As soon as Hee Ran sat down on the sofa in the office, she immediately brought up her business.

“Sir, I have a question.”

“Go ahead.”

Sung Hyuk was annoyed by Hee Ran, who frequently visited the CEO’s office without any particular business.

She’d come to ask to go down to the meeting room together, or say she came up because it seemed impolite to leave without greeting the CEO when she came to the company, or say she’s considering appearing in a few works and wants the CEO’s opinion on which one to choose.

He was already tired thinking about what meaningless chatter she would spout today.

“If you had to choose between Baek Hee Ran and Chae Young In, who would you choose?”

“……”

His expectations were off. It wasn’t meaningless talk, but nonsensical talk.

“Let me rephrase the question. If I asked you to remove Chae Young In from the company, what would you do?”

Sung Hyuk opened his mouth with an unreadable expression.

“I would ask for the reason.”

The answer to the first question was obviously ‘Chae Young In’, and the answer to the second question was obviously ‘refuse’.

The reason he didn’t immediately give these answers that required no deliberation was because he wanted to know what was going on between Baek Hee Ran and Chae Young In. Clearly something was up, but since Chae Young In wouldn’t say anything, he had no choice but to hear from Baek Hee Ran.

Unfortunately, Hee Ran did not fulfill his wish.

“Ah, I see. Understood.”

Sung Hyuk silently watched Hee Ran get up and leave the office.

What on earth was that about?

He had no idea that Hee Ran was gritting her teeth in disappointment that he didn’t show unconditional trust.

Two days later, Ji Sang visited the CEO’s office.

“I looked into it, and there’s definitely something going on between them.”

He reported the results of his mission to Sung Hyuk.

“Baek Hee Ran stole an event that Young In’s actor had decided to do, made Young In lose a contract with an actor who was about to sign with SL Entertainment by persuading them, and Team 2 under Baek Hee Ran’s orders is keeping tabs on 5 more teams than before. It’s chaos.”

“Why is Baek Hee Ran doing this to Young In?”

“I don’t know that much.”

Whether a spy, an informant, or a lackey, Ji Sang prided himself on faithfully fulfilling the role Sung Hyuk expected of him. However, that was just his opinion, and it didn’t satisfy Sung Hyuk.

“You should have found that out, you useless fool.”

“Why don’t you ask Young In directly why Baek Hee Ran is doing this?”

Having done his best only to be scolded, Ji Sang pouted and grumbled.

“You think I didn’t ask?”

“She won’t say?”

“Yeah, she’s not the type to easily open up about what’s bothering her.”

“Maybe she doesn’t trust you?”

“You can go now.”

“I was going to leave even if you told me not to.”

Ji Sang left the office, radiating an air of being upset.

After some deliberation, Sung Hyuk decided to use his last resort. It was to call the person closest to Young In at the company.

A moment later, that person entered the office.

“You called for me, sir.”

The person Sung Hyuk called was Hae Yoon.

“Have a seat.”

Hae Yoon approached the sofa and sat down with a nervous expression.

She was intimidated by the grand scale of the office, and also overwhelmed by the presence of the man sitting in the seat of honor.

Being face-to-face with Cha Sung Hyuk in an unfamiliar space was a nerve-wracking experience not just for Hae Yoon, but for most people. Like his father, he was the type to make others feel small just by being there.

“I called you because I have something I want to ask.”

“What could you possibly want to ask me…”

“Do you know what’s going on between actress Baek Hee Ran and team leader Chae Young In?”

Hae Yoon hesitated for a moment before nodding with a solemn expression.

“Yes.”

“What is it?”

When they met at the lounge bar, Sung Hyuk noticed that Hae Yoon liked Young In a lot. After observing them coming and going, he felt that Young In also cared for Hae Yoon.

That’s why he called Hae Yoon, thinking she might know the whole story. Young In would surely have something to say if she found out later, but for now, there was no other way.

“Have you asked the team leader what’s going on?”

“I have.”

“But you called me, which means the team leader didn’t tell you anything.”

“That’s right.”

“Then I can’t tell you either.”

Frustrated and irritated at the failure of his expectation to learn the inside story, Sung Hyuk felt the same as he did that day. Just as he had liked Hae Yoon for not readily handing Young In over to him and being cautious, he felt the same today.

Separately from that, he had no intention of just giving up like this.

“Ms. An Hae Yoon, how long have you been working with Young In?”

“A little over two years.”

“Then you know Young In’s personality. She tries to handle everything alone, and even when she’s struggling, she doesn’t show it.”

“……”

Hae Yoon’s eyes wavered. Her resolve not to fall for any persuasion wavered along with it.

