Si Heon stared blankly at the shopping bag placed on his desk for a moment.

No way. Did she come here to return this now?

“Then I’ll be going now.”

I see. She came here to return this.

As So Yi bowed her head in greeting and turned to leave, Si Heon called out to her with a low sigh.

“Jin So Yi.”

“Yes?”

As So Yi turned back around, Si Heon closed his eyes tightly and then opened them again with his brows furrowed.

“What are you trying to do right now?”

An instant distance formed at his heavy, sunken gaze.

“Since I wore it at yesterday’s gathering… I thought you wouldn’t need it anymore.”

“Did you forget the contract period is one month? If the employees ask where the necklace went, are you going to say you returned it?”

“Ah…”

So Yi blinked her round eyes and answered softly.

“I thought I made it clear. Let’s be more careful.”

His coldly hardened expression and icy voice seemed to freeze So Yi solid.

Si Heon slowly rose from his seat and took the box out of the shopping bag on the desk.

He opened the box, took out the necklace, and strode over to So Yi.

“If this goes wrong, not only will I be utterly humiliated, but I could also lose something very important to me.”

So Yi looked up at Si Heon with frozen eyes. As if intending to fasten the necklace himself, Si Heon grasped the ends of the chain and brought it around So Yi’s neck, saying in a dry voice:

“Turn around for a moment.”

So Yi slowly turned her body.

Perhaps because she was wearing a V-neck dress that revealed her neckline, her white and slender neck stood out even more prominently.

As if bewitched, his vision slowly scattered. His gaze kept closing in on the transparently white skin and smooth neckline without a single wrinkle.

The memory of that night when he had buried his lips in her nape and shamelessly savored her scent suddenly flashed through his mind. It felt like an electric shock.

Si Heon took a deep breath. He barely managed to tear away his gaze that refused to leave and brought the ends of the chain together.

As he hooked the chain’s clasp with his fingernail to fasten the necklace, his gaze turned once again to So Yi’s neckline.

A subtle fragrance wafted up from the neckline that extended below her plump earlobe.

As if the skin itself was breathing, it exhaled a sweet scent with every breath.

That night they spent together in Venice. No matter how he thought about it, it felt like he had been bewitched. It must have been because of this subtly sweet scent.

‘I’m going crazy.’

Si Heon, regaining his senses again, kept cursing inwardly. Exerting all his strength to keep his gaze from scattering, he barely managed to finish fastening the necklace.

At that moment, Si Heon’s fingertip lightly brushed against So Yi’s flawless, fair skin.

The fleeting touch of So Yi’s body heat instantly spread throughout Si Heon’s entire body. The warmth that spread pleasantly began to burn his veins and heat his blood in an instant.

His breath stopped for a moment. The vibration that resonated somewhere in his chest began to increase in speed.

Si Heon’s cheeks quickly stiffened at the sensation of that night that suddenly came to mind.

His reason, already out of control, was being consumed by instinct and fading hazily into the distance.

Just as the situation was becoming precarious, without even room for a warning of danger, So Yi turned her head.

“…Sir?”

Si Heon, who had been staring blankly at So Yi’s neckline even after fastening the necklace, quickly came to his senses.

As the hand that had been touching her nape fell away, So Yi finished turning her body and opened her mouth.

“Then I’ll wear the necklace for another month. My thinking was short-sighted. I’ll be more careful from now on. After all, we both need to cooperate well for a month to achieve our goals, both you and I.”

Her calm, composed voice and gaze seemed somewhat unfamiliar. The liveliness that had been in her round eyes had lost its light.

So Yi bowed in greeting with an expressionless, composed face.

After So Yi left the room, Si Heon stood there for a long while.

The heat that had suddenly risen felt awkward. Had his body ever become so heated on its own like this?

He had met quite a few women and had intimate encounters. But this was the first time he felt an addictive impulse that paralyzed reason, not the simple urge of desire he had felt before.

If So Yi had turned around just a little later, he would have surely lost his mind, stung by that dizzying poison.

Si Heon exhaled deeply, running a hand over his mouth.

“Whew… This is driving me crazy.”

No matter how much he tries to calm down, his heart won’t listen. His blood vessels sting with heat as if burned. This sensation, felt for the first time in his life, is so unfamiliar it’s almost bewildering.

He inhaled calmly again, squeezing his eyes shut.

Get a grip. It’s because you’re too tired these days. Because you’re under a lot of stress.

Don’t waste time on trivial matters.

Si Heon took several more deep breaths to regulate his breathing before returning to his place.

“Assistant Jin! I heard the CEO is coming to today’s company dinner?”

As it became time to leave work, employees gathered one by one around So Yi’s desk and asked.

“Well, yes. Since it’s the first company dinner since his inauguration, I suppose he should at least make an appearance, right?”

So Yi smiled awkwardly. In fact, she didn’t know.

Usually, it was rare for the CEO to attend a department dinner, so she naturally assumed he wouldn’t come, but somehow the other employees already knew that Si Heon was coming.

“If you’re done with work, everyone hurry to the dinner venue. I’ll follow soon.”

