Yoon-Mi took her hand off the stem of her glass.
"Well, how are you?" she asked warmly.
"Much better now that I've seen you," the man smiled. Interlacing his fingers, he rested his chin on them, leaned forward, and his smile grew even wider, taking on a charming quality. "My dear Yoon-Mi."
"I'm glad to hear that," she replied with a soft smile.
"Let's go on a date, huh?" Ji-won purred.
Yoon-Mi laughed quietly, leaning back in her chair.
"If only your subordinates could see you now. In the office, you practically growl at them, but now you're fawning like a kitten."
"You know," Ji-won tilted his head slightly, never taking his eyes off her, "this privilege exists exclusively for you."
"And you know," she countered playfully, "that friends don't go on romantic dates."
The man's shoulders noticeably slumped upon hearing yet another rejection.
"You and I..." Yoon-Mi paused, "are even like brother and sister."
Ji-won completely deflated.
"You are too cruel to me, Yoon-Mi," he drawled with genuine hurt in his voice.
"Don't pout. Here, you'd better eat," she smiled indulgently, deftly picking up a tender piece of meat from her dish with a fork and transferring it to his plate.
Ji-won followed the gesture with his eyes, sighed heavily, and reluctantly picked up his silverware.
"I'll try again next time," he muttered, bringing the food to his mouth. "Don't think I give up that easily."
"You're impossible."
Ji-won wrinkled his nose in a funny way, and Yoon-Mi couldn't help but let out an answering chuckle.
"You'd better tell me how things are going with the hotel," she suggested in a businesslike tone, changing the subject.
Waiters glided between the tables, clearing plates, as Ji-won and Yoon-Mi continued to converse with interest.
An hour and a half later, lunch came to an end. They stood up from the table simultaneously. Lee Yeo-jun, who had been standing to the side the whole time, stepped toward the table. He stopped a couple of meters away from them, folding his hands in front of him.
"Alright, see you soon, Ji-won. It was good to see you."
"I was even more glad."
They stepped toward each other and shared a warm hug.
Yeo-jun looked up and immediately averted his gaze the moment Ji-won pulled away from his friend.
Yoon-Mi headed for the exit, waving goodbye, while Ji-won remained standing in the middle of the hall. A soft, relaxed smile still played on his face. And Yeo-jun looked at his profile from under his brows.
The rest of the day proved to be irritating. Ji-won was the last to leave the building. The meeting hadn't gone the way he wanted and planned. The air outside was thick and humid, which infuriated him even more.
"Bring the car closer next time," he snapped, walking past the driver.
"I apologize, sir, security blocked the entrance," the driver replied, bowing his head.
Yeo-jun opened the door.
"The next meeting is in forty minutes," he said as the car pulled away. "If there is traffic, we might be late."
"Then we won't sit in traffic," Ji-won replied coldly. "I have no intention of being late due to someone else's sluggishness."
The sky unexpectedly and quickly clouded over. The first drops hit the windshield.
"It's starting to rain," the driver noted. "I would recommend..."
"Keep going," Ji-won interrupted, not taking his eyes off his phone screen. "We're losing time as it is."
The rain intensified.
Yeo-jun looked out the window, then at the director.
"Sir," he began cautiously, "perhaps we should slow down a bit..."
"Are you a driver now too?" Ji-won looked up. "Mind your own business."
The rain was already pouring in a solid sheet, the car raced along the slippery asphalt, and Ji-won watched with displeasure as the drops streamed down the glass.
"Go faster," the director tossed out without turning around.
And then, from the other side of the road, a car suddenly swerved into their lane. The driver jerked the steering wheel sharply, the tires hydroplaned, the car spun out—and it seemed that a collision with the barricades warning of road repairs was inevitable.
Instinctively, Ji-won realized the impact would be on his side. Without a second's hesitation, he grabbed the secretary's shoulder, crumpling the fabric of his jacket, and forcefully yanked him toward himself, using him as a shield while recoiling deeper into the cabin.
The impact landed squarely on Yeo-jun. The car jolted so hard it knocked the breath out of his chest. The screech of the brakes merged with the roar of the rain and the sound of the crash.
The hospital smelled of alcohol and medicine.
Ji-won sat on an examination couch, leaning his back against the wall. His jacket had been removed, and his shirt unbuttoned.
"Nothing serious," the doctor said, looking at the computer screen. "Minor bruises. You got lucky."
Ji-won breathed a sigh of relief.
"Your driver has already been discharged," he added.
"And... My secretary?"
The doctor shifted his gaze from the monitor to him.
"Lee Yeo-jun?" he clarified. "He has been moved to the ICU. His condition is critical," the doctor continued.
Ji-won practically rolled his eyes and sighed in annoyance.
"To speak frankly," the doctor turned to him entirely, abandoning the computer, "you should thank your secretary."
Ji-won was taken aback.
"Excuse me?"
"From the nature of his injuries, it's clear he took the brunt of the impact," the doctor explained. "Apparently, at the last moment before the crash, he reached toward you, shielding you with his body. If it weren't for that, the consequences for you could have been far more severe. He literally took the blow for you."
Silence hung in the air for a moment.
"Thank him?" Ji-won echoed.
"Yes," the doctor nodded. "He saved your life. Or, at the very least, saved you from severe injuries."
"That is his duty," Ji-won replied. "He is my secretary. There is nothing special about it."
The doctor froze.
"He simply did his job," he continued, as if explaining the obvious.
For a few seconds, the doctor looked at him as if trying to figure out whether he was joking, and concluded he wasn't.
"Police officers are waiting for you in the hallway," the doctor added.
Ji-won wiped his hand across his face in an attempt to rub away the fatigue.
Having given his statement to the police, the man stood up, straightened his shirt, and looked toward the doors of the intensive care unit.
The taxi stopped by the tall gates.
"You can go," Ji-won said curtly as he paid.
He got out without looking back and headed for the entrance. The door opened automatically, letting him inside.
The house was enormous: high ceilings, wide windows, spacious bright rooms, and expensive furniture. Ji-won took off his shoes, slipped into slippers, tossed his keys onto the console table, and walked further in.
He stopped in the living room, unfastened his watch, and placed it on the table. Its glass was cracked. He frowned.
"Damn it."
He picked it up, twirled it in his hands, and set it aside. He would buy a new one. A better one. This one was ruined anyway.
He went into the kitchen, poured himself some water, and took a few sips.
His phone vibrated.
A message from security.
"I'll have to hurry up and find a new secretary," he muttered under his breath. "There are already meetings, a schedule, and negotiations tomorrow..."
The thought of having to find someone else, someone new, was irritating. Yeo-jun did his job well—perfectly, one might say. He had been working for several years; Ji-won was used to him.
"What awful timing," he said aloud.
Finding a new secretary would take time. No one would instantly understand him from half a word and know his habits.
He paced the room, sat on the sofa, and leaned back.
"Well, it happens," he said quietly.
He didn't think about Yeo-jun's condition or the fact that he was actually the cause of it. Something else was more important: who was going to open doors for him, keep track of his schedule, and do all the work now?
He closed his eyes.
"I'll sort it out tomorrow," he said aloud again.
Then he got up, walked through the house, and in the bedroom, took off his shirt, tossing it right onto the floor.
He rolled his shoulder; his muscles ached. Everything had gone wrong. A second later, he felt a sharp heaviness in his head. It was as if the walls were closing in, and air was becoming scarce. Another second—and everything began to slide before his eyes as the floor gave way beneath his feet.
"What..." he started, but couldn't finish.
His body refused to obey him. And Ji-won lost consciousness.