10. The Boss Was My First Love…… Or So I Thought……
So, you heard me.
‘It’s the boss! The person I like!’
It wasn’t just that you heard me say I simply liked him.
‘If I were ever to actually get married, I’d want to marry the boss! Because I like him so much!’
You heard that enormous lie in its entirety.
Aaaah.
Just thinking about the fact that he had heard me say all that made my face burn all over again. Even though she couldn’t bring herself to raise her head, she secretly glanced at the boss, whose expression was utterly serious.
“I was curious. You like me so much even though I’ve never shown you my true self. I wondered what exactly you saw in me that made you like me.”
“…….”
“But I never imagined it would be because of my scent.”
“Uh…….”
How did that answer even lead to this……?
“Uh……. Boss, I…….”
“Ah, I suppose I should apologize first. I’m sorry if it was rude of me to suddenly do that. I didn’t intentionally hide and listen to your confession, so I hope you won’t take it the wrong way. I happened to be passing by.”
No, I mean, I was practically shouting it for the whole world to hear, so why was he being this polite…….
It would have been strange if he hadn’t heard me after I shouted that loudly.
Wait, then, did he really hear me say that I liked him and start hanging around me?
Why?
Why…….
No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t come up with a reason. Why had he gone that far?
‘Are you all right?’
‘You like me.’
‘You want to marry me.’
Ah, I see.
He knew I liked him and had come to apologize for getting married.
Her heart throbbed.
The boss really was a good person…….
From the boss’s perspective, how passionate must that confession have sounded? I had let my hair down and shouted that I liked him.
He must have felt more guilty than he had ever felt over any confession he had received before.
That was why, afraid that an employee who liked him might get hurt, he had tried to create an opportunity to turn me down as gently as possible.
How could someone look like that and have such a good personality, too?
While driving a Maybach?
This is insane. He really has everything.
“Ms. Lee Dana, I…….”
“P-Please don’t worry about it!”
In front of such a good person.
How could I tell him it had all been a lie?
Especially in front of the boss, who was more difficult to deal with than anyone else in the world.
The thought of telling him that my confession hadn’t been sincere made her vision spin.
But she couldn’t keep avoiding it forever.
Clenching both fists tightly, she squeezed her eyes shut and spoke.
“Actually, that c-confession was a l-lie.”
“……What did you say?”
“Uh, I mean. The thing is, actually…… it wasn’t true.”
“It wasn’t true? That you liked me?”
“Yes. I-I don’t l-like you, B-Boss. So you really, really don’t have to worry about what I said! I-I’m really okay!”
Tremble, tremble, tremble.
Only after she had finally managed to say it did one fact come to mind.
We were still in this restaurant.
And we hadn’t even paid yet.
Confessing the truth before paying at a fine-dining restaurant…….
Her hands began to tremble.
Wasn’t there a more careful way she could have handled this?
She hated herself for worrying about something like this at a time like this, but what could she do? She was just an ordinary little citizen.
What if the boss got angry, didn’t even pay, and simply walked out?
‘You made a fool of me?’
‘Instead of working at the company, you’ve been telling ridiculous lies?’
Boss, please, at least pay half….
In the tense atmosphere where such a conversation seemed likely to follow, Dana subtly rolled her eyes toward the boss, gauging his reaction.
He was silently looking at her. His expression was so unreadable that it was terrifying.
“I-I-I-I’m sorry, B-B-Boss…….”
“I understand.”
Even then, he remained there for a while.
If she had genuinely liked the boss, she probably wouldn’t have felt this sorry.
But having become a sinner without having committed any sin, she fidgeted restlessly like a puppy that needed to relieve itself.
How much time passed like that?
Ihun stood up from his seat.
“Shall we go?”
“Ah, yes.”
***
That was the last time she saw the boss.
(Fortunately, he paid the bill. He really was such a kind person.)
For a whole week, there was no sign of the boss whatsoever.
Was he shocked?
It wasn’t as though the boss would actually be hurt just because the crush she claimed to have had on him was a lie.
Still, he might have felt a little bad about having bought her meals and tried to comfort her, only to find out that she didn’t actually like him.
But she couldn’t hide how relieved she felt.
If the boss had abandoned his work just to come see her because of her confession, what could have been more burdensome than that?
