DD Chapter 9
He crumpled up the resignation letter in front of Yeonwoo and threw it on the floor. The ball of paper bounced off the floor once and rolled at Yeonwoo’s feet.
She bent down the pick up the paper and unfolded it before placing it on Seokheon’s desk.
“The work doesn’t suit me.”
“You didn’t even say a word to me about it!”
What angered Seokheon was that Yeonwoo decided to resign without talking to him. It didn’t matter if she left the company or went back to school, but he felt he should be part of that decision; at least it meant she was thinking about her future with him.
“The Managing Director isn’t idle enough to even worry or decide on my resignation.”
“Do you think I want to know as the Managing Director of this company? You’re my woman, so I should know!”
He hurriedly approached and grabbed Yeonwoo to turn her around. His lips were curled downward, and his eyebrows were knotted together.
“Did you do it on purpose?”
Maybe he sensed something strange?
“I checked the date of when you submitted your resignation. It was when I was in Dubai.”
Yeonwoo tried to keep her face calm. If he caught her, she might lose her chance to leave him forever.
“It’s not like that,” Yeonwoo said, her face neutral.
“Then what! Why didn’t you say a word to me until your last day!”
Yeonwoo grabbed his hand. Seokheon, who was waving his fist in the air, stopped in surprise.
“Oppa.” Yeonwoo had never addressed him so familiarly in the company. “I did it because I wanted to rest. It’s just not for me.”
She swore she’s never tried to manipulate and take advantage of his feelings for her.
“…”
When Yeonwoo held his hand and spoke softly, Seokheon’s burning anger subsided. As she watched his furrowed brows relax, she said, “You said we’re going to get married…”
I’m sorry.
“When you said that… I thought it would be better to resign.”
I don’t have the confidence to handle you.
I can’t afford to live with you and disappoint everyone around us.
“I want to learn how to cook, and I didn’t know how to be a homemaker, so I want to study those things, too… I also wanted to go on a trip.”
Yeonwoo stood up and looked at him.
“Haa.” Seokheon roughly ran his hands through his hair. “Yeonwoo. Is that why you didn’t tell me, hmm?”
Seokheon’s tone softened. Just mentioning marriage calmed him down, and his attitude cooled.
“You were on a business trip to Dubai and you’re busy…”
Yeonwoo’s hands were trembling. She tried to leave quietly, but she didn’t know she had to fool him first to do it.
As much as she deceived Jaesik, her lifesaver, she was so disgusted with herself at this moment that she betrayed Seokheon’s heart. She almost couldn’t bear it.
“Okay, okay. Your resignation’s been approved anyway, so there’s nothing I can do. You can do whatever you want.” Seokheon ran his fingers through his hair once more to shake off his anger. “I’ll get you a car, so learn whatever you want, and when you’re ready, I’ll ask for Grandfather’s permission to get married.”
His anger completely disappeared when she mentioned she wanted to learn to cook before they got married. He said, “Are you mad at me for yelling?”
“No. It’s my fault for not saying anything…”
“You’re not at fault. You wanted to do something else, but I persuaded you to join the company.”
Seokheon even felt sorry for her. As he said, he made Yeonwoo join the company and insisted on getting married.
Yeonwoo, who accepted Seokheon’s demands without complaints, expressed her dislike for the first time, and he felt pathetic for pushing her.
“I’m happy though. That you accepted the marriage proposal.” Seokheon approached and hugged Yeonwoo. “What do you want to learn? Oh, do you want to move in with me? I’ll hire a tutor for you, so take a break a do what you want.”
Yeonwoo closed his eyes tightly as the large body enveloped her. Her guilt only increased at the soft voice that pierced into her ears.
“We need to get permission from grandfather first to move in with you…”
“Yes, let’s do that then. And let’s try to take a vacation soon. I haven’t had a vacation in five years, so I have enough time to travel abroad.”
“I’ll go then. I still need to say goodbye to my teammates.”
She couldn’t face him anymore, so she turned around, but Seokheon came and hugged her back.
“Ah, Yeonwoo.”
“Yeah?”
“You told me not to call you personally at work. I’m sorry.” He won’t drive her to the edge again. “I was angry that you were leaving without a word that I couldn’t tell the difference.”
“It’s okay.”
“Let’s have a party on Saturday to commemorate your resignation.”
“…Okay.”
“I’ll prepare your favorite rosé wine.” Seokheon kissed the top of Yeonwoo’s forehead, vowing to do better than he was in his immature days if Yeonwoo would stay his her side.
“I love you.”
He truly did.
2. A Mismatched Encounter
Yeonwoo packed up and left the office before the end of their shift. It was a pity that she had to leave the office she loved, but she was running out of time to pack her belongings at home and leave Seoul.
