I must be crazy! I’m really going insane!

Shin Joo clasped her hair with both hands while letting out a silent scream.

No matter how drunk she was, she had crossed the line without considering the consequences.

It was her fault for not knowing her alcohol tolerance.

Shin Joo slapped her palm against her mouth that had been blabbering whatever was asked last night.

Unable to hide her agitation, Shin Joo checked the clock on the side table.

It was still 7 o’clock. If she hurried and prepared to escape to the office, she might avoid running into him.

It was best to avoid when avoidance was possible. Just as Shin Joo was about to pull back the covers and get out of bed,

Knock knock.

Did a knocking sound have to be this chilling?

The tips of her toes pressing against the floor stiffened.

“Shin Joo.”

As if to make avoidance impossible, Nam Do Hyun was standing outside the bedroom door.

Shin Joo slowly slid back into the bed and closed her eyes.

“I know you’re awake, come out.”

She even had the dangerous thought that it would be nice if someone could just knock her out cold.

With an almost tearful expression, Shin Joo got out of bed and grabbed the doorknob.

‘I don’t remember anything from last night.’

She just had to pretend her memory was wiped out.

If she dismissed everything as nonsense, Nam Do Hyun would have nothing to say either.

Shin Joo, who had hypnotized herself, opened the door wide.

Do Hyun, who she expected to be standing in front of the door, was sitting at the dining table.

“Come and eat. Your stomach will be upset.”

On the table was a pot of North Korean-style soup and a few side dishes that Do Hyun had made.

“I have no appetite.”

“The person who prepared it put in effort. At least sit down.”

As if he naturally expected her to sit, Do Hyun picked up his spoon first.

He said he usually doesn’t eat breakfast, so this was strange.

Swallowing her saliva, Shin Joo hesitated before moving towards the table.

Then she sat in the chair, scooped a few grains of rice with the silver spoon, and pretended to eat.

“Hmph.”

It was as if someone had sucked out all the air in the house.

Being in the same space as Do Hyun felt like inhaling excess carbon dioxide.

Unable to endure the silence, Shin Joo, who had even reduced the clinking of her utensils, spoke.

“I must have exceeded my alcohol tolerance yesterday. I don’t even remember what I talked about with you, Representative.”

“You’re making the first move, huh.”

Even more suspicious.

In fact, it was Nam Do Hyun who had a lot to say.

He was barely suppressing his clamorous mind, but Shin Joo tried to brush off yesterday’s events with a single remark.

However, Do Hyun was not so easy to deal with.

“First, fill your stomach. Then I’ll ask you questions.”

Shin Joo was indeed afraid of what Do Hyun would say.

She was so scared that even the grains of rice seemed to tremble in her throat.

Unable to eat even half of her rice, Shin Joo put down her spoon first.

“I ate well, thank you.”

As soon as she pulled out her chair and stood up, Do Hyun also put down his spoon, leaving his remaining rice.

Shin Joo’s eyes slowly rose to follow Do Hyun as he gradually straightened his body.

“You were saying something quite surprising yesterday.”

“D-did I make a mistake?”

Don’t stutter.

Do Hyun, who had walked over with his long legs, stood blocking Shin Joo’s way.

“You said I kissed you?”

Can I just faint right here, right now?

Shin Joo took a deep breath, trying not to stammer, and made an excuse.

“That’s my drinking habit. Once I start drinking, I become a master of lies and deceive people.”

“Just a drinking habit?”

“Of course. Would I really do such a thing with you, senior?”

What’s my facial expression like right now?

Does it look natural? Brazen? Is this enough?

Shin Joo was racking her brain, which was still not fully sober.

“You must have been surprised, senior. That I could lie without any change in my expression.”

Haha.

Shin Joo laughed awkwardly and gauged Do Hyun’s reaction.

Do Hyun folded his arms and observed Shin Joo before throwing out a remark.

“Is that the mousehole you created?”

“Hic.”

Shin Joo suppressed a hiccup that was about to come out.

She tried to hide her reddening face, but Do Hyun bent his waist and meticulously examined her.

“It’s not convincing at all, Shin Joo.”

She should have kept her mouth shut to the end instead of making unbelievable excuses.

However, she realized that further lies were meaningless in the face of his gaze that seemed to know everything.

“Yes, that’s right. When we were in university, you kissed me, whether it was because of the alcohol or in your sleep.”

In the end, Shin Joo surrendered.

“It’s been 7 years. Nothing will change now.”

“At least if I had known 7 years ago, things might have been different.”

As soon as Do Hyun’s words ended, Shin Joo’s lips parted.

She looked as if she was about to spit out the words that had been pent up, but her anger subsided.

‘You had someone else back then, senior.’

Shin Joo pushed down the inner thoughts that were escaping from the box and spoke as if it was no big deal.

“It’s the same, senior.”

The tips of her lips rising gracefully looked untroubled.

“Even now, I’m not a woman to you, so how could I have been a woman to you back then?”

It was suffocating to be the only one who knew about the kiss for 7 years, but it was rather a good thing.

Unlike Shin Joo who felt relieved, for Do Hyun, this was just the beginning.

As if punishing Nam Do Hyun who had been at peace for 7 years, complicated and subtle emotions engulfed him.

