Hae Yoon gripped Young In’s arm more tightly as she kept staggering on unsteady legs.

“Where’s the bathroom?”

Looking around, she couldn’t gauge where the restroom was in such a large hall. There were no staff nearby to ask either. To make matters worse, the body she was holding onto with all her might was getting heavier and heavier.

“Team Leader, please try to pull yourself together.”

The inebriated one remained silent.

“Ji Seung Chan, that bastard.”

Hae Yoon gritted her teeth as she recalled the face of the one responsible for Young In’s intoxication.

No matter how handsome he was or how well he could act, how could she have any good feelings towards a lustful man so eager to take advantage of her precious team leader?

“Did you think you could take her if she got drunk?”

She almost laughed at how transparent his ulterior motives were in suggesting the game.

Hae Yoon had reluctantly followed along for the sake of other team members curious about the celebrity birthday party, but now looked down sadly at her team leader who had become the target. Sensing someone’s presence, she raised her head.

Her wide eyes fixed on the man standing before her.

“CEO!”

Sung Hyuk’s furrowed brow as he looked at Young In shifted to Hae Yoon.

“Why did she drink so much? It’s not even her birthday.”

Hae Yoon couldn’t help but notice his seemingly angry demeanor, though she didn’t know why.

“She kept losing in the game, so as a penalty…”

His already narrowed brow furrowed even more.

“I’ll take her.”

Hae Yoon’s eyes narrowed.

She felt wary as the man who had said “I’ll take Team Leader Young In home” overlapped with Sung Hyuk in her mind. His sudden appearance demanding what was hers also left her flustered.

“Why should you, CEO?”

Sung Hyuk liked that Hae Yoon was cautious of him. Though he hadn’t meant to test her, he was grateful she didn’t readily hand Young In over.

“Your name?”

He had heard it in the elevator this morning and during lunch, but couldn’t remember at all.

“An Hae Yoon.”

He stored the three syllables in his mind and answered her question.

“I have a personal relationship with Young In.”

“What kind…”

“Her brother’s friend. College senior. Is that enough?”

It couldn’t be.

Hae Yoon had a suspicious nature. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to demand proof from someone who held her livelihood, so she spoke indirectly.

“I hadn’t heard anything about it.”

It was then that the limp body stirred.

Hae Yoon brightened and looked down.

“Team Leader.”

As Young In slowly raised her lowered head, Hae Yoon decided to pass the ball to the person in question.

“Shall I take you home, or do you want to go with the CEO?”

She had planned to find another way if she couldn’t get an answer, but the hazy eyes turned towards the face that looked like a carefully carved sculpture.

Young In’s lips parted slightly as she stared intently at Sung Hyuk’s face.

“Cha… Sung Hyuk…”

Having gotten her answer, Hae Yoon quickly unwrapped her arm from Young In’s.

“Please take good care of the team leader.”

She judged that no further verification was needed if Young In could say the name Cha Sung Hyuk correctly when she had only called him CEO.

Sung Hyuk supported Young In’s stumbling back with his hand and pulled her towards him. The slender body fell into his chest. His hand wrapped around her slim waist with remarkable naturalness.

Hae Yoon watched the two with a significant look, sensing an odd atmosphere.

She wondered if “brother’s friend and college senior” was really all there was to it. There seemed to be something more that couldn’t be explained by just that.

Her narrowing eyes as she let her imagination run wild suddenly widened.

“Ah, right. I’ll go get the team leader’s bag.”

“An Hae Yoon, bring it to the company.”

Sung Hyuk didn’t want to keep Young In here any longer.

“Alright, I understand. Go on.”

Hae Yoon watched the two receding figures and a man lingering beside them for a moment before turning away.

“But why was the CEO here?”

She couldn’t think it was a coincidence, remembering that she had told him during lunch where the birthday party venue was, and how excited her team members were about going to a place they couldn’t afford on their own.

“So my hunch was right after all?”

Hae Yoon’s face was visibly excited as she walked back to the room.

The man Hae Yoon thought was lingering beside Sung Hyuk and Young In was Ji Sang.

His eyes, which had widened when Sung Hyuk said it was time to leave, showed no signs of returning to their normal size.

He kept glancing at Young In’s face, half dazed and half curious.

“I never thought I’d see this.”

He could guess why Sung Hyuk had chosen to sit near the entrance out of all the places.

“Did you follow knowing Young In was coming here today? You sat by the entrance because you wouldn’t know when she’d leave if you were in a room?”

Ji Sang kept giggling and fidgeting, as if he understood everything.

“To think she could turn the great Cha Sung Hyuk into a stalker, Young In really is an amazing woman.”

“I had a reason to come. Don’t call me a stalker.”

