During lunch time, while returning to the office after eating with Hye Na, I met Si Heon in the elevator.

In fact, So Yi had been avoiding Si Heon’s calls since morning, so she quickly turned her head to avoid eye contact.

“Jin So Yi.”

Just as So Yi was about to get off the elevator, Si Heon called out.

“Let’s talk for a moment.”

At Si Heon’s low voice, So Yi’s eyes widened. The other employees glanced at So Yi and Si Heon before exiting the elevator.

“Ah, sir. I think I also have some business with the compensation support team.”

Noticing the unusual atmosphere, Jang Woo reopened the closing elevator doors and hurriedly got off.

“Please speak.”

After everyone had left and only the two remained in the elevator, So Yi turned to face Si Heon.

“Like me again.”

Si Heon said.

“No.”

As if such words from Si Heon were no longer surprising, So Yi immediately replied and pressed a random floor button.

“I ended things with Ri Na. I’ll never see her again.”

“I don’t care.”

“It’s because of Ri Na, isn’t it? Because I met Ri Na without telling you. You were angry that I went on a blind date with Ri Na. So I resolved everything. It’s completely over now.”

Frustration seeped into Si Heon’s voice.

“No. It’s not because of Yeon Ri Na.”

At So Yi’s response, Si Heon’s eyes began to shake greatly.

Not because of Ri Na?

“The reason I don’t like you anymore is because of you, sir.”

“What do you mean?”

“You should know better why it’s because of you, sir.”

“I’m asking because I don’t know.”

Si Heon asked persistently.

“You said I was the person you wanted most right now. And the very next day, you met another woman and went on a blind date. So why is it because of Ri Na? What did Ri Na do wrong?”

So Yi looked up at Si Heon with eyes that had lost their warmth.

“What you’re doing to me now is simply possessiveness, sir. It’s obsession.”

As So Yi paused, there was a ding sound and the elevator doors opened on the next floor.

“It’s like plucking a pretty flower that catches your eye while walking. You just want to hold it in your hand for a moment.”

After finishing her cold words, So Yi turned away.

After So Yi exited the elevator, Si Heon remained in a daze for a long time, unable to get off.

Even as other employees glanced at him and boarded the elevator, greeting him, Si Heon continued to wear a blank expression.

‘The reason I don’t like you anymore is because of you, sir.’

Because of me, she said.

‘You said I was the person you wanted most right now. And the very next day, you met another woman and went on a blind date. So why is it because of Ri Na? What did Ri Na do wrong?’

It wasn’t about Ri Na, she said.

He repeated those words over and over in his mind, slowly blinking.

“Sir?”

After riding the elevator up and down several times, Jang Woo boarded and asked.

“Has Jin So Yi left?”

Si Heon silently chewed on his lips.

“Ah, and your appointment is set for 7 PM today.”

Si Heon slowly turned his head to look at Jang Woo.

“You were scheduled to have dinner with the current Vice President of H Network Solutions, who will be appointed as the next CEO.”

“Ah…”

“And tomorrow, you have a dinner reservation with the former employees of Cha Han Media and Danbi Media who were laid off.”

Even if it was just a formality, he had said he needed to meet with them before the upcoming board meeting where the executive director appointment would be passed and he would return to Cha Han Media.

Si Heon nodded as if he understood.

“Brother, but are you getting back together with Jin So Yi?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Weren’t you broken up?”

“Who said that?”

Irritation clouded Si Heon’s face, which had been expressionless and seemingly devoid of any feeling until now.

“I thought you broke up because Jin So Yi returned the necklace. Brother, you were going to get engaged to Ri Na, weren’t you?”

“I canceled it.”

“Pardon?”

“I said I canceled the engagement. And I didn’t break up with Jin So Yi.”

“Then why isn’t Jin So Yi wearing the ring?”

At Jang Woo’s words, Si Heon hesitated for a moment before answering.

“…I haven’t given it to her yet.”

“What? You haven’t given it to her yet?”

As Jang Woo asked again with a puzzled expression, the elevator doors opened on the floor with the CEO’s office.

“I’ll give it to her soon.”

Si Heon answered in a low voice as he exited the elevator and headed to his office.

Returning to his seat, Si Heon stared at the monitor with his eyebrows still finely furrowed. Among the approval requests that had come in before lunch, his gaze was drawn to the one submitted by So Yi.

