Chapter 62
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: New York
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Hello.”
“Ah, yes. But…”
When Sujeong saw him and greeted him, Woojin seemed to have something to say as he looked at her car.
“Was this your car, Chief of Staff?”
“Yes. Why?”
Sujeong asked with a look of curiosity.
“That car has a flat tire.”
“A tire?”
Sujeong’s gaze followed Woojin’s to the tire. The rear wheel was indeed noticeably deflated.
“I didn’t know whose car it was, so I was wondering how to let them know. It’s a relief the owner showed up right away.”
As Woojin smiled in relief, Sujeong tore her eyes away from the tire and looked at him.
“It really is. I might have just driven off without knowing.”
“Don’t mention it. If you have a spare tire, shall I change it for you? I have tools in my car.”
“It’s alright. I can just call my insurance company. Thank you for letting me know.”
Declining Woojin’s offer with a business-like smile, Sujeong took out her phone.
“Ah, yes. Well then.”
Woojin bowed his head to Sujeong and returned to his own car.
After getting into his car parked nearby, he glanced at Sujeong as he was about to start the engine.
“…”
Woojin watched her for a moment as she spoke with the insurance company, then started the engine and drove off.
***
Inha’s stay in New York was longer than expected, and it was now the eighth day since he had been absent from the office.
“Chief of Staff. When do you think the Executive Director will be back? Senior Managing Director Hong is asking about his schedule…”
“I’ve also received several calls asking for his schedule.”
As Bora and Heejin asked with troubled faces, Sujeong answered calmly.
“Just reply that a concrete schedule hasn’t been set yet. Tell them we’ll let them know as soon as it’s decided.”
“You don’t know either, Chief of Staff? Ah, I don’t mean anything by that…”
Seeing Bora flustered, worried that her words might have offended her, Sujeong smiled.
“I don’t know anything either. He has personal matters to attend to as well.”
“I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant when I asked…”
“It’s okay. I know what you mean.”
Only after seeing Sujeong smile with a face devoid of any ill will did Bora look relieved.
*Click.*
Sujeong entered the Chief of Staff’s office and walked toward her desk, lost in thought.
‘What could be going on?’
A trip that was supposed to take two or three days had now stretched to nearly ten.
At this point, even she, who had initially been patient, was beginning to wonder about the true purpose of his trip to New York.
The official reason for his business trip was the establishment of an American branch of the Eli Hotel, but she had a vague sense that there was another, more important purpose.
At first, they had spoken on the phone every day, but the frequency of their calls was gradually decreasing.
Even during their occasional calls, he seemed extremely busy. The fact that he was so busy with a schedule she knew nothing about, to the point of not getting proper sleep, weighed on her mind.
‘…If it’s something I need to know, he’ll tell me.’
As his stay in New York grew longer, Sujeong adjusted his domestic schedule and decided not to be impatient.
Because she trusted him.
If it were important, he would tell her eventually. He was definitely that kind of man.
Having organized her thoughts, Sujeong looked out the window.
The forest of buildings, where snow was falling, looked somewhat empty, perhaps because he wasn’t there.
She had never had a thought like this before…
‘So the scenery can change just because someone isn’t by your side.’
Sujeong’s hazel eyes softened as she gazed out the window.
“…I miss you.”
Sujeong, who had mumbled to herself without realizing, was startled by the sudden welling of tears and quickly wiped her eyes with her fingers.
“Ah…”
*Drip, drop.*
Her face colored with surprise as tears flowed down her chin before she could even wipe them.
‘Is there something you want to hear?’
‘That I miss you.’
‘It’s only been a day, though?’
She couldn’t believe she had said that with a smile. She missed him that much.
This one week felt as if seven months had passed.
Flustered, Sujeong wiped away her tears and glanced at the calendar.
Friday.
She recalled Inha saying he would probably know his schedule by the beginning of next week at the earliest, and she checked the time.
*Thump.*
Sujeong shot up from her chair and immediately grabbed her bag.
Leaving her office, she walked briskly toward the secretarial office.
“I’m leaving for the day.”
“Yes. See you next week.”
“I’ve taken Monday off, so call me if anything urgent comes up.”
“Ah, yes. Get home safely.”
The secretaries, who had bid farewell to Sujeong’s retreating back as she hurriedly checked her watch, looked at each other.
“Does she have something urgent to do?”
“The Executive Director isn’t back yet, right?”
“I don’t think so?”
“Well, it’s her personal business. Let’s wrap up and go home too.”
“Okay.”
The secretaries tilted their heads in confusion before returning to their work.
***
New York.
Inha sat in a conference room in a high-rise building downtown. Seated across from Chief Choi at a large, round table, he quickly scanned the report he had been handed.
“Not yet.”
As his cool voice flowed out, Chief Choi immediately explained.
“We should be able to reach the target by Wednesday.”
“Wednesday…”
Inha, who had been scanning the report with sharp eyes, moved on to the next document.
“Have you confirmed the identities of all the shareholders we’ve acquired on that side?”
“They’ve been roughly identified. You can consider it the final stage of wrapping up.”
As he listened to Chief Choi’s explanation, Inha’s smooth brow furrowed while flipping through the report pages.
“…He hid it well. Even in a place like this.”
