episode_0044

“I’m sorry.”

That was my response. No matter how much she’s Jihee, I can’t grant this request. Because I have Yoohee.

“Why…?”

“I already–”

“Do you mean you don’t need me?”

Jihee’s voice, tinged with emotion, echoed. It sounded like she might cry at any moment, the sound coming through the speaker of my smartphone.

“No, I wish you were here, Jihee. But I can’t grant that request.”

“If I had confessed a little sooner…”

“If I had confessed to the boss a little earlier, would he have accepted it?”

‘If I had confessed a little sooner.’ Is that it…? Even so, I probably wouldn’t have dated Yoohee due to guilt. I’ve been like this all along. Jihee is no exception.

“…But I still don’t think he would have accepted it.”

“That’s so mean…”

“I’m sorry.”

“Ugh!”

“Jihee…!?”

It sounded like she was burying her face somewhere, crying loudly and muffled. Anyway, I decided to wait until Jihee stopped crying because I felt sorry.

“It’s not fair! Why can’t it work out…!”

“….”

She’s definitely drunk. I even thought about recording it and playing it back as a joke, but it might really make her go crazy.

She seemed to cry a little and then regained her composure. With a trembling voice, she said to me.

“You should go in…”

“Oh, right… I forgot it’s been a while.”

I pretended not to know, even though it had been a long time.

“Can you grant this request?”

“What is it?”

“Can you clean our house…”

“….”

It was truly an absurd request. I know it’s not a real request.

“I’ll just clean it.”

“….Okay. Please come in.”

Click. The call ended. It was a ridiculous request to just clean, but… it was an unavoidable choice to prevent Jihee from quitting.

-Ring ring.

“Hello?”

“Boss? Where are you?”

“Sorry, Soohyun. I’ll be down soon.”

As I returned to the office, there was a pile of work waiting for me.

~~~

“What should I do…!”

I got drunk and made an absurd request to the boss. It’s not asking for something to buy, but asking to clean the house, truly shameless.

“Ugh….”

I’m an idiot. A complete idiot. Why do I keep bothering people instead of forgetting them. That’s why I can’t forget the boss.

The beer can was empty. I’m too lazy to go out now, and I don’t want to do anything.

“Should I pretend to forget?”

If I pretend to forget, the boss might not bother coming, and I might feel more comfortable. I’ve always wanted to play around for a month.

“But I don’t want to…!”

I didn’t want to think about seeing the boss again.

“I’m really selfish…”

I’m great at socializing, but terrible at human relationships.

A selfish woman who, if she has an obsession with something, will find a way to get it no matter what.

That’s me. Park Jihee.

~~~

“….”

It’s later than I thought. Suddenly, the workload increased significantly, and I ended up working overtime for the first time in a long time.

“Boss, how about a drink tonight?”

“Today is a bit… How about tomorrow?”

“Sure, that works.”

I already told Yoohee I’d be late, but now I’m even later. I might not even catch the last train at this rate.

Director Choi understands, but meeting Jihee was a priority.

“Sigh… Finally done. I’ll go in.”

“Okay.”

After Director Choi left, my work finally finished. Suddenly, the workload seemed like it was going to swallow me whole. It felt like an entire department was disappearing.

Usually, departments like Sales 1, 2, 3, similar departments, sometimes disappear altogether or disband and integrate into other departments during personnel reorganization.

“Hmm….”

Once I got here, I felt nervous. As far as I know, Jihee lives alone, and it’s considered rude to enter a woman’s house late at night.

Moreover, if she happened to forget the conversation due to being drunk when I called to ask a favor, it could lead to an embarrassing situation.

*Brrring.*

“Hello?”

“Hey, are you done?”

“Yeah, I’m done, but… I have somewhere to stop by.”

“Where?”

“Um… at a subordinate’s house—”

“A woman?”

“….”

In an instant, Jihee’s voice turned cold. It’s understandable that having a girlfriend and meeting another woman would make her angry. But I couldn’t refuse. Managing employees is essential for Jihee’s sake.

“A woman, huh.”

“Jihee, it’s not like that—”

*Click.*

“Sigh….”

