Impossible Romance - Chapter 26

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

26.

“You were drunk yesterday when you did laundry, weren’t you? And you mixed in my clothes too. Strawberry pattern, flowers or something….”
“Oh my!”
Before Kwon Seok-ha could finish speaking, Jun-hee bolted toward the Laundry Room. The moment he said “strawberry,” it all came flooding back.
Jun-hee’s face flushed crimson as she opened the washing machine. Last night, when Kwon Seok-ha mentioned lipstick marks on his shirt, I’d washed it while showering.

“I can just wash it for him! This is so petty!”

With that thought, I hurried through my shower and headed to the Laundry Room. That’s when the problem started. It was fine that I’d decided to wash his shirt, but had I lost my mind?
Why had I tossed in a bra with a tiny strawberry pattern embroidered like a flower? And why had his shirt been running in the same cycle? The matching panties too.
‘I’m ruined.’
Jun-hee stared at her undergarments mingled with his shirt inside the drum, her expression turning blank. My mind had completely abandoned me.
This was an absolute catastrophe.
Just thinking about facing Kwon Seok-ha in the Living Room made my face burn unbearably.
‘Is there a back door?’
Jun-hee glanced around the Laundry Room, searching for another exit, but of course there was none. That’s when it happened.
“Did you find it?”
Kwon Seok-ha appeared before Jun-hee, whose face had turned completely red, and inevitably asked about the problematic items.
“I-I’ll wash them again for you.”
Jun-hee shot him a glare for no reason, then walked out of the Laundry Room with a composed expression. When facing total disaster like this, the only way to survive was to charge straight ahead.

