Secretary Gwanggong's Survival Diary-Chapter 21

I was right next to Han Yejun and didn’t even notice any kind of scent from him...? No, I mean, I didn’t even come into contact with him, yet the smell clung to me, and Yoon Taeo picked up on that?

“CEO, sir! That’s not what this is...!”

“I heard you had work to take care of outside. But I don’t recall you saying you were going to meet him.”

“I-It was work, really...!”

I had no idea why I was even making excuses, but the sight of Yoon Taeo slowly putting out his cigarette between his thumb and forefinger brought the excuses spilling out on their own. What the hell... is he some kind of shaman? As if it wasn’t hot at all, not even a single eyelash quivered under the stare that felt like it passed straight through me.

“...Seriously, it was! You just stopped by to make it up to Yejun for standing him up yesterday, so it was work!”

Wait a sec. I was so desperate to explain myself that something felt off.

“...But CEO, you didn’t actually think I was in that kind of relationship with Mr. Yejun, did you? No way, right...?”

“That kind of relationship?”

“I mean... you know, that kind. You were talking about lovers back at the office too...”

“Lovers, huh? Secretary Kim, that tone of yours is getting a bit uppity.”

“My apologies... sir.”

As I kept talking, my pride flared up, and my tone suddenly reverted to its usual.

“Go on.”

“So... I just meant, I was worried you might’ve misunderstood and thought I was secretly seeing Mr. Yejun or something like that...”

Even to my own ears, it sounded ridiculous. But looking back on Yoon Taeo’s behavior, it wasn’t entirely implausible. He did ask if I had a lover back at the office, and now he was pointing out that Han Yejun’s scent was on me.

“Ha, a misunderstanding...”

No matter how reckless I may be, there’s no way I’d go after something that belongs to Yoon Taeo. I’d have to be insane.

“You really... thought that?”

“Do you really think that, Secretary Kim?”

He answered my question with a question.

“CEO, seriously...”

As the thought that he actually did suspect me started to solidify, I felt a laugh bubbling up.

“I do have preferences, you know...”

“Preferences?”

“Honestly, Mr. Yejun isn’t really my type. I mean, sure, he’s objectively cute, but that’s about it.”

Since he’s someone Taeo is clearly interested in, I couldn’t exactly say whatever I wanted. How was I supposed to admit that while his face is cute, he’s too baby-faced for my taste? I swear on the heavens—Han Yejun hasn’t been my type since before I ended up in this world.

“Then what is Secretary Kim’s type?”

“Honestly, I’d choose you over Mr. Yejun any day—wait, that’s not what I meant, I mean, just forget it!”

I’ve always known, deep down, that one day my big mouth would get me killed. And today, it seems like it’s decided to do exactly that. Just blurted that crap out with no brain filter.

“Th-That’s how attractive you are, sir! That’s all I meant! I meant that I don’t have any other interest in Mr. Han Yejun!”

Even with that frantic excuse, Taeo didn’t respond. A bead of sweat trickled from my scalp, down past my sideburns, and tickled its way along my neck. Heat spread across my body, and sweat began to seep out in waves.

“...I apologize. That was a poor choice of words...”

So in the end, I confessed my sin. I was really about to cry. I’d let out something way too honest. Not because I have any special feelings for Yoon Taeo—but if we’re talking about who fits my old “ideal type” more between him and Han Yejun, it’s obviously Taeo. I’d just horribly shortened what I really meant: If all the men left on Earth were Taeo and Yejun, I’d pick Taeo without hesitation.

Tap, tap, tap. It started again. Taeo shifted from the position where he’d leaned forward with his elbows on his knees staring at me, to now sinking deep into the sofa, tapping two fingers against his thigh like he was observing how well I could sweat.

“...Anyway, what you said earlier is really a misunderstanding, sir, I swear...”

Of course, I was the one who couldn’t endure the silence. Just looking at that big hand, with the thick blue veins bulging across the back, made the nape of my neck go cold. The smoke from the cigarette he put out earlier seemed to sting my eyes all of a sudden. I wanted to cry, is what I’m saying.

“If you fought with Mr. Yejun over that, I’ll meet with him and clear it up...”

