By Zephyria 
Rrrrr… The internal line rang for a long time.
Someone needed to answer it to make it stop, but everyone was currently buried in their own tasks, so the ringing phone was inevitably being left unattended.
The time was 11:30 AM, and the office was as bustling as a marketplace. It was usually a busy time, but this was extreme. Kim Hui-won stood with his arms crossed, quietly observing the chaotic scene in the office.
Secretary Lee had left early to carry out Executive Director Kwon’s instructions, and Secretary Ji was struggling with a double-booked schedule. Even if he shouted to ask who made the schedule, everyone was too busy to answer. In the end, he was racking his brain alone, making calls and readjusting the tangled schedule.
Choi Jung-woo, the youngest, was flustered, dealing with employees who had come to get approvals, and Secretary Song already had a receiver in each hand. She was repeating, “I’m sorry,” over and over.
How did it come to this?
Hui-won realized that the secretarial office, which he thought was running smoothly without him, was actually creaking along without a proper system. Judging by the way things were going, it didn’t seem to be just a problem for today.
With Hui-won’s work added to their original tasks, the priorities were messed up, and everyone was just handling things in a haphazard, ad-hoc manner.
Without someone to take the center and lead, problems would collapse as soon as they arose. The current chaos was a clear demonstration of that fact.
Secretary Song barely finished a call and then went back to working on an email she had been writing. It was an important email with a twelve o’clock deadline, but the constant stream of calls was slowing her down. She was just managing to concentrate when the internal line on her desk rang again, and her face filled with dismay.
She unconsciously sighed and reached out her hand, but someone snatched the receiver away before she could. Hui-won’s profile was reflected in Secretary Song’s surprised eyes.
“Yes, this is Kim Hui-won from the secretarial office.”
The man who had said to treat him like he was invisible and that he would only observe the situation had finally stepped in because he couldn’t stand to watch any longer.
“It’s difficult to confirm that part right now. If you send a summary of the details by email, I will review it and reply.”
His composed tone was Kim Hui-won’s unwavering trademark. As Hui-won calmly continued the call, another internal line rang, and he mercilessly pressed the call hold button.
Soon, he put down the receiver. He stared at Secretary Song, who was still dumbfounded, and said firmly, “You don’t have to answer all the calls. If it’s interfering with your work, just cut them off.”
“…Yes.”
“You were sending an email to Fujino Pharmaceuticals, right? It’s important, so Secretary Song, just focus on that for now.”
“Yes, General manager.”
Hui-won turned his head and looked at the still chaotic office. How could it become such a mess just because he was gone? Before leaving, he felt the need to properly clean up this mess.
Hui-won focused only on his work. He revised the manual process to match the current situation, observed the secretaries’ work performance, and meticulously recorded the things that needed to be corrected.
Above all, the most urgent thing was an executive secretary to fill his vacancy. He contacted VIP headhunting firms from time to time during work to see if there was a suitable person. He received a few recommendations in the process, but frankly, none of them satisfied Hui-won.
Executive secretaries were originally a difficult position to find experienced people for. There were plenty of openings, but a significant lack of people.
Most of the people who were good at their jobs were already active in the field, and those who were looking for jobs had something questionable about them. For example, they had been fired from their previous job for some unsavory reason, or the boss they served had died or been arrested.
Even if there was someone without any disqualifications, their age didn’t match Kwon Young-je’s. An executive secretary in their 30s was that rare.
But if he hired someone without experience, would Executive Director Kwon be a bit picky? He knew the tendencies of the person he served better than anyone else, so it wasn’t easy to narrow down the candidates.
“…What to do.”
Hui-won put his clasped hands behind his head and leaned back deeply in his chair, more than halfway over. Despite spending several hours on it, the results were very poor. Could he narrow down the candidates within three days? He definitely wanted to do it…
Hui-won also had a strong determination. It was someone who would replace him, so he didn’t want to just push anyone in.
While he was deep in thought, the secretaries began to get up one by one and tidy up their desks. He looked at his watch and saw that it was 8 PM.
“Leaving work?”
“Yes, I’m going to try to go in now.”
But everyone was preparing to leave. Hui-won blinked his eyes. If everyone went home, who would take care of Executive Director Kwon?
“I think the Executive Director is working overtime, isn’t there anyone staying?”
“Ah, that’s…”
Secretary Song added an explanation. She wrinkled the tip of her nose, as if she was embarrassed.
“It’s the Executive Director’s instruction. He said to leave work after 8 PM… He said there’s no need to assist him with working overtime.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know…”
“So, he’s been working alone all along? And going home alone?”
