#39

I looked at Secretary Sung Yoojun with a puzzled expression at his tone, which made it seem like he knew Team Leader Seohee very well. When I looked at him, Secretary Sung Yoojun gave me a playful expression.

“Team Leader Seohee and I have been friends since childhood. Our mothers were very close even before they got married.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. Our houses were close to each other, so we went to the same kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, high school, and even university. You could say we’re practically family.”

This was a fact I had never known. Both Secretary Sung Yoojun and Team Leader Seohee treated each other strictly professionally at work. Blinking in surprise at this new revelation, I remained silent as Secretary Sung Yoojun continued speaking.

“Team Leader Seohee once told me that people as endlessly generous as you make her worry. She says she’s someone who is greedy and only thinks of herself, so she deeply respects people like you and feels a strong desire to protect you from getting hurt.”

I blinked at his words and tilted my head slightly.

“The fact that she even thinks that way is proof that she’s a generous person herself.”

A person who only thinks of themselves wouldn’t worry about others. In that sense, Team Leader Seohee was not the greedy, self-centered person she claimed to be.

“I think so too, but…… well, since she insists otherwise, I never felt the need to correct her.”

Secretary Sung Yoojun’s indifferent tone, as if he didn’t particularly care what Team Leader Seohee thought of herself, made it clear that they had truly been close friends since childhood. It felt like I had caught a glimpse of his personal side. He always appeared reliable and composed, befitting someone older than me, so seeing him in this light was quite interesting.

“You two must be really close.”

“After knowing each other for a lifetime, it’s impossible not to be. It’s more like we were forced to get used to each other.”

He frowned slightly, grumbling with a hint of dissatisfaction. Watching him, I couldn’t help but smile softly. It felt like watching siblings who constantly bicker. When I smiled, Secretary Sung Yoojun gave me a confused look.

“President? Why are you smiling?”

“Listening to you talk, Secretary Sung, makes you and Team Leader Seohee seem just like siblings.”

I simply voiced my honest impression, but that alone made Secretary Sung Yoojun’s expression twist dramatically.

“Please don’t say such terrifying things. The idea of being siblings with Team Leader Seohee…… Just imagining it is uncomfortable.”

His reaction, showing pure disdain as if he found the thought unbearable, made me burst into laughter. Seeing this unexpected personal side of Secretary Sung Yoojun was so amusing that I simply couldn’t hold back my laughter.

After that small commotion passed, time flew by, and before I knew it, it was time to leave work. As someone who values leaving on time, I immediately left the office and headed home as soon as the workday ended.

Thanks to the unusually smooth traffic today, I arrived home earlier than usual. As I took the elevator to the first floor with him from the parking lot, I thought about how things had changed since Tartarus started living in my house. With them came Secretary Sung Yoojun and Manager Ahn Siwon, who also began staying there.

Their stated purpose was to help take care of Tartarus, but I felt like Manager Ahn Siwon was the only one truly dedicated to that task. As for Secretary Sung Yoojun, it seemed more like he was keeping watch, making sure nothing like the incident from the first day happened again.

“Isn’t it heavy?”

“I’m fine. It’s not too heavy.”

Secretary Sung Yoojun looked at the two large paper bags in my hands with concern. I quickly shook my head. The bags contained snacks that had piled up on my office table. There was no way I could finish them all by myself, so I brought them home, hoping others would help.

“I should be carrying all of that…… I’m sorry.”

“What do you mean? Technically, these were all given to me, so I should be the one carrying them. You’re already helping by carrying some of them, Secretary Sung.”

Saying that, I glanced at Secretary Sung Yoojun’s hands. He was holding two paper bags in each hand—twice as much as I was carrying.

“I should be bowing in gratitude just for your help, so please don’t say things like that.”

Speaking sincerely, I opened the door at the end of the stairs. And then, I stopped in my tracks as a familiar scent filled my nose.

