Secretary Gwanggong's Survival Diary - Episode 115

Episode 115

“Did someone come to the house?”

I was startled by the voice that suddenly broke through my daze. Yoon Tae-oh was standing in front of me, looking at the coffee table. I thought I had been lost in thought long enough for him to return from work, but outside the living room window, there was no sign of dusk yet. The brightest sunlight of the day was still shining.

“Who would come? I drank that earlier.”

There was a lone coffee cup on the table that the man had been drinking from, but it was on the opposite side from me, so it wasn’t a very believable story. Still, I insisted. I didn’t expect him to come back this early.

“But how did you come at this time…?”

“There was less work than I thought.”

No way. This was also hard to believe. Even on normal days, there’s endless work. On top of that, with the newly opened resort business and having been away from the office until yesterday, it couldn’t possibly be not busy. And as far as I know, the secretarial office probably isn’t functioning properly yet, so the work must be doubly challenging.

Therefore, he must have definitely played hooky. I can picture him leaving the office, throwing threatening glances at the protesting secretarial staff.

“So… you left work before noon…?”

“What, is there a problem?”

It’s not my place to care since I’m not the one doing the work, but if I were to make a prediction, today’s karma will come back like a boomerang. As it always has.

“No. Since you came early, shall we go out together?”

“Together…?”

“You came earlier than expected, so I haven’t gone grocery shopping yet. And while we’re out, wouldn’t it be nice to get some fresh air?”

I hadn’t planned this in advance. As I said, I didn’t expect him to come home at this time. But thinking about it, I didn’t dislike his early return. Yoon Tae-oh just stared at me without any particular response to my suggestion, and the lengthening silence was becoming a bit uncomfortable. It felt like he was probing my innermost thoughts, just like that guy who came in the morning.

“Are you trying to use me as a pack mule?”

“That’s not what I meant, but if you don’t want to…”

“I didn’t say I didn’t want to. Go get dressed.”

Ah, he didn’t catch on to anything. But today, he’s being quite oblivious. Did he really think I meant just grocery shopping when I suggested going out? With the nice weather, I meant let’s go out together… Anyway, since I achieved my goal, I didn’t say anything more and put on my outerwear. My gaze lingered for a while on the unpacked suitcase in one corner of the room.

…Maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t unpack that last night.

❖ ❖ ❖

“Is this because I said I spend a lot on food?”

“Pardon?”

Yoon Tae-oh’s appearance right now was somewhat comical. Having gone out again right after work, he was still in his work attire. On top of that, he was carrying a fabric shopping bag filled with groceries we had just bought, which couldn’t have looked more out of place. He insisted on carrying it himself, refusing my offer to carry it or to call Kang Seok-ho. Unintentionally, he had really become a pack mule.

“It’s quite different from how we used to shop before.”

Our opinions diverged quite a bit at the mart. There were minor clashes every time we put items in the cart. He seemed possessed by the ghost of someone who died of hunger, trying to buy everything in bulk, while I, on the contrary, only put in the minimum necessary ingredients.

“If there’s leftovers, we’ll have to throw them away, which is wasteful…”

“That’s impossible. With Baek Si-eon around, how could there be leftovers? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you leave food uneaten.”

…What exactly does this guy think of me? In Yoon Tae-oh’s mind, my image must be something like a glutton. If I had known this, I should have managed my image better in the past.

“I eat an average amount, you’re the one who eats less, CEO.”

“CEO?”

“…Hyung.”

That ‘hyung’ address has become much more familiar with continued use compared to the beginning. Now it only comes with minor issues like getting stuck in my throat once in a while and giving me goosebumps all over my body every time I say it. He seems to be doing this on purpose, knowing it bothers me. The jerk.

We bought dinner ingredients together and had a light late lunch. Even after that, we had time left, so we sent the groceries home first. I didn’t want to go back yet, so we headed somewhere else.

“Was there something here?”

Yoon Tae-oh couldn’t hide his curiosity as he followed the navigation I had set. It was my first time coming here as Baek Si-eon too. I thought it might be Yoon Tae-oh’s first time as well.

“No. It’s just a park.”

The weather was particularly nice today. The sunshine was so warm that the outerwear we had put on felt a bit excessive. Still, the cool breeze made it not feel stuffy. It was full spring. Maybe that’s why I wanted to be outside rather than indoors.

“Han River Park… Did you like places like this?”

We parked the car and walked along the trail. He seemed unfamiliar, looking around as if it really was his first time here.

“I just wanted to come with you, hyung, since the weather is nice.”

Being a weekday afternoon, it was moderately quiet. It was a perfect time and place for a leisurely stroll in the sun without any particular thoughts.

“Si-eon is saying such nice things, what’s the occasion?”

Due to the weather, our pace naturally slowed. Yoon Tae-oh matched his stride to mine, and suddenly intertwined his fingers with mine. This unexpected skinship made me feel oddly embarrassed. Being like this in public was still unfamiliar to me. Even knowing no one was looking at us strangely, I felt my face burning up and avoided his gaze while changing the subject. Of course, I didn’t want to let go of his hand.

