TDIMEH Chapter 03

  

3. The Mysterious Woman

Why is his English pronunciation so good, too?

Even in this situation, his low-pitched voice stuck to her ears like earplugs. Now that he was thirty-three, Junhyuk had become more mature in appearance and voice compared to three years ago when he was thirty.

Se-ah, who had been standing blankly, only got into the car like a defeated soldier being dragged as a prisoner after seeing his brow furrow slightly.

Even though she had fastened her seatbelt diagonally across her shoulder and waist, she felt as if her neck was being choked. It must be my imagination.

She felt that if she turned her head even a little, her identity would be revealed. Like someone who had just arrived at a driving school for lessons, Se-ah’s gaze didn’t move an inch from straight ahead.

Her posture was so perfect that it looked like it could be used on a poster for the Road Traffic Authority.

It was only natural. Do Junhyuk, sitting next to her, was much scarier than a driving instructor.

Se-ah gripped the steering wheel so tightly that her palms grew sweaty, focusing entirely on driving.

But there was one big obstacle she couldn't overlook.

'Rrrrrrr. Rrrrrr.'

About halfway to the office where she was supposed to meet the boss, the loud ringtone of Se-ah’s phone echoed in the car.

On weekdays, she set it to vibrate, but on weekends, she used a ringtone. So, the car was filled with a lively dance track that reflected her musical taste.

But Se-ah, the owner of the ringtone, didn’t feel lively at all. Instead, she glanced at the screen with a grimace.

It was the boss.

If she answered, she would have to speak in Korean, so she pressed the 'End Call' button. However, she didn’t have time to switch it to vibrate before it rang again. And again. And again.

He was probably calling to check if she was bringing the guests safely. She should have called him before getting into the car.

Gritting her teeth, Se-ah pressed the 'End Call' button repeatedly. Junhyuk, who had been watching her with an indifferent expression, pointed his chin at her phone when it rang once more.

It was a silent signal to answer it.

She already seemed suspicious, and if she hung up again without a word, she’d definitely hear about it later. Left with no choice, Se-ah began to mumble an excuse.

“[Boss, you’re not allowed to use your phone while driving. There’s a fine for that.]”

Of course, you can't use your phone while driving.

Se-ah thought she had made a good excuse, but she was caught off guard by the man in the back seat who leaned forward and grumbled, urging her to answer the call.

“Don’t worry, I won’t report you. Just answer it. You can do it!”

“Yeah, we’re fine, so go ahead and answer it. Also, Jisang oppa, isn’t 'You can do it' a bit off?”

“What’s wrong with it? As long as it gets the point across, they’ll understand, right?”

They did understand, of course, but Se-ah shook her head firmly.

“[I don’t know Korean well.]”

Even as complaints poured in from the back, Se-ah firmly refused to answer the phone until they arrived at their destination. The problem wasn’t just Se-ah’s resolve; the boss also didn’t give up, calling again and again without a break.

After navigating the last curve, Se-ah parked the car in front of the office. The boss, who had been anxiously pacing near the entrance, rushed barefoot toward the car. Se-ah was the first to jump out of the vehicle.

“Se—!”

She quickly covered the boss’s mouth with her palm, whispering in his ear.

“Boss, from now on, please call me Coco. Don’t ever say my real name. Let’s consider this trip my contribution. I couldn’t answer your calls because I was driving. It’s been a while since I last drove, so I needed to stay focused.”

The boss, who had been looking at her with a puzzled expression, brightened up at the mention of this 'deal' and nodded eagerly.

If things had gone according to plan, Se-ah would have used this chance to negotiate for some vacation days. But that wasn’t her top priority right now. Escaping this scene was much more important.

“Well then, I’ll be heading home first.”

“Alright. Thanks for your hard work.”

As Se-ah walked away, she glanced back briefly to see the boss bowing respectfully to the guests as they exited the car. She quickened her pace.

Even as she moved further away, the sharp voice of one of the women reached her ears, filled with dissatisfaction.

“What was that? The driver didn’t even open the door for us? I know we came unexpectedly, but this level of service is disgraceful. From now on, don’t send foreigners to the airport.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m talking about that driver. She couldn’t communicate properly. And why didn’t she answer that noisy phone of hers?”

Her scalp tingled under the intensity of their stares.

“I’m not sure what you mean. The employee who did the pickup is Korean.”

“What did you just say?”

At the sound of a sharp cry, Se-ah turned around to see her boss pointing at her while the other people stared at her with bewildered expressions.

Recalling the saying, 'You can't spit on a smiling face,' she forced a wide smile, her eyes curving halfway, before making her escape from the scene.

“Is she a total nutjob or what?”

Hearing the old nickname that the brash man had just thrown out after a long while, Se-ah felt a strange sense of nostalgia.

