She's Pretty

After finishing her shopping at the department store, Juhee headed to Yeji's snack shop. Once the lunch rush had passed and the store grew quiet, Yeji finally sat down across from her.

“What’s up with the cheapskate? Shopping at the department store two days in a row?”

“The CEO doesn’t like this style either.”

“But it’s pretty. Why?”

“He doesn’t like that the buttons don’t go all the way up to my neck, and he doesn’t like that the skirt is above my knees. He’s just nitpicking.”

Juhee’s eyes blazed with irritation as she answered in a sullen tone.

“I heard he’s Han Taemin’s friend. Guess that CEO’s eyes work just fine.”

When Juhee looked at her as if to ask what she meant, Yeji gave her a meaningful smile.

“Can’t you tell just by looking? He figured out that the secretary who’ll be stuck to his side all day has a killer body. And is your body the only good thing about you? Your face is stunningly beautiful too.”

Juhee silently lowered her gaze.

Her cat-like face was nothing but vulgar, she thought. The men who had chased after her saying she was pretty would curse her for being an arrogant bitch the moment she rejected them. The women would whisper behind her back that she looked cheap and threw herself at men.

Even Taemin had never once told her she was pretty.

That was why Juhee had never once thought of herself as beautiful.

“You’re the only one who says I’m pretty because you’re my friend. No one else sees me that way.”

“Who knows what the future holds? That CEO might just pounce on you, so don’t let your guard down.”

Yesterday, and again this morning. Jeha had almost pounced on her. But that had only been a threat meant to make her quit. The moment she recalled it, the sliver of doubt she had felt vanished quickly.

Hadn’t he asked if it was instinct or desire?

It was just a physiological reaction every man experienced in the morning. An instinct.

Taemin was right. Why would Yoon Jeha of all people look at someone like her as a woman?

“I don’t know about other people, but the CEO would never do that.”

At Juhee’s firm answer, Yeji let out a deep sigh.

Yeji both pitied and felt frustrated with her friend. From a young age, Juhee had been ashamed of her strikingly beautiful appearance, and now she had grown completely numb to it.

It made sense. All she had ever known was work, and she had spent so many long years looking only at Han Taemin. Her former boss, whom she had served for a long time, was a married man and a devoted husband, so he would never have made a move on her. Han Taemin was a complete idiot who didn’t even realize how precious what he held in his hands was. And because of her cold, aloof image, other men had probably kept their mouths shut, treating her like an unattainable prize.

Yet now, for the first time, a man had appeared who openly paid attention to Juhee.

A man who was the perfect age of thirty-four and the maternal grandson of the Seohwa Group.

Age: pass. Specs: pass. Then what about his looks?

It would be greedy to hope he was more handsome than Han Taemin when his family background and credentials were already so outstanding. Still, Yeji hoped his appearance would at least be above average.

Only then would Han Taemin, who had thrown away a friend with both a pretty face and a pretty heart, feel a sting of regret.

Unable to contain her surging curiosity, Yeji asked.

“What does the new CEO look like?”

“……He looks… fine.”

Her voice was so small it buzzed like a mosquito. When Yeji asked again, not having heard clearly, Juhee averted her eyes and answered once more.

“He’s handsome. Extremely so.”

“How tall is he?”

“It said 188 centimeters.”

Yeji’s eyes sparkled with inexplicable anticipation.

“You don’t happen to have a photo, do you?”

“Why would I have a photo of the CEO?”

“You said he’s a celebrity. Then there must be photos circulating. The media wouldn’t leave a handsome third-generation chaebol alone.”

Even after Juhee said she didn’t have one, Yeji persistently pestered her. With no other choice, Juhee searched for Jeha’s photo on social media and showed it to her. Yeji, now thoroughly excited, let out a loud squeal.

“Oh my god, seriously! How can a human man look this perfect? His eyes are so damn sexy!”

Yeji, who had been staring at Jeha’s photo as if spellbound, suddenly frowned and held out the phone.

“It’s your mom calling?”

