Friday morning.
Jeong-o was the first to wake up.
Yena, who had fallen asleep burrowed in her arms, had somehow drifted all the way to the edge of the bed, out from under the blanket.
*What kind of exciting dream could she be having to travel all the way over there?* Jeong-o smiled quietly, wondering what her daughter was seeing in her dreams.
After wrapping Yena back in the blanket and tucking her in, Jeong-o left the room and headed to the kitchen to drink the honey water Guksun had prepared for her.
The tasting event last night had ended well. Although the client from Remi Remi was a bit of a nightmare, MR. Yeong-gwang Park and Team Leader Chanseon An had handled them, so Jeong-o had been spared any trouble.
Ji-Heon, who had even eaten a meal claiming he was going to the event, never showed up until it was over.
*Did something urgent come up?*
*Or was he too ashamed of having crossed the line to come?*
*Or perhaps he couldn’t come because he was still hurting from being hit by her.*
Though it bothered her a little, Jeong-o pushed the thought aside.
There was something more important than that.
She had overheard Eun-Bi’s phone call. Since Eun-Bi had been laughing and talking right next to her as if she wanted to be heard, Jeong-o hadn’t done anything wrong by listening.
Jeong-o was certain that the person Eun-Bi had been talking to last night was Mrs. Jang.
Ji-Heon’s mother, Mrs. Youngmi Jang.
Eun-Bi Chae and Mrs. Jang seemed close.
Well, it was natural for them to be close, as they were soon to be mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
*’But it didn’t seem like they were sharing information about me.’*
This, too, was expected. There was no need for Mrs. Jang to confide in her prospective daughter-in-law about Ji-Heon’s past flame. If there was a problem, she would likely handle it alone. Or perhaps other members of Ji-Heon’s family might have assisted Mrs. Jang.
*’For now, it’s best to think with Mrs. Jang at the center.’*
That misguided phone call from seven years ago—that, too, was highly likely to be Mrs. Jang’s manipulation. And perhaps she even knew of Yena’s existence.
Maybe the attempted kidnapping of Yena was also a plot by Mrs. Jang.
Since Jeong-o had joined Ji-Heon’s company, she might have been trying to scare her off to prevent her from approaching him.
*’But if it was her, why did she hire someone instead of acting directly? Doing it herself would have been much more certain.’*
And if Ji-Heon and Eun-Bi’s marriage was approaching, wasn’t there a sense of urgency? It would be much more effective to speak directly rather than using indirect threats.
There were too many puzzling points to turn her suspicions into certainty.
*
Ji-Heon had been holed up in his office all morning, typing away at his keyboard.
Because his mind had been numb for two days, he had completely forgotten that there was a group monthly report scheduled for the afternoon.
He was in a daze. He barely even saw Jeong-o, yet in his head, it felt like there were a dozen Jeong-os running around.
In the midst of this, he still had to work.
Focusing for two hours, he managed to fill a few pages of the report decently. Ji-Heon let out a long sigh and clicked the mouse.
Now, he had to go to headquarters. If only he could cancel the monthly report and everything else.
*Do you want to save? Save. Don’t save. Cancel.*
*Don’t save.* Click.
“Ugh!”
Ji-Heon jumped up, startled.
*What have I done…*
Driven by the desire to cancel all his appointments, he had clicked the ‘Don’t save’ button instead of the cancel button! A mistake even a grade-schooler wouldn’t make—and I made it!
Ji-Heon immediately reopened the document program to check the records. He regretted his irresponsible past self, who hadn’t bothered to set up an auto-save function.
Two hours of hard work had gone down the drain…
Even in that moment, the image of Jeong-o from yesterday surfaced.
*”If you worked hard for three hours making data only to lose it all because you didn’t click save… No, two hours.”*
The curses she had neatly laid out flashed through Ji-Heon’s mind. It was a curse directed at Jeong-o’s ex-boyfriend. Why was it happening to me!
