Tae Yeon slowly raised her head at the pleasant baritone pouring over her.

“Director?”

“I always marvel at Jin Tae Yeon’s sharp line-drawing.”

You call me Do Joon just fine when we’re off work.

At the company, you put on such a proper face and use formal titles.

Tae Yeon quickly straightened her posture and stepped back from Do Joon, lest anyone see.

Do Joon frowned, displeased as the warm presence in his arms quickly disappeared.

“What’s the rush?”

“This is the company.”

“I know that too.”

Tae Yeon lowered her voice and pulled Do Joon’s hand.

Only when their bodies were sufficiently hidden behind a large tree did Tae Yeon release Do Joon’s hand.

“People could come here at any time, you know.”

He couldn’t argue with her valid point.

He had called Tae Yeon to the rooftop garden because he missed her, but if he’d known they’d just be staring blankly at each other like this, he would have changed the location.

For example, his office where no one could enter without his permission.

Or if that wasn’t good enough, his car……

‘What am I thinking right now?’

“Ahem.”

Do Joon cleared his throat, worried Tae Yeon might somehow read the impure thoughts he’d just had.

Fortunately, Tae Yeon seemed completely oblivious. Instead, she asked with concern:

“Director, are you coming down with a cold?”

“No, I’m not.”

Do Joon replied firmly.

Come to think of it, when he’d held Tae Yeon in his arms earlier, she’d felt a bit warmer than usual.

‘It’s not me with cold symptoms, but you.’

Do Joon immediately reached out and touched Tae Yeon’s forehead.

“Director?”

Tae Yeon stepped back in surprise.

Do Joon closed the distance even more than she’d retreated.

And fearing she might try to escape again, he wrapped an arm around her waist and felt her forehead.

“You seem to have a fever.”

It was clearly noticeable when he touched her forehead and his own at the same time.

“How long have you been like this?”

“The air conditioning is just too strong, it’s only temporary.”

“Oh dear.”

Do Joon immediately pulled out his phone from his jacket pocket. He called Secretary Choi.

“Secretary Choi, could you buy some general cold medicine from the pharmacy?”

-Director, have you caught a cold?

“Not for me, for my wife.”

-Ah, for the madam. I’ll go buy it right away.

While Do Joon was on the phone, Tae Yeon kept vigilantly scanning outside the tree.

Fortunately, there still didn’t seem to be anyone around.

“I’ll give instructions to lower the air conditioning temperature right away.”

“It’s fine. More importantly……”

Tae Yeon was curious. Why had Sirak, who went to Do Joon’s room, suddenly become such a docile person?

“What did you talk about with Manager Chae earlier?”

“Ah.”

Do Joon froze for a moment at that question.

His heart fluttered finely as he faced again the tremendous sincerity he had uttered.

Seeing Do Joon hesitate, Tae Yeon cautiously asked.

“Is it difficult for you to tell me?”

“You’ll be the one in trouble if you hear it.”

“What?”

What on earth kind of incredible conversation had taken place for him to say this?

Tae Yeon swallowed hard.

“Now you’re making me even more curious.”

Normally, she wouldn’t have asked.

But for some reason, today she inexplicably wanted to hear what Do Joon had to say so persistently.

Do Joon tilted his head slightly. The hot summer sun poured directly onto his face.

His sharp jawline and straight nose gleamed even brighter in the light.

“I told Manager Chae my true feelings.”

“True feelings?”

Do Joon slowly licked his lower lip.

He could clearly imagine how surprised Tae Yeon would be if she learned his inner feelings, but he didn’t want to make up another excuse.

“Jin Tae Yeon, I’m about to say something incredible.”

“Okay.”

Nervous, Tae Yeon clasped her hands together.

“Are you sure you want to hear it?”

“If it’s something you can tell me.”

Do Joon languidly pulled at the corners of his mouth. Then he bent down and brought his lips to Tae Yeon’s ear.

“I said that I care for Assistant Jin very much.”

“……”

Tae Yeon froze, just as Do Joon had expected.

Finding it cute, Do Joon chuckled.

“I said one more thing besides that.”

“What was it?”

“That I like Assistant Jin very much as a woman.”

“……”

Clunk-

The phone Tae Yeon was holding fell to the floor. But she had no presence of mind to pick it up.

Do Joon stepped back and picked up Tae Yeon’s phone.

Until then, Tae Yeon remained frozen in place.

‘What did I just hear?’

She had been very surprised last night too, when she heard Do Joon say those things thinking she was asleep.

But the words Do Joon had just uttered were incomparably more direct and explicit than that.

Snap- Do Joon snapped his index finger and thumb in front of Tae Yeon.

Only then did Tae Yeon pull back her mind that had been drifting far away.

Do Joon placed the phone in Tae Yeon’s hand that was awkwardly floating in the air.

“See? I told you you’d be surprised.”

“No, wait a moment.”

Tae Yeon grabbed Do Joon’s suit sleeve and asked again.