Tonight, the house feels colder than usual.

~~~

“Wow….”

As soon as I opened the door, Jihee, with her messy hair, wearing a comfortable t-shirt and tight leggings, greeted me with the chill of the air conditioning.

“You… came…?”

“Yeah.”

Fortunately, it seems I didn’t forget, and the scolding from Jihee was unnecessary. But that aside…

“Really… your house is dirty.”

“Haha… I didn’t ask for help for no reason….”

The room, about 7 pyeong wide, seemed cramped with various clothes and belongings scattered everywhere, despite being enough for one person to live in comfortably.

“Is it because of me?”

“What!?”

This situation is not uncommon. It’s surprising how often people are good at managing outside but have a dirty house. But Jihee’s appearance and demeanor made it hard to imagine that it was always like this.

“To be honest… yes.”

“Haha….”

I forced a smile, but Jihee’s expression turned sullen. I decided to ignore it and help Jihee as requested.

“Should we start with cleaning?”

“…Okay.”

First, we need to tidy up the trash. Plastic containers and wooden chopsticks were piled up from ordering delivery food for the past 3 days.

“Jihee, do you have a bag?”

“Oh, yes. Just a moment… around here….”

“….!”

Reaching out towards the balcony where the bag seemed to be, Jihee’s pants were pulled up, revealing a small line from the lower curve of her buttocks to her waist.

“It’s here.”

“Oh, okay.”

I came to help Jihee, not to hang out. I even tried to refuse, so I shouldn’t get excited now.

I calmed down and started cleaning again.

“But you came late today…. Did you work overtime?”

“Oh. Yeah. Suddenly had a lot of work.”

I tried my best not to look at Jihee and focused on the task. It was uncomfortable to move around now because I might get too excited if I kept looking.

“You should take off your jacket if you’re uncomfortable, sir.”

“Should I…. No. It’s okay. It’ll be over soon.”

The shirt was tucked into the pants, and the belt was on, so taking off the jacket would reveal my lower half.

“Where should I put this?”

“Oh, that’s over there…. Oh!?”

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing! It’s nothing…. Oh, I’ll give you the recycling trash!”

“Okay.”

After about 30 minutes of cleaning, there was enough space to move around. Jihee had organized the clothes, and I put all the recyclables and other trash in recycling bags and disposed of them.

“You rest, sir. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Yeah.”

“Phew….”

There was nowhere to sit except for the bed, so I sat on it. Seeing Jihee struggling, I felt like I wanted to help.

“Oh? Sir?”

“It’s heavy. Where should I put it?”

“Oh, then over here….”

The box was quite heavy with so many clothes inside. It was placed in a position that I could only reach by stretching my arm. I don’t know if it was a good idea to try and carry it alone.

“Please put it up there.”

“Here?”

“Yes.”

I reached my arm up to the empty space on the shelf that could be opened sideways and pushed the box in.

“Is there anything else?”

“No. Thank you, Manager…. Oh, please have some tea before you leave! I brewed it over there.”

“Is that so.”

Well… if it’s tea and not alcohol, it should be fine.

Jihee placed a cup of black tea on the round table in the corner. With two chairs facing each other, it seemed like a space created for receiving guests.

“Is this really okay?”

Knowing that I wasn’t just called for this reason, I asked subtly while sipping the black tea. The subtle aroma somehow calmed my mind, allowing me to ask calmly.

“A promise is a promise….”

Fortunately, it seems like Jihee’s resignation has been prevented. There were no issues while cleaning, and everything would be okay if I just went home like this.

*Rrring.*

“Oh, a call. What could Manager Choi…?”

“Manager Choi…?”

This is bad. If he talks about it during the day and then realizes I’m right next to him, things might get awkward.

“Hello?”

I tapped Jihee’s shoulder to signal that I’m leaving, but she grabbed my arm and didn’t let go.

“Oh, yes….”

“Jihee!?”

“No, it’s okay….”

While talking to Manager Choi on the phone, she held onto my hand as I tried to break free. After repeating this for a while, the black tea on the table eventually spilled.

“Oops!?”

Of course, the spilled tea was scalding hot on my lower body.

“Ah! Manager, wait a moment!”

“Ouch…!”

Jihee left her phone and grabbed a towel to clean the floor and wipe my pants.

“…!”

Pretending to wipe my pants, I felt something touch my thigh. By the time I realized it, it was already too late.

“Sorry, Manager. I spilled the water….”

And Jihee, still calmly talking to Manager Choi on the phone.