The moment she answered, Juhee thought her eardrums might burst.

“You said your new boyfriend is a chaebol. Ask him to buy you a course meal at a hotel restaurant.”

For the past two days, Hwayeon had been drilling the story of her lover into Juhee’s ears. The conclusion she had reached was twofold. First, he was the biggest fish among all the men she had dated so far. Second, unlike the men she had squeezed dry in short bursts, she was pretending to be a good woman who didn’t chase money and was looking toward a distant future.

“Since I have no intention of clinging to you, I don’t need to behave.”

A flustered Hwayeon fell silent for a moment. Then she snapped back angrily.

“It’s not our house, it’s my house. And if you dare bring some random man into my house, I’ll report you for trespassing and kick you out along with him.”

After delivering a chilling warning to Hwayeon, Juhee abruptly hung up the phone.

Yeji clicked her tongue.

“Your mom’s really going to bring a man home?”

“I don’t know. I don’t want to talk about that woman.”

Noticing the icy tone, Yeji carefully changed the subject.

“Then finish telling me about the new CEO. What’s his personality like? A man who looks like that?”

“I don’t know. He’s annoying.”

“What’s so annoying about him?”

With an expression that said she was dying of curiosity, Yeji rested her chin on the table.

“Just because he’s my boss, does that mean everything? Does he think he’s wrapped in gold? He told me not to come near him, not to touch him. He just said he doesn’t like it.”

“Whoa.”

Perhaps because of the day she was having, irritation and resentment flooded her chest.

Why is everyone always picking on me? What did I ever do so wrong?

Today felt especially difficult. Her head was tangled, and her heart was in chaos.

“Everything is just annoying.”

Yoon Jeha, everything must be easy for you. And I must be even easier.

That’s why he kept looking at her strangely and saying weird things. He would act mean one moment and kind the next, grow hot and then turn cold. How little must he think of her to treat her so arbitrarily?

She hated it. That was why he was annoying.

“Who’s so annoying?”

Startled, Juhee turned around to see Jeha standing there, staring blankly.

She blinked several times in disbelief, but it really was Yoon Jeha.

“C-CEO!”

With a face that had turned deathly pale, Juhee shot up from her seat. Getting caught badmouthing her boss was the absolute worst.

“Whoa, the real thing is even more incredible.”

Even in this desperate situation, Yeji was busy spinning her chair completely around to stare at Jeha.

“How did you know I was here……”

Her voice grew smaller and smaller from the tension until it trailed off.

Jeha shook the phone in his hand and let out a small laugh.

“The app function is pretty amazing.”

Ah. The location app.

“Excuse me for a moment. I have an urgent matter and need Secretary Gong’s help.”

The Jeha who asked Yeji for permission was the perfect gentleman. When he smiled brightly, Yeji’s face turned bright red like a teenage girl’s.

“You can take her anytime!”

“Let’s go, Secretary Gong.”

The man who wouldn’t take no for an answer turned around.

As she followed Jeha like a cow being led to slaughter, Juhee thought:

I’m definitely getting fired now.

Jeha, who had parked his car in the department store’s exclusive parking lot, casually turned his gaze.

Seeing Juhee sitting there holding her breath as if she had committed a mortal sin made him want to laugh.

She wore such a neat mask and acted so obedient in front of him, yet this was what she truly thought. Even though he had been insulted, he didn’t feel bad. It was fascinating how Gong Juhee seemed both sly and adorable like this.

Even after Jeha got out of the car, Juhee remained frozen in place.

When he opened the car door for her, she reluctantly stepped out, refusing to make eye contact and keeping her lips tightly pressed together.

Jeha stared at her openly.

She held out for a few minutes before finally, unable to endure his gaze, Juhee timidly met his eyes.

Without her glasses, her eyes were as clear and cold as transparent water.

Yes. These were the eyes he had wanted to see.

“After the inauguration ceremony, there is a dinner scheduled with the executives. How did you get here?”

According to the schedule, after the long and tedious inauguration ceremony, Jeha was supposed to have dinner with the executives.