“I wonder if the cherry blossoms have bloomed…”

We changed direction towards a street lined with cherry trees. They weren’t in full bloom yet, but fortunately, some buds had started to open. It seemed they would reach their peak in about a week.

“You’re impatient. Couldn’t we come see them when they’re fully bloomed?”

“Only if someone wasn’t so busy.”

“Don’t you know cherry blossoms are quite charming in the evening too?”

It’s funny. This guy who’s probably never been cherry blossom viewing is saying such things. There’s a very high chance this is the first time Yoon Tae-oh has seen cherry blossoms this close. We bought drinks from a nearby coffee truck and walked along the cherry blossom-lined street again. Despite not usually liking walks, today I felt like walking for a long time.

Walking with him along this flower-lined path naturally slowed our pace. The warm sunlight, the gentle breeze, and the pink petals floating here and there in the wind – it was a moment I wanted to last longer. I was so content that I wished time would flow more slowly.

Even Yoon Tae-oh’s back view blended well with the scenery in a strange way. I took in that sight for quite a while, until he turned around and stared at me.

“Shall we go watch a movie?”

“…What do you want to watch?”

“A movie at the theater.”

Yoon Tae-oh looked at me as if he’d heard something incomprehensible. I understand. Yoon Tae-oh has probably never been to a movie theater.

“…Well, okay.”

His response was ambiguous. It’s like he answered without saying, ‘I really don’t want to go, but since you’re asking, I’ll give it a try.’ I barely managed to persuade him to the theater, explaining that we had plenty of time before dinner and that watching in a theater is a completely different experience from watching at home. Since I didn’t have a particular movie in mind, we chose the one with the earliest showtime.

“Sit here.”

“…Why?”

“Just because.”

It was my first time sitting in a couple seat too. There were eight seats in total in one row, and our seats were two of the four in the middle. When I tried to go to the inner seat, Yoon Tae-oh made me sit on the outer one and sat in the inner seat himself. I noticed that next to Yoon Tae-oh were two alphas who looked about our age, but as soon as Yoon Tae-oh sat down, their faces contorted. They soon left the theater as if fleeing.

“Did you do something…?”

“Do what? The theater isn’t much. We could make something like this at home.”

Seeing him change the subject with strange words… this guy must have done something again. What am I going to do with him?

❖ ❖ ❖

“How was the date?”

“Date?”

Yoon Tae-oh questions with his eyes. What are you talking about?

“…What we did today was a date, wasn’t it…?”

“Ah… was it?”

We had coffee together, went shopping. We took a walk to see cherry blossoms. Then we watched a movie and came home to have dinner. It was a pretty successful first date, but the person in question didn’t even realize it was a date. Well, Yoon Tae-oh probably never had this kind of date before.

“It was fun.”

“What was fun?”

“Everything. Everything is good when I’m with Si-eon. Even just being at home like this now.”

…What’s this…? I didn’t know he could say things like this…? I think this is an expression of emotion that never appeared in any of his relationships that I know of. I don’t dislike this side of him, but it feels unfamiliar.

This was the ‘exception’ that Yoon Tae-oh, who never acted or spoke like this to anyone else, allowed only for me. Since it’s a side he shows only when he’s with me, I can’t help but welcome such changes.

“…Next time, let’s do it properly. This time we couldn’t plan anything…”

“When you say it like that, I feel like I should prepare something too.”

“What do you need to prepare?”

It’s truly a comfortable evening. Today was another perfect day. Not just today, but every day since Yoon Tae-oh came to find me has been like this. As he said, every day spent with Yoon Tae-oh has been enjoyable. Maybe that’s why I keep checking the time. Now, time is… running out.

When that strange man gave me two choices, I had my answer as soon as I heard the options. The desire to return to my original life, which I had no lingering attachment to, was faint. I was surprised at myself to realize that Yoon Tae-oh had become that valuable to me. Rather, I felt relieved that it wasn’t a difficult decision. That my feelings weren’t that light.

What complicated my feelings was the issue after making the choice to stay. What kind of ‘proposal’ would be made to Yoon Tae-oh, and what if he doesn’t make the same choice as me? If that happens, I would have to live in this world as the only person remembering Yoon Tae-oh for the rest of my life.

If I return to my original life, I wouldn’t have to go through this. He could be erased from my memory like an old, faded dream. That’s why I couldn’t help but worry. As much as Yoon Tae-oh had become significant to me, his absence would be equally hard to bear.

In other words, it meant that today could be our last day together regardless of what choice I make. Whether I leave or he leaves. Thinking about it that way, I couldn’t just sit still. I wanted to engrave at least one memorable scene in my heart. That was our today.

And my choice was…

“…If it’s okay, shall we go out together again next time…?”

To stay.