Ye Rin had no choice but to take I Hyun up the stairs to her house.

As they climbed the stairs to the very top floor apartment, I Hyun’s brow furrowed slightly.

“There are quite a few stairs. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. It’s not Secretary Han’s fault anyway.”

After climbing for a while, the two arrived at Ye Rin’s rooftop villa.

“My place is rather small.”

“It’s fine, just open the door, Secretary Han.”

Ye Rin entered the door lock password and went inside first.

Though embarrassed to show I Hyun her cramped home, she had no choice in this situation.

“The bathroom is here, just a moment.”

Ye Rin grabbed I Hyun’s sleeve as he was about to enter.

She tapped her phone a few times and played a popular song.

“What is this?”

“The soundproofing in my house isn’t great. The music is so loud you won’t hear anything from outside, so don’t worry and go in.”

I Hyun smirked and bent down to enter the bathroom.

She hadn’t noticed before, but with I Hyun standing there, the ceiling seemed a bit low.

The door clicked shut.

Ye Rin went to the kitchen, furthest from the bathroom.

Feeling awkward just standing there, Ye Rin unconsciously started boiling water in the kettle.

Soon after, she heard the sound of I Hyun washing his hands.

“This feels a bit strange.”

Just having I Hyun in her home made her feel oddly unsettled.

And naturally, memories of that night came flooding back.

I Hyun’s voice whispering tenderly in her ear as he held her waist…

Click-

As if to interrupt her impure thoughts, the kettle whistled right on cue.

“I’m going crazy. What am I even thinking?”

Since I Hyun couldn’t seem to escape the aftermath of that night, she at least needed to keep her wits about her.

Just then.

A familiar deep voice suddenly rang out behind her.

“What’s the matter, Secretary Han?”

“Huh?”

How long had he been listening?

Ye Rin’s brown eyes trembled, filled with fear.

“You seemed to be muttering to yourself.”

“Oh, I was just thinking about tomorrow’s tasks.”

At Ye Rin’s words, the corners of I Hyun’s mouth curved upwards.

“You’re quite diligent, Secretary Han.”

“Thank you.”

Normally, she should be sending I Hyun out now that his business here was done.

But strangely, she didn’t want to do that.

There was Korean hospitality to consider, and also…

I Hyun looked curiously at the steaming kettle behind Ye Rin.

“Why did you boil water?”

“Huh?”

Ye Rin startled and stammered:

“It was just here, so I did it without thinking…”

Finding her own words ridiculous, she covered her mouth and laughed.

“Sir, would you like to have some tea before you go?”

At Ye Rin’s words, I Hyun’s eyes narrowed.

Ye Rin quickly added, waving her hands:

“I’m absolutely not trying to seduce you, sir. It’s just that I had such a delicious dinner earlier, so…”

“I can if you want.”

“Pardon?”

“Never mind. But I’m not sure if I should accept tea from Secretary Han.”

“Is it because of the promise you made before coming here?”

I Hyun leaned against the refrigerator and nodded once.

Though it was just a small, unremarkable home, with I Hyun standing there it seemed to shine like a photo shoot set.

“I promised to just use the bathroom and leave right away, so I’m wondering if having tea would be breaking that promise.”

“No, I’m the one who offered the tea first.”

“I see. Then I’ll sit quietly and wait.”

I Hyun went to the dining table and pulled out a chair.

Ye Rin busily opened the cabinet door.

“Of course I put that there of all places.”

She didn’t spend much time at home, and no one ever came to visit.

She belatedly realized she had put the green tea bags on the very top shelf during her recent cleaning.

“Hmph.”

Ye Rin stood on her tiptoes and reached up.

The box containing the green tea bags was just barely out of reach.

“Just a little more…”

Putting too much force into stretching a little further was the problem.

As if to tease Ye Rin, the box slid even further back.

“Oh, come on.”

Ye Rin had no choice but to stretch up on her tiptoes even more.

The box kept eluding her grasp, barely out of reach.

That’s when it happened.

“…”

Feeling a familiar warmth behind her, Ye Rin whipped her head around.

And was startled even more than before.

I Hyun’s face was incredibly close.

Ye Rin found herself staring at his face as if entranced.

Her heart lost its normal rhythm and began pounding wildly.

The sound was so blatant she worried I Hyun might hear her heartbeat.

Yet she couldn’t tear her eyes away from his face.

His face, like a finely carved statue, was enough to captivate Ye Rin’s gaze.

Thick eyebrows, dark eyes impossible to read, a high nose bridge, and sensual lips.

Ye Rin unconsciously gulped.

Belatedly tearing her gaze from I Hyun’s face, she lowered her eyes.

Perhaps finding her home warm, I Hyun had already removed his tie.

With the top few buttons of his shirt undone, his skin was clearly visible.

‘He’s attractive no matter where I look, this is bad.’

Interrupting Ye Rin’s appreciation was I Hyun’s low voice in her ear.

“Are you done looking?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m not sure how long I should keep waiting.”

Only then did Ye Rin come to her senses and pushed I Hyun away with both hands.

