The Proposal
Every step she took made her lower abdomen tremble. With each click of her high heels, a hot groan echoed in her ears.
“Ha… ha…”
That day she had exhaled a breath far too hot to hold back. She could not remember ever reacting with such intensity in her entire life. Every time the solid man’s chest and his large hands grasped her breasts, a sharp sensation spread through her whole body.
That hot breath and those even hotter eyes had refused to leave her mind ever since. It had been a long time ago already.
‘I need to snap out of it.’
Min Tae-yeon shook her head and headed toward Director Choi Hyun-seo’s office. Standing in front of the door, she straightened her clothes, only for the memory of that night to flash before her eyes once more, sending a jolt through her chest.
Every time their bodies collided, an otherworldly sensation wrapped around her like nothing of this world. Watching her legs dangle from his shoulders, the dizziness of that night still felt real.
She had never expected a six-month crush to turn into one explosive night. It had happened months ago.
But he did not know her. Why had he called her at all? He could not have known she worked at the same company.
Choi Hyun-seo, General Director at Miwoo F&C, was a born silver spoon. Heir to the Miwoo Group, a capable businessman who had built an unshakeable position by combining talent with hard work. After sorting through her thoughts, Tae-yeon took a deep breath and knocked.
Knock knock.
“Please come in.”
As soon as she entered the office, the secretary in the attached room greeted her first.
“Hello, I’m Min Tae-yeon.”
“Yes, you’re a bit early. Director Choi is in a meeting right now. It should end within five minutes. He’s very punctual about meetings.”
Tae-yeon nodded.
“Would you like to sit over here?”
The secretary in her neat gray two-piece suit led her to a chair, but Tae-yeon shook her head.
“It’s fine.”
She walked to the window and looked outside. Choi Hyun-seo. The man everyone praised as the only one who handled every task with perfect efficiency. No corruption, no compromise, fair and rule-abiding. The same went for his personal conduct. Female employees everywhere dreamed of catching even a single glance from his eyes.
Tae-yeon was no different. She had kept her love a secret for years, but he did not know her. Even if that night had happened, he would not have known she worked at Miwoo F&C. Why had he called?
Was it related to that night, or something completely private? She was dying to know why the highest-ranking person in the company had summoned a single PR deputy.
A short while later, three executives emerged from the director’s office to greet her before leaving. The secretary who saw them out called her over.
“Ms. Min Tae-yeon, please come in.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Tae-yeon cleared her throat once more and walked in with perfect posture. Inside the office, Choi Hyun-seo’s back faced her as he gazed out the window. Beyond the wide glass of the Gangnam skyscraper, Gangnam-daero and the towering buildings formed a forest. On a day with many clouds, the sunlight that slipped in made his silhouette from behind look almost divine.
“Hello, Director. I’m Min Tae-yeon.”
She greeted him, but he did not turn around immediately. He stood quietly for a moment, then slowly turned. Their eyes met, and Tae-yeon’s face flushed red.
Did he recognize her?
Would he remember that night?
He curved the corners of his mouth slightly into a businesslike smile and approached the table.
“Please sit.”
There was a sofa and a coffee table, but he sat at the long conference table on the side and immediately opened a file, scanning the documents with his eyes. The way he summoned someone and did nothing to make it pleasant spoke volumes.
Tae-yeon sat facing him. Hyun-seo looked up.
“What would you like to drink? We have almost every beverage here.”
“I’m fine.”
Hyun-seo tilted his head.
“I’m having some. Would you like the same?”
“Yes, thank you.”
A short while later, iced peppermint tea arrived. Tae-yeon had been so tense her mouth had gone dry; the first sip sent a cool, refreshing sensation all the way down.
“How is it? Tastes good, doesn’t it?”
His question carried the weight of a general issuing a direct order. Tae-yeon lowered her head slightly.
“Yes, it tastes much better now.”
“See? I have a cup after many meetings.”
