“Like I did.”

“What?”

Without adding more words, Do Joon simply opened his mouth in an ‘ah’ shape.

“I’m curious too. The taste of that chocolate.”

It would have been enough to refuse by pointing out that this was the company’s emergency staircase.

However, the quick judgment was made that it would be better to put the chocolate in his mouth rather than wasting time with such an argument.

Tae Yeon moved very quickly so that only the chocolate could fit neatly into Do Joon’s mouth.

Like someone who wanted to get the task over with quickly, she fed him the chocolate in an instant and then took a step back.

A fleeting look of regret passed through Do Joon’s eyes.

Do Joon rolled his tongue in his mouth while languidly looking Tae Yeon up and down.

“It’s delicious.”

“Right? It’s a taste that makes you feel good.”

Tae Yeon smiled, gently closing her eyes. Do Joon stared at her face so intensely it could have pierced through.

He couldn’t take his eyes off her. He had rarely seen such a bright smile.

Even when he bought her an expensive watch at the department store, she didn’t seem to have shown such a genuine smile. To show such a bright smile over a single chocolate.

The more he knew Tae Yeon, the more unpredictable she became.

Do Joon thought about giving the remaining chocolate to Tae Yeon but changed his mind.

Was it because he didn’t want to part with this measly chocolate? No. It was quite the opposite.

He wanted to see that bright smile one more time using the chocolate as an excuse.

So he held the chocolate hostage.

“Whenever you need chocolate, feel free to come by.”

“What? No, it’s fine.”

“That ‘it’s fine’ – I feel like setting a limit on how many times Jin Tae Yeon can say it in a day.”

Do Joon chuckled and then took a step first.

“I’m saying you can come anytime.”

“……”

“The reason being that you need chocolate, that should be enough.”

Do Joon put the chocolate back in his jacket pocket and casually exited the emergency staircase.

Click-

Only after hearing the sound of the emergency staircase door closing did Tae Yeon come to her senses.

She leaned against the wall and exhaled deeply.

It was comforting. Because of the chocolate Do Joon had given her.

No, to be precise, because of Do Joon who had given her the chocolate.

Belatedly realizing that the headache she had from talking to President Jin before meeting Do Joon had instantly disappeared, she muttered softly to herself.

“I should have asked what brand of chocolate it was.”

In fact, the taste of the chocolate wasn’t what mattered. Even if he had given her a cheap chocolate sold at a convenience store, it probably would have had the same effect.

It was a moment of gratitude for Do Joon, who had appeared at just the right moment when she was tired and took her breath away.

[This is the timeline separator]

Returning to his office, Do Joon kept mulling over the contents of Tae Yeon’s phone call he had accidentally overheard in the emergency staircase.

“You said you’d treat me like I don’t exist once I’m married.”

When he came to a conclusion based on what Secretary Choi had said and what he had experienced over the past few days.

It was certain that someone at home was constantly bothering Tae Yeon.

Now that they were married, Tae Yeon was his.

He felt upset. That someone was damaging what was his.

Even if it was Tae Yeon’s family, he couldn’t accept it.

Just then. There was a knock, and Secretary Choi opened the door and entered.

“Director, President Jin has requested a meeting.”

“President Jin?”

Who could that be.

Turning his thoughts, Do Joon asked with a face that seemed to say ‘it couldn’t be’.

“My father-in-law?”

“Yes. He said he’d like to meet with just the two of you as soon as possible. How should I decline?”

It seemed he thought Do Joon wouldn’t agree to it, of course.

If it had been before, maybe that would have been the case. Do Joon didn’t build relationships where only one person had something to gain.

But this time was a little different. Do Joon also had something he wanted to ask President Jin.

“Schedule it for the earliest available evening.”

“You’re going to meet?”

Secretary Choi asked, seemingly surprised. Do Joon crossed his arms and sank deep into his chair.

“It wouldn’t hurt to hear what he has to say.”

“Understood.”

As Secretary Choi was about to leave the office after briefly conveying the message, Do Joon stopped him.

“Secretary Choi, where did you say you bought this chocolate?”

Secretary Choi tilted his head curiously at the chocolate Do Joon had placed on the table. The wrapper had been opened.

“Did you eat it?”

“Yes.”

“You ate chocolate, Director?”

“Why. Was I not supposed to eat it? You gave it to me.”

“That’s true… but Director, you don’t usually eat sweet things.”

“I was curious, so I ate it.”

He was curious. Just how delicious could it be to make Tae Yeon’s tearful face break into a smile.

He was curious. So he wanted to taste it.

There was no need to spill all these inner thoughts to Secretary Choi.

Do Joon waited for Secretary Choi’s answer with an expressionless face.

“I bought it when I went to Switzerland for vacation this time. If you want, I can look into whether it can be purchased through overseas direct buying.”

“Please do.”

“How many should I get?”

“As many as possible.”

He was thinking of practically wallpapering a corner of his office with this chocolate. That way he could lure Tae Yeon here.

