The busiest Tuesday of the week.

Tae Wook took his eyes off the documents and slightly rolled up his shirt sleeve to check his wristwatch.

“Has it become this time already?”

It was already lunchtime before he knew it.

Tae Wook got up from his desk and slipped his arms into the jacket he had hung on the coat rack.

“I forgot to mention it.”

Today he had come straight to work at the resort headquarters.

He had intended to suggest eating lunch together while riding in the car with Gyeo Wool.

However, as soon as he got in the car, a phone call came in and he ended up forgetting to mention it.

– You were eating a sandwich for lunch.

It was what Secretary Kim had told Tae Wook a few days ago when he stopped by the resort headquarters before going to J Chemical.

He understood it to mean that Gyeo Wool was still not mingling with the employees and eating lunch alone.

Concerned, he thought he should eat lunch with Gyeo Wool today.

“Are you going out for lunch?”

Secretary Kim asked as he stood up from his seat.

“It seems everyone has gone out for lunch.”

Tae Wook swept his gaze across the secretary’s office.

All the seats were empty except for Secretary Kim’s. Of course, Gyeo Wool was not visible either.

“Secretary Han has gone out.”

Secretary Kim immediately realized that Tae Wook’s gaze was searching for Gyeo Wool.

“Gone out? Alone?”

“No. She went out to eat lunch with the female employees.”

Tae Wook wore an expression of disbelief even after hearing this.

“I thought you said she eats lunch alone?”

“Pardon?”

Secretary Kim scratched the back of his head with an awkward expression.

“It seems that day she had stayed behind alone in the secretary’s office due to work.”

“Huh…”

Tae Wook felt relieved but also somewhat dumbfounded, letting out an empty sigh.

“It looks like you’ll have to have lunch with me today.”

“I suppose so. Let’s go to the company cafeteria.”

Though he felt bad for Secretary Kim, Tae Wook couldn’t be bothered to go out for lunch when Gyeo Wool wasn’t around.

“It seems Secretary Han is getting along well with the female employees?”

Tae Wook asked Secretary Kim as they got on the elevator.

“I was worried they might give her a hard time at first.”

“It was like that at first.”

“But not anymore, you mean?”

“Who would dislike someone who helps with their work?”

“What did you say?”

Tae Wook’s sharp gaze pierced Secretary Kim.

For a moment, Secretary Kim wore an expression of regret.

“Don’t hide it, tell me.”

Tae Wook’s voice took on an edge.

“Secretary Han is so thorough and fast with her work, isn’t she?”

“And?”

“When she finishes her own work, she helps with the tasks of the other secretarial staff.”

“You mean she’s been doing work beyond her own duties until now?”

Tae Wook raised his thick eyebrows diagonally.

“I tried to stop her. I even warned the employees, but it was no use.”

“Why are you only telling me this now!”

“Secretary Han… asked me to keep it a secret from you, sir.”

Secretary Kim’s voice grew smaller, as if shrinking away.

“Even if she asked to keep it secret, you should have told me!”

Tae Wook’s voice rose as high as it could go.

In truth, he was angrier at Gyeo Wool than at Secretary Kim.

He hadn’t brought her to Seoul to make her work, nor had he arranged a place for her at the resort headquarters.

Yet she had been overworking herself behind his back.

“Why is she so willful? Does she have ten bodies?”

Tae Wook let out a frustrated huff.

[This is the timeline separator]

Gyeo Wool returned to the executive office after having lunch with Eun Young.

The other two female employees who had gone out together said they would stop by the convenience store before coming back.

“Senior.”

Eun Young called out to Gyeo Wool cutely.

“Since you treated me to lunch today, I’ll brew you some delicious coffee.”

“That would be great, thanks. While you’re making the coffee, I’ll sort out the mail.”

The mail that came to the resort headquarters, especially for Tae Wook, was not only enormous in quantity but also complicated to classify.

Since it was a time-consuming task, employees who were assigned to it on busy days found it particularly grueling.

Knowing it was Eun Young’s turn today, Gyeo Wool deliberately offered to help.

“Really? That would be a huge help, thank you.”

Watching Eun Young enter the pantry, Gyeo Wool turned her gaze towards the executive office.

Seeing that Secretary Kim was not visible, she guessed he had gone to lunch with Tae Wook.

“Let’s sort this out quickly.”

It would be a big problem if Tae Wook caught sight of her.

Gyeo Wool began sorting the mail contained in the large box.

Having done this almost daily as a secretary at J Chemical, she was faster at the task than other employees.

“Congressman Choi Min Gyu’s office?”

Gyeo Wool couldn’t just pass over the name written on the rectangular envelope.

Even if she was indifferent to politics, she knew who Congressman Choi Min Gyu was from his frequent appearances in the news.

“Senior, that absolutely must not be seen by the CEO.”

Eun Young, who had come out of the pantry at some point, said as she held out a mug to Gyeo Wool.

“It shouldn’t be seen? You mean it should be discarded?”

“Yes. Secretary Kim specifically said to discard anything coming from Congressman Choi Min Gyu’s office without fail.”

“Is that so?”

Gyeo Wool wondered about the reason as she took the mug Eun Young offered.

After taking a sip and setting it down,

“It’s delicious.”

