NLFSD Chapter 44

Chapter 44

All afternoon, Lee Jiwoon passed the time staring endlessly at the clock, waiting for 6 p.m. to come. From 5 o’clock onward, the hands moved so slowly that he began to seriously suspect time itself might have stopped.

From 5:40 onward, each minute felt like an entire hour.

“Ugh…”

“What’s wrong, Jiwoon? Are you coming down with something?”

“No, Assistant Manager Min. I just… really want to get home quickly.”

“Well, it is Thursday, so I guess you must be tired. Honestly, we’ve been worn out all week dealing with the audit on our team leader.”

The audit regarding the team leader was rapidly moving forward. He likely would not escape severe disciplinary action. The general consensus within the company was that a dismissal announcement would come as soon as tomorrow, Friday, or at the latest by next Monday.

So the team leader might be replaced soon… The thought left a bitter aftertaste, but Jiwoon figured it might be better to stop his corruption here and now, and refresh the atmosphere with a cleaner work culture.

“Jiwoon, it’s six o’clock.”

“Ah! Sorry, but I’ll be leaving first!”

“Alright. I’m heading out now too — let’s take the elevator together.”

Assistant Manager Min began stuffing her bag. Jiwoon knew very well that she also parked in the basement, right near Seo Taecheon’s parking spot, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

“Ah, no… I’ll take the stairs down.”

“…You do know we’re on the 19th floor and you’d be going all the way to the first, right?”

“Yes. I’ve decided to take the stairs for my health.”

“They say going down is bad for your knees. Just take the elevator.”

“No, really, it’s fine! You have to train your muscles going down, too! I’m giving my weak joints a little tension training.”

Babbling whatever nonsense came to mind, Jiwoon made a hasty escape from the office.

When he saw the endless stairs stretching down in the emergency stairwell, he let out a sigh.

“Ha… If I’m not careful, I’ll run into her. Better just go down slowly.”

Resigned, he reluctantly punished his knees, step by step, down the daunting set of stairs. He could almost hear cracking and grinding noises coming from his joints.

“Huff… huff…”

By the time he reached Basement Level 2, he was completely out of breath. After confirming that Assistant Manager Min’s car was gone, he searched for Seo Taecheon’s. With his face partially hidden behind his briefcase and his body crouched low, he quickly darted toward Taecheon’s car and practically dove into the passenger seat.

“Sorry I’m late.”

Seo Taecheon looked at his sweat-soaked, flushed face with a puzzled expression.

“Did something happen? Your face…”

“Oh, uh… I came down on foot.”

“…I see. Why?”

“I didn’t want a coworker to catch me… She parks down here too.”

“You could’ve told me. You could’ve taken your time coming down.”

“It’s just… I wanted to see you even a little earlier—”

Realizing he had spoken too directly, Jiwoon swallowed the rest of his words and looked down. Seeing him blush and glance away nervously, Seo Taecheon couldn’t help but let out a quiet chuckle.

“I see… You’ve been sweating a lot. Let’s wipe that off before we go.”

He reached into the glove compartment and took out a pack of wet wipes and a handkerchief.

“Thank you.”

Jiwoon assumed he’d be wiping himself — but apparently, that wasn’t Taecheon’s plan.

“Oh—”

Seo Taecheon took out a tissue and brought it directly to Jiwoon’s face. The sudden contact brought not only surprise but also a tingle of electricity.

Oh god, my face feels like it’s on fire.

“Hold still.”

“…Okay.”

A pleasant scent drifted from Taecheon’s wrist, and warmth spread through the tips of his fingers into Jiwoon’s skin. Jiwoon found himself more breathless now than when he’d come down from the 19th floor stairs.

“I think the sweat’s gone now. Let’s use the handkerchief.”

“O‑okay.”

Whether it was cologne or just his natural scent, the familiar fragrance that always clung to Seo Taecheon filled the handkerchief. Feeling it against his skin, Jiwoon held his breath, exhaled awkwardly, and repeated the cycle.

“There’s no need to be so tense.”

“Huh? Oh… yeah.”

It’s only wiping my face, so why am I trembling like this? I’m going to lose my mind.

“Alright, let’s go.”

As the handkerchief moved away, Jiwoon gave a small nod. His heart was pounding furiously.

After about thirty minutes of driving, they arrived at a rooftop restaurant overlooking the Han River.

“Good evening. Please allow me to show you to your table.”

A staff member greeted them politely and led them to the second floor.

“Wow, this place is amazing.”

“Do you like it?”