“So you’re saying… you like me?”

“Yes.”

“Why? I mean, since when… Hah.”

Tae Yeon let out a deep sigh, too confused even as she spoke.

“Well. I’m not sure about the timing myself.”

Do Joon spoke in his characteristically relaxed voice.

“As for the reason.”

“……”

“Because you’re a lovable woman. I seem to have fallen for you without realizing it.”

Somehow, every word that came out of Do Joon’s mouth was incredibly shocking.

Tae Yeon caressed her cheek with one hand.

She couldn’t tell if it was burning hot because of her cold symptoms.

Or if it had flushed from Do Joon’s sudden confession.

She was confused. And yet strangely, she felt good.

Seeing Tae Yeon speechless after hearing his confession, Do Joon bent down a little more to exchange glances with her.

“If you have anything else you want to ask, feel free.”

“Ah, I’m just too flustered.”

Tae Yeon really did look completely out of sorts. Surprisingly, even that appearance was lovable.

‘I must really be addicted. To this woman.’

Do Joon put his hands in his suit pants pockets and straightened up.

“Is it so shocking for a husband to like his wife?”

He pretended it wasn’t a big deal, even though he had been surprised himself when he realized his own feelings.

“Of course it is. We’re not an ordinary couple after all.”

“How are we different?”

“A political……”

“Just because the beginning was different doesn’t mean the destination can’t be the same as others.”

Tae Yeon slowly raised her head to gaze into Do Joon’s unwavering eyes.

“Are you displeased?”

“No, how could I be?”

“Then are you uncomfortable?”

“……”

After hesitating for a moment, Tae Yeon shook her head.

Seeing that, the corners of Do Joon’s mouth curved upwards.

“Good, then.”

“What’s good?”

“Now that Jin Tae Yeon knows my feelings, I won’t hide them anymore.”

Tae Yeon’s lips parted again in surprise.

“From now on, I’m going to keep showing my feelings and making it obvious.”

“What?”

“You’re not thinking of pretending this never happened after hearing all my feelings, are you?”

Do Joon gently stroked Tae Yeon’s hair and whispered affectionately.

“You can look forward to it.”

It was a kind of declaration of war.

After parting with Tae Yeon and entering his office, Do Joon downed the cold water Secretary Choi had brought in one gulp.

“Did something happen?”

“Not really.”

Secretary Choi placed the cold medicine bought from the pharmacy on Do Joon’s desk.

“If the madam’s cold symptoms are severe, wouldn’t it be better to go to the hospital?”

“That’s a good idea. Make an appointment for Dr. Kim to come to the house this evening.”

“Understood.”

Do Joon’s gaze was still fixed on the cold medicine. Secretary Choi cautiously spoke up.

“It might be better if you give her the medicine yourself.”

“I suppose so.”

“You can also convey that you’re thinking of her.”

Do Joon nodded once at Secretary Choi’s advice.

“And here’s the file with the investigation you requested.”

Secretary Choi handed over a folder.

It contained materials researched from the time of Chasin Dairy’s founding.

As he read carefully, Do Joon raised an eyebrow as if he’d discovered something he didn’t know.

“So President Jin wasn’t the founder of Chasin Dairy?”

“That’s right. President Jin had an older brother.”

Secretary Choi handed over a photo. It showed a couple with pleasant expressions.

“Jin Tae Pyeong was the founder of Chasin Dairy. President Jin was in charge of finance-related work at the time.”

It was surprising that President Jin wasn’t the founder of Chasin Dairy.

“Did the brothers fight over management rights?”

He thought it would be the common chaebol family feud.

But Secretary Choi’s words were surprising.

“No. Jin Tae Pyeong passed away at a young age.”

“Really? Did he have a chronic illness?”

“From my investigation, there was a big fire at his home, and he couldn’t escape in time.”

As Secretary Choi said, there was a brief newspaper article about the death of Chasin Dairy’s founder.

“That’s strange.”

Usually when the founder of a medium-sized company dies, many media outlets rush to report it.

But for only an obscure daily newspaper to have an article.

“I also found that part a bit odd during my investigation.”

“There’s a lot more that doesn’t add up besides that.”

This confirmed that part of what Hye Sook had said was true.

Whether willingly or not, he had taken over and grown Chasin Dairy, which wasn’t originally founded by President Jin.

“Why do I feel like there are more facts we don’t know besides this?”

“I’ll investigate in more detail.”

“I’d like you to focus especially on President Jin.”

“Yes, Director.”

The image of Hye Sook trying to brutally assault Tae Yeon still remained in Do Joon’s mind.

‘How can she hate her own daughter that much?’

He was very curious about why she tormented and pushed Tae Yeon so hard over something that wasn’t even her fault.

What brought Do Joon back to reality from his contemplation was the persistent vibration sound.

“He’s not going to give up.”

It was a call from President Jin.

“Director, shall I answer the phone instead?”

“It’s fine.”

Do Joon pressed the call button without hesitation.