The conference room where the executive meeting had ended.

A deep sigh echoed in the now quiet space where so many people had just departed.

The one who sighed was Chairwoman Choi Yu Ria, who was glaring at Hwa Young with an exasperated expression.

And the one receiving that sigh was Do Hwa Young, who was looking elsewhere with a disgruntled expression.

“Did I say something difficult for you to understand yesterday?”

Chairwoman Choi Yu Ria asked in a sharp voice.

Yesterday was when they heard the news that the successor to LU Department Store had been decided to be Choi Min Jae.

As expected, she knew that problem wouldn’t end with last night’s scolding.

“I understood everything. I comprehended it too. That’s why Choi Min Jae took the seat to your right today, wasn’t it?”

Hwa Young replied.

His tone was indifferent, as if he didn’t care at all about the situation that had unfolded.

Chairwoman Choi Yu Ria, displeased with Hwa Young’s attitude, glared at him with obvious displeasure.

“Yes, if you understood, you should think about reversing your uncle’s decision. What did you say to Director Choi Min Jae? Thank you for doing the work you didn’t want to do?”

“……”

“Director Do. What exactly is in your head? How can you have no ambition, no spirit, not even the determination to protect your own bowl? Do you think you can lead the LU Group with that attitude?”

“Isn’t leading the group your job, Chairwoman? I’m just a parachuted director.”

“Ha, parachuted… Are you really not going to watch your words?”

“Everyone knows I got into school and work through family connections, so what.”

Hwa Young was clearly letting the Chairwoman’s reprimands go in one ear and out the other.

This was why their conflict never ended, but Hwa Young knew this and still never once meekly obeyed.

As if responding to family expectations would give him a fatal disease.

“Director Do Hwa Young. If you keep acting like this, you’ll have no choice but to fall behind in this family.”

Chairwoman Choi threw out a cold threat.

But Hwa Young just raised one corner of his mouth in a smirk.

“Aren’t I already behind? I didn’t even get chosen by my great-uncle.”

“If you know that, you should be thinking about how to take it back even now. Instead you say such things to Director Choi?”

“That was sincere, why? I actually feel relieved now.”

“Relieved…?”

“Now I don’t have to pretend to please that old man anymore. As you know, I’m too honest to pretend to like someone I dislike.”

Another provocation.

It seems Hwa Young, who was never serious about anything, was going to be contrarian this time too.

Chairwoman Choi sharpened her tone even more towards such a Hwa Young.

“Unpromising sprouts can’t even take root here. If you know you’re an unpromising sprout, you should at least pretend not to be.”

“What’s the point of an unpromising sprout taking root?”

“So that I can feel like there was some worth in giving birth to you? I invested in you, and you have an obligation to return that investment to me.”

How many thousands, no, tens of thousands of times had he heard that in his life?

As if tired of the same old repertoire, Hwa Young shook his head.

“Here we go again. The obligation theory…”

Chairwoman Choi stared straight at such a Hwa Young.

Seeing him deflect all advice, it seemed like it was time to bring up ‘that story’ after a long while.

Though she herself knew best what emotions that would evoke in Hwa Young.

“You were such a fearless child when you were young. Saying you liked the dark night, always hiding in small spaces…”

“……”

“That’s why your uncle always used to say whenever he saw you. That child needs to be put in a frame from a young age. Otherwise, he’ll grow branches as he pleases.”

As those childhood stories flowed from her lips, the corners of Hwa Young’s mouth visibly hardened.

His gaze towards the Chairwoman suddenly turned ice cold, as if telling her to stop there.

But to the Chairwoman’s eyes, an angry look was better than an evasive one.

“So we made a frame for you, for your own good. A frame to keep you on edge so you couldn’t grow as you pleased.”

“……”

“Fortunately, it didn’t take long for you to become afraid of the darkness and small spaces you loved so much. Because you weren’t a child with strong pride or determination.”

A bitter laugh escaped Hwa Young’s lips upon hearing that.

“Ha, you’re really beautifying child abuse. Why don’t you lock me in the basement cabinet for days again like when I was a kid?”

Though the corners of his mouth were raised, his cold eyes looked ready to burst with anger condensed over the years.

The Chairwoman stabbed Hwa Young with a question like a dagger.

It was Chairwoman Choi Yu Ria’s thinking that the innately soft Hwa Young was a child who couldn’t grow without inflicting such pain.

“Do you still sleep with all the lights on in your room?”

“……”

“I know how to stop that vain defiance of yours. But I’m trying to be patient because I don’t want to treat a grown adult like a child.”

Hwa Young’s fists clenched tightly as he looked at Chairwoman Choi.

Even so, there was nothing he could do with those fists.

“If your speech is over, I’ll be going now.”

With that, Hwa Young turned and left the office.

From behind, the sound of the Chairwoman clicking her tongue was clearly audible.

Hwa Young hated these moments more than anything else.

Having to be judged as substandard for no reason.

