Just in time, the food came out, and Ye Rin, who was hungry, quickly picked up her fork.

“By the way, what kind of man is the director?”

“Huh?”

What kind of man should I say he is?

While pondering that, Na Ri first listed her impressions of I Hyun.

“I only saw him briefly when he came to our building that day, but he was really impressive.”

“That’s true.”

“He’s handsome and has a good physique. What about his personality?”

Personality.

The reason I couldn’t answer right away was because of the wide gap between the personality of I Hyun I knew and what others said about it.

Seeing Ye Rin hesitate, Na Ri asked.

“Don’t tell me his personality is terrible?”

“No, it’s not like that.”

Ye Rin put down her fork and continued.

“He’s kind sometimes.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“That man has it all. Like I said, why don’t you really try to seduce him?”

I can’t do that.

Ye Rin just shook her head.

“Why not?”

Na Ri looked like she couldn’t understand.

“He’s handsome, has a good body, and he’s kind and capable.”

Na Ri counted off I Hyun’s merits one by one on her fingers.

“Isn’t he a man you could marry right away? Unless there’s some flaw I don’t know about…”

Ye Rin put her index finger to her lips as if telling her to be quiet.

“It’s not like that.”

Ye Rin looked deep in thought.

Yes, as Na Ri said, I Hyun was truly a perfect man without any flaws.

Ah, if that was a flaw, it was a flaw.

He lived in a world so different from hers, and that was the reason she couldn’t get close to I Hyun.

“Na Ri, that party your company hosted. Only famous political and business figures could attend, right?”

“Oh, yeah?”

Na Ri shrugged her shoulders as if to say what’s the problem with that.

“So the director naturally thinks the woman he met that day is someone of his level.”

“Ah…”

Na Ri’s face showed she finally understood the real reason Ye Rin was so troubled.

“Is that why you’re looking for her like this?”

“Yes. The director’s family is making a huge fuss about him going on blind dates and getting married.”

As they talked, Na Ri’s expression became the same as Ye Rin’s.

“The director wanted to meet that woman again and have a romance marriage.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“He probably thought he could date a woman of his level and then get married. How disappointed would he be if he found out it was me?”

Of course, Ye Rin had considered revealing her identity to I Hyun.

After all, she didn’t dislike that night, and her feelings for I Hyun weren’t bad either.

However, she couldn’t do it because she realized that I Hyun wasn’t just looking for the disappeared woman out of simple curiosity.

It was obvious that he had judged it better to find that woman he liked and who met his conditions for a romance marriage, rather than wasting time going to blind dates.

So after he found out she was that woman, it was the best choice to make him give up rather than letting him be disappointed.

Na Ri, understanding Ye Rin’s situation, let out a deep sigh along with her.

“This is really an unexpected obstacle.”

As if her head was starting to throb, Na Ri pressed her forehead with one hand.

“So what are you going to do?”

“For now, I’ll have to support the director well so he can go on blind dates while saying he’s looking for that woman.”

That’s the duty of a secretary.

You never know. While going on blind dates, I Hyun might meet someone he’s more attracted to than that woman and change his mind.

“Who’s the blind date partner?”

“Ah, that…”

The list of I Hyun’s blind dates that she had forgotten came to mind.

Ye Rin’s eyelashes fluttered as she thought of the woman mentioned as the first priority.

“Kwak Seo Yun.”

“Seriously? No way.”

Na Ri frowned as if truly displeased.

It was natural for Na Ri to react like that.

“The world sure is small, huh?”

Na Ri slammed down the water glass she was holding and vented her frustration.

“Why, of all the women in the world, does it have to be Kwak Seo Yun?”

Ye Rin just smiled faintly.

“Objectively speaking, Seo Yun’s family background is good.”

“Hey, so what? Her personality is totally awful.”

“It’s harder to find someone among the chaebol who isn’t like that, you know?”

Na Ri gulped down cold water as if she was hot.

Even fanning herself didn’t calm her anger, and she brushed back her fallen hair with one hand.

Seeing this, Ye Rin started to soothe Na Ri.

“You don’t need to get so worked up too. I’ll handle the director’s blind date on my own.”

“Are you really going to set up your director with that woman?”

She wasn’t particularly keen on it herself.

It was Seo Yun, who had caused her a lot of pain, not just anyone else.

She didn’t want to, but if she had to do it, well.

Ye Rin had no right to choose.

Trying hard to pretend she was okay, Ye Rin forced a smile.

“Na Ri, if you’re done eating, let’s get up now.”

“Ugh, I’m still not over this.”

As she opened the door of the private room with a clatter, Na Ri said to Ye Rin while fluttering her blouse.

“Should we have a drink before we go home?”

“I…”

Before Ye Rin could say anything.

The door of the next room opened quickly, and a very familiar man appeared.

Ye Rin covered her mouth with both hands in surprise when she saw the man’s face.

‘What? Why is the director coming out of there?’

The one who appeared from the next room was none other than I Hyun.

