Five Times the Fee

"My father's worried about me, so I'm about to turn it down right now. Yes, yes. ...All right. I'll come home early."

Unable to continue the call in front of Director Kwon, Jae-kyung pressed the end button.

He must have heard her father's voice.

Lying about coming home early to a father who didn't even know where his daughter lived made her want to crawl into a mouse hole and disappear. She'd always been strapped for cash, juggling two or three part-time jobs, and by the time she got home past midnight, her father was either asleep or gone. It was an environment where no one would have stepped in even if she'd gone completely astray, but Jae-kyung had grown up stubbornly straight, clutching her mother's last words like a lifeline.

She opened her tightly shut eyes and lifted her face with shameless composure.

"As you heard, my family's conservative. I don't think I can make the trip."

"I'll double your travel allowance. How's that?"

Double the travel allowance...

Director Kwon stared straight at her and made a tempting offer. If she had to go on a trip she didn't want, she wanted to pick the most practical option available.

"I don't know how much you're offering, but if you give me five times... I'll go. And even if it's late, please come too, Director Kwon. I know it's a lot to ask."

There was no way they'd actually give her five times. It was a number she'd blurted out hoping to manufacture an excuse to refuse.

"Do it. The Chairman will say yes."

"...What?"

He'd agree just like that? She felt like she'd been exposed as a special hire who only cared about money, and her heart pounded.

"I'm only telling you this, Secretary Seo, but I make good money too."

Director Kwon, with his big eyes and easygoing manner, wrinkled his nose and made a comical face.

"How else would we put up with a Chairman who works around the clock without sleeping, if we couldn't get financial therapy? That man may be a tyrant, but he pays bonuses well."

"...Thank you."

Money had the power to make you forget your pride. Dazed, she'd accepted five times the travel allowance and agreed to the trip. Of course, it was money her father would end up taking anyway. What Jae-kyung earned through blood and sweat always vanished in an instant, as if her pocket had a hole in it—like magic.

"No need to thank me. It's not even my money anyway."

"You take the money from me and thank Director Kwon?"

Yu-gam walked into the office at precisely that moment. Had he heard everything? Jae-kyung's face flushed. She bowed to him as well and returned to her seat, which offered nowhere to hide. He was surely staring at her right now. The boss's desk sat directly across from hers, without even a partition between them.

This was a new form of torture, without a doubt.

The generous travel allowance was welcome, but the thought of being alone with Yu-gam left her anxious and uneasy. Worried the trip might drag on, she arrived at the airport at 5 a.m. and landed in Jeju on the 6 a.m. flight.

Director Kwon, who'd said he was heading to headquarters for support work, must be on his plane by now. Jae-kyung relaxed at the text saying he was at the airport.

The morning meeting ran longer than expected. They were supposed to visit twenty facilities, yet they were spending half a day at the first one.

"I'd also like to review the credentials of the field instructors running the programs. For global sensitivity, they should be qualified to guide post-experience essays and discussions as well."

The presenting staff already looked exhausted, but Yu-gam questioned them relentlessly, leaving no gaps. At the relentless relay of meetings, Jae-kyung let out a deflated sigh.

She'd never seen a Chairman personally oversee every detail of an overnight experiential learning program like this. Was he doing it because he was newly appointed and afraid of being called incompetent?

What does a Chairman in his mid-twenties know? Think he'll do it right? He'll tough it out for a year, then run back to headquarters.

Even among the murmuring teachers, there was no expectation for the newly appointed Chairman. Managing Director Jin, the second Chairman, had devoted herself entirely to headquarters, leaving the position vacant for so long that the Vice Principal had taken charge of most events—it had simply become the custom.

After the ecology center, they coordinated horseback riding lessons with a local Jeju stable. By the time they left the conference room, lunch was long past.

"We've prepared a meal for you, Chairman. Please join us."

"I have my next appointment. I'll get back to you about the riding program after review."

Worried that even accepting a meal might spark rumors, Yu-gam declined every private invitation.

"I'll make a reservation at a restaurant."

Yu-gam glanced at Jae-kyung's pale face, then briefly checked his watch. His hair fell attractively across his forehead.

"Let's just walk."

"Sorry?"

"There's somewhere close by."

Despite the scorching sun, the wind in Jeju was fierce. Jae-kyung followed behind Yu-gam as he strode ahead. The hem of his suit fluttered in the wind, and with his height—a full head taller than her—it was a striking sight.

