The Country Life Diary of a Gangster's Secretary - c88

 

“With that, let’s conclude the morning briefing.”

 

Speaking in an even tone, Yoo Tae-seo, Tae-sung’s new secretary and newly appointed head of the secretarial team, neatly finished his remarks while closing his tablet. With his neat updo and thin silver-framed glasses symbolizing his intellectual image, he exuded a sharp presence.

 

“Wow, it’s not easy to take time off from the CEO position even if I wanted to,” Ihyeok remarked, sinking deep into his chair after hearing the report.

 

Although he had volunteered for the position of team leader for the Haein City redevelopment project’s task force with the goal of bringing Hyeseong on board, it wasn’t as easy as he had anticipated.

 

As the face of Taesung, there was a constant stream of tasks that required Ihyeok’s direct handling. Seongjin nagged him, telling him to stop doing things he didn’t usually do and quickly hand over the task force team leader position to a suitable person.

 

“Still, the CEO is truly amazing. You’ve been diligently balancing your duties as the CEO and your role as the task force team leader,” Tae-seo commented.

 

“Secretary Yoo, is that flattery?” Ihyeok asked.

 

“Not at all. When I compiled recent articles related to the Haein City redevelopment project, less than one-third were negative. Moreover, Taesung’s corporate value continues to rise, so I’m merely speaking based on accurate figures.”

 

Tae-seo continued speaking eloquently. When the HR department and Seongjin had highly recommended him after careful consideration, Ihyeok had been skeptical, but now he was starting to acknowledge his capabilities.

 

Tae-seo was a graduate of a prestigious university with an impressive background. Although he was somewhat older, he had extensive experience as a secretary. Above all, he had a meticulous and thorough personality, which led Ihyeok to appoint him as the head of the secretarial team.

 

A secretary’s job was to appropriately assist their superiors, staying one step ahead when necessary and quietly providing support when not. They also needed to have keen intuition and exceptional intelligence to catch the things their superiors might overlook. These qualities made for an ideal secretary.

 

Of course, it was rare to find someone who worked as robotically as an AI, but Ihyeok had one such person.

 

Cheon Hyeseong. Come to think of it, even though it had only been a few days since Tae-seo had started working with Ihyeok, the reason he could adapt quickly might be because his work style was similar to Hyeseong’s. His straightforward way of speaking, honesty, and intelligent and logical remarks greatly resembled Hyeseong.

 

“By the way, I heard that Secretary Yoo has received many scouting offers from other companies,” Ihyeok mentioned.

 

“Not enough to say many,” Tae-seo replied.

 

“But why did you apply to our company among the many offers?”

 

“May I be honest with you?”

 

Ihyeok nodded, signaling for him to go ahead.

 

“Frankly, it’s because Taesung met my desired salary,” Tae-seo stated matter-of-factly.

 

Ihyeok couldn’t help but burst into laughter at the blunt remark.

 

“I apologize if I offended you,” Tae-seo said.

 

“No, no, it’s fine. I like your honesty.”

 

Tae-seo’s ability to speak straightforwardly without hesitation while quickly gauging the other person’s feelings was also very similar to Hyeseong.

 

Tae-seo firmly grasped his tablet, his expression not wavering in the slightest, like a robot. At that moment, Ihyeok noticed the ring on Tae-seo’s fourth finger.

 

“Secretary Yoo, are you married?” Ihyeok asked, pointing to the ring.

 

“No, I’m not married yet.”

 

Ihyeok’s ears perked up. These days, he found himself strangely curious and interested in topics like lovers and dating, which he had never cared about before.

 

“You must have been dating for a long time,” Ihyeok remarked.

 

“Yes, we’ve been together for about five years.”

 

Despite the personal nature of the question, Tae-seo answered diligently without any sign of annoyance or discomfort. He considered answering his superior’s questions, as long as they weren’t excessive, as an extension of his job.

 

“Then it’s about time to get married.”

 

Five years was quite similar to the length of time Ihyeok and Hyeseong had known each other.

 

“Actually, we haven’t been dating for the entire five years. We were close friends from university, and we officially started dating about two years ago,” Tae-seo explained.

 

Ihyeok had been planning to ask a few more questions and then let Tae-seo leave, but the unexpected story made him flinch. Could it be because the story was similar to someone he knew? Ihyeok cleared his throat and spoke.

 

“May I ask you one extremely personal question?”

 

“Yes, I’ll answer to the extent that I can.”

 

Ihyeok hesitated, mumbling. He was well aware of how inappropriate it was to ask a newly hired secretary personal questions and bother a subordinate. Moreover, Ihyeok had never shown interest in others, so he had never discussed non-work-related matters with other employees. It was only natural for him to hesitate about what he was about to do.

