It was a crazy thing to do.

Do Ha, who left the hotel room, got on the elevator and called Manager Kim Jung Joo.

“Manager Kim Jung Joo, who is the secretarial staff member assigned to Seo Yeo Eun by the chairman?”

-I believe there’s Assistant Manager Choi Sung Woo and one more external contractor.

“Please send me Assistant Manager Choi Sung Woo’s phone number.”

Assistant Manager Choi Sung Woo.

It was a name he had never heard before. Of course, he didn’t know the face either.

It seemed they had assigned a manager-level staff to Do Ha, while assigning a newcomer to Yeo Eun.

“Right now, please.”

-Did something happen to Seo Yeo Eun?

“It seems like something is about to happen.”

Manager Kim Jung Joo fell silent for a moment at Do Ha’s answer.

True to his sharp nature, Manager Kim Jung Joo tried to read his thoughts and found half the answer.

-I’ve sent you the phone number just now, and I’ll inquire about Seo Yeo Eun’s whereabouts.

“Please do.”

Do Ha, who hung up the phone, got off the elevator and walked towards his car, then stopped.

He turned direction and went straight to the black van parked outside the VIP section of the parking lot.

Do Ha opened the back door of the van without hesitation and looked straight at the man crouching on the floor.

The man, who had pulled in his neck like a startled turtle, widened his eyes and met Do Ha’s gaze.

The sweat beads on the man’s forehead glistened in the yellow light.

“Manager Park Gi Won.”

Startled when his name was called, Park Gi Won gasped and answered.

“Yes? Yes. Yes, Director.”

“Where is Seo Yeo Eun?”

Do Ha’s voice echoed eerily in the quiet underground parking lot.

Park Gi Won, shivering slightly, swallowed hard and answered.

“My, Myeongdong.”

Park Gi Won wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand and held out a tablet towards Do Ha.

A red dot was blinking and moving slowly on the map showing Myeongdong.

“It’s confirmed that she’s in Myeongdong.”

“Myeongdong, huh.”

Do Ha, repeating Park Gi Won’s words, closed the door he had opened.

“It’s not far.”

Then he drove straight towards Myeongdong.

Do Ha, who had rushed to Myeongdong in one go, finished parking and immediately called Choi Sung Woo, a staff member of the head office secretariat.

Manager Kim Jung Joo had already secured Choi Sung Woo’s location and Yeo Eun’s movements.

Choi Sung Woo was also waiting for Do Ha after receiving calls from Manager Kim Jung Joo and Manager Park Gi Won.

“Di, Director.”

Choi Sung Woo, who had been pacing back and forth with an anxious face in front of a silver van, spotted him and ran over in one breath.

“I’m Choi Sung Woo from the secretariat.”

“You’ve had a hard time following us around.”

Do Ha, who roughly accepted the greeting, curled his lips sarcastically as he passed by him.

“What are you doing? Not guiding me?”

“Pardon?”

“Guide me to Seo Yeo Eun. Where is she?”

“Yes!”

Choi Sung Woo, who answered urgently, went ahead of Do Ha and guided the way.

An alley inside the road leading from Myeongdong to Sowol-gil.

Even deeper in there, in front of a shabby noodle shop, Choi Sung Woo stopped and turned to look at Do Ha.

“She just kept walking and about 15 minutes ago, here……”

Do Ha, who didn’t even listen to the end of the sentence, opened the restaurant door right away.

Coming all the way here, he wasn’t at least angry.

It might have been a kind of stubbornness.

A stubbornness that unconsciously reached out because the time and sincerity he put in to eat with this woman seemed wasted.

But as soon as he entered the restaurant, the sight of Yeo Eun that met his eyes made his anger rise.

Her slender body curled up as if she was carrying the weight of the whole world alone.

Moreover, after running away with the excuse of being hungry, she had wandered around for an hour and only just entered a restaurant.

If that’s the case, she should at least eat well.

Noodles with a few pieces of meat, and soju.

The 300,000 won French dinner he had prepared for her lost its luster in an instant.

“Director!”

As he watched her tense up her shoulders and her chestnut-colored eyes deepen in color upon discovering him, he lost his last bit of reason.

In the end, Do Ha grabbed Yeo Eun’s hand as if she were an unfaithful wife and dragged her out of the restaurant.

Suddenly, the words Jin Yu Hee had thrown at him came to mind.

It must have been words thrown to provoke him, but with that one sentence, blood had rushed to his lower regions.

Small, moist, and soft hands.

Those hands that had suddenly excited him were now trembling like a frightened bird in his hands.

After leaving the restaurant and taking a few more steps, Do Ha stopped.

He felt the trembling hand gently grasp his.

“Damn it.”

Just holding one hand,

“I was angry to the tips of my hair, but suddenly I don’t even know why I was angry.”

Do Ha, who laughed helplessly, turned to look at Yeo Eun.

As he gave her his attention, a pale pink blush spread across her white face.

Her deep chestnut eyes looked a bit scared.

Still, she didn’t avoid his gaze and held onto him a little tighter.

Looking down at her hand quietly, Do Ha asked.

