“That’s right.”

“So.”

What do you mean, ‘so’.

I almost asked that.

Ye Rin awkwardly smiled.

“Is it that the Director lacks experience in dating?”

“I suppose you could say that.”

Is this really a skill that improves with practice?

That thought was brief.

Ye Rin tilted her head.

The I Hyun she saw that night didn’t lack anything at all.

His way of speaking that made one’s heart flutter, even his gestures were sweet as honey.

But she couldn’t bring up that incident and ask why he was lying now.

The moment she did that, it would be admitting that she was that woman from that night.

Whatever it was, there seemed to be no way out.

Ye Rin was helplessly falling into the trap I Hyun had set.

I Hyun looked at Ye Rin with a very serious face.

“I won’t ask my secretary to submit a report or anything.”

I Hyun leaned forward, placing both arms on the table.

As a result, the distance between them noticeably narrowed.

“But I’d like you to tell me what you felt while being with me, and even points I should improve.”

Seeing I Hyun’s serious face, she wondered if she was the only one getting ahead of herself in her thoughts.

‘The Director might really need dating practice.’

Seeing Ye Rin’s hesitant face, I Hyun threw out a big proposition.

“I’m willing to give my secretary whatever she wants.”

“What do you mean, whatever I want?”

“Should I give you a building?”

“No!”

She had never wished for such a thing even once.

Ye Rin waved both arms wildly.

“Ah, is one not enough?”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

“If you need cash instead of a building, that’s possible too, so feel free to say.”

I Hyun shrugged lightly and left the restaurant room first.

Ye Rin belatedly came to her senses, gathered her belongings, and followed after him.

“Director, I think…”

As soon as she left the room, Ye Rin closed her lips tightly because of the man she encountered.

“Ye Rin?”

And next to that man was a woman she really didn’t want to see.

“Oh my, look who we have here.”

It was Hee Jun, who was once her boyfriend, and Seo Yun, who had stolen him away.

Ye Rin tightened her grip on her bag and hardened her expression.

“What’s this, we meet after so long and you don’t even greet us?”

Seo Yun smiled brightly, looking very pleased, and linked her arm with Hee Jun’s.

Hee Jun gently pushed her arm away and awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.

“By the way, Ye Rin, what brings you here?”

This was the first time facing Hee Jun after he left a one-sided notification to break up.

It was a shocking breakup notice without even a speck of courtesy towards a former lover.

Ye Rin straightened her back and spoke.

“For dinner.”

“With whom?”

Hee Jun showed great interest in Ye Rin.

Meanwhile, I Hyun, who had gone to pay, came striding back and stood beside Ye Rin.

He immediately sensed the tense atmosphere between the two unfamiliar people and Ye Rin.

“Who are they?”

He asked Ye Rin.

While Ye Rin hesitated on how to introduce Hee Jun and Seo Yun, I Hyun spoke again.

“Acquaintances?”

“We were.”

At Ye Rin’s brief answer, I Hyun seemed to finish assessing the situation and smiled, pulling up the corners of his mouth.

Then without warning, he interlocked his fingers with Ye Rin’s.

Everyone present was surprised.

“We have a lot to do, so we’ll be going now.”

I Hyun stared at Hee Jun with cold eyes and pulled on Ye Rin’s hand.

Unintentionally having her hand held by I Hyun, Ye Rin wore a flustered expression and slowly began to walk.

As they moved away from them, I Hyun bent down and whispered in Ye Rin’s ear.

“They’re still watching from behind.”

“……”

“You shouldn’t look so awkward.”

Her legs were trembling so much she could hardly walk properly.

I Hyun glanced at Ye Rin and spoke in a pleasant baritone.

“Secretary Han, excuse me for a moment.”

Soon a warm sensation touched Ye Rin’s waist.

As she slowly turned her head, she saw I Hyun’s face smiling brightly at her.

“If you stay so stiff, the reason I put my arm around your waist will disappear.”

“Ah, yes…”

“Lean on me as you walk.”

I Hyun, seemingly not trusting her, whispered once more.

“If you really can’t walk, should I carry you out?”

“No. I’m fine.”

At the mention of being carried, Ye Rin snapped to her senses.

I Hyun kept his hand around Ye Rin’s waist until they left the restaurant, no, until they got in the car.

[This is the timeline separator]

Hee Jun stared blankly at the door where Ye Rin had disappeared.

“Oppa, what are you looking at?”

“Nothing. It’s nothing.”

Hee Jun forcibly moved his feet that didn’t want to leave.

Even after sitting at the table, the faces of that man and Ye Rin from earlier kept flashing in his mind.

“But oppa, doesn’t that man’s face look really familiar?”

“I’m not sure.”

Seo Yun fiddled with her phone and soon, as if finding something, let out a short scream.

