My Line (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 16
While handling delayed approvals and even during the meeting, Song Kang kept worrying about Ra In and kept glancing at his phone. She hadn’t been eating properly, and her cough sounded unusually bad.
—How are you feeling? Please leave work early to take care of yourself.
After sending her that text, he foolishly let himself hope. He wished for even a slightly longer message or a slightly quicker reply—but as expected, all the notifications pouring in were merely work reports from his employees.
“Director…”
The employees in the meeting room, awaiting Song Kang’s feedback, began growing tense.
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t catch that. Could you repeat it, please?”
“Oh, my apologies. I’ll prepare it again and bring it back.”
The employee, reading Song Kang’s expression, quietly backed away. He really hadn’t heard it…
“I genuinely didn’t hear it. Could you just explain the last page once more?”
As the employee cleared his throat and resumed the project presentation, Song Kang regained his focus.
“That’s enough for now. Let’s move forward.”
With just those words from him, everyone in the meeting room breathed a sigh of relief. Had they failed to get the project approved today, Director Na Song Gang—given his temperament—surely wouldn’t have let it slide any longer.
He likely would have moved his desk straight into their team’s office and personally taken charge to force results. Song Kang stood up, picking up the documents in front of him.
“By the way, why isn’t Deputy Manager Na Song Lim here?”
No matter how preoccupied he felt, he wasn’t the type to simply let things go. He’d noticed Song Lim’s absence from the start but had chosen not to mention it earlier to avoid spoiling the meeting’s atmosphere.
Song Lim was frequently late with all sorts of excuses, and even skipping meetings entirely wasn’t particularly surprising compared to his usual antics—but that didn’t mean Song Kang would excuse it just because he was the chairman’s son.
The employees exchanged uneasy glances, visibly flustered, reluctant to speak up. They clearly feared getting into trouble if they defended Deputy Manager Na Song Lim with a flimsy excuse like “on leave.”
“Is he absent? I haven’t seen any approved leave request, and there was no prior notice—so this counts as an unexcused absence.”
Just then, Song Lim burst into the meeting room, panting heavily.
“No! Huh… hah…”
He was so out of breath and sweating profusely from running that Song Kang’s expression instantly hardened into ice.
Seeing that look, Song Lim immediately lowered his eyes, clasped his hands respectfully, and bowed his head deeply. He could tell right away that lying wouldn’t work here.
“I—I mean, it’s not an unexcused absence… I’m late. Late. Unexcused lateness.”
How utterly shameless… To Song Kang, his younger brother by legal registration was simply pitiful.
“Since the meeting’s over, everyone please leave—except Deputy Manager Na Song Lim.”
At Director Na Song Gang’s words, the employees scrambled out of the room without hesitation. Song Lim was left standing alone, trembling visibly.
Song Kang stared at him wordlessly. Song Lim, realizing it was hopeless, made a desperate, pleading face as if ready to drop to his knees and beg.
And he had good reason—Song Kang would certainly enforce company policy to the letter, and this incident put him dangerously close to his third strike and potential termination.
Of course, this wasn’t even his first time facing such danger. Song Kang found himself thinking again how overly lenient the company policy really was.
“Hyung!”
At the word “Hyung,” Song Kang’s gaze sharpened even further. He had no intention of tolerating such blurring of professional and personal boundaries. Song Lim, reading his brother’s expression, instinctively shrank back.
“A-Ah… Director, I drank way too much last night, and I was afraid if I drove like this, I’d get busted for hangover DUI! What would that do to Taesung’s reputation?”
His concern for Taesung sounded like a lie, though it was clear he really had been drinking heavily—the alcohol stench still clung to him.
“You have a driver and a secretary, don’t you?”
Song Kang had no interest in validating Song Lim’s feeble excuse. He drew a clear line with cold, formal speech. Song Lim bowed his head again deeply.
“I’ve warned you repeatedly about punctuality. It’s not just about me—it’s about how your colleagues see you and what they say about you. Your future position here won’t be decided by me, but by Deputy Manager Na’s own conduct. Act accordingly.”
“Yes, I absolutely will! Just this once, please forgive me—I promise it won’t happen again!”
Song Lim feigned dejection and desperately grabbed onto Song Kang’s pants leg.
“Whether it’s absence or tardiness—three unexcused incidents and you’ll be dealt with according to company policy.”
“Hyung! Then Father will find out too!”
His childishness was so extreme it only made Song Kang sigh. There was no need for further words—Song Kang immediately forwarded the matter to the internal disciplinary committee without leniency.
Even amid all this, he was oddly preoccupied with waiting for Ra In’s reply. After a long while, he finally received a single-word response: “Yes.”
Was she saying she’d go home now, or that she was feeling better? He never expected so much meaning to be packed into just one letter.
After finishing work, Song Kang was on his way home—but then changed direction toward Ra In’s office. All the way there, he hoped she’d already left and was resting.
When he opened her office door, the only sounds were the quiet rustle of turning pages and occasional coughs. As expected, Ra In hadn’t gone home and was still working. Song Kang’s eyes darkened with concern.
“Ugh… seriously, the Head of Legal Affairs…!”
