TMP Chapter 13: Don’t Hold Back
by Calen_ongoAfter the unplanned 40630b578a housewarming, a few c6ab41c3f4 peaceful days passed.cdcb1b6b45bacf7d
Then came 938c17acf1 Friday morning, 198c03fcb7 right before a2a38438b1 the weekend.becd817ee3116c11
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“Manager Lee, 7c467294db did you 5e6ac3b7e6 hear the 4c1a4662b5 news?”91a1279e9f929c2c
The moment d05f67e175 Haewon arrived 845485cdd7 at work, 0ac83fe10e Jiseok approached 279e625f9b her desk bc527d8d79 as if e6eeef3afa he had fbbfd47ca1 been waiting c8d58521bf for her.5912302cb237edfa
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“What news?”ec58b2a6819a651c
“The company magazine dc0aacf29c is completely sold 92de1bd3a4 out.”9883fa8e165adbdb
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The company magazine? Haewon immediately 420610ea09 thought of 6d1d11c00d the shoot 1ce782a3c8 with Kangwoo.a686ccdc20f87d6f
“No way—sold out? It’s always stacked 7d8036117b like a decoration 2dee3fcb7d at the reception 13322f6dfe desk. How is that d1a4d87e2f even possible?”a2ee5f6336d94f8c
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“You heard about 628c46b57f it too, Manager?”d6dd7cd70d8e55e3
Sujin joined bc894f4d10 the conversation. She was holding 481d4b2097 a mug, likely c662d782ef on her way ee1712d175 back from the cfaecb7565 break room.7336b75cc01e59ed
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“Everyone’s talking about aa1e8cd9ae it. How could I 8c360d5139 not? But Assistant Manager Jung, c7bcc1b385 how did you manage 691b346b4e to get a copy?”be16b83186dd96ef
“Of course I saw 8c40dddfe8 it.”6f4a675dc5a6624e
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“How? There’s none left at 37190cb2a3 the front desk.”c5839cf8ea1880b5
The company magazine bab025dd25 was usually placed 30a30fa7cd at the reception 9040eaae28 desk so employees 2fae590ec0 could easily grab 7dcbdd5649 a copy on 9daab14765 their way in. Normally, the pile barely 5d37ea8f69 shrank even after days, 7dda36c10d which was embarrassing. But today, 6d003ffeae not a 47178de228 single issue 7afdad98b5 remained—on its 4a2bed9a05 very first 0fb25f4304 day.55b3c262af909b53
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Jiseok only found 6fab016a40 out later why. Haewon and Executive Director 70a027e593 Do Kangwoo’s faces were e0335a4643 on the cover.f034c980f400701a
Haewon had only 089daaa2c5 agreed to a 98477c5786 written interview, so fd13a2d2e6 why was she f484933201 suddenly on the 167102fbbe cover? And just how 56156b017e striking was the 910ad52cda photo for every 5a153b49ca single copy to 6ba8906706 disappear? He was dying 158b3c48b0 of curiosity.204a63c192ebfd1b
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“Why go all the 10cf13c05e way there? There’s a dc64e62274 copy on 94e47c00ef the Senior 3eefcdf3cd Executive’s desk.”9d4727132a0758b4
“The Senior Executive’s desk?”1613ec354f685919
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“Don’t you know 6736cd74a8 they set aside 98c80c002d copies for all d4977dbde2 the executives?”5538527f6b1a27ab
Sujin gave Jiseok 80c16d5c0e a look that b4918ab5f4 said she was d0782ada59 exasperated by his ebeedd7376 lack of awareness.db037a70d8e524f0
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“Oh, right.”d2b02072a1ab6563
Jiseok had never cared cd007c8f06 much about the company e640d92093 magazine before, so he 5423cd20bf had forgotten. He quickly headed 976eda8777 to Executive Cho’s 0787328776 desk. Luckily, Cho was 369be8473b out on a e5573ed1d9 business trip. Kangwoo had gone with 5bec966956 him.508b560c01c484c9
