It was him, Prosecutor Kang Ji Ho.

Although Park Ra Jin had been thinking about him the entire way, the moment their eyes met, everything went dark before her.

“I apologize for troubling you.”

The deep voice said.

“Oh, no, not at all.”

Why was she stammering when she shouldn’t be showing her confusion so openly? Park Ra Jin felt her whole body burning as if she had jumped into a fire pit.

“Here.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

Park Ra Jin quickly took the small bag he held out, about the size of his palm.

“Excuse me.”

He murmured in an even lower voice. Then he brushed past her, almost touching her shoulder, and walked towards the minister.

“I’m sorry for being late, Minister.”

He exchanged greetings with the middle-aged men in turn, just as Park Ra Jin had done.

‘Should I casually strike up a conversation?’

Park Ra Jin followed him with her eyes while trying to think of something to say.

If she asked casually if he had been stuck in traffic, then used the handkerchief as an excuse to suggest meeting… Wouldn’t that be a not-too-burdensome proposal?

Just as she thought it might be a good idea, their eyes met as he turned around after finishing his greetings.

Park Ra Jin unconsciously drew in a sharp breath and lowered her head as if fleeing. As she fixed her gaze on the pamphlet in her hand, the toe of his shoe slipped between the crisp white paper edges.

A faint citrus scent in the gently stirring air around her. At the same time, his breath touched the back of Park Ra Jin’s hand. Far from unpleasant, it was just warm and cool enough to feel like a gentle spring breeze.

“Next, we will have a congratulatory address from Minister of Justice Lee Jung Ki.”

Startled out of her reverie by the sound of applause, Park Ra Jin joined in clapping and stepped back. She discreetly observed him while hiding behind his broad shoulders.

The man who stood ramrod straight, staring only at the podium, had an unapproachable aura about him.

From his perfectly styled hair without a single strand out of place to his sharp jawline without a trace of stubble. And even his ears, shaped as if carefully molded. How could a person be so impeccable?

‘I need to make sure he keeps quiet about what he heard at the hospital. Sigh.’

A sigh escaped her involuntarily, but she couldn’t take her eyes off him again. Not only was talking to him a problem, but she needed to meet him somewhere without Oh Jong Hyuk’s CCTV-like manager around. There weren’t many suitable places.

A secluded spot in Hangang Park, Namsan parking lot, the hospital’s outdoor garden, or some other third location?

Among the many options, which would be best, and would he even agree to meet? Park Ra Jin started eliminating unsuitable places one by one.

As she was deep in thought, the staff member who had been in charge of guiding them approached, bending low.

“Ms. Park. About the flower presentation I mentioned earlier…”

As Park Ra Jin leaned forward to hear better, his body, which hadn’t shown a hint of movement until then, swayed for the first time. His warm breath swirled at the edge of Park Ra Jin’s shoulder before dissipating.

“Should I get up now?”

The staff member, who had been glancing at the podium as if waiting for a signal, quickly nodded.

“Yes. You can go up now. This way, please.”

Just as she was about to stand up at the staff member’s gesture, her sling bag with an open back wobbled precariously. As she grabbed the armrest of the chair to keep from falling-

“!”

She felt the man’s solid forearm under her palm.

“I-I’m sorry.”

Again, again!

Why was she stuttering over a simple apology? Park Ra Jin felt irritation rising at her foolish behavior, but outwardly maintained a soft smile.

He nodded lightly in response and didn’t take his eyes off Park Ra Jin until she left her seat.

Swallowing the words ‘This is driving me crazy,’ Park Ra Jin climbed onto the creaking podium.

The award ceremony was simpler than expected. There weren’t many people receiving commendations, and all she had to do was hand over flower bouquets with a bright eye-smile.

It was just like a family event with nothing special, if not for the celebrity ambassador’s presence.

After taking commemorative photos standing alongside the award recipients, the atmosphere seemed to be winding down.

“Ms. Park, you’ve come all this way. Why don’t we go upstairs for some refreshments?”

