.01

Fatal attraction

 

 

 

 

 

She stared into the mirror in front of her and could hardly believe that the person in its reflection was her. The concealer she had applied earlier covered most of the darkness that appeared under her eyes, which resulted from a lack of sleep last night. Even with makeup, her eyes still appeared tired, and she couldn’t stop yawning. After smearing lip balm on her lips, she reached for her work bag and the resignation letter she had written up in the previous evening. There could be a chance that she might need it today.

Yoonji stopped at the Starbucks she frequented to and ordered a Caramel Macchiato before taking the usual route to her working place. Her stomach churned, and her hands clenched and unclenched as she waited for her train to arrive.

 

Stop thinking so much, Han Yoonji. It’s not like he will hurt you. The most he can do is fire you, and if you do get fired, you can always find another job at other places that are… not owned by him.

 

Her shoulder fell when she realized how big his name is in the business world.

 

Get a grip, Han Yoonji. The world is not his, for God’s sake!

 

She took a deep breath and entered the Nam International Company building, smiling to and greeting the workers as she walked past them. Right when she felt her worries diminishing and her confidence redeeming, his presence easily shattered her calm façade, and her anxiety became undone as she dashed to hide behind the nearest wall block when she saw him walking into the building with his secretary alongside him.

Her heart stammered in her chest, pounding so loudly that she was sure everyone around her could hear it. Her grip on her bag tightened around the straps. She didn’t know why, but she couldn’t help but feel intimidated when he was around. His strong aura had an unspoken effect on her, and she could feel it even just at the sight of him.

 

She wanted to go home right that moment. She decided that she would call her boss and let him know that she couldn’t make it to work because she had fallen sick due to preparation for the final presentation she had to cover next week.

 

Yes, that should be a good enough excuse.

She shook her head at the thought.

 

No. You can’t do this! Don’t be such a scaredy cat!

 

The people that bypassed her looked at her with amusement on their faces, and when she realized that she was beginning to act like a mad woman in the middle of a busy building, she quickly straightened her body and fixed her skirt.

 

As she turned around, she bumped into someone hard. The drink on her hand spilled on said person’s shirt before she could do anything to prevent the damage.

She looked up to apologize, and their eyes met. Yoonji’s breath was caught in her chest as she realized who that person was. Her mind refused to believe that he was the one who she had run into and whose suit she had just ruined.

An expensive one that is.

 

“I’m so sorry!”

 

Her hands shook as she tried to clean the coffee stain on his shirt, and she jerked a little when his hand reached up to stop her from doing so. She thought that he was going to fire her in that instant, and she acknowledged that she would have to accept his decision without refutation. Fortunately, that was not the case.

 

“It’s okay.”

 

Her eyes looked up at him again, and she swore must have hung wide open when he simply smiled at her, revealing his perfect, even teeth at her.

And when her eyes fell to his secretary, she was glad that she wasn’t the only one surprised by him.

 

“I’m really sorry. Please tell me anything I could do to repay you.”

 

His eyes changed from soft to an unreadable look, and that made her shook in her heels.

 

“Well, in that case, I do think that you will have to pay for this.”

 

“What?” She almost went limp at his remark.

 

Woohyun just laughed softly as he wiped the stain on his shirt with his handkerchief. “I was just kidding. This suit must cost more than what you earn in a year anyway. Let’s go, Minhee. We have a meeting to attend.”

 

He just left her in her dumbfounded state, and she only came back to her senses and realized that he was gone when one of the co-workers from her department came to say hello.

 

 

 

 

She busied herself in her office for the rest of the morning, finishing the slides for her presentation on next week’s event. She was extremely happy and grateful that her boss selected her to be in charge of the project. It really meant a lot to her.

It was almost noon when she got out of her office, and she was making her coffee when she heard the usual gossiping from the room next to the kitchen. She had never been a talkative person, and she always declined everytime they asked her to join them. However, when she heard their topic of gossip for today, her ears perked up on their own.

 

“Apparently, Nam Woohyun is searching for a new secretary because his current one is taking a leave for five months.”

 

“Five months? For what?”

 

The woman she recognized as Hyorim shrugged in response.

 

 

She didn’t wait any longer and made her way to her office. She didn’t want to be involved in or hear anything that entailed Nam Woohyun anymore. She had enough for today.

The smell of coffee lingered in her room, and that’s what she liked the most about coffee. The aroma and the distinct taste.

The phone suddenly rang. She truly hated it when someone interrupts her special time with her coffee, especially during her lunch break, but as a professional, she picked up the phone dutifully.

 

“Yoonji, my office, now.”

 

Her boss sounded anxious, and that made her restless even more. She put on her blazer and went straight to his office which was located just three doors from hers.

She knocked on the door and went inside.

 

“What’s wrong, Mr. Lee?”

 

“First of all, take a seat, Yoonji. And if you can close the door for me, I would really appreciate it,” he smiled.

 

“Oh, sorry.”

 

She must have been too worried that she forgot to close the door. She sat on the chair and eyed her boss.

He was in his late thirties, but he looked younger than his real age. He had just gotten married last year, and she could still remember that almost half of her co-workers were heartbroken over the news.

She couldn’t really blame them though. Mr. Lee is certainly a very good looking man. He’s tall, his sharp jaw line could make all women swoon over him, he has beautiful cheekbones, and his face reminded her of—

 

“Yoonji, are you listening to me?”

 

His voice snapped her back to reality, and she looked at him, her cheeks feeling warm all of sudden.

Oh God, am I blushing? This is so embarrassing!

 

“Yes, I am listening. So what is that got you nervous like this?”

 

He let out a laugh and leaned down on his chair. “Is it that obvious?”

 

Yoonji just nodded.

