[The next day, morning]
— Miss, are you ready yet?
— No, he's still sleeping.
— Still? I'm oversleeping again.
— Hey...! I'll wake you up.
- all right.
.
— Miss, it's time to go to work.
— Please leave.
— Were you awake? Did you cry all night? Your eyes are very swollen. Should I bring you a cold pack?
— What kind of medicine do you give me?
— Secretary Taehyung, please wait below...
— Okay, then go out. I don't want to see your face.
— ······.
My brother left without saying a word. He quickly wiped away the tears that had started flowing again since morning, held them back, and finished getting ready. He even tried applying acupressure to his eyes to try and reduce the puffiness, but as expected, it was the same.
.
— Miss, you overslept again... Did you cry, miss?
— Lady, did you cry?
— No, that's not it. I'll be back soon, Mom.
— Okay, have a nice trip.
—Have a nice day, baby...
— Miss, you seem strange today. I'll be off then.
I left the house before Seokjin could even say goodbye. I didn't even see his face. I was so upset I couldn't even look at him. I got in the car before Taehyung could even run over and open the car door for me.
— Miss, is something bothering you?
— Excuse me, but can you please not ask?
— Ah... I see. Shall we talk about something else?
— I just want to go quietly today. Can I go and hear about the schedule?
—Okay, I'll go.
Taehyung just drove so quietly. He glanced at me through the rearview mirror every time the light changed and didn't say anything else. I just didn't want to think about anything. Honestly, I couldn't focus on work, and I didn't know what to do.
.
— Miss Yeoju, the printout came out wrong.
— Oh, sorry. I'll try again.
— Miss Yeoju, there are a lot of typos here.
— Sorry, I'll try again.
—What's wrong? You're acting strange today.
— No. I was just thinking about something else for a moment... Sorry, I'll hurry.
Even if I made a mistake, this was the first time I'd made so many in one go. From printed errors to typos, it was serious even to me. I refocused, finished quickly, and while everyone else went to lunch, I headed to the rooftop.
- under···.
— Miss, why are you here?
— How did you know I was here?
— The staff told me they saw you coming here.
— Now that your face is known, this is the problem...
— I know you still want to be alone, but you should eat. I bought you a sandwich in a hurry. Here, eat.
— Do you think I look strange today?
— Oh... yes. You look really tired. Like someone who confessed and got rejected. Like they've lost everything in the world...
- yes?!
—Why are you so surprised? I just looked like that. That's how it was...
— I want to tell you everything right now, but are you sure you can keep this from anyone? I'm so frustrated right now...
— Of course. Who would I talk to?
I really felt like I couldn't just keep struggling like this alone and collapse. I even wondered if I should tell Taehyung about this, but I didn't have the energy to think about it right now.
— I like Seokjin oppa.
— Ah... It's really a car...
— Oppa! That's not it.
— I had a rough idea, but it was true.
— What the... You're really quick-witted...
— If it really is tea, I think I know why.
— ······.
—You don't know why Butler Seokjin doesn't dare to like you, Miss. Or do you know but want to deny it...?
— Seokjin oppa said he can't be a butler. Is that the reason?
— Of course, of course. Even if I wanted to like you, I wouldn’t be able to, right?
— There's no rule that says chaebols can only date chaebols. Shouldn't they just like each other? It's not like we're going to get married right away...
"You may think so, young lady, but you have the Chairman and his wife, who are such important figures right now, by your side. That's the reason. The reason I can't like you."
— ···If I couldn't buy a house, you wouldn't like me like that. You wouldn't even meet me···.
— Well, I don't know about that. Anyway, please don't whine to Butler Seokjin too much. I'm sure he's having a hard time too.
Come to think of it, all I did was whine and get angry at Seokjin. Even if I did express my feelings, he probably just bottled them up inside. Now I wonder how he must have felt. Was I being too selfish?
— I left today without even saying hello properly...
— It hasn't been long since you were discharged from the hospital, but you've been giving me a really hard time?
— Ah... what should I do?
— I think it would be better to talk about it again... Maybe then we can come up with a solution?
— Do you have a lot on your schedule today?
— It’s not much… Didn’t you hear earlier that we were having a welcome party and team dinner today?
— Oh, right. It would be a bit awkward if I left, right?
—I guess so···?
— This is driving me crazy...
We found a solution by talking about it again, but unfortunately, there was a company dinner today. So, I'd be home a little late, and that meant the time for our conversation would keep getting pushed back.
'braided-'
— Our team, let’s cheer up and work hard again~!
Glasses clinked and banged, it was chaos. Just as I was about to put my glass down, afraid I'd get drunk if I continued drinking, calls for drinks kept coming from all sides, forcing me to keep running.
***
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