Chapter 37
Chapter 37
As if he had expected this reaction, Dong-pyo shrugged his shoulders.
“Humans express their emotions through various signals besides language, you know.”
Excited, Dong-pyo continued without a pause.
“Based on my data analysis, Han-gyeol’s uncle’s neck turns the color of a roasted sweet potato even if you just smile a little, Teacher. And even when he’s talking to someone else, he always steals a glance at you before he finishes his sentence. That’s a clear expression of deep affection and attachment.”
“Whoa.”
Jae-gyu let out a short exclamation of admiration. Emboldened by the reaction, Dong-pyo added one more thing.
“And as for you, Teacher…”
What is he going to say now? Bom wanted to reach out and cover Dong-pyo’s mouth. But Dong-pyo’s motor was already running at full speed.
“You were the only one laughing even though Han-gyeol’s uncle wasn’t being funny at all.”
“…I was the only one laughing?”
Bom stammered.
“See? It’s proof that you were so focused on Han-gyeol’s uncle that you weren’t even aware of your surroundings.”
“…!”
Bom’s eyes wavered. She quickly stole a glance at Jae-gyu. She was certain he would be flustered too. But he wasn’t.
“Pwahahaha!”
Jae-gyu burst into a loud laugh. After laughing heartily from his diaphragm for a good while, he stood up and put Dong-pyo in a headlock.
“Agh!”
Whether Dong-pyo struggled or not, Jae-gyu seemed to be in a great mood. After enjoying his little prank, Jae-gyu finally let Dong-pyo go.
“Ha… You really are an interesting student.”
Checking his watch with a smile, Jae-gyu glanced at Bom. Bom let out a silent scream inside.
‘What are you looking at!’
When she protested silently with her lips, the corners of Jae-gyu’s mouth curled upward.
Why is he smiling? Her face, already hot, grew even warmer.
“Whew, all that laughing made me hot. I’ll head to the warehouse quickly. Stay here and enjoy the air conditioning, okay?”
It’s because you’re dressed like that. Bom almost told him to at least take off his jacket, but she kept her mouth shut and watched him leave. Even from behind, he looked quite dashing in those clothes.
“Phew.”
Dong-pyo was smoothing his disheveled hair, his face still flushed. Bom thought he might be angry, but he looked more resigned than anything.
“This is really exhausting.”
“…”
“Being this quick-witted is a problem. I consider it a cursed talent from a demon.”
“Is that so…”
He really is a peculiar student. Looking back at his past behavior, it was true that Dong-pyo was quite perceptive. But this time, he was wrong.
Linking her with Jae-gyu? And saying she laughed when it wasn’t funny?
She recalled the fake Chinese Jae-gyu had performed during lunch. That was actually hilarious… Maybe the others who didn’t laugh were the weird ones.
“You have feelings for him, but is there something holding you back?”
Dong-pyo lowered his voice as he brushed off his crumpled clothes. Bom looked around and lowered her voice as well.
“What are you talking about?”
He was clearly talking about Jae-gyu again, and Bom thought she should take this chance to clear up the misunderstanding. But Dong-pyo covered his ears and kept talking to himself.
“They say you can’t hide a cough or poverty, right? It’s the same when someone likes someone else. That’s why people in office romances think they’re keeping it a secret, but everyone else can see it plain as day.”
“It’s not like that.”
“Yes, you should think carefully before defining the relationship. Once you decide, the fact that you dated will never change.”
His words were strangely meaningful. As Bom chewed over what he said, she felt a peculiar sensation.
‘Right. Once a relationship is defined, that fact remains.’
Jae-gyu, who said he’d be right back, was nowhere to be seen. Dong-pyo had also wandered off to look at the outdoor facilities.
Bom was left alone in the office. She stood up, shaking off her thoughts.
“Maybe I should head out too…”
And look around a bit more. Bom took a lap around the empty office. The white-toned space clearly showed it was kept tidy on a regular basis.
In particular, Jae-gyu’s desk at the very end was the most organized. As she moved closer to take a look, a roadmap on the wall to the left of the desk caught her eye.
‘Wow, he has so many plans.’
He had claimed they were just a company that gathered because they were bored, but he was clearly being modest. The wall was covered with detailed visions that JK Power Energy intended to achieve step by step.
The company’s history told the same story. The growth from a one-man operation planting solar panels on private land to a full-fledged company was astronomical.
From what she had seen, Jae-gyu seemed like a man who got things done. How much would this company grow in the future? He looked like he was just playing around, but he was actually working hard.
In five years, in ten years—what would that future look like? This was a company on an upward trajectory.
She was examining the plans that would serve as the foundation one by one, and as she was about to pass Jae-gyu’s table, some familiar writing caught her eye.
The note on the white memo pad was in Jae-gyu’s handwriting.