And if the confession had been fake on top of that.
This was why people shouldn’t go around committing sins.
“If you ever do something like that again, I’ll marry the boss, I swear.”
Having somehow resolved the unexpected situation, Dana went about her daily life with a light heart.
It was a little empty not seeing the boss who had always been in her sight, but she felt so at ease that she quickly forgot about it.
“Want to go on a blind date?”
Yoonseo asked in a serious voice as they walked down the hallway to get lunch. Dana stopped walking.
“A blind date? Why all of a sudden?”
“You’ve been having a really hard time lately.”
“Huh? I’m fine.”
Thanks to the boss, she had even gotten over her heartbreak over Jihoon, whom she had liked, and hadn’t the fake confession incident been wrapped up nicely, too?
For the time being, she had no intention of having anything to do with dating, flirting, or unrequited love.
“I don’t want to go on a blind date, so don’t worry about me.”
“How can I not worry? You don’t look well at all. You haven’t looked happy since you heard from me that the boss had set a wedding date.”
That was because, after confessing that she had lied to the boss, she was worried something might happen.
“Let’s go on a blind date, Dana. I’ll find you a man who’ll make you forget the boss. Of course, the boss isn’t exactly someone who’s easy to forget, but just think of it as having been a fan of a celebrity and try to get over him like you’re quitting the fandom. I’ll make an effort, and you make an effort, too. Okay?”
“…….”
“Why? You don’t think you can do it? You think it’ll be hard to forget the boss?”
“Why do I have to make an effort to forget the boss?”
It wasn’t as though she had ever thought about the boss enough to need to forget him.
“Dana, you…….”
As though feeling sorry for her, Yoonseo suddenly grabbed her hand.
“Do you love the boss so much that you don’t even want to forget him?”
Huh?
How did that even lead to that?
“So you really weren’t joking about liking the boss?”
“Uh, well, I mean…….”
Damn it, she never imagined that she would be unable to clear things up with her friend even after settling everything with the boss.
On top of that, she couldn’t tell her friend the truth and say that the confession had been fake.
Because if Yoonseo asked whom she had actually liked, she would have nothing to say.
Dana spoke reluctantly, like she was swallowing bitter medicine.
“Th-That’s right. If I love him, why would I need to forget him? That’s what love is, isn’t it? If that person is happy, then I’m happy, too. Wishing for that person’s happiness and watching them live well is also a kind of love. If I loved him that much, why would I need to deliberately try to forget him and deny the love I once had? That’s all love, too.”
What am I even saying?
Stop, stop it.
“Then you’re saying you’ll continue loving the boss without forgetting him even after he gets married?”
“Right……? You know what they say. You can’t forget your first love. I probably won’t remember it forever. But as time passes, little by little…….”
“First love?”
Yoonseo’s eyes widened.
“Is the boss even your first love? That Rai Heon boss?”
“Uh, I guess he is? Boss Rai Heon is my first love…….”
As if!
Han Jihoon wasn’t even my first love, so how could the boss be my first love?
My first love was some little boy I met at a playground when I was young, whose face I couldn’t even remember anymore and whose name I never knew.
“This won’t do. Then we definitely have to do it, a blind date! As your friend, I can’t just leave you like this. Wait here. I’m going to make a few calls.”
“No, I just want to keep the boss in my heart…….”
She reached out toward the departing Yoonseo, but missed her.
As she watched Yoonseo grow smaller in the distance and let out a quiet sigh, a fresh, invigorating scent brushed the tip of her nose.
A rich musk, and a subtle vanilla scent.
This scent……?
She slowly turned around, only to find something huge and solid, like a baobab tree, standing right in front of her.
Why is there a pillar in the company?
Long legs beneath a shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
A silhouette that looked as though even its shadow would be handsome.
Ah, it’s the boss…… isn’t it?
But wait, what did I just say?
‘You know what they say. You can’t forget your first love.’
‘I guess he is. Boss Rai Heon is my first love.’
Don’t tell me he heard my confession again, again?
And this time, he heard another fake confession?
What do you even call something like this…….
“Caught red-handed…….”
“Ms. Lee Dana.”
“Yes, Boss!”
“Could I talk to you for a moment?”
Oh my God.
Dana clutched her head.
