CHFL Chapter 1 Part 2

It’s Too Good to Forget (Part 2)

I quietly waited in my corner, hoping the elevator would start moving again soon.

The only sounds were the ticking of the clock and his breathing—growing heavier by the second.

Then, suddenly—rip.

He unbuttoned two buttons of his shirt.

His movements were shaky, as if he were gasping for air. He was clearly trying to act normal, but his erratic gestures only made me feel more anxious. I swallowed hard. When the sound echoed in the small elevator, I cleared my throat awkwardly.

The tension became unbearable.

Hoo.

Chae Soo let out a deep breath. Instinctively, I turned my head—and our eyes met.

Normally, I would’ve rolled my eyes and looked away, pretending not to notice.

But let me clarify something first.

There was an unspoken rule between us.

Neither of us ever said it aloud, but it had been there since the day I joined his team: We do not acknowledge our past at work.

Judging by how long we had kept up the act, it seemed neither of us felt the need to break the silence.

And yet, that elevator?

That was still within company grounds.

Which meant the rule was still in effect.

But who am I? Han Yeon-du.

When everyone else at the company boasted about being born with a silver spoon, wasn’t I the daughter of a firefighter? Altruism was in my blood.

So, regardless of our history, wasn’t it only right to help stabilize his nerves—even if just a little?

Before I could overthink it, my lips moved on their own.

“This time…”

At my words, Chae Soo’s dark eyes wavered slightly.

Or maybe it was just my own nerves making me see things.

I moistened my dry lips and continued.

“This time, you don’t have to worry about your phone battery dying.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Chae Soo raised a brow and let out another deep breath.

I don’t know if my words helped him.

All I know is that “this time” dragged back memories we had desperately buried.

Lowering my gaze, I noticed his broad chest rising and falling rapidly beneath his shirt.

Then, with a ragged breath, he spoke.

“This time…”

His grip tightened on the elevator railing.

Then, through clenched teeth—

“I don’t need your help this time.”

* * *

After lunch, I returned to the office and intentionally avoided Chae Soo. I made up excuses to go to the information center, then to the evaluation room, and then to the company building, acting as if I were doing all the work myself—just so I wouldn’t even step on a shadow that resembled his.

Of course, there was no shadow that resembled Chae Soo in our company to begin with. After all, even the shadows of handsome people are handsome. Although he may not have the careful and innocent face of my ideal type, his annoyingly perfect looks and unlucky personality made him stand out even from afar, so avoiding him wasn’t particularly difficult.

After wandering around like that for the entire afternoon, I finally reached the end of the workday, which felt like liberation. I did my best to act as if nothing had happened, keeping a calm expression as I cleaned up my desk and picked up my bag. Even so, I must have had some conscience left, because I rolled my eyes and glanced at Chae Soo’s desk.

What, he’s not there?

Thinking I must have seen wrong, I leaned back to double-check. His desk was still empty. Judging from the fact that it was as spotless as my own face, this could only mean—

“Senior Han, are you leaving already?”

As I was rocking back and forth on my seat, stretching my neck out, enjoying the strange bounce, Joo Jae-hee, the researcher sitting next to me, looked over with a puzzled expression. Without even thinking about covering up my obvious surprise, I gestured toward the empty desk.

“Yes. Did the manager leave already?”

“He left early.”

“Early dismissal? The manager?”

“Yeah, I think he wasn’t feeling well.”

“Oh…”

He left work early. Because he wasn’t feeling well. When he was the one who wanted to have dinner? Ha, if I had known that—

I wouldn’t have run around all afternoon avoiding him! I walked over seven thousand steps because of that man. Somehow, I felt wronged, but the important thing was that he was gone. I suppressed the ridiculous joy bubbling up in my chest by pressing my lips together.

“Don’t you like Manager a little too much, Senior Han?”

“Me?”

I… like Chae Soo? I blinked at Joo Jae-hee’s absurd comment, as if the world had turned upside down, and looked at him. He squinted his already small eyes even further and started giggling.

“When I told you the manager was sick, your face completely changed.”

“Oh.”

“See? You’re not even denying it.”

It wasn’t that I was pleased that he was sick, but what did it matter to me whether he was feeling well or not? Anyway, our supposed dinner plans were automatically canceled, so my mind felt lighter. I smiled at Joo Jae-hee, who was still teasing me, and left the office. The weight that had been pressing on my chest all afternoon seemed to finally lift, and I walked out of the building with light steps.

Seriously, Chae Soo, what were you planning for dinner anyway?

It seemed like there was more he wanted to say about yesterday, but he couldn’t. What was the point of going back to something that had already happened? We were both adults in our thirties—surely, we could treat it as a passing incident.

No, saying it like that makes it sound like we slept together or something. It wasn’t anything like that. If anything like that had happened, I would have jumped into the Han River before submitting my resignation. That would never happen between us.

It’s just that I… no, we… No, I just lost my mind a little, and he’s just—objectively speaking—too great at everything, even when I try to judge rationally…

Bang.

Startled, I looked up as a car suddenly pulled up beside me, honking. I instinctively straightened my stiff shoulders and tried to take a step forward, but the horn blared again—this time, a little more impatiently—and the passenger window rolled down.