“If I know the situation, it won’t harm Young In, but if I don’t know, it could harm her. I hope An Hae Yoon doesn’t end up regretting not telling me today.”

Unable to withstand the subtle threat, Hae Yoon gave in.

“May I ask you one thing as well, sir?”

Sung Hyuk silently nodded.

“There’s more than just your personal connection as your brother’s friend and college senior, right?”

She was asking to get a definitive answer about their closer relationship, even though she had a general idea, to justify her actions today.

“I care for Young In a great deal.”

“You mean… you’re not dating?”

Hae Yoon began to feel confused again about whether she should speak or not.

“Not yet.”

Sung Hyuk deliberately didn’t mention that they had dated in the past.

“Ah, so you’re not dating yet, but the team leader feels the same way about you?”

For Hae Yoon, it was important whether the feelings were one-sided or mutual.

“You should ask Young In directly later.”

Was it because of the smile brimming with confidence?

Hae Yoon felt certain she could speak, even though she hadn’t received a clear answer.

“Sir, do you know that Baek Hee Ran is a model for Seongmyeong Construction?”

“I do.”

Sung Hyuk also knew what kind of relationship Baek Hee Ran and Oh Chang Geun had.

After taking office as the CEO of SL Entertainment, he gathered necessary information by mobilizing his connections for risk management, and in the process, he learned about the relationship between the two.

He couldn’t help but marvel at Oh Chang Geun’s diligence in pestering Young In while being busy meeting this woman and that woman.

“One of the sons of the chairman of Seongmyeong Construction is a director there, and he said he doesn’t like SL Entertainment and doesn’t want to be involved anymore. So he said they can’t give any more advertisements to Baek Hee Ran, who’s with SL Entertainment…”

As soon as Sung Hyuk heard Hae Yoon’s words, he thought Chang Geun had taken petty revenge after learning that he had become the CEO of SL Entertainment. But as he listened, something seemed off.

“What does that have to do with Baek Hee Ran harassing Young In?”

“The reason he dislikes SL Entertainment is because of our team leader. I don’t know the details, but given how angry he is because of the team leader, something must have happened between that director and the team leader.”

He instantly sensed that the cowardly and petty Oh Chang Geun was using Baek Hee Ran to take out his anger on Young In.

“Did you hear this from Young In?”

“Of course not. You just said our team leader tries to handle everything alone and doesn’t show when she’s struggling, didn’t you?”

“Then?”

“I have a friend in Team 2, and that employee quietly told me they heard it from Baek Hee Ran’s on-site manager. That on-site manager said they overheard Baek Hee Ran talking with Team Leader Jo Hyun Sim.”

They say love blooms even in times of war.

Amidst the cold war between Team 5 and Team 2, Hae Yoon was ‘seeing’ the deputy team leader of Team 2. The friend she mentioned was that deputy team leader.

“That’s all I know.”

“That’s enough. It’s been very helpful.”

“But, sir…”

Hae Yoon carefully continued, watching Sung Hyuk’s reaction.

“Chae Young In isn’t such a pushover. I’m not sure what she’s thinking yet, but she won’t just sit back and take it.”

“So you’re saying I shouldn’t intervene?”

“I don’t think the team leader would want you to step in, sir.”

She hadn’t asked him to step in and do something right away. She spilled the beans reluctantly, thinking he should be aware of the situation so he could step in at the appropriate moment.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Sung Hyuk had the same thought as Hae Yoon. He trusted that Young In would handle it well.

So he decided to wait and see for now. However, that didn’t mean he was going to leave the vile and petty Oh Chang Geun alone.

After Hae Yoon left the office, he made a phone call somewhere.

“Secretary Nam, what’s my father’s schedule for today?”

SL Group Headquarters, Chairman’s Office.

Chairman Cha, who was reviewing approval documents while leaning back on the sofa, finished signing and took off his glasses, placing them on the table along with the approval folder. Then he turned his eyes to Sung Hyuk, who had arrived a little while ago and was quietly waiting for the approval to be finished.

“What brings you here to the company?”

“I have a personal favor to ask.”

“A favor?”

The glint in Chairman Cha’s eyes was because it was the first time the word ‘favor’ had come out of his son’s mouth.

“Let’s hear it.”

Sung Hyuk brought up the main point as if he had been waiting for this.

“I understand that SL Construction and several other construction companies are discussing forming a consortium related to the development of a housing site.”

“I’ve been reported that it’s in the final stages.”

“I hear Seongmyeong Construction also wants to participate in the consortium.”

“That’s right.”

“Let’s leave Seongmyeong out.”

Sung Hyuk’s plan was to ruin the project led by Chang Geun.