She hadn’t brought saline solution, so she couldn’t wear her contact lenses, but it wasn’t a big concern since Tae-jun was driving her home.

Has the Director become too comfortable? It shouldn’t be this way.

With a heavy heart, So-eun left the bedroom.

In the living room, Tae-jun, waiting on the sofa, stood up and extended his hand.

“Give me your bag.”

Her bag was heavy because it contained a change of clothes from staying overnight at the office. But it wasn’t particularly heavy, so So-eun stepped back and shook her head.

“No, it’s fine.”

But he snatched the bag away.

The person who was so rude when giving work orders is now treating me like royalty because I collapsed once.

What kind of man is this extreme? Why is there no middle ground?

‘If you’re nice to me, it makes me even more uncomfortable!’

I don’t want to make the Director carry anything of mine anymore!

So-eun followed Tae-jun, reaching out her hand.

“I’ll carry it, Director.”

“Take care of your body.”

“I’m fine, please give me back my bag…”

Tae-jun found it amusing to be chased around and deliberately walked here and there. So-eun, who followed him eagerly, finally grabbed the bag again. It took some effort to wrestle it away due to Tae-jun’s strong grip.

“Assistant Han…!”

Oops.

In the process, the forceful movement of So-eun’s arm knocked a moon jar on the edge of the living room display shelf. The tilted moon jar lost its balance and fell in no time.

Tock!

Tae-jun quickly reached out, but the moon jar had already hit the ground.

The smooth inside of the moon jar was exposed in Tae-jun’s hand.

Gasp!

So-eun’s face turned utterly panic-stricken. Tae-jun’s movement froze for a moment.

“It’s okay.”

Tae-jun briefly spoke to So-eun after hesitating, then put the broken moon jar on the floor and picked up his phone.

“Hello, Manager Song. Sorry for bothering you this morning. I have a question for you.”

He seemed to be calling Manager Song Moon-kyung.

“Do you remember the moon jar that my aunt gave me? Yes. How much was it worth?”

So-eun’s heart pounded with the sound of a rabbit pounding rice cakes on the moon.

“Ah, fifty million won…”

A dizzy So-eun wobbled, and Tae-jun caught her arm.

“No, this is, the full moon has become a half-moon. Will my aunt be very upset? Could you find another one just like it? Yes. Thank you.”

After hanging up, Tae-jun spoke in a calm voice.

“It’s okay, it was only worth fifty million won. You don’t have to worry about it.”

There was no change in his expression, but So-eun felt too guilty to even breathe.

She couldn’t remember how she got into the car.

After breaking the moon jar, So-eun’s mind had frozen, and she was unable to say anything until they arrived at her house. Tae-jun didn’t say much either, making the ride even more terrifying.

He said it was okay, but who knows when he might say something. This man is always so unpredictable.
Trembling quietly, So-eun managed to speak only after they reached her house and got out of the car.

“I’m really sorry, Director. I couldn’t wear my lenses, so I couldn’t see properly.”

“There’s no need to apologize. It happened because I took your bag.”

“…….”

“I’m sorry for startling you.”

Despite deserving resentment, he was saying sorry instead, making So-eun feel even more burdened.

“Can you make it up alone? You can’t see well.”

He asked.

He’s treating this mistake not as a punishment but as a reward, even though I clearly did wrong.

My heart beats wildly again without any reason.

Why, Director?

Why are you so nice to me?

I wanted to ask, but couldn’t find the words.

Are you being nice because you feel sorry for making me work, or because you were shocked that I collapsed yesterday?

I wanted to say that it wasn’t necessary.

I knew my limits and pushed myself too hard, and you don’t need to worry about a situation caused by my carelessness. Even in this guilty situation, your undue concern somehow makes my heart flutter, and it’s causing me more guilt.

But I couldn’t say all that.

“It’s okay.”

“Let’s go up. I’ll come with you.”

What was a question had turned into a command. He had quickly changed his mind.

“No, I can go up by myself…….”

“Go up,” he said, more forcefully. So-eun had no choice but to turn around. She opened the first-floor entrance door and went up the stairs, with Tae-jun following about six steps behind.

The mix of So-eun’s light footsteps and Tae-jun’s heavy ones sounded almost like music. The footsteps maintaining the same pace as hers felt reassuring yet slightly frightening. No, it was more of nervousness. It wasn’t because she was scared of him. This strange silence, this odd farewell, was amplifying the sound of her heart.

Her nervous foot missed a step.

Gasping as she slipped, Tae-jun quickly came up and caught her.

Thud.

So-eun’s upper body fell against Tae-jun’s shoulder as he firmly supported her under her arms, cushioning the impact.

“I knew this would happen.”

As if it was nothing, as if she was in the palm of his hand, Tae-jun chuckled and straightened So-eun up.

Feeling unjustly treated, So-eun couldn’t even thank him.

If it weren’t for him, she might have fallen backward, but if it weren’t for him, she wouldn’t have been so tense either.

“If you can’t walk, I’ll carry you.”

“No, it’s okay.”

As Tae-jun teased, So-eun’s face heated up.

Breaking free from his grasp, So-eun climbed the stairs faster.