episode_0093

The next day, despite it being a Saturday, I found myself having an incredibly busy day from the morning onwards.

I woke up in the morning to prepare breakfast, hastily cleaned the house as Da Bin mentioned that his movie club friends were coming over, and had to prepare some snacks for the kids. And then Da Young said she was going shopping with her broadcasting friends today and asked me to drop her off in the city, which led me to leave the house two hours earlier than planned. Of course, it was only natural that I had to get ready for the wedding before that.

Anyway, after dropping Da Young off in the city and rushing to pick up Kim Tae Hyun, I was already feeling mentally exhausted.

-Tok tok tok

I arrived in front of Hanseong High School, turned on the hazard lights, and waited for Kim Tae Hyun with my head resting on the steering wheel.

“Ugh, I’m tired.”

Certainly, I had never felt this tired from exercising and building up my stamina, but that was purely a physical issue.

Mentally, I was gradually wearing down as I had to handle both my parents’ roles at home and the responsibilities of the chief manager at work, which had been pushed onto me (even though I was scheduled to be promoted to manager, and Kwon was supposed to be promoted to chief manager). I had managed to push through and maintain regular working hours so far, but it was becoming increasingly difficult, and I felt more pressure as I saw it becoming harder.

Anyway, with these issues in mind, I wanted to relax a bit on the weekend, but for some reason, not going to work today seemed more exhausting than going to work yesterday.

-Tok tok tok tok

A strange noise mixed in with the hazard lights. I turned my head to look out the passenger window and saw Kim Tae Hyun looking at me with a familiar expression.

As soon as Kim Tae Hyun realized we made eye contact, he opened the passenger door and got into the car.

“Hello, Chief Manager!”

“Oh, you’re here?”

I lifted my forehead from the steering wheel, straightened my back, and turned to look at Kim Tae Hyun.

“Uh, oh. Wow…”

Kim Tae Hyun couldn’t bring himself to meet my eyes, making strange noises.

Did I overdo it today? I tried to dress up a bit more for the wedding, but maybe I overdid it.

“Tae Hyun, pull yourself together and get in quickly.”

“Oh, yes. Okay.”

He finally snapped out of it at my urging, fastened his seatbelt in the passenger seat.

“As expected, they say the completion of fashion is the face. Is it because you have a good-looking face that everything suits you?”

He wasn’t wearing his usual business suit but a tailored suit that fit his body perfectly.

“Haha, do I look good in it? I paid a lot for it, so it should suit me well.”

After I sarcastically remarked at his words, he replied, “I’ve been watching you quietly for a week, so I know how others see you. Right?”

“What do you mean by that…?”

“Don’t act like you know you’re good-looking and still be shy about it. It suits you well.”

“Oh… Thank you.”

Only then did he understand my roundabout way of saying that I looked good and replied, “But Chief Manager, isn’t it a bit… insincere? Do you really not know?”

“What are you mumbling to yourself?”

“No, Chief Manager, you look good in anything.”

“Oh… really? That’s a relief. This is my first time going to a formal event after this change, and I was worried about suddenly having to prepare for it. Does it look awkward?”

“Well… Chief Manager, no matter what you wear…”

“Hmm… what did you say?”

I suddenly yawned, feeling a bit dazed, and didn’t hear what he said properly.

“Ah, it’s nothing. By the way…”

He looked at me with a puzzled expression and asked, “You look really tired, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I guess. Maybe I didn’t want to go to the wedding in the first place.”

“Did something happen last night? Or this morning?”

Kim Taehyun asked as he fastened his seatbelt.

“This morning. Living with parents is really tough. Taehyun, don’t ever get married.”

Of course, there is some joy that comes with it, but that joy only comes once a month, while the responsibility and fatigue come every day. It’s a loss if you think about it rationally.

“Hmph! How about giving that advice to the actual participants at the wedding today? Since you’ve experienced both perspectives of being a parent, you might have some wise advice to offer.”

“Those people will decide whether to have children or live as a dink tribe. What’s the point of giving advice? Their lives are their own. I’m telling you this because you’re close to me, Taehyun.”

“Close to you?”

It seemed like my expression was a bit awkward, as Kim Taehyun kept repeating the words with his lips.

“Huh? You always do this kind of thing for me, so I think we’re quite close, aren’t we?”

“Oh, right. Yes. Haha. We’re close. Us.”