“Right? The deputy manager changed the coffee beans because you said it would be better, remember? It really tastes amazing now.”

Eun Young spoke exuberantly as she turned her gaze to the neatly arranged mail in the sorting tray.

“Senior, you’re really fast. Did you do all this while I was making coffee?”

“There’s still a little left, you know.”

“Enjoy your coffee. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Just as Gyeo Wool held up the envelope to Eun Young, asking,

“This goes in the discard bin, right?”

A man’s voice, specifically Tae Wook’s voice, was heard from outside the executive office.

“Senior! I think the CEO is coming!”

“I’ll go back to my desk.”

Gyeo Wool turned and rushed back to her desk without looking back.

The envelope that hadn’t made it to the discard bin was still in her hand.

She thought she had moved quickly, but Tae Wook saw Gyeo Wool hurriedly running away as he opened the door and entered.

And he saw Eun Young and the neatly sorted mail, as well as the unsorted mail, still placed where Gyeo Wool had been.

Tae Wook pretended not to see as he walked into his office, asking Secretary Kim in a voice only he could hear,

“Doesn’t Secretary Han look like someone who got caught doing something to you too?”

“Yes. She did look that way.”

Secretary Kim’s answer confirmed it.

That a measure was needed to separate Gyeo Wool from work, even if just for a moment.

[This is the timeline separator]

A few days later.

Gyeo Wool, having finished preparing for work, came out of the guest room.

“You’re coming out now?”

At Tae Wook’s unexpected voice, Gyeo Wool’s feet, heading towards the dining room, stopped abruptly.

Tae Wook was sitting on the sofa in his shirt and tie.

His suit jacket was draped over the sofa, and he held an economic newspaper in his hand.

“I didn’t want to finish reading, but you came out at the right time.”

He stood up, inserting the economic paper he had been reading into the magazine rack.

“Were you waiting for me?”

“Well, is there anyone else here I should be waiting for besides Secretary Han?”

Tae Wook looked around as if searching for someone else.

Gyeo Wool gazed at him with an unfamiliar look.

Had he ever waited for her to come out in the living room before?

No. She had no such memory at all.

Tae Wook almost always woke up before her and prepared for work faster.

So he always waited for her at the table where breakfast was set.

On days when she hurried, she might see him coming out of the study after checking the morning economic news.

But what was going on today?

Gyeo Wool found Tae Wook’s routine, different from usual, strange.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

“Huh? Yes… I should.”

At Tae Wook’s urging, Gyeo Wool snapped back to her senses and moved her feet.

As Tae Wook and Gyeo Wool sat at the table, the housekeeper brought rice and soup.

“Didn’t you eat first?”

“Why, is it not okay for me to wait and eat together with Secretary Han?”

“What? That’s not what I meant.”

It wasn’t an expression of anger or incredulity.

Rather, it looked like he was trying to hold back a smile.

She hadn’t noticed in the living room, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was enjoying her reactions.

“Let’s eat first. I have something to say after we eat.”

What does he have to say now?

She wanted to ask, but Tae Wook had already started using his spoon.

He must be in a hurry to go to work.

Gyeo Wool also picked up her spoon, following Tae Wook.

“Should I ask them to prepare bread for breakfast?”

Tae Wook asked, frowning as he sipped his soup.

“You don’t like bread, though.”

“Still, I think it might be better than this.”

Tae Wook shook his head.

The current housekeeper was found through Secretary Kim.

– They say she’s a person with a reliable background who does her work neatly. The only drawback is that her cooking skills are a bit lacking.

– Tell her that’s fine. I won’t be eating at home anyway.

It wasn’t just that her cooking skills were a bit lacking; they were practically non-existent.

“Are you going to eat more?”

“No.”

Gyeo Wool also gave Tae Wook a look that said, ‘You know, right?’

He chuckled as he got up from his seat.

“Thank you for the meal.”

Gyeo Wool politely bowed towards the kitchen area and left the dining room.

Tae Wook had already gone to the living room and was putting on the jacket he had draped over the sofa.

“Sit down for a moment.”

“Weren’t you about to leave for work?”

Gyeo Wool looked at him quizzically as Tae Wook sat on the sofa.

“I have something to say.”

Gyeo Wool had forgotten that Tae Wook said he had something to say after eating before they went to the dining room.

She sat down on the sofa opposite Tae Wook.

“What is it?”

“Secretary Kim will be away on leave for a few days.”

“All of a sudden?”

Gyeo Wool tilted her head.

She couldn’t remember hearing anything about Secretary Kim taking leave, either from him or from the secretarial staff, until yesterday.

“Does everyone in the secretarial office know about Secretary Kim’s leave except me?”

Gyeo Wool thought that perhaps they hadn’t told her because she was an outsider dispatched from another company.

“No. They don’t know either.”

“They don’t?”

Gyeo Wool wore a puzzled expression.

At J Chemical, there were several secretaries assisting Tae Wook besides Secretary Kim. But the resort headquarters was different. They didn’t have separate secretaries, so Secretary Kim was handling almost all the secretarial duties.

So if Secretary Kim was taking leave, there should have been discussions about work distribution a few days in advance.

“He’s sick.”

“Secretary Kim is sick?”

“Yes. I got a call last night. He said he might need to be hospitalized today.”