Tae Wook looked up at Gyeo Wool.

She had stopped moving and was blinking her wide eyes in surprise.

“Stay until I finish this coffee.”

It was almost like a plea.

He had rushed here wanting to be alone, but the moment he saw Gyeo Wool, his mind changed.
He didn’t want to be alone. He needed someone to be by his side.

He could see Gyeo Wool’s expression changing from surprise to concern.

She looked like she was searching for words to refuse.

“I won’t ask you to stay long.”

Tae Wook said and then laughed inwardly.

He felt like he was acting just like a needy child.

But it didn’t matter.

As long as Gyeo Wool would stay by his side.

Her lips remained closed as she stared deeply into space, seemingly lost in thought.

His hand gripping her wrist tightened unconsciously.

As if he would pull her to sit down if she refused.

“Just until I drink half of it, is that okay?”

“Alright, for a short while.”

Gyeo Wool reluctantly agreed.

The employees knew she had brought the coffee instead of Secretary Kim.
She was afraid they might suspect something if she stayed in the office too long.

But she wasn’t cold-hearted enough to refuse three requests in a row, and her concern for Tae Wook was great.

Tae Wook gazed intently at Gyeo Wool as she sat down across from him.

He truly couldn’t figure her out.

In fact, the flames of anger that had started deep in his heart began to subside the moment he saw her.
Now he barely felt their presence.

“Is the work manageable?”

Tae Wook took a sip of coffee and asked Gyeo Wool.

It was the first time he had asked about her work since she returned to the company.

“Yes. But there’s so little work that I’m almost bored.”

Her words were true.

There weren’t many reports coming up from the resort.

“You’re probably comparing it to when you were a secretary before?”

“Maybe?”

Gyeo Wool smiled faintly.

Compared to her past secretarial duties that were murderously heavy, now it wasn’t even a fifth of what it used to be.

“Don’t go creating work that isn’t there though.”

“I-I won’t.”

Gyeo Wool was inwardly startled.

He couldn’t possibly know, could he?

She had been helping other employees with their work after finishing her own tasks.

She didn’t like resting alone while everyone else was working, it made her uncomfortable.

And perhaps because of her help, the employees who had been wary and unfamiliar with her were gradually becoming more friendly.

Gyeo Wool tilted her head slightly to the side, avoiding Tae Wook’s gaze like someone caught doing something wrong.

“It’s strange. Drinking instant coffee makes me feel so at ease.”

Tae Wook took another sip of coffee and stretched the corners of his mouth into a long smile.

Maybe it was because of the words “miracle cure.”

Or maybe it was because Gyeo Wool had made the coffee for him, he wasn’t sure.

What mattered was that his angry emotions had subsided significantly.

“Um…”

Gyeo Wool carefully opened her mouth as she watched Tae Wook smiling languidly.

“If you have something to say, say it.”

“It’s Friday today so…”

“You need to go down to Jeju Island, right?”

Tae Wook immediately understood what Gyeo Wool was trying to say.

“Won’t it be late if you go after work? Make sure to leave early.”

“It’s okay. I’ve booked the last flight.”

“It’s the weekend, so traffic to the airport might be heavy. You should leave a little earlier…”

Before Tae Wook could finish his sentence.

Bang!

The office door suddenly burst open and an uninvited guest entered.

“Chairman Kang!”

The person who barged in shouting was none other than Ki Bum.

“I can’t stand how angry I am. I think I need to have it out with you today!”

Rough breaths huffed and puffed from Ki Bum’s nose as he stood with his hands on his hips.

Ki Bum had gone up to the vice chairman’s office, but still feeling unsatisfied, he came looking for Tae Wook’s office.
However, upon learning that Tae Wook had moved to the Flore Resort headquarters, he immediately followed.

“What did you say to me, who worked so hard for your marriage? You won’t stand for it if I bring up marriage? Is that how a son speaks to his father!”

Ki Bum was so focused on venting his anger that he paid no attention to the person sitting across from Tae Wook.

Moreover, since Gyeo Wool was sitting with her back to the door, he didn’t realize who she was.

Gyeo Wool couldn’t continue sitting on the sofa and slowly stood up.

Her eyes, flickering with fear, were shaking uncontrollably as if lost.

As Gyeo Wool stood up and turned towards Ki Bum, he recognized her.

“You!”

“H-hello…”

Gyeo Wool barely managed to squeeze out a greeting with a voice that wouldn’t come.

“Hello? How can I be okay seeing you here!”

Gyeo Wool’s greeting seemed to have fanned the flames of Ki Bum’s anger.
His face turned bright red and the veins in his neck bulged as he shouted.

“What are you doing showing your face here? Speak up. What are you hoping for by coming to see Tae Wook!”

“Father! Please!”

Tae Wook couldn’t bear it anymore and jumped to his feet.

“Have you forgotten that this is my office!”

His voice instinctively rose.

He gritted his teeth and lowered his voice.

He had to consider the ears of the employees listening outside the office.

“I will explain about Secretary Han.”

Tae Wook regretted it.

He shouldn’t have argued and raised his voice with Ki Bum after the executive meeting.

