Checking the CCTV footage, his expression grew even more grim.

Gi Tae rarely cursed, but he did so now. The CCTV clearly showed a woman who was presumed to be Yoon Ga Eul being held by a man in dirty clothes, unable to move.

It was the first day of the exhibition, so the crowd made it difficult to properly track Ga Eul’s movements.

The face of the man wearing a hat was not captured even once on the screen. Whether it was by chance or intentional…….

“President.”

“Yes, did you find Yoon Ga Eul?”

Gi Tae swiftly asked Park Gwan Jang, who had entered the office. However, the only answer he received was a shake of the head.

“……Ha.”

Where could she be that she’s not answering her phone and can’t be found even when searched for…….

His chest heaved roughly. Seeing this, Park Gwan Jang carefully asked.

“She’s not seen nearby, could she have already gone home? Quite some time has passed, and no matter how much we search, she’s not seen near the gallery.”

“That could be the case.”

Gi Tae, who had been sitting on the desk, got up without even finishing his sentence.

Suddenly feeling hot, he had taken off his jacket and thrown it aside. He quickly crossed the office.

Park Gwan Jang, watching him leave, cried out in surprise after a moment.

“President! Where are you going?”

.

.

.

“Let’s go to the main house.”

“Yes, President.”

“……Quickly.”

As Gi Tae hurriedly got in the car with an angry expression on his face, the driver hastily started the engine. In the sweltering heat, Gi Tae ended up taking off his tie as well.

It felt suffocating around his neck. He ended up unbuttoning the top button too.

Today, his body was reacting before his thoughts.

Gi Tae’s expression crumpled even more.

No matter how much she said she disliked it, so he had decided to keep his distance and only treat her formally, after seeing the CCTV footage, he could no longer just overlook it. He wasn’t going to do anything, but he needed to check on her.

“Why isn’t she answering the phone…….”

The call was going through, but she wasn’t picking up.

If she was just sleeping and couldn’t answer, he would still be angry but would feel relieved later. But for now, with nothing certain, he just felt anxious.

Before he knew it, the car had entered Hannam-dong. Even before it properly stopped, Gi Tae got out of the car, surprising the driver greatly. But he had no time to look back now.

As the sun was still high up, all the family members were in the living room. Mi Jeong was the first to jump up at the sight of Gi Tae, who had shown up at the main house without a word.

Baek Ho seemed surprised too, as he rarely opened his eyes wide. Dae Gyun beside him also looked surprised.

“Oh my, Gi Tae. What’s the matter, coming without notice……?”

Gi Tae, who had practically run inside, caught his breath for a moment. Mi Jeong approached him, chattering happily.

“……Ha. Ha…….”

“Of course it’s good that you dropped by, Gi Tae.”

Gi Tae, hardly listening to Mi Jeong’s words, quickly scanned here and there with his eyes before interrupting her.

“Mother.”

“Yes?”

“Has Yoon Ga Eul come home?”

“Hm, did she come……? She should have come by this time, right? Ah, no?”

“Exactly.”

“This kid……. How can you ask me that! Even if she came, she would have gone straight to the annex.”

Mi Jeong, irritated by Gi Tae’s sudden urging, called Ga Eul’s mother, Hee Sun.

“Yes, Madam.”

“Where is Ga Eul right now?”

Hee Sun, who had come at Mi Jeong’s call, widened her eyes for a moment upon hearing Gi Tae’s urgent voice. Then, she calmly replied.

“She hasn’t come back yet. Come to think of it, she’s quite late coming home today.”

“……I see, thank you.”

She hasn’t come home yet.

Gi Tae bit his lip after confirming that fact.

Despite Mi Jeong calling out to him from behind, Gi Tae practically ran back to the car and gave another order.

“Let’s go back to the gallery.”

“Yes, President.”

The sound of him tapping the door armrest irregularly filled the car.

Sighing, Gi Tae finally turned his gaze out the window for the first time. His eyes soon narrowed.

“Stop the car.”

“Yes……? He-here? President?”

On the way to the gallery, in front of his officetel entrance, a familiar figure was crouched down. Why didn’t I see her before. Was she there the whole time? Or did I just see her now?

Gi Tae irritably opened the door and got out, mumbling curses. A car horn sounded from behind, but he had already started walking.

As the small figure came close before his eyes, Gi Tae’s steps slowed. Gi Tae stood in front of her.

Sensing his presence, the figure raised her head on her own.

“Yoon Ga Eul…….”

