“Excuse me, um… Is this a real situation?”

The woman asked, reading Seung Oh’s business card several times. It was amusing to see her holding it awkwardly, afraid to grip it tightly in case it might crumple.

“Do I look like someone with nothing to do?”

“Well, no, but…”

“So, let me see it. Your resume.”

Seung Oh extended his hand and urged her. Just as the hesitating woman was about to hand him the resume from the envelope, it happened.

“I’ll look at it first!”

Lee Ji Soo suddenly snatched the resume.

“Ouch!”

The woman winced as her hand got cut in the process. Seung Oh quickly examined her finger.

“Did you get cut?”

“No, it’s fine.”

The woman hastily hid her hand behind her back, pretending to be okay. Seung Oh frowned at Ji Soo.

“What are you doing?”

“If she gets hired, I’ll have to see it anyway. I’m just curious.”

The woman fidgeted but couldn’t take back the resume from Lee Ji Soo. Pitifully so.

“She really is just a high school graduate.”

“But I studied design on my own…”

The woman looked like she was about to cry, yet bravely held back her tears, appearing even more pitiful than before. Seung Oh sternly reached out to Ji Soo.

“Give it here.”

“I’m still looking at it.”

“I said give it to me.”

“Tch.”

Ji Soo pouted as she handed the resume back to Seung Oh.

“Jo Seo Ha? Is your name Jo Seo Ha?”

“Yes.”

The name ‘Seo Ha’ was a golden shackle for Seung Oh. Ok Soon knew that well.

−’That woman is too accomplished. My poor son, meeting the wrong woman and never able to spread his wings.’

He still often recalled Ok Soon’s words, sighing deeply as she held onto Seung Oh.

This ‘Jo Seo Ha’ was so different from ‘Yoon Seo Ha’, despite sharing the same name.

Her resume was utterly shabby. High school graduate, no TOEIC or TOEFL scores, no study abroad or related work experience. It was obvious that even if she took this directly to HR, it would go straight into the shredder the moment she turned her back.

“Let’s see your design.”

The woman handed over the entire envelope. Seung Oh’s expression turned slightly serious as he pulled out a random sheet of paper.

“This is pretty good.”

“Really?”

The anxious woman brightened up at Seung Oh’s single comment.

“You’ve interpreted Kang Yoon’s identity well. Did you really study this on your own?”

“Yes. With tuition and all, I was the only one who could earn money at home.”

“Have you been working continuously? I didn’t see it on your resume.”

“I was an accountant. Recently, my health was poor so I took a few years off. But when I heard Kang Yoon was looking for a designer… Am I being too shameless?”

“Let’s go, oppa. We’ve wasted too much time.”

Ji Soo tugged at Seung Oh’s arm. Seung Oh returned the resume and portfolio to the woman, whispering in her ear.

“Submit your resume by mail. I’ll see you at the interview.”

As he walked away, he glanced back to see the woman still standing there dazed. As if she still couldn’t believe the luck that had been given to her.

“Oppa.”

Ji Soo tapped Seung Oh to get his attention.

“I don’t feel good.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“Because you were staring at another woman so intently…”

Ji Soo tended to stutter when she felt anxious or scared, even though she was usually fine. Seung Oh chuckled and gently patted her head.

“Are you jealous?”

“It’s not jealousy… Just…”

Ji Soo quickly bowed her head, as lovable as ever. It was cute how she stuttered with jealousy just because he exchanged a few words with another woman.

“Honey.”

When he whispered affectionately in her ear, Ji Soo smiled shyly.

“I love you sincerely. I just found that woman interesting and chatted with her a bit.”

“Then, the resume? You’re not really going to hire her, are you?”

“I’ll think about it.”

Seung Oh brushed it off as he quickly entered the lobby. Somehow, Ji Soo had been pushed to the back of his mind, replaced by the woman who had been standing dazed in the middle of the street.

[This is the timeline separator] [Congratulations on passing the document screening. The interview date is…]

Seo Ha laughed wryly at the congratulatory message from Kang Yoon about passing the document screening.

“This actually worked.”

Of course, she had waited knowing that Lee Seung Oh always passed by that place at that time. She had planned to pass the document screening through a contrived coincidence.

But part of her had hoped the plan would fail. How could it make sense to pass a resume that fell short in both education and experience using the CEO’s authority?

By boldly carrying out this nonsensical act, Lee Seung Oh had proven just how poorly he was running the company.

“Alright. I’ll see you at the company again.”

Seo Ha shuddered at Lee Seung Oh’s pathetic nature as she opened her closet door, only to feel dejected again.

She had nothing to wear for the interview. Everything was so unfashionable it seemed impossible for a person to be this outdated.

“A floral blouse? And what’s with the fabric of this T-shirt?”

For a designer interview, unlike other office jobs, one should dress up and show off their individuality. Style is considered part of one’s skill.

After rummaging through her closet for a long time, Seo Ha finally found a suit wrapped in dry cleaning plastic in the very back. The suit, which looked over ten years old, didn’t even fit as it wasn’t Jo Seo Ha’s.

