episode_0158

“What? Me?”

“Yes. Your mother.”

I hesitated as I faced a young man (I’m not sure if this title is appropriate since he’s still a minor) looking at me with a strong gaze.

“Ha, but…”

“It’s for your daughter.”

Right. If it weren’t for those words, I would have refused his offer without hesitation.

“It’s something only a mother can do.”

“Can I… do it?”

“Of course. If Mom can’t do it, then no one else can.”

“Ah…”

How did things end up like this?

**

“It’s over!!”

Kim Tae-hyun shouted with a voice full of joy and pride.

“Hey, calm down. Is it that great?”

“Well, yes. It’s the first project I’ve participated in since joining.”

Indeed, that’s true. It’s been about six months since he joined. This project was the first one he had been involved in from start to finish, after all the hard work he had put in.

So, the sense of accomplishment after completing a project like this is indescribable. I felt the same way, and Kwun Sung-yeol, looking at Kim Tae-hyun with pride, felt no different.

“Well, good job, everyone. Our team is small in number, but we managed to pull it off somehow.”

“Well… if it weren’t for you getting promoted, it would have ended much sooner.”

Assistant Manager Kwun shrugged.

Indeed. With my promotion and taking over the project, our team’s workload increased.

“Ha ha, sorry about that. But as a reward for our hard work, we’ll send everyone on a trip.”

“It’s a joke. There’s no need for the boss to feel sorry. Thanks to him, we had some good experiences, right?”

Assistant Manager Kwun will be promoted once this project is successfully completed. The actual work in the development department ended today, so finishing here means moving on to the marketing department for the launch of the new product.

“By the way, Boss, you still have some work left, right?”

“Ah… yes.”

The promotional material shoot is still pending. It’s for the posters, signs, and product packaging, and the concept has been decided. Once the shooting team and date are coordinated, we’ll start shooting right away.

“You’re going to be the model, Boss…”

Assistant Manager Kwun looked me up and down and chuckled.

Actually, I thought it would be nice for the boss to try modeling when he was younger, but somehow he ended up doing it now.

“Oh, they said you were handsome when you were young, Boss?”

“Yeah. Let’s see… where’s that picture…”

As we chatted happily after finishing the project, it was already time to leave work.

“Good job, everyone. I wish we could all go out for a drink together today, but I’ve been neglecting my family so much lately. I should go home early today.”

Fortunately, the day before, we finished early and reported to Da-yeong and Jang, but yesterday we were supposed to work overtime. But now, because of Da-yeong’s appearance on a broadcast, we left early and left the work to them. Lately, I’ve been working late, often past 7 or 8.

So today, I wanted to leave work early and spend some time with the kids.

“Ha ha, it feels a bit strange. This side of the boss.”

I felt a bit strange at Assistant Manager Kwun’s words, which contained various emotions.

Well, when I was a man, I was so focused on work that I lived like that. And on days like this, I just made a quick call to my wife and went in late.

“Still, it’s nice to see.”

“Really? Ha ha, I don’t think I’m too bad as a husband who’s faithful to his family. Um… no. Good.”

“I’m curious about the boss I haven’t experienced.”

“I respected him in terms of work, but was I a typical example of ‘I shouldn’t be like that’?”

“Ah… I see.”

“What, are you amazed? Go back alone today.”

I found myself starting to call Kim Taehyun ‘you’. Now, I don’t even use the title ‘Mr. Taehyun’ anymore, and seeing that it has become familiar, I definitely feel more friendly towards him.

“Oh, are you kidding me? Oh, oh? Manager?”

I said that and immediately got up from my seat after packing my things. Kim Taehyun looked flustered as he watched me.

“I’ll go first, so tidy up and leave work.”

“Yes.”

“Manager, manager?! You should take me with you!”

“Oh, come on. Let’s have a drink together today. It’s nice to celebrate even just the two of us, right?”

“Oh?”

Kim Taehyun, who was trying to follow me, was stopped by Assistant Manager Kwon and I smiled once before leaving.

Actually, I felt sorry today, so I told Assistant Manager Kwon to use my corporate card for a company dinner. It would have been nice to have the three of us, but since I’m not done yet, I suggested we properly celebrate after the new product release.

Anyway, I left the office and headed to the parking lot straight for my way home.

Just by skipping one step in the process of bringing Kim Taehyun with me every day, my leaving time was reduced by 10 minutes. But it felt a bit empty.

