I haven’t felt this annoyed in a long time.
Jeong-o Lee, who had claimed she had something to say, had left work without a word after stepping out to make a phone call.
Park Seung-Gyu, who called himself my best friend, had turned his back on me as if we would never see each other again.
With these two tormenting my mind, Ji-Heon hadn’t even managed a decent night’s sleep.
Still, work couldn’t wait, so he headed to the office. On his way to the executive suite, he paused for a moment and scanned Jeong-o’s desk from afar. It seemed she hadn’t arrived yet.
Voices from Eun-Bi Chae and her colleagues drifted from the pantry, but Ji-Heon kept walking toward his office.
“Director, you’ve arrived.”
“Yes.”
He answered the secretary’s greeting perfunctorily and stepped inside.
He sat on the sofa, but his head throbbed so painfully that he decided to lie down.
A moment later, he heard soft, light footsteps outside the door.
Assuming it was Eun-Bi Chae, Ji-Heon closed his eyes immediately. Everything was irritating. He didn’t want to share a single word with her.
Soon, the door opened. It would have been common courtesy for someone to see him resting and turn back, but the woman stood rooted to the spot. Her hesitation displeased him, and Ji-Heon’s brow furrowed slightly.
Her approach was even more suspicious.
He felt a burning sensation, as if someone were sitting by his head, observing him from every angle. The faint, barely audible sound of her breathing felt like she was wishing him peace.
His skin prickled where her breath touched it. His fingertips tensed.
A desire to confront her rose within him, but he held back, fearing he would regret opening his eyes.
Then, something hot and damp landed on his lips with a light tap.
As the heat, like a brand, seeped between his lips, a jolt of fever rushed through him. The woman seemed startled, too; he felt the movement of her body as she hurriedly rose and turned away.
*’What on earth am I doing?’*
Ji-Heon couldn’t help it; he snapped his eyes open.
He saw the back of Jeong-o Lee.
He had pretended to sleep because he didn’t want to talk to Eun-Bi Chae, thinking she was the one who had entered—to think it was actually Jeong-o Lee.
“Where are you going?”
“…….”
“Where do you think you’re going after doing that?”
Ji-Heon nimbly grabbed hold of her.
“U-uh… I didn’t do anything.”
She replied, turning her head with a flustered look. Her face, usually pale, was flushed deep red. Ji-Heon rose from his seat at once.
Shamelessly, she was inching backward, clearly trying to make a run for the door.
Ji-Heon took long strides and blocked her path by standing with his back to the door.
When her exit was blocked, her expression twisted.
Even that flustered look was to his liking. It was his type.
Though it bruised his pride to admit it, it wasn’t just “sort of” to his liking; it was his definite, clear-cut type. Even in this situation, his mind and body were craving her.
Before long, he would cross the limit he had set for himself. His instinct warned him: being with this woman was dangerous.
He could try to avoid her, or even fire her, but Ji-Heon didn’t want to do that.
If so, he had no choice but to get used to the stimulation she provided.
He wanted to keep her close—as near as possible. He wanted her to make a mistake, and he intended to delve into it.
That was why he couldn’t let this opportunity slip away.
“I don’t want to make a scene, but how are you going to take responsibility?”
“What? For what?”
“…….”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
She replied, feigning complete ignorance.
Ji-Heon’s lips twisted crookedly at that audacious response. *Shall I play along?*
“I suppose so. I don’t know either.”
“…….”
“I’ve been through all sorts of things, but this is the first time I’ve been kissed while sleeping.”
Ji-Heon said wickedly, wiping his lips with his thumb.
Jeong-o was dumbfounded by his stubbornness. *Are you an idiot? Calling it a kiss just because a single tear fell!*
“That wasn’t a kiss…!”
“Right. Not a kiss. A peck, then.”
As he kept insisting, Jeong-o had no choice but to confess.
“……It was a tear, Director.”
“…….”
“It wasn’t a kiss or a peck. Just a single drop of a tear that fell.”
His brow crinkled like accordion pleats. He still looked as if he didn’t believe her.
Though, of course, that was likely an act.
“How could you misunderstand that? You act like someone who has never been kissed before.”
*You crafty bastard. If anyone heard you, they’d really think you’ve never been kissed.*
“Then why?”
“Yes?”
“Why? Why did you drop a tear in front of me?”
“That’s because…….”
Jeong-o squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again. *I don’t know either. Whatever happens, happens.*
“You… resemble my late father!”
His expression became even more ferocious. He looked genuinely shocked.
After a moment, he approached two steps closer with narrowed eyes.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“It’s the truth.”
“How much, and in what way, do I resemble him?”
*Ah, damn it.*
“Where is a picture of your father?”
She had sold out a father she had never even seen, and now she was cornered. She had to come up with another brilliant plan.
*’You said you hate being told you’re handsome?’*
She recalled what Mi-Ran had told her on her first day.
“You just resemble him in that you’re both handsome. My dad was really handsome.”