***

Jun-hee finished preparing for work and stood at the entrance door. She’d deliberately gotten ready early to avoid running into Kwon Seok-ha, yet he was already waiting outside.
“Please go ahead. I’ll come a bit later…”
“Where to.”
Jun-hee hesitantly tried to back away, but Kwon Seok-ha grabbed her arm and pulled her through the entrance door. He didn’t release his grip on her arm until they stepped into the elevator together.
If this continued, they’d end up going to the parking lot together and commuting to the company together—a risk I couldn’t allow. Besides, after accidentally showing him my underwear just moments ago, the thought of arriving at the office together felt unbearably embarrassing.
“I’ll take the bus. Executive Director, please feel free to take your car alone.”
I deliberately spoke with formal politeness and took a step back.
“I never said I’d give you a ride. You’re overstepping.”
“Ah, yes. I understand.”
Jun-hee swallowed a curse under her breath and prayed the elevator would descend quickly.
“Just come with me today.”
Kwon Seok-ha spoke casually, as if it were nothing.
“But there are people watching…”
“Are you saying you’ll arrive later than your boss? If you take the bus and transfer on the metro, you’ll obviously be later than me, right?”
“Yes, then I’ll accept your kindness just this once. Thank you.”
Jun-hee answered as formally as possible. The elevator soon arrived at the parking lot, and the two of them stepped out together as the doors chimed open.
But Kim, the driver who usually waited in the parking lot, was nowhere to be seen today.
“The driver isn’t here today?”
Kim was someone who knew that Jun-hee and Kwon Seok-ha lived together. He was the type of employee who was both discreet and reliable.
“Gave him the day off. Get in.”
After finishing his words, Kwon Seok-ha headed straight for the driver’s seat. Knowing that he preferred to drive himself anyway, Jun-hee silently went to the passenger seat and sat down.
As the door closed, an awkward silence filled the car. Jun-hee was still bothered by the underwear incident from this morning, so she straightened her posture even more. As she tried to fasten her seatbelt, it wouldn’t pull—something was tangled.
“You always do this, don’t you?”
He chuckled softly, then leaned his upper body toward Jun-hee. As the distance between them closed, the temperature inside the car seemed to rise.
“What do you mean?”
Jun-hee deliberately spoke coldly as she watched Kwon Seok-ha approach.
“Something so simple, yet you make it seem intentional.”
Speaking while looking into Jun-hee’s eyes, Kwon Seok-ha easily manipulated the seatbelt as he’d said.
Trapped beneath his touch, Jun-hee tried to avert her gaze, but it was impossible. There was no way to escape from her field of vision the large frame of the man leaning over her.
“I’m not used to this car, so I’m unfamiliar with it,” Jun-hee protested in a small voice.
Jun-hee’s quiet protest hung in the air.
“You talk well. If you couldn’t talk, you wouldn’t be Ahn Joon-hee.”
Kwon Seok-ha smiled broadly as he fastened the seatbelt to fit her body perfectly.
With a click, the large shadow that had covered Jun-hee retreated. Yet his distinctive cologne lingered heavily, tickling the tip of her nose.
Glancing at his profile, it was sculpted like a work of art. He gently pulled his tie with one hand while gripping the steering wheel and turning it.
“Are you looking at my shirt? Worried water got on it?”
Even as he looked ahead while driving, he caught her gaze and asked.
“No!”
Embarrassed by the thought, she shot him a slight glare before turning toward the window. The car was slowly leaving the parking lot.
‘Of all things, we had to wash that together.’
Jun-hee’s face kept flushing as memories of last night’s mistake surfaced. Truly, if she had drunk water as he’d suggested, she wouldn’t have been able to lift her head. Living together like this was dangerous in so many ways.
The thirty-minute drive to the Company felt like thirty hours.
“But what will the employees say if they see you getting out with the Executive Director?”
Jun-hee was genuinely concerned about such things. Kwon Seok-ha already drew attention everywhere he went simply by virtue of being the handsome young heir apparent.
“Does it bother you that much?”
He asked flatly.
“Of course it does. You might not care, but my marriage prospects could be ruined.”
“So you want to get married.”
“Obviously. I’ll meet someone ordinary like me and live happily.”
Jun-hee blurted out words she didn’t even mean.
“Right. With that man you have a one-sided crush on?”
“…You shouldn’t just listen to what others say like that. And whoever I like is none of your concern. You’re not even involved.”
“Of course not. Why would I care? Ahn Joon-hee, don’t just throw other people’s shirts into the washing machine like that.”
Kwon Seok-ha chuckled and brought up the underwear incident again. It was clear he’d milk this joke like bone broth for months to come.
“That was because I was drunk, not intentional.”
Jun-hee frowned, feeling wronged. It seemed she’d be teased about this all day.
“I understand.”
“I’m serious.”
Kwon Seok-ha, barely listening to her explanation, stopped the car one block before reaching the Company.
“Get out here.”
The traffic light happened to be red.
Jun-hee looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“See that cafe over there? Get me a coffee from there. Their blend suits my taste perfectly.”
Kwon Seok-ha handed her his card.
“Pardon?”
“What?”
“Understood.”
Jun-hee glanced at him once, took the card, and stepped out of the car. Just as she did, the light changed and Kwon Seok-ha drove away.
‘Right, of course.’
The Kwon Seok-ha she knew was someone who understood consideration not at all. Especially not when it came to Jun-hee.
But as she turned toward the cafe, she spotted Park Hyun-sik from the Secretary’s Office walking in the distance.
‘Could it be… was he being considerate of me because of the employees?’
Did he deliberately drop me off here because he was worried about rumors spreading?
He wasn’t that kind of person.
Even as she shook her head in denial, a small seed of doubt lingered in her heart.

***

“Good morning!”
Jun-hee greeted everyone as she stepped into the Secretary’s Office, careful in all her actions—still the newest member, determined not to forget her place. She carried a carrier brimming with coffee cups.
“Welcome in.”
“Another great day ahead!”
The Secretary’s Office staff arrived earlier than other departments. They acknowledged Jun-hee’s greeting as they settled into their work.
Jun-hee loved this atmosphere. It felt like melting naturally into the group.
When she’d worked as a contract secretary at Daegwang under Kim Sung-woo, she’d been treated as invisible—accompanying the executive director gave her that status. Whether they withheld affection because they didn’t know when she’d be let go, she couldn’t say, but their coldness frightened her more than job insecurity ever could.
“I apologize for arriving a bit late. Please have some coffee.”
Jun-hee, who’d unintentionally come in later than usual, placed coffee cups one by one on her colleagues’ desks. It wasn’t technically tardy, but since she’d bought some for Kwon Seok-ha anyway, she’d simply purchased for everyone.
“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”
“Ahn Joon-hee is treating us?”
“Yes. I bought extras while getting the Executive Director’s order.”
Jun-hee laughed awkwardly, glancing around to see if anyone had noticed her arriving in the car with Kwon Seok-ha.

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