“Yes. It’s totally gorgeous.”

“That’s good to hear. I’m still not entirely sure of your preferences.”

“I like anything as long as the food’s good.”

Tonight, Seo Taecheon seemed even more impressive to Jiwoon than usual. He’d always been cool, but perhaps because they were now dating, every action and every word seemed even more attractive.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Huh? Oh, I wasn’t. I was looking at the Han River.”

Feeling self-conscious for staring too intently, Jiwoon turned his gaze to the bridge outside the window.

Then, suddenly, Seo Taecheon reached across the table and took his hand.

Jiwoon’s breath caught.

“T‑Taecheon…”

“Even though we live together, I hardly get to see your face. I wanted to make sure we spent time together today.”

The low tone of his voice and his gentle gaze gradually sped up Jiwoon’s pulse.

“Your appetizer. Please enjoy it together with the soup.”

At that moment, a waiter appeared with a tray and began setting the dishes on the table. But Taecheon did not release Jiwoon’s hand.

“Um… to eat, you’ll have to… let go of my hand.” Jiwoon whispered cautiously.

“What if I don’t want to?”

“…What?”

His voice came out louder than he intended, and he felt embarrassed to meet the waiter’s eyes. But the waiter, being a consummate professional, set the table without missing a beat and left naturally.

“Well… I wouldn’t want you to go hungry, so I’ll let go.”

Taecheon released his hand, but now that the warmth was gone, Jiwoon felt a pang of disappointment.

“Make sure to eat a lot.”

“Yeah… It all looks so delicious.”

In truth, his mind was so hazy that he could hardly tell if the plate in front of him was a stone or French cuisine. Still, he brought out his trademark hearty appetite and quickly devoured the fig-based appetizer.

“It’s delicious.”

“I’m glad it suits your taste.”

“Um, but… Director — I mean, Taecheon. There’s something I want to ask. I know it’s not ideal to talk about work in a place like this, but I’ve just been too curious.”

“What is it?”

“It’s about… the team leader’s case…”

Jiwoon glanced at him cautiously before speaking.

“Oh, that’s already been taken care of.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’ll be dismissed. The final report will be out soon, and the announcement will be posted internally. He’s been embezzling a lot over the years. In addition to civil charges, we’ll also be filing criminal charges.”

Wow… So it was that big of a deal. The word “criminal” genuinely surprised Jiwoon.

“But how did the investigation even begin? Was there an anonymous tip?”

Seo Taecheon set down his fork and took a sip of water.

“I don’t like it when people cross the line. I hate it even more when they touch what’s mine.”

He looked straight at Jiwoon. Jiwoon retraced his thoughts, wondering what Taecheon could be calling his in this situation… The company? Or… maybe me?!

“Don’t tell me this all started because of the anniversary banner incident¹…”

“That’s right.”

“…What?”

“Saying it’s ‘because of you’ might sound like a burden, but yes — that was the catalyst. I couldn’t just watch that man spew abuse at you.”

“Oh…”

“So I looked into it and found that a relative of his had been producing lousy promotional goods for years. In principle, the chosen vendor should be competitively priced and of good quality — that company should’ve been cut off ages ago.”

“…Right, that’s true.”

“When I saw him taking kickbacks behind the scenes while dumping the blame for the substandard products onto you, I knew he couldn’t stay in our company any longer.”

Jiwoon realized anew just how capable Seo Taecheon was.

He’s meticulous. Not just a conglomerate heir by blood — he’s sharp-minded, too.

…But what hit him even harder was the phrase what’s mine. He’d started dismantling the team leader because of him. Which meant… Taecheon hated it when someone attacked him.

Jiwoon’s face felt like it might explode.

I’m his, and Seo Taecheon is mine…!

“Why is your face so red? Did the food have something you’re allergic to?”

Taecheon furrowed his brow and leaned forward to inspect Jiwoon’s face.

“No, no — I’m fine! It’s just… too delicious, that’s all.”

“Delicious enough to make your face turn red…?”

“Haha. It happens sometimes.”

Hurriedly answering, Jiwoon scraped the remaining vegetables and sauce from his plate.

“Don’t rush — you’ll get an upset stomach.”

“Okay, okay.”

How am I supposed to keep my heart intact when such a gentleman suddenly goes full throttle like this?! I’m going crazy…

¹ Anniversary banner incident — Refers to an earlier company event where a poorly produced banner for the company’s founding anniversary caused public embarrassment and conflicts, with some falsely blaming Jiwoon, though responsibility lay elsewhere.