*There. I insulted you, so glare. Go on, glare at me like I’m a bug. Criticize me! Kick me out! Just get rid of me already!*
However, contrary to her expectations, he took a step back without a word. Perhaps trying to cool his temper, a long, rough breath escaped his tightly pressed lips.
It seemed her improvisation had worked. Jeong-o moved her feet, slowly tracing a semi-circle toward the door. He didn’t move, allowing her to finally reach the knob.
*I’m sorry for lying on the spot, but isn’t this much okay? You hid your true self from me, too. I went seven long years without knowing who you were.*
Jeong-o twisted the handle.
“I’ll be going now.”
“You said you had something to say yesterday.”
He, who had been silent, spoke up again to block her.
“Ah, that was…….”
“…….”
“It was that you resembled my late father. Now, I really must go.”
*Are we good?*
*Click.*
She had barely opened the door, yet he foolishly added one more remark.
“I waited for 30 minutes. Yesterday.”
“You only waited 30 minutes?”
The words slipped out before she could stop them. She felt dizzy. But she couldn’t take them back, so she hastily rationalized it.
*I have nothing to fear. I’m going to push forward. I’m the person who knows about your scandal from seven years ago! Though I am the other party involved in that scandal, of course.*
With that final thought, Jeong-o fled.
*You must have never heard something like that before. You probably expected me to beg for forgiveness, saying sorry and promising it wouldn’t happen again. Since I talked back, you must be thinking, “What kind of crazy girl is this?”*
But that was Jeong-o’s true heart.
*’I’ve waited for you for so long, what’s a mere 30 minutes?’*
***
Yesterday afternoon, Eun-Bi discovered Ji-Heon’s secretary lurking in front of the Production Team 2 office while the team was in a meeting.
“Ms. Ae-Ra, is something the matter?”
“Oh, yes, Manager. I have a memo to leave.”
If it was a memo from secretary Ae-Ra Yoon, it would surely be a message from Ji-Heon. Eun-Bi initially thought the secretary had come to leave a memo for Mi-Ran. However, the secretary placed it on Jeong-o’s desk.
*’Why is he doing this for Jeong-o Lee?’*
After the secretary left, Eun-Bi hurried to Jeong-o’s desk.
A memo was placed in the center: *5/13 18:00 Call from Director Ji-Heon Jeong.*
*’Why?’*
Her hand tightened around the paper, crumbling it viciously. She threw it into the trash can.
The next morning, Eun-Bi, who had been keeping a close watch on Team 2, called Jin-Seo over as soon as he stepped out of Ji-Heon’s office.
“Assistant Manager Jeong-o Lee.”
“Yes, Manager.”
“Could you come here for a second?”
Jin-Seo stood up. If he had followed his heart, he would have snapped, “If you have something to say, come here yourself,” but there were eyes watching.
“Yes, Manager. What is it?”
“Where were you yesterday?”
“I had an urgent matter, so I left early.”
“You’re not the only one with urgent matters. Everyone here is busy. You know that, right?”
“Yes. I apologize for not contacting you separately, Manager.”
Afraid she might accuse him of having a bad attitude again, Jin-Seo pulled his lips into a wide, fake smile. It seemed to annoy Eun-Bi even more.
“After the meeting the day before yesterday, we divided up the roles for the historical advertising study. The rest of the team had a hard time covering your portion yesterday,” Eun-Bi said, tapping her fingertips against the document on her desk.
“I did it, Manager.”
If she wanted to play this game, Jin-Seo wouldn’t just take it.
“I finished my portion right after the meeting the day before yesterday and uploaded it to the cloud.”
Jin-Seo flipped through the materials Eun-Bi had been tapping on. Laughably, except for the cover page, the content inside was exactly what he had written. *If you’re going to pull a scam, at least put some effort into it.*
“The materials you’re looking at are what I did, too. The team members didn’t do new work. Did you even check the content properly, Manager?”
Eun-Bi froze.
Last night, she had jumped to the conclusion that because Jin-Seo wasn’t in the meeting room, he had failed to finish his work. She hadn’t even considered that the materials being passed around were actually Jin-Seo’s.
On top of that, Ji-Heon’s memo looking for Jin-Seo had put her in a foul mood. At this point, Jeong-o Lee should have been cowering in defeat.
Hiding her confusion, Eun-Bi retorted.
“You should have sent it by email. That way, I could have checked it properly.”
“In the meeting the day before yesterday, we agreed to upload it to the cloud for the presentation prep, Manager. You can check the meeting minutes.”
Jin-Seo found her laughable.
“It seems everyone else checked it properly. Anyway, I’ll be more careful from now on. I’ll make sure there aren’t any parts that you miss because you didn’t check them, Manager.”
*Eun-Bi Chae. I won’t let you treat me like you did back then, when you ruined my school life. I have so much to do. I need to make money, and I need to help my Ye-Na meet her father. That doesn’t mean I plan on stealing your man. But if you threaten me, I won’t just stand by.*
*Don’t bully me. Don’t try to destroy my workplace. Protecting myself is protecting my daughter. I will defeat my enemies. Eun-Bi Chae, the same goes for you. If you conspire against me, you are my enemy, too. Everything that stands in my way is my enemy.*