Director Choi was disappointed that she didn’t participate in the farewell dinner, but as long as Manager Jeong was there, there was still a risk of Manager Jeong running her mouth to ruin her life.
She came down to the lobby, opened the door, and stepped outside when she heard a voice calling her from behind her.
“Yeonwoo! Yeonwoo!” It was Jeongmi. When Yeonwoo left the office, Jeongmi wasn’t there, so she didn’t have the chance to say goodbye. “Where are you going without even saying goodbye!”
“I thought you weren’t in the office.”
As Jeongmi approached and stood in front of Yeonwoo, Yeonwoo could see she looked genuinely sad to say goodbye.
“It was great to be assigned to the same team as you.”
Jeongmi had treated her warmly throughout their time together at the company. She could have gotten closer to her, but Yeonwoo wasn’t proud of her situation and had set up a wall instead.
“Yesterday, I heard that you were leaving the company, so I went to the department store and bought it,” Jeongmi said, placing a small package on the box Yeonwoo carried.
“What’s this?”
“Lipstick. If I had known about your resignation sooner, I would have chosen the gift more carefully… Still, I worked hard on it, so please accept it.”
“Thank you, Jeongmi.”
“You said you were going on a trip?”
Yeonwoo smiled brightly, unable to answer Jeongmi’s question. When she told the office she was resigning because she wanted to travel and study for a while, Jeongmi believed it, too.
“Send me photos you take while traveling.”
She was not preparing for a trip but, in fact, an escape. Not knowing what another life would be like, she didn’t know when she would unpack the new lipstick Jeongmi had given her.
Still, she was incredibly grateful for her sincerity.
“Thank you, Jeongmi.”
“Goodbye, Yeonwoo. I hope to see you in private next time.”
Yeonwoo knew she couldn’t keep the promise, but she agreed before turning around to leave.
She left the towering building of Mirae Construction’s headquarters. The front of the building made of all-glass windows reflected the pure blue winter sky.
This was Yeonwoo’s first job. When she joined the company, she didn’t know how good it was for a while.
After staring at the building she had walked out on, Yeonwoo headed to the bus stop.
The villa where Yeonwoo lived was fully furnished, so rent was a little more expensive than in other places. However, although the rent was a burden, it was convenient to move in and out thanks to the built-in furniture.
Upon returning home, Yeonwoo opened the kitchen cabinet and took out a trash bag. She had been selling small appliances for a month with a secondhand trader in her spare time, but she still had one load to put away.
She couldn’t take everything with her, so she opened up two 20L garbage bags, packed everything she wouldn’t take, and threw it away.
Yeonwoo packed her underwear and clothes in a large suitcase. It happened to be winter, so packing clothes was taxing.
She put the money she had withdrawn in her handbag and set aside some money she would use for the time being. Finally, as agreed with the landlord, she deposited a cleaning fee and changed the house password to 1111.
It was 6:30 when she finished everything and went out.
After heading straight to the bus terminal, Yeonwoo left Seoul at 7:10 and boarded the bus bound for Hwaseong.
Since it was a Friday night, everyone was on the way home from work, so the bus stopped and stopped, and it took a long time to reach the highway tollgate.
When Yeonwoo saw the West Seoul tollgate, her phone buzzed.
「Where are you?」
It was a text from Seokheon. She hadn’t dropped her phone right away because Seoul had a lot of CCTVs that could track her.
If she didn’t reach out, Seokheon would come home and start looking for her. So she grabbed her phone and got on the bus.
「I decided to meet with my college classmates to commemorate my resignation.」
「Where?」
「In Itaewon.」
He would usually pick up Yeonwoo wherever she went. Since Itaewon wasn’t far from his house, he would probably tell her he’d pick her up today.
「Shall I pick you up later?」
She knew it.
「Give me freedom for just one day.」
Yeonwoo didn’t think he would listen to her if she just sent that message, so she typed in more words that Seokheon might like.
「I would rarely get time like this when I become a married woman.」
Her heart hurt as she texted him lies. Seokheon would definitely believe she agreed she’d marry him.
Can I deceive him like this?
「Okay.」
She was about to put her phone in her bag when she received another message.
「Oh, by the way. I’m going to buy wine. What time will you come tomorrow?」
「I’ll be late today. I’ll let you know tomorrow afternoon」
「Okay. I understand.」
Tomorrow, this number would be non-existent. Not only this number, but Yeonwoo would no longer be Seokheon’s.
The bus passed through the West Seoul tollgate. As she moved farther away from Seoul, Yeonwoo thought of Seokheon.
May he forget me and live an heir’s life as his grandfather had expected.
Although the breakup would be painful and difficult for a while, she sincerely wished him happiness.
Novel Endeavors 
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