Born to Be a Secretary

“…Yes?”
The words he just heard were so shocking that Heewon’s thought process momentarily froze. Even trying to compose his expression was useless. Heewon frowned deeply as he looked up at Kwon Youngjae.

“…I don’t like that.”
“I don’t have a hobby of rolling around with men either.”
“But Executive Director, don’t you actually prefer men?”

“They’re cleaner that way. If I had to choose, I’d prefer women.”
What the hell was he saying?
It wasn’t like he was probing or anything; he was just making things uncomfortable for no reason. Heewon shook his head firmly.

Kwon Youngjae took a step back. Being tall, it was his habit to look down on others.
“No need to hate it so much. I was just saying.”
“Better not talk about that again.”

“I won’t.”
Kwon’s tone grew colder and harsher, matching his expression. Apparently done, he # Nоvеlight # threw the tie in his hand onto the floor and exited the dressing room first.
With a bang of the door, Heewon finally let out a long sigh. His palms were sweaty from the tension. Time to cut off his nerves and get back to work. Turning back, he began collecting Kwon’s suits again.

Surely, it had just been words thrown out casually.
Kwon acted no differently than usual, and Heewon gradually forgot the memory of that day. Days overwhelmed by busy routines passed, and quite some time slipped away.
“Copy these… one each and deliver them to the Executive Director, and check once more if there are any changes for the 1 PM research meeting.”

Heewon handed several folders to this secretary. His hand trembling, he barely kept himself upright, leaning on the edge of the desk.
“My goodness… You look even more exhausted today. Still not feeling well?”
“Yeah, still not getting better.”

“What kind of flu lasts this long? Have you seen a doctor?”
Heewon had been suffering from a flu for three weeks. He thought it was the usual seasonal cold, but it lasted longer than expected.
The muscle aches and mild fever drained all his energy. Occasional abdominal pain required him to take painkillers constantly. Thanks to this, he had lost weight and now felt like a wilted cabbage, utterly weak.
“Shouldn’t you go to a big hospital for a thorough check-up?”

“Where would I find time?”
Just following Kwon around took up the whole day. Especially recently, as Kwon focused all efforts on new drug development, Heewon’s workload increased.
“…Ah.”

Feeling a stabbing pain in his lower abdomen again, Heewon squatted, clutching the desk’s edge. The secretary bit her lip watching him.
“Manager, please go rest. I’ll follow up on the Executive Director’s inspection at the Daejeon research center.”
“How can you say that? It’s my job.”

“I’ll deliver the documents to the Executive Director and inform him.”
“…Will that be alright?”
“I’ve been here five years. I can handle that. Don’t worry.”

Heewon smiled bitterly with guilt. Since his condition was like this, the secretarial staff had been taking over his tasks. While grateful, he felt uneasy for failing in his role as the person in charge.
Eventually, he returned to his seat. Taking painkillers and fever medicine from his drawer, he sighed deeply.
Though he desperately wanted to lie down, he couldn’t show weakness in the office, so he simply lowered his head, covering his face with his hands, making a compromise.

After about twenty minutes, the secretary entered the office to deliver documents. The office was busily running as usual, with phones ringing nonstop, fax noises, and keyboards clacking mixed in the air.
“Secretary Kim.”
Executive Director Kwon suddenly burst through the door. Hearing the sound, Heewon reflexively stood up. Seeing Kwon’s sharp glare, he immediately sensed something was wrong.

“Aren’t you going to the meeting?”
“…Ah, Executive Director, that’s…”
“Why are you even at the office? If you’re too sick to work, take sick leave and stay home.”

Behind the harsh rebuke, the secretary showed a troubled face. Though she had boldly volunteered to assist, she only ended up aggravating Kwon’s anger. She kept signaling apologies.
“Sorry. I’ll prepare immediately.”
Heewon dragged his chair back and stood, putting on his jacket.

