Gyeo Wool felt as if she was going back in time and having a conversation from 3 years ago.

Perhaps it was because of the way they addressed each other.

Tae Wook and Gyeo Wool first met as the CEO of J Chemical and the secretary of the CEO’s office.

Even after marriage, and even after divorce, he still called her “Secretary Han”.

And she had no intention of changing how she addressed him either.

“Do you and I still have something to talk about, sir?”

“It won’t take long. Let’s go inside and talk.”

Gyeo Wool’s gaze shifted and fixed on Tae Wook’s face.

An expression that looked determined.

It was clearly evident that he had come to see her with a purpose.

“I guess you won’t leave easily even if I tell you to go.”

“Maybe?”

Tae Wook shrugged his shoulders up and down.

“Wouldn’t it be better to go in quickly without wasting time? To my eyes, you look like you’re shivering from the cold, don’t you?”

Tae Wook knew that Gyeo Wool, who was sensitive to cold, had reached her limit.

“Then, let’s go to a cafe.”

“Do you have something to hide from me at home?”

“Wh-where would I have such a thing?”

“Then let’s go to your place. On my way here, I saw the cafe at the entrance of the alley was full of young people.”

Gyeo Wool pondered for a moment.

Si Hoo was at his mother’s house, and all of Si Hoo’s toys and belongings were packed away in boxes.

“Alright. But only for a short while.”

Gyeo Wool opened the front door and went in first.

Thanks to the heater being left on at a low setting, a warm air enveloped her as soon as she entered.

Tae Wook took off his shoes and as soon as he stepped up, he scanned the narrow interior.

Gyeo Wool felt slightly embarrassed.

It was called a two-room, but it was barely the size of half his bedroom.

“I’ll make you some tea. Please have a seat.”

Gyeo Wool pointed Tae Wook to the dining table.

A small space where the living room and kitchen couldn’t really be separated.

If she had known this would happen, she should have bought a sofa even if it was cramped and stuffy.

For the first time, she regretted giving up on a sofa and only buying a dining table.

“Haa……”

Gyeo Wool let out a shallow sigh and put the kettle on the gas stove.

She opened the sink drawer to take out a chamomile tea bag.

What should I do?

It seems yesterday’s was the last tea bag.

Only coffee mix sticks remained in the drawer.

“There’s only coffee mix, is that oka-”

Gyeo Wool turned around.

Tae Wook, who she thought would be sitting at the table, was not there.

Her gaze naturally moved to search for him.

She saw him walking towards the 5-tier drawer chest against the wall.

It was when Tae Wook’s gaze, which had been looking around the house, landed on the drawer chest placed next to the bedroom door.

‘What’s that?’

The moment curiosity arose, his feet were moving towards the drawer chest as if possessed by something.

What caught his attention was a small frame.

A photo of a baby who looked about one year old.

With fair skin and chubby cheeks. The baby with big, round black eyes was unmistakably Gyeo Wool’s child.

Tae Wook’s eyes, which had been looking at it curiously, narrowed coldly.

– I’ve fallen in love with someone
– Just hold on for a year. Then I’ll let Secretary Han go as she wishes.
– What if I lose that person while waiting?

Was he arrogant, or was he foolish?

Tae Wook was certain he could clip Gyeo Wool’s wings to prevent her from flying away.

But ironically, it was he who took her out of the cage and let her fly.

The reason was because of the child in this photo.

“Give it to me!”

Gyeo Wool, who had somehow come up behind Tae Wook, snatched the frame from his hand.

“It’s a daughter, I see?”

He asked as he watched the frame disappear into the desk drawer.

For some reason, he became curious about the child in the photo.

The child who had provided the impetus for their divorce.

“…It’s a son.”

Gyeo Wool hesitated before telling him.

“He looked pretty so I thought it was a daughter. I guess he doesn’t take after his father. He resembles Secretary Han a lot.”

Gyeo Wool bit her lower lip hard.

She wanted to say that he resembled his father more as he grew older, but she held it in and lowered her gaze slightly.

She had no choice but to hide her face, which was overshadowed by painfully apologetic emotions.

.

.

.

“There’s only coffee mix. You don’t have to drink it if you don’t like it.”

Gyeo Wool turned off the gas stove and poured the kettle into a mug.

Steam rose, and soon the strong coffee aroma filled the small room.

“It’s been a while. No one has thought to make me this kind of coffee.”

Tae Wook said as he looked down at the light brown liquid Gyeo Wool had brought to the table.

He didn’t particularly like coffee mix, but he didn’t dislike it either.

It was something he could only drink when Gyeo Wool made it for him.

Tae Wook took a sip of the hot coffee.

As expected, it wasn’t too sweet and was drinkable.

“I don’t understand why people say coffee mix is sweet.”

Tae Wook muttered to himself.

He remembered once overhearing employees talking about how they disliked coffee mix because it was too sweet.

He had wondered, ‘How much do they hate sweetness to call that sweet?’

However, there was something he didn’t know.

The fact that Gyeo Wool, knowing he disliked sweet things, had left out half the sugar in the stick for him.

Both in the past and in the coffee he was drinking right now.

“Please tell me the reason why you came to see me.”

It was just a few words.

But even saying these short words made Gyeo Wool’s lips feel parched.

