“Is that what Kwak Seo Yun said?”

“……”

Hee Jun was supposed to say no, but he was so taken aback by the accuracy that his mouth fell open in surprise.

“I see it’s true. I just made a guess.”

I Hyun slowly rubbed his eyebrow with his index finger, as if feeling awkward.

“Go tell Kwak Seo Yun.”

“W-what should I tell her?”

“That Han Ye Rin and I seem to be in a very serious relationship.”

“What?”

“Especially that I’m completely smitten with Ye Rin.”

“……”

“So it looks like there’s no room for you to interfere.”

It felt like his innermost thoughts had been completely exposed.

I Hyun took his gaze off Hee Jun, who was too flustered to respond.

“And you should stop appearing in front of my girlfriend as well.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“Threatening? I don’t do that kind of thing.”

“Then what do you call what you’re doing now?”

“It’s more like a warning.”

I Hyun patted Hee Jun’s shoulder a couple of times with one hand, then turned away.

After confirming that I Hyun had entered the villa where Ye Rin lived, Hee Jun shouted into the air.

“Ah, really! Nothing’s going right!”

He knew I Hyun would be no ordinary opponent, but this was beyond imagination.

“Kwak Seo Yun, that woman, really!”

He knew well that Seo Yun was someone who spewed lies every time she opened her mouth.

But after hearing that Ye Rin still had lingering feelings, he was so happy that he couldn’t think straight, which led to this humiliation from I Hyun today.

Still, it didn’t matter.

She was once his woman, so how hard could it be to have her again?

It didn’t matter even if Ye Rin had no lingering feelings for him.

He just had to make her like him again.

The words I Hyun had spoken earlier with a cold gaze brushed past Hee Jun’s ears.

Hee Jun shook his head vigorously, as if trying to shake off those words.

“You think I’ll back down from that kind of warning?”

Hee Jun glanced at the villa entrance where Ye Rin and I Hyun had disappeared and gritted his teeth.

“Good work today.”

After entering the villa where Ye Rin lived, I Hyun was on a call with someone.

“From now on, please keep watching from afar and contact me immediately if you see any suspicious people.”

-Yes, Director. I’ll do that.

After ending the call, I Hyun let out a short sigh.

A few days ago, when he visited Ye Rin’s house.

In the empty house, he saw that the bathroom light was on.

Normally he would have just ignored it, but seeing Ye Rin tilt her head and trying to remember, I Hyun also thought something was strange.

And while talking with Ye Rin, he kept hearing rustling sounds from outside, which gave him an odd feeling.

Going down to the car and rewinding the dashcam footage, I Hyun discovered someone wearing a hat pulled low.

Although it was too dark to see the face clearly, he felt uneasy and hired a personal bodyguard to watch over Ye Rin.

He asked the guard to observe from a distance so as not to burden her, but to contact him immediately if any suspicious person appeared.

And if a truly urgent situation were to occur before he arrived, to appear like a passing pedestrian and protect Ye Rin.

Today’s planning team meeting was originally supposed to be quite long.

There was also Ye Rin’s request to come early for dinner together, but during the meeting, I Hyun received a call from the bodyguard saying that Ye Rin seemed to have met some man in front of her house, so he rushed out of the meeting room.

After directly confronting Hee Jun and thinking it over, he thought it might be the same guy caught on his dashcam.

The build and gait were quite similar.

“I warned him today, so he probably won’t come around for a while.”

The fact that Hee Jun who showed up today knew where Ye Rin lived was quite concerning.

Since he couldn’t always be responsible for Ye Rin’s way home, he was just worried.

However, he couldn’t rashly step in and unnecessarily cause anxiety for Ye Rin, so he was very concerned.

For now, he planned to ask the personal bodyguard to pay extra attention to Ye Rin’s way home when he couldn’t accompany her himself.

With that thought, I Hyun climbed the stairs and arrived in front of Ye Rin’s house.

Knock knock-

When he knocked, Ye Rin’s voice could be heard from inside.

“Is that you, I Hyun?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

Recognizing the pleasant baritone voice, Ye Rin slowly opened the door.

I Hyun naturally stepped into Ye Rin’s house, which had become familiar after visiting a few times.

On the dining table was a lunchbox from a Korean restaurant that he had personally packed and brought.

“I talked to that man and sent him away.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s not like I did much.”

As I Hyun sat down after washing his hands, Ye Rin finally picked up her chopsticks.

“You must be hungry, go ahead and eat.”

“Alright, I’ll enjoy it.”

Watching Ye Rin nibble on the side dishes, I Hyun put down his chopsticks.

“Does it not suit your taste?”

“No, it’s delicious.”

Ye Rin took a sip of water and carefully began to speak.

“I’m telling you this in case you misunderstand.”

“Yes. Go ahead.”

“That man from earlier, I didn’t call him.”