Ji-Heon gritted his teeth and opened a new document. This time, he changed the settings to auto-save every five minutes.
Lunch was out of the question.
*Knock, knock.*
As he adjusted his posture and glared at the monitor, he heard a knock.
“Yes.”
He moved his gaze from the monitor to the door.
The door opened and Assistant Manager Si-Nae Jo from the Management Division walked in. Seeing Ji-Heon’s expression, Si-Nae flinched.
*Ah, right, he had called for Assistant Manager Si-Nae Jo.* He remembered he had asked her to come to his office before lunch.
Ji-Heon rose from his seat, feeling sluggish.
“Sit down, Assistant Manager Si-Nae Jo.”
As Ji-Heon offered a seat, Si-Nae sat down with a terrified look on her face. Sitting across from her, Ji-Heon asked, “How is the work environment?”
She wanted to retort that there was nothing comfortable about it—that they had banished her to the outskirts, so why ask about the work environment?—but Si-Nae replied demurely, “It’s fine.”
“I called you here today because I wanted to ask you something personally.”
Ji-Heon got to the point without delay. “Has there been a rumor in the company that I’m getting married?”
“I, I didn’t spread any rumors!”
At Ji-Heon’s question, Si-Nae’s voice rose. Her frustration was evident in her expression.
“No, I’m not grilling you, Assistant Manager Jo; I’m just asking. There’s something I want to know.”
Ji-Heon said softly, as if soothing her.
Si-Nae hesitated, glancing around before speaking again.
“…It’s not so much a rumor as it is a fact that everyone knows. That you are getting married to Manager Eun-Bi Chae within this year…”
“Then it must have been Manager Eun-Bi Chae who talked about it. How do you know about it, Assistant Manager Jo?”
Ji-Heon nodded briefly. His voice was polite, but his eyes were sharp. “I’d like you to tell me any personal talk you’ve heard about me, as much as you can recall. Anything at all.”
*
Late in the afternoon, Jeong-o visited Ji-Heon’s office.
Ji-Heon’s secretary had contacted her, saying Ji-Heon wanted to see her and that she should bring the first report data from Dawon Liquor.
Jeong-o found it odd that he hadn’t instructed her personally and had used his secretary instead. Moreover, when she arrived at the office, Ji-Heon wasn’t there.
Jeong-o asked as she stepped out of the office. “Excuse me, the director isn’t here. Are you sure he asked me to come now?”
“Yes. He asks that you wait a little while. He’s on his way back from headquarters.”
“Then I’ll come back later.”
“He says he’s almost here, so please wait inside.”
The secretary’s insistence was firm, so Jeong-o returned to the office. *What is he trying to do, calling people in to work?* Jeong-o waited for Ji-Heon, kicking the innocent sofa repeatedly.
*
[I casually asked Ji-Heon if you two were having any trouble, and he said he’d talk to me soon. He said it in such a low, serious voice.]
“Oh… did he say that? That he would tell you soon?”
[Yes. So I told him not to make your mother and father too worried. And he just said ‘okay’ again.]
Eun-Bi recalled her phone call with Mrs. Jang last night.
*What could Ji-Heon possibly be wanting to say to his mother?*
She had glossed over it to Mrs. Jang, saying, “I suppose he’s going to talk about the wedding,” but a feeling of anxiety kept rising.
Ever since she had exposed Jeong-o’s past the other day, Eun-Bi hadn’t been able to talk to Ji-Heon. He had kicked her out of his office as if he never wanted to see her again and hadn’t called for her once since.
Eun-Bi was so anxious that she couldn’t focus on her work.
In the midst of that, Ji-Heon, who had returned to the company after finishing the meeting at headquarters, called for her.
“Manager Eun-Bi Chae. Could I see you for a moment?”
It had been a month since she arrived at Max Planning, and he had finally called her publicly. His voice was quite gentle.
“Yes!”