“Wanna make a bet, Secretary Kim?”

“...Excuse me?”

Someone sew my mouth shut. Honestly, I’d probably be better off living without one. Before my brain could even process Taeo’s words, my instincts had already answered.

“Let’s see who’s right. You or me.”

“I...”

“Oh, that wasn’t a question. So shut it.”

The words themselves should’ve been full of annoyance, but Taeo’s voice sounded almost... amused. No way—does he have solid proof and just wants to see my head fly off in a perfect arc? He told me to shut my mouth, so I clamped my jaw shut and tried to look as pitiful as possible, but Taeo didn’t take back a single word.

“You can look forward to it. If you’re wrong, Secretary Kim... it'll be more than worth the wait.”

Ah... I wonder if the Ministry of Labor accepts reports like this. Threats to my life, that kind of thing... What does he even mean by “bet”? Shouldn’t he at least explain what we’re betting on? Then again, expecting anything reasonable from Yoon Taeo is pure stupidity.

Maybe I should just quietly defect to China.

❖ ❖ ❖

“Haah... I’m gonna lose my mind.”

Looks like Han Yejun’s seriously pissed. I tried reaching out—partly to figure out what happened between him and Taeo, and partly to smooth things over—but both my calls and texts were getting brutally ignored. No matter what had happened, we used to talk every single day.

“...Team leader, I think you should take a look at this.”

“Later.”

What could be more urgent than this right now? Yoon Taeo, who should be head over heels for Han Yejun, was acting cold for some incomprehensible reason, and Han Yejun—who used to be all sweet toward Taeo in the original story—was also giving off a slightly different vibe.

“It’s... something I really think you should see now. It’s important.”

Even after I said “later,” the Deputy Team Leader from Secretary Team 2 pushed a tablet in front of me, leaving me no choice but to check the screen. He wouldn’t be this persistent unless it was serious.

“...What is this?”

It was someone’s background check.

“Lee Jiseok...? Sounds familiar...”

“That guy. The Beta ex.”

“...Ah... He’s getting out already?”

“Yes. He’s being released on parole today.”

Han Yejun. He had a long-term lover. It wasn’t even hard to dig up. A man who committed murder, served five years, and is getting out today. According to the original plot, Han Yejun eventually decides—after much struggle—to go back to him. Which means Taeo, who’d been quite serious about pursuing him, gets dumped.

“Starting today, reinforce the Beta-level security detail. Request backup from the security team. And keep tabs on Lee Jiseok too.”

Knowing that tragic development in advance, I’d already arranged for Han Yejun to move residences. My plan is to keep watching them and prevent any kind of contact from ever happening again. Even if things are a bit chilly between Taeo and Yejun right now, people’s tastes don’t just change overnight. As of now, before the main Beta protagonist appears, the person who most closely matches Taeo’s ideal type... is still Han Yejun.

“But team leader... isn’t the VIP and the Beta basically done now?”

“Deputy Team Leader, not sure if you remember this from back in the day.”

It seems like none of the secretaries dared say it out loud, but they were all thinking it—that Taeo and Yejun must’ve broken up yesterday.

“...Pardon?”

“Around a year ago, I think. The CEO got tired of a Beta he was seeing. That Beta cheated on him. Objectively speaking, their relationship was pretty much over.”

“Ah.”

“That Beta... ended up in seven pieces, ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) I believe? The staff assigned to surveillance got the same treatment too.”

This happened before I possessed this body—so it’s something I only remember secondhand. I didn’t witness it myself, but it definitely happened in this world. And the rest of the team remembered it vividly enough to go pale just hearing about it.

Ah! As for why the body wasn’t cut into six parts—arms, legs, head, torso—but seven, I’ll leave that to your imagination.

“So make sure to watch them until the very end.”

Shaking his head violently like trying to banish a nightmare, the deputy returned to his seat. The best-case scenario is to get Taeo and Han Yejun to reconcile, so that Yejun ultimately chooses Taeo. The second-best is to stall long enough that Yejun doesn’t go back to Lee Jiseok until Taeo completely loses interest.

While I was in the middle of laying out plans to monitor Lee Jiseok, the message I’d been waiting for finally came through.