Na Ri also widened her eyes in surprise when she saw him.

Hastily erasing her surprised look, Na Ri greeted I Hyun.

“Hello, Director Cha I Hyun.”

“Secretary Han is scheduled to spend time with me.”

“Ah, our Ye Rin…”

Ye Rin, standing behind Na Ri, poked her back with a finger.

Understanding the meaning of that signal, Na Ri drew a line as if she and Ye Rin weren’t close at all.

“Ye Rin had an appointment with you, Director?”

“Yes.”

I Hyun took a step closer to see Ye Rin hiding behind Na Ri.

Tilting his head slightly, he sent a dizzying smile and called out to Ye Rin.

“Isn’t that right, Secretary Han?”

Appointment.

Right, there was one.

No wonder I Hyun let her go easily when she was leaving work today.

It was her fault for overlooking that he wasn’t the kind of man to do that.

Ye Rin slowly nodded and spoke.

“That’s correct.”

Ye Rin had no choice but to come out from behind Na Ri and reveal herself.

I Hyun seemed to have had dinner with Secretary Choi.

Secretary Choi smiled brightly at Ye Rin as if pleased to see her.

“Secretary Han, we all meet here.”

“I guess so.”

“Secretary Han, what did you have for dinner? The pasta here is…”

“Secretary Choi, didn’t you say you were busy?”

“Did I say that?”

I Hyun frowned slightly, seemingly annoyed by Secretary Choi constantly addressing Ye Rin.

“Secretary Choi, escort CEO Kim Na Ri home.”

Secretary Choi looked a bit confused at the sudden work instruction.

“I’ll take care of my own car, so Secretary Choi can escort CEO Kim in my place.”

“Yes, I understand.”

It was all the same to Secretary Choi whether he took I Hyun or Na Ri home.

Thinking that spending time with Na Ri would be more pleasant than serving his picky boss, Secretary Choi readily agreed.

I Hyun took his eyes off Secretary Choi.

Then I Hyun apologized for the time he had hurriedly made an appointment and visited Na Ri’s company.

“CEO Kim, I’m sorry for suddenly showing up at your company last time.”

“It’s alright. I understand how much you want to find that woman, Director.”

“I’m glad you understand. Secretary Choi will escort you home comfortably.”

I Hyun stared intently at Ye Rin as if all business was concluded here.

Feeling it was time to say goodbye to Na Ri, Ye Rin straightened her back.

And with a smile as if seeing off a business acquaintance, she bid farewell.

“CEO Kim Na Ri, please take care on your way.”

After giving such an awkward greeting and confirming that Na Ri and Secretary Choi were walking away, Ye Rin turned to I Hyun.

“Director, shall we go?”

“Let’s do that.”

As usual, I Hyun sat in the driver’s seat and Ye Rin in the passenger seat.

The destination was already set without needing to ask.

As they headed towards Ye Rin’s house, I Hyun asked in a low voice.

“Secretary Han, you had dinner with an unexpected person today.”

He seemed curious about the reason she was with Na Ri, with whom she had no apparent connection.

“Ah, if it’s private and you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to.”

I Hyun drove smoothly with a kind smile.

It seemed like she had to say something.

It would be worse to let I Hyun imagine and draw his own conclusions.

However, revealing that she and Na Ri had been friends since childhood was also problematic.

If he found out, he would naturally wonder why the two pretended not to know each other when he visited Cheto’s building.

And if he learned that she and Na Ri were close, it would create a situation where Na Ri would have to be involved in finding that missing woman.

After quickly organizing her thoughts, Ye Rin eventually told a lie.

“There wasn’t enough information about the woman you instructed me to find, Director.”

I Hyun nodded slightly as if telling her to continue.

“I requested a meeting with CEO Kim Na Ri in case I had missed something.”

Ye Rin couldn’t look I Hyun in the face properly while lying.

I Hyun’s intense gaze landed on Ye Rin’s left cheek.

“I see.”

“Yes, but sadly, the information CEO Kim knew was already everything that had been conveyed to us.”

A moment of silence passed.

‘Will he believe it? He should believe it.’

Just as sweat was about to trickle down Ye Rin’s spine.

I Hyun broke the silence and spoke.

“I didn’t know Secretary Han was working this hard to find that woman.”

Ye Rin just smiled awkwardly.

“Even using your personal time after work.”

“I just did what I had to do.”

“I’ll grant you one day of paid leave, at my discretion.”

“Pardon?”

Ye Rin turned her head sharply.

I Hyun glanced at the clock in the car.

“Weren’t you handling work assigned by your superior even after work hours?”

“…”

She felt truly guilty and couldn’t bring herself to say yes.

Hey.

Actually, I wasn’t working, I just went to vent my frustrations to a friend.

That sentence came up to the tip of her tongue, but she held back, biting her lip.

“So I’ll give you paid leave.”

“No, it’s fine.”

It was a strange situation where the one offering insisted and the one who should accept refused.