Arriving home, I parked my car in the underground parking lot and took the elevator up. The elevator stopped on the first floor, and a woman in her early forties appeared. She looked slightly surprised when she saw me, then quickly composed herself and hurriedly got on the elevator.

“Hello.”

I greeted her first. From my memory, she seemed to have lived in the apartment above ours.

“Oh, hello. You’re a new face, did you move in?”

“Yes? Oh, haha.”

I replied with a “Yes?” but she seemed to understand it as “Yes.” I didn’t bother to correct that misunderstanding.

I remember her, but she seems to be seeing me for the first time. Well, she seems to be seeing me for the first time since becoming a woman. Except for the hospital visits, it’s been about four months. The timing was just off.

“Oh~ you’re really pretty. Are you a model? An actress? Something like that? What floor… Oh, the 15th floor?”

She asked as she saw the elevator button light up to indicate the floor.

“Yes, haha.”

Awkward. But even though she recognized me as the woman who lived below her, if she were to realize that I used to be the man who lived below her and had turned into a woman, what would she say? Eventually, everyone will find out, but going through that realization is awkward because it’s reality.

“What’s your apartment number? Are you a college student?”

She suddenly bombarded me with questions, showing a lot of interest.

“No, I’m not a college student. Haha. My eldest is already in high school.”

“Wow! Really? Excuse me, but how old are you…?”

“I’m 39 years old.”

“Oh, you got married early. If your eldest is in high school, how about the youngest?”

“They’re a year apart, the eldest is in 10th grade and the youngest is in 8th grade.”

“Oh, really? Where does the eldest go to high school? Our son is also in high school, in 12th grade.”

I know. We met in the elevator the day before yesterday.

“Oh, yes. Haha. They go to Hanseong High School.”

“Oh, really? Our son goes there too. Nice to meet you. Haha. But wait a minute. Is the youngest a boy?”

She seemed to have caught on to something and suddenly her eyes changed to a suspicious look as she asked me.

“Yes…”

“A daughter in 10th grade at Hanseong High School, a son in 8th grade… living downstairs. Young and pretty…!”

She widened her eyes and then quickly turned to me, asking.

“By any chance, is it Dayoung?”

As expected. She’s the one who reaches the correct answer with fragmented information. I scratched my head awkwardly and replied.

“Yes…. Haha.”

“Ah, um….”

I don’t know what she’s thinking, but at least I can tell that her mind is working hard.

And just then.

-Ding dong! 15th floor.

The elevator stopped on the 15th floor.

“Oh, um. I’ll get off here.”

“Oh, yes… P-please, go ahead.”

I watched her, forcing a smile and greeting me until the elevator doors closed.

“Sigh, I don’t know.”

A sense of unease filled my mind, wondering if Dayoung felt this way when her face was revealed yesterday.

I don’t know how the rumors will spread, but now that it’s about me, I can’t just brush it off with a ‘it’ll be fine’ attitude like I usually do.

Thinking that I should empathize with Dayoung a little more when I go home today, I entered my house.

-Beep beep beep, beep beep!

I unlocked the door and entered my house. I took off my shoes in the entrance hall and looked down.

“Huh? Whose shoes are these?”

A pair of unfamiliar shoes caught my eye. Whether by design or size, they were men’s shoes. Next to them were Dayoung’s shoes.

“W-wait, could it be?!”

Did she bring a man home?! Dayoung!

I was so excited that I felt like bursting into Dayoung’s room right away, so I stepped into the living room.

What’s going on? Did something happen at school because of yesterday’s incident?

Could it be?! Am I being threatened with something like ‘I’ll protect you, so listen to me obediently’? Various scenarios raced through my mind, making my heart pound.

Approaching Dayoung’s room slowly, I could hear voices inside.

Closer, a little closer.

Standing right in front of the door, I listened carefully.

“…just make it.”

A slightly husky male voice. It felt somewhat familiar to my ears. And then, Dayoung’s response followed.

“Yes, yes?!”

What did she hear that made her so flustered?

Without hesitation, I opened the door and barged in, asking.

“W-what’s going on, Dayoung!”

And what I saw was the son of the woman I had just met. It was the young man I had encountered in the elevator two days ago.

He looked at me with surprise, then quickly composed himself and said to me.

“P-please leave it to me, ma’am!”

“Eh?”

Did he just say that so bluntly?!