“I know that the driver is only waiting until 10 PM.”
He couldn’t understand the reason at all. Hui-won let out a hollow breath and swept back his hair. There was no reason to hold the secretaries back, so he waved his hand to tell them to go quickly. It was already late for them to leave work.
“I’ll go first.” Pleasant greetings were heard in succession. The office, where everyone had left, was now quiet with only Hui-won remaining. It was a very familiar sight. From the beginning, Kim Hui-won was the only one who stayed until the end.
Hui-won straightened his back again and placed his hands on the keyboard. He didn’t mind working late. He was planning to finish what he had to do today at least before leaving. He deliberately ignored the office where the fluorescent lights were flickering and sped up his overtime work.
It was about an hour later that the door to the office opened. Kwon Young-je, who was lightly massaging his neck as he came out, paused when he saw Hui-won still in the office.
Hui-won was also stretching, bending his stiff neck from side to side. What was it about habits? The moment he saw Executive Director Kwon, his legs automatically stood up.
“You didn’t leave?”
“Yes, I still have work left.”
Kwon Young-je looked at him with his usual cold eyes. What work do you have left to do until now? It seemed to imply that.
Hui-won cleared his throat lightly to ease the awkward atmosphere.
“Will you be staying longer, Executive Director?”
“Oh, dinner?”
Hui-won made a blank sound at the sudden talk about food.
“…Excuse me?”
“I asked if you had dinner.”
His head was busily trying to figure out the meaning implied in his words. Did he mean he was hungry? Well, it was past 9 PM, so he must be hungry.
“Shall I order something for you?”
“Something simple like a lunch box. Get one for Secretary Kim too.”
“…I’m okay,”
“Don’t make me someone who makes people work without giving them food.”
He threw out the indifferent words and went to the pantry to grab a couple of bottles of water.
Originally, the secretary should have been in charge of such trivial matters, but in Kim Hui-won’s absence, Kwon Young-je seemed to have become skilled at doing things himself, moving on his own.
His mouth was dry. Hui-won’s hands were itching, so he clenched and unclenched his fists several times. His body, which had been steeped in the habits of a secretary, kept trying to move, so he barely suppressed it.
It seemed better to focus on something else, so he quickly picked up his cell phone.
He had a sandwich for lunch, so he should have rice for dinner. He called a Korean restaurant that Kwon Young-je often visited and ordered two lunch boxes familiarly.
The food was arranged neatly in a lunch box with a blackish-red sheen coated with lacquer. Hui-won laid out the lunch boxes that had been delivered in advance in the reception room. He put water and spoons on the napkins and opened the lunch box lids in advance to check if there was anything wrong with the contents.
There was fluffy rice, grilled abalone with a salty sauce, steamed sea bream with firm flesh, three-colored vegetables and white kimchi, seaweed laver roll, and in the lower compartment, bite-sized fruits and desserts. Everything was Kwon Young-je’s favorite menu.
He was looking down at the table he had set with satisfaction when the door creaked open and Kwon Young-je appeared. The way he walked over and sat in the seat of honor was very natural and obvious.
“Sit.”
At the short instruction, Hui-won also sat down on the opposite sofa. That’s how the meal began. Without a word, without a chewing sound, only the chopsticks moved quietly.
For others, it would have been uncomfortable, and they wouldn’t have known if the food was going into their mouth or their nose, but for Hui-won, it was routine.
He chewed the lunch box carefully and diligently watched Kwon Young-je’s every move to see if there was anything he needed to take care of. He couldn’t help but look, even if he didn’t want to.
He was a man who ate very neatly. Not to mention his chopstick skills, he never even dropped crumbs. All his movements were smooth and dignified.
As he quietly watched his excellent table manners, Kwon Young-je’s gaze moved upward. He put down his chopsticks and lightly moistened his throat with water. Then, a low voice flowed out.
“Do you have any plans for the future?”
Hui-won swallowed the plain rice in his mouth. His throat was slightly dry.
“…I’m thinking about it.”
“You must have some plans.”
“I’m thinking of taking a break and recharging.”
Kwon Young-je’s persistent gaze was fixed on Hui-won’s face. After staying there for a long time, he picked up his chopsticks again and continued eating.
“Work must have been hard.”
“It wasn’t easy.”
Hui-won said with a smile. He poured all his time into Kwon Young-je, whether it was overtime, business trips, day or night, weekdays or weekends. Looking back, he wondered how he did it.