“To sum up, yesterday I was constantly in a passive position.”

I Hyun stared intently at the hand he was holding with Ye Rin.

“It means that a secretary aggressively seduced me.”

“Excuse me, Director.”

Ye Rin, who had been silent, bit her lip gently as she called out to him.

“Yes. Go ahead.”

“As I listen to the story, I do remember a little bit.”

“Everything?”

“Yes.”

“Ah, I see.”

I Hyun looked as if he found this interesting as well.

“I’m really sorry for grabbing your hand first and pressing hard on your lips, Director.”

“No, I liked it. Why apologize for such minor skinship between lovers?”

“Still, I didn’t get your consent.”

“It’s fine.”

I Hyun smiled benevolently, as if he were a very open-minded person.

“I think I’ll just do the same thing twice next time without Secretary Han’s consent in return.”

“…”

Unable to protest since she had done it herself,

Ye Rin could only nod her head.

“But Director, I don’t think we ever kissed.”

“We did.”

“Pardon?”

I Hyun ensnared her with his deep eyes, as if trying to see through Ye Rin’s inner thoughts.

“We didn’t.”

Of course, they had shared breaths that night when she first met I Hyun, but yesterday, she swore they hadn’t.

Ye Rin was extremely tense, not knowing what would come out of I Hyun’s mouth.

I Hyun slowly stroked his chin with one hand.

Eventually, his lips opened slowly.

“Is that so.”

“Yes, we didn’t.”

“Since Secretary Han says we didn’t, I’ll conclude there was an error in my memory.”

Fortunately, he seemed to be admitting his mistake, saying he must have been mistaken.

I Hyun gently let go of Ye Rin’s hand and returned to his desk.

Ye Rin followed behind him, exhaling a short breath.

I Hyun handed her some documents, perhaps the contract he had finished signing yesterday printed out.

“As stated there, we will spend an hour together every day.”

“Yes. But what if you have to go on a business trip or we can’t be together for some reason, Director?”

“How about accumulating it steadily like mileage points?”

“That sounds good.”

“But that probably won’t happen often.”

“I thought you had a lot of business trips, Director.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I Hyun raised his eyebrow slightly, as if it wasn’t a problem at all.

“I’ll always take Secretary Han on those business trips.”

“…”

“Work and dating. Office romance is nice.”

I Hyun looked very satisfied.

As Ye Rin took the dating contract, I Hyun asked casually.

“Secretary Han, do you have plans this evening?”

“No, I don’t.”

Being the first day of their fake dating, and not knowing what orders might come, Ye Rin rarely made plans on weekdays.

“There’s somewhere I’d like us to go after work. Can you make time?”

“Yes. Of course. Where…”

“I moved your mother to a new hospital this morning.”

At those words, Ye Rin’s eyelashes, which had been calm all along, trembled slightly.

This quickly?

Of course, she didn’t doubt I Hyun’s handling of matters, but she was curious how he found out information that only Pyeong Hun knew.

Seeing Ye Rin’s expression, I Hyun chuckled.

“I didn’t find out through illegal means.”

“Ah, yes.”

“When I asked Chairman Han, he gladly told me.”

“My father did?”

“Yes.”

Ye Rin looked surprised, as if she couldn’t believe it.

“Why are you so surprised?”

If Pyeong Hun was going to give I Hyun information about the hospital so easily, Ye Rin felt resentful about why he had hidden it from her all this time.

And another reason she was surprised was that I Hyun had contacted Pyeong Hun separately.

“Have you become close with my father?”

“Well, you could say that.”

“Ah…”

Ye Rin chewed on her lips.

Although he was her father, she didn’t want to keep him close to I Hyun.

“Director, this might sound strange, but…”

I Hyun silently waited for Ye Rin’s words.

“If my father happens to bring up business talk or investment…”

“Yes.”

“Please don’t listen and reject it.”

“Why?”

“Pardon?”

“I could listen, couldn’t I? He’s my girlfriend’s father.”

Ye Rin glanced at the tightly closed office door.

It seemed her thought that it was fortunate he hadn’t shown any signs at the company was purely her misconception.

Sweat trickled down her back as he referred to her as “my girlfriend” or “lover” at every opportunity.

Completely unaware of Ye Rin’s situation, I Hyun tilted his head very leisurely.

“Personally, I enjoy investing if there are good business items.”

That’s precisely the problem.

All the business items Pyeong Hun offers are either outdated or have low profitability.

I Hyun stood up, as if he understood what Ye Rin was worried about.

“Secretary Han, you don’t think I’d invest unconditionally just because it’s your father, do you?”

“No, of course not.”

Rather, it was the opposite. She hoped he wouldn’t invest.

“I don’t mix personal feelings when doing business.”

“That’s a relief, but…”

“Secretary Han, don’t think about anything else.”

I Hyun came around the desk, approaching Ye Rin.

“I want you to only think about me.”

“Pardon?”

