“Yes, yes, when has our Si Heon ever made news over such a thing? As for Chairman Yeon, it’s a matter of meeting and having a meal. Let Si Heon do as he wishes.”

Chairman Cha didn’t particularly care if it wasn’t Yeon Ri Na. His only wish was to see his grandson’s wife as soon as possible, and if he were to be a bit greedier, to see the great-grandchild that his beloved youngest grandson would give him.

“Grandfather! But still…”

“Si Yeon, that’s enough.”

Sitting next to Si Yeon, Hyun Seob reprimanded her in a deep voice.

Chairman Kang smiled happily and gripped the armrests of his chair. Butler Kim, who had been standing beside him, quickly approached to support him.

“Don’t leave your position vacant for too long. You’ll need to prepare for the Infinity Entertainment Resort bid soon, won’t you?”

As Chairman Cha left the room supported by Butler Kim, the family members all stood up to bid him farewell.

“Cha Si Heon, what on earth are you doing?”

As soon as Chairman Cha left the dining room, Si Yeon asked sharply, as if she had been waiting for this moment.

“Me becoming the head of customer service? Or dating?”

Si Heon slowly rose from his seat, lifting the corners of his mouth.

“You’ve been making excuses about not wanting to get married, not having time to meet anyone. You’ve been refusing to meet Ri Na, and now suddenly why are you doing this?”

“I guess it wasn’t meant to be with Ri Na.”

“You really…!”

“Well then, I’ll be leaving now. I need to rest early since it’s my first day at work tomorrow.”

Si Heon casually left the dining room, leaving behind his fuming sister and sighing family members.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Hyung! Work starts at 9, why on earth are you making me pick you up at 6?”

The next morning, Jang Woo grumbled as he came to pick up Si Heon.

“I still need to get a basic grasp of the work, don’t I? Even if it’s temporary, I’ll be the representative.”

“You could do that during work hours, why so early…”

Jang Woo complained as he started the car.

“Shut up. Do you have the customer satisfaction evaluation data for the past 5 years?”

“I sent it by email.”

“What about the call volume assessment data after implementing AI consultants?”

“That’s in the email too. Oh, and there should be an organizational chart file for the customer service staff next to you.”

Si Heon was already holding the organizational chart file, flipping through it page by page.

Yesterday he said he’d have a drink at the lounge due to jet lag and go to sleep, but why is he so energetic now?

Jang Woo kept grumbling to himself.

Following his usual routine, he must have finished working out before coming, yet there wasn’t a trace of fatigue in his upright posture.

His clear eyes, firmly set lips, and neatly pressed suit.

The thought crossed Jang Woo’s mind that Cha Si Heon was indeed Cha Si Heon.

That must be why everyone agreed without objection to the director’s proposal to make him the head of customer service despite his young age.

Jang Woo nodded slightly, with an expression of genuine acknowledgment.

Si Heon slowly scanned the organizational chart to familiarize himself with the faces of the department heads, team leaders, and team members of the H Telecom Customer Service Center he would be working with, even if temporarily.

The customer service part that directly interacts with customers via phone or internet, the work support part that supports the consultants and handles personnel matters.

And the management planning part in charge of the customer center’s management and planning.

Among them, he was told that employees from the work support part and management planning part work together at the customer service headquarters where Si Heon would be working.

The customer service part that directly deals with customers operates separate regional centers employing contract workers.

As he was scanning the list of employees he would be working with, Si Heon’s expression began to twist strangely.

“Work Support Part, Compensation Support Team, Jin So Yi, Assistant Manager…?”

It was that woman who had disappeared in Venice.

He had managed to prevent the news article from being published, but he had been at a loss about where and how to find the missing woman, and now she had appeared before his eyes on her own.

“I thought she was in her early twenties, but she’s twenty-seven. Not such a young age after all.”

Small and petite build with round eyes. The way she had cutely pursed her lips had made her look like she was in her early twenties, just starting her career, but she was twenty-seven.

An incredulous laugh escaped him.

Interesting. She was an employee here?

“What’s wrong? Is something wrong?”

Jang Woo glanced at Si Heon through the rearview mirror.

“No, just saw a familiar face.”

Si Heon’s lips twisted into a smirk.

I wonder what expression she’ll make when she sees me in the meeting room.

Suppressing the corners of his mouth that kept trying to rise, he headed towards the company.

[This is the timeline separator]

– How does it feel to go to work after a long time?

So Yi got off the bus while answering the phone call from Do Hun early in the morning on her way to work.

After checking the news article about her and Si Heon, she had been avoiding the flood of calls from everywhere. But Do Hun, her high school classmate and long-time friend, persistently called until Monday morning.