Though refreshments weren’t difficult, Park Ra Jin couldn’t readily agree as she was trying to find the right timing to talk to Prosecutor Kang Ji Ho separately.

As Park Ra Jin hesitated, the minister suddenly raised his hand.

“Prosecutor Kang!”

The minister gestured for him to come over quickly. Why was he suddenly calling Prosecutor Kang Ji Ho as if he had noticed something?

Park Ra Jin glanced back and forth between the smiling minister and the approaching Prosecutor Kang Ji Ho, and suddenly had an absurd thought.

‘He doesn’t think I asked for Prosecutor Kang Ji Ho to be called over, does he?’

In a situation where only that person was singled out, Park Ra Jin deliberately pretended to be distracted, as if unrelated to this matter.

“Prosecutor Kang, do you have time now?”

His gaze quickly brushed over his wrist.

“I have something to ask you too. If you’re not busy, why don’t you join our actress here for a cup of tea?”

“Yes, Minister.”

At the man’s neat reply, Park Ra Jin finally let out a sigh of relief.

The reception room facing the minister’s office.

In the spacious area, there was a rectangular table with two four-seater sofas facing each other.

“Ms. Park. Please, have a seat here.”

Park Ra Jin sat down next to Prosecutor Kang Ji Ho, with a blue velvet-covered certificate and a large flower bouquet between them.

“Prosecutor Kang. Have you greeted Ms. Park Ra Jin?”

“We just exchanged brief eye contact.”

The minister smiled gently at his answer.

“Ms. Park. This is the Criminal Division 1 of the Central District Prosecutors’ Office. Oh! He’s moved to the special investigation team now, right?”

“Yes.”

“This is Prosecutor Kang Ji Ho, whose investigative skills are so outstanding that the special investigation team recruited him. By the way, he’s still single.”

Park Ra Jin turned slightly at the minister’s introduction, which was followed by a chuckle.

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Park Ra Jin.”

“I’m Kang Ji Ho.”

“Congratulations on your award.”

Park Ra Jin added, trying to ease the awkwardness.

“Thank you.”

At his all-too-brief reply, Park Ra Jin looked at the minister.

“This is his third consecutive year receiving this award. Our Prosecutor Kang might be the only one in prosecutorial history.”

“Three years in a row, that’s really impressive.”

Park Ra Jin smiled softly and added praise, but he didn’t even crack an awkward smile.

He had told her to contact him if she needed help, but now he wouldn’t even look at her. What was going on? Park Ra Jin’s insides burned as if she had hastily gulped down hot soup.

“Our actress must have a busy schedule. Thank you for graciously attending.”

“I had some free time as I’m just waiting for my new drama to air.”

As the conversation naturally shifted to her work, he sat with his back straight, just listening.

Although there was an exchange of well-wishes for the drama’s success and light jokes, he only nodded occasionally without joining the conversation.

She had thought the atmosphere would be warm even if private conversation was difficult in front of the minister, but that was a complete misunderstanding.

When the conversation between Park Ra Jin and the minister stopped, silence fell more often than words. After several forced coughs and repeated silences,

it was so suffocating that if the secretary hadn’t brought refreshments, she might have made an excuse about a non-existent phone call to leave.

“Ms. Park, please help yourself. You too.”

“Yes, Minister.”

Park Ra Jin looked down at the clear green tea and bite-sized cookies.

‘Ah, this is so awkward. Am I just going to embarrass myself if I try to talk to this man?’

The man sitting quietly was so bothersome that the story about the flowers she had seen on the way to Gwacheon completely slipped her mind, and she sighed involuntarily.

Just as Park Ra Jin corrected her expression with difficulty and was about to drink the green tea, there was a knock at the door.

“Minister. There’s a phone call for you.”

Although the caller wasn’t identified, the secretary’s restless gestures seemed very urgent.

“Oh! Oh, oh. Please excuse me for a moment.”

The minister jumped up and hurried out, followed quickly by two secretaries. As soon as the door closed, Park Ra Jin’s gaze dropped.