Unable to control the boiling emotions inside, his rough voice leaked out.

Why aren’t you answering your phone, why are you here like this? Numerous thoughts crossed his mind, urging him to question her.

But today, Ga Eul, who looked unusually drained, just rolled her eyes and finally met his gaze. What she said next, with a face that looked like she was about to cry, was even more pathetic.

“I just…… ended up here while walking…….”

It was in front of his officetel. Whether she was really sick or her words were incoherent, Gi Tae let out a hollow laugh.

The eyes that had been watching him cautiously soon turned sullen. Ga Eul stood up weakly. Gi Tae turned her body to face him, trying to suppress his unusually rough voice that was straining his jaw.

“……Come inside.”

.

.

.

The body he caught as she staggered was burning up.

Gi Tae clicked his tongue and put his arm around Ga Eul’s waist to support her from falling. The hot body temperature emanated from her waist, which was barely a handful.

The image of the unknown man in the CCTV footage came to mind again, and his chest heaved roughly.

Ga Eul, who had raised her head with difficulty, asked out of the blue.

“……President, are you angry?”

“I’m not angry at you.”

“……Yes.”

He didn’t like how she was watching his mood and shutting her mouth in this situation.

Soon, the elevator arrived on the 5th floor. Gi Tae, who had unlocked the front door with his remaining hand, carried Ga Eul to his bed and laid her down.

Finally able to catch his breath, Gi Tae scolded Ga Eul loudly.

“If you were in this condition, you should have gone home or to the hospital.”

“……I wasn’t in the right mind. I’m sorry.”

As Gi Tae picked up his cell phone to call the driver, Ga Eul hurriedly shook her head.

“I’ll be fine after resting a bit. ……Please, President.”

She’s stubborn.

He didn’t want to argue with a sick person, so this time Gi Tae backed down.

“Alright. I’ll let Mother know.”

Ga Eul shook her head again at this. Because of that, Gi Tae’s brows furrowed involuntarily.

“Please keep it a secret from my mom.”

“Why.”

“……I don’t want her to worry.”

“Okay.”

“President.”

As Ga Eul kept trying to speak with difficulty, Gi Tae covered her eyes with his hand.

“Save what you have to say for later.”

“Yes, I will…….”

Before long, the sound of even breathing could be heard.

She must have been very tired, as she fell asleep in an instant. Gi Tae, sighing, pulled the carelessly draped bedding up to her neck.

When he saw her crouching in front, when he realized she had a high fever, he had felt irritated.

But seeing her sleeping quietly, his anger gradually subsided.

Why was he so moody…….

Gi Tae muttered a word.

“……I didn’t give her medicine.”

He couldn’t wake up the person sleeping soundly again.

He had planned to take her to the hospital if her fever worsened while he watched over her, so he didn’t purposely wake her.

Finally able to catch his breath, he also sat on the edge of the bed. As the person who had turned his day upside down was sleeping peacefully, he started to feel a bit annoyed.

Gi Tae poked her soft nose tip that was sleeping meekly.

“You said you dislike me.”

But why was she in front of my officetel?

A laugh that was close to a snort flowed out, and soon the corners of his mouth slightly lifted. Gi Tae, who had withdrawn his hand, got up from his seat as his cell phone kept ringing.

He had intended to leave his room so she could sleep comfortably. Gi Tae glanced back and took in the sight of Ga Eul curled up sleeping again.

“A bundle of contradictions.”

Saying unpleasant things, but lingering by his side in a worrying way.

Her words and actions were completely different.

He didn’t know whether the words coming out of her mouth were true, or if the actions that contradicted her words were true. But whatever it was, he had no intention of minding it anymore.

‘You do as you please too, so what can’t I do?’

A faint smile lingered on his face as he quietly closed the door.

.

.

.

The missed calls were a few from his secretary and mostly from Park Gwan Jang. There were a few from Mi Jeong too.

Rrrr……. Rrrr…….

Before he could decide who to call back first, the screen lit up with Mi Jeong’s number again.

With a much calmer expression, Gi Tae readily answered the call.

“Yes, Mother.”

“Gi Tae!”

Mi Jeong’s voice was laced with urgency.

“You made me worried, leaving like that. What on earth is going on……? And why were you suddenly looking for Ga Eul?”

What should I tell her?

Now that he had found her, he had a headache for various reasons.

Gi Tae rubbed his temples and blurted out whatever came to mind.

“I was planning to go check on the Busan branch and decided to take Yoon Ga Eul with me.”

