Chapter 28
When I first arrived in this world, I remember thinking this was just the drama Madman playing out according to the fixed synopsis and the story I already knew. But the more time passed, the more it veered off course—so much so that I began to question if this was even the same drama at all.
Take, for example, the demotion of the former Secretary Team 3 Lead, or Han Yejun himself. Originally, there were no disciplinary actions for that team leader. And Han Yejun? He was supposed to fall head over heels for Yoon Taeo. And vice versa. But neither of them showed any particular interest in each other. And there were far more subtle changes. I’m not even sure if my memory’s totally accurate anymore, but even the secretarial staff looked nothing like what I remembered from the show.
“Are you doing this on purpose to mess with me, Secretary Kim?”
And of course, I was the one at the center of all those changes. Every small action I took, every word I said, twisted the story further off its rails. Maybe, from the moment I entered Baek Sieon’s body, the story was always meant to stray from the version I knew.
“Th-that couldn’t possibly be true, CEO...”
Even this Sotheby’s auction was a deviation. In the original version, Yoon Taeo was supposed to attend with Han Yejun. Because he brought such a high-profile partner, they drew the attention of customs officers, and Taeo even rescued him from some half-baked ordeal. That’s when their love deepened—or something like that. But now? Han Yejun’s whereabouts were unknown, and I was the one standing in as his plus-one.
“So how exactly am I supposed to accept this pathetic display?”
“What’s... wrong with it...?”
Let’s not even bring up the fact that I had to prepare for a party on a golden weekend afternoon. Toxic work conditions weren’t exactly new to me. What made this unbearable was that now I was even being criticized for wearing perfectly decent clothes.
“I mean, come on. You’re attending as my partner—don’t you think that’s a bit... sigh... cheap-looking?”
...He chose those words deliberately, didn’t he? Now I’m curious what he originally meant to say.
“...This is actually the nicest suit I own.”