Chapter 6
**CHAT_TITLE: The Discomfort (1)**
"Hello."
"Ah! Hello. The rain's coming down pretty heavily today, isn't it?"
I forced myself to stay composed and turned my eyes away, and the receptionist, like a fresh summer flower, greeted me with a bright smile.
"Yes... I'm soaked because of Saho."
"Aigoo~ Really! How could the representative make the fiancée's shoulders so drenched?"
It was me who brought the umbrella.
Saho was still an unconscious child that I had to take care of.
Even though he had committed many mistakes, he was still just a little brat.
"I didn't do that."
-Beep.
"No matter what, that's the way it is!"
'That person's amazing.'
Even though Saho looked young, he was still the representative of this company.
Yet the front-line employee, with his hackles raised, seemed anything but an ordinary worker.
Like a general guarding a bridge in a rugged valley—
'Thinking about it, this place really is a valley.'
The glass gate blocking the path before the elevator was like a fortress built in front of a gateway.
"Saho, don't scold him too harshly. I keep tilting the umbrella for Saho."
I had learned how women use those cleverly deflecting words after having many conversations with Yejie and the rest of the secretary team.
It felt strange for me to speak like this, but just like always, Saho told me to use anything I could, so I was simply making the most of his advice.
"Huh? Why did you personally bring the umbrella, Miss?"
"You can see for yourself that Saho is so small."
Unlike when I first met Saho, his height now was almost the same as mine.
If I wasn't wearing heels, I would be only slightly taller.
Still, it felt good to have the chance to tease Saho, so I chatted like a fish just out of water with the receptionist.
Saho at least acted composed in front of others.
As soon as I started teasing him, revealing the opposite of his usual self, Saho grabbed my hand as if he was shivering.
"Noona. Let's go."
Saho's hand, holding mine, was strangely damp compared to before.
It had rained hard enough for the watershed to close, so the air was full of moisture, but it wasn't enough for hands to get that wet.
Even the boy had come out clean and fresh, as if untouched by the goodwill I had shown him.
"Hey. Are you sweating?"
-Beep!
"I don't know...
As I stepped through the gate and stood in front of the elevator, despite the early morning hour, many people lined up on both sides and boarded the elevator in order.
'The daily struggles of office workers, huh.'
Obviously, the elevator was too full of wet umbrellas to fit more people.
Because of that, the line in front of the elevator showed no sign of getting shorter even though it was quite crowded.
While I was busy gawking at the people, Saho was in a frenzy, repeatedly pressing the elevator call button.
As soon as the elevator opened, he didn't even press 15 and kept hitting the close button.
'Why is he doing that?'
"Hey. If you keep doing that, the elevator will break, you know."
"Why? Do you want the elevator to break and get stuck with me in this small cabin?"
The moment the door closed, Saho, who had been carrying the atmosphere of when we were alone at home, grabbed my hand tightly as if nothing had happened.
"It hurts."
"Why don't you do that when we're alone, but act so lively with so many people around?"
"Huh?"
-Thud.
"Ouch?!"
Saho, who had been yanked back by my hand and slammed against the opposite elevator wall, pouted as he looked at me cornered.
'Is he... playing with me? Or is he not?'
Saho's approaching face brought all sorts of imaginations to my mind.
Imaginations of pink and red hues quickly painted my face in blushing colors.
"W-what are you... trying to do?"
"Well..."
I urgently reached out to press 11, but the damn elevator just kept repeating that it wasn't recognized.
"Noona. If I press it a few more times, we'll really be trapped in the elevator."
"Huh?!"
Just like before boarding, I had been hammering 11 and 15 alternately, but upon hearing his words, I froze.
Being startled was one thing, but now I had decided to fix Saho's bad habits.
"No, don't you dare think of treating people like luggage and slamming them against the wall."
"Noona challenged me first."
"...
M-sorry?"
"If you do that from now on, I won't let you off. Do you understand?"
"U-understood...
Clearly, I had been about to scold Saho.
Just a few seconds ago, I had.
'Why am I apologizing to this guy?'
"Why am I the one making the apologetic atmosphere?"
"Noona teased me."
Saho, with his pouty lips, had a completely different look from the wild person who had slammed someone into a wall.