Strict Kwon always insisted on taking himself to important external appointments. Knowing this, Heewon felt at fault for pushing the responsibility onto the secretary.
While packing his bag, Kwon glared at Heewon disapprovingly. Meticulous about self-care, Kwon couldn’t understand Heewon’s lingering illness. Wasn’t managing one’s condition part of the job?
After staring at his pale face for a long moment, Kwon stormed out of the office. The cold atmosphere left the staff speechless and anxious.

“I’m off. Manage things and leave when done.”
Heewon forced a smile and encouraged the staff. Though business trips were common, today his steps felt as heavy as being dragged to the slaughterhouse. He worried how to soothe Kwon’s anger... wiping sweat from his forehead, he left the office.
After taking medicine, his fever had calmed, but it started rising sharply again. Heewon blinked repeatedly.

He could feel the heat building behind his eyelids and deep in his eyeballs. His mind was hazy, and cold sweat formed on his forehead. Despite burning skin, chills made his bones ache.
After about two hours of meetings, Kwon continued inspecting the research center. The director hurried ahead, speaking animatedly. The long line led by Kwon resembled a king and his courtiers.
Though his whole body ached, Heewon bit the inside of his lip and endured, staring only at Kwon’s broad back before him.

“By next week, we should roughly have an outline. We plan to proceed with demonstrations. Executive Director, will you be able to make time?”
“Is it meaningful enough to make time?”
“We’ll prepare thoroughly to make it worthwhile. Since we were given a rare chance, we must show results accordingly.”

“Secretary Kim, check next week’s schedule.”
Heewon immediately pulled out his tablet. Next week was fully packed, making it hard to find time. Even reading the words was difficult.
“…Looks like one hour is possible Wednesday morning.”

“Will that be enough?”
“We’ll absolutely adjust to the Executive Director’s schedule.”
“Prepare perfectly, even if it takes time. I hate sloppy work.”

“Of course. I know well.”
Kwon ordered all Wednesday morning appointments cleared. The sudden order set Heewon’s nerves on fire. All were important appointments, making rescheduling difficult. Just as he racked his sluggish brain, something happened.
While descending only three steps of stairs, his vision suddenly flickered black.

His shoe heel caught the step edge, and his knees buckled. His sluggish reaction due to fever prevented him from correcting the fall. The tablet he carried crashed to the floor first. Crack—the sound of a cracked screen pierced his ears.
Kwon caught Heewon before he collapsed. His gaze, cold as when watching the tablet, fixed on Heewon’s face. He clicked his tongue softly.
“Messing around.”

“Executive Director, what happened…?”
“Don’t you remember collapsing during the inspection?”
He did remember. What Heewon wondered was why he was lying down like this after collapsing at the research center.

This wasn’t even the research center. It was an unfamiliar limousine interior, and a portable IV needle was inserted into his arm. The nearly empty 500ml fluid pack indicated at least an hour had passed.
This was not just confusing—it was frightening. Heewon slowly propped himself up and held the jacket he had just been resting on.
Kwon’s expensive jacket was seriously creased from being under Heewon’s head. It looked difficult to wear again even if returned.

“So the inspection…”
“What more could be done in that state?”
“What is this car?”

Kwon turned his head with annoyance. His face fixed on the tablet showed no emotion whatsoever.
Only then did Heewon realize Kwon had rented the limousine for him. The excessive kindness left him speechless.
“When we get back to Seoul, Secretary Kim, you’re off.”

“…I’m fine now.”
“That means you’re useless to me. Don’t you know you’re interfering with my work?”
“……”

“I’ll tolerate it only until today. Get your act together starting tomorrow.”
It was hard to tell if Kwon was being kind or just unbearable. The concern was clear, but the tone was so abrasive it hurt the listener.
Fortunately, Heewon was used to Kwon’s style and filtered the words accordingly.

Still with a slight fever and dizzy, he sighed softly, slowly removing the IV line.
The limousine ride to Seoul was very quiet. Sitting spaced apart, Heewon stared distractedly out the window. Why was his body so sick? He wasn’t happy with himself either.