Young In went to work at Hyesung Entertainment office.

She would start working at SL Entertainment from next Monday.

Glancing around the CEO’s office, she saw CEO Kang lying on the sofa with his arm covering his eyes. Young In put her bag down on the desk and went to the CEO’s office, knocking on the glass door before entering.

“You came in early?”

CEO Kang lowered his arm and opened his eyes, looking like death.

“My wife never makes me hangover soup. My stomach felt bad so I came out for some hangover food, then came straight to the office.”

“Why would she make hangover soup for a husband who comes home drunk every day?”

“Why do you always say the same things as my wife……”

Young In deliberately made more groaning noises as he sat up, and she perched lightly on the sofa opposite him.

CEO Kang’s bleary eyes suddenly grew round.

“Oh right, Young In.”

“Yes.”

“Did you know that CEO Cha Sung Hyuk is Chairman Cha Hyun Woong’s son?”

“I know.”

“Ah, you knew……”

After a brief awkward moment, CEO Kang’s eyes lit up with interest.

“Seeing as you’ve come to SL Entertainment, it seems you’ve fallen out of favor with his father?”

“No.”

“No?”

“I came voluntarily.”

“Why?”

“Well……”

She knew why, but couldn’t say it.

“To see you every day.”

Recalling what Sung Hyuk had said yesterday, Young In was once again overcome with a strange feeling.

“How did you know it wasn’t falling out of favor with his father, but coming voluntarily?”

“I heard it from him directly.”

“When you two talked alone at the company yesterday?”

“……”

Young In nodded awkwardly with an awkward smile.

“You two weren’t together for even 5 minutes, but in that time you talked about your part-time job in college and CEO Cha coming to SL Entertainment voluntarily?”

“Just those two things.”

“Ah, really?”

CEO Kang tilted his head with a dubious expression, then changed the subject.

“You didn’t drink much yesterday?”

“I only had a few drinks.”

“Good. I was too drunk to look after you, so you shouldn’t get drunk either.”

Young In burst out laughing in disbelief.

“You’re talking as if you ever look after me. You’re always the first one to get drunk, sir.”

Young In usually didn’t drink enough to get drunk unless she was with people she could trust.

However, yesterday she didn’t drink enough to get drunk not because there was no one trustworthy, even though she craved alcohol due to someone happily chattering away about her.

It was because she didn’t trust herself.

Afraid she might reveal her true feelings to Cha Sung Hyuk. Afraid the relationship she had painfully cut off might be reconnected.

Though she didn’t want to admit it, she still had faith that she would be safe with Cha Sung Hyuk, that he would protect her no matter what happened.

“Rest more. You look awful.”

Young In stood up, trying to shake off the memory of Sung Hyuk’s face she had glimpsed in the taxi last night.

[This is the timeline separator]

The first day of work at SL Entertainment.

Young In happened to meet Hae Yoon, whom she had worked with at Hyesung for nearly two years, in the parking lot. Although a bit talkative, she was a junior Young In was fond of for her quick wit and efficient work.

“Team leader, I’m a bit nervous.”

“Me too.”

“Come on, that’s not true. You’re not the type to be nervous about something like this.”

“It’s true.”

It really was. In a different sense from Hae Yoon, Young In was nervous because she didn’t know how Cha Sung Hyuk, who had been quiet all this time, would act.

The two women walked to the elevator, sharing trivial details of their weekend. But there was a tall man standing in front of the elevator.

Young In recognized him at a glance and stopped in her tracks.

“What’s wrong?”

Just as Hae Yoon turned to Young In with a worried expression, the man sensed their presence and turned his head.

It was Sung Hyuk waiting for the elevator.

“It’s nothing.”

Young In answered quietly and approached him. She greeted him first with a composed face.

“Hello, CEO.”

“Are you starting work from today?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s get in.”

Sung Hyuk, who entered the elevator first, pressed the buttons for the 8th floor where the CEO’s office was and the 5th floor where the management team was located.

Young In, who followed him in, introduced Hae Yoon to him. Just as the calm Sung Hyuk and the flustered Hae Yoon finished exchanging greetings, the elevator stopped at the 5th floor.

The two women bowed slightly to Sung Hyuk and got off the elevator. Hae Yoon clung to Young In’s arm and started making a fuss.

“Wow, I had an idea from what CEO Kang said, but he’s the most handsome non-celebrity I’ve ever seen. No, he’s much more handsome than most celebrities with that noble aura, isn’t he?”

“Not to that extent……”

Young In hurried her steps, forcefully suppressing her desire to agree.

[This is the timeline separator]

After a hectic morning, Young In went down to the cafeteria with Hae Yoon.

The other team members had already finished their meals and gone back to the office. The two of them ended up eating separately because the team leader meeting Young In attended had ended late.

“Next time, don’t wait and eat first.”

“Oh come on, I told you I wasn’t hungry. Hurry up and get in line.”

