The growth of secret feelings

After glancing at his reflection in the mirror for several more minutes, Ji-Won finally pronounced himself satisfied.

Before he left the apartment, Ji-Won also remembered to take with him the bag that he had previously brought from his father's home. Since he already decided to donate its entire content, this trip to the orphanage was the perfect occasion to do so.

When he finally got to the company, Ji-Won was surprised to see that everyone gathered at the main entrance.

Compared to what he had imagined, even Su-Jin had gotten there on time.

She was standing close to the company entrance, chatting merily about the upcoming event with Yeon-Ah. While she talked, Su-Jin's face seemed to radiate a special kind of brightness, one that was usually associated with pure happiness. Even her eyes glowed with unconcealed excitement, giving the woman a particular beauty.

Ji-Won swallowed hard and quickly shifted his eyes away from her. Yet, despite trying hard to keep the staring to a minimum, he repeatedly found himself turning his gaze towards her.

Su-Jin's exuberance seemed to be almost contagious and, soon enough, everyone she talked to began feeling overjoyed.

To Ji-Won's relief, Su-Jin didn't seem too keen on interacting with him. Except for a polite bow and a quiet 'good morning', she completely ignored his presence. In response to that, Ji-Won also kept his replies curt and his attitude dismissive.

Seo-Jun watched the short and rather awkward exchange with a pensive look on his face. He had his own thoughts on the matter, but chose to remain quiet. Either way, this wasn't the best time to approach Ji-Won about this.

Jung Seok and Yeon-Ah, on the other hand, seemed quite oblivious to what had transpired in front of them. After all, they all knew just how much Su-Jin and Director Kang disliked each other, so they didn't find anything strange in their mutual disregard.

Soon it was time to leave. They all got inside Ji-Won's car, taking the same seats as the last time.

Seo-Jun went to sit in the front-right seat, while the other three went in the back. It wasn't very comfortable, but just like before, no one dared to complain. Since it was summer, the temperatures were pretty high even during the morning. Therefore, in their hearts, they were all very grateful they didn't have to take public transportation or walk on foot.

The orphanage was located near a chapel, on the top of a small hill. The trip was going to be rather short, about twenty minutes' drive from Kangji Tourism headquarters.

They spent the most part of the way in silence.

Once or twice, Ji-Won happened to glance in the rear-view mirror just as Su-Jin looked up. Every time this happened, their eyes would meet and they would both be startled. After a couple of seconds, they quickly shift their gaze, feeling strangely awkward and flustered.

Su-Jin couldn't understand why exactly she was feeling this way. After all, nothing too out of the ordinary had happened between the Director and herself. At most, she should just feel regretful for causing such a commotion inside the archive room and for having to work hard to restore everything to its place.

Still, no matter how she tried to convince herself, Su-Jin simply couldn't stop her heart from beating slightly faster whenever she would see Ji-Won's face reflected in the mirror. His gaze when looking at her was so direct, so open, that it made her breath hitch every single time his eyes met hers through the reflection.

As she felt her face on the brink of blushing, Su-Jin finally exploded on the inside.

'What the heck is wrong with me today? Is it really necessary for me to act so silly? After all, it was just a small matter of holding me by the waist. It's not like we kissed or anything, so why am I feeling this embarrassed just from looking at his face?'

Even as she berated herself like that, Su-Jin could barely stop the pounding of her heart. At the same time, a small, mischievous voice inside her head kept whispering stuff that made her even more flustered.

'But how come he looks so different today? His hair and clothes are so unlike his usual style that, when I saw him getting out of the car this morning, it gave me a huge shock. I almost couldn't recognize him. Maybe it's because of the casual clothes or perhaps it's his unstyled hair, but today Director Kang looks younger and more approachable. Not to mention, he is very handsome indeed.'

Whilst Su-Jin was thus contemplating Director Kang Ji-Won's appearance, the man himself was feeling quite unsettled. Just like Su-Jin, his heart also sped up whenever his eyes would meet hers in the rearview-mirror.

Then, upon hearing his thundering heartbeat, Ji-Won would immediately feel too embarrassed to keep eye contact. That's when his gaze would shift, awkwardly avoiding looking in the same direction again.

But, as if the rear-view mirror was a magnet, Ji-Won's eyes kept being attracted to it. He repeatedly glanced at it, like a thief trying to steal a precious glimpse at a treasure. Yet, it seemed that Su-Jin was better at controlling herself than he was, because after those two instances, their eyes never met.

So, for the remainder of their trip, both Su-Jin and Ji-Won expended a tremendous amount of effort to keep the emotional turmoil from showing on their faces. Instead of revealing any sign of it, they keep everything deep inside their hearts, like a precious secret.

Once they got to Angel orphanage, they saw a handful of people waiting for them outside the building. There was a nurse, three teachers, as well as the orphanage Director. Everyone had a smile on their face, appearing to be very eager for their arrival.

When the car finally stopped outside the entrance, all those who were waiting outside began smiling even more widely.

As soon as he got out of the car, Ji-Won bowed to the people waiting, then stopped right in front of the Director.