“That’s not why you called.”

– The article…, is it you?

As expected, he seemed curious about what happened that day.

– It’s not, right? You’re not the type to have a one-night stand with a stranger.

She wanted to say it wasn’t her, but the words wouldn’t come out. She needed to get the article taken down first to be able to deny it, but for some reason, Si Heon’s side seemed to have no intention of removing the article.

“Baek Do Hun. What do you think?”

– About what?

“Does it look like me at first glance?”

– What? Then you…!

“Yeah, it’s me.”

So Yi answered with a low sigh.

– Jin So Yi! What were you thinking!

“I don’t know either.”

– How are you going to handle this going forward!

Do Hun, who had always been extremely caring towards So Yi since high school, jumped up and down worrying about her as if he were her real brother.

– First, tell them to take down the article!

“I want to, but I don’t have his contact information. Actually, even if I did, I’m in a situation where I can’t contact him.”

– Then what is Cha Si Heon thinking, not taking down the article all this time!

I’m curious about that too. What on earth is he planning?

– Jin So Yi! You get off work at 6, right? Let’s meet for a bit later.

“No, I’m tired today. Let’s talk next time. Don’t worry too much. I’ll handle it well.”

She hung up before the nagging could get worse. He would have gone on about how she could have gotten into big trouble, how she recklessly followed a stranger, and so on.

With the beeping sound of the crosswalk signal, she crossed the road and headed towards the company’s main entrance.

No matter how she thought about it, it was a gloomy morning.

Not only was the feeling of returning to work after a 9-day trip to Italy not great, but above all, the thought of the article with the photo of her entering the hotel with Si Heon was driving her crazy.

What on earth was he plotting?

It was incomprehensible enough that he had proposed a month of fake dating, but now he was silent without any response to the scandal with her.

She wanted to contact him to take down the article, but his conditions were holding her back.

“Should I just flatly deny that the woman in the article is me…?”

But the problem was that I was in Venice at that time. I had even told some friends that I would be staying at the Gravity Felix Hotel.

“It’ll work out somehow…”

So Yi entered the company building with slumped shoulders.

[This is the timeline separator]

“So Yi! Is it you in the article?”

“Ms. Jin! Is it really true!?”

As expected, as soon as she entered the office, a barrage of questions rained down on her.

“Jin! The woman in the article, it’s not you, right?”

As she was trying to sit down, deflecting questions with an ambiguous expression, Team Leader Kwak approached and asked.

“Did you know we’re getting an interim representative at our company today?”

And then he suddenly brought up the topic of the interim representative.

“Ah, no. Are we getting a new representative?”

“Oh my. You don’t know? He’s coming temporarily until a new representative is selected, so we need to go to the general meeting room now. You didn’t know?”

He kept asking if she didn’t know, and even the team members tilted their heads in confusion.

“Team Leader! What does the interim representative have to do with Ms. Jin?”

Someone among the team members asked curiously.

“Well, I thought. If the woman in the article was indeed Jin, she would surely know who’s coming as the interim representative today.”

Team Leader Kwak wore a strange smile on the corners of his mouth. He even nodded as if he had expected this.

“Come on, let’s go to the meeting room.”

Team Leader Kwak left the office with a satisfied expression.

So Yi headed to the general meeting room with the team members, feeling dazed.

“Nice to meet you all.”

And a moment later, as Si Heon’s firm voice was heard, all eyes in the meeting room turned to So Yi.

‘So that’s why Team Leader Kwak asked that question…’

If she had been given a heads up, she would have made some excuse not to come to the meeting room.

So Yi’s mind was going blank as her eyes had already met Si Heon’s.

“From today, I will be working with you all as the representative of H Telecom Customer Service Center. I am Cha Si Heon.”

Si Heon smiled brightly at So Yi, who was rapidly blinking her eyes.

Busy gazes darted back and forth between So Yi and Si Heon, filling the meeting room with commotion.

After calming down the noisy meeting room, Si Heon first briefly introduced himself.

Si Heon explained the direction and goals he aimed to pursue while working at the customer service center.

“Well then, I look forward to working with you all.”

Si Heon looked at So Yi, who was still in a daze, and spoke again.

“Ah, and…”

The gazes of the employees in the meeting room persistently scanned between Si Heon and So Yi.

“Ms. Jin So Yi, please stop by the representative’s office for a moment.”

Si Heon, who had called So Yi in a gentle voice, left the meeting room.

Reactions of “I knew it” erupted from here and there. Cheers mixed with envy also rang out from various corners. So Yi, her face bright red, quickly turned around.

Only Team Leader Kwak was discreetly biting his lips, as if he couldn’t believe it.