10 rules of a Secretary chapter 88

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I used to question why I’d bring my company ID on business trips, but I realized it was all part of a bigger picture for this moment.

Inside the elevator, I impatiently tapped my feet.

As soon as the doors opened with a ding, I stepped out and caught my breath for a moment at the desk where I could see the secretary’s desk in the distance.

There were so many things I needed to ask.

Why he left so suddenly, where this insufferable “kindness” was coming from, why he seemed to be enjoying his “business trip” instead of working, if it was even really a business trip…

I needed to ask if it was truly a mistake, or if we ended up in bed together as merely a professional act.

I had to ask him those things, and then…

But what would I do after asking?

My thoughts poured out uncontrollably, and I found myself frozen in place.

“Right… What would I do after asking…”

Quitting wasn’t an option. I’d just have to keep taking the suppressant pills as usual.

Nothing should change. It was just sex. Just a little fun, an accident, that’s all.

That man had even said—

‘Guess I’m drunk.’

‘I might get into some trouble.’

‘You’ll handle it, right?’

It was a damn mess, one I had to clean up.

It wasn’t special.

It couldn’t become special…

As my thoughts spiraled further, the final rule of a secretary’s ten commandments came to mind.

Rule 10: Never develop special feelings for your superior. They are only your boss.

“…Damn it.”

So that’s what it meant. That’s what it was all about.

I recalled a moment from the past when I’d given him some offhanded advice.

I’d vowed to never lean my heart toward either side, but that resolve had crumbled in an instant.

Fear suddenly surged up, like bile.

“Oh? Sir!”

A voice pulled me back to reality.

It was Assistant Kang, waving cheerfully as he approached me.

“Did you just come to work? I thought your return was scheduled for tomorrow. Is something urgent?”

“Ah… yes, it just kind of… happened.”

“What, you ‘just kind of happened’ to come to work? Right after a business trip? You’re the one who needs a break the most, Sir. Go back and enjoy the rest of your vacation!”

He turned me around, ushering me back, chatting all the while.

“The president and you, both workaholics, I swear. Who chooses a vacation spot as a business trip location? And the president, working every day for a month, that’s the real issue. Giving orders even while on a trip… You’re not starting to pick up his habits, right? We already have plenty of people to work; doing it all alone isn’t a good thing.”

What on earth was he talking about? I reached the elevator before managing to turn and ask him.

“What do you mean, orders? He didn’t give any orders. During the day, he was with me…”

We were… together… or so I thought.

Slowly blinking, I took a step back from Kang Yeonkyu.

There was a time difference.

The twelve-hour time difference between PEI and Korea meant night and day were flipped.

If Han Doha was issuing orders at night instead of during the day, it was natural I’d miss them. Especially during the heat cycle, I wasn’t exactly in my right mind.

Even during those five nonstop days of… physical intimacy, I lost all sense of time, and the only time I ever slept was practically passing out at night.

“Where are you right now, sir?”

“Oh, Seonbi, you just got back from Canada, didn’t you? Enjoy the rest of your vacation…”

“I’m fine. Where are you? I keep asking.”

At my question, Kang Yeonkyu scratched his cheek, looking uncomfortable.

He hesitated as if choosing his words carefully, sighed, and pressed the elevator button with a vague expression.

“He’s not in the office right now.”

“Is he out for an external meeting? His schedule was cleared for a month; he shouldn’t have anything planned until today.”

“Well, actually…”

Kang hesitated, repeating “well” a few times, then, as the elevator arrived, gently nudged me in and handed over my suitcase.

As he stood by the closing doors, he finally muttered so softly it was barely audible.

“He went to the JS Hotel yesterday.”

That meant he went for a matchmaking date.

Even as I got off the elevator, Kang Yeonkyu’s words echoed in my ears.

The same phrase, over and over. I sat down at the café on the first floor, placed my hands on my abdomen, and stared blankly at the table.

I needed to organize this situation.

Who? Han Doha, that bastard.

When? Yesterday.

Where? At the JS Hotel.

What? A matchmaking date.