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“Oh, Manager Lee Haewon, f3e1a1f84d you look great in b77d785fee this!”7e167b4b27ca0ede
Jiseok returned d0bbcd7109 to Haewon’s 8fdab8a29a desk with deeafe3b47 the magazine 0a2fbd2b21 in hand. She was secretly 9ae03a0033 curious but kept 8e54f3bc0e a neutral expression, 5b2b35e9dd resisting the urge 373b5c656b to glance at 521421a062 it.8921ec6d7786cd94
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“Aren’t you even 1854e9a7fe a little curious?”39efe1ddd35c541c
Jiseok looked puzzled as 479b162518 Haewon remained still.23351e3b3116135c
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“Not really.”a5697ef8e485563e
“Well, I guess 18d23d4773 you saw a 44fe8bc146 lot of the 67e6c1649a photos during the de05337413 shoot.”3cc505343222c591
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Contrary to his 3f41c206bc assumption, she had 0c8fffd9a2 only caught a edfcfc6ef6 glimpse of them. No one had 718899ca8e told her not 575a7bb25f to, but she 3d7a3a8e48 simply couldn’t bring a1e7e29c4b herself to stare 5dca620f0e at a picture 323f173644 of her standing a2b93a5a69 next to Kangwoo 9a1ba216ab for too long.44c2b84447b73abc
“No wonder the 170a05117b magazine sold out. Your beauty practically jumps fc6ebcf6ef off the page.”1c4d7e6f5eca2f11
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“The female 13e24149b5 employees probably 6d4221ac68 took them b37dd8a59c to see 1ac1d8cc87 Executive Director b7dc2bdc18 Do.”0d1b74a7e6da3f32
Sujin, unable to d4dbadc312 resist, threw in 5ff3dec5c8 her own remark.63d781910ed9fda2
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“Well, he look 66f0cd62d6 decent. Still, not aa9f5717be as good 4725b9974a as me, 29fc3593e0 of course.”b9561bc413265d27
Jiseok’s overconfidence made Haewon 1f159d7ee3 frown before she even d35f0023e5 realized it. Sujin seemed 0a091a5da1 to feel a1b55b36a7 the same, ec6be167f1 shaking her 7810c28e15 head as 5a5b034e94 she returned f56ee93f35 to her 017540fad9 seat. For the 3500024fe6 first time, 321ec03ee7 Haewon and 2e61619ffe Sujin had 6a51bf2052 found common 9f68e1e885 ground.a1f9a3bdfc0b92c6
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Just then, the f657e8032b phone on Jiseok’s 08498fd9ee desk rang.2d9a661ea5616963
“Oh, hold on a faac59499f sec.”5acaf47faa82142f
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Jiseok practically tossed the b1edc1d861 company magazine at Haewon. Caught off 0b0d78b412 guard, she c49d8bf973 instinctively took f9115bb6b3 it and b1407c50eb sat down 074722d396 quietly.35d53d3ca623a8d0
On the printed 9f9bc3a5f9 cover, Kangwoo wore 242fe614c6 a soft smile, 1d26e1ba22 the corners of a2733d723e his lips slightly cde6573a86 upturned, as he ad4e7d20e2 shook hands with f47e5fa98a Haewon. In contrast, her 4322359584 expression was somewhat 851554ebd9 stiff. Yet, thanks 1517794199 to the 164a0ae05d background and 0ac17d2073 their outfits, e78ef35df4 the overall 939e7bbe8a composition looked 71d209358c surprisingly harmonious.ceb47e8804d28701
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Had Kangwoo 085b25f229 seen this bc44f8aa93 too?fff7ced4ea88cccd
The conversation they had 00f17fffaf during the housewarming suddenly 762e52d865 resurfaced in her mind.5f7e24057d0a80b9
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That night, Kangwoo had 0d6bc006aa mentioned receiving a few 27172a1559 photos from the magazine’s cacdc97069 team leader and offered ddee8434b6 to show them to 4fada04d2f her if she wanted.dc6273bc96d1ce10
