Ji Soo, who was at the scene with her, spoke up.

Surprised, Yeo Eun quickly raised her head and looked at Ji Soo.

“No?”

It felt like a child caught doing something wrong.

“But why are you checking your phone every 10 seconds?”

“Me?”

“Yes. You. You look like a teenage girl anxiously waiting for a call that won’t come.”

Yeo Eun couldn’t deny Ji Soo’s words.

With a bitter smile, Yeo Eun put her phone in her trench coat pocket.

“I’d like to say it’s nothing, but that’s not true.”

Yeo Eun sighed lightly and continued, trying to look as nonchalant as possible.

“I’m supposed to get a call from Director Cha Do Ha or Manager Cha Hyun, but there’s been no contact.”

Ji Soo would know she was waiting for calls from both of them.

No, Ji Soo must also be anxiously waiting for Cha Hyun’s call.

After all, the company’s fate rested on Cha Hyun’s fingertips.

But she had no way of knowing what the fifth meeting with Cha Do Ha meant to Yeo Eun.

Nor did she need to know.

“I guess I’m worried about that. Those two are my meal ticket, after all.”

Yeo Eun glossed over it and filled in the last sentence of the image evaluation report she was writing.

Then she raised her hand to call over the trainer who had come to provide support today.

“When Mr. Jung Wook Ho speaks, let’s remove the filler ‘um’ and the habitual ‘in my opinion.’ Being cautious is good, but too much of it gets boring.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Don’t remove it completely, just reduce the frequency.”

“Okay.”

Just as Yeo Eun handed over the report and was about to get up,

The phone in her trench coat let out a loud vibration.

The caller was Cha Hyun.

Seeing the name appear on the screen, Yeo Eun unconsciously showed a flash of disappointment before composing herself and answering.

“Yes, Manager.”

-Are you busy?

“No, I’m not.”

-No word from Do Ha?

Cha Hyun also didn’t know what the next meeting with Do Ha meant to her.

That’s why she was asking so casually if there had been any contact.

“No, there hasn’t been.”

Though she had told her to seduce and be seduced, she probably didn’t really want that.

She meant to use feminine wiles if necessary, not to actually capture him with them.

So Yeo Eun couldn’t tell Cha Hyun that she had suggested something else to Cha Do Ha when he proposed their next meeting.

If she upset Cha Hyun by mistake, her career in this field would be over.

Yet Cha Hyun always casually throws out words that seem to test her like this.

-Unlike Do Ha to keep you waiting. I thought he’d call you straight to his bed.

“Manager!”

How could she say such a thing…

-What? Are my words offensive?

If it were someone else, it would have been plenty offensive. But Yeo Eun, who had already harbored impure thoughts about Cha Do Ha, couldn’t say it was offensive.

If anything, it felt like she was being pushed, intensifying her impure thoughts.

“That’s not it…”

Yeo Eun paused, carefully choosing her next words.

Words that wouldn’t reveal her impure emotions and wouldn’t upset Cha Hyun.

Were there even such words?

“Even if it’s part of the training, I think it’s better if the Director doesn’t consider inviting me to his bed… for both our sakes.”

-Why?

Cha Hyun’s voice was so flat that it was rather frightening.

Someone like this couldn’t be appeased with just pleasant words.

So Yeo Eun decided to be honest instead.

“Because if that became reality, my life would become difficult.”

Her words subtly implied that it could become reality.

Having said that much, Yeo Eun calmly waited for the other’s response.

But Cha Hyun continued speaking in the same monotone voice, as if it were no big deal.

-You think I’d get upset and cast you aside if you ended up in Do Ha’s bed?

She thought it was entirely possible.

She had realized through this incident just how much Cha Hyun loved her nephew.

Cha Hyun would discard her like removing a dirty bug clinging to her precious nephew.

-Or are you worried about what the Chairman might do to you?

This was also quite possible.

How many chaebol chairmen would sit idly by while their heir apparent, whom they were considering as a successor, mixed with a mere image trainer?

“Either way, I’m the one who loses in the end. So please don’t push me into a corner, Manager.”

-You’re so naive, Yeo Eun.

A hint of laughter tinged Cha Hyun’s voice.

Her previously monotone voice now had a light, airy quality.

-Don’t worry. Nothing like that will happen.

Compared to the serious Yeo Eun, Cha Hyun was far too carefree.

-When two consenting adults are attracted to each other, of course they might share a bed. Both the Chairman and I are aware of that possibility.

The implication was clear, even without further words.

They would turn a blind eye to sharing a bed, but nothing more than that.

While they might overlook a minor indiscretion, anything beyond that was not to be pursued.

