Chapter 364
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The Director's Daily Life
Dealing with headaches both domestic and international left me with a considerable mental burden.
Back in my Lee Seong-jun days, family had eased that fatigue.
But Bae Seong-jun had no family.
“So, you just shoulder that burden alone?”
Of course not.
These days, I satisfied my desires and vented my stress by holding a young woman in my arms.
That said, I didn't live so promiscuously as to draw frowns from those around me.
I didn't need to be a model for all like I had been as Lee Seong-jun, but I had no intention of creating needless vulnerabilities.
“Better to avoid seeds of trouble.”
The women I took were strictly limited to those who guaranteed absolute secrecy.
“What about marriage, then?”
I hadn't given it much thought.
With my downfall certain to bring misery to any family, why would I bring a child into that?
A woman was enough to soothe the weariness of life.
Lately, the woman I was seeing was a young, beautiful secretary in her twenties who assisted with clerical work in my office.
She was an unmarried young lady, but remarkably forward about our relationship.
When I once asked why she'd given herself to me, her answer was this.
“Who would turn down the most attractive man in Daehan?”
Her mindset resembled my wife from my previous life, Baek Ha-yeon.
The difference was that this girl was more overt and faithful to her desires.
Truth be told, her breasts were a bit larger, and her development more impressive.
Her long, slender legs and proportions evoked a model.
In any case, there was nothing particularly special about this romance with the young secretary.
Aside from putting on a strict boss-subordinate act at work to mind public eyes, it wasn't much different from any ordinary couple.
The shift happened when we left the Gold Mountain compound.
“Director, you've kept me waiting.”
On my way home, I picked up the secretary waiting in the parking lot and got her into the car.
From that moment, we became something like lovers.
Eyes might be on us in the car, so nothing happened there, but things changed once we reached the official residence.
Upon arrival, I always stole a kiss from the alluring secretary's lips and tangled with her.
Dreamy eyes.
Whenever I gazed into her hazy eyes, I lost myself in her, forgetting my tangled thoughts.
Even a man who prided himself as Daehan's iron man was just an ordinary soul in need of comfort at times.
In those moments, I keenly felt a fresh longing for the family I'd lost.
Lee Jae-jun, Lee Se-eun, Baek Ha-yeon.
I whispered their names to myself countless times.
Then, I slipped up once.
“Director, do you like Young Lady by any chance?”
One morning, as she brought me coffee after I woke, the secretary posed that question.
“What nonsense is that?”
“While you were sleeping, you said the name Lee Se-eun several times.”
“That was...”
At a loss for an excuse, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“My rival, so I must've been thinking about her nonstop.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Then I don't need to worry.”
“About what?”
“About someone stealing you away.”
It was an utterly seductive response.
We shared this sweet relationship, but we had our lines too.
No matter how physically close or emotionally intimate we grew, at work we were nothing more or less than director and secretary.
That was the unspoken rule we'd agreed on.
As the nation's top power holder, I had a duty to be utterly serious in official matters.
Of course, subtle signals that didn't draw attention were fine.
The secretary steadily showed light affection, like drawing a heart in the foam of the coffee she brought me.
I endured the rigors of state affairs by leaning on the sweet-and-sour thrill of my romance with her.
Truthfully, I wanted no more comfort than that.
Whether she sensed my feelings or not, marriage proposals kept coming from those around me.
“Director, my daughter is such a good girl. How about meeting her once?”
Chaebol heirs, bureaucrats, generals—they all pushed relatives or kin at me with arranged marriage offers.
It was utterly tiresome.
“No interest. Please find your daughter a better match elsewhere.”
I cut down every proposal without mercy.
Even building such a cold wall didn't stop them.
“Marrying into Bae Seong-jun's circle means a smooth path ahead.”
My power was real, regardless of the curses hurled my way.
People saw marriage as a way to latch onto my line.
The reason was simple.
There was no other link to me.
“Isn't there Seongjun Middle and High? Seongjun alumni—don't you remember them?”
That?