Becoming someone who disappointed when he was never asked to have expectations.

Being branded a failure when he never even tried to challenge…

Such moments that occupied most of his life.

“Director Do. Are you alright?”

As soon as he left the Chairwoman’s office, Secretary Yang, who had been guarding the door with a tense expression, spoke to him.

Since he couldn’t hide his clearly not-alright expression from anyone, Hwa Young decided to be honest.

“I’m not alright. I want to set this building on fire. But I’ll hold back since it won’t go bankrupt even if I do.”

The bitter laugh he added afterwards was tinged with bitterness.

“At least she didn’t bring up the Joo Tae Sung repertoire after the broken engagement. Usually, I would have been compared to that bastard down to the nano level.”

Should this be considered fortunate?

Hwa Young pondered for a moment, but decided not to think of it that way.

Finding relief in the fact that Joo Tae Sung wasn’t mentioned would mean he was still becoming small and weak in front of him.

* * *

Late evening. Ji Wan’s house.

“What’s all that?”

Ji Wan asked as soon as she saw Tae Sung, who had returned home later than expected.

He was carrying so many department store shopping bags, they were dangling from his hands.

Tae Sung handed all the shopping bags to her and said,

“A small token of gratitude for taking care of me all this time.”

“Gratitude? Suddenly?”

“Isn’t a gift more joyful when received as a surprise?”

Ji Wan, who had been looking at Tae Sung with a puzzled expression, checked inside the shopping bags.

A high-end brand two-piece suit and shoes. And a handbag she could never afford on her own salary, plus luxurious accessories.

The gifts, which seemed to be worth about the same as Ji Wan’s annual salary, made her heart shrink.

“W-what is all this… I can’t accept this! It’s all too expensive!”

Startled, Ji Wan hurriedly put down the shopping bags.

Tae Sung looked at her with a puzzled expression and asked,

“Why, don’t you like them?”

“It’s not a matter of liking them or not, they’re just too expensive!”

“I’m not asking you to pay me back. I’m not asking for gifts of equal value in return either.”

“That’s not the issue. It’s burdensome to receive such gifts from you, Joo Tae Sung. It weighs on my mind. My mind.”

Ji Wan even crossed her arms as if to show she absolutely wouldn’t accept them.

It seems giving them under the most beautiful pretext possible was the wrong approach.

Tae Sung finally put aside the pretense and revealed his honest intentions.

“Even if it’s burdensome, you have to wear them.”

“Why?”

“Because the person we’re meeting this weekend isn’t someone to be taken lightly.”

Ji Wan’s eyes became very sharp upon hearing this ominous talk.

“Then… did you buy these for me to wear when meeting your family?”

“Yes. If it’s burdensome, don’t keep them. You can wear them once and throw them away.”

“So it’s like a gun to take into battle?”

“The gun is my role. These would be more like high-performance bullets, wouldn’t they?”

Tae Sung flashed a grin.

But Ji Wan’s expression only grew more serious.

“So it’s basically a bribe. While pretending it’s a gift given with pure intentions…”

“It would have been nice if you had taken it as a pure gift, right?”

“You really do love to show off, don’t you.”

Even as she said this, Ji Wan’s gaze returned to the shopping bags.

Seeing her take out the wrapped boxes to examine them more closely, it seemed she was willing to wear them for the purpose of meeting his family.

“Try them on. I’ll see how well they suit you.”

Tae Sung seized the opportunity to casually suggest.

After hesitating, Ji Wan finally picked up the shopping bags obediently.

“If I wear these, I won’t be completely disregarded by your family, right?”

“I left it to someone who knows about these things well. There won’t be any problems.”

“I’m not interested in scoring points. I just don’t want to be disrespected more than necessary. That would be unpleasant.”

Having said that, Ji Wan entered her room with her arms full of shopping bags.

While she was transforming, Tae Sung headed to the bedroom to change his own clothes.

It didn’t take long to get out of the well-fitted suit he had been wearing.

Just as Tae Sung, now in casual attire, was about to leave the bedroom again.

“Oh, you changed your clothes too, Tae Sung?”

Ji Wan, who had opened her door at the same time, greeted him first.

Tae Sung’s eyes turned towards her a beat late.

What he saw was her in a completely different atmosphere than the one he had faced just moments ago.

A two-piece suit that naturally revealed the curves of her body.

Shoes of just the right height that made her long legs look even smoother.

Accessories that highlighted her delicate features even more.

“……”

Tae Sung’s eyes stopped, lingering on her.

Unable to easily discern his reaction, Ji Wan found herself unconsciously watching his expression.

“What? Does this really not suit me at all?”

Only then did Tae Sung regain focus in his eyes and raise the corners of his mouth smoothly.

“Now I understand.”

“What?”

“Why I kissed you that day.”

A meaningful evaluation, more than just a reaction.

Even more incomprehensible was the heat that momentarily flashed through her.

The dangerously hot sensation that had lingered like an aftereffect for a while after that day’s kiss.