DTL Ch 12 part 2

PR by neji

As her car sped through the street, SeonJae remained silent in the passenger seat. She tried to forget the fact that there were only the two of them in this enclosed space, but she found it hard to ignore the man sitting next to her as his eyes darted around the car. When she asked him where she should drop him off, he didn’t answer for a long time. In the end, YeonJung turned her car around and began to drive to Hyejin’s workspace.

“Go inside.”

As she stared at him awkwardly, he spoke up as if he’d read her mind. 

“I’ll just walk down and call a cab.”

He watched her enter the building in a hurry and grinned as he waved his hand. If he had been planning to bother her from the start, he had succeeded. When she entered the office, she glanced down through the large window. She saw him walking around her car, inspecting it. He tapped the wheel with his foot and crouched down to take a look.

What is he doing?

YeonJung frowned and turned around. She was just about to head down and give him a stern warning when…

“YeonJung-ssi, they fixed your car properly, right? There are some people who will do a half-assed job on cars driven by women, so you need to be careful. It’s also a bit strange that it took them a whole month to get it fixed. Do you want me to go out and take a look when I have some time?”

DongHoon spoke up without much thought as he passed by her. YeonJung came to a halt and turned back to the window. She saw SeonJae’s back as he walked down the slope, his hands in his coat pockets. His pace was relaxed as he walked away, and she couldn’t take her eyes off him. She was lost in thought for a long while before she silently walked over to her desk.

She turned on her computer and checked her emails. A group email from Team Leader Ahn of SeonJae’s company caught her eye. When she clicked on it with her mouse, a photograph popped up. It looked like the photo was taken in front of a government office. Standing in the middle of a group of uniformed men stood SeonJae with an indifferent look on his face.

[Congratulations! President Min SeonJae of Chapel Chancellor received this month’s Citizen Award of Bravery!

Although he requested anonymity, I didn’t want our president’s award for the magnificent capture of a mugger to go unnoticed, so I secretly took this picture. I believe this will be great PR for our company.]

Although she had only read the first two lines of the email, YeonJung could palpably feel the email author’s excitement. She heard that a man had captured the mugger near her apartment as he was passing by. No way.

She didn’t think they were the same person, but she moved her mouse and opened the internet browser. She went to the website for a local community newspaper and searched ‘Citizen Award of Bravery’ and an article really popped up. It merely said this man had requested anonymity, and that he was a president of a new company. He had entered into hand-to-hand combat with a rapist who lurked around late at night. This had all taken place in the park in front of YeonJung’s apartment building, the very place Hyejin and DongHoon had been worried about.

YeonJung sat back and blinked. Her eyes glazed over as she sifted through her memories. SeonJae was the man who had driven her to her apartment despite her protests, and he had even followed her. He would stop by every night without fail to see her face before heading back. Was it because he had been worried about her?

No way.

YeonJung chewed on her thumbnail. No matter how she thought about it, she always came to the same conclusion. Min SeonJae was the man who had almost broken down her door when he couldn’t get in contact with her. Her heart throbbed.

[Where are you right now?]

YeonJung leaned on the window ledge and sent him a message. His response came shortly after.

[I’m in a taxi on my way back to the office. Is something wrong?]

[Is this you, SeonJae-ssi?]

She sent him the photo she had downloaded onto her phone. After a few minutes passed, she received his answer.

[Yes.]

[Why didn’t you tell me?]

[Because it’s embarrassing. I’m still embarrassed about it. I didn’t know Ahn JaeHoon sent it to you too.]

It sounded like something he’d say.

[Tell me what happened.] 

YeonJung’s fingers moved quickly. Although it was only a minute, it felt like forever. She received his reply.

[I noticed him lurking around the streets for several days so I interrogated him. Turns out he was a suspicious guy.]

[They said he was holding a knife. Why did you do something so dangerous like that?]

YeonJung frowned as she typed her message.

Vrrr—.

[Are you worrying about me?]

This time, YeonJung’s hands froze.

Ba-dump. She took a deep breath. It felt like he was standing right in front of her. She tensed up.

[Of course I don’t like SeonJae-ssi getting hurt because of me. Was this the reason why you took medicine the other day?]

She recalled how he had tossed the antibiotics into his mouth at the cafe. He had told her that he had gotten a scratch. Now that she thought about it, he had been moving his arm tenderly. Why hadn’t she noticed it before?

[Should I tell the driver to turn the car around?]

[Why?]

[I’d like to see your face as you worry about me.]

[SeonJae-ssi.]

[I miss you.]

Their conversation came to an end. As she basked in the sunlight, her cheeks flushed. What should she say if he was being so direct and upfront like this?

[I miss you, Lee YeonJung.]

He repeated himself in another message.

[We have a meeting with your employees tomorrow. We’ll talk again then.]

[How am I supposed to endure it until then?]

YeonJung barely managed to type out another message before sending it.

[Were you lying when you gave me an excuse to give you a ride?]

[Yeah. I just wanted to check and see if your car was okay.]

She had suspected as much. And it turned out to be true.

[You’re quite honest, Min SeonJae-ssi.]

[Since I’m being honest now, can I be honest about one more thing?]

[Just say it.]

[Can I buy you a car?]

[Why?]

[Do I have to give you a reason?]

She recalled the way he used to sarcastically call her car a junk car in the past.

[I don’t like it.]

As she wondered what message to send back, her phone vibrated again.

[I don’t like Lee YeonJung getting hurt. I don’t think I’d be able to handle it if something happened to you, so I want to take some security measures to prevent that.]

They continued to send messages back and forth deep into the night. After getting out of the shower, YeonJung twisted her hair into a towel and quickly walked over to her phone that was on top of the table.

[What are you doing?]

[I just took a shower.]

[I’m eating dinner right now.]

He sent her a photo of a rural table filled with food.

[Where are you?]

[Chuncheon.]

[When did you go all the way to Chuncheon?]

[I received a preliminary report while I was talking to you. It’s for a special wedding next spring.]

[What kind of wedding?]

[A 50 year anniversary vow renewal.]

[You do that too?] 

[Why, can’t I?]

She imagined him giving her his crooked smile as he said these words, and a strange feeling permeated her chest.

[That doesn’t suit someone like Min SeonJae.]

[Is that an insult or a compliment? I feel like it’s the former.]

As her phone vibrated in her hand, she read the message and was just about to respond when SeonJae sent her another text.

[Let’s come here sometime next fall. According to my employees, the field of reeds in the fall is a beautiful sight to see.]

YeonJung, who had been pouring hot water into her cup ramen, froze in surprise. Her phone vibrated once again on the table.

[I really want to see it with you.]

Instead of responding, she stared at the phone screen for a long time.

[What are you doing? Are you asleep?]

[I’m eating cup ramen.]

[That reminds me of the time when Lee YeonJung fed me some cup ramen. It was delicious.]

You didn’t say that back then. She was typing this out when another message popped up on the screen.

[After we broke up, I ate the same brand of cup ramen hundreds of times, but it never tasted the same.]

YeonJung left her phone on the table and walked over to the veranda. The night breeze was still cold, but it felt nice on her flushed skin. A lush spring was approaching, and a fresh, green summer would soon come after. And then everything would turn gold with the arrival of autumn.

‘Will that man still be by my side in the fall……?’

One thought came after another. YeonJung glanced down at the bench on the playground. She recalled how their eyes had met that cold winter’s day. How he had sat there for hours.

What kind of thoughts went through his head that day? She blankly stared at the empty bench for a long time. By the time she returned to the table, her cup ramen was already overcooked.