“Oh my god.”

“Why are you being so noisy again?”

“Oppa, the man who left with Han Ye Rin earlier is this person.”

Hee Jun took the phone Seo Yun held out.

On the screen was a flattering photo of I Hyun, who was being mentioned as a potential successor to Jiseok Electronics.

“Cha I Hyun?”

“Yeah. How are they together?”

Seo Yun muttered to herself while biting her well-maintained nails.

“The connection between them… Ah.”

Then, as if suddenly realizing something, she smiled brightly.

“I guess Ye Rin’s boss changed to Director Cha I Hyun.”

Hee Jun still had a complicated expression.

“I mean, how else could Han Ye Rin meet a man like Cha I Hyun if not for work?”

Seo Yun pulled up the corners of her red-painted lips.

“Oppa, so tomorrow we…”

Hee Jun still had a dazed look.

Especially the image of the two whispering intimately as they left the restaurant kept coming to mind, making him feel quite unpleasant.

He couldn’t hear a word of what Seo Yun was mumbling in front of him.

‘She’s become even prettier.’

Why did she seem to shine more brightly next to that man than when she was by his side?

He didn’t like that at all.

[This is the timeline separator]

Ye Rin got into I Hyun’s car and took a deep breath.

More shocking than unexpectedly meeting Hee Jun and Seo Yun was I Hyun’s actions.

“I acted because you seemed to need help, but I’m sorry if Secretary Han was uncomfortable.”

“No, it’s not that.”

Ye Rin slowly raised her head.

The streetlight gently seeped into the dark car.

It was fully illuminating I Hyun’s side profile.

“Director, thank you.”

If I Hyun hadn’t appeared there, what would have happened?

The thought alone was dizzying.

She probably would have stood there stupidly between them, unable to say a word.

I Hyun slowly started the car.

Still, since she had received I Hyun’s help, she felt she should explain the situation they had just encountered.

“That man from earlier was someone I used to date.”

At those words, I Hyun’s eyebrows sharply rose.

“The woman next to him stole my man.”

Her voice was calm, as if telling someone else’s story.

Right on cue, the traffic light changed, and I Hyun slowed down the car.

Then he turned his head to look at Ye Rin.

“That must have been hard for you, Secretary Han.”

“Rather than hard… I thought, ‘I’ve been had again!'”

“It wasn’t the first time?”

“Yes. I’m so foolish, aren’t I?”

She didn’t know why she was rambling on about this in front of I Hyun, but she wanted to.

Perhaps she needed someone’s comfort.

I Hyun spoke in a low voice.

“That man has no eye for quality.”

“That can’t be.”

Even on the surface, Seo Yun had much more than her.

From her father who had been a three-term congressman to her family background, the difference was too great.

I Hyun spoke firmly.

“Anyone could see that Secretary Han was far more beautiful than that woman.”

“Pardon?”

“Not just externally, but I think internally as well.”

“……”

“From what Secretary Han is saying, did that woman steal your man multiple times?”

Ye Rin slowly turned her head while tightly gripping the seatbelt.

“I’ve never seen a decent person who covets what belongs to others. And this isn’t Secretary Han’s fault.”

As soon as she heard I Hyun’s pleasant voice, tears unconsciously welled up in Ye Rin’s eyes.

Her vision blurred, and then tears flowed down her peach-colored cheeks.

“Ah…”

Ye Rin was flustered by the tears that flowed without her realizing and roughly wiped them with the back of her hand.

“I’m sorry. Why am I like this?”

Embarrassingly, the tears that kept trickling down grew stronger.

No matter how much she wiped with the back of her hand, her vision kept getting blurry.

Ye Rin took out a handkerchief from her bag.

Just then, having arrived in front of Ye Rin’s house, I Hyun stopped the car and unbuckled his seatbelt.

Then he reached out and cupped Ye Rin’s cheek.

He slowly wiped away Ye Rin’s flowing tears with his thumb.

Before she could reject his hand, Ye Rin froze in place.

She didn’t know why, in this situation, she was reminded of what I Hyun had said that night.

“How can you look so beautiful even when crying?”

And similar words flowed from the I Hyun in front of her again.

“You know what?”

“……”

“Secretary Han is truly beautiful even when crying.”

Ye Rin dropped the handkerchief she was holding with a thud.

I Hyun picked up the handkerchief Ye Rin had dropped.

And he slowly wiped Ye Rin’s tears with his hand, not the handkerchief.

The places where I Hyun’s hand passed were so hot that Ye Rin could only bite her lip.

“I’ve seen one more woman who looked beautiful while crying.”

“……”

Wondering if he was about to mention that night, Ye Rin tensed up involuntarily.

Sure enough.

Ye Rin’s prediction was right.

“That woman I’m desperately wanting to see right now was like that too.”