Rina, who made a verbal slip, hastily covered her mouth and apologized. Minhyuk, seeing Rina’s reaction identical to Seoyeon’s, coolly laughed.

“It’s okay. That coffee was awful. We meet again here.”

In response to Minhyuk’s nonchalant reaction, Rina quickly explained the situation to her friends.

Kwon Yul felt his heart sink at Minhyuk’s mention of meeting Seoyeon a long time ago. However, he didn’t show it at all. Seoyeon’s work wasn’t done yet, and he didn’t want anything to distract her until the important event was over. He knew how hard she had worked to prepare, so he planned to wait until she could focus on her work.

“So, did you meet through the home shopping business?”

“That’s right. I visited the representative’s office and was surprised when I saw the photos taken in New York.”

Although Minhyuk was unsure, he added that he recognized the photo Rina took.

Kwon Yul had visited Seoyeon’s company frequently but hadn’t been to her office yet. However, hearing that Minhyuk had already been there made him inexplicably bitter.

“It’s really amazing. Don’t you think so, guys?”

When Rina sought agreement from her friends on both sides, they all responded enthusiastically and joined in.

“With such a coincidence, it’s like a romance drama.”

Hojin was proactive as if he were soon going to bring Seoyeon and Minhyuk together.

“Is that so? Then, could you please speak well to the representative?”

“To do that, we need to confirm a few things. Can we have a close conversation?”

The friends started a simple investigation surrounding Minhyuk. Kwon Yul, Sehee, and Hyunwoo all had similarly creased foreheads.

“Why is he suddenly like that? Representative Han is much more worthy.”

Hyunwoo, irritated by the young representative’s sudden interest in Seoyeon, opposed strongly and spoke quietly so that Minhyuk couldn’t hear.

“No, Prosecutor Yehojin, why is he sticking so closely like that? He might declare that he’s dating her at this rate.”

Sehee complained, annoyed by Hojin’s friendly behavior towards Minhyuk.

But Kwon Yul remained silent. In fact, until yesterday, he had only suspected that Minhyuk might have a liking for Seoyeon.

‘In the end… it turned out like this.’

Meeting Minhyuk face to face today made everything clear to Kwon Yul. The look in Minhyuk’s eyes was so revealing of his emotions that it was impossible not to know.

Kwon Yul recalled Minhyuk’s words and his dating style from before. Of course, he couldn’t claim to understand him perfectly, but even with the information he had heard earlier, he could deduce enough.

Knowing how he had met women, Kwon Yul couldn’t leave Seoyeon to approach her lightly or heavily.

This was not just a simple sense of crisis.

It was a war-like situation where he had to protect his precious person at all costs.

Now that it had come to this, Kwon Yul had to be even more cautious.

Minhyuk was publicly connected to Seoyeon and, on top of that, was a representative of a company with a significant share in Hannibal.

If he acted recklessly, he could potentially cause unwanted harm to Seoyeon.

‘No need to rush. Just think about Seoyeon.’

Kwon Yul watched Minhyuk, who was enjoying his time with Seoyeon’s friends, with a subtly tense mind.

He waited anxiously for the event to end so that he could openly declare his relationship with Seoyeon and explain everything at the reserved, cozy wine bar.

Kwon Yul struggled to keep his uneasy feelings in check and waited for the event to conclude.

“Ugh. Do I have to see the representative’s face until here? Let’s go for a drink after it’s over.”

Hyunwoo looked displeased as he stared at Minhyuk, who was surrounded by Seoyeon’s friends and laughing.

“Just a bit longer, please.”

Sehee was only looking for a chance to talk with Hojin. If Hojin was okay with it, she wanted to spend some time separately.

“Yul-ah, is the timing okay?”

At Hyunwoo’s impatient words, Kwon Yul nodded.

“Yes. But how about going with them?”
At Hyunwoo’s impatient words, Kwon-yul nodded.

“Yes. But how about going with them?” Kwon-yul pointed to Seo-yeon’s friends.