Five years ago, he hadn't seemed so imposing, so overwhelmingly large. Even when their eyes met and she studied him, she couldn't quite believe it was the same person. He'd become so masculine that she felt an urge to lean on the mature authority that dominated the air around him.

Dear God. What kind of useless thought was that? She wasn't in her right mind. This was exactly why she hated being alone with Yu-gam in unfamiliar places.

Jae-kyung shook her head and quickened her pace. It wasn't easy to match Yu-gam's long stride. As she hurried, her phone rang from her pocket.

They'd already broken up—what could he want? With Yu-gam right ahead, taking Min-ho's call would inevitably lead to a long conversation.

She quickly pressed the power button and used her free hand—the one not carrying her briefcase—to tame her hair whipping in the rough wind.

Yu-gam was already far ahead. His back, so perfectly fitted in that sleek suit; the broad shoulders that had once held her tight; Yu-gam's long shadow—her heart wavered again.

When Yu-gam abruptly turned around, she found herself meeting those dark blue eyes. He'd caught her staring at his back. Her cheeks burned.

Yu-gam looked straight at her, tilting his head slightly as he stopped walking.

"This looks good."

"What?"

Here. The door chimed.

Jae-kyung quickly followed Yu-gam through the small convenience store door. He walked to the shelves with practiced ease and picked up two triangle kimbap and two drinks.

"This one's yours, Secretary Seo."

He pressed into her hand the tuna mayo triangle kimbap and peach iced tea she always chose. Where his fingertips had touched hers tingled like static electricity.

"How did you know?"

"You sit right in front of me. Wouldn't it be stranger if I didn't notice?"

It had bothered him—her habit of clutching convenience store food while skipping dinner—so he'd frowned every time he saw it. Yu-gam stepped out of the store as if it were nothing, peeling open his coffee.

He takes good care of people. He's a tsundere, always has been.

Just as Director Kwon said, he probably extended this much courtesy to everyone. She remembered the times he'd bought extras for late nights at the office. She'd almost let herself feel flustered, thinking it was kindness meant only for her.

His attention felt burdensome, yet the smallest gesture sent her reeling. Even Jae-kyung couldn't pin down her own feelings. Fidgeting with the triangle kimbap and iced tea clutched in her hands, she stepped outside.

"Thank you for this."

Outside the store, Yu-gam took a swig of coffee, his Adam's apple bobbing attractively. He hadn't had a sip of water in hours—he must have been parched.

"Next stop."

Yu-gam climbed into the back seat of the rental car, checking work on his tablet. Just as Jae-kyung settled into the driver's seat and started the engine, the phone rang.

"Yes, Managing Director. ...I'm on a business trip. Director Kwon should have contacted you in advance. Yes... I'll come see you in Seoul tomorrow."

Managing Director Jin Hee-yeon?

It felt as though Managing Director Jin was watching her from somewhere, and Jae-kyung held her breath. If it ever came out that she was working as his secretary, she had no idea what kind of retaliation might follow. A razor-sharp tension tightened around her chest.

"Secretary Seo? Secretary Seo?"

She hadn't heard him calling from the back seat, several times.

"Yes? Chairman."

"Worried she'll push you out?"

Yu-gam watched her through the rearview mirror and spoke slowly.

"N-no."

Had it shown? Not that she could tell him the truth.

"Don't worry. Managing Director Jin has no grounds to dismiss you."

Being fired wasn't the problem. It was the retaliatory measures that could destroy her life. Even Yu-gam's certainty didn't dispel her fear.

The condition is that you never appear by my son's side again.

When she'd accepted the penalty money, the warning had been explicit.

"Focus. You're the one who insists on keeping public and private separate, Secretary Seo."

"Y-yes."

"You know I can fire you before she does, right? Stop worrying about nothing and focus on work."

Right. Better to be fired by Do Yu-gam, anyway.

Their eyes met in the rearview mirror. Yu-gam's face overlapped with Managing Director Jin's. The same refined features, the same aristocratic air—but he really did resemble his mother, cold and calculating.

Jae-kyung looked away from Yu-gam's piercing gaze and fixed her eyes on the road ahead.

"I'll head to the next appointment. By the way, where is Director Kwon meeting us?"

"Director Kwon isn't coming."

Screech.

The car, just pulling away slowly, slammed to a stop.

"What do you mean he's not coming? You said he was on a plane."