confused and panicking, I felt his white, slender fingers touch me and stopped breathing.

“Seonyul.”

It was the first time. CEO Han called me by my name.

He always referred to me as Secretary Seonyul, never once using my name.

However, I had no time to be surprised by such trivial matters given my current dire situation.

I could feel my face turning pale.

CEO Han’s hand, which had been resting on my waist, began to lightly stroke the lace trim.

Goosebumps rose, and my fingertips twitched, curling slightly.

He lightly tugged at the garter belt strap fixed around my waist and whispered in my ear.

“It suits you better than I thought.”

His tone was softer and gentler than ever.

Mesmerized, I opened my mouth to speak, but CEO Han was quicker.

“Cheap and lewd.”

“…Pardon?”

“My secretary, a lingerie model. It doesn’t seem like your first time wearing this. If you need money, would you spread your legs too?”

“…”

My breath caught in my throat.

The thought of what I just heard couldn’t even reach my brain and kept scattering.

I couldn’t even come up with a typical denial.

“Look at this. You said you weren’t interested in CEO Doha, but here you are, wearing such vulgar underwear and throwing yourself at him!”

“Jungha…?”

Suddenly appearing, Kim Jungha stood beside CEO Han, linking arms with him, and gave me a look as if he’d seen something filthy.

He took something out of his clutch bag and threw it at me.

“Take this and get lost! Don’t ever show up again!”

His words, like those of a stereotypical mother-in-law in a morning drama, were accompanied by the toss of a yellow 50,000 won bill with the great mother depicted on it.

Watching the bill flutter to the ground at my feet, I stepped back.

No matter how desperate I was, I wasn’t out of my mind enough to pick up that money.

As I stepped back, CEO Han and Kim Jungha started throwing money at me.

Here and there, I could see what looked like checks.

What had started as just a few bills turned into a rain of money.

Carefully, I embraced the pile of bills that soon covered my waist.

Yes, pride doesn’t feed you. Money is the best.

As I stuffed the money into my pockets, I watched the two disappear in the distance and shouted.

“Give me more! If you’re going to do this, give me more!”

“Give it… to me… you bastards…”

“What are you saying, Seonyul! Wake up!”

“Give me more… Just give me more…”

“Hey! You crazy idiot. Seonyul! Wake up!”

“Give it to me… you son of a…”

With a scream, I rolled off my seat, still in a daze, and looked around quickly.

The pile of bills that had been there just moments ago was nowhere to be seen.

I lightly clenched and unclenched my empty hand, then looked up at Cha Chiyeon.

“Where is it? Did you see my money here? The money CEO Han and Kim Jungha threw at me. It was here…”

“You idiot. If you’re drunk, go to bed quietly! Why are you being pathetic on the sofa when there’s a bed in your room?”

At the thundering voice, I blinked slowly.

Feeling a sudden wave of nausea, I covered my mouth and ran to the bathroom.

After gagging for a while and throwing up everything in my stomach, I realized I hadn’t done anything but drink for the past four days.

Suddenly, the hangover I’d forgotten about began pounding in my head. The smell of alcohol lingered heavily in my breath.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Cha Chiyeon, who had been lightly patting my back, asked cautiously as I continued to retch.

“You should have eaten something with your drink. Drinking on an empty stomach is why you’re throwing up everything. The rainbow is quite colorful.”

With each pat on my back, I felt another wave of nausea.

With my face practically buried in the toilet, I threw up until there was nothing left.

Then, I closed the lid and flushed. I was utterly exhausted.

Just wringing my stomach out had me feeling as if I’d been through an hour-long PT session at the gym.

“I really… feel like I’m dying…”

“You won’t die from a hangover. Get a grip, Seonyul.”

I staggered to my feet and rinsed my mouth at the sink before collapsing back onto the bathroom floor.

“Can you believe it… I have work tomorrow…”

Thanks to CEO Han’s maddening kindness of giving me four days to find the problematic model, I had stayed holed up in my house.

From the start, I didn’t need to look for the model because it was me.

I just drowned my confusion with alcohol.

I tried to recall if there had ever been a time in my life when I drank this much, but my mind was already too hazy to think of anything.

If he was going to give me time, why not five days?

At least I could’ve taken a break.

The ambiguous four days left me with nothing to do but drink, and drink more.

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