Private Secretary - Chapter 7

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Private Secretary Episode 7

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The Saturday rest she had welcomed after so long was sweeter than anything else.

Lee Seol slept in lazily and ordered delivery of food she had been craving for days, eating until she was full.

After that, drowsiness came over her again quickly.

Lee Seol lay on her bed in a drowsy state, lost in thought. With such poor stamina, it would be difficult to work for long.

“I should at least go to the gym, but I wonder if I’ll have time.”

Unlike Tae-san who lived a regular daily life, Lee Seol, who had to rush over whenever her boss called, couldn’t do the same.

Unlike her morning schedule, afternoons were always flexible and her quitting time wasn’t clearly set either.

Thanks to that, she hadn’t even dared to start exercising until now, but she couldn’t live like this forever.

“It would be better to do it on weekends at least, right?”

Of course, even on weekends, she had to rush over whenever Tae-san called.

But the number of calls was significantly fewer than during weekdays.

Lee Seol, who had barely solidified her resolve, slowly sat up. Then, determined to register right away while she was motivated, she picked up her phone.

She planned to select a few well-reviewed gyms near her home and receive consultations.

Bzz- Bzz-.

Just then, it vibrated and Kang Tae-san’s name appeared on the screen.

What could it be? Nervous, Lee Seol jumped up and answered the phone.

“Yes, Department Head.”

[I’d like you to come pick me up.]

His voice was tinged with alcohol. Lee Seol immediately got out of bed.

“Where are you right now?”

[The basement 1F bar of the hotel I’m staying at. You should be able to find it right away, so come now.]

The call ended just like that. Lee Seol stood there puzzled for a moment.

“Hm?”

Soon wondering if she had heard wrong, she checked the recorded call audio.

He had definitely said the basement 1F bar of the hotel he was currently staying at.

Then couldn’t he just go up to his own room?

He didn’t seem so unconsciously drunk that he couldn’t even do that, so had he perhaps gotten hurt while drinking?

Since taking care of her boss’s safety was also part of a secretary’s job, Lee Seol first quickly changed her clothes.

She thought there must be some important reason why he had gone back on his word about not having her on standby.

And besides, when she was first offered this job, they had said she could be called out 24 hours a day, so she wasn’t particularly displeased.

Just as Lee Seol put on her coat and picked up her car keys, a text message flew in as if urging her.

「Right now.」

Lee Seol rushed out.

* * *

Even though it was Saturday night, there weren’t many cars, so she arrived earlier than expected.

Going down to the basement 1F, she spotted the bar where he would likely be.

“Do you have a reservation?”

The moment a staff member approached, Lee Seol spotted a familiar figure from behind inside the store.

She answered that she had companions over there and went straight to the man.

Then she hesitated when she saw the young woman with Tae-san. What kind of situation was this?

“…You’re here. I should get going now. Something urgent came up.”

“Oh, is this the new secretary?”

“Yeah.”

The woman who had been with Tae-san smiled brightly and stood up from her seat.

“Hello. I’m a friend who’s known Tae-san for a long time. I’m Kim Se-na.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Department Head Kang Tae-san’s secretary…”

“There’s no need for lengthy introductions.”

Tae-san grabbed Lee Seol’s arm as she was about to shake hands with Kim Se-na and made her step back slightly.

Lee Seol was quite flustered by his blatant drawing of boundaries.

What kind of relationship did they have that he would even prevent a handshake?

Even her boss, who rarely showed personal emotions, openly displayed discomfort in front of this woman.

Personal curiosity began to bloom about what kind of relationship the two had.

“Tae-san, you need to take this with you.”

What Kim Se-na held out was a luxurious paper envelope that clearly looked like a wedding invitation.

He calmly took it and left the space first. Lee Seol politely greeted her and then chased after him.

His steps were so fast that she could see he had already reached the elevator and was repeatedly pressing the button with somewhat sensitive fingers.

Just as Lee Seol hurriedly caught up, the door opened with a ‘ding’ sound.

He silently got on the elevator and Lee Seol followed him inside.

In the moment of silence, he held out the paper envelope to Lee Seol.

“Tear it to shreds and burn it in front of me.”

“…”

Lee Seol hesitated and extended her hand.

She accepted it without complaint since it was something her boss had given her, but she was quite flustered by the drastic instruction to tear it up and burn it out of the blue.

What could this be that made his emotions so intense?

“Yes. I’ll do it right away when we get off.”

Though she answered obediently, curious about the envelope’s contents, her gaze naturally went downward.

However, the envelope material was so thick and luxurious that the contents inside weren’t visible at all.

It was probably a wedding invitation with high probability, but why was he telling her to tear it up? If he was going to do that, why did he accept it in the first place?

Just as the questions in Lee Seol’s head kept growing, the elevator arrived at the 35th floor.

Lee Seol followed Tae-san into the hotel room.

He brought liquor and a glass from the display cabinet and sat on the sofa. Was he planning to drink more after drinking so much already?

Lee Seol watched him quietly and then spoke to confirm.

“I’m really going to tear it up and burn it.”

Instead of answering, he drank the liquor he had filled his glass with. Straight, without even ice.

Seeing that, Lee Seol didn’t ask further and immediately brought the empty stainless steel trash can near the sofa.

Then she tried to tear the envelope as instructed, but it wouldn’t tear easily due to the thick paper material.

Lee Seol used all her strength to tear it in half, then repositioned the paper to tear it again.

In the process, she happened to see the words “Bride Kim Se-na” written inside.

‘…!’

She had expected it, but…

Even though she hadn’t looked on purpose, she instinctively checked Tae-san’s expression first, worried he might say something.

But he seemed uninterested and just kept drinking continuously.

Seeing that made her even more puzzled.

Why had Kang Tae-san been wearing such a displeased expression since earlier? His old friend was getting married, yet he couldn’t even genuinely congratulate her.

As if, as if he found his friend’s wedding distasteful…

“Oh…”

Startled by the thought that came to her unconsciously, Lee Seol hastily held her breath.

She tried to suppress her rising curiosity and took out a lighter from her bag.

She lit the wedding invitation pieces with it and threw them into the stainless steel trash can, where the papers began to burn brightly together.

When they had mostly burned, she poured water to extinguish the fire.

“Why do you carry a lighter around? Do you smoke?”

“Since I serve the Department Head, I never know what might happen, so I tend to carry most things with me.”

“…”

“Is there anything else you need me to do?”

The gist of her question was that if there was nothing else to do, she would leave now.

It wasn’t because she didn’t want to stay here. It seemed like she should give him space to be alone.

He looked at her standing in front of the trash can with emotionless eyes, then poured liquor into his empty glass.

Then he held it out toward her.

Lee Seol reflexively bent her waist and accepted the glass.

“Drink.”

“I drove here, so…”

“I’ll call a driver for you.”

Lee Seol, who wasn’t particularly fond of drinking, held the glass and hesitated.

“It’s unfair that I’m the only one getting drunk.”

“…Then I’ll excuse myself.”

As Lee Seol tried to put the glass back down on the table, he lightly grabbed her wrist.

It was a touch that felt completely non-forceful.

Still, since this was the first time their skin had made such direct contact, Lee Seol was slightly startled.

“I called you because I didn’t want to be alone. But I also don’t like being the only one drunk, so keep me company.”

When he spoke so honestly, Lee Seol’s heart wavered slightly too.

She didn’t enjoy drinking, but it wasn’t that she couldn’t drink at all.

Lee Seol naturally pulled her wrist free from his grasp and downed the liquor he had given her in one gulp.

He smiled lightly seeing Lee Seol empty the glass in one go without even blinking.

“…You drink well.”

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