No, more precisely, to the photo of the requester next to the approval request.

If I’m the problem, what do I need to do to have you again?

His heart pounded at the sight of her smiling brightly, unaware of others’ feelings.

As if entranced, Si Heon moved the mouse and clicked on the messenger button.

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After getting off the elevator, So Yi headed to the rooftop using the stairs.

As if winter was truly approaching, the low-hanging wind enveloped her entire body despite it being lunchtime.

She sighed briefly while feeling the cool breeze.

So what if he broke things off with Ri Na?

Without a proper apology, he just suddenly says to like him again.

If I carelessly like him again, who knows if he’ll just enjoy it for a while before meeting another woman, going on blind dates, and even getting married?

So Yi let out a big sigh as her thoughts connected to Si Heon meeting another woman and getting married.

Marriage.

Right, people like the CEO spend tens of billions even on one marriage, they said.

‘Surely, miss. You’re not dating our Si Heon thinking you could marry him, are you? As you know, for people like us, our children’s marriages are business deals involving hundreds of millions, even billions.’

As Si Yeon’s words came to mind again, her chest ached.

For a moment, she regretted not listening to Si Yeon’s words.

She should have listened to those words then.

Even if such a man said he liked her like a fleeting wind, she clearly told her that in the end, I would be the one hurt and abandoned.

So Yi sighed deeply for a long time before heading back to the office.

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“What’s this? What kind of story are they telling now that everyone’s watching me like that?”

As she entered the office, she could feel employees whispering here and there.

So Yi muttered as she plopped down in her seat, and Hye Na answered.

“Everyone’s super jealous of you.”

“Of me? Why?”

Just then, Team Lead Kim, who had been watching cautiously from the side, clung to So Yi’s partition and asked.

“Manager Jin! Is it true that our CEO is fawning all over you?”

“My friend who works at Cha Han Media said our CEO’s nickname was ‘Ice Prince.’ But someone saw him not knowing what to do around Manager Jin!”

So Yi tilted her head, wondering what this was about.

“Just now, in the elevator, they say the CEO begged you to talk with a completely pleading expression?”

That was a pleading expression…?

As So Yi raised one eyebrow slightly as if dumbfounded, another employee asked.

“Someone saw when you got off the elevator, Manager Jin, and they said the CEO looked completely dazed, like he’d lost the whole world?”

“That’s right. There were rumors that he might not know how to make any other expressions because he always wore such an expressionless and fierce look, but everyone who saw the CEO’s expression today is going crazy.”

So Yi couldn’t understand.

When she was with him, he had never been like that, not even once.

He laughed, made dumbfounded expressions, and frowned.

But to say he had no expressions?

“Manager Jin is angry right now, right? Because he went on a blind date with Ri Na behind your back. That’s why the CEO is fawning over you.”

As Team Lead Kim asked again, a messenger popup from Si Heon appeared on So Yi’s monitor.

[Cha Si Heon/CEO] : Meet me on Saturday. Let’s talk again then.

The employees who inadvertently saw Si Heon’s message squealed and shouted.

Just then, Team Leader Kwak yelled from behind.

“Is everyone not going back to their seats? How long has it been since lunch ended!”

At Team Leader Kwak’s irritated voice, the employees who had gathered around So Yi’s desk quickly scattered back to their seats.

As So Yi blankly stared at Si Heon’s messenger popup on the monitor again, another message from Si Heon arrived.

[Cha Si Heon/CEO] : I have appointments tonight and tomorrow evening. So let’s meet on Saturday. We’ll talk again then.

She really couldn’t understand the reason.

Why is he going this far for me?

I only thought he was just someone with strong obsession and possessiveness.

Could there be another reason…?

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After work, Si Heon had dinner with the Vice President of H Network Solutions.

They discussed the direction and issues Si Heon wanted to improve in the customer center, as well as employee welfare, and talked about points to supplement to prevent customer information leaks from happening again.

Although So Yi’s words would occasionally pop into his mind, making his head feel fuzzy, he desperately tried to focus.

By the time they finished the second round and said their goodbyes, it was nearly 11 o’clock.

Only then did the effects of alcohol hit him.

He took out his phone, hesitating whether to make a call, then put it back.

He didn’t want to talk on the phone while drunk.