Eun-Bi stood up, her face flushed. She felt like she might burst into tears. Just the other day, he had kicked her out of the office as if he never wanted to see her again.
*’I knew it. Since Mother adores me so much, he can’t treat me poorly either.’*
It was a good thing she had gone to visit Mrs. Jang and poured her heart out. *After all, you have to be grateful to me for dragging my tired body to visit your mother after work.*
Satisfied that everything had been resolved, Eun-Bi followed Ji-Heon. His pace was so fast that Eun-Bi had to run to keep up, stumbling a few times.
“Oppa, what’s going on?”
Eun-Bi asked with a smile.
Ji-Heon didn’t respond; he simply kept moving toward his office.
The two soon arrived. *Click.* The door opened and closed.
Having entered with Eun-Bi, Ji-Heon slowly turned his head to scan the surroundings, as if needing to confirm that there was no one else nearby. Now that he thought about it, the secretary’s office had been empty, too.
Eun-Bi’s heart hammered against her ribs. The man who had gently asked to see her just a moment ago was nowhere to be seen. Here was the real Ji-Heon Jeong—expressionless, his gaze sharp. No, he looked even more piercing than usual.
Eun-Bi felt afraid again.
“Why am I hearing rumors that you and I are getting married?”
The smile Eun-Bi had painstakingly maintained crumbled.
“Tell me in your own words.”
“…….”
“Did I ever ask you to marry me?”
The threatening interrogation left her speechless. *But we’re going to get married eventually! Everyone wants it!* She wanted to say it with confidence, but it felt as if someone was choking her.
“Still, we, eventually…….”
“Facts only.”
“…….”
“Speak only the facts, Eun-Bi Chae.”
“…….”
“Did I ask you to marry me?”
Eun-Bi clenched her fists at Ji-Heon’s attitude, which shoved all the responsibility onto her.
“……We were going to do it eventually.”
“Why would I?”
“…….”
“I think you’re severely mistaken. I don’t want to do anything with you.”
“…….”
“It’s terrifying. If I hadn’t been assigned to this company, you would’ve continued spreading your bluffs even more excitedly.”
“Oppa, you don’t have anyone else anyway.”
Stung by his words, Eun-Bi retorted. “You don’t have anyone, so what does it matter who you marry? Whether we dated or not, I can marry you and maintain a married life perfectly well. What could be more convenient for you than this?”
With the blockage cleared, the words poured out as if she were venting a long-held grudge.
“Don’t you remember, Oppa? Seven years ago! If I hadn’t reported your hit-and-run, you would’ve died. What do you think would’ve happened to Mother if you had died? That is the reason we have to get married! You, and your family, should be grateful to me for the rest of your lives. You should keep carved in your heart forever how I saved you!”
“The one who should be grateful is you, Oppa, but I’m the only one who did well. I’m the only one who made an effort. Think about how well I treated Mother. Have you ever properly taken care of Mother’s Day or her birthday? I handled everything. I checked in with her every week, visited her when the time came, greeted her, went shopping with her, and bought her gifts. You should carve into your bones how much I’ve tried to maintain this relationship.”
*Since I’ve been so good to the mother you love, the only thing you should do is be grateful to me.*
“Do you even know how high Mother’s standards are and how picky she is about choosing gifts? Do you even know how much I suffered?”
“Then why go through that trouble? Have I ever asked you to do that even once?”
Eun-Bi’s eyes welled with tears at Ji-Heon’s attitude—acting as if he wanted to wipe his hands clean now, despite having happily accepted the favors she offered.
“Why are you using me as an excuse for things you did because you wanted to? I never asked for anything from you.”
“We decided to date! That’s a promise! If we decided to date, that’s how much effort you’re supposed to put in! So I put in that much effort!”
“Eun-Bi Chae.”
Ji-Heon’s gaze remained unchanged, even with her shouting at him.
“Deciding to date was just to smooth over the rumors from four years ago. You said so yourself, remember?”
