Chapter 154
“Oh, I meant to tell you this.”
As if he’d just remembered something while eating bread, Hyunwoo looked up and wiped his lips with a napkin, saying,
“I think I know who wrote that post. I met that strange person yesterday.”
“A strange person?”
Suhyeon asked, putting down her coffee cup.
“You know, that woman who came looking for you before.”
“……Yesterday?”
At the mention of Seol Hana meeting Hyunwoo, a frown appeared on Suhyeon’s forehead.
“Yes. She suddenly called out to me while I was heading home yesterday and started ranting about why Manager Seol hasn’t been fired yet. She said since it’s a private life, let’s see if the whole company knows and you still don’t get fired……”
Hyunwoo, frowning as he spoke, shook his head with a troubled expression.
“Yesterday, I just thought she was a strange woman, but I didn’t expect her to post something like that right away.”
“…….”
Suhyeon drank her coffee in silence.
“It’s a private matter, so I hesitate to ask, but why is that woman so malicious toward you, Manager Seol?”
At Hyunwoo’s question, Suhyeon smiled weakly and said,
“It’s a bit complicated, familywise.”
“She’s family?”
Hyunwoo looked shocked.
“How could someone do that to their own family……? Wow……”
Hyunwoo, as if unable to comprehend, took off his glasses and pressed his fingers against his temples. Watching him quietly, Suhyeon finally spoke.
“I’ll resign.”
“What?”
Hyunwoo quickly put his glasses back on and said,
“Why should you resign, Manager Seol? If you quit because of the malicious rumors she spread, that’s just unfair!”
“In the current situation, I can’t carry out my work properly, and the projects I’ve been working on with Director Do Jeonghan will only attract more bad rumors.”
“That’s…….”
Hyunwoo furrowed his brows and trailed off. After a moment of silence, Suhyeon spoke to him.
“To be honest, there’s some truth to it. It’s right for me to leave.”
Hyunwoo shook his head.
“That’s not true. Even if it’s said that the project came through Manager Seol’s personal connection with Director Do Jeonghan, it’s still a significant opportunity for our company.”
“But……”
Hyunwoo quickly interrupted Suhyeon’s words.
“The company didn’t engage in lobbying, nor was there any illegal activity. It’s not fair for Manager Seol to take responsibility for this.”
Hyunwoo looked directly at Suhyeon. Meeting his gaze, Suhyeon let out a small sigh.
“Thank you for saying that, but…… right now, I just want to rest.”
Suhyeon smiled faintly, her face weary. That was her honest feeling.
If she could at least escape through work, she would have done so, but in a company where rumors of her being Do Jeonghan’s divorced wife had spread, even that wasn’t possible.
At the moment, she felt too overwhelmed to care about anything else.
“…….”
For a moment, silence lingered between the two. Hyunwoo, quietly fidgeting with his coffee cup, finally looked up.
“Then let’s do this.”
Suhyeon also lifted her gaze from the table to meet his.
“Take as much time off as you need. I’ll process it as a leave of absence.”
“Deputy Chief, I……”
“Rumors die down faster than you think. It’ll be better for Manager Seol to rest first and decide what to do after that.”
Hyunwoo explained calmly, without any hint of pressure.
“…….”
After silently looking at him, Suhyeon finally replied.
“Then I’ll do that.”
She appreciated Hyunwoo’s consideration and didn’t have the energy to insist on resigning anymore.
Hearing her response, Hyunwoo smiled, looking visibly relieved.
“You made the right choice.”
“Thank you so much for your consideration.”
“There’s nothing to thank me for. I’m furious just thinking about the unfair situation Manager Seol has been put in.”
As if to prove his words, Hyunwoo gulped down his iced Americano, ordered in the middle of winter.
Suhyeon felt grateful that Hyunwoo believed in her.
Truly.
But beyond that, she couldn’t bring herself to think about anything else.
With a face full of fatigue, Suhyeon quietly lifted the corners of her lips into a faint smile and then suddenly looked out the window.
Despite the cold weather, the sky was bluer than usual.
As she gazed at the piercingly clear sky, Suhyeon thought to herself,
‘……Should I leave?’
Somewhere. Anywhere.
The fleeting thought solidified into a resolution.
She recalled the face of her mother staring blankly out the window in Gangneung when she was in elementary school.
‘Was Mom thinking the same thing back then?’
Was this how her mother felt when she looked at the Gangneung sea?
This vague feeling, as if it were destiny……
Or had her mother prepared for it for a long time?
It struck her that it had been such a long time since she last thought about her mother in those days. That event had been buried deep in her heart for a long time.
Neither her mother nor she had ever brought it up again after that day.
But why was she thinking about it now?
Perhaps it was because her heart was feeling fragile.
With that thought, Suhyeon stood up with Hyunwoo and left the café.
Returning to the office, she submitted her leave of absence and left the company straight away.
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