Was it just my imagination that the regular breathing seemed to slow down by one beat after Hae Jin’s words? His gaze was still directed out the window, but his reflection in the glass stubbornly stared straight ahead.

Though I asked calmly, I couldn’t help the pounding feeling in my chest. I was most curious about his answer.

He said he hadn’t seen it. It was just a few days ago that he nonchalantly replied he knew nothing about my background. Of course, he could have found out in the meantime, but hadn’t he told me to prove it with actions?

It seemed too short a time to prove that, could he have known from the beginning? Thinking his words might be a lie made me feel bitter. Even if he had said he knew everything from the start, what difference would it have made?

My actions would have been the same either way. Whose line I had to stand on was already decided.

Tae Hong didn’t say a word until we arrived home either. Only the rhythmic tapping on the steering wheel could be heard in the profound silence. When Hae Jin unbuckled her seatbelt, it felt like the oppressive atmosphere lifted slightly.

Unable to bear the heavy atmosphere any longer, Hae Jin finally spoke first. Since the meaningless passage of time wouldn’t resolve the situation, Hae Jin wanted to hear for certain.

“Since when did you know?”

It’s not even a difficult question, is it? Tae Hong’s eyes, which had been closed, opened and turned towards Hae Jin. Hae Jin also turned her head towards the gaze looking at her. Tae Hong’s face, which had been silent, was unexpectedly calm.

“If you’re asking since when, last week.”

A simple, clean answer.

“If you’re asking how I knew, because I investigated.”

A confident, unapologetic answer.

Which is why it was strangely irritating.

“Investigated?”

“I was just curious about who Jung Hae Jin was, so I looked into it.”

Hae Jin unconsciously nodded, then stopped and quickly turned her head back towards Tae Hong.

“Ah, no, wait. H-how much did you look into?”

“Before that, there’s one thing I’d like to tell you.”

Gulp, Hae Jin swallowed dryly. Though she had blurted out the question, she warned herself before he could answer.

There was no predicting whether it would be positive or negative. She only knew for certain that his eyes, looking straight at her, were full of seriousness.

“For reference, when I take someone on as my person, this level of information gathering is basic for me.”

So that’s why the strategic planning team doesn’t hire people easily, and why they gave a welcome party for a new team member after so long.

For someone who doesn’t trust people easily, investigating the existence of someone who keeps sticking by his side could be considered basic.

“I understand. I’ll listen while keeping that in mind. So, how much did you look into?”

Hae Jin waited for Tae Hong’s answer. The pretext of an investigation was enough to make her feel stripped bare from head to toe.

“Name, Jung Hae Jin.”

Hae Jin focused on his lips as he rattled off the information as if skimming through her personal details. Tae Hong listed off the basic items from her resume one after another.

Without any particular special notes, he continued listing until he suddenly stopped.

“Ah, Jung Hae Jin. Do you know the term ‘umchindal’?”

“I do.”

Hae Jin answered defensively to the sudden question.

“Then what about ‘achindal’?”

Achindal? Dad, friend, daughter?

The moment Hae Jin’s expression contorted, Tae Hong didn’t miss it.

“Looks like you do know. Now that I see it, Jung Hae Jin isn’t just an ordinary parachute hire.”

Good heavens. At the unexpected counterattack, the tension that had eased in Hae Jin rushed back. He’s saying he knows she’s the daughter of Sion Group, but he’s not misunderstanding that the daughter of a bankrupt company is clinging to his side with Jun Tae’s help, is he?

“You came down properly through the chairman’s line. Did they tell you to spy on me?”

It was a backlash.

This time Hae Jin couldn’t answer his question. Though no sharp thorns were visible, the question was infinitely cutting. The more she thought about his question, the more indignant she felt.

“The chairman just said he’d pay me a lot of money to exclusively mark the rugby ball-like team leader when I was hired. There was no deal about reporting on your private life or anything like that.”

This is the truth, after all.

Tae Hong stared straight into Hae Jin’s eyes. Though the LED streetlights outside were brightly illuminating the street, they didn’t reach inside the car.

Though their faces were barely visible in the shadows, she could tell he was staring intently at her.

“Okay. Let’s say there wasn’t.”

It was then that his constantly relaxed gaze turned sharp. Her heart shrank at the piercing look from his perfect poker face.

“But Jung Hae Jin.”

Her tense body flinched just from hearing her name called. With his gaze still fixed on Hae Jin, he held her in place, unable to move her body, heart, eyes, or anything else.

“If the chairman happens to propose any other deals, let me know.”

“Why?”

“I’ll pay you more.”

Is he telling her to switch to the team leader’s line? He already knows she’s the daughter of Sion, and he would know better than anyone that the company has already gone bankrupt.

The fact that money was ultimately the bait too. So he’s just trying to use that to his advantage.

“Once you’ve joined my team, I don’t allow betrayal from team members.”

This was another warning from him.

“Don’t betray my trust.”

Hae Jin felt a shiver run down her skin at Tae Hong’s voice, quietly murmuring as if to himself.

Betrayal, if the act of betrayal he speaks of is reporting everything to Jun Tae in detail, there would be no betrayal. The reason Jun Tae sought her out was simply because she met the conditions and was capable of handling incidents. Nothing more, nothing less.

