‘Why are you… How did you end up sleeping all crumpled up on the basement sofa wearing an apron covered in sawdust?’

Of course, I knew it was something he enjoyed doing, but suddenly that thought occurred to me.

If I had kept working at that consulting firm my immigrant grandfather had built up in Boston, which my mother now heads, I wouldn’t be earning just 500,000 won a month.

For some reason, I even recalled what Sol Hee had said.

‘The world doesn’t work out just because you try hard, or just because you do well. There are things like inexplicable luck or timing.’

Luck or timing.

Could that perhaps be appearing on a broadcast?

It’s a huge opportunity for and Joo Han, so if I’m causing trouble by absolutely refusing for my personal reasons…

‘No, no. Back then, he was even more serious than me…’

At that moment, ‘he’ slowly opened his eyes. Joo Han screamed in shock as he saw Eun Soo’s silhouette looking down at him.

“Ahhh!”

“Ahh!”

Startled by Joo Han’s shout, Eun Soo also screamed reflexively. Joo Han hastily sat up, placing both hands on his chest as he caught his breath.

“Ah, why are you standing there like that! I thought you were a ghost!”

“Why are you so surprised? Even a real ghost would have left embarrassed.”

“A real ghost wouldn’t have come as close as you. At most, they’d sit in a corner or just pass by outside the window.”

“What? What are you saying? Are there ghosts here?”

Joo Han, now awake and calmed down, adjusted his posture as he spoke.

“Didn’t you know? Everyone’s seen it at least once. You haven’t?”

Eun Soo frowned deeply.

“You’re crossing the line. What kind of joke is that? To someone who often works overtime alone.”

“It probably won’t come to the second floor. I’ve only seen it going back and forth between the basement and first floor. A woman in white clothes with hair about your length…”

“Ah, stop it!”

Eun Soo finally raised a hand. Joo Han quickly changed the subject.

“So, why are you here? Do you have something to say?”

“…No?”

Eun Soo added in a deliberately brazen tone, “Just.” Joo Han raised one corner of his mouth.

“Then why are you pointlessly watching others?”

“Why would I be watching you? I came down because the light was on, and you happened to be sleeping. If you’re going to sleep, why not go up to your home instead of sleeping here? Is it too far to go?”

“I’m not sleeping. I was just closing my eyes for a moment.”

“Wipe the drool from your mouth before you talk.”

Joo Han wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and muttered.

“There wasn’t any.”

“It evaporated. I saw it all.”

He’s definitely worse than a ghost. Joo Han looked her over with such eyes and made a shooing gesture.

“If you’ve seen everything and have nothing to say, then go home.”

“I’m going, but, CEO.”

Joo Han, who had just stood up, massaged around his neck with one hand and gave a look that said ‘what’. Eun Soo chewed on her lower lip.

Want to talk? About your salary, no, about our company’s sales. How about we discuss it openly together…

As Eun Soo was mulling over words she couldn’t bring herself to say, Joo Han asked,

“Did something happen to you?”

“What do you mean?”

Eun Soo, feeling prematurely caught, waved her hand. Joo Han, who had been looking at her with a very suspicious expression, suddenly said,

“Wait a moment.”

“Huh?”

“Let me see your hand.”

“Hand?”

Eun Soo reflexively showed both her hands. Joo Han pointed to the red line-like wound left on the fingertip that had been cut by paper earlier. Eun Soo lowered her hand sheepishly and said,

“Ah, this. I just got a small cut from paper earlier.”

“Then why did you leave it like that?”

“I’ll wash it and put a band-aid on when I get home.”

“What are you talking about? You should have disinfected it right away. What if bacteria enter through the paper cut and you get necrotizing fasciitis or something?”

“Necro… what?”

Leaving Eun Soo bewildered, Joo Han turned around. Then he brought disinfectant, ointment, and a band-aid from his desk drawer.

“Give me your hand.”

“It’s fine. It’s not a big deal.”

“Just give it to me.”

What are you, a robber? Eun Soo grumbled but held out her injured hand. Joo Han carefully disinfected the wound, applied ointment, and started to remove the band-aid packaging.

As she looked down at the scene, Eun Soo suddenly realized.

That there were small traces of wounds on Joo Han’s hands that must have been much more painful than paper cuts.

Unlike the hands she remembered from long ago, which she used to grasp at the slightest provocation. Her feelings became complicated once again.

“Hey, Kim Joo Han.”

Joo Han, who had just finished wrapping the band-aid on the wound, looked up at Eun Soo instead of answering.

“Let’s just…”

Eun Soo hesitated, unable to finish her sentence. Joo Han tilted his head.

“Just what?”

Eun Soo quickly shook her head.

“No, nothing. Thank you.”

Then she immediately turned around.

“I’ll go first.”

She could feel Joo Han’s puzzled gaze on her back as she hurried up the stairs. Eun Soo swallowed a sigh.

Her fingertip, which shouldn’t have been that painful, tingled unnecessarily.

The next day.

The phone on the desk rang. Eun Soo reached out her arm to answer the phone while keeping her eyes fixed on the monitor.

“Yes, this is Sun Eun Soo from . Ah, yes!”

Eun Soo’s expression, which had been cheerful at first, gradually became serious.

“Ah… is that so? Since it’s a sudden circumstance, we can’t help it. Then when can we reschedule… Yes, I understand.”

It was the person in charge from , saying they wanted to cancel the meeting scheduled for tomorrow for now.

Feeling uneasy, she got up and was pacing around when she heard someone hurriedly coming up the stairs. It was Sun Kyung.

“Director!”

“Yes, Director Oh. What’s the matter?”

Sun Kyung, looking unusually urgent, frowned and began to speak.