The distance sitting face to face with Tae Wook was too close.

Thump thump!

She felt anxious, thinking he might hear her heart beating loudly like a drum.

Tae Wook, who had put down his mug, stared intently at Gyeo Wool.

“I need Secretary Han.”

His mouth opened heavily.

“You need me? Did I hear that correctly?”

Gyeo Wool doubted her ears.

It was such an unexpected statement that her brow furrowed involuntarily.

“Grandfather is not in his right mind.”

At that moment, Gyeo Wool felt her heart sink.

“What do you mean… not in his right mind…”

Gyeo Wool imagined the worst scenario in her mind.

The end.

She thought Chairman Kang was barely holding onto the thread of life.

Perhaps that’s why her words didn’t come out properly.

“He had brain surgery recently.”

“Brain surgery? How… how is his condition? Is it serious?”

Tae Wook, who had been staring straight at Gyeo Wool’s darkening eyes, twisted up the corners of his mouth.

“After leaving all possible scars on Grandfather, now you’re worried about him being sick?”

Accusation and mockery.

Tae Wook’s words pierced Gyeo Wool’s heart like a dagger.

It was so painful that she wanted to scream out loud.

She bit her lip hard and closed her eyes.

Her thin eyelids trembled pitifully.

“Is your need for me related to the Chairman?”

Gyeo Wool asked, barely suppressing the whirlwind of emotions.

“That’s right.”

“Tell me.”

Gyeo Wool finally opened her eyes and looked directly into Tae Wook’s eyes.

“There are post-surgery complications.”

“Is his life in danger?”

At Gyeo Wool’s question, Tae Wook’s lips tightened and he took a deep breath.

“If it were something like that, I could just notify you of the funeral arrangements later.”

Once again, his emotions sharpened.

She felt hurt by his words as if being stabbed and bleeding, but on the other hand, she understood.

It wouldn’t be easy to forcibly suppress the hatred raging wildly in his heart.

“He’s lost his memory.”

“You mean he’s completely lost his memory?”

“No.”

“Then…”

“He’s lost several years of recent memories entirely.”

Tae Wook exhaled roughly and ran his hand over his lips and chin.

Gyeo Wool realized how much he must have struggled and suffered before coming to find her.

“You haven’t forgotten why I married Secretary Han, have you?”

“Why are you suddenly…”

Bringing that up?

Her eyes narrowed with suspicion.

“The promise to protect J Chemical through marriage.”

Tae Wook’s words fell heavily.

For him, who was a terrible workaholic, his only interests were work and J Chemical.

Grandfather, Chairman Kang, who watched him never sparing a glance for women, was extremely worried.

– If you don’t get married within 3 years, I’ll take J Chemical out of your hands!

In the end, Chairman Kang had no choice but to take drastic measures.

The reason Tae Wook and Gyeo Wool ended up in a loveless marriage was because of the promise between Chairman Kang and Tae Wook.

“No way…”

Gyeo Wool’s narrowed eyes widened and became clear.

It can’t be.

Even if he lost his memory, he wouldn’t have gone back to that time.

Just thinking about it made her head shake involuntarily from side to side.

“Grandfather has gone back to the time when I hadn’t divorced Secretary Han.”

“This can’t be happening…”

Gyeo Wool’s mouth, opened in shock, wouldn’t close easily.

“Secretary Han needs to help me a little.”

Gyeo Wool’s unusually black and large eyes shook anxiously.

The more Tae Wook’s gaze, meeting hers directly, pierced coldly, the more her trembling increased.

What kind of help does he want?

Her heart tightened, feeling as if she was about to hear words she should never hear.

“Come back to my side.”

Why do ominous predictions never miss the mark?

“I know you broke up with that man and are raising the child alone. If you’re worried about the child, you can bring him along. I’ll protect you so Grandfather doesn’t find out.”

“Haa……”

Gyeo Wool let out the breath she had been holding roughly.

How nice it would be if she had heard wrong.

“Did I just hear you ask me to come back?”

“You only need to pretend to be my wife in front of Grandfather.”

Tae Wook didn’t say yes or no.

He simply presented what he wanted Gyeo Wool to do by returning to his side.

And then he keenly followed her reaction with his gaze.

Unable to control her emotions, her thin, slender fingers kept tucking her fallen hair behind her ears.

Her large eyes, filled with complex emotions, were wandering aimlessly, having lost direction.

Han Gyeo Wool showing her raw emotions so transparently!

A bare appearance that was never seen when she was a secretary, or even when she was in the position of a wife.

How could she have suppressed these transparently revealed emotions back then?

Perhaps he had failed to discover it.

By the time he had taken her into his heart, she already had another man.

Was it because of the painful memory from that time?

His voice flowed out emotionlessly and dryly.

“I will definitely make Grandfather’s memory return. So I want you to act until then.”

“No. I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”

Gyeo Wool clearly expressed her refusal.

“If you think of it as work, there’s nothing you can’t do, right? I’ll give you three times your current annual salary as a lump sum.”

“No matter how much money you offer, I refuse.”

When refusal seemed futile, Gyeo Wool’s tone turned businesslike.

Tae Wook seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, twisting his eyes.

Then he asked Gyeo Wool again in a heavy and serious voice.

“What if I say I’m asking you as a favor?”