MS Extra 4 part 2 [END]

“It seems that he has very high standards. Well, that’s no surprise. The woman he brought with him to the EFL was no joke. Honestly, that woman’s personality was absolutely horrible, but her looks were out of this world, don’t you think?”

“But what’s the point? I think they broke up.”

“Seeing as how we haven’t seen her lately, there’s no doubt about it. It seemed like they were just casually seeing each other. But if the executive director enjoys those kinds of women, can’t you tell? His standards are very high.”

In the middle of all this, Euncho could not comfortably smile during this conversation.

She had never imagined this to be a possibility, so her mind could not wrap around it. While she was distracted, Ki Taeju had become very popular with the ladies. A large question mark filled Euncho’s head.

‘Is he a… popular prize?’

He was definitely handsome.

She couldn’t find anything to complain about when it came to his looks.

Euncho now realized that her standards had been high this whole time because she had fooled around with a handsome man like Ki Taeju ever since she was young. While they were separated, whenever her colleagues cackled and shared pictures of a famous male celebrity, she didn’t think they were anything special.

If this is how she saw male celebrities, then how could average civilians catch her eye? Her standards were already so high to begin with.

Although a successful relationship was not built on good looks alone, she could not deny that it had a large influence when it came to visual compatibility. 

However, there was also a negative aspect to Ki Taeju that undermined his good looks.

His terrible manner of speech or his womanizing mannerisms. And she also knew that he had a shadowy past… Having been born into such a dark world, he couldn’t help but have a gloomy disposition.

Although it was now all water under the bridge, whenever she thought about the CCTV recording that revealed his violent side, she couldn’t help but shiver.

‘Ah.’

Euncho suddenly realized something that she had forgotten to take into account.

She was the only one here who knew that side of Ki Taeju. No one else knew. To them, Ki Taeju was a sleek executive director. Because they had never spoken to him, they continued to see him as a mild-mannered man of few words. A man whose looks were out of this world.

Seeing him in this light, she could see why they all went crazy for him. Very crazy.

“Euncho-ssi, do you know anything? You’re the one who interacts with him the most out of all of us.”

“Aigoo, why are you asking her? You know she’s not allowed to reveal her guest’s information like that.”

“I was just curious.”

“If you aren’t careful, Euncho-ssi will be put in an awkward position. That’s enough.”

As they continued to talk heatedly about the subject, Euncho could only watch them in silence.

“Euncho-ssi, what do you think?”

Pouting with restraint, the female employee perched her chin in her hand gave Euncho a meaningful look.

“Is he not your type?”

The conversation took an unexpected turn. The colleagues stopped chatting and stared at Euncho, who had been relatively silent this whole time.

Euncho gulped as she was subject to their intense stares, cold sweat dripping down her back.

“I-I don’t really…”

No, this wasn’t it.

But she couldn’t quite say ‘Ki Taeju is my man’ or ‘That person is mine’. She felt that, in this situation, it might be best to just feign ignorance.

“That makes sense. Euncho-ssi, you said you already have a boyfriend, right?”

“People who have boyfriends don’t count.”

“It’s difficult to say someone else is handsome when you already have a boyfriend, ha.”

They all began to giggle as they added in playful remarks. Having lost her chance to correct them, Euncho couldn’t say anything and kept her mouth shut.

With that, Euncho finished her lunch break. She had come to learn many things.

The new discoveries must have worried her more than she thought because the pain in her belly grew more intense.

As soon as she returned to the EFL, she went to the bathroom and pulled down her underwear. A dazed groan burst out of her lips.

‘I guess it was time.’

It was her period.

She finally realized why she had been so sleepy lately. Why she was hungry but had no appetite. Why she was so bothered by the tiniest things…

They were all premenstrual symptoms.

Euncho walked into the executive suite that was like a second home to her and changed her underwear. After taking some medicine, she collapsed on the bed.