He chuckled and I wondered if I had made a mistake in my words, but realizing that time was running out, I immediately started the car.

Following the navigation’s directions, we arrived at the wedding venue after a 40-minute drive.

As expected of wedding venues, it was bustling on a Saturday afternoon. We had to line up from the entrance to the underground parking lot, and seeing the time, it was quite tight, so I had already called Assistant Kwon to let him know.

“Where are you, Assistant Kwon?”

“I’m just about to drive up now.”

“How long will it take?”

“About 10 minutes? It’s a bit tight.”

“Um… What should we do? Assistant Kwon, do you have more cash with you? I’d like to give a congratulatory gift, but I don’t have enough.”

Assistant Kwon replied in a troubled voice, “No, I lent some to Park earlier, so I don’t have any left.”

This was a problem. If I ended up being late and couldn’t give the congratulatory gift, my effort to come to the wedding would be meaningless. As I pondered what to do, Assistant Kwon suggested a solution.

“Sir, why don’t I go up first with your congratulatory gift?”

“Oh!”

Why did I think about it alone?

“Right, that’s a good idea. Let’s have Taehyun take my gift up first.”

I wanted to let Kim Taehyun park the car and go up first, but unfortunately, he didn’t have a driver’s license. Especially in a crowded parking lot like this, he wouldn’t be able to handle the narrow parking spaces, so it was best to send him up first.

I handed him the congratulatory gift envelope from my bag and said, “Go up first, give Taehyun the gift, and make sure to deliver mine as well, okay?”

“Yes. Um… I’m sorry. If I knew how to drive, you could have gone up first…”

“No, you came all the way to the wedding, even though you didn’t have to, to show respect to your superiors. You’ve already done enough.”

“Heh! Oh, right. Anyway, I’ll go up first.”

“Okay.”

I sent Kim Taehyun up first and it took about 15 minutes for me to wait in the underground parking lot. The current time was 12:55 PM. If I went up now, I would arrive just in time.

Rushing to catch the crowded elevator, I finally arrived at the floor where the wedding hall was located. As I made my way towards the hall, the ceremony was just about to begin.

I looked around, searching for our team members. Soon, I spotted Kim Taehyun standing with Manager Kwon, and quickly joined them.

“Manager, over here,” I called out as I approached.

Manager Kwon turned to me and gestured for me to hurry up.

“Sorry for being late,” I said.

“No, we’re just getting started. Were you delayed because of that guy you had to pick up?” Manager Kwon replied, pointing at Kim Taehyun.

“No, it’s just that this morning was hectic because of our kids. It was so chaotic, I feel like my head is spinning,” I explained.

Manager Kwon then mentioned that he had informed the General Manager about my delay due to the parking situation, expressing his apologies for the inconvenience.

“So, who else has arrived?” I asked.

“Well, it seems like everyone from the General Manager and above, except for a few managers, has arrived,” Manager Kwon replied.

With the children of a senior executive getting married, the lineup was impressive. Just by turning my head, I could see the faces of the executives shining brightly. There were five directors around the General Manager, followed by managers and assistant managers scattered here and there.

It was hard to tell if this was a company event or a wedding ceremony.

As I quietly observed the wedding ceremony, someone tapped my shoulder, and when I turned around, I saw Director Kang from our Development Department.

“Director Kang, have you arrived?” I greeted him.

“Yes, our whole team is here,” he replied.

Kim Taehyun quickly bowed to Director Kang and exchanged greetings.

Director Kang then asked, “Is Manager Jung busy?”

I wondered what was going on.

“No, not really,” I replied.

“Really? Then come with me for a moment,” Director Kang said.

“What for?” I asked.

“Haha, you haven’t properly greeted the other department managers or directors yet. Let’s go and say hello to them,” Director Kang explained.

Ah, now I understood the situation.

Since I returned to work, there must have been a lot of curiosity about someone like me who had been diagnosed with TS syndrome. It might have been difficult to directly satisfy their curiosity in a professional setting, but in a more personal setting like this, they could be a bit more open.

So, in the end, the greeting was just an excuse to satisfy their curiosity and get to know me a bit better. Director Kang was basically running errands with a shotgun.

Well, considering Director Kang’s personality, it could also be a way for me to make a better impression on my superiors, but either way, I nodded and decided to follow him.

“That’s right. I didn’t have a chance to greet the others, so this works out perfectly,” I said.

Director Kang nodded and started walking ahead, and I left a message for my team members before following him.