***

“Ha.”

Junhyuk let out a hollow laugh as he watched the woman running away in a hurry.

He had already found her suspicious back at the airport, where she had been waiting with her face completely covered by a mask and sunglasses despite the sweltering heat. There was something about her that drew attention.

Even with only her clear, prominent forehead and large eyes visible behind the dark lenses, it was clear she didn’t have an unattractive face. If anything, it was the opposite.

The bridge of her nose, which was partially hidden by a cheap disposable mask, seemed to be high, as evidenced by the bulge in the center of the mask.

No wonder Jisang, who never missed the chance to flirt with an attractive woman, had kept trying to talk to her.

Recalling how she had rebuffed Jisang's advances with irritation, Junhyuk couldn't help but chuckle.

'[I’m not Korean. I don’t speak Korean well.]'

Her cheeky response had been so convincing that even he had believed she was a foreigner. But it turned out she was Korean after all.

Why had she lied like that?

The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous and funny it seemed. He didn’t burst out laughing, but small chuckles kept slipping through, tugging at the corners of his mouth. It had been a while since he had something to laugh about, so even that small laughter left his mouth feeling tingly.

The last time he laughed like this had been when his ex-wife, Jin Se-ah, had said something absurd. The laughter felt similar to that moment.

Junhyuk felt the irritation from the sudden change in his schedule subside a little, thanks to this unexpected encounter.

A month ago.

When Moon Sohee first mentioned the cruise investment opportunity, Junhyuk had been lukewarm about it. But after receiving a report that their resort business in the Philippines was underperforming, his thoughts began to shift.

He had assumed that, with the pandemic over, it was time for business to rebound. But the large resort division was still struggling to escape from its losses.

'What do you think is the reason for the poor performance? There must be a reason why our growth rate is slower compared to others, right?'

During the meeting, Junhyuk pointed to a PowerPoint slide displaying a graph that showed the performance of various business sectors that had experienced a sharp rise after the pandemic.

Airlines and travel agencies were experiencing a rapid recovery in sales, but large-scale resorts, in particular, showed little change.

'Customers still prefer smaller, less crowded travel destinations. In Southeast Asia, there's a growing preference for private pool villas, which has left larger-scale resorts struggling to increase sales. I believe other large resorts are in the same situation as us.'

The executive in charge of the resort business added data on the status of other groups to the presentation slide, explaining that the situation was unavoidable.

Junhyuk, who was scrutinizing the prepared data with his sharp eyes, raised an eyebrow.

'So, you’re saying we should all go down together? Because it’s unavoidable?'

'N-no, that’s not what I meant. First, we thought that if we ran some aggressive marketing campaigns and offered discounts...'

'No. That won’t work.'

Junhyuk rejected the idea outright, as if it wasn’t even worth reconsidering.

Offering discounts could end up cementing their image as a 'cheap hotel.' Once customers experienced the lower prices, it would be even harder to convince them to pay the original price later. And, since they’d be paying more, they would likely expect more in return.

Once complaints start, it takes several times more effort to win customers back.

That’s why Junhyuk, instead of relying on discounts, thought about other business ideas that could create synergy with the resort. He came up with the idea of a private small-scale cruise trip. The target audience for this promotion was the middle class.

The plan was to offer a cruise tour that would visit famous Philippine islands, with the final leg of the journey ending with a stay at the resort. This would encourage a steady flow of customers.

If customers experienced the comfort of staying at the large resort again, they would be more inclined to book it directly for their next trip.

Instead of a large ship, a 10-person yacht seemed more appropriate. Conveniently, Moon Sohee was already scheduled to visit that area, so Junhyuk joined her trip.

Originally, he had planned to visit a large-scale business site, but somehow word had leaked, and the location suddenly canceled their appointment without explanation. Later, he found out that another hotel chain had been secretly negotiating behind the scenes.

There are always 'bats' hanging around somewhere.

While Junhyuk was searching for an alternative option, Jisang, a man who wasn’t exactly smart but had an uncanny ability to sniff out money, suggested another operator.

It was a company that had been running cruise tours for tourists in the Philippines for quite some time.

Sometimes, a small local operator with deep knowledge of local conditions could have an edge. With that in mind, Junhyuk decided to investigate in person before any further leaks occurred, so he quickly packed his bags.

He headed to the Philippines for the cruise investment deal, accompanied by Jisang and Moon Sohee. That’s when he encountered the woman who looked suspicious beyond words.

But what was even more puzzling was the way the 'boss' was looking at him with eyes filled with suspicion.

Ever since the boss saw him getting out of the car, he kept tilting his head as if trying to piece something together. Finally, while Jisang and Moon Sohee were away using the restroom, the boss, who had been fidgeting for a while, finally spoke up.

“By any chance… are you Coco's husband?”

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