Instead, he should have talked about the matter with Gyeo Wool.

“I asked Secretary Han to…”

Tae Wook stopped mid-sentence.

Gyeo Wool’s condition seemed quite serious.

Her face had turned ghostly pale, as if she might collapse at the slightest touch.
Her eyes trembled with fear, like prey before a predator.

Concerned, Tae Wook furrowed his brow and said to Gyeo Wool.

“Secretary Han, please step out.”

“Yes.”

Gyeo Wool answered in a tiny voice like a mosquito and turned to leave.

But Ki Bum blocked her path.

“Where do you think you’re going? You haven’t answered my question yet!”

“Didn’t you hear me tell her to leave? Go out quickly.”

While Ki Bum was blocking her, Tae Wook was telling her to leave again.

Gyeo Wool bit her lower lip hard, at a loss for what to do.

“I said listen.”

Tae Wook moved. His hand gripped Gyeo Wool’s firmly.

“Chairman…”

A flustered Gyeo Wool tried to shake off Tae Wook’s hand.

His action was like pouring oil on the fire of Ki Bum’s anger.

“What do you think you’re doing!”

“If she won’t listen to the order to leave, I have no choice but to do this.”

Though Ki Bum raised his voice enough to shake the office, Tae Wook remained completely unfazed.

He strode to the office door, holding Gyeo Wool’s hand.

Ki Bum’s heavy, angry breathing followed them there, tormenting Gyeo Wool’s ears.

“Go and calm down.”

Tae Wook looked at Gyeo Wool with concern as he instructed her.

Her hand in his grip was ice cold.

“Drink some warm water, okay?”

Gyeo Wool couldn’t answer.

She wasn’t sure if it was right to leave the office when Ki Bum was raging like that.

“Answer me. You’ll do as I say, right?”

“Yes.”

Gyeo Wool reluctantly answered in a tiny voice to his repeated question and left the office.

The anteroom was quiet as a mouse.

No employees were visible except for Secretary Kim.

“I asked them to leave.”

Secretary Kim explained to the puzzled Gyeo Wool.

“It’s not a conversation the employees should hear, is it?”

“Thank you. But I feel bad for the anteroom staff…”

“None of the employees will think they had to leave because of you, Secretary Han.”

“What? What do you mean…”

“Last year, the Vice Chairman came looking for the Chairman.”

Judging by Secretary Kim’s grim expression as he relayed this, it seems that day too, he had barged in and caused a scene.

“But the employees quickly vacated their seats, so no one heard what the Vice Chairman said.”

Gyeo Wool felt dizzy at Secretary Kim’s words.

It sounded like Gyeo Wool’s identity as Tae Wook’s ex-wife could have been exposed.

“Your face is very pale. Are you alright?”

“Yes… I’m fine.”

“Please sit down and rest a bit.”

Secretary Kim’s gaze turned towards Gyeo Wool’s desk.

“Shall I help you?”

“No, it’s okay.”

Gyeo Wool barely moved her legs, which felt like they had no strength, to her desk.

But as she was about to lower herself into the chair, Gyeo Wool stood up again.

If Ki Bum came out of the office and saw Gyeo Wool, he would surely fly into another rage.

She was too weak now to withstand Ki Bum’s anger.

“Where are you going?”

Secretary Kim looked at Gyeo Wool strangely as she stood up again.

“I think it’s better if I hide somewhere out of sight.”

Gyeo Wool opened the door to the pantry and went inside.

Tae Wook took a deep breath after sending Gyeo Wool out.

He had already returned to his usual cool and controlled self.

“Something’s not right. Don’t tell me you brought that woman in?”

Ki Bum glared sharply at Tae Wook as he asked.

“Let’s sit down and talk.”

Tae Wook gestured to the sofa instead of answering.

However, he himself went to sit at his desk rather than the sofa.

He didn’t want to sit across from Ki Bum or even make eye contact right now.

“Answer my question.”

Ki Bum refused to sit and pressed Tae Wook for an answer.

“Yes, I brought her in.”

“You’ve completely lost your mind. You brought a woman who should be cast aside right in front of you?”

Ki Bum let out an exasperated sigh, as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Send her away immediately! Don’t let her come anywhere near our family!”

Ki Bum unleashed all his emotions.

Tae Wook’s gaze turned cold as he looked at Ki Bum behaving this way.

“I can’t do that.”

Tae Wook cut him off firmly.

“What did you say?”

“Have you forgotten that Grandfather’s memory is stuck in the past?”

“Why are you suddenly bringing that up?”

Ki Bum lowered his voice, frowning.

He seemed to finally be worried about others overhearing their conversation.

Well.

Officially, Chairman Kang was known to be traveling around various places in America.

Only Tae Wook, Ki Bum, and Chairman Kang’s secretary Manager Sung knew that he had lost his memory due to surgery and was hospitalized.

“What if Grandfather finds out I’m divorced? You know very well what would happen.”

“So you deliberately kept that woman by your side?”

“It’s just a contract.”

“A contract? What do you mean?”

A deep look of suspicion appeared in Ki Bum’s eyes.