Leaving Team Leader Kwak behind to finish tidying up the office, So Yi headed to the dinner venue with the other employees.

“I heard the CEO is treating us today.”

Assistant Yoon, sitting at the table next to So Yi, pulled up a chair with a drink in hand.

“No wonder! I was wondering why we ordered beef!”

“Wow, I was holding back, but it’s okay to eat a lot, right?”

At Assistant Yoon’s information, the employees picked up their chopsticks with excited expressions.

It was a restaurant they often visited for company dinners, but it was the first time they had ordered beef. Everyone had been reading the atmosphere, but soon their faces lit up.

“Is he treating us because Assistant Jin is here?”

“No way. He’ll probably treat the other departments too.”

“But Assistant Jin, when is our CEO supposed to arrive?”

The question So Yi had hoped would not come reached her.

“Ah, well…”

“I heard the CEO would be a bit late today, don’t tell me you didn’t know?”

Team Leader Kwak, sitting across from So Yi, asked with a slight curl of his lip.

“Ah, no. I knew.”

Embarrassment spread. So Yi hurriedly picked up her glass, afraid of being caught not knowing about either the CEO’s attendance or his delay.

“Oh no, Manager Han is coming.”

Hye Na’s voice resonated from inside her mouth as if doing ventriloquism. Following Hye Na’s gaze, the HR manager was approaching with a drink in hand.

What rude remarks is he going to make today?

So Yi’s eyes quickly scanned the table nervously. Fortunately, there were no empty seats.

“Oh, I have something to discuss with Assistant Kim over there…”

Assistant Yoon, who had pulled up a chair to sit, hurriedly vacated his seat. An empty spot appeared.

“Assistant Jin! You have to have a drink with me too!”

He must have come with determination; even if there hadn’t been a seat, he would have found a way to sit down. So Yi inwardly sighed.

“Assistant Jin. Doing well these days?”

Jung Hoon, who had naturally joined the table, leaned back arrogantly in his chair. The question he suddenly threw at So Yi, despite not being close enough to use informal speech, was somewhat grating.

Not wanting to respond, So Yi smiled awkwardly and raised her glass to drink.

“Come on, Assistant Jin. Are you pretending to be innocent or what?”

Thinking So Yi was being shy, Jung Hoon clinked his glass against hers.

“Honestly, is our CEO just an ordinary chaebol? The youngest grandson of the Cha Han Group chairman, and the maternal grandson of the HS Group chairman. And his father is the Cha Han Life Group chairman, while his mother is the CEO of H Telecom. You’ve really hit the jackpot, haven’t you?”

He laughed loudly, seemingly pleased about something. So Yi tried to avoid his gaze while emptying her glass.

“Oh my, Manager Han. This isn’t the Joseon Dynasty, what do you mean by ‘hit the jackpot’?”

“Why not? Isn’t Assistant Jin the true Cinderella story of our time?”

Despite Hye Na speaking with quite some force in her eyes, Jung Hoon’s mouth showed no signs of closing.

“Well then, shall we have a drink with Assistant Jin, who might become our future madam?”

Jung Hoon grinned as he held out his glass. So Yi gritted her molars inside her mouth as she picked up the bottle. After filling Jung Hoon’s glass and putting the bottle down, Jung Hoon quickly snatched it up.

“Oh no, I should pour for you too. Assistant Jin, who might become our future madam, you should accept my glass as well.”

“Ah, I think I’ve had enough…”

Just as she was about to say she wanted to stop drinking because she felt like she might get drunk.

“What’s this, you’ve been drinking fine until now, surely you’re not going to say you suddenly feel like you might get drunk and can’t drink anymore?”

Birds of a feather flock together, they say. Team Leader Kwak, known to be close with Manager Han, spoke as if disappointed.

“Is that so? Ah, if you don’t want to drink, don’t. I dare not force our CEO’s girlfriend to drink.”

Manager Han made an exaggerated gesture of pretending to take away So Yi’s glass.

“No, it’s fine.”

So Yi smiled awkwardly and quickly downed her drink. The cold liquid burned her throat hotly.

“So Yi, if you don’t want to eat, don’t.”

So Yi had a low alcohol tolerance, and she had already drunk quite a bit with Hye Na until just before. Getting worried, Hye Na poked So Yi’s side.

“That’s right, if you don’t want to drink, you don’t have to. You know I’m not that kind of boss, right?”

Jung Hoon said with a bright smile, pretending to be generous.

Contrary to his brazenly uttered words, he was known for petty retaliation against employees who ruffled his feathers. He often changed or canceled vacation T.O.s that he had clearly approved at the beginning of the month.

“It’s really fine.”

The alcohol’s sting lingered in her mouth and pricked her nose, but she smiled brightly. Fortunately, tomorrow is Saturday.

“Is that so? Then shall we go all out tonight? Future madam?”

Manager Han chuckled as he picked up the bottle. Despite calling her “madam,” there was no trace of respect in his tone or gaze.

Like the expression of Team Leader Kwak sitting across from So Yi, his lips were curved up crookedly.