In Hannam-dong main building, Baekho, Mijeong, and Daegyun were having a meal.

The empty dining table, absent of Kitaek and Autumn, was unusually quiet compared to usual.

Baekho called Mijeong.

“Mijeongah.”

“Yes, Dad.”

“Does Kitaek have a girl he’s meeting these days?”

Mijeong immediately responded to Baekho’s question.

“No. I don’t think so.”

This was because she recalled what she had heard from Autumn.

Smiling, Mijeong asked Baekho.

“Dad, but why are you asking about that?”

“No, let’s just eat.”

Baekho turned the conversation with a shake of his head.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Without informing the employees, Kitaek secretly strolled inside the department store with only a few responsible staff members.

Despite the already submitted reports, the reason he was personally inspecting the department store today was to gauge the actual atmosphere of the newly launched brand.

The recently contracted brand, JIO, was founded by the main designer of the internationally famous clothing brand SERA, who suddenly resigned. It had not gained recognition domestically yet, but since most of the clothing products preferred by Koreans were created by this designer, Kitaek judged that it was only a matter of time before it established itself in Korea.

Kitaek was the first to contact JIO, executed the contract, and as a result, secured an exclusive contract in Korea.

Ding . When the elevator opened, the JIO store was prominently visible.

A JIO staff member, with a bright smile on their face, quickly reported before Kitaek could ask anything.

“The response has been like this since the first day. The exclusivity of the contract captured the hearts of the VIP floor due to its rarity, and with promotion starting a month before the opening by highlighting the designer’s name, the response has been quite explosive for a relatively unknown brand.”

At this point, it was three weeks after the first day and the brand launch. As per the contents of the report received, JIO’s entry was successful.

Kitaek turned his gaze away from the JIO store, saying, “I guess there’s nothing more to see.”

While at it, Kitaek swiftly roamed the inside of the department store to explore a few more stores.

He circled around the clothing section and luxury brand section, then descended to a lower floor.

Among them, one store caught Kitaek’s attention. It was the most crowded place with female customers.

Kitaek’s gaze naturally landed on the signboard of that store.

SWEET & CHOKO.

This store, with the cute name, was a high-end handmade cookie shop that offered cookies made exclusively from the secret recipe of a famous French patissier.

As Kitaek’s gaze swept through the store and reached the same-aged female customers as Autumn, they all held cookie sets tightly wrapped with ribbons, smiling brightly.

Kitaek stopped in his tracks, staring at only that store for a while, and the JIO staff, subtly understanding what he knew, shared a bit of information.
“Because of this new product, it’s bustling, Team Leader. We didn’t promote it separately, but somehow it spread through word of mouth among women on social media. Probably, everyone in that line is here to buy those cookies.”

Pointing to the popular cookies, Kitaek asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Are they really that tasty?”

“I don’t like sweet things, so I don’t really know if they’re delicious to my taste… but probably no one among the ladies dislikes them.”

Kitaek’s gaze was still on the girls of Autumn’s age, not on the cookies.

There was no one in his house who liked sweets, so he didn’t know well. But when eating together, Autumn always finished off the desserts that came out as the last course. Sometimes even if she left her main meal.

Does she like sweets…?

‘What else does Yoon Ga-eul like?’

Lately, he began to be curious about every trivial thing. It was a strange feeling that had arisen since he unexpectedly discovered her drawing like a surprise gift.

Unlike the initial desire to reach out and touch Autumn as if on fire, now he wanted to know everything, even the smallest details.

The desire to thoroughly disturb and enjoy her remained unchanged. However, for some reason, he also wanted to treat her with utmost care.

It seemed like the careful feeling had settled in one corner, and before he knew it, it had gradually swelled. And noticing, it had already taken over him without his consent.

‘What is she doing?’

At that moment, the affable staff member chuckled and approached with a somewhat friendly tone, unlike the earlier formal tone.

“My wife loved it as a gift, really. She said it’s incomparable in taste to regular bakeries, despite the higher price.”

“I see.”

“Yes, Team Leader. I received quite a bit of praise that day. From my wife, that is.”

Nodding, Kitaek quickly gave instructions to his secretary standing beside him.

“Buy that cookie set. For a gift.”

“Yes, CEO.”

With Kitaek’s instructions, the secretary, who had been silently standing by, quickly disappeared into the cookie shop.

Kitaek also gestured to the JIO staff member standing next to him.