So Yi, who seemed to have woken up, slowly pushed up her eyelids and suddenly opened her eyes with a surprised expression.

Her eyes met Si Heon’s, who was leaning on the steering wheel and looking at her with his head turned.

“I fell asleep again… You should have woken me up.”

So Yi hurriedly sat up and removed the jacket covering her chest.

“We need to finish the conversation we couldn’t earlier.”

Si Heon sat up and spoke in a low voice.

“I’m going to extend the contract period as written. I haven’t decided how long to extend it yet.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Why do you say ‘I don’t want to’ so many times when you’ve only told me you like me twice?”

“It’s three times.”

Including the words she said last night before the kiss when Si Heon told her to, Si Heon frowned as if in disbelief.

“That doesn’t count. I told you to say it.”

“Anyway, when the contract period ends, I won’t see you anymore. I won’t extend it.”

So Yi said, handing Si Heon his jacket as if she was about to get out of the car.

“You cried, didn’t you?”

So Yi’s pupils trembled for a moment.

“There was an unavoidable circumstance for meeting Ri Na. So don’t worry about it anymore.”

He had only stated the facts and the solution, but the corners of So Yi’s eyes began to curl fiercely.

For a moment, Si Heon’s lips quivered, thinking this might not be right.

He realized his mistake, but it was already too late.

“I heard you went on a blind date.”

So Yi glared at Si Heon as she spoke.

Did she gain confidence after hearing that I cried?

How can she be so brazen?

While Si Heon, who thought she wouldn’t know about his blind date, was flustered and unable to say anything, So Yi spoke again.

“That’s right. I cried. Because I liked you. The man I liked said he was going to meet his mother, but then he was photographed with another woman at a hotel. But it turns out that ‘circumstance’ was a blind date. What woman would like that man again?”

Even though she paused for a moment, Si Heon couldn’t give any answer.

His mind went blank.

She knows about the blind date.

She already thought he was fake dating her to get Ri Na, and now she found out he deceived her and went on a blind date with that woman.

So that’s why she avoided me like that.

Si Heon’s heart began to pound and shake violently.

So Yi continued in a cold voice.

“Don’t mind what my elder sister said. I only cried because I was so angry and frustrated. I sorted everything out while crying, and now I don’t… like you anymore, sir.”

Thud.

His heart, which had been hanging by a thread, fell to the bottom.

Is this what it feels like to receive a death sentence?

So Yi’s voice, saying she doesn’t like him anymore with a coldly frozen expression, rang through his head.

“Like me again.”

Si Heon said, as if unable to accept it.

“I don’t want to.”

“Why don’t you want to?”

That ‘I don’t want to’ phrase, he wanted to erase it from the face of the earth.

“You deceived me. I didn’t know that and showed you all my heart. That I liked you. I gave you my all, but the next day you went on a blind date. With another woman. How can you say such things to me? Telling me to like you again?”

“The blind date with Ri Na was…”

He tried to say it was just a formality, but his mind went blank and he couldn’t continue speaking.

He still hadn’t canceled the engagement.

Would she believe him if he said he was going to get engaged but would cancel it?

Would she believe him if he said he only went on the blind date and promised marriage to get something?

Or should he lie once more?

But if she finds out about the engagement ceremony with Ri Na in the meantime, how much more hurt will So Yi be then?

In just a brief moment, Si Heon’s pupils shook wildly.

Seeing this, So Yi’s eyes instantly turned red.

So Yi, taking a trembling breath and exhaling evenly, unbuckled her seatbelt and grabbed the door handle.

“Thank you for taking me to my elder sister today. Please drive safely.”

As So Yi opened the door and got out, the cold air of midwinter instantly rushed in through that gap.

Saying she doesn’t like him anymore. Leaving with the words that she won’t like him anymore.

So Yi entered her house with trembling steps, wiping away tears with the back of her hand, and collapsed onto the bed.

Was it because of the sudden kiss last night?

Was it because he proudly declared her as his girlfriend in front of the employees?

Or was it because he even introduced himself as her boyfriend to her elder sister?

Her heart was pounding so much the entire time they were together, she thought she might go crazy.

She even felt a flutter for a moment when she saw the look in his eyes as he told the client to rewrite the pledge.

Thinking it was clearly different from when he handed her the contract with a smirk.

Maybe I misunderstood?

For a moment, she had the crazy hope that maybe he liked her a little too.

But how could he be so cold when I told him I cried?

How could he so casually tell me to like him again?

Sorry for making me cry.

Sorry for upsetting me. Instead of apologizing, his attitude of doing whatever he wanted now that he knew my feelings made her heart sink.

Was he trying to say that going on a blind date with Ri Na had nothing to do with our contract?

