Knock knock, the door to the CEO’s office opened with a knock.

“Business Support Part Compensation Support Team, Deputy Manager Jin So Yi has arrived.”

With the secretary’s assistance, So Yi entered the CEO’s office.

“Sit down.”

Si Heon spoke in a heavy voice, still fixing his gaze on the documents on the desk.

So Yi, who had been rolling her eyes here and there, turned her gaze to Si Heon.

He had taken off his jacket and was wearing only a dark navy vest over a white dress shirt. Strong muscles were visible on his forearms flowing down his broad shoulders, as if they would tear through the shirt.

‘Open your eyes.’

For a moment, his gentle voice from that night brushed past her ear.

‘You should look at me. You’re going to be my lover for a month.’

When she slowly opened her eyes, which had been tightly shut, the first thing she saw was his firm shoulder muscles. The protruding tendons of his neck and his relaxed smiling expression, eyes dark and rippling like obsidian.

She had been trying to shake it off in her mind all this time. But seeing him sitting upright without a hint of dishevelment, looking at documents with a resolute expression, the memory suddenly unfolded before her eyes.

“Looks like the memory of that night came back to you.”

As she shook her head without realizing it, Si Heon finally raised his head. It was as if he could read minds, always seeing right through her.

“How do you feel?”

Si Heon stood up from his seat and approached So Yi with a sardonic smile.

“Pardon? About what?”

She tried to play dumb, but it didn’t seem to work at all.

“How you feel about meeting me again as the company CEO, when you thought you’d never see me again after that one-night stand.”

Si Heon strode over to the sofa with his long legs, and So Yi sat down opposite him.

“Right, you should have at least said goodbye before leaving.”

Her premonition that he might be talking about that night…

“Or left a memo or something.”

…became reality with his firm voice.

“It was a mistake.”

So Yi answered hastily. Si Heon’s thick eyebrows furrowed slightly.

“The mistake seems to be what you’re doing now.”

He sat up straight with a low sneer.

“I’m sorry. I was drunk…”

“You didn’t even touch alcohol.”

“I wasn’t in my right mind due to jet lag…”

“You seemed to hold up quite well until late for someone with jet lag.”

So Yi bit her lip and lowered her head. There seemed to be no way out of this.

“Didn’t you say you liked it?”

His eyes flashed somewhat sharply.

“You clearly said you’d fall for my charms if I accepted your conditions.”

Si Heon’s cold gaze froze So Yi’s eyes.

“Was it not to your liking?”

“Pardon…?”

“After doing it, was it not to Deputy Manager Jin’s taste?”

“Ah, no! It’s not that… I didn’t have the confidence to handle it.”

“Then you shouldn’t have started in the first place.”

Even the one brave word she managed to say was completely consumed by him.

“I think you’re misunderstanding something, Jin So Yi. I didn’t say let’s really date, I said let’s pretend to date.”

“I know. You said to fake date. But I was scared of the attention I’d have to deal with after people found out I was dating you.”

“What kind of attention are you so scared of when a young man and woman want to date a bit?”

“Well, that’s because you’re…”

“CEO.”

Si Heon cut off So Yi’s words and corrected her title.

“B-because you’re not an ordinary person, CEO.”

“You slept with that not ordinary person. You cried in my arms all night saying it felt good.”

So Yi’s eyes widened at his blunt words. Her cheeks turned bright red.

“Isn’t it too selfish to say you can’t handle it now after enjoying everything?”

There’s no way out. So Yi swallowed hard and clenched her hands tightly on her knees.

“May I ask… why you’re going this far?”

“I’m in a situation where I need this right now.”

“Then why don’t you just date for real?”

“I’m not really interested in that.”

There must be plenty of women who would come running if he proposed fake dating, so why me of all people…

“I liked that you didn’t come running to me like a real girlfriend just because we spent one night together.”

So Yi was at a loss for words at Si Heon’s statement, which seemed to read her thoughts.

“A month will do. It’s not difficult. Just pretend to date me.”

How is that not difficult? Just thinking about how much of my personal information would be revealed if I said I was dating the CEO makes me dizzy…

“If you refuse, you can just be known as Cha Si Heon’s one-night stand.”

One-night stand… How am I supposed to work at the company after this!

This is dizzying in its own way.

So Yi, who had been hesitating to answer while rolling her large eyes back and forth, shook her head slightly and replied.

“Even so, I don’t understand. Why don’t you just find another woman? Even if it’s only a month-long relationship, it could be desperate for someone who really likes you, CEO.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Why?”

“I told you. I’m not interested in dating and such. It’s obvious that a woman who likes me would cling on, refusing to break up.”

So Yi bit her lip at Si Heon’s firm answer.

“I’m sorry. No matter how I think about it, I can’t do it.”

“You’re determined to eat and run?”

“Anyway, you also took me to a room right after meeting me at the bar and kissed me immediately. How could I have judged the meaning of your proposal with a clear mind in that situation?”