“This smell……”

Behind me, Secretary Sung Yoojun also seemed to have caught the scent filling the living room. He trailed off as we exchanged glances before slowly moving toward the source—the kitchen.

“Hey, when’s it gonna be done?”

“I just put the noodles in. Just a little longer, so stop nagging! And stop calling me ‘hey’!”

“Fine, fine. Hyung! Yisol hyung! When’s the ramen gonna be ready? Hurry up, I’m starving.”

The closer we got to the kitchen, the clearer the hushed voices became. This was Yoo Euiseo and Nam Yisol’s voices……?

“Hyung, are we really okay doing this? What if the president catches us?”

“There are still 30 minutes before he gets back. If we eat quickly, do the dishes, and air the place out, he’ll never notice.”

That was Lee Gaon and Lee Daon’s voices.

I moved carefully, pressing myself against the wall, and peeked into the kitchen.

Inside the spacious kitchen, all the Tartarus members were gathered. They were clustered around the stove, intensely focused on something. Even though their broad-shouldered forms completely blocked the stove from view, it was obvious what they were doing.

I inhaled the air thick with the scent of ramen and glanced at Secretary Sung Yoojun behind me. Noticing my gaze, he turned from watching the kitchen and met my eyes. For a moment, we simply stared at each other, our faces frozen in dumbfounded expressions.

“But is this enough? Do we have any leftover rice?”

“There should be some in the rice cooker that Auntie made. Just in case, check it.”

“Okay, got it.”

At Nam Yisol’s words, Yoo Euiseo turned around to check the rice cooker. I quickly hid behind the wall to avoid being caught by him. The sound of the rice cooker lid being opened was clearly audible beyond the solid wall. Hearing it, I felt an overwhelming sense of confusion.

Wait, why are they secretly making ramen? I’ve never once said anything about what they eat. Not just about food—I’ve never nagged them about anything. So why?

“That……”

I opened my mouth, trying to say something in response to the baffling situation, but I quickly shut it as I watched the Tartarus members’ wary glances. It was obvious they were sneaking ramen behind my back, and I didn’t want to startle them unnecessarily.

I glanced at Secretary Sung Yoojun and subtly gestured toward the door leading to the parking lot. I was signaling that we should quietly leave. Thankfully, Secretary Sung Yoojun caught on and gave a small nod, respecting my decision.

“Huh? President? Secretary Sung? What are you doing here?”

As we were carefully tiptoeing away to avoid making any noise, a familiar voice called from behind. Sung Yoojun and I froze in place, and the lively chatter from the kitchen came to an abrupt halt.

The house, which had been bustling with noise just moments ago, suddenly became eerily silent. Feeling the weight of the awkwardness, I stiffly turned my neck, which had gone rigid.

When I turned around, I saw Manager Ahn Siwon standing in the living room, looking in our direction. His innocent eyes stared at me, and I let out a small sigh.

“Manager Ahn……”

“……Did I just make a mistake?”

His voice was filled with caution. I silently shook my head. This wasn’t Ahn Siwon’s fault. It was just unfortunate timing.

Realizing that escaping was no longer an option, I gave up on heading toward the parking lot and instead turned back toward the kitchen. It was a short distance of just a few steps, yet strangely, it felt long and heavy.

When I arrived at the kitchen, the Tartarus members stood frozen, staring at me. The only sound in the heavy silence was the bubbling of the boiling ramen.

Come to think of it, didn’t they say they had just put the noodles in? The key to good ramen is the perfect noodle texture—if they leave it too long, it’ll get soggy. That sudden concern made me glance at the pot on the stove, but before I could get a proper look, Lee Gaon subtly stepped to the side, using his body to block my view.

His actions were like a child desperately trying to cover up evidence of wrongdoing.

At that moment, I had no idea what to say first.

As I kept silent, an uncomfortable stillness settled over the house. No one dared to break the silence as we all nervously gauged each other’s reactions.