Ji-Heon’s voice became calm, as if soothing an agitated child.
Four years ago, Ji-Heon had been plagued by rumors. One day, his mother had burst into the house, lamenting that she couldn’t live because of her son’s reputation. In the midst of that, Eun-Bi Chae became the final victim of the rumors. As soon as they started, she had come to him, lamenting just like his mother, and by the time she left, she had suggested they start a real relationship.
Ji-Heon had accepted it indifferently. He thought it was fortunate that the rumors disappeared like magic afterward. He thought it would end with a brief lie, but Eun-Bi had held onto that performance for a long time. Ji-Heon found out about that fact much too late. If he hadn’t been appointed to Max Planning, he never would have known.
And one day, he might have truly been pushed into marriage against his will.
“You should have cleared it up after that. Instead of making up false rumors.”
“…….”
“Stop it now. Clear it up within a week. I’ll turn a blind eye to all your bluffs and lies until now.”
Eun-Bi shook her head violently. “You can’t do this to me, Oppa. Look at everything I’ve done for you.”
“I am grateful for the report seven years ago. I’ll prepare a reward for you even now, so please take it.”
“…….”
“I’ll respect you enough not to care whether you tell people you dumped me or I dumped you, so just clear it up immediately.”
Finally, thick tears rolled down Eun-Bi’s reddened eyes. Ji-Heon maintained his calm composure, unfazed.
“If you’re embarrassed about lying to the people at the company, changing jobs would be fine, too.”
“……You’ll regret this, Oppa.”
“Yes. I will. So, let me stop regretting things now.”
His words and gaze were cold, but his tone was incredibly gentle. He opened the office door.
“Go on now.”
“…….”
“I have a guest to attend to. Get out.”
Eun-Bi glared at Ji-Heon while clenching her fists, but left reluctantly. She didn’t know who the guest was, but she couldn’t let them see her in this state.
As soon as Eun-Bi left, the office door was firmly shut.
***
*‘This is driving me crazy!’*
Jin-Seo was covering her mouth with both hands, hiding behind the sofa.
She had arrived at the office ten minutes ago. There was no one inside, and the secretary had told her to just go in and wait. She had plopped onto the office sofa and blankly looked down. There were cookies on the table; it was as if they had been placed there for her to eat. She was so bored that she opened them. They were delicious, which eased her mood a little.
*Why do I get so soft in front of food?*
*‘I’m bored, should I have one more?’*
Just then, she heard footsteps outside.
“Oppa, what’s going on?”
Eun-Bi Chae’s voice drifted in.
It was the same situation as the other day. Encountering Eun-Bi Chae and Ji-Heon Jeong in the office. *And I’m even caught red-handed eating cookies!* For some reason, she didn’t want to be caught in this state by Eun-Bi Chae, who was constantly clinging to Ji-Heon Jeong.
Stomping her feet, Jin-Seo shoved the cookie into her mouth in one go and quickly hid behind the sofa.
A moment later, the door opened, closed, and the argument began.
Unexpectedly, Jin-Seo learned the two people’s secret……. She hadn’t expected to hear their history live. She wanted to stand up and run out halfway through, but the conversation was so serious that Jin-Seo had no choice but to hold her breath. Her heart thumped against her chest throughout the entire argument.
“……You’ll regret this, Oppa.”
Unable to break Ji-Heon’s spirit, Eun-Bi left the office with those final words.
Ji-Heon seemed to remain exactly where he was.
*‘What do I do now? How do I get out?’*
She was in despair, trapped in the office while eating cookies.
Just as she was agonizing over how to escape.
“Guest.”
She heard Ji-Heon’s voice. Very close by.
Jin-Seo jumped in surprise and lifted her head. *No way.*
“Since you’ve heard everything, why don’t you get up now?”
Ji-Heon leaned over the back of the sofa and was smiling at her.
“Do you understand properly now?”
His smile looked both reliable and wicked, so Jin-Seo didn’t know what to make of it.