Why? To meet a prospective marriage partner.

How? Damn it.

He’d have gone there on his own two feet if he has any sense.

With that temper, he wouldn’t have gone just because someone told him to, would he?

I paused after answering the five Ws and one H to myself.

The “someone” who told him to go was me.

The man had even asked if it was alright for him to go for the matchmaking date.

And it was me who had urged him to go.

What do I have to feel bothered about?

Leaning against the hard wooden chair, I stretched my body out.

That’s right; I should be fine with it.

As his secretary… In a professional sense, it doesn’t matter if the boss gets married or changes his lover, as long as it doesn’t affect the stock price.

As long as the company doesn’t go bankrupt and the salary and bonuses come in, it’s all good, right?

I kept telling myself I was fine, but then I straightened up when I felt a light tap on the table.

Standing in front of me was Yoon Sanghye, who hadn’t answered a single call from me.

She tilted her head, looking at me curiously.

“It really is you, Seonbi?”

She laughed, saying she thought she was mistaken.

She held a heavy-looking file and tablet in her arms.

Glancing at what she was holding, I asked her.

“Seems like you’re busy.”

“Oh, don’t even get me started. It’s crazy these days… Did you try to call?”

She placed the items on the table, then quickly grabbed her phone. Her fingers stopped abruptly.

“Oh, I lost my phone recently, so I got a new one… and I changed my number as well… You know how it is? My ex-boyfriend kept calling occasionally, causing a few issues… Anyway, I thought I’d let you know when you got back, but… was there something urgent?”

The phone she held wasn’t her previous model; the latest version sparkled with an aurora-like back.

Letting out a small sigh, I ran a hand over my face.

“I was just checking if anything was happening at the office. You weren’t answering, so I got a bit….”

“I’m really sorry. I didn’t want to disturb you during your vacation, and… well, today is the last day of it. Did you really come straight here?”

“I just got here. Ah, please, have a seat.”

Forcing a smile, I gestured for her to sit across from me.

She hesitated but finally took the seat, glancing back and forth between the office entrance and her phone, as if genuinely anxious.

“Earlier, Yeonkyu mentioned something strange… He said the boss had been giving instructions by phone for the past month.”

“Yeonkyu mentioned that…?”

Yoon Sanghye fidgeted, sighing. She seemed like she wanted to say something but was holding back.

“If it’s uncomfortable to answer, you don’t have to.”

“Oh, no, that’s not it! It’s just that the boss asked us to join back into the work process once your vacation ended… When I think about it, you were also contacted during last year’s vacation for work. So, the secretarial team decided to handle things that way too. The boss managed anything you’d typically handle himself.”

“The boss did, huh?”

At my quiet question, Yoon Sanghye just offered a faint smile, looking genuinely troubled.

Realizing I had no choice, I decided to use a tactic that might seem overly strict.

“Yoon Sanghye.”

“Yes?”

“I’ve worked here eight years longer than you, technically as your senior. I even pretended to be your boyfriend at your friend’s wedding, didn’t I? Do people normally ask their bosses for favors like that? You must see me as an easy mark if you can ask for something like that so casually. Our company isn’t strict enough to need that kind of hierarchical rigidity, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to disregard basic respect for seniors, is it? So, once again…”

Recalling the formal language I’d heard back in my marketing intern days, I used it now, swallowing a tear of regret.

Thinking of the stern expressions of my own mentors, I hardened my face.

Yoon Sanghye’s eyes flickered with unease.

“Tell me. What happened in the past month, and where is the boss now? I’m asking you right now.”

Yoon Sanghye’s gaze grew complicated.

She looked as if she couldn’t understand why I was going this far, though part of her seemed to get it.

Truthfully, even I didn’t know why I was doing this, so how could she?

During my break, even if it was only mentally and not physically, I’d had a chance to rest.

Maybe that’s why my emotions were all over the place now.

Usually, I’d be so exhausted I’d only have four hours of low-power mode a day, but right now, I was more alert than ever.

And this clarity was fueling my anxious thoughts.

“Yoon Sanghye, please answer.”