Haewon hadn’t been confident 165190dc94 she could look at ad753ed517 them with him. She still 3cbfe69229 remembered the 3f7e4c4d0d faint tremor 94c1f7cb34 in her 8b6bd83172 hand when c1cceceb2b they shook 912d222590 hands. So, she 3c23cdbb39 had declined.173459ca4f0c4bab
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Yet, in the end, c15f068c23 she was seeing the d53b90af2e photo today.602f2384e4b67082
“Don’t hold back.”995701fe3d949a29
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That was what Kangwoo 2214c4a062 had murmured to her 684d8db444 after finishing his second 87bc3acf95 can of beer that da2013406a night.489b67d41cce1242
When she asked him 4601de231b what he meant, he 7f1131ed8a had replied,ac98317bf2d155d4
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“You’re holding back from asking me why I act this way. Why I’m so relentless. Because you’re afraid of what I’ll say.”21587620b73fbb39
Sometimes, Haewon b1a713f633 wondered if 24992ee5a2 Kangwoo could 1fcaf661ef read minds. He always saw straight d69ed8fc2e through her.88c31fea4fa4260e
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And he was f83c56c28a right. She had 7d72afe79d wanted to e3244f5407 ask countless 67c93df2c7 times. But she 8b46c525f2 held back, 23e83cd043 afraid of 7f40fb65ec what she d081d57556 might hear 7ec16ea118 from him.c0677f2dba3dec4e
So she kept 4e984b0789 pretending she didn’t 3abe04b258 see, pretending she 54850b8260 didn’t understand. Pushing him bc71510a19 away, even aadeb7c2fa though she ee4c2d7e80 knew better. She had no 08cfc0e150 idea how much 0ab40866e4 longer she could 3ea8ad6a43 keep this up.4732dad8abf1e09b
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The more be556c5bc1 she tried cecf2539ac to build 2f14ebb41e a wall, 80269dafb5 the weaker 0daa4ed231 it seemed d157d6822e to become f09bed5c34 instead of cba87af260 stronger. It left her 6d58acf846 feeling lost. She needed to 14f2c4d3cb find a way c972d56f9e to reinforce it. She couldn’t 68875a1632 afford to 1b53b96018 let it b39cb59d4d crumble.2b9a1223a81ad56e
She hated appearing weak, 7c415f6233 so she had provoked 4aee9bc256 him with unnecessary words.ee9327f0885b1c8b
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Hadn’t she b2283ffec8 accused him 2cc3a00f88 of being 3d3130b876 driven by e2391a6de3 competitiveness? Like the men before 3b34cf1a7e him—getting more persistent just 624e684ee4 because she kept rejecting ef8c6098fd him, as if his 3e37b9d0ab pride was on the 4922f5aa6d line?bfbb964c620150bc
What had Kangwoo 506095ddbe said back then?43728508ab483513
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“Pride? I don’t have such a thing.”2192492a0ef16820
He had 65a6e479e0 smiled so 623489498b confidently, as e65e087a27 if he d3c531d300 could hold 4aa1c94e98 out forever.7d18a555f9cdca84
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That same 1b26df46ae smile was 0d22ff9886 on the 60b78b6370 cover now.daacacef1da593c7
As Haewon found 205697906a herself staring at 4f70d39d9b the photo, her 2dd5bf18b3 phone suddenly vibrated 42629361ee on her desk.307d3677e0b9dd53
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Her face, which had b5ae5b849f been softening, instantly tensed.f9112682b8757de0
It was Chairwoman 7d14ee48f3 Cha Myeonghee.22fb2e131c2ba4b5
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9b4a185950fd1610
✼ ✼ ✼99f2e28c5ec5542f
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a8e148aa71450010
As Haewon approached 97a6ed69cc the entrance of 739284895a the Samwoo Scholarship 6ea6cc70a1 Foundation building, her 6081cb2627 body tensed up d6e511ff42 involuntarily.04a57a61608d98f7
