Chapter 15
“Dad says he's worried, so I'm refusing the trip right now.”
Jaekyung forced herself to sound natural.
“Yes, yes. I understand.”
Then she added,
“I'll come home early.”
She immediately ended the call.
Continuing that conversation in front of Chief Kwon would have been impossible.
He had definitely heard her father's voice.
Jaekyung wanted to crawl into a hole.
She had just claimed she would go home early to a father who didn't even know where his daughter was living.
Growing up, Jaekyung had always worked two or three part-time jobs because money was constantly tight.
By the time she returned home after midnight, her father was usually asleep or not there.
She had grown up in an environment where nobody would have interfered even if she had gone completely off the rails.
Still, Jaekyung had remembered her mother's final wish and stubbornly forced herself to grow up properly.
She opened her tightly closed eyes and raised her face shamelessly.
“As you heard, my family is conservative.”
She looked at Chief Kwon.
“So I don't think I can go on the trip.”
“I'll pay you double travel expenses.”
Jaekyung froze.
Double?
Chief Kwon looked directly at her and offered the tempting deal.
If she had to go on a trip she didn't want, she might as well choose the most profitable option.
“How much would that be?”
Jaekyung hesitated.
Then she said,
“Make it... five times.”
Chief Kwon blinked.
Jaekyung continued quickly,
“And Chief Kwon, you have to come too, even if you're late.”
She knew the request was unreasonable.
There was no way they would actually pay five times.
She had only thrown out the number to create an excuse for them to reject her.
Chief Kwon nodded immediately.
“Sure.”
Jaekyung stared at him.
“The chairman will probably approve it.”
“...What?”
He's agreeing that easily?
Her heart started pounding.
Now she really looked like some special-hire employee obsessed with money.
Chief Kwon leaned closer with a playful expression.
“I'm only telling you this because you're Secretary Seo, but I get paid a lot too.”
His large, friendly eyes curved.
“How else would I survive Chairman Do working day and night without sleeping?”
He grinned.
“That guy may be awful, but he gives generous bonuses.”
“...Thank you.”
Money had an incredible ability to erase humiliation.
Without realizing it, Jaekyung had agreed to the trip in exchange for five times the travel allowance.
Of course, the money would probably end up in her father's hands again.
No matter how hard Jaekyung worked, money seemed to vanish from her pocket as though there were a hole in it.
Chief Kwon waved casually.
“Don't thank me. It isn't even my money.”
A voice suddenly came from behind them.
“You're taking money from me but thanking Chief Kwon?”
Yugam entered the office at exactly the wrong moment.
Jaekyung's face instantly turned red.
Did he hear everything?
She bowed politely to Yugam too.
Then she returned to her seat, where there was nowhere at all to hide.
Yugam was definitely staring at her.
Her boss's desk sat directly across from hers with no divider.
This had to be a new form of torture.
Receiving extra travel money was nice.
But the thought of staying alone with Yugam made Jaekyung anxious.
Worried the schedule might be extended, she arrived at the airport at five in the morning.
Their six o'clock flight landed in Jeju early.
[I'm at the airport. I'll arrive this afternoon.]
Chief Kwon, who had supposedly gone to headquarters for support work, had sent the message.
Jaekyung felt relieved.
He was probably on his flight right now.
The morning meeting lasted much longer than expected.
He said twenty locations.
Was Yugam planning to spend half a day at the first institution?
“I'd also like to review the resumes of the teachers running the program.”
Yugam continued questioning the exhausted presentation staff.
“If the goal is global sensitivity, they should be able to guide the students through essays and discussions after the experience.”
The employees already looked exhausted.
Yugam showed no gaps.
Jaekyung quietly sighed.
She had never seen a chairman personally manage residential field-study programs in this much detail.
Is he worried people will say he's incompetent because he's newly appointed?
She remembered the teachers whispering.
“What does a chairman in his mid-twenties know?”
“Do you think he'll really do his job properly?”
“He'll probably survive a year and run back to headquarters.”
The teachers had little expectation for the newly appointed chairman.
Ever since second chairman Jin Heeyeon had shifted her attention entirely to headquarters, the chairman's seat had remained practically empty.
The vice principal had ended up personally directing most major events, and everyone had gotten used to that arrangement.
After checking the ecology center and even discussing horseback-riding lessons in Jeju, they finally left the meeting room.
It was already long past lunchtime.
“Chairman, we've prepared lunch for you.”
One of the representatives smiled.
“Please come with us.”
“I have another schedule.”
Yugam declined immediately.
“We'll review the horseback-riding program and contact you later.”
He refused even private meals because he didn't want anyone accusing him of accepting entertainment or special treatment.
“I'll make a restaurant reservation.”
Jaekyung looked pale from hunger.
Yugam checked the time.
His hair moved lightly across his forehead.
“Let's just walk.”
Jaekyung blinked.
“What?”
“We'll eat somewhere nearby.”
Unlike the hot sunlight, the wind in Jeju was strong.
Jaekyung followed Yugam as he walked ahead.
He was more than a head taller than her.
The tails of his suit jacket moved attractively in the wind.
He didn't look this big five years ago.
Even when Jaekyung carefully studied him whenever their eyes didn't meet, it was hard to believe he was the same man.
He had become so mature and masculine that his presence seemed to dominate the air around him.
For one ridiculous moment, Jaekyung even felt as though she could rely on him.
