1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 8



Only Krnovel

#8. One Important Mission
2023.06.27.

When Yerin sat down in front of him, Lee Hyun held up the menu with a blank expression.

‘It’s my first time here today. I have to act calmly.’

It was truly a series of embarrassments.

Lee Hyun let out a soft voice.

“What do you want to eat?”

“I’ll just have a simple ricotta cheese salad.”

Lee Hyun’s brow furrowed slightly.

Then he called the waiter and ordered.

In addition to the menu that Yerin had said she wanted to eat, many other foods were soon placed on the table.

“Listen.”

“I will eat well.”

This situation of sitting across from Lee Hyun and eating was so strange.

After having a one-night stand with him, meeting him up close again was unplanned.

I was nervous and uncomfortable, so I had no appetite at all.

Lee Hyun asked Yerin, who wasn’t eating properly.

“Why can’t you eat?”

“I’m not really hungry… … ”

As she said that,

Yerin’s stomach growled without even realizing it.

“I wasn’t really hungry, but now that I think about it, I feel hungry.”

Yerin rambling as she picked up the steak with her fork.

It must have been good meat and delicious, but unfortunately, she couldn’t really savor the taste because she was so nervous.

After eating a few times like that, Yerin finally put down her fork.

Lee Hyun also didn’t eat properly, so she left what she ordered.

“Secretary Han, I want you to do what I asked you to do without a hitch.”

“But what if I can’t find that woman?”

Lee Hyun furrowed his brow slightly.

“Secretary Han will be in a lot of trouble.”

“Why?”

“You’ll probably find out why tomorrow.”

She didn’t want to know.

She wished tomorrow would never come, and in fact, if she could go back in time, she would want to do so.

‘I should just confess that I was the one who spent that night.’

However, as she looked at Lee Hyun’s cold face, the thought entered her mind.

‘Yeah. You said you suffered a lot of damage, so what if you ask me to compensate you?’

No.

No matter what happened, I had to hide it.

I had no intention of quitting this company, so even more so, Lee Hyun had to make sure that I was the woman he spent the night with.

Lee Hyun took a look at the leftover food and let out a pleasant low voice.

“Secretary Han, if you’re not going to eat any more, should I just get up?”

“Yes, I think that would be good.”

Yerin came down to the lobby and straightened her back instead of getting into the car to see him off.

Out of nowhere, the passenger window rolled down and Lee Hyun appeared.

“Aren’t you going?”

“Yes?”

The car behind her honked its horn loudly.

“I think it would be better to get in quickly.”

Yerin had no choice but to get into Lee Hyun’s car.

“Director, are you going back to work?”

“I’m going home.”

“Oh, yes.”

I couldn’t figure out why Lee Hyun had told me to get in this car.

I thought he might have thought he would drop her off if he said he was going to work, but he said no.

Then maybe he was just giving her a ride because the subway station was far from the hotel.

But if he was someone who took care of his secretaries so much, why did the secretaries quit after not lasting even a week?

While Yerin was thinking about that,

Lee Hyun tapped the navigation a few times.

“Address.”

“Yes?”

“Enter Secretary Han’s home address.”

“… … .”

Yerin looked at Lee Hyun with a bewildered

expression. He seemed to not understand, as if asking why she was looking at him that way.

“Director, you’re not going to take me home, are you?”

“Yes.”

“Why… …?”

“Secretary Han, did you bring the car?”

“No.”

“I see.”

What’s wrong?

There are times when a secretary takes the boss she serves home, but there’s no time when a boss takes his secretary home.

It’s definitely not normal.

Furthermore, this situation where they’re alone with Lee Hyun was so unfamiliar to Yerin.

Her whole body was tense from the overwhelming presence Lee Hyun exuded.

The smell of his perfume permeated the entire car.

Because of that, even though she didn’t want to recall it, the memory of that dark night naturally followed her.

Yerin hesitated about what to do.

In the meantime, Lee Hyun furrowed his brow slightly.

“Secretary Han, do you know how many times I’ve been circling the same spot?”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

Yerin had no choice but to type in her home address.

“I’d like you to just drop me off at a nearby subway station… .”

“What if something happens if there’s an accident?”

“Huh?”

“So if you tell me you can’t come to work tomorrow, I’ll be in a lot of trouble.”

It was pure coercion.

Yerin put on a businesslike smile and spoke in a soft voice.

“That won’t happen, Chief.”

“Secretary Han tends to be too sure of everything.”

No, she was saying that because there was a high probability of an accident on the way home from work.

However, Lee Hyun was really stubborn.

Lee Hyun’s car kept driving to Yerin’s house, which was entered into the navigation.

It would have been less inconvenient if I had been the one to take Lee Hyun home.

No. That probably wouldn’t have been very comfortable either.

“If Secretary Han can’t come to work, I won’t be able to find that woman. Then I’ll have to wait another day.”

Was it really right to take me there for that reason?

However, even if not, there was no way to confirm Lee Hyun’s sincerity.

