episode_0164

“Taehyun, let’s leave work.”

At the sound of Jung Doyeon’s suggestion to leave work, Kim Taehyun, who checked the bottom right of his monitor, was quite surprised to realize that it was already time to leave.

“Oh, when did the time pass like this?”

“When? It’s when you were spacing out. Why have you been like this for the past few days?”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s not about being sorry… Oh well, forget it. You’ve been so busy lately, it’s understandable that you’re all over the place.”

As if scolding himself out of habit, Kwon Sungyeol glanced at Jung Doyeon and then sighed, waving his hand. Seeing this, Kim Taehyun bowed his head apologetically once again.

In reality, it wasn’t the reason at all, but regardless, he knew he had been so absent-minded that it could have affected his work. Since there was no reason to scold someone who readily admitted their mistake and even apologized, Kwon Sungyeol simply patted his shoulder and said, “Just hold on a little longer until the holiday next week.”

That’s right. And now that he thought about it, the upcoming holiday starting next Wednesday was rare in that it didn’t overlap with the weekend, boasting a five-day break.

“That’s true. Hehe.”

In truth, he didn’t have anywhere special to go for the holiday, just spending a few days at his family home not far from here. Frankly, he felt suffocated just thinking about seeing his mother. His attitude of not completely abandoning his father, who hadn’t passed away yet, and the stubbornness of repaying debts to acquaintances of that man who didn’t need to be repaid, all led to not just frustration but also pity. Is it really living to be so dependent on someone who has already passed away?

These various thoughts jumbled his mind. Whenever he thought about his mother, it was always like this. So at least for Kim Taehyun, holidays always came with the burden of seeing his mother and then feeling like there was nothing to do afterwards, not much different from just a regular day off.

“Well, anyway. If we’re done talking, let’s go.”

Once again, urged by Jung Doyeon to leave work, Kim Taehyun quickly finished his preparations to leave and got up from his seat.

“Well, thank you for your hard work, Manager Kwon!”

“Alright, take care. See you tomorrow. Assistant Manager, you too!”

“Yeah, sure.”

Jung Doyeon left her seat first after receiving Kwon Sungyeol’s farewell. Following her, Kim Taehyun quickly left the development team room.

She must have noticed Kim Taehyun following her, but she walked ahead without saying anything.

Was she upset about something that happened earlier? Well, she definitely noticed that he was spacing out and being absent-minded all day at work, long before Kwon Sungyeol did. But it was strange that she just let it go without saying anything.

Ah, he’ll probably hear another lecture on the way home today.

With that thought, the guilt of disappointing someone he liked, or perhaps self-loathing, rose within him and tormented him. So now, just like Jung Doyeon walking silently ahead, he kept silent and followed her.

Finally, they arrived at the parking lot, both got into the car without saying a word, and Jung Doyeon immediately started the car.

And as they left the company building, the calm tone of her voice as if the silence from before was a lie, she asked, “Do you have any worries these days?”

As expected, she must have been concerned about him too.

“No, it’s nothing…”

“Come on, tell me. Between us.”

She affectionately nudged his shoulder with her elbow.

But Kim Taehyun thought to himself, ‘I can’t speak because we’re between us!’

Yes. For her, the person in question, it was a difficult issue to speak even if her mouth was torn.

“It’s really nothing.”

“Really? It seemed pretty obvious to me.”

“Oh, that’s… ”

What should she reply? Unable to speak honestly, she needed something to say instead.

So, desperately racking her brain.

“Oh, that… I went to a wedding before.”

“Hmm? A wedding? Ah… Mr. Yu’s son’s wedding?”

“Yes, that… ”

Jung Doyeon quickly recalled that the bride at that wedding was Kim Taehyun’s ex-girlfriend who had broken up painfully.

“Why. Do you have a problem with her? Has she contacted you?”

“Oh, no. It’s not like that. It’s after the wedding. Yes. We had a brief chat at the cafe, remember?”