Seo-yeon’s head turned quickly at that.

“How?”

“I’ll ask. If we can go together after it’s over.”

As the quiet Kwon-yul suddenly took the initiative, both Hyunwoo and Seo-hee felt a mix of approval and unfamiliarity.

“What’s up with you? Going all out like this.”

Kwon-yul only smiled mysteriously without giving an answer.

“Yul, it’s fine, everything’s fine. Just not Representative Choi Min-hyuk. I can’t spend my precious Saturday night uncomfortably.”

“Don’t worry, hyung. I’ll handle it sensibly.”

At that moment, a sweet peach fragrance brushed against Kwon-yul’s nose.

“Why are you all just standing there? You should dance and enjoy the party.”

Seo-yeon, who had circled the venue, spoke with a reminiscent look on her face.

“That’s right. Everyone is so reserved.”

While Hyun-woo smiled confidently, Kwon-yul didn’t miss the opportunity to approach Seo-yeon.

“Congratulations.”

Kwon-yul whispered affectionately.

“Thank you. Was I too busy that you felt bored?”

“It’s okay. I’ll see you later…”

When the loud music disturbed their conversation, Kwon-yul bowed his upper body and pressed his lips to Seo-yeon’s ear.

Seo-yeon, in response, smiled slyly and nodded in agreement to what he said.

Hyunwoo and Seo-hee quietly watched this scene, exchanging meaningful glances.

The usually gentle Kwon-yul seemed strangely unfamiliar today.

“Oh right, Yul. You missed the greeting from Representative Choi earlier. It was incredibly cool.”

Seo-yeon laughed and responded to Hyunwoo’s compliment.

“I saw it from behind when he just arrived.”

Kwon-yul didn’t forget to remind Seo-yeon of how cool he was.

“But did the three of you take a photo together? It seemed like Yul couldn’t take it because he came late.”

Seo-hee, initially refusing the idea of a photo with the guys, quickly handed her phone to them when Ho-jin and his friends approached.

“Okay, please take a photo.”

“Yes, we’ll take a great one for you.”

Then the two men stood on either side of Kwon-yul, posing exactly the same as suggested by Seo-yeon.

“Seo-yeon, let’s hang out with Mr. Min-hyuk.”

The friends had become acquainted with Min-hyuk, and everyone had satisfied looks on their faces.

“Huh?”

Just when Seo-yeon was about to express her discomfort about hanging out with the powerful and uncomfortable people…

Kwon-yul subtly pulled Seo-yeon towards him.

“Let’s take a photo together too.”

Realizing they hadn’t taken a photo with Kwon-yul today, Seo-yeon agreed.

“Sure.”

As Seo-yeon gave her permission, Kwon-yul looked at Ho-jin and made a request.

“Can you take a photo for us?”

“Of course. Hand it over.”

Kwon-yul handed his phone to Ho-jin and stood next to Seo-yeon.

Then, in a whisper so quiet that no one else could hear, Kwon-yul asked Seo-yeon.

“May I put my arm around you affectionately?”

At Kwon-yul’s polite request, Seo-yeon smiled and nodded.

Then, he naturally arranged Seo-yeon’s long hair.

“Um, well…”

Surprised by the unusual atmosphere between the two, Ho-jin alternately looked at the screen and the two people.

“Yul, what are you doing?”

Even more surprised, Seo-hee stepped forward to stop Kwon-yul.

“That’s not allowed. Why are you putting your arm around Representative Han’s shoulder…”

Hyunwoo was ready to stop Kwon-yul immediately.

If Seo-yeon felt uncomfortable, she would have definitely shown it.

But somehow…

Seo-yeon stood still, smiling.

“It’s okay, Director. Hurry up and take the picture, Ho-jin.”

“Huh? Uh, okay.”

When Ho-jin pressed the camera button, Kwon-yul looked at Seo-yeon and gave her a radiant smile.

Meanwhile, Min-hyuk’s expression watching this scene froze cold.