Lee Hyun’s car, which had been running like that, stopped near Yerin’s house, which was a group of shabby villas.

“Director, you can drop me off here.”

Lee Hyun’s car slowly slowed down.

Lee Hyun leaned forward and scanned the area through the windshield.

There weren’t any streetlights, and the area was deserted, so the security wasn’t very good.

“Is this Secretary Han’s house?”

“Yes. Thank you for taking me there.”

Lee Hyun chewed his lips as if he was still dissatisfied.

“Director, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

Yerin hurriedly got out of Lee Hyun’s car. She

turned around belatedly after seeing his car drive away.

“If it was a dream… … .”

How nice it would be if all of this were just a dream when she woke up tomorrow.

With that thought in mind, Yerin took a step forward.

　

***

Lee Hyun had a lot of meetings since the morning, so fortunately, he didn’t show up in the office.

Putting aside the search for the missing woman that Lee Hyun had asked her to do, Yerin was busy with other work.

A call came from an unknown eleven-digit number.

“Yes, this is Han Yerin.”

– Secretary Han? It’s Lee Hyun’s mother, Yoon Hyeran.

“Oh, hello. Madam.”

– Let’s have lunch together today.

After briefly explaining her business, the call ended.

As Yerin was looking at the dead phone screen, Secretary Choi came up to her.

“Is this, by any chance, a call from Madam Yoon?”

“Yes. I think so.”

“Here it comes, here it comes.”

Secretary Choi placed one hand on his forehead.

Yerin asked curiously.

“Why do you think Madam wants to have lunch with me?”

“These days, Madam is desperate to get the chief director married.”

“Yes.”

“Secretary Han will have to take care of that too.”

“Me?”

Secretary Choi tapped her chair as if to cheer her up.

“It won’t be difficult. All you have to do is somehow get the director to sit down for the meeting.”

It was a difficult task just by hearing it.

Yerin let out a short sigh as she watched Secretary Choi return to her seat with a relieved expression.

It was a moment when she could slightly understand why her predecessors couldn’t hold out long and had to resign.

***

Yerin entered the cafe at the address Hye-ran had sent her.

It was lunchtime, but there were no customers.

Yerin went to Hye-ran, who had arrived first and was waiting for her, and bowed to greet her.

“Madam, I’m Han Ye-rin, the secretary who started working for the director yesterday.”

“Yes. I’ve already seen your resume, so you don’t have to introduce yourself.”

Hye-ran pointed to the empty seat in front of her as if telling her to sit down.

“Secretary Han, is brunch okay?”

“Yes, I’d like to.”

“I’ll be more relaxed. Is that okay?”

“Of course, ma’am.”

From last night to today, it had been a series of really uncomfortable meals.

“There is only one thing that Secretary Han can do to take care of our Lee Hyeon.”

Hye-ran continued talking while touching her manicured fingernails.

“Our Lee Hyun-i said he was busy and wouldn’t go on a blind date.”

“I heard from Secretary Choi.”

“You just have to help Lee Hyun-i meet a good partner and get married.”

Hye-ran smiled brightly, as if it wasn’t easy.

“I’ll try.”

Somehow, all the tasks assigned since yesterday were beyond Ye-rin’s ability.

“I went to the brave Bodhisattva to have my fortune told. He said that if our Lee Hyun-i gets married within this year, we can have a happy family without any problems.”

“Yes.”

“He said that if you connect with each other first and get married for love, you can live incredibly happily.”

Just thinking about it made Hye-ran cover her mouth with one hand and laugh.

Ye-rin just listened to Hye-ran’s story in silence.

Hye-ran took out an envelope from her bag and handed it over.

“I’ve picked out some women who would be good partners for our Lee Hyun-i. I’ve numbered them, so make appointments in order.”

“Okay.”

Hye-ran grabbed Ye-rin’s hand that was on the table.

“You have to make sure that our Lee Hyun-yi goes to the blind date.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll do my best.”

“Lee Hyun-yi has an older brother.”

Hye-ran recited one of the conditions for becoming the successor that Chairman Cha had set.

“I’m so bloodshot because he said he’d give the successor position to the person who gets married first.”

Only then did I begin to understand why Hye-ran had called me out and made such a request.

“Secretary Han, how proud would you be if your boss became the next chairman of the Jiseok Group?”

“I guess so.”

Ye-rin smiled brightly, saying something she didn’t mean.

She had never had such a grand dream.

Ye-rin had been content to help her boss as much as she could within her abilities.

The problem was that all those small happinesses were falling apart when she met Lee Hyun.

“Then I have a favor to ask, Secretary Han.”

I had a strong feeling that if I didn’t let Lee Hyun sit down at the blind date, I would be called in front of Hye-ran the next day.

***

When Ye-rin returned to the company, she checked the list in the envelope Hye-ran had given her.

She bit her lip when she saw the name of the woman at the top of the list.

“No way… … .”

After turning the page and seeing the photo of the woman she was going to meet first, Ye-rin dropped the paper with a thud.