“My stomach hurts…”

Ever since she was young, her menstrual pain was quite bad. Today was no different. The intense waves of pain continued to crash through her body.

She slowly rubbed her belly as she stared up at the ceiling.

‘Now that I think about it, that’s this week… Of all the days this could be happening…’

She thought about the VIP guest who was coming soon. She didn’t even realize the condition her body would be in and stubbornly pestered Ki Taeju to add her to the list. It was too late for her to ask him to take her out.

And that’s not all…

After listening to what her colleagues were saying, she didn’t want to be absent. What if someone did something weird to Ki Taeju while she wasn’t there? She knew that Ki Taeju wasn’t the type of person to fall for things like that, but still…

‘I better take my medicine. Then it should be fine.’

Euncho closed her eyes and frowned. The lukewarm wave of pain was already draining her energy, leaving her exhausted.

* * *

“Euncho-ssi, are you sick?”

This was the third time someone asked her this question.

Euncho pursed her lips before answering, ‘No.’

“Your complexion doesn’t look too good…”

“Maybe it’s because I didn’t get a good night’s sleep. I’m fine.”

She answered energetically and placed the documents that were sent by the main office in front of each seat.

The VIP arrived yesterday afternoon, and his stay had gone smoothly. Now, only the meeting that Ki Taeju had mentioned was left. Thanks to the medicine she took since morning, she was able to proceed through the day without any issues.

Ten minutes before the meeting began, the conference doors opened.

Hyungsik neatly placed his hand on the front of his jacket as he held the door opened with his head lowered.

Ki Taeju, who had been behind him, walked in as his eyes swept around the room. When they landed on Euncho, his head froze for a moment.

The employees who had been preparing the room with Euncho quickly stood back and bowed. Euncho was momentarily dazed by his professional appearance. Then she quickly returned to her senses and bent her hips in a bow.

Ki Taeju walked around the tables towards Euncho. He checked the documents that were laid out and asked.

“Is everything ready?”

“Yes, what would you like to drink?”

“Coffee is fine.”

Her heart began to race for some reason. He felt like a stranger.

Just this morning, this man had perched her on his lap as he touched and sucked on her skin. But now, he was taciturn and used formal speech when talking to her.

Ki Taeju’s eyes glanced down.

It wasn’t difficult for Euncho to realize that he was looking at her lower belly. Since they were living together, she couldn’t hide her period from him. Additionally, he also knew how intense Euncho’s menstrual pain could be.

His eyes seemed to be reading her thoughts, so Euncho flashed him a wide grin.

“I will promptly prepare some for you, sir.”

She gave him a firm answer as if to tell him not to worry. Ki Taeju stared at her for a moment before looking away.

Meanwhile, Hyungsik announced the time the buyers would be arriving.

Ki Taeju walked to the seat with the sign that said [Executive Director] and picked up the documents that were sitting there. The doors opened, and the buyers entered the room.

Ki Taeju greeted them with ease while Euncho began to make the coffee.

Because the machine would be too loud, she began to prepare it by hand. Therefore, she couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous. Hadn’t he so bluntly told her that her coffee tasted terrible in the past?

After that day, she had asked a colleague who worked at the food and beverage department to teach her, but she was still worried she had forgotten something.

Her menstrual pain had returned, and it caused cold sweat to run down her back. She waited for the coffee to steep in the water as she gripped the cart. 

She secretly massaged her hips and quickly straightened up to hide the fact. She suddenly felt like Ki Taeju might have seen her.

‘If you’re there, I’ll get distracted.’

She hoped his words wouldn’t become a reality. She wanted to do a respectable job, and she didn’t want him to regret his choice.

Thankfully, everything went smoothly, and as the meeting began, she followed the other employees out of the room.

“Huu…”

As soon as the doors closed, she let out a sigh of relief.

Her hips had been so stiff that it was now starting to ache.

