Madam Yoon’s gaze was fixed on the bag Ye Rin had brought to the company.

The expensive bag that Madam Yoon had given as a gift seemed too eye-catching to bring to work, so she couldn’t bring herself to carry it.

Feeling Madam Yoon’s steady gaze on her bag, Ye Rin slowly opened her mouth.

“Ah, the bag you gave me is such a high-end product that I’m saving it for important days.”

She couldn’t bring herself to say that she had left it unopened in its shopping bag.

Madam Yoon smiled brightly, as if her curiosity about whether Ye Rin had found the bag was finally satisfied.

“Oh, what’s so expensive about that bag? Just use it comfortably, and when it wears out, you can get another one.”

It was a brand of bag that ordinary people would find difficult to own even once in their lifetime, but to Madam Yoon, it seemed like just an ordinary bag.

“But it’s a gift from you, madam…”

“If that bag is too burdensome, I’ll send a few more comfortable ones for I Hyun to give you.”

“No…”

As she was about to refuse.

The door to I Hyun’s office suddenly burst open, as if he had just finished a business call.

Seeing Madam Yoon facing Ye Rin, I Hyun slightly furrowed his brow.

“Mother, what are you doing with Secretary Han?”

With a cold gaze, I Hyun came and stood between Ye Rin and Madam Yoon.

As if he were a man trying to protect his woman.

“I heard that the secretarial staff have been skimping on lunch lately. So I brought some lunchboxes.”

Madam Yoon explained that it was truly just that innocent intention, but I Hyun stubbornly stood blocking Ye Rin’s front, not moving.

“Son?”

“Didn’t you come to have a meal together? Let’s go inside.”

“Oh? Ah, yes, we should.”

Madam Yoon was quite disappointed that I Hyun completely blocked Ye Rin’s face, preventing further conversation.

She had wanted to ask what kind of bag design Ye Rin preferred, to give her exactly what she wanted as a gift this time.

Anyway, he was her son, but he was terribly obtuse.

“I Hyun, if you go in first…”

“Let’s go together.”

I Hyun gathered the two remaining lunchboxes in one hand and placed his large hand on Madam Yoon’s back.

Then he forcefully pushed, making Madam Yoon move towards the office.

“I Hyun, I can go by myself.”

“There’s no time. We need to eat quickly and attend a meeting.”

“If that’s the case, you should have said so.”

At those words, Madam Yoon abruptly stopped walking and turned around.

She wondered if that was why the other secretaries had disappeared like lightning as soon as the lunchboxes arrived.

Feeling sorry for possibly taking away Ye Rin’s lunch time unnecessarily, she said:

“Secretary Han, go and have your lunch quickly. Eat slowly so you don’t get indigestion.”

“Yes, I’ll eat well with gratitude. Would you like me to prepare some tea or water?”

“It’s fine. We’ll manage ourselves, so hurry and go.”

Madam Yoon waved her hand, sending her off to quickly go and eat.

As Ye Rin bowed deeply and left the office, Madam Yoon smiled contentedly.

[This is the timeline separator]

While having a meal in I Hyun’s office, Madam Yoon began to subtly probe him.

“Son, what happened with that unrequited love you mentioned before?”

“We’re dating.”

“Really?”

Madam Yoon asked again, widening her eyes significantly.

“You’re really dating that woman you said you had a one-sided love for?”

“Yes.”

I Hyun answered in a flat tone, without changing his expression.

“Since when?”

“It’s been a while.”

“Oh my, oh my. Does that young lady like you too?”

There was no answer to that question. I Hyun just kept picking up and eating the side dishes laid out.

Madam Yoon quickly became downcast and carefully asked:

“Is it that she’s not completely crazy about you, but agreed to try dating?”

“Mother.”

“Yes, son.”

“It makes me very uncomfortable when you show such great interest in my love life like this.”

“Ah, I was just trying to help things go well.”

“Taking a step back and pretending not to know would also be helpful.”

At those words, Madam Yoon nodded reluctantly, hiding her disappointment.

“Alright, I’ll do that. But if you ever need my help, just ask. You’re so cold, you know. Women like affectionate men.”

Pretending not to listen properly, I Hyun nonetheless engraved the advice Madam Yoon had casually dropped deep in his heart.

An affectionate man.

He wasn’t sure how to do that, but it was something he could try to work on from now on.

[This is the timeline separator]

In the spacious hall where Seo Yun’s solo concert was being held.

Seo Yun was elated just by the fact that I Hyun was coming to this event today.

Assemblyman Kwak had said he would naturally create a situation for her to be alone with I Hyun after the concert ended, so it couldn’t be anything but an important day.