 

“You knew each other for a long time, so how did you develop into a romantic relationship? Was there a special turning point or something like that?” Ihyeok asked.

 

However, his curiosity outweighed his hesitation. Tae-seo’s eyes widened slightly in surprise at Ihyeok’s question, but he quickly composed himself.

 

“Well, to be honest, we were really close friends. Even the people around us were surprised to learn that we were dating. As for a turning point…” Tae-seo pondered for a moment before continuing.

 

“Frankly, I don’t think there was anything particularly special. At some point, I realized that I actually had feelings for the other person. I had been bound by the label of ‘friend’ and hadn’t been aware of it before.”

 

Tae-seo added that he felt a bit embarrassed to be discussing such matters with his superior.

 

“Ah, I see. I’m sorry for asking something unnecessary,” Ihyeok apologized.

 

“Not at all. I believe mental management is also part of a secretary’s job,” Tae-seo replied.

 

Mental management? The unfamiliar term came out of Tae-seo’s mouth, but Ihyeok let it slide. Tae-seo turned to leave, saying he would go if there was nothing else to ask.

 

“Ah, CEO. There’s one thing I wanted to discuss with you. There’s a discrepancy between what Secretary Han told me and the handover documents left by the previous head of the secretarial team.”

 

“Discrepancy? What is it?” Ihyeok asked, recalling something he had forgotten.

 

Tae-seo walked back to Ihyeok, having remembered what he had forgotten to mention earlier.

 

“I heard in passing from Secretary Han that you had once instructed to investigate if there were any issues caused during your first business trip to England when you experienced a rut. However, there was no mention of such a task in the documents prepared by the previous head of the secretarial team.”

 

Come to think of it, that was true. On the morning when Hyeseong first presented his resignation letter, Ihyeok had asked him to look into whether there had been any incidents or involved omegas during the rut, as he had no memory of it and felt uneasy.

 

Hyeseong had said there was nothing of the sort, but he would handle it so that the investigation could be delegated to the next person, as per Ihyeok’s request.

 

Even if Hyeseong had been preparing for his resignation beforehand, he was an exceptionally sharp and thorough individual when it came to work.

 

It was questionable that he hadn’t included in the handover documents a task that Ihyeok had specifically instructed, especially one that could potentially lead to more serious problems later if something significant had indeed happened during the rut.

 

“What should we do about it?” Tae-seo asked.

 

Ihyeok pondered. Certainly, after Hyeseong had dropped the bombshell of his resignation, Ihyeok’s mind had been entirely preoccupied with that matter. As a result, he had unknowingly forgotten about the rut, the only memory he couldn’t recall.

 

“Investigate it. If nothing particular comes up, drop it,” Ihyeok instructed.

 

“Yes, I understand,” Tae-seo replied, bowing politely before entering the secretarial office.

 

“Team Leader, did something happen?” Secretary Han asked with a smile as she was brewing coffee.

 

“Nothing in particular,” Tae-seo replied.

 

“You took longer than usual for the morning report, so I thought maybe something was up.”

 

Secretary Han sensibly started making coffee for Tae-seo as well. Since his arrival, she had escaped from overtime and excessive workload, so the world had never seemed so beautiful to her.

 

“Well, if I had to say, it wasn’t work-related, but I had a bit of a dating consultation,” Tae-seo mentioned.

 

“What? What kind of consultation?” Secretary Han exclaimed in surprise. Realizing her own shock, she covered her mouth and quickly approached Tae-seo.

 

“Team Leader, why would you have a dating consultation with the CEO? If it’s something like that, I’d be more helpful, don’t you think?”

 

Secretary Han was aware that Tae-seo had a long-term partner and was about to get married. So she naturally assumed that Tae-seo had confided in Ihyeok about his dating concerns.

 

“No, it’s the opposite,” Tae-seo clarified.

 

“The opposite?”

 

“The CEO had a dating consultation with me.”

 

“No way, that’s impossible. Our CEO doesn’t keep lovers. It’s quite well-known within the company. People wonder why he wastes his good looks living like that,” Secretary Han lowered her voice, even though no one was listening.

 

“Well, you don’t necessarily need to have a lover to have a dating consultation. It could be about someone you like, right?” Tae-seo pointed out.

 

Secretary Han thought deeply for a moment, as if buffering, and then clapped her hands and smiled.

 

“That seems even more unlikely. The CEO having a one-sided crush… No matter how I think about it, that’s even weirder.”

 

Secretary Han returned to her desk, chuckling. Tae-seo felt the urge to tell her that she was the one who didn’t understand, not him, but he decided against it. He thought it was best not to discuss someone else’s personal matters any further.