Why had he called her? Was he remembering that night? The questions swirling in her head turned into anticipation. With eyes brimming with expectation, Tae-yeon looked at him. Hyun-seo glanced at her and asked without preamble.
“Have you ever considered changing jobs?”
Change jobs? Was he recommending her resignation right now?
Tae-yeon stared at him in stunned silence, her face growing stiff. Hyun-seo continued.
“What if you resigned from Miwoo F&C and moved to another company?”
“Are you recommending my resignation?”
A team leader could recommend resignation too, but why would the highest-ranking person in the company summon a single deputy to do so? The image of her immediately submitting her resignation for severance pay flashed before her.
Tae-yeon bit her lower lip in confusion. Hyun-seo tilted his head.
“Perhaps you’ll think that’s the case, but no. If you see it as a scouting offer, that would be more accurate.”
“A scouting offer?”
She could not understand. The General Director of Miwoo F&C was offering her a scouting position? Was it common to recruit from within the same company?
Or had he started a rival company in secret?
Tae-yeon could not ask outright. She stared at him, her fingertips twitching. The habit surfaced whenever she was nervous, but when Hyun-seo’s gaze shifted to her fingers on the table, she clenched her fist and asked.
“What are the terms for changing jobs?”
“A good question. You’ll receive separate living expenses, a triple salary, and any additional requests you make will be fulfilled. It seems I can grant anything.”
The terms were too generous. But separate living expenses?
“Does that mean I have to live together?”
“That’s right.”
“What kind of work would I have to do…”
“Raising a child.”
“What?”
Scouting a PR employee to raise a child?
“If you mean hiring a housekeeper or something like that…” The high salary was tempting, but a housekeeper would not help her resume or advance her career. It could even cause a break in employment. This was too sudden. She did not have the experience, so it could not be right.
“I am not hiring a housekeeper. I am scouting you to be my wife and raise my child.”
“What?”
Her head was spinning. After the question mark, Tae-yeon’s confusion deepened. Wife? As his wife?
Scouting her as wife! Was she being proposed to right now?
Tae-yeon stared at him with dazed eyes, then finally managed to move her lips.
“R-right now… a proposal…?”
Before she could finish, Hyun-seo placed his palm on the table, a clear signal to stop.
“No, that would be a leap. That is not it. I meant what I said. Think of it as a job offer. I want you to raise my child. Of course, you will also serve as my wife.”
The unmarried General Director Choi Hyun-seo had a child? A hidden child?
Hyun-seo’s gaze was sharp as he watched Tae-yeon’s eyes dart around. He seemed to see straight into her mind as he explained.
“I ask that you remember this is a scouting offer. A job change. You will be my child’s biological mother for the rest of your life. Of course, if you wish to stop being my wife at any point, you may. But you must work for at least two years.”
Tae-yeon was bewildered. The content was even more outrageous than the terms.
“Do you have a child?”
“It will be born soon. A few months from now.”
This was even stranger. The child would not have been born yet. Then who was the child’s mother?
“If the child has not been born, then there is a mother, right?”
“Yes, there is.”
Tae-yeon looked intently at his expression. So the woman he loved, or a one-night stand whose pregnancy he could not avoid? Even if so, why was he recruiting a mother to raise the child from his employees?
The situation felt mismatched and uncomfortable. Yet when she looked at Hyun-seo’s face, Tae-yeon asked an absurd question.
“Then does that mean I would live in the same house as the director?”
“That is correct. I will live with my child in the same house. You will raise the child and keep home and our private life free of noise. The child will be presented to the outside world as the child of the two of us after we have given birth and held a wedding.”
Tae-yeon was stunned.
“If you accept my scouting offer, you will receive these kinds of benefits.”
He slid a document across the table. The contents were more shocking than anything a woman would ever expect: all the privileges of becoming a member of the Miwoo Group, above all, becoming Choi Hyun-seo’s wife.
But she would have to raise another woman’s child!