'Why is he acting like this again?'
Saho, who had even more extreme emotional swings than me, was an unknown territory to my bluntness, like an unpredictable typhoon.
"Yeah. I'm sorry about that, but you didn't tease me, did you?"
"When?"
"At home."
"This is the company. We have to distinguish between work and private life."
"...
It's totally forced."
To escape this situation right away, I needed to quickly avoid being alone with Saho.
-Beep.
-11th floor.
"Hey. You're going to the representative's office, right?"
"Of course. But why are you going to the 11th floor?"
"To the secretary's office?"
It was too obvious.
The team I worked for in Mirae Company was the secretary team.
Since I couldn't receive a direct handover from Yejie, I had to quickly scan through everything she had left.
-Beep.
-Cancel 11th floor.
-15th floor.
"Huh? Hey, why did you cancel?"
"I was supposed to come to the representative's office first."
"...
I'll ask Yejie later and if you even lie a little, you'll get one wish for every lie."
"A wish?"
"Yeah."
"Well, if I can grant it, I'll grant it."
"No more distractions later."
"Yes...
Saho nodded several times, and the smile he showed me when we were alone at home returned.
Whatever was making him so happy.
He looked at me with a smile that only we could see when we were alone.
'Why am I feeling superior in this situation?'
It was a strange feeling.
It wasn't about committing a crime or harming others, yet I shook my head at this inexplicable emotion.
-15th floor.
-The door is opening.
"Please get off."
"Yeah."
The representative's office, seen from the elevator, felt different from when I had come here alone for business with Saho before.
Perhaps because I was here with the intention of working.
Even though it was the same place and the same people were looking, it felt strangely different.
"Noona."
"Huh?"
"First, I'll bring up a few files for you to glance at."
"Okay, okay."
As soon as I opened the door to the representative's office, unlike when I left, the sun floating behind the clouds was still faintly illuminating the place.
The rain falling outside and the light reflected on the glass windows made the representative's office feel bright and cheerful.
Saho, still holding my hand, led me to the seat where he usually sat.
Naturally, he booted up the computer and sat down, then glanced at me standing beside him and tapped the chair he was in.
"Why?"
"Please sit here."
"Are you out of your mind?"
Even outside of the office, this was Saho—only invincible when we were alone.
Obviously, when others were around, he was the weakest with zero defense, yet the moment we were alone, he was all over me, teasing and provoking.
"No. It's completely normal. Look."
Saho turned the monitor slightly so I could see easily, stood up, pulled me to him, and made me sit on the chair.
Even if I was here as a substitute, publicly known as Saho's fiancée, I couldn't avoid wearing those hated high heels just because I had come to work.
'It's actually comfortable.'
The soft chair enveloped my entire body like it was hugging me.
Leaning back against the chair and scanning the monitor, I realized the files were almost identical to what Yejie had sent.
The only difference was that a red slash had been drawn across them in the afternoon.
"Saho...
What is this? Where did you go so quickly?"
I had only briefly turned my eyes to the monitor when Saho was suddenly gone from the representative's office.
"I'm in the restroom."
"Why? I can do it."
"No. Noona got drenched from the rain, so I brought a towel and a warm cup of coffee. Keep looking at the screen."
'He acted all pouty, but maybe he was grateful after all.'
My body was trembling slightly, and unlike when I was a man, it felt even shivery inside.
Given that it was a rain as heavy as when summer was almost over, I hadn't expected myself to get this wet, yet my white blouse was already revealing my skin.
'That's why Yejie made me wear skin-colored clothes during rainy days.'
If I had worn my usual black underwear, it would have definitely shown through.
Even the black ones, which were meant for women anyway, were designed to highlight their femininity, with delicate lace that exuded a mature atmosphere.
Walking around the company drenched in the rain like this, wearing such things, might get me labeled as a crazy woman or someone who works at night.
If it was directed at me, it wouldn't matter, but Saho, who was supposed to be my partner, was the one leading this company.
"Noona, here's the towel."
"Okay."
Saho threw the neatly folded towel like a two-handed toss, and the moment I received it, he picked up the coffee and walked slowly toward me.
"This is what the gentleman of this room is offering."
Following some bartender from my novel.