Lee Hee-yeon 7.22 Shinsu Seagull 6 PM
“Lee Hee-yeon…?”
It was the name of the person Jae-gyu had been chasing in town the day she brought Bom-sik home. Bom’s expression darkened.
What exactly was their relationship?
The name she had forgotten resurfaced, bringing a strange feeling with it. Her intuition was telling her it was his ex-girlfriend.
She became curious about what kind of woman she was. Was she an energetic person who matched Jae-gyu? She also wondered how long they had dated. If he was chasing after her because he couldn’t forget her, they might have been together for a long time.
The date on the note was the day of the closing ceremony at Bom’s school. Since she would be heading home after a staff lunch, she had been planning to ask him to have dinner that evening.
Even if he had a prior engagement, they could just move the date, so it didn’t really matter—but she still felt strange.
Shinsu Seagull was a place she’d seen in town; why were they meeting there? Were they getting back together? Her thoughts wouldn’t stop spiraling.
‘What does it have to do with me?’
Her head thought that, but her heart felt otherwise.
Bom became troubled.
⋆★⋆
The field trip that had started in the morning was now slowly coming to an end.
Bom felt a small sense of accomplishment as she looked at the magnificent sky, a hue somewhere between red and yellow.
It was a club she had been forced to take over, but after finishing today’s trip, she felt she had gained a lot.
Last year, she had been in charge of the CSAT Social Studies Past Paper Review Club. All she did was supervise students studying independently in the classroom…
‘Going out for activities is much more fun.’
They had to go on another field trip in the second semester, and she was already looking forward to it. Though this would be the last time they visited Jae-gyu’s company.
Watching the setting sun, Bom walked over to Jae-gyu’s side. She tentatively spoke to him as he worked in silence.
“Um, Mr. Jae-gyu?”
The students, having finished their tour of the solar panels, were now down at the farmhouse with Philip.
Bom had stayed behind at the solar energy site because she had something to say to Jae-gyu. Her plan was to set a dinner date after they finished tidying up, but there was something she had to ask first.
“Yes, Ms. Bom. Go ahead.”
It was embarrassing to ask, but it felt necessary.
“Um, Mr. Jae-gyu. Do you have a girlfriend?”
“…Did you just ask me if I—no, did you just ask if I have a girlfriend?”
Looking extremely flustered, Jae-gyu scratched the back of his neck, his face turning red. The Seoul accent he claimed to use so freely crumbled, his intonation becoming a mess.
“Yes.”
“A girlfriend… right now, for now, I mean, no, I don’t.”
He rambled, but the conclusion was that he didn’t have one. That was a relief. Her dampened mood lifted. Bom asked in a lighter voice.
“When will the kids be coming up?”
“Ms. Bom, I decided to have the kids get on the van directly from down there. But, Ms. Bom.”
“Yes?”
“Why the sudden question about a girlfriend… is this a green light?”
“…No. I was just curious.”
“Ah.”
Jae-gyu, who had finished tidying up a sample solar panel, took off his work gloves and approached her.
Still wearing his three-piece suit, Jae-gyu was drenched in sweat.
“Mr. Jae-gyu, shall we head down now, then?”
“Sure, let’s do that.”
Back to the Seoul accent… It was an intonation she still couldn’t get used to.
After quickly finishing the cleanup, Jae-gyu pulled his phone out from inside his jacket.
“Hey, Philip. We’re heading down now.”
She was going to ask him to have dinner sometime soon, and once the plans were set, she’d take the van home and relax in front of the TV…
“Hey. What did you say?”
His voice grew louder. Bom, who had been picturing the evening ahead, approached Jae-gyu’s side in confusion.
“No, you were supposed to take Ms. Bom! How could you just leave without her? I mean… what were you thinking?”
…So much for using it freely. Jae-gyu, who had hurriedly tried to hide the dialect that slipped out, pressed a hand to his forehead.
“Fine, nothing we can do then. Just make sure all the kids get home safe. Got it.”
As soon as he hung up, Bom asked urgently.
“What happened? Did the van already leave?”
“Apparently so.”
There weren’t even any buses in this neighborhood.
“You can take my car. I’ll drive you home.”
In that case… maybe today was the opportunity. Just today alone, she had accumulated so many things to be grateful for and sorry about toward Jae-gyu.
Nervous, Bom bit her lower lip slightly.
“I have something to say to you, Mr. Jae-gyu.”
“Yes, what is it?”
Bom’s original plan was this: to set a dinner date as an apology for her previous personal attack.
She had wanted to have a nice meal together on the day of the closing ceremony, but since he seemed to have a prior engagement with that Lee Hee-yeon person, it was better to change the plan.
‘In that case…’
Since things had turned out this way, she thought it might be better to have a deeper conversation today.
To do that, rather than just dinner…
“Should we… have a drink?”