At that moment, Ra In muttered to herself, ruffling her hair in frustration with one hand. Song Kang approached her desk.
“What about the Head of Legal Affairs?”
“Mom! You scared me!”
Startled by his sudden presence, Ra In jumped and stared at him as if he were a ghost. She hadn’t even noticed when he’d arrived—it was such a shock her heart nearly leapt out of her chest.
“Why haven’t you gone home yet?”
“With this much work, where could I possibly go?”
Her voice was hoarse as she spoke, and she let out another cough. At the edge of her overflowing desk, Song Kang noticed a medicine packet precariously balanced.
The packet’s opening was neatly folded and sealed—clearly untouched. There was no need even to ask if she’d taken her medicine.
“Have you eaten?”
“Yes.”
Ra In gave a brief reply and turned her eyes immediately back to the documents. Song Kang headed to the pantry.
On the pantry table sat a single cup noodle container. On its lid lay an unopened pair of chopsticks. Song Kang lifted the lid and was alarmed to see the noodles swollen and bursting from sitting too long.
Just in case, he opened the fridge—salads, bread, nothing inside showed any sign of having been touched.
He returned to Ra In.
“Did you eat out somewhere today?”
Ra In looked up, coughing again. She placed a hand over her sore throat, and Song Kang’s brow furrowed.
“Oh, my ramen…”
A lifeless sigh escaped her lips.
“We’ll eat it later.”
Clearly, she’d poured hot water into the cup noodles and then forgotten to eat them entirely. Her absurdly careless lifestyle left Song Kang speechless.
Ra In, acting as if it were nothing, turned back to her documents. Song Kang paused, wondering what to suggest to her.
He’d only ever seen office workers who lived for lunch breaks and quitting time—so he had no idea how to handle someone like this. And yet, inexplicably, a strong sense of responsibility to take care of her welled up inside him.
“Stop working and get up.”
“I still have things left to—”
“Enough. Put it down. Let’s get you something to eat and take your medicine first.”
Song Kang cut off Ra In’s protest before she could even look at him. She hesitated, then lifted her head to meet his gaze.
A trace of irritation flickered across her face—she hated having her workflow interrupted while working.
“I really don’t like being disturbed when I’m working.”
The word “disturbed” struck a nerve with Song Kang. Ra In finished her sentence and turned back to her papers, but Song Kang’s expression hardened as he stepped closer.
“Prosecutor Jin Ra In, look at me for a moment.”
Ra In scowled and lifted her head—but refused to meet his eyes. She braced herself for another lecture, but today she intended to respond rationally.
“I’d prefer the people around me not to fall ill.”
Expecting a storm, she was instead met with warm sunlight—and found herself turning to look at him.
“I know it’s not really my place to interfere whether Prosecutor Jin Ra In eats or not, takes medicine or not. But I simply can’t stand by and watch you abuse yourself like this.”
Song Kang understood that, given her condition and the current situation, she was understandably on edge. So instead of scolding, he chose to comfort—and this approach was working, slowly softening her heart.
He took her hand and gently removed the thimble from her thumb. Ra In couldn’t hide her surprise—and in that instant, coughed again.
“Hmm… Come on, get up.”
He kept holding her hand as he spoke. When Ra In reluctantly rose from her seat, Song Kang finally released her hand, picked up the medicine packet, and led the way out.
Though she’d done nothing wrong, Ra In found herself anxiously watching his expression. She hurriedly grabbed her coat from the rack—and then noticed Song Kang’s coat hanging next to it. Oh no—she quickly picked his coat up too.
“Oh, your coat…”
Had he even been wearing an outer layer earlier? Ra In, usually so oblivious to her surroundings, couldn’t remember what he’d been wearing. She worried he’d been cold all day after lending her his coat.
Holding his coat close to her chest, she followed behind him. Song Kang stood waiting by the elevator.
Fortunately, he was wearing another coat—a longer black one, different from the one she carried.
Her guilt eased slightly, and her steps relaxed—just as the elevator doors opened. Ra In quickened her pace again.
Inside the elevator, she handed him his coat.
“I meant to return it earlier but completely forgot. Thank you—it was really helpful.”
As usual, not a trace of warmth in her tone. Song Kang accepted the coat, unfolded it carefully, and draped it over Ra In’s shoulders.
Ra In’s breath caught for a moment. Her eyes widened, then blinked rapidly—a telltale gesture of her flustered state.
“A-It’s fine, I don’t—”
As she tried to shrug off the coat, Song Kang firmly held her shoulders in place.
Why was she so high-maintenance—and why did she occupy so much of his thoughts? He’d been unable to stop worrying about her all day.
“Why do you keep dressing so lightly in this cold weather?”
Whether from the coat’s fabric or his touch, it felt incredibly warm.
Ra In glanced at their reflections in the elevator doors. His large coat draped all the way down to her ankles.
And behind her stood him—seeming capable of shielding her from any wind or chill. Combined with her drowsy fatigue and brewing cold, leaning into him felt perfectly acceptable.
Afraid he might read her thoughts, she turned her head slightly away, deliberately avoiding the emotions rising within her.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
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