Ding, 28th floor. Until the elevator doors opened, Tae Hong’s sharp gaze remained unchanged. Hae Jin, her face flushed red with embarrassment, stiffened.

Did I use up all my workplace luck on the first day? A feeling suddenly came that some trial would arrive from the second day. While hesitating, Tae Hong disappeared through the closing doors without looking back, right on time.

“What can I do? After all, I’m the one who made the choice.”

Hae Jin stepped onto the 28th floor, equipped once again with max-level combat power. Giving up and backing down were not in Jung Hae Jin’s dictionary.

As she entered the Strategic Planning Department, some employees who had already arrived exchanged greetings with Hae Jin. Seeing the neatly organized desk, his piercing gaze from earlier came to mind again.

Ah, isn’t it too close? Though displeased by how blatantly near it was to the team leader’s office, what could she do? When told to do something, you just have to do it.

Just as she was about to turn on the computer, Yeon Jung approached her desk, stomping her heels with all her might. Thud, a pile of documents dropped onto the desk.

“These are work materials related to the team leader’s schedule. Deputy Manager Jung Hae Jin.”

The documents piled up before her eyes were fine. But the way she lowered her voice and emphasized the final words with a sharp tone irritated her nerves.

“Yes, thank you for sharing the work. Manager Kim.”

Yet Hae Jin maintained a calm and gentle expression. Yeon Jung, her cheeks flushing red and blue, remained standing without returning to her seat.

“Manager, do you have anything else to say?”

Hae Jin, having read her expression, looked up at Yeon Jung. Biting her lip, Yeon Jung finally had to ask what she was curious about.

“Do you come to work together with the team leader?”

With that one question, the circuits in Hae Jin’s mind began to move rapidly.

What’s with this woman? Quickly correcting her narrowing eyes, she went in for the kill.

“Yes. I pick up the team leader from where he lives at 7 AM.”

She deliberately added “where he lives” to the answer that could have been brief. What would the reaction be? As expected, a flash of envy crossed Yeon Jung’s face. Hae Jin wouldn’t miss that.

Oh ho. So that was the emotion? She knew well about the 180-degree transformation in front of Tae Hong. A note about Yeon Jung was added in Hae Jin’s mind.

Kim Yeon Jung, very interested in rugby balls.

“Is that so? It must be tough.”

Yeon Jung pretended to be nonchalant, but the envy and jealousy in her wavering gaze were obvious.

“Thank you for your concern.”

Just as Yeon Jung was about to return to her seat, the team leader’s office door opened. As Tae Hong came out, Yeon Jung quickly turned her head. But Tae Hong only made eye contact with Hae Jin, who was further behind Yeon Jung.

“Oh my, oh my!”

The moment of sharp glances exchanged between them was broken by Yeon Jung’s exaggerated voice.

“Team leader, are you hurt?”

When did she see that? Yeon Jung made a fuss over the bandage on his hand. Hae Jin’s gaze also followed. She had completely let her guard down at the neat bandage, but Yeon Jung’s voice grew louder.

“Oh my, won’t this leave a scar?”

Unable to touch Tae Hong’s hand, Yeon Jung’s act of fussing was lightly ignored by Tae Hong.

“It’s fine. Get back to work.”

Compared to the other’s reaction, his attitude was so calm that Hae Jin felt embarrassed on Yeon Jung’s behalf.

**

After grasping the overall schedule and skimming through related materials, it was lunchtime. While it might be an eagerly awaited time for some, for Hae Jin it was a time of worry.

Should she ask to eat with him, or eat alone? As the time at the bottom of the monitor passed, Hae Jin’s heart began to race. If only Tae Hong had an appointment, it would have been less uncomfortable.

Of all days, why was there no lunch appointment today?

Eish. What’s so difficult about it?

Knock knock. A “Yes” was heard from inside the team leader’s office. Hae Jin took a deep breath and opened the door, and his scent from the morning hit her face.

The coffee he had finished in the morning was still on the desk. The bitter discomfort eased a little.

“Team leader.”

She called out to him, still focused on the documents. Tae Hong only responded after finishing signing the last document.

“How should we handle lunch?”

“Ah, lunch.”

He hadn’t given it any thought. The minutes she had spent worrying felt embarrassing. Tae Hong tapped the desk, lost in thought.

“Deputy Jung, you know, wouldn’t it be uncomfortable for a person to eat in front of someone they’ve made a mistake with?”

Before she could figure out what kind of nonsense quiz this was or what his intention was, Tae Hong touched his injured hand.

The small size of the bandage suggested the other party had made a mistake last night. She could only guess, but in the current atmosphere, she couldn’t ask. She had no intention of turning the fragments of his reminiscence into sparks flying at her.

“If I ask to have lunch together, it might be a bit…”

Beat the drum and play the gong, beat someone up yesterday and buy them a meal today. Is he a psychopath? Hae Jin again had to reconsider what kind of being her superior was. The only certainty was that he was unpredictable.

“Do you want an apology?”

“Rather than an apology…”

Tae Hong rubbed his forehead as if troubled. The bandage on his hand seemed to flash.

“There’s a contract that needs to be signed with that company, but I left without being able to say let’s forget about it.”

