“This is it.”

Seo Ha’s eyes sparkled in front of an ancient notebook that looked like it had been excavated from a Joseon-era relic site.

[Kang Yoon Company New Designer Recruitment Announcement]

First, let’s go back to the company. I’ll observe from the inside and find a way to regain my real body and my mother.

From that day on, Seo Ha’s days began and ended with design. She absorbed trends, recreated them, and infused them with the colors of Kang Yoon and Yoon Seo Ha.

It’s easy to explain in words, but Seo Ha had to draw until her hands blistered to create a total of ten designs.

And on the evening before the resume submission deadline, Seo Ha faced an enormous wall.

“What is this?”

Highest level of education, high school graduate.

The highest level of education found for Jo Seo Ha’s resume was a high school diploma.

“Jo Seo Ha, what have you been doing with your life that you didn’t even go to college!”

At this rate, it was destined for the paper shredder without even making it to the interview. Seo Ha stared blankly at the pile of designs she had created.

Life as Yoon Seo Ha hadn’t always been happy and smooth sailing.

To avoid being called a ‘silver spoon’, she had to work several times harder than others, and there were countless nights of suffering from insomnia, filling hundreds of pages of design books like a madwoman.

But this was the first time she’d faced such a fundamental obstacle. Not being able to even submit a resume due to lack of ‘education’.

“Yip! Yip!”

As she sat there pondering, she heard Min Ji barking outside. It was already six thirty, dinner time.

“Coming now!”

Seo Ha covered the unfinished design and went downstairs. In the empty house, only Seo Ha’s dinner, prepared by Jae Wook, sat lonely under a newspaper.

Jae Wook was an interesting person. Despite driving a fruit truck from morning to night, he always came in at this time to make sure Seo Ha ate. If he couldn’t come, he’d set the table and leave. Like this.

“Thank you for the meal.”

Seo Ha greeted herself and emptied the rice bowl alone. After eating, she cleared the table and did the dishes. Things that Yoon Seo Ha had never even thought of doing were everyday tasks for Jo Seo Ha.

“Yip!”

As soon as she finished washing up and dried her hands, Min Ji came with her leash in her mouth and sat at Seo Ha’s feet. It meant she wanted to go for a walk. She was quite clever.

“You want to go for a walk? It’s a bit late.”

“Yip! Yip!”

“Alright. Let’s go.”

Seo Ha slipped her feet into worn-out sneakers and trudged out of the house. One full round was going through the winding alleyways, stopping at the mineral spring for a sip of water, and coming back down the opposite path.

As Seo Ha was almost home after completing one such round, someone called out from behind.

“Excuse me.”

Seo Ha turned reflexively and stiffened, gripping Min Ji’s leash tighter.

“You’re so pretty. Can I have your contact information?”

It was a strange man in a tracksuit with a cap pulled low. It might have been okay on a brightly lit main street, but a stranger approaching in a dark alley like this was not just unpleasant, it was terrifying.

Seo Ha tried to refuse politely and keep walking.

“No, I’m just asking for your number. You’re just too pretty.”

The man quickly followed and blocked her path. Cold sweat ran down Seo Ha’s spine.

That’s when it happened.

“Jo Seo Ha!”

A welcome voice boomed through the alley. It was Jae Wook.

“Where have you been? Who’s this guy?”

The man who had been so confident when Seo Ha was alone suddenly shrunk smaller than Min Ji and mumbled.

“No, I just… She was pretty as I was passing by. I didn’t know she had a boyfriend.”

“If you know now, then go.”

“Yes.”

Jae Wook stood there glaring at the man for a long time until he disappeared, then cursed, “Damn.”

“Were you scared? How long was that bastard following you?”

“From just up ahead.”

“Don’t worry about him. He’s just a useless neighborhood punk. You’re not hurt anywhere?”

“No.”

“Damn it. That rotten bastard.”

Grumbling as he crossed the gate, Jae Wook suddenly looked Seo Ha up and down.

“You went out like that?”

“…?”

Looking at the clothes she had put on without much thought, it was a sight. A t-shirt stained with kimchi soup from dinner earlier, stretched-out leggings, and sneakers about to expose her toes.

“How can you go around like that at this hour? It’s perfect for guys like that to latch onto. No, I’m not saying it’s your fault. That guy’s just a real punk.”

“What do clothes have to do with guys like that?”

Jae Wook frowned.

“Don’t you know how cunning those guys are? They take one look and if a woman seems better off than them, they’re too intimidated to even speak. Even if you’re actually well-off, if you’re walking around this neighborhood at this hour dressed like that, they think you’re on their level and try their luck.”

“…”

Suddenly, Lee Seung Oh and Lee Ji Soo’s first meeting came to mind. Lee Ji Soo appearing in such worn-out sweats. Lee Seung Oh being overly kind to Lee Ji Soo.

“What if the woman is too accomplished?”

“I told you, they can’t even approach her. The more I think about it, the more ridiculous that guy is. Who does he think he is to hit on someone?”

“No, what if he somehow met a woman who was too accomplished? A silver spoon with a pretty face and a successful career woman?”

“If he’s a decent guy, he’d be grateful to be with her. If he’s an idiot, he’d be seething inside and try to find fault with her somehow to bring her down.”

Right. Lee Seung Oh, currently steadily running the company into the ground as Kang Yoon’s temporary representative, was that idiot.

Once, she believed him to be an infinitely weighty and serious man. Not knowing he was a man so light he could be blown away by a gentle breeze.