“Was my kiss that ecstatic? Enough to lose your mind?”

“That’s not what I meant…”

Cold sweat gathered at her fingertips. The truth was, it was that ecstatic. Enough to lose her mind.

“If you pretend to date me for a month, I’ll give you a kiss as service occasionally.”

“CEO…!”

Si Heon smiled, raising the corners of his mouth as if amused by So Yi’s flustered and bewildered appearance. Even his face with that mischievous smile suddenly seemed handsome.

So Yi realized it then. Ah, I’ve already fallen for the CEO.

Her heart started beating rapidly. The pounding sound of her heartbeat filled her head, making it impossible to think straight.

At this rate, I’ll just keep falling deeper. What if I start as a fake month-long relationship and end up begging not to break up?

A chill ran down her spine at the clear image of herself a month later.

So Yi quickly came to her senses, straightened her posture, and opened her mouth.

“Just one day… Please give me more time to think.”

[This is the timeline separator]

“Jin So Yi! What did you talk about?”

As So Yi returned to her seat with slumped shoulders, her colleague and close friend Deputy Manager Yoo Hye Na rolled her chair closer.

“Nothing much.”

Just that if I don’t play the role of his fake girlfriend for a month, I’ll be branded as the CEO’s one-night stand whether I like it or not.

“What? I’m really curious!”

Hye Na said she was acquainted with Si Heon. She mentioned having seen him a few times due to a distant relationship with her father.

“Is it a fling? Are you dating? Or…”

Hye Na asked in the lowest voice possible, covering her mouth with her hand.

“Fling… yeah. Let’s say it’s a fling. For now.”

“A fling? You slept together during a fling?”

“Shh! Be quiet!”

So Yi hurriedly covered Hye Na’s mouth and looked around.

“Jin Deputy! Yoo Deputy! Get to work!”

Team Leader Kwak snapped irritably, apparently annoyed by the sound of their whispering, though he couldn’t have heard their conversation.

“I’ll tell you later.”

So Yi whispered to Hye Na while keeping an eye on Team Leader Kwak, then turned her head to the monitor.

She slowly scanned her email inbox, which was full of messages accumulated during her long vacation, and the messenger with numerous unread chats.

Thanks to Hye Na, who had handled her work for nearly ten days, there were no compensation cases that So Yi needed to process immediately.

She just needed to check the compensation cases that had been approved with her as a reference.

[Deputy Jin! Are you dating the CEO?] [Deputy Jin. Are you dating our CEO?] [So Yi! Do you have lunch plans today?]

But So Yi couldn’t continue her work due to the flood of messages pouring in.

“Haa… This is driving me crazy…”

As she pressed her forehead with both hands and squeezed her eyes shut, her phone rang this time.

[So Yi… It’s your elder brother. Are you doing well?]

It was her ex-boyfriend, Park Young Hyun, whom she had broken up with two weeks ago.

[This is the timeline separator]

“CEO. Here’s Jin So Yi’s personal information. Brother, but why do you need this?”

Jang Woo asked as he handed over a file folder.

“I asked for it because I’m curious about something.”

“You’re not really dating her, are you?”

Jang Woo leaned closer to Si Heon as he asked. Seeing as he had ordered him to look up the personal information of a woman he called his girlfriend, it seemed unlikely that they were actually dating.

“Haven’t you found the definition of ‘girlfriend’ in the dictionary yet?”

Si Heon’s firm voice resonated heavily.

Jang Woo jerked his body back from where he had been leaning towards Si Heon.

They’re really dating? Has this guy really lost his mind?

Cha Si Heon is not just casually seeing a woman a few times, but actually dating her?

Si Heon continued speaking to Jang Woo, who was looking him up and down with surprised eyes.

“I’m in my right mind, so hurry up and get out to work.”

“But…”

“Ah, let’s have a drink with Ji Wook in the evening. Tell him to come to the lounge.”

He spoke decisively, as if not willing to take any more questions.

Si Heon scanned So Yi’s personal file with an indifferent expression.

Jang Woo, who had been standing dazed for a moment, slowly backed away and then quickly slipped out of the CEO’s office.

This should be enough for a report to Mother that she needs to be a bit nervous.

Si Heon smirked.

Yesterday, as he was leaving the mansion after finishing dinner at Onyeonjae, the image of Yu Kyung’s furious expression came vividly to mind. If rumors of his romance with Jin So Yi continue to spread like this, she’ll be even more anxious.

Thinking that he would return to Car Han Media as soon as possible no matter what, he turned his attention to the file containing So Yi’s information.

Parents deceased in an accident. One older sister in the family. Sister lives in Yongin city.

As expected, she’s just an unremarkable woman.

To think that I would date such a woman, she’s not the type to sit still.

Thinking that he would cleanly wrap things up within a month and return to his place, he tossed the file onto the desk with a thud.