Sung Hyuk retorted sharply as he walked towards the entrance, then pointed his chin somewhere.

“Stop chattering and go pay.”

“Me? I only had one glass of whiskey!”

“You had a whole glass. I didn’t even touch it, so you should pay.”

“Oh? Uh…”

Ji Sang floundered for a moment before rushing to the counter.

When he returned after paying, the two were already gone.

Ji Sang hurriedly ran up the stairs and caught sight of Sung Hyuk’s back.

Young In had her eyes closed and was resting her head docilely on his shoulder. Seeing Sung Hyuk’s large hand cradling the back of Young In’s head, it seemed more accurate to say he had made her lean rather than she had leaned on her own.

Ji Sang composed his twitching lips and stood beside Sung Hyuk, who was waiting for the valet-parked car.

“Did you bring your car intending this from the start? Is that why you didn’t drink?”

“I did intend this, but I didn’t know it would actually happen like this.”

“Huh?”

What was he saying?

Ji Sang was only understanding about half of what Sung Hyuk said today.

At that moment, a black SUV pulled up in front of the three.

Ji Sang stepped forward and opened the passenger door, and Sung Hyuk gently lifted Young In and seated her in the passenger seat. He was extremely careful with even the smallest movements, as if handling something fragile.

After closing the passenger door, Sung Hyuk glanced back at Ji Sang.

“I’m going first.”

“But didn’t you say you had something important to tell me today?”

“It’s less important than taking Young In home.”

Ji Sang’s expression soured.

“Yes, yes, of course it is.”

“I’ll call you.”

Ji Sang waved his hand at Sung Hyuk as he walked to the driver’s seat. Of course, Sung Hyuk didn’t even look back.

As soon as Sung Hyuk sat in the driver’s seat, he turned towards the passenger seat.

As he bent slightly to pull the seatbelt, a faint scent of roses brushed his nose. The urge to touch Chae Young In’s body freely and inhale her scent to his heart’s content, just like before, welled up inside him.

Painfully suppressing his impure desire, he fastened her seatbelt and straightened up.

Just in case, he placed a finger under her nose and felt a faint but warm breath.

Reassured, Sung Hyuk openly admired Young In’s sleeping face.

Even if he hadn’t come, Hae Yoon would have probably taken good care of her, but he still thought he’d made the right choice in coming.

Originally, he was supposed to meet Ji Sang tomorrow. He moved it to today after finding out where the birthday party Young In was attending would be held.

Hae Yoon’s words during the meal, momentarily forgetting his presence, had been the decisive factor.

“I’m worried that Seung Chan might persistently push drinks on the team leader like at the last company dinner. I don’t know why he does that when his intentions are so obvious.”

He had come because he was concerned, but he didn’t expect Young In to actually become completely drunk.

It was then that he heard a timid knock on the passenger window.

Looking up, he saw the valet parking attendant politely extending both hands towards the road.

Realizing he wanted the car moved, Sung Hyuk straightened up and fastened his seatbelt. Then he immediately started the car.

He smiled quietly, recalling Young In saying she would follow him earlier, and then turned to look at the passenger seat during a red light.

Young In was blinking with dazed eyes, having woken up at some point.

He absolutely hated watching drunk people, whether men or women. Especially when he was the only sober one. But he wondered why this woman wasn’t unpleasant to look at even when completely intoxicated.

“Sleep more.”

Young In, who had turned slightly towards the driver’s seat, moved her lips.

“Hey… Cha Sung Hyuk…”

Sung Hyuk’s eyes curved gently. He liked hearing his name from Chae Young In’s lips, when she had stubbornly called him senior even while dating.

“Are you… resentful… about being rejected by me…? Is that… why you’re doing this…?”

Sung Hyuk carefully retraced his emotions to answer Young In’s question.

No matter how he thought about it, he wasn’t resentful.

He only regretted.

He regretted not rejecting her like that, not accepting it so easily, to the bone.

“If you regret… not rejecting me before I rejected you… I can reject you now… Then it’ll be… fine…”

Emerging from his deep thoughts, he naturally responded.

“For me to reject you, wouldn’t we have to date again?”

“Ah… that’s a bit problematic…”

Could even her slurred speech be cute?

“I take back saying you were cute when you were young. You were cute then and you’re cute now.”

Young In lowered her gaze as if embarrassed even in her drunken state, making him laugh out loud. He wondered how long it had been since he’d laughed like this.

“Sleep until we get home.”

Sung Hyuk stretched his right hand to the side and covered Young In’s eyes. Instead of answering, he felt a slight nod up and down.

Checking a moment later, Young In was sound asleep like an obedient child.

Seeing Chae Young In completely defenseless before him made his heart ache.

“Should I make her drink every day for a while?”

He fell into serious contemplation.