[This is the timeline separator]

As the Yeosu resort construction progressed, a Yeosu TF team was formed within Anshine.

From the PR team, Shin Joo became part of the TF team, and with her existing work and new tasks added, it was a series of overtime.

Thanks to that, she didn’t have to face Do Hyun at home for a while.

Moreover, a 3-day 2-night business trip to Yeosu was scheduled, so she would be away from home for some time.

The TF team was sitting around in the office building next to the construction site, reviewing documents.

Ryu, who was sitting across from her in the architecture team, gave her a sympathetic look.

“Representative Nam is back in Korea after a year, but you have overtime and even a business trip. You must be quite disappointed, Shin Joo.”

“That’s right. What did Representative Nam say when you told him you were going on a business trip to Yeosu?”

Even Jo, the team leader in charge of the TF team, chimed in.

Nothing was more fascinating than gossip about other people’s homes.

Everyone put their work aside and waited for Shin Joo’s words.

Receiving everyone’s expectations, Shin Joo felt like she had to say something.

“He threw a fit and barely let me go.”

Ryu even slapped his thigh in excitement.

“Oh my. Representative Nam must really cherish you, Shin Joo.”

“He threw a fit? Wow. Representative Nam is totally clingy.”

“Is he always like that at home?”

The employees leaned their upper bodies towards Shin Joo as if telling her to say more.

“Of course. He tries not to leave my side even for a moment at home. He’s so full of aegyo that half of what he says has a lisp.”

“Kyaa. That house doesn’t need sugar.”

Shin Joo had almost created a fictional character.

She couldn’t bring herself to say that the man wouldn’t even notice if she were thrown on a deserted island.

“Do you two have any pet names for each other? You wouldn’t call each other in an ordinary way.”

Shin Joo, who had been immersed in lies amidst the bustling employees, returned to reality.

Shin Joo pulled the resort documents in front of her and coolly stated.

“We should get back to work now.”

“Ah. You’re making us curious and then leaving us hanging. That’s too much, Shin Joo.”

Leaving the protesting employees behind, Shin Joo focused on work.

She hoped the employees would widely spread the stories they heard today.

After all, it was what Shin Joo wanted for the rumors floating around the company to go away.

[This is the timeline separator]

On the first day of the business trip, it was past 9 o’clock when Shin Joo and the employees finally entered the hotel.

Team Leader Jo was at the front desk, confirming the rooms reserved with the corporate card.

Waiting behind him for the room keys, Shin Joo casually turned her head to the side.

At that moment, her eyes met with the man standing in front of the front desk.

“Why are you here…?”

The other person also widened his eyes quietly, looking quite surprised.

“Oh, Representative Nam!”

It was Ryu who broke the frozen air.

The employees standing close together in front of the front desk focused their attention on Do Hyun.

Shin Joo couldn’t understand why Do Hyun, who was supposed to be in Seoul, was in Yeosu.

“How come you’re here?”

Do Hyun answered Shin Joo’s question.

“I came to look around the Yeosu site today.”

Ryu and the employees looked at each other’s eyes and smiled meaningfully.

“He really is clingy, just as Shin Joo said.”

“Clingy?”

Do Hyun’s long eyes grew even sharper.

As the employees chimed in one by one, cold sweat dripped down Shin Joo’s spine.

“You even threw a fit today just to not be apart from Shin Joo, right?”

“No, no, Ryu.”

Stop. Shut that mouth.

No matter how much Shin Joo glared, the employees’ attention was solely on Nam Do Hyun.

“You must love Shin Joo to death that you can’t even be apart for a day.”

It’s not there that it needs to be widely known!

Shin Joo felt like stomping her feet as if she had a fire under them.

Turning her eyes away from the piercing gaze, she was already met with Do Hyun’s burning eyes.

Pretending to know nothing, Shin Joo turned her head to the side.

“Representative Nam, I’ve completed the check-in.”

Thanks to Manager Kang who came with the room keys, the conversation was cut off.

Before sighing in relief, Ryu looked at the room key in Do Hyun’s hand.

“Representative Nam, you’re also staying here tonight before leaving, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then Shin Joo doesn’t need to share a room with me. She can share a room with you.”

It wasn’t strange. Of course, as a married couple, there was no need to use separate rooms.

However, the two of them were not an ordinary couple. How could an employer and an employee share a bed?

‘No, no.’

Shin Joo, who made eye contact with Do Hyun, shook her head slightly.

As if he understood, Do Hyun’s lips parted immediately.

“Let’s do that.”

What?

Do Hyun’s hand wrapped around Shin Joo’s empty hand.

As Do Hyun pulled her hand, Shin Joo, who was following with a dumbfounded face, bumped her shoulder against his solid arm.

Seeing the two standing close together, the employees blushed.

“I’ll take her comfortably without refusing.”

Do Hyun’s gaze fell on Shin Joo.

“Because we have a lot to talk about all night.”

The employees swallowed the cries that were about to come out of their mouths.

To a third party, it looked like honey was dripping from Do Hyun’s eyes.

But to Shin Joo, Do Hyun looked like a tiger baring its sharp fangs.

Ah. Now I understand why people gave rice cakes to tigers in folk tales.

She was in the mood to throw even 100 rice cakes to that tiger if it meant she wouldn’t get eaten.