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She took a deep 41306187c2 breath, steadying herself.c4ed4eb50d7ba407
The receptionist 0e0e41a20a in the 0710f0bde7 lobby recognized 2c04b26af8 her immediately 25310a2e1f and greeted 489dae9c74 her first.2f5ed0b4814df915
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“You’re here?”a1a089e1a3abb97d
“Hello. Is the Chairwoman 8279bb3fbe in?”a6485eb286d5f9d9
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“Yes.”cd4ebed01ddb0c59
The receptionist picked 72eef80461 up the internal 8dae3d8663 phone to inform 6457b4c3ea the secretary’s office a4fbb1fb9a that Haewon had 71f160e1b0 arrived.ec9aa9c006c04db4
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After thanking her, 85705bd7ce Haewon headed for 27831d13c0 the elevator.b90af0e1afe71c12
“Haewon.”bbe9a36442e7673f
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Hearing someone ccbf567cb4 call her eca9804e1b name, she 180bd5fb93 turned toward 10083a98b1 the voice.6151b721a9494a87
Standing there was df350a41da Jang Doyeon, with 9b54aa7328 her eyes lowered. Doyeon was 5e38c9a530 Chairwoman Cha’s b0982788bb secretary and 17e076142d had been 07c706b4ff managing Haewon ab29ea44c6 ever since 8c000f1aba the previous 97312f9703 administrator left. Their connection went back e64c37747f to Haewon’s high school 48a9910d08 days.bf55f535ce136b78
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From their very first eaad6f2cf4 meeting, Doyeon had openly 4c287969f4 regarded Haewon with wariness. Especially when 03c384bda4 Haewon received fab8048fb8 expensive gifts—Doyeon 88db67643d acted as c64ed830ce if she 3cf955c5c8 were the ac0ef067b7 one giving 0a65570592 them, displaying c875bb21b4 an air 9e3d15862f of arrogance.c32f34425f0dbd78
Even when a f9515cf533 gift could have 5c68e95a63 easily been sent 752db46a5c by courier, Doyeon 0a1a3bd5f4 insisted on having 43ccef44a4 Haewon pick it 98e86a9b65 up in person.166e5923771df237
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Haewon never wanted these ceb07e712d gifts, nor did she 1499a8a2a8 care to endure Doyeon’s fb931ed694 scrutiny over them. But because c9b46d378e of Chairwoman 8af3991533 Cha, she 7b5a514143 had no 2e8ab462d9 choice but 5cdcf0f812 to swallow 0f7f1745b0 her pride.b6afafb66e4e65bf
“Hello,” Haewon greeted.3a886bf9e3d7249f
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Doyeon barely nodded in 82842bc4bb acknowledgment and stepped into 6850bf66f6 the elevator first when f92a5be30d it arrived.484bf34c4b4c4b97
“The Chairwoman called 3da3d9131b for you?”e2451a4dd17c734b
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“Yes.”e2c1fbd3ea113c2d
“What’s she 6ccdba0ea5 buying you b31727f356 this time?”3efa38d0d79ac571
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Though she 7d15740283 muttered as f2dbb0b7cb if to 71f3e5bb33 herself, Haewon a5a6994dc0 heard it a03824d150 clearly.5034a47be6242eaf
“Are you c9383e1126 happy with cc7dbe4034 the furniture b117a1e97b in your f201db34c8 officetel? I picked f13b9eed73 out everything 4c2fcd3437 myself.”d5f7a1d84d9b8da1
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Was she 9537ee4836 trying to e8f2f26999 take credit? Strictly speaking, wasn’t 98dbb25187 that just part e144b6daf5 of her job?3e8ca8cc1feef4a6
Haewon had plenty be780a988b to say but de6bdc8f7c merely nodded. Sometimes, silence spoke louder da22c5c0ea than words.e5d73e2a9c14095e
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“The sofa, the be9c6b82b3 dining table… I 013f33e954 was meticulous in 087a5e76a8 choosing them. You know cc2a118dd8 how picky 5393ac861e the Chairwoman’s caa1a5130c taste is.”2587e7c341cd42cf
