“Good work. I’ll go in first!”

At 6 PM, as I was about to hastily wrap up my work and get up from my seat, I heard Team Leader Kwak’s sharp voice.

“Jin, resubmit the report before you leave.”

“Pardon?”

I had already turned off my computer, but now I’m told to resubmit the report.

“You classified the compensation cases by date, but from this month on, we’re changing to report by processing type, so reorganize and submit the report again.”

The words “Why are you telling me this now?” rose to the tip of my tongue.

“Huh, didn’t they tell you? They told us beforehand to write reports by processing type.”

Hye Na, who was tidying up her work next to me, frowned and said quietly.

“Anyway, today’s work is over, and you’ll be submitting the overall report tomorrow morning, right? I’ll come in early tomorrow morning and resubmit it.”

“No, you’ll finish it all today before leaving. So rewrite the report and then go home.”

Team Leader Kwak replied in a firm voice without even looking at me. My teeth gritted, but I held back. It wouldn’t do any good to say more anyway.

With a thud, I put my bag back on the desk and turned on the computer.

[Jin So Yi/Assistant Manager]: I’m sorry, CEO. Something suddenly came up that I need to handle, so I might be a bit late.

[Cha Si Heon/CEO]: It’s okay. Take your time.

Pretending to go to the water cooler, Team Leader Kwak passed behind So Yi and glimpsed the content of their conversation. Her eyes frosted over.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Team Leader, I just sent it by email.”

So Yi said to Team Leader Kwak while checking the clock. It was a little past 7. Knowing Si Heon was waiting made her feel anxious.

“Then I’ll be leaving now.”

So Yi hurriedly greeted Team Leader Kwak and slipped out of the office.

[I just left work.] [I’m in front of the company.]

So Yi, who had pressed the up button on the elevator, tilted her head in confusion. She thought “let’s meet for a bit” meant going to the CEO’s office, but in front of the company?

Even though it was well past quitting time, people would see. As So Yi pressed the down button again, she realized, ah, that’s the point of dating, isn’t it.

With articles and SNS already in an uproar, he was waiting for So Yi, boldly parked in front of the company as if there was nothing to hide.

“Get in.”

As So Yi approached Si Heon’s car, he opened the passenger door and spoke.

“What?”

“Let’s have dinner before going.”

“Dinner…?”

So Yi’s eyes trembled urgently. She didn’t expect him to suggest having dinner together. She thought he just had something to say briefly, but dinner?

“My acquaintances need to see us dating often. That’s why we’re fake dating.”

So Yi bit her lip at the unexpected date schedule. Unlike Si Heon, who was smiling leisurely, she got into the car with a very tense expression.

[This is the timeline separator]

As the elevator doors opened, a restaurant employee who had been waiting in advance guided them to their seats. Sitting in a spot overlooking the Han River, bread and light champagne were served as if they had been reserved.

“Could we be photographed today too?”

So Yi turned her head after gazing at the twinkling night view of the Han River spread out beyond the window.

“Not photos. Just appropriate exposure.”

Si Heon answered dryly. Since last evening, he felt like someone was following him, and he learned that Yu Kyung had someone tailing them. She must have been curious if he was really seriously dating Jin So Yi.

Silently lifting her champagne glass and taking a sip, So Yi asked again.

“Why did you choose me?”

“Because you were there that day.”

“Then if there had been another woman there that day, would she have become your fake girlfriend?”

“Well. If you had blatantly approached me that day, you probably wouldn’t have become my fake girlfriend either.”

That meant, regardless of who it was, as long as they didn’t throw themselves at Cha Si Heon first to seduce him, it would have been fine.

“But I said something like that too. That it wasn’t a misunderstanding.”

‘If it’s not… a misunderstanding?’

As if entranced, she had deliberately pretended to approach him.

“That’s why I thought you were more appropriate.”

“What? What do you mean…”

“It was all obvious. Your nervousness. It wasn’t intentional, but your eyes were drawn. You wanted to talk but lacked confidence. Then when I spoke to you first, I saw you pretending to be calm.”

All that was visible?

So Yi’s cheeks quickly turned red. Even as she followed him to the room, she didn’t know how much her heart was pounding.

Sweat beaded on her fingertips, clenching and unclenching her fists several times, but he knew all of that.