Hae Yoon joked as she pulled Young In along.

The two women received their glossy eel rice bowls and sat down by the window. Just as they picked up their spoons, a deep voice was heard.

“May I sit here?”

Young In and Hae Yoon’s heads turned simultaneously. Standing there with a square tray was Sung Hyuk.

“Of course. Please sit here, CEO.”

While Young In hesitated, Hae Yoon quickly vacated her seat and moved to the side. Sung Hyuk and Young In naturally ended up sitting face to face.

“Your lunch is late.”

Young In, having regained her composure, responded calmly.

“You’re late too, CEO.”

After some formal conversation, they began eating in earnest.

“If you’re free this evening, why don’t we all have dinner together, the whole team 5?”

“I have prior plans.”

When Young In cut him off almost coldly, the flustered Hae Yoon quickly jumped in to explain.

“We were all invited to actor Ji Seung Chan’s birthday party. He wanted to invite Team Leader Chae, and we’re just tagging along.”

Young In’s brow furrowed slightly.

“Hae Yoon, why are you giving such detailed explanations about things the CEO probably doesn’t care about at all?”

Sung Hyuk firmly denied this.

“No, I’m very interested. Please continue.”

Hae Yoon, unsure whose lead to follow, glanced back and forth between the two.

“Ah, um, well, you see……”

It was a moment that required careful judgment.

[This is the timeline separator]

That evening, Sung Hyuk left the company and went to a lounge bar in Sinsa-dong.

Although it hadn’t been open long, it had quickly become famous as many celebrities frequented it.

After waiting for about 5 minutes sitting near the entrance, a man with short hair and horn-rimmed glasses arrived.

“Isn’t there a private room here? What’s with this chaotic seating?”

The man who sat down across from Sung Hyuk, looking around, was named Yoon Ji Sang, Sung Hyuk’s best friend.

They had both been in the United States for the past 3 years, with Ji Sang returning two weeks before Sung Hyuk.

“It’s stifling.”

Ji Sang’s expression turned serious as he studied Sung Hyuk’s face.

“Did you develop some kind of anxiety disorder?”

“Anxiety disorder?”

“Are you sitting by the entrance so you can be the first to run out if there’s a fire or something?”

“No, no.”

“Then are you hoping passersby will glance at you once in a while?”

Sung Hyuk frowned deeply.

“What are you talking about.”

“Then why are we sitting in this crappy spot?”

This was the first time the two had met in such an open space with countless strangers bustling by.

“Just because.”

Dismissing Ji Sang’s complaints with a single word, Sung Hyuk poured whiskey into the empty glass that had been pre-set.

After downing his glass in one go, Ji Sang leaned forward, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.

“When are you going to show me Young In?”

“Stop pretending to be close to her.”

“Can’t I pretend a little?”

“Young In is close to me, not you, so why would you.”

“So she is close to you? Not just briefly close in the past?”

“We’ll be close again soon.”

Ji Sang found it highly amusing to tease Sung Hyuk, who always acted strangely at the mere mention of Chae Young In’s name.

“I’m dying to know who this woman is that made Cha Sung Hyuk voluntarily go to the periphery.”

Compared to SL Group’s Management Planning Division, SL Entertainment was certainly peripheral enough.

“If you’re going to be like this, why did you stay away for three whole years?”

Sung Hyuk readily agreed with Ji Sang’s reproach.

“I regret it. That’s why I’m not letting go now.”

He hadn’t been sure until now. Whether he really couldn’t forget Chae Young In, or if it was just an illusion he had nurtured on his own.

Now he knew for certain. That he had just wasted time unnecessarily.

“That’s your situation, but Young In might not like you.”

“No way. What woman wouldn’t like me.”

Although he scoffed, in truth, Sung Hyuk had never once heard Young In say she liked him.

Young In always drew the line with the title of senior and formal speech. Maybe that’s why he felt more thirsty.

One thing was certain: Young In didn’t dislike him.

Both then and now.

Nevertheless, the reason he had coldly turned away as soon as he heard her say they should stop seeing each other was because his pride was hurt.

It was an impulsive feeling, thinking he was the only one clinging to a woman who could so easily speak of breaking up. But now was different from then.

He wasn’t foolish enough not to know that if he didn’t hold onto a woman he couldn’t forget for 3 years, he would regret it for the rest of his life. He had wasted enough time already.

“I wish I was born a woman so I could mock you and say you’re nothing special.”

Ji Sang grumbled with a sour expression. He said that, but even as a man, there were times when he found Cha Sung Hyuk attractive, so he wasn’t confident.

But suddenly, Sung Hyuk’s face hardened.

“Let’s get up now.”

Confusion rippled in Ji Sang’s eyes.

“Get up? I just got here?”

Sung Hyuk stood up as if he hadn’t heard anything.

His gaze was fixed beyond Ji Sang’s shoulder, on Young In who was being supported by Hae Yoon.