 

“I don’t know if you have heard about the news yet.”

 

His voice tone changed to his business-like voice, and she gave all her attention to him. She knew what he expected when he’s serious and when he’s not.

 

“What news?”

 

“About our CEO.”

 

She let out an unheard sigh. “About him searching for a new secretary?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“I’m sorry if I sound rude or anything, but what does it have to do with us? Or me?”

 

“Oh, you’re not being rude at all. In fact, I should explain it to you before you get more confused.”

 

Yoonji shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she sensed that she was about to hear something she would not like very much.

 

 

“He wants to find a new secretary. Not an outsider but an insider at that.”

 

Her eyebrow arched. “Meaning?”

 

“It means that he wants someone who is already working for the company. He doesn’t want to hire someone new for the position.”

 

“And that has something to do with me because?”

 

He let out a heavy sigh and changed his hand position from his knee to on the desk.

 

 

“You’ve worked with me for how long? Over a year now, has it been? Although that can be considered as a short amount of time, I am very pleased with your work. In fact, you impressed me with your precision on every assignment that I have given to you. And I think it’s time for you to reach another level on your career. Although I’m not sure you will be chosen, I believe that you have what it takes and will be of great assistance to Mr. Nam.”

 

“Mr. Lee—”

 

“Please call me by my first name. It’s weird to hear you address me so formally.” He gave a reassuring smile.

 

She sighed and fidgeted on her chair. “Sungyeol sshi, I am really happy to be working under you, and to be honest, I am content with where I am right now.”

 

“Listen, Yoonji. I know that you are happy in this department, I can see that. But just think about your future. If you are working with Mr. Nam, you will get better exposure and chances. Just imagine the collaborations you will get with international companies and the amount of salary that you will be paid. I believe that you can achieve all of that, Yoonji. You have a bright future in front of you.”

 

And for countless seconds, Yoonji fell silent.

 

He’s right about everything. This could be my chance to shine. This could be my chance to prove that I can be successful without anyone’s help.

But how am I going to deal with Nam Woohyun? From the coffee incident, it seems that he is oblivious to the fact that I’m the one who ruined his relationship with Seohyun.

 

 

“So what do you think?”

 

She chewed on her bottom lip and finally made her decision.

 

“I will try my best not to disappoint you.”

 

 

So to get the job, I will have to go through an interview. And guess who the interviewer is? Yeah, you guessed it right.

 

After receiving a tremendous amount of support from Sungyeol and her co-workers, she decided to give it a try. She was aware that she might not get be selected, but for the sake of ‘hey, at least I tried’, she concluded that she would go through with it.

There was a strikingly tall woman who greeted her when she arrived at his department.

 

“Can I help you?”

 

“Ah, yes. My name is Han Yoonji, and I’m here for an interview with Mr. Nam.”

 

“Oh, please take a seat. He will be with you momentarily.” The tall woman gave a small smile and returned to her desk.

 

There were only two people left before her, and she started to feel a combination of nerve, anxiety, apprehensiveness, and worry. She felt so small to be in a different department and work with co-workers that she wasn’t familiar with. It’s funny how she felt all of this even though she’s staying in the same company she’s working for.

 

While waiting, she picked up a magazine in front of her, and immediately, her gaze fell to the person that was on the front cover.

She studied his face. His sharp, pointy nose was what stood out the most to her. He has a strong jaw line while his cheeks are quite chubby, but his cheekbones are no joke. He has thick lips, and a pair of small yet sharp eyes that hold a smoldering gaze as he posed in front of the camera, and strong, broad shoulders. The suit he was wearing didn’t have any buttons at all, revealing a little bit of what’s inside.

 

“Miss Yoonji, Mr. Nam is waiting for you.”

 

The tall woman’s voice startled her, and she sincerely hoped that the woman didn’t catch her staring at her boss’s picture.

 

“You look awfully pale. Are you okay?”

 

“I’m fine.” She just smiled at her.

 

She bit her lips and pinched her cheeks for color, a trick she had learned from her mother. She clenched her hands together for the last time and followed the tall woman’s direction to his office.

 

When the door to his office opened, she found herself gaping at the huge room. It was almost like a mansion to her, and she was sure that it was bigger than her entire apartment. Yoonji suddenly didn’t feel like going in any further, and when her eyes fell to the man whom was sitting behind his table and was expecting her, she almost fled the scene but forced herself to walk.

He was at his desk with papers on his hands. He seemed to be really busy, and she wondered why he insisted on conducting an interview by himself.

She waited for him to look up, and when he finally did, her heart almost failed on her.

 

“Miss Han, is it? Do you mind if I call you Yoonji? And oh, please have a seat,” he said softly, his eyes watching her intently.

 

Her eyes held on to his gaze as she lowered herself on the chair in front of her. “No, I don’t mind.”

 

He nodded, his lips still curled into a smile, “Good. So shall we get started with this interview, Yoonji sshi?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Gkaw0816 #1
Chapter 13: Comeback jebal ??????????????????????????????
Gkaw0816 #2
Chapter 13: Wow this story so good .
Gkaw0816 #3
Chapter 13: Update please
Haruwang
#4
Chapter 12: This story was so amazing I wished you could have finished it
Hime_1
#5
Chapter 13: So Sad that authers ditch good and awesome stories and leave it uncompleted.

though years passed but i'll be waiting for updates soon~
kailmursiliII #6
i never get over this story cause its just too good
Catrinamak1121 #7
Who is this girl? This OC girl? She is so pretty
xthiseudia #8
Onnie, pls comeback ;(
kailmursiliII #9
Chapter 13: god i miss this story so much TT
KimHaeRa
#10
Chapter 13: Where is the 'next' button?!! T.T