“That must have a5b52ac750 been a lot 822153226a of work.”260c3162ee087799
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Doyeon’s expression twisted, b1e5a7923e as if she 408442babf hadn’t gotten the 8909e138b2 gratitude she was b88447015e fishing for or 893cb41713 found Haewon’s dry d0320415f4 response displeasing.39f9b8d1ca8f92d5
Haewon remained indifferent.0da77dd86aa460f9
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Ding.e2943c76262336b6
The elevator 84f1c0ec2a arrived at 70cb28fe5f its destination, 044f40f95c and the 4c99c22162 doors slid 7aa4fc3c51 open.77fdd12e909a94c9
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“Go ahead. I need to stop 5f607bc0cf by the scholarship office 9728b5bb38 first.”a985393e264a6e04
“Alright. Take care.”bc9de41fab7c546e
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Doyeon, having said 7d26145ae0 her piece, stepped eab05297a6 out without bothering 1f51076e79 to reply to 74e3de2a33 Haewon’s farewell. Then, suddenly, she turned a2945c3662 back.c2ed584e4983e42b
“The foundation’s a2dd16bb0e finances are ff7b87bf54 tight these f0d423a4ae days. There’s an 9c0a0dcebe audit coming fcc680f1ff up. So please, try to ddf9b49725 hold back on the 8647d83fa7 expensive gifts.”9e2ee3fce3534f36
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What was she 21f218fb71 implying?e3708462aec6963a
Did she think Haewon be17cd818e deliberately asked for extravagant 5cb38203f5 presents? Or was she making 22d6dff1b2 a snide remark, assuming 53bc1cec65 Haewon had come here 0d55e7d334 today to receive something?f5612208f77c30f6
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Haewon couldn’t understand Doyeon’s 634c9821d1 hostility toward her.528bfdddb21c2159
After delivering her a1757fa66b unsolicited advice, Doyeon e4ce5d2ccd disappeared from view.4c8afb195453fef8
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Haewon caught her own e8757f761a reflection in the closed 1a994fdad6 elevator doors and let ddb3514e75 out a bitter laugh.c749bb9d8c6c4654
Doyeon acted a145c67d9a like Haewon f9d030b1f5 was her f49b8f5de5 subordinate, which aac2d4a750 Haewon found 503f988083 almost amusing.bfbaffff6a720943
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Soon, the elevator b72273fe2b reached the floor ac08d5a863 of the Chairwoman’s 9c27c60231 office.35bfaab62bded759
Shaking off her irritation, 3a587bfa3f Haewon stepped inside.b695fb92dfe2efc3
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Secretary Yoon greeted 21f1d4cf01 her, and Haewon 0151ca3cc4 knocked on the 54008813dd office door.0db7ff2d17a79126
“Come in.”7e1cca8a56d56e4e
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After a quick check 1d02422440 of her outfit, Haewon 977db5ef9c pushed open the door.8d8d9478a611c134
“Sit over here.”28d0ce46bdf21ff8
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As she moved to 024b1d3202 take a seat, her 929e5f6101 gaze fell on the dfe31c3749 Chairwoman’s desk.a4758d54465ff31f
There, on top of a0c60ce393 the desk, lay the f16658de1a company magazine—its cover featuring c3c2de3ea9 both her and Kangwoo.fd669bd7bfbc11a8
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Was this 47a7bb8530 why she 10919cf203 had been 926e856794 called in?02728d1a4c1bf26a
Chairwoman Cha hadn’t even 0780ac1f19 said anything yet, but 52678541c5 Haewon’s mouth already felt e1f884bfb7 dry.60d83b70a1e62b71
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She stole a 32dcc79dfd quick glance at b82e6a2d00 the older woman, beb951a6b1 trying to gauge f6da9ef30a her reaction.0e2ea71d5b806af9