But for Yeo Eun, even that minor indiscretion wasn’t so simple.

It felt as heavy as if a lead weight were hanging from her chest.

Her heart fluttered at Cha Do Ha’s cold voice, his sharp gaze, his fleeting touch.

A brief kiss, an meaningless grasp of hands, a lingering warmth – all made her heart feel ready to burst.

Could someone like her really treat such a thing as a mere indiscretion?

“What if I end up clinging to the Director?”

-You?

Cha Hyun burst out laughing as if she’d just said the most ridiculous thing.

-Yeo Eun, you’re too funny.

Amid giggles and repeated declarations of how funny it was, Cha Hyun composed herself and continued.

-That will absolutely never happen. I know you better than anyone, after all.

At Cha Hyun’s words, Yeo Eun bit her lip hard.

-Even if your body follows your heart, you’re the type to push away, not embrace. You know what’s more important to you. You know your place.

As she bit her lip to keep from trembling, the metallic taste of blood tinged the inside of her mouth.

“What if… the Director won’t let me go?”

Once again, Cha Hyun’s laughter rang out.

-Do you think Cha Do Ha is a fool?

It felt like she’d been hit hard on the back of the head.

-He may seem like he’s going around causing trouble and doing bad things on his own, but he’s smarter than anyone. Intelligent.

She had spent the last four days worrying alone, unable to sleep properly because of her concerns.

To have the answer to those worries presented in this way felt somewhat deflating.

-He knows his place better than anyone, knows his worth. He won’t do anything reckless. Absolutely not.

Reckless, she says.

A hollow laugh silently split Yeo Eun’s lips.

To such a Yeo Eun, Cha Hyun quietly gave her next assignment.

-So if your heart moves you, go ahead. I won’t stop you.

Having very generously defined the boundaries of her relationship with Cha Do Ha, Cha Hyun finally adopted a serious tone.

-But make sure you complete the task you’ve been given.

She clearly indicated Yeo Eun’s position, that this was what she should be focusing on.

-This is a special order from the Chairman. Tonight at 9 PM. Bring Do Ha to the main house in Itaewon. Not only family elders, but also close group owners will all be gathering.

She didn’t forget to mention that since this industry is closely connected through marriage ties, most major group owners are expected to attend.

Soon-to-be in-laws from ST and Raon will all be there, she said.

-Dress him up nicely and bring him. And try to get his half-gone mind in order too.

“Half-gone mind?”

-That guy, of all places, went to a secret party hosted by Kim Hae Ri. Commonly known as a wild party.

I’ll send you the location. You must bring him. You must.

After emphasizing it several times, Cha Hyun finally uttered some terrifying words.

-The Chairman says he wants to see your abilities, so do it properly. Otherwise, all the support we promised will disappear.

After leaving those final words, Cha Hyun hung up, and Yeo Eun collapsed where she stood.

Her legs had given out.

To ask her to bring Cha Do Ha, who was enjoying a wild party with his girlfriend, to a family event he hates most…

It’s like they’re all pushing her off a cliff.

Yeo Eun silently accepted the herbal medicine Ji Soo offered and quietly left the office.

* * *

Just as Yeo Eun left the office, she received a call.

An unsaved number.

If her memory served her right, this was one of the numbers she had blocked thinking it was Son Gyu Won the day before Cha Do Ha’s blind date.

After unblocking all the numbers that had called that day, Yeo Eun had remembered the most likely one.

“2708… Could it be Cha Do Ha?”

As she thought the incoming call might be from Cha Do Ha, her heart pounded heavily.

Taking a deep breath, Yeo Eun was only able to press the answer button after the eighth ring.

Her fingertips trembled slightly.

“Hello?”

Yeo Eun’s voice also quivered faintly.

In contrast, Cha Do Ha’s voice was utterly monotonous.

There was no customary “hello” or any indication of who was speaking.

-9 PM tonight.

Despite all her trembling before answering the phone, the message was incredibly brief.

-Come to the party room at Lotus Hotel in Sinsa-dong. I’ll give you a chance to take a swing at me.

She helplessly called out “Director?” but the call had already ended.

The party room at Lotus Hotel in Sinsa-dong? That’s where Cha Hyun said the wild party was being held.

He’s supposed to be with Kim Hae Ri, yet he’s telling her to come there.

For Cha Do Ha, her existence was just as Cha Hyun had said – a “reckless act,” a brief “indiscretion” to enjoy momentarily in his boring daily life. Nothing more, nothing less.

To have spent four days dreaming foolishly about such a person.

A sharp pain, as if a keen blade had grazed her heart, arose.