“Ah, I’ll need some at home too, so please get as many as you can.”

Secretary Choi looked like he had many questions he wanted to ask.

Why would someone who never touched chocolate suddenly want to stock up on it, and in large quantities at that?

Then, as if suddenly realizing the reason, he spoke to Do Joon with an excited face.

“Director, are you perhaps thinking of acquiring this chocolate brand?”

“What do you mean?”

“Or are you planning to collaborate with KK Foods?”

Secretary Choi naturally assumed that there was a business connection between Do Joon and the chocolate company. After all, he wasn’t the type of person to buy chocolate for personal consumption.

Do Joon firmly denied Secretary Choi’s speculation.

“No. It’s exactly as I said, buy it for eating.”

“……”

“I’m worried the chocolate might melt, so it would be good to get a refrigerator too.”

“Understood.”

“You can go now.”

[This is the timeline separator]

Tae Yeon was worried that Do Joon might have overheard her conversation with President Jin.

‘What was he doing in the emergency staircase at that time?’

And why did he suddenly give her chocolate?

Staring intently at the computer monitor with the internet open, Tae Yeon was lost in thought.

“What does he mean by ‘come whenever you want to eat it’?”

There were more than one or two questions that arose from that brief time with him.

Don’t give it meaning. Don’t be curious about the intention.

She thought to herself like that, but her curiosity wasn’t easily resolved.

“Jin!”

“Yes?”

“Why don’t you answer when I call? What are you thinking about so deeply?”

Yoon Ji sat down next to Tae Yeon and asked worriedly.

“Just organizing today’s tasks in my head for a moment. What’s up?”

“Did you hear the shocking news I just heard?”

All sorts of gossip about what happened in the company converged on Yoon Ji, and from there it spread out.

Thinking it would be some trivial talk this time too, Tae Yeon replied indifferently.

“What is it?”

“Apparently, there’s an office couple in our company.”

“An office couple?”

Up to this point, she had no idea. She didn’t expect that what came next from Yoon Ji’s mouth would be related to her.

“You know, Park from the other team went to the emergency staircase earlier.”

It felt ominous. At the mention of the emergency staircase.

Tae Yeon swallowed hard as she waited for Yoon Ji’s next words.

“And there, guess what.”

Yoon Ji gestured for her to come closer. Hearing Yoon Ji’s whisper in her ear, Tae Yeon bit her lower lip nervously.

“They were feeding each other something very affectionately.”

Yoon Ji grinned mischievously as if to say, isn’t that incredibly surprising?

Who saw what and how much? A whirlpool of anxiety and unease swirled in her heart all at once.

“Really?”

Those two syllables were all she could manage to say. She wanted to ask in detail, but she was afraid her voice might tremble if she did.

Fortunately, Yoon Ji seemed too engrossed in her own chatter to pay attention to Tae Yeon’s reaction.

“They couldn’t see clearly, but it looked like they were feeding each other chocolate?”

Ah. It’s over. The fact that they overheard the conversation about chocolate meant there was a high probability they saw who the man and woman in that space were.

Could it be that Yoon Ji knew everything and was bringing this up to her?

Just as Tae Yeon was about to ask, Yoon Ji stood up with a very regretful expression.

“They couldn’t see who it was though.”

“Really?”

Tae Yeon spoke with an extremely happy voice.

“Yeah. They said they wanted to get closer to see their faces, but they felt like they might get caught secretly watching.”

“That can happen.”

“Ugh, so it just made them even more curious, you know? I mean, they could have just peeked their head out a little bit……”

Tae Yeon secretly let out a sigh of relief. Yoon Ji left first, saying she would let her know if she found out who the office couple was.

It was extremely fortunate that they weren’t caught this time, but they would have to be even more careful in the future.

Moreover, she and Do Joon weren’t just an office couple, but a married couple.

If people found out, the company employees might feel deceived.

In just six months, the period promised with Hye Sook will end. So until then, they had to keep the secret without anyone knowing.

[This is the timeline separator]

In the conference room gathered to discuss new product development.

It was the day to announce which of the submitted project proposals had been decided through the executive meeting.

The proposals that passed this time could immediately proceed with new product development, while those that didn’t would have to come up with ideas again.

Everyone sat in the conference room waiting for Do Joon’s instructions, hoping their submitted proposal would pass in one go.

“The proposal that best fits this time’s theme of diet is.”

What Do Joon displayed on the screen was Tae Yeon’s submission.

“I judged it to be Jin’s proposal.”

Everyone looked at Tae Yeon at the same time and applauded. Receiving both envious and congratulatory looks simultaneously, Tae Yeon sat in her seat, smiling slightly and bowing her head.

“Jin, let’s proceed with new product development based on the submitted idea with some more refinement.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Jin, stay behind and see me.”

Those whose proposals didn’t pass in one go had to come up with another idea, so they left the conference room with a burden of pressure.

In the conference room where only the two of them remained.

Tae Yeon was already afraid that Do Joon might bring up a personal conversation again.