The concentrated pain began to spread throughout her body now that she relaxed. She held back a gasp. Her senses that had been tied down by all the tension were suddenly growing hazy.

She swept her hand across her brow and found it to be clammy. Her feet felt stiff inside her loafers as they throbbed. Euncho leaned her back against the wall. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes.

“Now all we have to do is wait for the meeting to finish and then stay back to clean up, right?”

“……”

“Euncho-ssi?”

She thought she answered, ‘Yes’. However, it seemed that her colleagues hadn’t heard her.

Her voice tried to leave her throat but died before it reached her mouth.

She let out a sound, or at least she thought she did…

Cold sweat began to drip down her temples. Her vision grew hazy. A part of her body felt so cold, but another part felt like it was bursting with heat. With these contrasting sensations, her surroundings began to spin.

“Euncho-ssi?”

“What’s wrong?”

The whispering voices began to fuss around her. Their worried calls began to ring in her ears, causing her head to throb. Even though she was sweating, she felt cold. No, was she cold because she was sweating?

With her back still against the wall, Euncho slowly collapsed to the floor.

She needed to lift her head. She needed to lift her head and tell them she was fine. That this was nothing to worry about… But her throat would not make a sound.

She tried to stop her descent, but her body folded in half as her knees touched her head. Not just her neck but her aching hips as well. She couldn’t straighten them up at all. Her mouth went dry.

She was just about to tell them that she’d stay like this for a bit. If she just stayed like this for a little while, she’d be fine.

“Huh…?”

Someone let out a strange sound, and it pierced through the haze.

Tap, she heard the sound of dress shoes walking on the floor.

“Park Euncho.”

A low, firm voice called her name.

Tap, tap.

She felt someone cautiously tap her knee.

“Euncho.”

She kept thinking she was saying something, but the only sound that came out was a moan. A little while later, she felt a sturdy arm slip underneath her legs. Then she felt something firm support her back. Suddenly, her body was lifted into the air.

“Put your arms around my neck.”

Perhaps due to the anemia, her surroundings spun around her. But despite this, she could still recognize that familiar voice.

Euncho barely managed to stretch out her arms and hug his neck as he walked across the room.

“Uh…”

All of the staff who had witnessed this exchange were at a loss for words.

The executive director suddenly left the conference room and carried the sickly Euncho away.

“Could it be…”

As they all stood in shocked silence, someone spoke up.

“The boyfriend that Euncho-ssi mentioned to us last time…?”

“Gah.”

“Omo.”

Everyone covered their mouths.

They all exchanged shocked looks. No one could say a word for a long time.

Meanwhile, by the time Euncho arrived at the executive suite, she regained some of her senses.

Feeling like she was encased in a fluffy warmth, Euncho blinked her eyes as she felt her loafers being carefully taken off her feet as they hung off the bed. She frowned and let out a groan.

Something cold touched her forehead.

A large, reliable hand gently wiped away her sweat as the other hand unbuttoned her jacket.

“Babe, you shouldn’t be here…”

As his face flickered into view, Euncho mumbled as if she were sleeptalking.

As soon as she said this, she felt a sigh brush across her face.

“And yet you’re still like this despite knowing that.”

“……”

“Why did you stay like an idiot even though you weren’t feeling well? We have plenty of employees in this hotel. You could have asked any one of them to take your place.”

“I just… I wanted to be of some help to you…”

Of course, she also wanted to see if a woman tried to approach him while she was there, but the basis of what she said was still true.

When he told her to choose from a list that excluded her, she felt like he didn’t rely on her. The first thing she felt in that moment was a little sorrow.

That’s why she ignored his claim that she’d distract him and forced her way onto the team. Even though she was suffering due to the menstrual pain, she kept her post.

And because she still felt this way, Euncho pushed away Ki Taeju’s hand as it stroked her face.

“I’m really okay now, so hurry up and go back.”