*Thud.*
Inha put down the report and pressed his tired eyes.
“We don’t have time to wait until then. Have everything ready by Monday.”
“I will do so.”
“Have you heard from IPS?”
“I’ve attached the official document that came in today to the report. you can review the contents together.”
Inha nodded and let out a low sigh.
“Alright… good work. Go back to the hotel and get some rest.”
“You need to rest too, Executive Director. Let’s go back together.”
It wasn't just Chief Choi who hadn't gotten a proper night's sleep since arriving in the U.S.; Inha was the same.
“I need to look over the reports more, so you go first.”
“…Understood.”
At Inha’s refusal, Chief Choi was the first to leave the conference room.
Left alone, Inha stared out at the forest of buildings in the vast New York metropolis spread beyond the massive glass wall.
Fatigue was etched on his handsome face due to the demanding schedule.
His sharp jawline had grown even more defined, to the point of looking severe, strengthening his statue-like image.
“…”
His gray eyes darkened.
Although this was his real objective, the official reason for his business trip was the establishment of the Eli Hotel's American branch, so he had to handle double the workload.
It wasn't something that needed to be handled so hastily to the point of overexertion.
But he had a reason why he had to do it this way.
“…This is really my limit. Now.”
Looking down at the forest of buildings blending with the gray sky, Inha muttered under his breath.
With the unexpected delay in his schedule, he was the one suffering the most.
It had already been nearly ten days since he had last seen her.
Ten days without seeing her sparkling eyes, without inhaling her scent, without devouring her sweet lips.
He had made time to call her every day, but the moment he heard Sujeong’s voice, it became difficult to control his longing.
So much so that he felt a strong impulse to get on a flight to Korea right away.
The longing was like a drug, an addiction that shook him intensely dozens of times a day.
As the ever-growing yearning became unbearable, his only option was to finish his work as quickly as possible and return.
In any case, it was work that had to be finished now. If he missed this window, there was a risk that all the evidence would disappear.
As a result of pushing himself, only two days remained.
A low sigh escaped his lips at the thought of finishing everything by Monday and immediately returning to Korea.
“…Why is a day so long.”
How was he supposed to endure two more days?
His brow furrowed, Inha shook his head and picked up the report he had been reading again.
As he forced himself to focus on the words, pushing past his fatigue, his phone rang.
*Rrrrr. Rrrr.*
‘…Sujeong?’
He paused at the unexpected name.
Perhaps out of consideration for his work, Sujeong hadn't called him first even once since he had arrived in New York.
While he was disappointed by this, he also felt a sense of relief.
Because hearing her voice made it harder to endure his longing.
“…”
He stared at his phone as if it were her, his gaze deepening, before answering the call.
“Lee Sujeong.”
Inha, hiding his longing, spoke with a smile.
“What’s the occasion for you to call me first?”
—…Inha.
“Don’t say you miss me. I might just get on a plane right now…”
—I was the one who got on a plane first. I’m here, in New York.
The playful smile on Inha’s lips, which had accompanied his languid voice, vanished.
“…Where did you say you are?”
The laughter instantly disappeared from his voice as he asked again. His tone was low and gravelly, tinged with an unconcealable urgency.
—New York. Where you are.
Inha shot to his feet, his face hardening.
“Lee Sujeong, you…”
He readjusted his grip on the phone, his face a mask of disbelief. His heart was pounding. It was as if his entire body had become a heart, the sound so loud in his ears that his mind went blank.
*Dammit, stop.*
Inha furrowed his brow and pressed a hand to his forehead.
He grew anxious, afraid he would miss Sujeong’s words over the sound of his own heart.
—I’ll wait nearby until you’re done with work. Where should I go…
“Lee Sujeong.”
Inha cut her off. He ran a hand roughly through his hair and spoke in a low voice.
“Just don’t say another word and stay right where you are. I’m coming now.”
His feet were already carrying him toward the conference room door.
Sujeong stood in the airport, dressed in a knee-length, camel-brown cashmere coat that revealed her slender calves, and stiletto sock ankle boots.
‘Was I too impulsive?’
Her expression darkened.
Having flown to the other side of the world on the single thought of missing him, she was now starting to worry.
Hearing his voice just now made her feel like she had created an awkward situation, which only added to her concern.
‘What should I do?’
Sujeong’s finely shaped eyebrows drew together in a look of distress.
She felt she had done something reckless.
Coming all the way to New York on an emotional whim, without thinking things through, was definitely not a decision typical of her.
But… she had missed him.
So much so that she couldn't even stand a few days and had to fly here immediately.
As Sujeong dithered over what to do, she heard a familiar voice.
“Lee Sujeong.”
*Ah…*
At the sound of the voice that made her breath catch, Sujeong turned her head.
She saw Inha, breathing heavily as if he had run all the way.
Despite the winter weather, he was dressed only in a black shirt and modern gray trousers, without an overcoat. The sight of the strikingly handsome Asian man, who looked like a model, drew the attention of those around him.
He, however, paid no mind to the surrounding gazes, his eyes fixed solely on Sujeong as he walked straight toward her.
*Thump, thump.*
The closer Inha got, the more Sujeong’s heart pounded as if it would burst. And the moment she saw his face, it hit her.
She had missed this man so, so much. Enough to fly to the other side of the world.