−’Of course I feel sorry for you. But I’m not going to apologize.’

That light man firmly held the hand of his affair partner and boldly told his wife.

−’Seo Ha, you need to understand. If I apologize to you here, it makes my love for Ji Soo wrong.’

Why did you come to love Lee Ji Soo? Lee Ji Soo, whom you met just a few months ago, not Yoon Seo Ha who had been by your side your whole life.

Seo Ha found the answer in Lee Seung Oh and Lee Ji Soo’s first meeting. When he protected the very fragile Lee Ji Soo from Yoon Seo Ha. That moment must have been the beginning of love for Lee Seung Oh.

−’Seo Ha, you have so much. Ji Soo only has me. Whether we divorce or not, I’m going to love and protect Ji Soo until the end.’

Someone Lee Seung Oh had to love and protect. A woman who had nothing, for whom Lee Seung Oh was her entire world.

He didn’t love Lee Ji Soo. He loved being Lee Seung Oh who saved Lee Ji Soo.

Seo Ha handed Min Ji to Jae Wook and returned to the rooftop room. The plastic mirror on the desk reflected Seo Ha’s face starkly.

Dry and rough skin, eyes somehow empty, thin lips.

Seo Ha was not Yoon Seo Ha who had been too brilliant and dazzling for Lee Seung Oh to handle, but Jo Seo Ha who was even shabbier than Lee Ji Soo back then.

[This is the timeline separator]

Lee Seung Oh had a habit of taking a walk around the company after lunch. Usually alone, or sometimes with one other person.

“Today is nice. The weather is good, and I love walking with you after eating, elder brother.”

“Me too.”

Seung Oh responded affectionately but gently pulled his arm away from Ji Soo’s. Although their relationship was openly known within the company, he didn’t want to be the subject of gossip by openly dating with linked arms.

“How are the resumes? Have many come in?”

“I haven’t seen them yet. They come down after HR filters them.”

“That’s right. Didn’t you say there was a recommendation from Designer Kang Hye Rim?”

“Hmm… It wasn’t great.”

She seemed reluctant to talk about resumes or new designers. Seung Oh changed the subject to something Ji Soo would like.

“Where should we go for our summer vacation? How about overseas for the first time in a while? Maybe somewhere close like Hawaii?”

“Hawaii sounds good! Bali was nice last time too.”

“Bali was nice.”

As the two were talking, a woman quickly brushed past them. Dressed in jeans and holding an envelope, she looked around as if searching for something and took out her phone. In doing so, she didn’t notice her wallet falling from her pocket.

“Oh?”

Seung Oh picked up the fallen wallet. It was a cheap, worn-out wallet like the one Ji Soo used to carry when they first met.

“Excuse me!”

The woman was still looking around, seemingly unaware that someone was calling her. Seung Oh ran with the wallet and tapped her shoulder.

“Excuse me.”

“…?”

The woman turned to look at Seung Oh.

She had long curly hair and a plain appearance with almost no makeup. Her eyes were moist as if something had happened.

“Here. You dropped your wallet.”

“Ah…!”

The woman’s eyes widened as she took the wallet and bowed deeply.

“Thank you so much. I was so distracted I didn’t even realize I dropped it.”

“It looked like you were searching for something. Are you lost?”

“Ah, well…”

The woman fidgeted with the yellowed envelope.

“I’m looking for Kang Yoon Company… There’s only a main entrance, so I was wondering if there might be a back door…”

“Kang Yoon? Why?”

Ji Soo interjected into the conversation. The woman looked at Ji Soo with a slightly frightened expression and quickly lowered her eyes.

“I, I wanted to submit my resume. I heard they were looking for new designers. Do you happen to know how I can get to Kang Yoon Company’s HR department…? You probably don’t, right?”

Seung Oh was naturally curious.

“You’re submitting your resume directly to HR? Why?”

“It’s, it’s a bit difficult to explain. I should go now. Thank you for finding my wallet.”

“No, wait a moment!”

Seung Oh grabbed the woman who was trying to leave after hurriedly bowing.

“I’m an employee of Kang Yoon Company. If you tell me what’s going on, I might be able to help.”

“Really?”

The woman opened her innocent-looking eyes even wider.

“Tell me. Usually, resumes are submitted electronically or by mail. How did you end up thinking of going directly to HR?”

“Well, um…”

After hesitating for a moment, the woman spoke softly.

“I really love design, but… My family is struggling, so I couldn’t go to college. But the resume submission requires at least an associate’s degree, so… I was hoping, even if you pay me less, no, before salary, if I could at least get an interview…”

The woman’s face turned tomato red as she finished stuttering. Seung Oh held back a laugh that was about to escape and held out his hand.

“Let’s see it.”

“Pardon?”

“I said, let me see your resume.”

“No!”

The woman hugged the envelope tightly and shook her head vigorously.

“I can’t show it to someone I don’t know. My designs are in here too.”

“Hahaha!”

Ji Soo glared slightly at Seung Oh as he laughed out loud, but quickly averted her gaze.

“Don’t worry and show me. You won’t be able to take it to HR anyway, and even if you did, I could see it all if I ordered it.”

“What? What do you mean…”

Seung Oh took a business card from his inner pocket and handed it to the woman.

“This is who I am.”

[Kang Yoon Company / CEO Lee Seung Oh]

“Whaaaaat?”

The woman let out an incredibly surprised sound and then covered her mouth, startled by her own reaction. Seung Oh didn’t dislike that response, as if she had met the president.