“Oh, right. But why? In the end, it was about how you broke up with your girlfriend.”

“Well, yes… but… it’s not that! I talked about my family situation.”

“Oh, really? Your father passed away, and your mother is alone…”

“Yes. But… my mother is a bit embarrassing. I might go to the ancestral home for the holidays, but I’m not sure what to talk about…”

“Oh, that’s why… I see. It must be worrying. If there are problems with family, it can be quite awkward.”

Jung Doyeon, having experienced such pain himself, could roughly guess how he felt.

Kim Taehyun, looking at Jung Doyeon with a worried expression, felt a sense of guilt. Well, it’s not entirely baseless worry, and his relationship with his mother is not that great. (It’s just that Kim Taehyun is avoiding it) Anyway, lying and receiving sympathy left a bad taste in his mouth.

“Hmm… I see. So, how many days will you stay at the ancestral home?”

“I’m thinking of just going there and back on the same day.”

“Huh? Come on, your mother must want to see you. Why not stay for a night?”

“Haha, well…”

A difficult answer… no, a diplomatic expression that he didn’t really want to answer. Jung Doyeon seemed to understand and didn’t say anything more. Then, soon after.

“So you’ll come back on the day of the holiday?”

“Yes. That’s how it will be.”

“Um… do you have anything else to do? Are you going to meet anyone? Don’t people usually see hometown friends during the holidays?”

“Well, that’s true. But as more of my friends get married around me, there aren’t many who have time.”

Even if he called them high school friends, there were probably only about five friends he kept in touch with. Among them, three were married, and two had jobs in the provinces and wouldn’t be coming up for the holiday. In the end, there were only a handful of people worth seeing.

“I see. Oh, by the way! Do you have time on the first day of the holiday? I need to wash my car, can you help me?”

Kim Taehyun blinked at Jung Doyeon’s sudden request.

“Huh? Oh… well, I don’t have any plans that day, so I’ll help you. I should help you out since I always get a ride from you.”

He didn’t have his own car, so he had never tried self-car washing, but he was confident he could do it if asked.

“Great. Ah, when I was a guy, I used to do everything myself, but now it’s more convenient to leave it to someone else. I haven’t had time for a while. So I thought I’d do a self-car wash for a change, but it’s a bit burdensome to do it alone. I thought maybe I should call Dayoung or Davin for help.”

Actually, regardless of ability, as a student, he didn’t need to learn how to wash a car right now.

“Well, the kids are smart, so they’ll probably learn quickly, right?”

“Is that so? Hehe.”

Praising her child and seeing her happy in return, she thought to herself that she must be a real parent. At the same time, she couldn’t help but wonder if her own mother would act the same way.

“Anyway, just let me know the time, and I’ll help you out.”

Even though Kim Taehyun thought he didn’t fit in with her, the fact that he could do something with her lifted his spirits.

“Well… let’s meet around 10 in the morning, work for 2 hours straight, have lunch together, and then part ways. I have to head back to my hometown in the afternoon.”

“Oh, I should buy lunch. I always make you drive and all.”

“It’s fine. If rumors spread that I made my subordinate buy me lunch at this age, I’ll get criticized.”

If he was worried about that, then suggesting to wash cars with subordinates on a holiday in the first place was nonsensical, but Kim Taehyun insisted on buying lunch somehow.

“Alright, fine. Geez, you’re so stubborn, aren’t you? Anyway, I’ll gladly accept the meal if you buy it. But I’ll choose the restaurant. Not too expensive, just something delicious. Is that okay?”

“Yes, that’s fine with me.”

“Okay. Then we’ll wash the cars after that.”

“Got it!”

It might not be considered a date, but who knows. Maybe she wouldn’t like it from the start, as she might find his daydreaming off-putting. Nevertheless, the thought of being able to spend time with her made his heart beat faster.

He tried to calm his racing heart without letting Do Yeon notice.

‘Phew, come on, heart, don’t act up like this.’