“Plus, you ran away. After eating everything, without a word.”

Si Heon chuckled, looking at So Yi whose cheeks were flushed red.

“That’s why I liked you more. You didn’t try to be my girlfriend just because we slept together once.”

Si Heon threw out blatant words without batting an eye. So Yi felt her mouth go dry and drank the rest of her champagne.

“Anyway, you’re only temporarily at the company now, so don’t worry too much. When we break up in a month, you can spread rumors that I got bored and dumped you.”

Unaware of her worry about clinging and crying that she couldn’t break up after a month, Si Heon smiled leisurely.

As she sighed lightly, trying not to show it, the attending server approached.

The employee briefly explained today’s menu and ingredients to the two, then slowly placed the food on the table. The juicy steak was covered with soft butter melting on top, filling the air with a sweet aroma.

So Yi’s eyes sparkled and shone. The corners of her mouth lifted slightly. Waiting until the attending server withdrew, So Yi immediately picked up her fork and knife after the sommelier filled their glasses with paired wine and left.

She cut the steak with a crisp sound and popped it into her small mouth, showing a pleased expression.

Si Heon slowly swirled his glass and took a sip of wine. He sat leaning halfway back in his chair, quietly observing So Yi as she ate.

He thought she was quite well-mannered, but her table manners were also quite good. He liked that she didn’t make noise when picking up utensils, chewed food quietly, and didn’t speak with food in her mouth.

Si Heon took another sip of wine while looking at So Yi. Their eyes met as So Yi was chewing the steak in her mouth.

So Yi smiled, turning her round eyes into crescents. As he had felt before, she always smiled like this when eating delicious food. Her usually cheerful expression became even more lively.

“Is it delicious?”

When Si Heon asked, So Yi nodded with her mouth tightly closed as she chewed her food. After slowly swallowing all the food in her mouth.

“It’s so delicious.”

She answered with a bright expression and took a sip of wine.

“But there’s one thing I’m curious about.”

So Yi looked at Si Heon with a careful expression after swallowing the wine in her mouth.

“Tell me.”

“…Why don’t you make an official apology?”

Inwardly, So Yi was also curious. Just one word of apology would do, so why doesn’t he apologize?

“Because I did nothing wrong.”

However, Si Heon’s answer was simple. So Yi tilted her head at his words that he had nothing to apologize for because he did nothing wrong.

“Weren’t the employees you fired truly incompetent to the point of losing the company? There’s something called force majeure, right? Something beyond their power alone.”

“Isn’t that what it means to lack ability? If they had the strength to protect the company, they would have protected it somehow. Whether there were problems in management, or weaknesses in PR or marketing. There must have been a leaking hole somewhere that no one saw properly, and that’s what I think was incompetence.”

“Even if they saw it properly, there might be things they couldn’t do anything about. In fact, I saw an article saying the reason for Danbi Media’s consecutive losses was a problem in PR and marketing. No matter how excellent PR and marketing plans you have, it’s useless if proper investment isn’t made, right?”

“Not being able to attract investment is also incompetence.”

The conversation went back and forth tensely. Seeing So Yi at a loss for words, Si Heon chuckled.

“Jin So Yi.”

Si Heon tapped the table lightly with his fingertips and sat up straight.

“Of course, you must be curious why I don’t apologize after seeing my video. Unlike the news articles, I didn’t fire all of Danbi Media’s employees.”

“Then…?”

“Based on Danbi Media’s performance evaluation reports, I just sorted out the people who created holes, those who saw the holes but couldn’t block them, and those who didn’t even know there were holes. It’s just that there were a bit more people to sort out than expected. That’s why the articles came out as if I had fired all employees.”

This was news to her. Unlike the articles saying he fired almost all employees after acquiring Danbi Media, Si Heon was saying he sorted out incompetent people according to performance evaluation reports.

“But your remarks could have been hurtful to someone. Although it wasn’t intentional, and even if the video was deliberately circulated by someone, wouldn’t employees who heard things like ‘not useful talent’ or ‘rotten heads’ be hurt?”

“It wasn’t intentional. And I didn’t deliberately spread the video, so why should I apologize? And by my standards, I don’t think it’s wrong to say they weren’t useful talent, or that they had rotten heads and complacent attitudes.”