44 Its the least I can do for her. (1/2)

”Jaehyun-ssi?”

Oh Jaehyun snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a concerned voice beside him. He glanced at a frowning Ji-Eun beside him and he relaxed his own furrowed brows.

”Are you alright?” She asked him, looking at him when they stopped in front of a red light at an intersection. ”You looked kind of... pissed off the whole afternoon.”

Sighing, Jaehyun shook his head. ”I'm alright. But something happened earlier. It's really bothering me.”

”What happened? Is it work-related? Have I overlooked something?” Questions started to rain on Jaehyun and all he could do was to smile weakly at her.

”Relax,” he said. ”It's not work-related. I just had... words with Bae Yuri earlier when I was at The Little City.”

Ji-Eun's eyebrows shot up in surprise. ”You know, there are only a few things that can go through your impenetrable armor. Do you want to go home, so we can talk about it? Visit Father too, maybe?”

He knew exactly what she meant when she asked if he wanted to go 'home'. Home meant the Chung Mansion. Not the hotel, and definitely not his house.

”Yes,” Jaehyun smiled lightly at her and nodded. ”Maybe it's time for you to go home too.”

With his affirmation, Ji-Eun put the car in gear and prepared to turn the car around to go to the direction of the family mansion. Jaehyun closed his eyes and let Ji-Eun drive in peace.

Chung Ji-Eun had been driving to and from appointments for the better part of the afternoon, letting Oh Jaehyun off of his task. Perhaps she had been in a really good mood that she had offered to drive the car the whole time. Or maybe she had seen how dour he looked the whole afternoon. Who knew what her reason was?

”I'll drive, Secretary Oh,” she said when he had swung by Grand Gala Square after lunch that day. ”You look... tired.”

He accompanied her from one meeting to the next, keeping up with her schedule. Perhaps she indeed noticed something's up with him when after one appointment, instead of going to her usual coffee spot for her afternoon snack, she parked by his favorite spot called The Hideout, a few blocks away from their main office, and decided to get their drinks there.

No words were said between them as they sat an open air table. Ji-Eun enjoyed her snack while her secretary leaned back in his chair in silence, enjoying his bitter coffee. In their own weird way, they understood each other. He appreciated her gesture and she endured his long, sullen silence, not once calling him out for it.

It wasn't until a few minutes ago when Ji-Eun actually addressed him about his mood that he came to understand that he'd been brooding for a few hours now. After all of their appointments, after all their work, she finally decided to ask. He knew she had been keeping it in, so he re-organized his thoughts as they traveled home.

”Grandpa Chen!”

He heard her exclaim as he closed the car door. He straightened his suit jacket and walked up to the front door to greet the family butler.

”Young Master,” the old butler greeted Jaehyun as he approached.

”Grandfather Chen,” he bowed. ”I'm no Young Master of this house, you know.”

The butler laughed. ”Take that up with President Chung,” he said, amused at the thought. ”The Young Miss called ahead to tell us that you were coming, so dinner has been prepared for the three of you.”

He gestured for Oh Jaehyun to come inside, so he can close the front door.

As he walked inside, he heard Ji-Eun's voice somewhere near. He followed the sound of her voice and soon came to the drawing room to find the father and daughter pair already having a lively conversation.

Jaehyun waited at the door until the elder noticed him.

”What were you doing there?” He said as he finally noticed him. ”Come in, you silly boy!”

”President Chung,” Jaehyun bowed.

The elder smiled as he settled himself on the couch.

”I hope this is not just a social call,” the elder said. ”Are you going to stay here tonight?”

”Yes, Father,” Ji-Eun answered. ”There are some things Jaehyun and I needed to talk about.”

”Oh?” The elder looked from Ji-Eun to Jaehyun, curiosity in his eyes. ”Is there a problem at the office?”

”No, Father,” Ji-Eun laughed. ”Just some stuff we need to take care of.”

”I see,” the elder drew in a breath and pressed no further. 'Well, I'm glad you're both here.”

The elder looked over to his daughter.

”Ji-Eun, there are some things I need to talk about with Jaeyun,” the elder gestured to Jaehyun kindly. ”Can you please help Old Chen out in the dining room for a while?”