“Well, I heard from someone I know that is having a meeting with the person in charge from tomorrow?”

“What did you say?”

, and CEO Jang Hyun Man.

If it were anywhere else, it might not matter, but hearing gave her an ominous feeling.

That place was already known for focusing only on famous or guaranteed valuable works, unlike ‘s direction.

I knew they wouldn’t even buy vintage pieces with unknown designers no matter how clean the condition or how good the design, so how did they find out about the still unknown among so many places and set their sights on it at the same timing?

“If that was the circumstance, I wouldn’t have agreed so easily…! What should we do?”

The person in charge had said they wouldn’t be in Korea for long, so it was clear they had canceled the appointment with us because they couldn’t meet both of us. It felt too unfair to leave it like this.

After intense contemplation, Eun Soo called the representative she had spoken with earlier.

“Hello, I’m calling because… Yes, of course. I completely understand that it’s difficult for you to make enough time. If it’s alright with you, I was wondering if I could come visit you directly and briefly convey just the main points?”

Though the other party seemed hesitant, Eun Soo persisted and finally managed to set up an appointment.

As soon as the call ended, Sun Kyung asked,

“What did they say?”

“They said we could meet for about an hour in the lounge of the hotel they’re staying at. I’ll go right away.”

Eun Soo quickly gathered the materials she had planned to present formally tomorrow, tidied up her appearance, and headed for the first floor.

So Min and Joo Han, who were removing already sold furniture from the showroom to send to customers, turned to look.

“Where are you going?”

“Meeting with .”

“Wasn’t that tomorrow?”

“It was canceled and then rescheduled. It’s urgent, now. I need to meet them first.”

Sun Kyung, who had followed her down, briefly explained the situation. Joo Han, who frowned as soon as he heard the word , said to Eun Soo who was about to leave,

“Wait for 5 minutes in front of the door.”

Then he went straight outside. Eun Soo turned to look at the confused employees and said,

“Well… I’ll be back.”

“Yes, Director.”

As Eun Soo went outside and paced around, Joo Han came down dressed in a neat shirt and slacks instead of his work clothes. He was holding car keys in his hand.

“Shall we go together?”

“I thought 2 on 1 might be better than 1 on 1. Is that too petty?”

Eun Soo said seriously,

“It’s not petty to be 2 on 1, it’s not like it’s 17 on 1. Let’s go.”

Joo Han smiled and headed towards the garage next to the building. Seeing the black sedan parked neatly, Eun Soo muttered,

“Right, you had a car. I forgot because I always see you driving the truck.”

“Actually, I just remembered too. I don’t have many occasions to take this out.”

Joo Han got in the driver’s seat, and Eun Soo in the passenger seat. As Joo Han had said, it didn’t seem to be a frequently used car, still smelling new and clean enough.

“Where’s the location?”

“H Hotel.”

“We should get there in 30 minutes. Look over anything you need to in the meantime.”

“Thanks.”

The car started smoothly. Joo Han glanced at Eun Soo, who was focusing on her materials with an expression that was clearly trying to stay calm.

Joo Han knew too. That Eun Soo had put more effort into this project than any other time.

They thought was also favorable, but they didn’t expect them to backstab so suddenly like this. He had hurriedly followed along in case they acted so unilaterally and rudely even in a face-to-face meeting with Eun Soo.

For now, let’s see what Eun Soo has prepared, and if it seems absolutely impossible to make a contract, whether because of or for other reasons…

“I’ve been thinking.”

Eun Soo suddenly spoke up.

“This doesn’t seem like a coincidence, right? Does it seem possible that was interested in regardless of us?”

Joo Han replied immediately.

“That possibility seems slim, and it seems much more likely that they caught onto the heightened interest in and the ‘Marcie Madsen’ chair because of Choi Yoon Bin.”

“Right? It’s not just me thinking that?”

“Honestly, it’s obvious. And whether it’s a coincidence or not, the fact is that they’ve interfered with our work.”

“Exactly.”

Eun Soo clenched her fist.

“If this contract falls through, can you drive straight from the hotel to ? I’m going to grab CEO Jang’s hair and rip it out.”

Having momentarily imagined it, Joo Han burst out laughing.

“Sure, let’s go. To rip it out.”

Then he added,

“But since it’s probably a wig, it might not be that satisfying to rip out, so let’s go with winning cleanly at this meeting and returning.”

Eun Soo stared at Joo Han’s profile.

‘It definitely seems a bit better to go with the CEO’s backing rather than charging in alone.’

Her emotions, which had been boiling with anger, had somehow already settled considerably.

Yeah, let’s go.

That one response, as if it were obvious.

A little later, Joo Han and Eun Soo arrived at H Hotel.

After asking an employee for valet parking, they entered the lobby side by side. They headed straight to the lounge and were guided to the table where the representative was.

A younger than expected man in casual suit attire stood up and greeted them.

“Nice to meet you. I’m sorry for making you come all the way here.”

“Not at all. It’s not far from our showroom. We’re even more pleased to meet you a day early.”

They exchanged business cards along with brief greetings. The representative looked a bit surprised upon receiving Joo Han’s card.

“Even the CEO himself…”

“That’s how important we consider this meeting with . On our side, that is.”

Joo Han smiled. Whether the subtle criticism of their attitude, which our side had but their side lacked, was conveyed, the corners of the representative’s eyes twisted slightly.

Eun Soo politely handed the materials to the representative.

“Thank you for making time despite your other schedules and busy schedule. I’ll try to convey only the most important points as much as possible.”

Eun Soo immediately began her explanation.

The representative, who had been listening with an expression that made it difficult to guess his thoughts, wore a slightly troubled expression when Eun Soo finished speaking.

“To be honest, what we want is…”