The first official encounter with Prosecutor Kang Ji Ho.

Was the man naturally a person of few words, or was he doing this on purpose? The plans that filled Park Ra Jin’s mind just swirled around in her mouth before disappearing. She should say something, but she just fiddled with her fingers like a student in the middle of a counseling session about grades.

“Um… That day.”

Park Ra Jin struggled to bring up the topic, grabbing and releasing the hem of her dress.

“Are you alright now?”

At those words, which seemed indifferent yet carried much meaning, Park Ra Jin’s heart sank.

“Ah, yes… yes.”

Park Ra Jin stammered her reply, curling her fingertips. Still, she was grateful that he had asked first.

“You can throw away the handkerchief. And what’s inside it too.”

“Pardon?”

For the handkerchief to come up in Park Ra Jin’s story, there were some things that needed to be explained first. But he jumped straight to the point, skipping everything, making her turn her head involuntarily.

“I didn’t mean to burden you, Ms. Park Ra Jin. Please think of it comfortably.”

The words “There’s an order to conversation, why are you in such a rush?” rose to her throat.

The reception room where the minister had briefly stepped out, anyone could barge in at any moment. But this was not the place to bring up the hospital story in detail.

“I’m not sure how you’ll take this, but if it’s alright…”

“Recently.”

“Yes.”

“I happened to see you, Ms. Park Ra Jin.”

“Me?”

For two people with no professional connection, where could he have seen her other than the hospital? Caught off guard by this unexpected development, Park Ra Jin quickly scanned through her recent schedule.

Suddenly, his broad shoulders moved at an angle, filling Park Ra Jin’s field of vision.

“It might be easier to say this than to mention the place.”

“?”

“I saw you with Executive Director Kim Yu Jun of Myungjin Group.”

The blood seemed to drain from her entire body, and her vision wavered.

“Am I mistaken?”

If he had seen her with Kim Yu Jun recently, it must have been at the hotel. Park Ra Jin was confused about whether he had only seen her with Kim Yu Jun or if he had overheard their conversation as well. But she continued speaking, pretending to be calm.

“Ah, that day I had a dinner appointment with Executive Director Kim Yu Jun.”

“There were several men chasing after you, Ms. Park Ra Jin.”

The man’s eyes seemed to be asking, “Am I wrong?”

He saw it, that scene from that day. As if hit by a surprise attack, Park Ra Jin couldn’t continue speaking.

“Were you alright?”

His quietly resonating voice, his eyes that seemed to know everything. Park Ra Jin just opened and closed her mouth, as if made painfully aware of the harsh reality.

“So, I, at that time I.”

Just then, the sound of people murmuring outside the door grew closer.

The minister would return soon, and if the conversation ended like this… As Park Ra Jin’s wavering eyes turned towards the door, he leaned his upper body a bit more.

“Is there perhaps something you want to tell me?”

Explaining the vulgar story Oh Jong Hyuk had been spouting in the hospital garden was different from being caught with Kim Yu Jun.

The image she had built up as a national actress, the reputation she had managed without even a hint of a dating scandal until now.

Putting all that aside, what if Prosecutor Kang Ji Ho took her relationship with Kim Yu Jun as a given? That couldn’t happen. No, she didn’t want to be associated with Kim Yu Jun even through a small misunderstanding.

“It might seem silly to explain this to you, Prosecutor, but I think a clarification is necessary. About the incident at the hospital too.”

“Tell me the time and place.”

The suddenly given choice. Park Ra Jin’s mind went blank.

“So, tonight…”

She couldn’t think of a suitable place. Unable to escape people’s gazes, at times like this, being a celebrity felt no different from being an animal trapped in a zoo.

As she debated between somewhat secluded places and even more secluded places, he abruptly held out his phone.

“Your contact information, give it to me first.”

“…”

“Is it burdensome?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“I was going to take it since you didn’t contact me. If you’re uncomfortable, we can pretend this never happened.”

As if there had been no conversation at all, his body swiftly turned to face forward.