“What kind of date you want to have with me.”

“…”

“What kind of man is close to your ideal type.”

I Hyun showed a fatally dazzling smile.

“Just think about that.”

It seemed almost too much to ask.

“Properly enjoying and feeling while being with me. That’s the most important thing Secretary Han should do.”

It was both a weighty task and quite an easy one.

“Because only when you properly tell me what you feel when you’re with me can I develop into a better man.”

He’s already plenty wonderful. What’s he trying to do by developing even further from here?

She was already scared.

[This is the timeline separator]

The quiet office of Chairman Cha.

With a knock, his secretary appeared.

“Chairman, Congressman Kwak has arrived on the first floor.”

“Congressman Kwak?”

“Yes. He says he wants to see you in person.”

“Tell him to come up.”

Chairman Cha also had something to say to Congressman Kwak.

Shortly after.

The portly Congressman Kwak entered Chairman Cha’s office with a bright smile.

“Chairman, it’s been a while.”

“Congressman Kwak, have you been well?”

They exchanged meaningless greetings as they sat down.

While drinking the tea brought by Chairman Choi’s secretary, Chairman Cha spoke first.

“What brings the busy Congressman Kwak here?”

“Ho ho ho.”

Congressman Kwak put down his teacup and pulled his upper body forward.

“You know I have a daughter, right?”

“Of course. Didn’t she major in gayageum?”

“That’s right.”

Congressman Kwak handed over the ticket for Seo Yun’s gayageum solo concert that he had brought.

“If you have time, please drop by, even though you must be busy. Ho ho ho.”

Chairman Cha laughed heartily.

“Sure. My wife especially loves going to such concerts.”

“That’s great. Ah, if your son has time, please bring him along too.”

“You mean I Hyun?”

Congressman Kwak nodded vigorously.

“Actually, I was thinking I Hyun might be a good match for our Seo Yun, and that’s why I came to talk about it.”

“I see.”

Chairman Cha’s eyes narrowed sideways.

Congressman Kwak was considered a potential candidate for the next presidential election.

Among large corporations, none could compare to Jiseok Group.

He quickly judged that it wouldn’t be bad to get involved with the political world on this occasion.

But what to do?

His son wasn’t interested in arranged meetings and was only going on about unrequited love.

Congressman Kwak was too valuable a card to let go.

As he was thinking about introducing him to Su Hyun,

Congressman Kwak carefully broached the subject.

“It seems our Seo Yun has seen Director Cha I Hyun from afar a few times.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. She praised him so much for how handsome he is. She insisted on having a meeting arranged, saying he’s her type. Ho ho ho.”

Chairman Cha laughed along with the jovially laughing Congressman Kwak.

“I like her honesty.”

“I’m just grateful you see her in a good light.”

Chairman Cha pondered for a moment.

Even if he set up an arranged meeting, it was obvious I Hyun wouldn’t attend.

Soon, a good idea crossed Chairman Cha’s mind.

“Young people these days tend to dislike formal settings like arranged meetings.”

“That’s true. It would be nice if they could meet casually and get to know each other…”

“How about this?”

Chairman Cha leaned in closer and whispered something to Congressman Kwak.

Hearing those words, Congressman Kwak nodded for a long time, clearly very pleased.

“As expected of Chairman Cha.”

[This is the timeline separator]

After work, Ye Rin left the office first.

Worried someone might see, she waited for I Hyun at a corner a block away from the company.

Shortly after.

I Hyun’s car glided smoothly on the road and stopped in front of Ye Rin.

As Ye Rin quickly got into the car, I Hyun started driving gently.

She was so nervous at the thought of seeing Chan Sook after a long time.

As Ye Rin gripped the seat belt tightly with both hands in tension, I Hyun chuckled at the sight.

“Are you nervous?”

“Yes.”

“What will you say if your mother asks why she was suddenly moved to a new hospital?”

“Ah…”

She had been so excited about seeing Chan Sook that she hadn’t thought about that, leaving her at a loss for words.

I Hyun spoke kindly, as if he had expected this.

“Tell her it’s a company benefit.”

“A benefit?”

“Say you recently became the Director’s personal secretary and learned about a welfare program you didn’t know before.”

“Ah, that sounds good.”

It was the most plausible excuse.

Soon, I Hyun’s car arrived at Jiseok Hospital.

“Director, thank you for driving me.”

She thought she would go up to Chan Sook’s room alone, but I Hyun also got out of the car with her.

“Director?”

Before she could ask if he was coming up together, I Hyun started walking with Ye Rin.

“The elevator to the VIP ward is over there.”

I Hyun guided Ye Rin very skillfully.

Following him like that, she found herself in front of Chan Sook’s hospital room before she knew it.

Grabbing the doorknob, Ye Rin took a deep breath.

She worried about bursting into tears again upon seeing Chan Sook after so long.

As she was thinking this,

A familiar warmth was felt on the back of Ye Rin’s hand.