Unfazed, he took decisive steps forward. Placing her on the table, Kitaek continued to kiss her more firmly than usual.

Kitaek did not leave the studio even as it became a pitch-dark night.

The two lay side by side on the narrow space where Gaeul used to sleep, presenting the image of true lovers.

They shared the only blanket amicably, and Kitaek provided a pillow for Gaeul’s head.

A faint light streamed in through the only large window. Finally seeing his face properly, Gaeul looked up at Kitaek and asked, “CEO, how much longer will you stay?”

After glancing outside for a moment to estimate the time, Kitaek looked back at Gaeul and asked, “Why?”

“Just… I thought I wouldn’t see you at all today, but now that we’re together, I’m so happy.”
Gaeul clearly showed that she wanted to stay together a bit longer. So, Kitaek responded affectionately.

“I’ll stay until you fall asleep. Don’t worry.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Gaeul, who was giving off good vibes, seemed cute to Kitaek. Eventually, he chuckled and wrapped his arms around her.

Feeling his warm body, Gaeul closed her eyes and lifted the corners of her mouth.

Suddenly, Kitaek spoke to Gaeul.

“You can contact me when I’m busy. You have enough time to receive calls.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Gaeul, who answered obediently, suddenly became curious again.

“CEO, by the way, if I came home late, were you upset? If so, I’ll try to come a bit earlier in the future…”

“It’s not like that. Don’t worry about it.”

“Then…”

“Go to sleep quickly. You need to sleep for me to leave.”

“Yes… okay.”

Gaeul quietly nestled into Kitaek’s embrace.

Is he really going to stay by my side until I fall asleep?

Will he leave as soon as I fall asleep…?

Feeling like he might leave if she fell asleep early, Gaeul kept blinking her tired eyes, resisting sleep.

Occasionally, she uttered words to him. Still, he answered all of them without showing any signs of annoyance.

“CEO, I’m a bit cold.”

“Okay. Come here.”

Using the excuse of feeling a bit cold, he hugged her tightly.

Gaeul fully closed her eyes and fell asleep only after the pitch-black night had passed. A happy smile spread across her face as she slept.

Late at night, a black compact car stopped in front of a deserted 24-hour café.

“Ah, seriously… I’m so busy. All because of this damn money.”

The man who got out of the car grumbled and quickly entered the café.

“Oh, Reporter Oh! Over here.”

Inside was Hyesu, who smiled brightly when she spotted him.

The man was Oh Byunghoon, a reporter Hyesu had called a while ago. Confirming that he took a seat across from her, Hyesu asked, “So, any news?”

The man didn’t immediately answer and fell into thought for a moment. Hyesu stared at him intently and took a sip of her coffee.

The relationship between Oh Byunghoon and Hyesu was simple.

As a reporter who wrote many entertainment articles, he mainly pursued female celebrities. One of the men frequently captured by his camera was Hankitaek.

Hyesu provided him with money and asked about Kitaek’s surrounding women, confirming the facts. Most of the women approached willingly, having a one-sided affection.

With information obtained from Oh Byunghoon, Hyesu managed to separate all those women from him.

She often said, “Do you want to quit the entertainment industry? I’ll show off my connections.”

Most of the women found Hyesu scary and naturally distanced themselves.

After browsing through recently taken pictures, Oh Byunghoon opened his mouth much later.

“Ah, well, there’s nothing. No women at all… Huh?”
Oh Byunghoon, who was answering decisively, suddenly seemed to recall something and tilted his head to one side. Seeing this, Hyesu furrowed her eyebrows and asked sensitively.

“Why? Have you been nosing around other women during that time?”

Although Hyesu asked sharply, Byunghoon closed his mouth for a moment to recall the memory.

Hyesu had no connections with the female celebrities she was worried about.

However, he suddenly remembered a woman he had seen in front of Kitaek’s gallery.

The woman with shopping bags in both hands wasn’t a familiar face, but she wasn’t unfamiliar either. She wasn’t a celebrity likely to be exposed to the public media, though.

‘Where could I have seen her?’

To avoid misunderstandings, he felt he had to tell Hyesu something, even if it was trivial.

Reporter Oh thought carefully about who that woman might have been.

Upon reviewing his memory, she seemed to be the girl the chairman had brought a long time ago. Time had passed, making it hard for him to recognize her immediately.

Thinking again, she seemed to have the appearance of someone running errands for side dishes.

Oh Byunghoon was too busy chasing celebrities to observe the man’s side constantly. He only occasionally observed him, meeting Hyesu’s expectations, who paid for his services. What he saw was all there was to it.

According to Byunghoon’s thoughts, she didn’t fit into the categories of women that Hyesu was concerned about.