I'd shut it down by executive order earlier this year.
Of course, there had been backlash against closing Seongjun High.
“Seongjun alumni are the core leading this nation. You know that better than anyone, Director.”
“Jang Dong-yun is an extreme exception from Seongjun. We can't plow up the whole field over one bad sprout.”
I ignored the opposition and bulldozed Seongjun High.
“I can't forgive lording over this country just on the name Seongjun alumni.”
As a result of obliterating Seongjun, only one link to me remained.
Marriage.
If I were an ordinary power holder, there'd be no reason to refuse proposals.
“Marriage is a fine way to bolster one's power base—that's the normal thinking.”
But I had no desire to reinforce my base more than needed.
“If my foundation gets too solid, it'll be Lee Seong-jun's return.”
That would inevitably threaten my plans.
“Better to dodge such risks if possible.”
For myself and for Daehan.
I kept up an iron wall against marriage talk.
Perhaps finding my stance odd, the secretary asked.
“Director.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you really never getting married?”
Her gaze held a hint of expectation, so I shut it down firmly.
“No reason to.”
I meant it.
“If there's truly no one else, what about me?”
“That offer doesn't appeal.”
At that, she crossed her legs and shot me a tempting look.
“Even like this?”
It was tempting, but sex and marriage were different.
“I don't want to.”
“I want to know why.”
Why, huh.
I shared my thoughts with the secretary.
“If I have a child, it won't be good for this nation's future.”
Just as Lee Jae-jun's mere existence shook Korea, Bae Seong-jun's child posed the same risk.
“You sound just like Ataturk.”
“Maybe so.”
Ataturk.
Modern Turkey's founding father.
He too never had children his whole life.
Out of fear his bloodline would inherit power hereditarily.
It aligned perfectly with my own worries.
“Then, Director—if there's a woman fine with no kids, marriage wouldn't be so bad, right?”
“What kind of talk is that? No woman is okay with no children.”
Women of this era thought they needed at least two or three kids.
At that, the secretary laughed and pointed to herself.
“Right here.”
“Don't joke.”
“Why would I joke about this with you?”
She always had those dreamy, hazy eyes, but now they held a sharp clarity.
“You're serious?”
“Dead serious.”
“What fun is life with a guy like me and no kids?”
“I told you at the start. No one's more attractive than you.”
Was that just flattery for my power?
When I asked, she agreed.
“Power is attractive, isn't it?”
“What if I lose my power?”
“It'd take at least twenty years for that to happen to you.”
I chuckled dryly at her reply.
“An answer like that kills any attraction I feel.”
“Then I'll show you my charms.”
The secretary approached and kissed me.
Her lips carried a faint grape scent.
Or was it apple?
Definitely some sweet fruit aroma.
Naturally, we tangled together.
After a good while of tussling, the secretary spoke up.
“Director.”
“Yeah.”
“Have you thought about it?”
“Dunno.”
“Oh, come on. Marriage.”
“That? No thanks.”
I was a man of firm convictions.
“Why not?”
“Don't want to add more burdens to what I'm already carrying.”
Even tending to Se-eun, Jae-jun, and Baek Ha-yeon in stolen moments was honestly taxing.
No desire to add a new wife to that.
“That's so you, Director.”
“You think that's me? What kind of guy am I?”
I was a bit curious about her assessment.
After all, we'd shared skin and sheets, so it'd probably be favorable.
Or so I thought briefly.
But her evaluation was harsh.
“Cold and rigid.”
“You'd marry a guy like that?”
“Truth is, serving you in bed without marriage isn't much different.”
Fair point.
Married or not, she was plenty busy crying out beneath me.
In her eyes, I read a desire to advance our abnormal relationship with Bae Seong-jun.
But I couldn't grant that wish.
Perhaps at this point, we were on parallel tracks.
“Human hearts are never simple, huh.”
If she couldn't let go of her greed here, our relationship wouldn't last long.
Once I sorted her out, it'd be a while without another outlet, I supposed.
I gave a wry smile.