Impossible Romance - Chapter 25

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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25.

Kwon Seok-ha made his presence known and then stepped out of the restaurant. Yet his feet wouldn’t carry him away. Naturally, he lingered nearby until Jun-hee emerged.
But Shim Hyun-sung couldn’t hold back and confessed in the meantime.
What an absurd fool.
At least Jun-hee’s response had settled everything, and for that he was in quite a good mood. Kwon Seok-ha arbitrarily assumed that the man Jun-hee harbored feelings for was undoubtedly himself.
As he was organizing his thoughts, a gentle weight settled on one of his shoulders. Jun-hee, who had been putting on a strong front the entire time, could no longer resist drowsiness and leaned her head against his shoulder.
With alcohol in her system, even the formidable Jun-hee was helpless. Kwon Seok-ha gazed down at Jun-hee resting against him, and one corner of his mouth lifted into a slant.
‘She said she likes someone else.’
His lips curved upward in a crooked smile, and a quiet chuckle escaped.
Sure.
Sure, that must be it. Jun-hee.
“Executive Director, we’ve arrived.”
The Driver spoke as he pulled into the Parking Lot and brought the Car to a stop. He was giving advance notice before getting out and opening the door on Kwon Seok-ha’s side.
“You can leave now. I’ll handle things from here.”
Kwon Seok-ha quietly observed Jun-hee, who had fallen asleep leaning against his shoulder.
“Yes, understood.”
The Driver quietly exited the Car, leaving the engine running.
Even after the Driver left, Kwon Seok-ha remained quietly in his seat for a while. Unaware of anything, Jun-hee was in deep sleep, her cheek resting against his shoulder.
‘When I see her like this, she’s really so gentle and kind.’
Kwon Seok-ha wanted to watch Jun-hee sleep peacefully forever. Strangely, just by looking at her face, he lost all sense of time—it was that entertaining.
After quite some time had passed, Jun-hee opened her eyes.
“When did we arrive?”
“Just now. Wipe your mouth. It’s dripping.”
“Oh….”
Freshly awake, Jun-hee’s expression turned bewildered, and she quickly wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Of course, there was nothing there, but Kwon Seok-ha found it amusing to tease her.
“Get up. I thought my shoulder was going to fall off.”
Suppressing his laughter, Kwon Seok-ha deliberately shifted the shoulder where her head had rested, raising and lowering it as if it were numb.
“I’m sorry.”
Jun-hee’s face flushed crimson. Between the alcohol and just waking up, she was too busy apologizing to Kwon Seok-ha.
“Secretary Ahn is bolder than she appears. There’s even a lipstick mark from Secretary Ahn on my shirt.”
Kwon Seok-ha drove in one more pointed jab before exiting the Car.
‘What do I do.’
Jun-hee contorted her face watching his retreating figure, then hurriedly got out on the opposite side. As she did, she consciously touched her hair once.
The thought that she had leaned against his shoulder so heavily that one side of her hair had been pressed down made her face flush anew.

***

“I’m going to collect payment for lending you my shoulder.”
Kwon Seok-ha spoke while looking ahead.
Silence hung heavy in the elevator that only the two of us occupied. I glanced nervously at Kwon Seok-ha, stealing a look at the shirt reflected in the elevator mirror.
“Why? Afraid I might have lied?”
“….”
I couldn’t deny his sudden question. Since he was such a mischievous troublemaker, I’d been caught red-handed more than once claiming things happened that never did.
“Look here. This is your lipstick, isn’t it?”
Kwon Seok-ha grabbed the shirt collar and showed it to me.
“…I’m sorry.”
Faced with the undeniable evidence right before my eyes, I closed my mouth. I’d caused quite the colorful mess of trouble.
“Is sorry all you have to say?”
“I’ll wash it for you.”
“What?”
“What do you mean?”
I gave him a bewildered look.
“What are you going to wash?”
“Your shirt, of course! I’ll wash it spotlessly clean.”
As the elevator arrived with a chime and the doors opened, I rushed out without hesitation.
“The shirt’s silver, though.”
Kwon Seok-ha muttered under his breath before following after me.
-Click.
The sound of the entrance door closing was cheerfully oblivious.
“Executive Director, I have a favor to ask.”
I stood in the foyer and looked at Kwon Seok-ha.
“What is it?”
“Don’t come out of your room for the next 30 minutes.”
“Why?”
“I’m going to shower. I’m trying to prevent us from running into each other awkwardly.”
“What?”
Naturally, Kwon Seok-ha’s expression was exactly like someone who’d just bitten into a bug.
“Then, I’ll take that as your consent.”
I turned and fled like I was running away. I knew the request was absurd, but there was no helping it. How many times had we already run into each other after I’d showered? My intention was to prevent accidents before they happened, and I thought he’d understand that much.
I washed myself frantically as if to take responsibility for my own words. I hurried through my shower, going back and forth between the bathroom and laundry room, and then headed to bed. There was more to do in 30 minutes than I’d anticipated.
Fortunately, he wasn’t in the living room.