Once Moon Tae Hong marks you, there’s no mercy. That sharp, venomous remark from the morning was just a drop in the bucket.

“What do you like?”

“Pardon?”

Hae Jin asked, naturally stepping back to match Tae Hong’s approaching footsteps.

“We’ll be having meals together often in the future, why are you so surprised?”

“What?”

“Your adaptability is really…”

Tae Hong openly shook his head. With each blink, one word at a time was etched into her mind. So, in the future, there will be, many days of meals together.

“We’ll eat together for scheduled meals in the future too?”

“You’re giving the higher-ups a lot to talk about.”

This was a scheme and trap he had laid. Wake up, Jung Hae Jin. You absolutely can’t fall for it.

“Aren’t you coming?”

The team members watched silently as the two came out of the team leader’s office together.

**

Seated in the driver’s seat, Hae Jin focused on searching for good restaurants on her phone instead of starting the engine. As soon as they got in the car, he had only revealed his food preference with the word ‘Japanese cuisine’. Interpreting that, it meant find a restaurant that suits my taste on your own and take me there.

But this wasn’t actually difficult for Hae Jin. She already knew the good restaurants in the Seoul area inside out. She liked food, and there was a time when she was busy taking pictures and uploading them.

Of course, now that’s just “ah, the old days”.

Skillfully entering the address into the navigation, Hae Jin started driving. Only after the engine stopped did Tae Hong start looking around. Though near the company, it was unfamiliar to Tae Hong as well.

“Have you been here before?”

“Yes. I came once before.”

Tae Hong nodded politely and got out of the car. He immediately noticed the packed seats.

“Seems like a popular place.”

“It used to have wait times of several hours.”

Writing their name on the waiting list seemed natural. Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait long before Hae Jin’s name was called and the two entered the restaurant.

Hae Jin looked at the menu, asking Tae Hong this and that as she placed the order.

The quickly served food was spread out on the table.

“Please try it.”

At Hae Jin’s urging, he picked up his chopsticks and put a piece of food in his mouth. Though it looked like ordinary sushi, he nodded his head.

“Does it suit your taste?”

Instead of answering, Tae Hong picked up another piece of sushi and put it in his mouth. Only then did Hae Jin smile slightly and start eating.

She thought it would be uncomfortable. She thought it would be hard to swallow. But the food went down smoothly, and the time spent eating together wasn’t difficult.

Strangely, she felt like she was becoming human Jung Hae Jin rather than dedicated mark Jung Hae Jin in front of him without realizing it.

Why?

Both Hae Jin and Tae Hong focused on eating silently, savoring how delicious it was.

After paying, Hae Jin said there was a next course and asked him to wait a moment, then quickly moved to the shop next door. She came back holding two cups of coffee.

“Having coffee at the next door shop after this place is a must.”

The coffee in Hae Jin’s hand was passed to Tae Hong. As if he had been thinking of coffee, Tae Hong took a refreshing sip.

“Not bad. Jung Hae Jin’s gourmet tour.”

“Pardon?”

She wanted to ask what he meant, but Tae Hong had already gotten in the car.

Hae Jin tilted her head to one side before quickly following him into the car. Back in the car returning to the company, Tae Hong, who had already drunk half his coffee, opened his mouth while still looking at his phone.

“Deputy Jung. I think I was a bit harsh with my words this morning.”

Is it because of what he said in the elevator?

“If you were offended, let it go to an appropriate extent.”

Is he apologizing now, or adding fuel to the fire? It’s really hard to keep up with him.

Of course, she knew that for someone in his position, orders suited him better than apologies. Then she opened the notepad in her mind. The rugby ball had never apologized to others.

“It’s fine. I had already forgotten about it.”

“That’s good.”

Hae Jin let out a low sigh through her nose while smiling awkwardly. As expected of the crown prince, quite unpleasant.

Hae Jin put on her social smile again. In the car, only the sound of ice cubes clinking in the takeout cups could be heard.

“Deputy Jung.”

A low bass voice suddenly cut through the refreshing sound of ice breaking.

“How do you know the chairman?”

Hae Jin hesitated. As the silence lengthened, Hae Jin’s coffee was gradually revealing its bottom.

“Why are you suddenly curious?”

The car was entering the company parking lot.

“Actually, I don’t have any backup data about Deputy Jung.”

The engine turned off. The quiet interior became even quieter. There weren’t even people passing by in the reserved parking area. Now even the rattling ice was gone.

“The day before Deputy Jung started work, it was just casually mentioned. That an executive assistant would be starting.”

“I sent my resume by email.”

“You must have sent it to HR. But nothing came to me.”

She knew he wasn’t talking about the resume. He meant human Jung Hae Jin, not employee Jung Hae Jin.

She wasn’t naive enough not to know that. Especially, it didn’t make sense to just watch a parachute that had suddenly dropped in.

Her heart grew heavier with his every action. Saying there wasn’t time to share was just a superficial excuse; if he deliberately didn’t do it, that was a different story.

“Judge for yourself.”

“What do you mean?”

“Rather than trivial unverified abilities written on paper, prove your abilities yourself, Deputy Jung.”

That you’re not a parachute, as you say.

“Along with knowing which line you should properly stand in.”

It was an order from the person holding my leash.