#83

“Secretary Sung, if I don’t wake up tomorrow, you’ll just leave me and go to work, right?”

“Of course. I actually prefer for you to rest a bit more at home, so if you’re asleep, I won’t bother waking you.”

“How could you? Our Secretary Sung, you’re really cold-hearted.”

“Cold-hearted……? That couldn’t be. Who else thinks of you as sincerely as I do, and yet you say such things?”

I chuckled pleasantly at Secretary Sung Yoojun’s playful response to my joke.

“Well, that’s true. There probably isn’t anyone who thinks of me more than you do, Secretary Sung.”

“I’m relieved you know that. I would’ve been very upset otherwise.”

Sung Yoojun spoke with a mischievous tone, pretending to wipe away a tear. Somehow, it was even more amusing to see someone like him act playful.

“I guess I need to try harder not to make our Secretary Sung feel unappreciated.”

“You’ll put in the effort for me?”

“Of course. Who else would it be for?”

As I said that with a soft smile, Sung Yoojun reached out toward me with a gentle expression. Then he lightly stroked my hair.

He slipped his fingers through my hair as if combing it and occasionally pressed into my scalp with his fingertips, giving a soothing massage. It felt so good that I melted into a blissful expression, thinking it was skillful enough to believe he had taken professional massage lessons. Then Sung Yoojun opened his mouth.

“Come to think of it, I saw that you were sleeping with Lee Daon-ssi today.”

“Huh? Oh, yes. We slept together. Daon-ssi didn’t seem to want to be alone.”

“Is that so? Well, it’s true that being sick makes anyone feel lonely.”

I nodded in agreement at Sung Yoojun’s words.

“Right. And honestly, since Daon-ssi is still not well, it felt wrong to just leave him sitting in a chair. So I suggested we lie down on the bed together.”

“The bed is quite spacious, so I’m sure it had enough room for one more person. Though, from what I saw, the two of you were holding each other tightly instead of using all that space.”

“Ah…… That was because something happened before we went to sleep……”

Yeah, two guys holding each other tightly while sleeping must’ve been a weird sight. I trailed off awkwardly, unsure what to say. Even if I wanted to explain, it was related to Lee Daon’s personal matters, so I couldn’t really go into detail with someone else.

“You two were holding each other so tightly, it was a bit difficult to separate you.”

“Then you could’ve just left us like that.”

“You looked very uncomfortable. I thought it might lead to a stiff neck or something, so I figured it was best to separate you.”

Hearing Sung Yoojun’s words, I couldn’t help but feel guilty. Seriously, our Secretary Sung Yoojun seems to go through so much because of me……

“Thank you for your trouble. I’ll treat you to something really good next time.”

If I pretended not to notice his efforts, I’d probably have to give up calling myself human. I began thinking back over the past two months to pick out the restaurant that had the best food and spoke in a voice full of sincerity.

“Then, please take me to the restaurant we ate at last time. And if possible, just the two of us again.”

“Oh, that place! Yes, I’d love that. The food there was amazing. And I like eating with you too, Secretary Sung.”

He was probably talking about the place we went to after his first report about Rep. Oh Hahyun. When I agreed, Sung Yoojun subtly showed signs of being pleased. I smiled warmly as I watched how happy he looked, but then my face suddenly hardened as something crossed my mind.

“President?”

Sung Yoojun, quick to notice the shift in my expression, called me in a concerned tone. Snapped back to my senses by his voice, I forced an awkward smile.

“Ah…… It’s nothing. I was just thinking about Rep. Oh Hahyun for a second.”

“About Rep. Oh Hahyun?”

“Yes. Just wondering how a person could be like that…… You know, those kinds of thoughts.”

Even Rep. Oh Hahyun and that person’s husband were absolutely lacking in human decency. A part of me really wanted to do something about it, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Lee Gaon. Lee Daon would probably welcome it with open arms if I did something to them, but Lee Gaon…… he might actually be saddened by it.

It wasn’t right for me to take revenge or whatever when the actual people involved didn’t want it. Sure, I was angry about what they had done, too, but unless either Lee Daon or Lee Gaon truly wanted something done, I had no business stepping in.

“If you ever want a background check or anything like that, just let me know.”