***

Early in the morning, I washed my face and drank water in the living room. All I remembered was coming home the night before after drinking alcohol I could barely stomach, washing up in a daze, and collapsing into bed.
‘I didn’t do anything foolish, did I?’
Thinking of Kwon Seok-ha, I frowned slightly.
Even on the way up to my apartment, he’d complained about how uncomfortable it was when I leaned my head against him, and said he’d collect payment for lending me his shoulder.
Though it had been a while since we’d seen each other, he was still the same mischievous young master from childhood.
‘But where on earth did my brother go?’
I’d tried to track him down once a day, reaching out repeatedly, but there was no way to find someone who’d even changed their phone number.
I couldn’t tell my parents about this situation. My mother might even say she was pleased about it.

“Start with Kwon Seok-ha! The Chairman isn’t the type to abandon his own blood.”
“Mom, that makes no sense! That oppa already has a fiancée lined up!”
“No sense? You’ll thank me later, just wait. What’s wrong with being a second wife? With Seonjin Group, you’d live comfortably as a madam for life. Let me benefit from your good fortune too.”

My mother’s words were something I wanted to bury deep in an abyss and forget, yet they surfaced occasionally to torment me.
Fundamentally, everyone in my family except my youngest sibling shared my mother’s thinking. That’s probably why my brother borrowed so much money from Kwon Seok-ha. They didn’t even notice their sister was dying from the distress.
And Han Seon-young must have known about the money my brother borrowed, yet she didn’t stop it. It resembled the promise I’d made to leave Kwon Seok-ha by mortgaging my youngest sibling’s surgery. It was Han Seon-young’s teaching—to always live aware of our shabby family circumstances.
I’d planned to escape Seonjin’s influence once I graduated from university, but here I still was.
“Why do you look so serious? Your face is practically corpse-like.”
He emerged from the shower, his face radiant even in the morning light. But that wasn’t the important part. I’d prepared to leave for work earlier than him again today, yet running into him like this made me uneasy.
“It’s nothing to worry about. I’ll head to work first.”
I set down the water glass I’d been drinking from onto the dining table.
He grinned at me with that peculiar smile. I thought that smile was unsettling, but as I tried to ignore it and turned toward the kitchen sink to wash the cup, he spoke.
“Did you forget something?”
“Forget what?”
At his words, I turned my head back. That mischievous smile now felt ominous rather than merely unsettling.
Had I, drunk on alcohol last night, approached him first and kissed him? If I’d done something like that on top of leaning comfortably against his shoulder, I’d need to find a mouse hole to crawl into.
‘How can I remember nothing at all?’
It was because I’d drunk too much after meeting Shim Hyun-sung for the first time in ages. Moreover, hearing that sudden confession and then realizing I’d heard it together with Kwon Seok-ha made me so embarrassed that I lost my composure.
Yes, that was the reason. The one saving grace was that I’d managed to say the person I liked wasn’t Kwon Seok-ha. I’d held onto my sanity just enough for that.
But what if, even after coming home, the alcohol hadn’t worn off and I’d done something strange without realizing it?
“I can hear the gears turning in your head from here.”
“What is it? Tell me exactly.”
I asked again, my eyes filled with worry.
“How am I supposed to say it exactly? You look so innocent, yet you say such provocative things. This is quite the predicament.”
Kwon Seok-ha traced his lips lightly with his fingertip.
‘Did I really kiss him?’
I continued rummaging through my foggy memories.
“You really don’t remember?”
Kwon Seok-ha laughs softly. This feels like we’re on the verge of a genuine emergency.
“What is it? Tell me quickly.”
I furrowed my brow with the anxiety of a child waiting for something momentous.
If this turned out to be over nothing, I was fully prepared to kick my boss—or anyone else for that matter—without hesitation.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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