“I said everything I wanted to say at the inauguration. They’ll probably find it easier to talk behind my back and enjoy their meal if I’m not there. Don’t you think?”

“It’s your first official schedule with the executives. Canceling it on the same day just because you feel like it is bad for your image. If you keep doing this, it will be difficult for me to manage your schedule in the future as well.”

She must have thought she would be fired after getting caught talking behind her boss’s back. The things she said with that resigned look in her eyes were annoyingly competent and defiant.

Then quit right now.

Her face clearly said she was hoping for those words. What was he supposed to do? Because she wanted to quit, he no longer wanted to let her. Call it a contrarian streak if you wanted.

“I’ll be careful from now on.”

Jeha answered readily. Her coral-colored lips, glossy as if she had applied lip balm, parted slightly. Holding back his laughter, Jeha continued casually.

“I need to buy a gift for my mother, but I don’t know what to get.”

“So you tracked my location… just to ask me about a gift?”

Jeha gave her a look that said, What other reason could there be?

Her long eyelashes trembled faintly as if she were trying to suppress her anger. When Juhee looked up at him again, her eyes had calmed considerably.

“As you said, CEO, I have old-fashioned taste, so my eye for gifts isn’t very good.”

She holds a grudge more than I thought. Jeha looked at her with narrowed eyes. Seeing Gong Juhee looking exactly as she had that morning, he thought coming here had been the right decision.

Without her glasses, her cat-like features stood out sharply. Her hair, twisted up neatly, emphasized her slender, pale neck, and the deep neckline revealed a dizzying glimpse of her cleavage.

A body so delicate it looked like it might snap, yet with breasts that were incredibly large.

Isn’t this too much of a cheat?

The excitement he had felt that morning was desire, but the way his gaze kept drifting below her clear face was pure instinct.

He didn’t want to show today’s Gong Juhee to anyone.

Especially not to the male employees at the company who would be seeing her frequently from now on.

It was obvious they would look at her with lustful eyes, and he wasn’t confident he could stay calm if he saw that. That was why he had sent her away.

“Wouldn’t it be better to get help from a personal shopper instead of me?”

Looking into her clear, resigned eyes, Jeha couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

He couldn’t deny that he had come here because he wanted to see this expression one more time.

Using the excuse of the gift he had already ordered for Juran, he had chased after her in the end.

“I feel uncomfortable with unfamiliar women.”

After answering curtly, Jeha strode forward.

Juhee probably had no idea. That the Juhee from this morning had looked so beautiful he wanted to pull her onto his lap instead of letting her sit in the passenger seat.

With a faint sigh, the sound of Juhee’s footsteps following behind him rang pleasantly in his ears.

Two staff members entered the private room located inside the store. One carried a large number of velvet boxes, while the other held fragrant tea.

Tea was placed in front of the two of them. Just as a staff member wearing silk gloves opened the first velvet box with a serious expression to begin explaining, Jeha spoke.

“No need for explanations. I think I’ll know once I see it on her.”

At Jeha’s calm words, his gaze turned to Juhee. She widened her eyes in horror, but only for a moment.

The staff member approached the resigned-looking Juhee and looked at Jeha.

“The third one.”

What Jeha had chosen was a set of earrings made with dainty diamonds and a thin chain necklace.

The subtly sparkling earrings and necklace were placed on Juhee’s previously bare earlobes and neck.

Jeha, staring at her with narrowed eyes, looked as if he were appreciating a work of art.

“How do you like it? This design……”

The staff member’s explanation didn’t even register. The only thing that came through clearly was the final question: Isn’t it very pretty?

Jeha’s gaze, which had been fixed on the slender neck adorned with the necklace, slowly rose.

Her calmly lowered eyes, graceful expression, softly closed lips, and white, delicate neck. With the colorless outfit and the light falling on her, she was undeniably beautiful.

Ah, she was pretty to begin with.

Looking at Juhee’s face rather than the necklace, Jeha said,

“She’s pretty, isn’t she?”

Not the jewelry. You, Gong Juhee.