“If I ask you to do anything more, I think I might actually get reported to the labor office. And I don’t think I’d even have a leg to stand on if that happened.”

I had already assigned him quite a few things, and if I asked for even more, I’d genuinely become one of those exploitative bosses. I wanted to live as kindly and righteously as possible, so I firmly refused, and Sung Yoojun burst out laughing.

“It’s fine. I usually delegate background checks to someone else and just receive the reports anyway.”

“Still, it’d just give you more to worry about. Maybe if things calm down later, but for now, I don’t think I can ask you.”

“I understand.”

Perhaps reading my unshakable resolve, Sung Yoojun nodded with a look of understanding.

“Just saying this just in case, but you can’t do anything behind my back either. You know you can ask Secretary Jung if it’s really urgent, right? Or at least tell me who handles the background checks so I can receive the reports directly.”

I gave a firm warning, just in case our incredibly capable Secretary Sung Yoojun might try to discreetly do a background check without telling me, and he smiled gently as he responded.

“Understood. I won’t do anything like that. So you really don’t need to worry.”

It wasn’t until Sung Yoojun’s clear reassurance that I finally felt at ease. If it were something like a new album—something completely outside my capabilities—then fine. But if it was something I could handle myself, it made more sense for me to do it rather than burden an already-busy Secretary Sung Yoojun. Both from a moral standpoint and an efficiency one.

“Are you still not sleepy?”

As I tried to calm my mind with deep breaths, Sung Yoojun asked.

“No, not yet. Aren’t you tired, Secretary Sung? I think I’ll be up late, so you should head back and get some rest.”

Seeing how I was still completely wide awake, it was pretty clear I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep until dawn. Then again, considering I’d barely been awake for more than two hours total today, it made sense that sleep wasn’t coming easily.

“It’s alright. I’d like to stay here.”

“My room’s been pretty popular today, huh?”

Earlier, Lee Daon said he wanted to stay here, and now Sung Yoojun was saying the same. I chuckled at the thought with a light-hearted laugh, and just then, after a moment of silence, Sung Yoojun spoke quietly.

“I think it’s less the room and more the person inside that’s popular.”

“Hmm? What did you just say?”

“Nothing. It was nothing important.”

I had been distracted for a moment, so I didn’t quite catch what Sung Yoojun said. When I asked him to repeat it, he just smiled faintly without answering.

“Rather than that, how about we keep chatting until you fall asleep?”

He even changed the subject. Narrowing my eyes with suspicion, I looked at Sung Yoojun, but he just kept that gentle smile on his face as he waited for my response. Judging from that expression, there was no way he’d tell me even if I pushed. Realizing that, I gave up with a light sigh and nodded.

“Sounds good. Let’s keep talking, then. Just so you know, I won’t be letting you go until I start feeling sleepy, so you’d better be ready.”

“That sounds like something to look forward to.”

I had meant it as a bit of a warning to prepare himself, but Sung Yoojun looked genuinely pleased instead. Well, whatever. As long as he’s enjoying himself. With that carefree thought, I opened my mouth to continue the conversation.

***

Turns out my prediction that I wouldn’t fall asleep until dawn was spot on. The last time I checked the clock while talking to Sung Yoojun was around 2 AM, so I must have dozed off sometime past 3.

I opened my eyes with effort, my lids feeling sticky in a very different way than yesterday. The alarm hadn’t even gone off yet, but here I was, awake…… Blinking a few times as if to wipe away the haze clouding my vision, something odd suddenly caught my eye. White…… with buttons…… A shirt? Why is there a shirt right in front of me……?

……Wait a minute. A shirt?

The sleepiness vanished in an instant. I quickly lifted my gaze, needing to confirm just whose shirt this was.

“……Secretary Sung?”

Looking up, I was met with the sleeping face of Secretary Sung Yoojun. He was fast asleep, one arm tucked under my head as a pillow, the other wrapped around my waist.

Why is Secretary Sung sleeping here?

The initial tension in my body eased at the familiar face, and I started piecing together last night’s memories. We were talking and then…… did I fall asleep first? Yeah, that’s probably what happened. Maybe he tried to head back to his room after I knocked out but was too tired to make it? So he just fell asleep here?