For just a moment, his firm chest muscles brushed against her hands.

Ye Rin’s face instantly flushed red.

I Hyun stumbled back and bumped into the refrigerator.

“Oh, I’m sorry, sir.”

I Hyun laughed to himself for a while, seeming amused.

“I know you must resent me,”

“No, it’s not like that.”

“Still, violence is a bit much, don’t you think?”

I Hyun handed Ye Rin the box while rubbing his back where he’d hit the fridge.

“I truly had pure intentions in trying to help Secretary Han.”

“Yes, I know.”

If anything, she was the one with impure thoughts.

Ye Rin quickly turned and put two green tea bags in the prepared cups.

After pouring hot water, she moved to the table.

Feeling oddly embarrassed, she took a sip of the green tea and quickly pulled her lips away, finding it too hot.

“Are you alright?”

“Haa. Yes, it’s very hot so please drink slowly, sir.”

“Should I take that to mean you want me to stay here longer?”

“…”

“I’m joking, just joking.”

I Hyun’s words that sounded sincere but were claimed as jokes left Ye Rin completely flustered.

No, actually there was nothing wrong with what he said.

She just found it ridiculous how hyper-aware she was of him.

Ye Rin’s cheeks flushed red again from the hot green tea.

This time it really was because of the hot tea.

And the brief touch of I Hyun’s firm body earlier kept coming to mind, making her even more confused.

Trying to break the tense atmosphere, I Hyun asked:

“It’s quite difficult to have a cup of tea at Secretary Han’s home.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I don’t have guests often, so I put the tea bags up high.”

Hearing that, the corners of I Hyun’s mouth curved up for some reason.

“Your previous boyfriend didn’t come over either?”

“No, of course not.”

Ye Rin set down her teacup and added:

She felt the need to clarify, since he was asking about something so obvious.

“How could I bring a man home? I’m not that kind of woman.”

Once again, the corners of I Hyun’s mouth twitched involuntarily.

“So according to Secretary Han, I’m the first man to come to this house?”

“Ah…”

Saying it out loud, that’s how it sounded.

But since she hadn’t deliberately invited him, Ye Rin quickly corrected:

“I didn’t invite you as a man. Strictly speaking, I helped out a superior who was in a difficult situation.”

“So I’m the first male superior to come to this house?”

I Hyun truly liked certainty.

Though she hadn’t served him long, from what she’d observed, he also preferred fact-checking.

Thinking this was an extension of that, Ye Rin answered his repeated questions straightforwardly.

“Strictly speaking, that’s correct.”

“But is it okay to let a male superior into your home?”

“Pardon?”

I Hyun set down his teacup and leaned forward.

“Secretary Han, aren’t you being too defenseless?”

The look in I Hyun’s eyes as he said that was so alluring.

Enough to almost make her fall for it.

Ye Rin continued speaking, trying to suppress the tremor in her voice.

“Come to think of it, I suppose so. It’s because you pushed me into it before I could make a proper decision, sir.”

I Hyun kept smiling as he watched Ye Rin calmly say her piece.

“Let’s make an exception for me.”

“What? Why?”

“Why, you ask.”

I Hyun rested his chin on his hand.

And looked at Ye Rin with even more intense eyes than before.

“We’ll be dating soon anyway.”

“…”

“So it’s a bit ambiguous to just put me in the category of male superior, isn’t it?”

“I haven’t made a decision yet.”

“Oh my. Is that so?”

I Hyun languidly pulled up the corners of his mouth.

“Secretary Han, shall we finish the conversation we were having earlier?”

Having talked about so many things with I Hyun, she wasn’t sure which one he meant to conclude.

And truthfully, even if she remembered, the conclusion always went the way I Hyun wanted anyway.

“So I am the first man to come to this house, correct?”

“Yes.”

“I’d like it to stay that way going forward.”

The look in I Hyun’s eyes as he said that was so earnest, she almost nodded in agreement.

Barely managing to hold onto her senses, Ye Rin asked:

“Why?”

“Just because.”

I Hyun stood up and came to stand in front of Ye Rin.

Ye Rin had to crane her neck quite a bit before she could meet I Hyun’s gaze.

As if trying to be considerate of Ye Rin, I Hyun bent down slightly.

No, this wasn’t consideration.

Because I Hyun bending down made the distance between them far too close.

Ye Rin unknowingly clutched her skirt and held her breath.

“It’s strange. I just want to be all of Secretary Han’s firsts.”

It was a statement ripe for misunderstanding.

But I Hyun continued speaking with unwavering eyes.

“If Secretary Han wants, I’ll give you my firsts too.”

“…”

“Is this how you’re supposed to feel when dating?”

I Hyun spoke as if they were really dating.

“I don’t know much about it myself.”

And for some reason, he kept bending down more until there was barely 10 centimeters between them.

“So Secretary Han, when will you give me an answer?”

Just as I Hyun’s breath was about to touch Ye Rin’s face.

Bang bang bang-

Someone pounded on Ye Rin’s door as if they were trying to break it down.