Seo Yun, with her hair elegantly pinned up and wearing a beautiful hanbok, kept looking in the mirror.

She had no thoughts about performing well at the upcoming concert.

Her only concern was how to look pretty on stage.

“I heard I Hyun’s mother is coming today too. I must make a proper impression.”

It was an opportunity to pretend to be the perfect woman with many qualities suitable for a daughter-in-law in a chaebol family.

[This is the timeline separator]

Although it was the weekend, I Hyun had contacted her saying he couldn’t go on a date today because of a family gathering.

For the past few days, I Hyun had been so busy that they couldn’t have a proper date, so they had agreed to set aside time to meet on the weekend, but even that had fallen through.

If it were the usual Ye Rin, she should have been glad that she didn’t have to spare her time to meet on the weekend, but today her heart felt strangely empty.

Just then, Ye Rin’s phone started ringing. The caller was her friend Na Ri.

“Hello, Na Ri. What’s up?”

-Hey, I heard today is Kwak Seo Yun’s solo concert.

“Is that so?”

-And there’s a rumor that your director is going there too.

At those words, Ye Rin’s eyelashes trembled slightly.

So the family gathering meant they were all going to Seo Yun’s concert together.

Realizing this belatedly, her heart ached for no reason.

‘He could go there. Why am I feeling this way?’

Feeling ridiculous at herself, Ye Rin pretended to be nonchalant as she continued the phone call.

“Really?”

-Did your director and Kwak Seo Yun have some kind of arranged meeting?

“As far as I know, they didn’t…”

-Then I guess they went to that event today to create a natural meeting between the families?

“…”

-Han Ye Rin, are you okay?

“Huh? Oh. Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

-You were at home, right? Come out and have dinner with me.

After ending the call, Ye Rin busily started preparing to go out.

“He could go there.”

Of course, it wasn’t that I Hyun had gone somewhere he shouldn’t.

And since they weren’t really lovers sharing true feelings, she had no right to care whether he had a natural meeting with Seo Yun or not.

But why did she keep feeling like something had been taken from her?

“Sigh. It’s because of what Kwak Seo Yun has done to me so far.”

Until now, Seo Yun had deliberately taken away her men.

Was it because of her influence that Seo Yun wanted to meet I Hyun separately this time too?

If that was the case, she really was an impressive woman.

Even if Seo Yun didn’t have such intentions, she was one of the potential marriage candidates for I Hyun.

Since it was a matter discussed between families, there was no need for her to worry about it alone or even think about it anymore.

“But I can’t talk honestly to Na Ri either.”

Na Ri still didn’t know that she and I Hyun were dating. Even less that the relationship was fake.

With Seo Yun involved, it seemed even more impossible to open up about this story.

She quickly changed her clothes and hurried out of the house.

[This is the timeline separator]

After Seo Yun’s solo concert ended, Madam Yoon sat in the audience with a somewhat displeased expression.

I Hyun, who was beside her, had a similar expression.

I Hyun was slightly quicker than Madam Yoon in pouring out harsh criticism of the performance they had just heard.

“That person shouldn’t say she learned the gayageum.”

At those words, Chairman Cha looked around and gave I Hyun a look to stop.

“Am I saying anything wrong? Even popular songs are played so amateurishly. I stayed until the end only for Chairman Cha’s face.”

Having fulfilled the wish to watch together, there was no reason to stay here any longer.

After listening to what was close to noise pollution, he felt like washing his ears with water immediately.

Should I call Ye Rin? That thought came first.

If he could hear that gentle, soothing voice, it seemed this unpleasant mood would quickly brighten.

As I Hyun stood up, Chairman Cha grabbed his ankle with a stern voice.

“I Hyun, since we’ve come this far, we should at least greet the performer before leaving.”

At those words about greeting, I Hyun displayed a bitter smirk across his face.

“So that was your purpose.”

“Ahem. It’s because you’ve been refusing to go on blind dates.”

“No, dear. I was wondering why we were watching such a subpar performance together. Why didn’t you just say it honestly?”

Hearing Madam Yoon’s words, Chairman Cha hesitated for a moment but didn’t back down.

“Assemblyman Kwak’s daughter, as you’ve seen, is a decent and good person.”

Pfft-

I Hyun let out a laugh as if it were ridiculous.

“Then she should find a good marriage partner and get married.”

As if to say that partner wouldn’t be him, I Hyun firmly put his foot down.

“Let’s just greet her and go.”

Chairman Cha took the lead, and I Hyun let out a short sigh.

Su Hyun, showing no particular emotion, followed behind with an expressionless face.

Reluctantly, Madam Yoon and I Hyun also moved, though unwillingly.