When he heard her words, Ki Taeju clicked his tongue in frustration. Euncho, who had been about to pester him some more, quickly shut her mouth when she saw his reaction.

He got up and briefly walked over to the nightstand. He came back with Euncho’s pouch that held her medicine for menstrual cramps as well as a bottle of water. After he helped her take her medicine, he helped her out of her uniform as if he were her personal maid.

“Shouldn’t you go back now?”

“……”

“All I need is some sleep and rest now. So hurry up and go back.”

“……”

“You said this was an important meeting. Don’t…”

“Park Euncho.”

“Hm…?”

“If that’s all you have to say, then just keep your mouth shut.”

When she heard his menacing voice, she quickly closed her mouth.

After taking off her stockings, he took out some comfortable pajamas for her and sat down on the bed.

At this point, Euncho gave up and thought, ‘Fine. It’s your meeting, not mine.’ With that in mind, Euncho began to act spoiled towards Ki Taeju.

“My stomach hurts.”

“……”

“Rub it for me.”

“I was wondering why you didn’t ask sooner.”

After the curt rebuke, Ki Taeju placed his hand on top of Euncho’s stomach and began to rub it in a clockwise motion. The medicine probably played a part, but she felt like the pain was already fading away thanks to his warm touch.

As she felt her consciousness return, Euncho stroked the back of Ki Taeju’s hand.

Even though she had probably ruined the meeting, Ki Taeju didn’t look like he was bothered by it at all as he looked down at her.

“Sorry… For distracting you.”

“Hyungsik will take care of it just fine. I thought this might happen, so I prepared everything beforehand.”

“…What?”

“But more importantly, I think there’s something else you need to worry about.”

“What do you mean?”

“Weren’t they all watching when I took you away?”

“Who?”

“The other employees.”

What was he talking about? Euncho wondered in confusion. The meaning behind his words gradually came to light.

Now that she thought about it, he was right.

Before Ki Taeju had come out to take her away, she had been surrounded by her colleagues.

“I’m doomed…”

“Congrats. It became a whole lot easier to hand out wedding invitations.”

“D*mn it, you just don’t care because you’re not the one who has to do it!”

“Since it’s already out in the open now, why don’t you quit your job and start acting like the owner?”

“You keep saying that. Why are you making such a fuss just because you can’t keep me locked away?”

“And how much longer are you going to keep taking my words as a joke?”

Ki Taeju asked without a hint of a smile. Euncho looked up at his face and laughed awkwardly.

Euncho knew he wasn’t saying those words lightly. At first, she thought he was just joking when he said, ‘I’ll give you the hotel.’ But now, it had come true, so continuing to treat those words as a joke was a foolish thing to do.

As always, Euncho feigned ignorance and tapped Ki Taeju’s lap.

“Babe, are you really not going to the meeting?”

“If I was going to go, I would have left by now.”

“Then do you want to take off your clothes and get in…?”

Even though he clearly knew what she was doing, Ki Taeju decided to let it go as he took off his jacket. He unfastened his cufflinks and took off his watch. After taking off his dress shoes, he climbed onto the bed.

Without worrying about whether his shirt and pants would wrinkle, Ki Taeju opened his arms, and Euncho dove into his embrace. Due to the effects of the medicine, the pain lessened, and she began to grow drowsy.

Euncho mumbled with half-lidded eyes.

“But I do feel a bit relieved. Maybe letting this all come to light was for the best…”

“What do you mean?”

“My potato…”

“Potato?”

Ki Taeju seemed confused by her incoherent ramblings. When Euncho saw his face, she began to laugh. She felt the familiar touch of his hand as it swept her hair behind her ear.

The two pairs of shoes placed neatly under the bed. The gold cufflinks and the silver watch. The water bottle casting a long shadow over these items. Their tangled legs and their bodies that seemed to have fused into one. Rumpled white sheets, and the sweet, warm sunlight swaying above them.

Even though the seasons came and went, this peace was never-changing.