But at least the fabric was of decent quality. That was truly fortunate.

“Grandmother, can I borrow your sewing box?”

There was no sewing machine or mannequin. All she had was the sewing box borrowed from her grandmother’s room, which she had opened only once since moving to the rooftop apartment, and a hanger.

First, she completely disassembled the suit. With no pattern paper, she drew patterns on newspaper, cut them with kitchen scissors, and then assembled them stitch by stitch by hand.

She removed the best-looking accessories from other clothes and attached them, finishing with an old iron also borrowed from her grandmother’s room.

The process took a whole week. If she had proper clothes, or even just an old sewing machine, she could have finished in a day and spent the rest of the time drawing designs.

That’s what poverty was like. Even the 24 hours given to everyone wasn’t fully given to her.

Seo Ha headed to the interview wearing the outfit she had barely managed to complete. Amidst the dolled-up peacocks, Seo Ha in her suit looked like an ugly duckling.

“Number 32, please come in.”

All the interviewers’ gazes converged at once. They were all familiar faces to Seo Ha.

Director Cha is here too. That person knows nothing about design. Is Lee Ji Soo here as a team leader? Never mind Lee Seung Oh. But why is Ryu Kyung Jun here?

She had never heard of a secretary participating in a designer interview. Moreover, his eyebrows were furrowed as if he recognized Seo Ha.

“Hello. I’m applicant number 32, Jo Seo Ha.”

Seo Ha greeted them, pretending not to know. Lee Ji Soo, sitting at the far end, was staring at her so disapprovingly that it felt like holes might bore into her forehead.

“Jo Seo Ha, your resume is quite unusual.”

Kyung Jun held up Seo Ha’s resume and spoke dryly.

“Your education falls below our standards, and you have no relevant experience. I’m curious how you passed the document screening.”

Lee Ji Soo nodded. She seemed to have a lot to say.

“Perhaps my designs were well-received? For a designer, inspiration and talent are more important than education or experience.”

“Hahaha!”

Suddenly, an blatant laugh erupted. Ji Soo, the source of the laughter, cleared her throat awkwardly when she received everyone’s attention.

“I’m sorry for laughing. It’s just that the words ‘inspiration and talent’ don’t quite… match the clothes Jo Seo Ha is wearing.”

Lee Ji Soo blatantly stared at Seo Ha’s skirt, which looked too long, and the worn sneakers visible beneath it.

“May I show you?”

Seung Oh’s expression turned curious at Seo Ha’s counter-question.

“Show us what?”

“The clothes I’m wearing.”

Seo Ha stood up and twirled around once. The long skirt that reached below her calves had a deep slit in the back, and the jacket in a modest color was accentuated with a corset.

“I couldn’t go to college due to financial difficulties. I didn’t have clothes to wear to the interview. This is my mother’s very old clothes that I remade myself. I created a unique suit that’s modest but with bold accents.”

Confidence shone on her bare face. Even the worn sneakers seemed to create a vintage mix-and-match look.

“Please hire me. You’ll realize that things like education aren’t that important for a designer.”

[This is the timeline separator]

Kyung Jun almost dropped his pen when he saw Jo Seo Ha. It was surprising enough that the strange woman who had been hanging around the hospital was now asking to be hired as a designer.

“Just who is this woman?”

And CEO Lee Seung Oh had personally instructed her to be passed. Increasingly baffled, Kyung Jun went to the CEO’s office to confront Seung Oh.

“I told you last time not to be swayed by personal emotions. So why did you pass this application? Even giving special instructions!”

“I saw her skills. You were at the interview too, Mr. Ryu, and you’ve checked her portfolio. You should know.”

“…”

Unbelievably, Jo Seo Ha possessed quite decent skills.

Well, to be more honest. Jo Seo Ha’s designs were better than any other design submitted for this job posting.

“Where did you see these skills? You couldn’t have looked at each resume one by one.”

“Well…”

Seung Oh hesitated, but under Kyung Jun’s piercing gaze, he finally confessed the truth.

“I ran into her by chance near the company. She said she was going to submit her resume, and when I asked out of curiosity, she showed it to me.”

“Ha.”

This was the woman who had been hovering around CEO Kang despite being warned off and chased away multiple times. Kyung Jun could swear that Seung Oh’s encounter with Jo Seo Ha was no coincidence.

But why? Was it just for a chance to enter Kang Yoon?

“If you don’t like it, I’ll cancel her acceptance. The notification hasn’t gone out yet.”

Kyung Jun fell into thought.

She’s a suspicious woman. But strangely, he saw Yoon Seo Ha in her. That confidence, way of speaking, even her designs.

“… Hire her.”

Seung Oh tilted his head in confusion.

“Didn’t you dislike her?”

“As you said, her designs are good. Let’s hire her, but as an intern for three months.”

Whatever her purpose for approaching, three months should be enough to figure it out.

Kyung Jun neatly folded Seo Ha’s resume on the desk and put it in his pocket. He intended to investigate more thoroughly just what kind of woman she was.