Was he not planning to tell me until the end that the great circumstance was going on a blind date?

Remembering how his eyes shook without being able to answer, tears welled up again.

“Why did I have to fall for a guy like this…!”

So Yi couldn’t stop crying as tears flowed endlessly, soaking her pillowcase.

Meanwhile, Si Heon sat dazed for a while after So Yi got out of the car.

‘I don’t… like you anymore, sir.’

That phrase kept ringing in his ears, and he couldn’t come to his senses.

Si Heon leaned his head against the headrest and took a slow, deep breath.

Calming his trembling breath, he thought and thought again.

A way to get Jin So Yi back.

‘You deceived me. I didn’t know that and showed you all my heart. That I liked you. I gave you my all, but the next day you went on a blind date. With another woman. How can you say such things to me? Telling me to like you again?’

Ri Na.

To have Jin So Yi, he needs to sort things out with Ri Na.

Whatever the reason, he needs to remove any factors that could hurt and trouble Jin So Yi.

After a brief deliberation, Si Heon immediately took out his phone and called Yu Kyung.

“I have something to tell you. I’ll stop by the main house for a moment now.”

Si Heon headed to the main house, thinking that what he needed to do right now, above all else, was to break off the engagement with Ri Na.

Past 9 PM.

“I’m canceling the engagement.”

He thought it wasn’t an appropriate time to say he was canceling the engagement, but he had no choice.

“What are you talking about?”

Hyun Seob asked, his expression hardening, while Yu Kyung squeezed her eyes shut, furrowing her brows deeply.

“I’m not getting engaged or married to Ri Na.”

At Si Heon’s deep voice ringing out again, Yu Kyung leaned back against the sofa.

“Tell me the reason.”

Hyun Seob let out a big sigh and asked in a heavy voice, to which Si Heon immediately replied.

“I’ve found someone I like.”

There was a moment of silence.

Hyun Seob deeply furrowed his brow, and Yu Kyung squeezed her eyes even tighter.

“You can cancel my appointment as executive director. Even if I have to resign and rejoin as a regular employee. I want to make the engagement with Ri Na as if it never happened, no matter what.”

Yu Kyung said nothing, pressing her temples and slowly opening her eyes.

“What are you saying?”

Hyun Seob’s eyes widened, as if this was a completely unknown story.

“What have you done again…”

“Alright, do as you wish.”

Before Hyun Seob could finish scolding Yu Kyung with a frustrated expression, Yu Kyung spoke first.

“It’s nothing. Just a small disagreement with Si Heon.”

Yu Kyung’s voice was surprisingly calm.

“If that’s really what you want, what can I do? No parent can win against their child. But do attend the dinner with the employees who were fired.”

Yu Kyung stood up, speaking in a weary voice as if she was now exhausted.

“I’d like to meet that girl sometime. Tell her to have a meal with us.”

After finishing her words, Yu Kyung left the living room with slow but elegant steps.

Si Heon felt a sense of emptiness, as if he had stormed into enemy territory fully prepared only to find a white flag.

They’re giving up on Ri Na so easily?

Si Heon knew too. How sincere his mother had been about the marriage with Daehan Electronics.

He left the main house, thinking that she might use other means.

So Yi entered the office, feeling the glances of the employees on her whole body. Perhaps because Si Heon had called her his girlfriend yesterday, the way people looked at So Yi changed instantly.

“I met with the client and handled it well, and I received a response that an explanatory article will be posted this morning.”

So Yi approached Team Leader Kwak’s desk and spoke with a cold expression, then turned to leave when Team Leader Kwak called her.

“Jin, you’re not upset about what I said yesterday, are you?”

‘I am upset.’

So Yi swallowed the answer that had risen to the tip of her tongue and just looked at Team Leader Kwak without saying anything.

“What I said wasn’t meant to be offensive, so don’t misunderstand. If there’s anything that upset you, let’s clear it up right away. Okay?”

Team Leader Kwak smiled, pushing up the corners of his mouth.

Instead of answering, So Yi gave an ambiguous smile and returned to her seat.

“What did Team Leader Kwak say? Did he apologize for what he said to you yesterday?”

Hye Na whispered as soon as So Yi sat down.

“He said it wasn’t meant to be offensive.”

“What? How can that not be offensive? It’s practically the same as asking if you’re meeting men for money.”

“What can I do? It’s not like I’m going to report him to the labor board.”

Hye Na narrowed her eyes and whispered softly.

“After you left for your outside work yesterday, there was another commotion. They were saying how cool the CEO is. That they misunderstood without knowing how much he likes you, Jin So Yi. Anyway, people’s mouths are so light.”

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Hye Na kept muttering as if she didn’t like it, but So Yi just smiled faintly and turned on her computer.