Guaranteed compensation. It was a provocative word that could sufficiently sway Hae Jin’s heart.

“Being a dedicated marker doesn’t mean being a secretary, you just need to work in the same team. Just make sure that unpredictable guy doesn’t cause any trouble by keeping an eye on him, that’s all.”

Working together while monitoring. That’s what a secretary is, Chairman.

My head spun as someone who should know better spoke so calmly.

“You’ll start next week. Department is Strategic Planning. Your position will remain as Assistant Manager, as it was before.”

He knew everything. The fact that she had worked at Sion Corporation and her position as Assistant Manager.

Just how much did he know?

More importantly, though she wasn’t in a position to be picky, some confirmation was necessary. Even in haste, one should test the waters, shouldn’t they?

“Why should I accept this offer, Chairman? What can I trust about you?”

Jun Tae silently looked around the house. Could there be a clearer answer than this? That this was the only chance to escape from this house.

Hae Jin urgently grabbed Jun Tae as he was about to turn away. Turning Jun Tae around was tantamount to accepting. Having chosen an answer without options, she now became curious. Just who was this rugby ball?

“Can I know who the rugby ball is?”

The reason for asking specifically was simple. Isn’t it said that if you know your enemy and know yourself, you can win a hundred battles? Even if she had to mark him, wouldn’t it be a bit easier if she knew who he was beforehand?

Ah, as if he had forgotten the most important thing, Jun Tae tapped his forehead with his finger. Then he took out his phone from his jacket and touched the screen a few times.

The face filling the screen was that of a man she had never seen before. Though she stared at him as if glaring, her body leaned towards the screen. If she had to describe the man’s first impression, it was that he was handsome. Even by her high standards, he was clearly above average.

Seeing the CEO move personally to find someone, it was clear they were either quite close or had an important relationship.

Still unable to take her eyes off the photo, she let her imagination run wild. The chain of thoughts ended with Jun Tae’s introduction of the man.

“Name, Moon Tae Hong. Age 30. Head of Strategic Planning Team.”

She mentally filled in the man’s information piece by piece. Then suddenly, Jun Tae stopped speaking. As the silence grew longer than expected, her gaze finally shifted from the phone to Jun Tae.

The moment their eyes met, another piece of information about him registered with Hae Jin.

“Family relation, my son.”

“Good heavens.”

Surprised, her inner thoughts burst out. She wanted to close her mouth, but couldn’t.

Having finished the introduction, Jun Tae casually patted Hae Jin’s shoulder and shrugged his own shoulders up and down. When she looked back at the man in the screen, she felt her back stiffen.

So, to summarize, she was being asked to take charge of Moon Tae Hong, the son of the Yeonchang Group’s CEO. Hae Jin placed her hand on her throbbing head.

Come to think of it, it was strange from the start that he carried around a casual photo, not even an ID photo, of someone he wasn’t even that close to. She should have been suspicious, but she was blinded by the guaranteed compensation.

Perhaps she shouldn’t have resolved to test the waters. She regretted her hasty actions of talking about winning a hundred battles.

But now, should she say she can’t do it? She’d have to struggle to find part-time jobs again, and she knew well that wouldn’t be easy.

Even if she found a part-time job, could it guarantee compensation better than what the Yeonchang Group’s CEO was offering now?

Once again, the guaranteed compensation held her back.

She had to accept reality. Just as she had felt the despair when she first came here.

“Um, Chairman.”

Hae Jin caught Jun Tae one last time as he was about to leave for real. Having decided to do it, shouldn’t she do it properly? With renewed determination, she quickly brought out her phone.

“May I take a picture of the photo?”

After briefly pondering Hae Jin’s words, Jun Tae unhesitatingly brought up the photo of his son, Moon Tae Hong, again. Without hesitation, she quickly focused the camera. Click, Tae Hong’s photo was saved on Hae Jin’s phone.

As Jun Tae, having finished his business, was leaving the house, a “Huh,” escaped her lips without her realizing. With a bang, the door closed and silence enveloped the house. Hae Jin’s legs, standing like a statue, couldn’t move easily.

It had all happened in just a few dozen minutes. Though she had agreed as if possessed, this was probably the only option in the end.

If asked whether she had any other choices now, the answer would be no.

If asked whether any better methods came to mind, the answer would also be no.

In other words, this was ultimately the best option for Hae Jin.

It was a moment of selling her soul in front of enormous compensation.

**

Preparing for work wasn’t difficult. Although she had sold her luxury bag, she hadn’t sold her office wear. She couldn’t sell her clothes as she needed to work to earn money.

Jung Hae Jin had once been at the top of her game. But that was when she was Jung Hae Jin of Sion Group. Now, she was going to work as a rugby ball lineman for Yeonchang Group.

She had tossed and turned all night. It wasn’t excitement about going to work after a long time. In the past, she might have talked about self-realization or skill development, but now it was solely for survival.

She had to live, eat, and maintain a basic life. To do that, she had to earn and work. That was why she had tossed and turned last night. She couldn’t make mistakes. She couldn’t get fired. She had to mark properly.

On her way to work, Hae Jin steeled herself. The choices were simple, and the answer was straightforward.