She said this worried that I Hyun might be displeased after seeing her with Hee Jun.

Even though it was a fake relationship, it was courteous not to meet other people of the opposite sex during that period.

Seemingly pleased with Ye Rin’s additional explanation, I Hyun let out a small laugh.

“I know.”

“You know?”

Wondering how he knew without her saying anything, Ye Rin looked curious.

“Han Ye Rin only smiled at me, not that man.”

‘Was that so?’

Thinking back, it seemed that way.

Meeting the unwelcome guest Hee Jun, she was very flustered, and facing I Hyun who suddenly appeared, she was so glad.

“I’m not misunderstanding, so don’t worry and eat your meal.”

As Ye Rin smiled brightly, I Hyun also put on a similar smile.

It was such a simple act.

Eating dinner together.

But perhaps because it was with I Hyun, it felt like a special time.

“Kwak Seo Yun!!”

Hee Jun barged into the club room where Seo Yun was drinking and shouted at the top of his lungs.

The young man who was clinking glasses with her frowned at Hee Jun’s sudden appearance.

“Noona, who is this?”

At the question from the man who had offered his knee to Seo Yun, she slowly got up.

Seo Yun’s face showed clear signs of annoyance.

“Hey, let’s talk for a bit.”

At Hee Jun’s request, Seo Yun let out a deep sigh, having no choice.

“Boys, could you step out for a moment?”

“Alright, noona.”

Two men with faces as handsome as idols went out of the room.

As soon as the door closed with a thud, Hee Jun slammed his fist on the table.

“Hey, you said Han Ye Rin still had feelings for me.”

“I did say that.”

Seo Yun looked uninterested, as if asking why he was bringing up something that was already over.

“I went to see Han Ye Rin today, and she said she never said such a thing?”

At those words, Seo Yun snorted.

“Oppa, can you really be this clueless about women?”

“What?”

“This is why you can’t beat Cha I Hyun.”

Already feeling intimidated after facing I Hyun earlier, being compared to him again hurt his pride even more.

“What do you mean? Speak so I can understand.”

“Don’t tell me you went there today and said something useless like ‘You still have feelings for me, right?'”

“……”

Seeing Hee Jun’s silence, Seo Yun laughed in disbelief.

“You must be crazy, really. What woman would readily answer yes to a question like that?”

Seo Yun was so frustrated with Hee Jun for ruining what could have been an easy situation that she downed the whiskey in her clear glass in one go.

“You should have approached naturally again. Make Ye Rin fall for your charms and open her heart to you. Do I have to explain even this?”

Seo Yun shook her head.

Hee Jun, feeling very frustrated himself, flipped over an empty glass and poured alcohol into it.

He drank it in one gulp, set it down with a clank, and made a troubled face.

“But getting back together with Han Ye Rin seems like it’ll be quite difficult.”

Seeing Hee Jun sigh heavily, this time Seo Yun got irritated.

“Why not?”

“Today again, Director Cha I Hyun suddenly appeared in front of Ye Rin’s house out of nowhere.”

Just thinking about it made his blood boil.

I Hyun even knew that the ridiculous story about Ye Rin having lingering feelings came from Seo Yun.

“Those two seem to be in a really serious relationship……”

“Hahaha, oppa.”

Seo Yun laughed, tilting her head back as if she had heard something amusing.

“So do you think those two are going to get married or something? Is that how it looks to you?”

Seeing Hee Jun unable to answer readily, Seo Yun added one more thing.

“How could that be possible? With the difference in their family backgrounds?”

Seo Yun was already smiling like a winner as she rested her chin on one hand.

“The end of those two is already set. So all you have to do is take advantage when Ye Rin is struggling.”

Seo Yun shrugged her shoulders as if to say it was simple.

“Ye Rin is probably going to volunteer this week, right?”

“Volunteer work?”

“Yeah. She regularly goes to volunteer at an orphanage once a month. I’ll tell you the location, so you go there too.”

“Why should I go to a place like that.”

Seo Yun frowned as if frustrated.

“Go there and pretend to be a warm-hearted man. Ye Rin, that girl, is weak for that kind of thing.”

Seeing Hee Jun still undecided about whether to go or not, Seo Yun grinned.

“Oppa, do you think you’ll ever be able to beat Director Cha I Hyun in your life?”

“What did you say?”

“Family background, education, assets, ability, looks. Is there anything you’re better at than Director Cha I Hyun?”

“Hey, are you trying to make me angry by keep saying things like that?”

“No?”

Seo Yun slowly shook her head and leaned her upper body forward.

“You know it well too. That there’s nothing you’re better at than Director Cha I Hyun.”

As Hee Jun’s face reddened at Seo Yun’s words of truth.

Seo Yun whispered one more thing in his ear.

“But what if you steal that man’s woman?”

“……”

“Then you’d be the winner.”