“The gallery? Why is Ga Eul going there……?”

“Since I’m going anyway, I’m taking her to teach her a few things.”

Gi Tae glanced at the bedroom where Ga Eul was sleeping, and made up an excuse again.

“We were supposed to leave right away, but she forgot about the appointment.”

“So, did you find Ga Eul?”

“Yes.”

“Ah…… So are you on your way to Busan now?”

“Yes.”

Since he said they were going to Busan, he would likely have to take a day off from work. Having roughly tidied up the situation, Gi Tae made a few requests to Mi Jeong before hanging up.

“Please let Grandfather know that I won’t be able to come to the office for a couple of days. And let Yoon Ga Eul’s mother know that we’re going to Busan.”

“Got it. Come home more often too.”

“Yes.”

After ending the call, Gi Tae called Park Gwan Jang.

“I found Yoon Ga Eul, so you can stop searching now.”

“Yes, President.”

“You worked hard.”

By the way, how should he deal with that? Gi Tae’s attention shifted back to the man in the CCTV footage.

He wanted to get rid of him right away, but without hearing from the person involved, he couldn’t make a decision easily.

After a brief pause, Gi Tae’s mouth opened again much later.

“If a suspicious person like today loiters near the gallery again, report it immediately.”

* * *

Ga Eul slept through the night and only woke up the next morning. Then, she was startled.

‘Ah, right. I fell asleep at the President’s officetel.’

Ga Eul rolled her eyes at the somewhat awkward surroundings. The space that was filled with just a white bedding and an office desk was very small compared to his room in the main house.

Ga Eul tidied his bedding, albeit awkwardly, and took a step. Thanks to the sound sleep, her body felt much lighter.

Creak, as she pushed open the door and went out, she immediately ran into him tying his tie. It was the first time seeing him getting ready for work, so Ga Eul forgot to greet him and paused for a moment.

He glanced over Ga Eul from top to bottom and greeted her first.

“How’s your body?”

“I think I’m okay now.”

He approached right in front of her and put his hand on her forehead. Surprised by the sudden touch, Ga Eul looked up at him.

“You seem to be.”

He immediately picked up his jacket and headed to the front door.

Ga Eul gently grabbed his sleeve to say what she had wanted to say before falling asleep but had been stopped by him.

He felt the weak force and stopped walking. As if asking if she had something to say, he looked down at her. Ga Eul quickly opened her mouth to properly meet his gaze.

“I don’t dislike you, President. Really…….”

“Is that so?”

“……Pardon?”

Last time, he didn’t seem to believe her words were sincere, so he had ignored them. But now, he readily accepted them.

Surprised, Ga Eul just blinked her eyes wide open. He turned his body back inside.

Ga Eul, coming to her senses, followed closely behind him. He turned to face Ga Eul, who was chasing after him, and silently gazed at her for a moment before abruptly putting his hand on her waist and lightly lifting her up.

She suddenly found herself sitting on the table. As a result, she was at eye level with him. The gaze that met her from the front was quite serious.

“Then why did you say that back then?”

She realized that if she didn’t tell the truth now, he wouldn’t believe her.

Sensing it was her last chance, Ga Eul honestly confessed.

“Cha Hye Su…… told the Chairman something strange, so the Chairman told me not to be seen together with you, President.”

“…….”

“I already had to keep lying to you because of that, and saying things I didn’t mean because I wanted to send you away quickly as I didn’t want to face you…….”

Listening to Ga Eul’s story as it was, instead of responding, he brought up a different topic.

“Who was the man causing a scene in front of the gallery? Someone you know?”

“……Ah, about that!”

Ga Eul, who had only been moving her lips, shut her mouth tight for a moment.

She felt she should tell him, but it required a lot of courage. To talk about Uncle Dae Jun, she couldn’t avoid mentioning her father.

Feeling like she couldn’t do it sober, Ga Eul hesitated for a moment before asking him.

“President, by any chance…… could you have a drink with me tonight?”

He widened his eyes for a moment, then nodded.

Relieved by that, Ga Eul smiled brightly like before. It was a smile she was giving while facing him after a long time.

Gi Tae, who had been gazing at that smile for a while, also let out a chuckle. Then, he turned around.

“I’ll just go check on the gallery and come back, so stay here and don’t go anywhere.”

“Yes, President.”

Thank goodness. Ga Eul sighed in relief after seeing the side of his face as he left.

For a fleeting moment, there was a small smile on his face too.