Go to work, do the job, receive the enormous salary, and escape this situation. That was all that moved Jung Hae Jin.

The first impression of Yeonchang’s lobby didn’t compare to Sion’s. The high ceiling from the entrance created a sense of alienation that made Hae Jin’s shoulders slightly curl inward.

But who was she? Wasn’t she Jung Hae Jin, proud and dignified, who might sell her luxury bag but not her self-respect?

She crossed the lobby confidently, without losing her nerve. Her appearance, perfectly matched with her outfit, was enough to catch the eyes of passing men who glanced at her.

She neatly tucked away the temporary visitor’s pass she had received from Jun Tae and naturally passed through the entrance. Hae Jin’s eyes fell on several elevators.

She ran towards one of the elevators that was about to close. The elevator had clearly been wide open, but the person inside, despite clearly seeing Hae Jin running, was quickly pressing the ‘close’ button.

I saw that.

Hae Jin quickly pressed the up button. And just as the door was about to close, Hae Jin’s foot, which was a beat faster, reopened the elevator door.

A man standing there still pressing the ‘close’ button, and a woman with one foot stretched out wearing a winner’s smile.

Their eyes met in a strange lock. As their gazes interlocked tightly towards each other, the surroundings slowly curved and were sucked in.

And quickly flashing by, a photo: a handsome face with fierce eyes despite his good looks. A sharp nose noticeable even from the front, and tightly closed lips in an expressionless face. Above all, a face slightly better in person than in the picture.

It was the moment when Tae Hong’s openly furrowing brow entered Hae Jin’s mischievous pupils. Moon Tae Hong, Yeonchang Group’s greatest offensive player. She had encountered the very person she was supposed to mark.

During the week given until her start date, Hae Jin focused on just one thing: mental discipline. She might not have money, but that doesn’t mean she lacks self-esteem. So in situations not involving money, never be servile, but be confident.

Hae Jin constantly instilled this in herself as if in a trance. Perhaps that’s why. From the moment she left for work, Hae Jin controlled her mind.

As a result, she even ended up wedging one foot in the closing elevator door.

The closing elevator door opened again. Tae Hong, who had been looking down at Hae Jin’s foot that had suddenly appeared in the elevator, raised his head.

Since Hae Jin had already slipped in through the now open door, it could no longer be Tae Hong’s private elevator.

“May I ride?”

Tae Hong answered Hae Jin’s mellifluous voice by taking half a step back. Hae Jin boarded with one large step forward. No more employees were seen passing by the elevator.

The button for the floor Tae Hong had pressed first was lit. Hae Jin looked at the lit button and then raised her head towards the rapidly ascending numbers.

“Which floor are you going to?”

Tae Hong, who had been looking only at his phone, asked while still fixing his gaze on the screen. Though it was just his voice, the elevator felt weighty with Tae Hong’s tone.

“The same floor.”

Hae Jin answered while quickly turning her head towards Tae Hong, who was half a step behind her, and then faced forward again.

Tae Hong finally shifted his gaze to Hae Jin.

The 28th floor of Yeonchang Group, that was the floor where only the Strategic Planning Team, of which Tae Hong was the team leader, existed.

“The same floor, huh.”

Tae Hong repeated Hae Jin’s last words in a soft baritone. Though unseen, perhaps due to Tae Hong’s voice from behind, Hae Jin felt goosebumps rising from the back of her head to her ankles.

But she couldn’t turn around.

Hae Jin knew him, but he didn’t know her yet, right? Perhaps that’s why he seemed to be looking at her with a mix of wariness and curiosity, somewhere in between, at this unfamiliar face going to the same floor.

“Are you here for the Strategic Planning Team?”

“Yes.”

Instead of making direct eye contact, Hae Jin casually lifted her head. And met Tae Hong’s gaze reflected in the elevator door in front of her.

It was fiercer than in the photo, making her falter. Unable to avoid his eyes, she continued the conversation while looking straight ahead as if looking in a mirror.

“Excuse me, but who are you here to see?”

She could tell immediately from his tone. He seemed to view Hae Jin as just one of the business contacts visiting the Strategic Planning Team. It was closer to relaxed curiosity than wariness.

“I’m here to see Team Leader Moon Tae Hong.”

Before Tae Hong’s wariness could heat up, ding, 28th floor. The announcement that they had arrived at their destination was heard.

The doors opened, letting in fresh air as if clearing the stuffy space that had felt packed in the elevator. The gazes of the two who had been looking at each other through the doors scattered. Neither took the first step.

Just as the doors were about to close again, Hae Jin took a deep breath and was about to lift her foot to exit the elevator. At that moment, Tae Hong stepped out even faster and quickly turned around.

Tae Hong blocked Hae Jin’s path just as she was about to exit.

“Are you perhaps Jung Hae Jin?”

His deep eyes focused on Hae Jin as if to draw her in. Knowing that Tae Hong was still looking down at her, Hae Jin put strength in her legs touching the floor and confidently raised her head.

“Yes. I am Jung Hae Jin.”

Then she casually mentioned Tae Hong’s name.

“Are you Team Leader Moon Tae Hong?”

But the answer to her question was Tae Hong’s perfect branding.

“Ah, so you’re the parachute Jung Hae Jin.”