“Tell me. Why did you run away?”

He briefly thought that depending on the answer, he might have to stop this ridiculous game.

He thought that if he kept holding onto these small, moist, and soft hands any longer, he might look a bit foolish.

So he should let go using the answer as an excuse.

That’s what he thought.

“Were you scared to sleep with me again?”

“I wanted to rest.”

It was a slightly different answer than expected.

He thought she would give a brazen answer, saying she didn’t run away with a clear face like this morning.

Or she might whimper that she was scared with a frightened face.

Or he thought she might show a completely different aspect while conveying Chairman Cha Ji Seop’s intentions.

But wanting to rest?

“You’re not making excuses that you didn’t run away.”

“Because I did run away.”

He thought the shade in her deep chestnut eyes was ‘fear’, but it seems it wasn’t.

“I just couldn’t rest at all in front of you, Director.”

Her look of revealing her feelings as they were while staring up at him was impudent.

“Always tense, trembling. Heart pounding, fluttering.”

Eyes holding not fear but excitement shook as they took him in.

“You’re an uncomfortable person, Director.”

“So what are you going to do? You tempted me not to go to Kim Hae Ri, are you going to cancel?”

“Just……”

Yeo Eun, who smiled faintly, slowly tilted her head.

“Let me sleep for just an hour.”

She leaned her forehead against his arm and lowered her eyelids.

“I’m too tired, Director.”

The end of Yeo Eun’s voice was moist with sleep.

It was a bit pitiful.

* * *

The words about being tired were not a lie.

Last night, she had barely slept, and on top of that, she had to be on edge while being summoned here and there due to the aftermath of that incident.

Having her head and heart holding different things and reacting differently also consumed considerable energy.

Wondering how long she could keep doing this, Yeo Eun got in the car and fell asleep not long after the car started.

Even in front of Cha Do Ha, where she was tense, trembling, and heart-pounding, she couldn’t overcome her heavy eyelids.

The air in the car was drowsy, and the seat was comfortable.

Above all, she felt at ease because of Cha Do Ha who had found her.

She felt warm-hearted, feeling as if she, who was nothing, had become something.

Maybe that’s why.

She fell into a comfortable sleep as if this space was her own.

It took quite a while for her, who had fallen asleep like that, to wake up again.

“Mmm.”

Yeo Eun, who let out a soft groan, turned her head to the left.

Slowly lifting her eyelids, she traced her blurry vision slowly.

“…?”

Then, as her gaze met the black eyes looking at her warmly, she became wide awake.

Cha Do Ha?

Cha Do Ha smiled as he watched her hurriedly sit up.

“You’re awake?”

“Why didn’t you wake me up?”

Yeo Eun bit her lip after checking the time.

It seems she had fallen asleep in the car for as long as an hour and a half.

Yeo Eun, who was combing her messy hair with both hands, suddenly stopped.

She thought they would naturally go to Cha Do Ha’s hotel after leaving Myeongdong.

But now, Cha Do Ha’s car was parked in her villa’s parking lot.

“This is……”

“Are you surprised?”

Cha Do Ha chuckled as he watched her looking out the window with a surprised face.

“Thought I was going to take you to the hotel, didn’t you?”

Of course she thought so. Because that’s how it should be.

And only then can they promise the next time.

Because that act is the only thing she can share with Cha Do Ha.

“Director, I……”

“You think I’d touch a woman who says she wants to rest?”

Cha Do Ha, who smiled coldly, cut off Yeo Eun’s words.

“Get out before I change my mind. I’ll let you go quietly today.”

Click, the sound of the car lock being released was heard.

Then came the order to leave.

“Sleep well, and I’ll see you tomorrow. Don’t collapse again.”

It was a resolute voice that didn’t even show a gap to squeeze into.

Yeo Eun, who couldn’t say anything, opened the car door.

The cold wind painfully slapped her cheeks.

Yeo Eun, who slowly got out of the car, closed the door.

A dog barked outside the alley, and the streetlight flickered with a crackling sound.

Inside Cha Do Ha’s car and in front of her house.

Just passing through one door, but the world had changed.

The car where Cha Do Ha is, is just peaceful and warm, but where she’s standing now is cold and desolate.

The sense of loss from losing warmth and the emptiness blowing from the end of the empty alley were intertwined, and extreme loneliness was overtaking her.

Yeo Eun, who was about to take a step, stopped after a few steps.

Yeo Eun, who stared at Cha Do Ha’s car still standing in its place, turned back.

Yeo Eun approached Cha Do Ha and knocked on the driver’s side window.

The black window went down silently and Cha Do Ha’s scent brushed her nose.

“Director.”

Cha Do Ha’s face, looking back obliquely, was just indifferent.

“What? Are you going to tell me to drink bagged coffee again before I go?”

“If you don’t like coffee, alcohol is fine too.”

Looking at Cha Do Ha’s face that showed no emotion, Yeo Eun continued.

“If you don’t like that either, let’s… eat together. I’ll cook for you.”

Cha Do Ha’s red lips twisted into a crooked smile.

“You’ll regret it.”

“…I think I’ll regret it more if you leave like this.”