Chapter 5
“Mmm...”
Jaekyung had suffered through a terrible dream where a black shadow chased her endlessly.
Minho's proposal.
Her ex-husband suddenly appearing.
Everything that happened yesterday felt like one long nightmare.
She was breathing heavily when her alarm rang.
Jaekyung shot upright and quickly pressed the button on the phone clutched in her hand.
She pulled the towel away from her face.
Several people were lying around the corner of the jjimjilbang.
Last night, despite Yugam insisting that she couldn't leave the building, Jaekyung had run toward the security office exit.
“We have to verify your identity before allowing you to leave.”
Two security guards had stopped her.
Perhaps Jaekyung had looked desperate enough.
Yugam, who had been watching from the entrance, finally moved one finger and gave them permission to let her leave.
Then he had said,
“Seo Jaekyung. Go to school in the morning.”
Jaekyung shuddered.
She didn't even want to remember how she had ended up at the jjimjilbang.
Instead, she checked the dozens of messages on her phone.
Where is Dad? Why hasn't he even called?
One message came from Kim Juyoung, another assistant teacher at the school.
[Teacher Seo, who was that man? I saw the photo and he's seriously handsome. An ex-boyfriend? Or are you dating two guys? Someone posted pictures in the group chat saying there was some love triangle yesterday. Everyone's going crazy.]
Juyoung had also sent screenshots from the teachers' group chat.
Jaekyung's eyes widened when she saw them.
“What is this?”
There were several photos.
Minho walking away angrily.
Jaekyung's face.
And Yugam's suited figure standing beside her.
She immediately entered the group chat with over a hundred members.
The original photos had already been deleted.
But someone could easily spread them again.
[He was someone my boyfriend knows.]
Jaekyung quickly sent that message to Juyoung.
Rumors spread in an instant.
For now, it was better to pretend nothing had happened.
After arriving at school, Jaekyung took off her sweater because she couldn't wear exactly the same outfit as yesterday.
She remained in her blouse and jacket.
It was the school's anniversary, so the students had not come to class.
Only a teachers' meeting was scheduled, leaving the building unusually quiet.
Jaekyung quietly opened the back door of the conference room and stepped inside.
Several teachers she vaguely recognized looked at her strangely.
The person who looked most shocked was the vice principal.
“Chairman, you've arrived.”
Then he stared at Jaekyung.
“But Teacher Seo, why are you coming in together with the chairman?”
Whispers immediately spread among the teachers.
Jaekyung sensed something was wrong and looked behind her.
There stood Yugam.
The man who had chased her through her dreams was looking at her with complete calm.
Unlike Jaekyung, whose face looked exhausted after spending the night suffering nightmares at the jjimjilbang, Yugam looked neat and perfectly rested.
“What relationship does Teacher Seo have with the new chairman for them to come in together?”
“Did you see the posts about Teacher Seo in the group chat?”
Jaekyung's face instantly grew hot as the whispers spread around her.
Yugam's cold gaze slowly swept over the vice principal and the other teachers.
“I'm Do Yugam, the chairman.”
His voice was calm.
“There are many people here I'm meeting for the first time.”
The whispers stopped immediately.
Yugam's hand naturally came to rest against Jaekyung's back.
“This is Seo Jaekyung, the chairman's direct secretary.”
Jaekyung froze.
“Her position has been changed, so please help with the handover.”
Yugam walked calmly past the teachers.
Then he stepped onto the platform.
“From now on, I expect the Uitae Foundation to show a completely different side of itself.”
The greeting sounded almost like a threat.
The vice principal's face stiffened.
“I've heard private school foundations have been causing trouble over budgets lately.”
Yugam's gaze swept across the room.
“Let's begin with an audit to see whether the Uitae Foundation has been properly managed.”
Everyone immediately began watching the new chairman carefully.
Jaekyung sat at the farthest possible seat, trying to put as much distance between herself and Yugam as she could.
Still, the teachers kept sneaking glances at her.
She hated it.
When the principal finished his anniversary speech, Jaekyung stood.
She walked into the hallway.
The moment the cold air touched her face, she finally felt as though she could breathe.
Slide.
The door opened behind her.
“Running away again?”
Jaekyung turned around.
Yugam stood there.
“Following me all the way here makes you look like a stalker.”
She stared at him warily.
“You're taking this too far. And what am I supposed to do after you suddenly announced that I'm your personal secretary?”
“It's normal to announce a personnel appointment.”
Yugam looked at her without the slightest hesitation.
“And this isn't stalking.”
His expression remained cold.
“I'm going to recover everything.”
Jaekyung frowned.
“The reason Seo Jaekyung left.”
His gaze darkened.
“The time I spent after being abandoned.”
His voice dropped.
“I'm taking all of it back.”
Jaekyung stared at him.
“What exactly are you trying to take back after all this time?”
“I became curious about why you took the money and left.”
His black eyes gleamed.
“And since I don't want you going somewhere else and scamming someone again, maybe I'll do a little work for justice too.”
His gaze never left her.
“I'll uncover everything one by one and make sure I'm properly repaid.”
Does he mean he wants the money he gave me back?
Jaekyung's head started aching again.
She couldn't understand what he meant.
“Then... let me keep my teaching position in exchange for working as your secretary.”
“A request to hold two positions?”
Yugam answered immediately.
“Sleep in the same bed with me, and I'll allow it.”