Trust, why did this word become imprinted in her mind when it came from his lips? Why did the voice that flowed out in a form tinged with desperation have to be about trust?

In a state where she couldn’t contact her parents, there was nowhere to place her wavering heart. How much strength it gives to have someone who believes in you by your side.

Hae Jin knew that better than anyone.

“Thank you for giving me a ride today.”

Not knowing how to answer, she substituted a brief greeting instead.

“I’ll pick you up at 9 tomorrow.”

“What?”

While her mind was complicated between betrayal and trust, what sudden bolt from the blue was this? Tomorrow is a precious weekend, and I was planning to spend that precious weekend brilliantly.

Surprised, Hae Jin’s voice went up two octaves before she closed her mouth in embarrassment.

So only ‘you sir’ have to come to work, right?

She suppressed the voice in her heart. Her drooping shoulders answered for her. Just as she was about to get out, Tae Hong said what he couldn’t finish behind her back.

“Sion launched Ellie Hotel, right?”

The fingers that had reached out to open the car door stopped. Ellie Hotel was one of the world’s leading hotel chains, and when rumors spread that it was pushing for a domestic launch, several companies jumped in.

Of course, they were bound to lose in the size competition with large corporations. But Hae Jin had written down as explicitly as possible the issues that could arise if the high-nosed Ellie Hotel entered Korea as is.

Rather than negotiating after signing a contract, she pinpointed the realistic modifications they needed from the start.

Though she wondered if this would work, Ellie Hotel eventually joined hands with Sion. There were a few attempts by the media to interview the person in charge, but Hae Jin refused each time.

So there had never been any external information released about Hae Jin, but Tae Hong knew about it right away.

“That planning ability, don’t you want to really put it to use? It’ll be interesting this time too. We’re launching a hotel brand in Korea.”

Hae Jin’s eyes wavered. Is this the trust he speaks of?

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

If so, she didn’t want to betray his trust.

**

Even on the drive alone to the meeting place, he had no intention of attending Hae Jin’s welcome party.

He wasn’t the type to drink much outside of external schedules. And a company dinner isn’t the only way to collude with team members, is it?

But suddenly his own image of driving alone felt unfamiliar. Had he gotten used to Hae Jin driving in such a short time?

Human adaptability is really fast. He chuckled to himself as he went through his schedule. Then suddenly, for just a moment, he wondered what Jung Hae Jin was doing.

It’s really funny. Even though he knew full well they were having a welcome party. She must be happily building friendships with the employees.

Though the picture was clearly drawn in his head, he was curious. How much she was drinking, what kind of face she was making as she laughed with the team members.

Thinking he was missing out on Hae Jin’s various expressions, he found himself wrapping up his schedule early without realizing it.

And he found out the dinner location by asking one of the team members about some report-related materials. The whole drive to the dinner venue alone, a smile never left Tae Hong’s face.

When he arrived at the dinner location, it was quite a sight. They said it had been a while since the last company dinner, but the number of scattered liquor bottles was beyond imagination. And the expressions of the team members looking at him as he walked in nonchalantly were also quite a sight.

Did they see something they shouldn’t have?

He felt slightly disappointed, but Byung Soo’s evaluation of Hae Jin was nice to hear. Maybe that’s why. He had only planned to show his face briefly and leave, that was all he intended to do.

When Lee Byung Soo took care of Kim Yeon Jung as they left, he stopped Hae Jin who was about to go back alone.

His body moved before his mind in that situation.

He realized it was already too late to withdraw his outstretched hand. He walked to his car first as if nothing had happened. Seeing Hae Jin following made him smile again.

But suddenly, faced with a sharp question, Tae Hong became quite flustered.

Moon Tae Hong, are you drunk? Making a slip of the tongue you don’t usually make.

Mocking himself, he seemed to contemplate in his mind how much he should say. The end of that thought must have stopped in front of Hae Jin’s house.

It was a situation that could have been lightly passed over by saying he saw the resume, but he ended up telling the truth.

It would be funny if he said he blurted it out without controlling his tone because the eyes looking at him were too bright and sparkling.

To be honest, although she came in through her father’s parachute, the more he worked with her and kept her by his side, the more he liked her working style. Unlike the team members who always found him difficult, it was cute how she said what she needed to say appropriately.

Above all, it would be a waste to let her abilities rot. Since she had already come to Yeonchang, he wanted her to win big projects with proper support.

That level was just right for what he wanted from Jung Hae Jin. He really thought so.

**

Rubbing her eyes at the sunlight coming through the window, Hae Jin got up and reached for her phone first.

There was still time before Tae Hong arrived. Though it was a precious golden Saturday that should be spent brilliantly, her movements were slow as she put on her clothes bit by bit.

Suppressing the desire to sleep more on the weekend, she left the house a little earlier. Then she stopped by a coffee shop and ordered 2 cups of coffee. Last night, what had made her toss and turn was the answer to her worries.

The image of Tae Hong speaking sincerely to her as a work superior and team leader remained like an afterimage. What was with that look in his eyes that didn’t suit him?

“Don’t betray my trust.”

Though her hands should be cold from the ice, her heart was hot. Between trust and betrayal, she wanted to choose trust.

Like how he said to offer coffee to those who need it, she wanted to become the team member Moon Tae Hong needed.