“Senior Han.”

If only my last name were Kim or Lee. If I had a more common surname, I could have pretended not to recognize the voice and just kept walking. But no, my last name was rare, and the voice calling it was unmistakable. Even though I knew exactly who it was, I still foolishly turned my head toward the car.

“Chae… sir?”

I idiotically asked who it was, even though I already knew. From the driver’s seat, Chae Soo leaned over toward the passenger side and called out to me again, looking exasperated.

“Get in.”

“…Why?”

“What do you mean, why? We need to have dinner.”

The happiness I had felt just minutes ago crumbled like a house of cards.

They said you weren’t feeling well. They even said you left work early!

All sorts of questions froze my lips, and ridiculous excuses flooded my mind.

I stood there like a statue, my feet planted to the ground like the dental implant I had paid for my uncle to get. Chae Soo, visibly frustrated, got out of the car and walked over. After taking a few steps, he opened the passenger door and looked at me.

“What are you doing?”

“…Can we do this next time? I’m not really hungry today.”

“Then let’s skip dinner and just talk.”

“Sir, I suddenly caught cold…”

As if gauging my expression, his voice trailed off.

“Ahem… my voice is…”

“Senior Han Yeon-du.”

My lower lip, which I had been nervously chewing, stopped moving when I heard my full name.

“If you say one more word,” Chae Soo said, “I’ll report you for sexual harassment.”

His next words nearly made me pass out.

Okay, let’s admit what needs to be admitted and move on. If Chae Soo’s fainting due to breathing difficulties was the beginning of yesterday’s incident, then I suppose the development of that harrassment story was on my part. Unfortunately, that was true.

Left alone with an unconscious Chae Soo, I greeted the rescue team and the elevator maintenance employee who had just arrived. The expressions on the faces of the onlookers, including them, were grim. If Chae Soo hadn’t regained consciousness so quickly, I might have been known as a sociopath who just stood there watching someone die.

But that doesn’t mean I could have held onto a passed-out man and given him artificial respiration like I did back then. A man… You might wonder why gender matters in this situation, but between Chae Soo and me, it could be an important point of discussion.

Anyway, I didn’t show him more kindness than necessary based on my accumulated knowledge of Chae Soo, but it’s not like I stood there hoping for his demise. If I had actually wanted him to just die on his own, that would be a different story.

So, I got out of the elevator with Chae Soo amid the whirlwind of gazes and ended up accompanying him to the hospital. But who was Chae Soo? Of course, he insisted he was perfectly fine. And sure, if we were ranking faces, he was definitely the best-looking person there, but that wasn’t the point. Even if he were dying, he’d probably refuse to go to the hospital.

His stubbornness was truly astounding. Since I had long known about his broken personality, I had no choice but to agree with his claim that he was “perfectly fine” just to get out of the situation quickly. My reluctant agreement probably made me look like I lacked common sense, but I deserve applause for saving him from a hospital trip under the excuse of work.

…Now that I think about it, that was a mistake too. Whether he passed out, hated hospitals, or whatever—why did I care? I should have just gone home straightly. Instead, I insisted on following him, and worse, I ended up accompanying him home. Even I can’t understand my actions yesterday.

If I think about it, maybe his face triggers a protective instinct in me? While reminiscing about yesterday, I glanced at the driver’s seat, trying to prove my absurd theory.

A protective instinct… toward Chae Soo? What kind of hot iced Americano nonsense is this? Sure, I’d protect someone I wanted to protect, but him? With his towering height and a body like a sportswear mannequin? He hardly looks like someone who needs protecting.

And it’s not like he’d be the type to protect someone either. If someone stabbed him, he wouldn’t bleed—he’d just hunt the attacker down and drain their blood. There’s no way I’d feel protective toward someone like that.

If it’s not a protective instinct… then in the end, it’s just because I’m too kind. That’s it. The reason I helped him, both then and now, was out of simple camaraderie as a teammate, professional courtesy, and basic human decency. Nothing more.

There’s no way it was anything else, because I don’t even— rationally—find him attractive…

I shrugged and looked outside the window. Maybe it’s time to define exactly who should be eating those beautifully arranged persimmon. No matter how good-looking Chae Soo is, I’m a woman, and to me, he’s just a picture-perfect delicious persimmon.

If I had to name a crime I committed, it would be the crime of poking at a persimmon I couldn’t eat. And that is supposed to be sexual harassment? He’s reporting for that? I was so dumbfounded by his words that I kept my mouth shut until we arrived at the restaurant he had dragged me to.

“Get out.”

When I finally snapped out of my thoughts at the sharp tone, I looked around and saw a restaurant with a sign that read Pufferfish Specialty. How fitting—mocking my pitiful situation.

“I told you, I’m not having dinner.”

“Then don’t eat. Just sit there and watch me.”

So, despite my protests, I found myself sitting across from Chae Soo, staring at two bowls of clear pufferfish soup filled with water parsley and oyster mushrooms.

“I really wasn’t feeling well, but since my manager bought this for me, I’ll eat it with gratitude.”