“From now on, this is my seat.”

It was hard to believe he actually came to work, let alone taking the seat right next to her…

Yuri couldn’t accept what was happening before her eyes as it was.

She had naturally assumed that Jeho, her partner, would share an office with Manager Kim. The manager’s office was spacious enough for two people to use comfortably. If they installed a partition, it could easily be divided into two separate offices.

So why was he insisting on using the same office as the employees?

But if that’s what he wanted, so be it. She had no right to object. Though she disliked that he took Jin Man’s seat right next to her, she couldn’t protest about that either.

Well, he’ll probably stop coming after a few days.

She didn’t expect him to keep coming to work every day.

It seemed the discomfort was hers alone to bear. Jeho adapted immediately as if he had been working at “Bauhaus” for a very long time.

All morning, he pored over printed design drawings, gathering employees’ opinions and manually marking areas that needed revision.

His ability to focus on work was simply remarkable. Jeho stared intently at the computer screen and design drawings, oblivious to his surroundings. In contrast, Yuri couldn’t concentrate on her work at all.

Her gaze kept being drawn to Jeho’s firm arm muscles revealed below his rolled-up shirt sleeves, and his hands with appropriately prominent tendons. He even wore glasses when examining fine details.

Come to think of it, this was the first time she’d seen him so absorbed in work.

Someone once said that a man looks most attractive when he’s engrossed in his work.

That was absolutely true. He looked handsome in formal wear, but it couldn’t compare to how he looked immersed in work.

How was it that he seemed more and more attractive the more she saw him?

“Sigh.”

Yuri let out a short sigh, disappointed in herself for sneaking glances at him.

Perhaps it was this behavior of hers that had prompted him to make that mischievous joke.

“I can’t let a woman who keeps catching my eye and occupying my thoughts walk alone at night.”

It must have been a joke. It had to be a joke.

Yuri bit her lower lip and shook her head.

She should have felt offended by the inappropriate joke, but instead her heart was racing. It must be because her mind was fuzzy from lack of sleep.

At times like this, she needed a strong coffee with an extra shot of espresso. Yuri abruptly stood up to get her coffee fix. Unaware that Jeho was staring intently at her back, she quickly walked out of the office.

Jeho silently watched Yuri’s retreating figure, recalling the events of the previous night.

Due to Assemblyman Chae’s sudden appearance, he had to part ways with Yuri and walked back to Woo Gyeol’s house instead of taking a taxi. It would have been a 10-minute drive, but walking took quite a while. Still, the walk allowed him to calmly sort out his thoughts.

A woman who keeps catching his eye and occupying his thoughts.

At least that wasn’t a lie.

He really did find his gaze drawn to her and his mind preoccupied with her.

And now he was starting to worry about her.

Yuri’s face had turned as white as a sheet when she encountered Assemblyman Chae. Even if they had been caught in a compromising position, Yuri’s reaction to meeting her father wasn’t normal.

It was so different from the father-daughter relationship Jeho remembered from 10 years ago. What could have happened between Yuri and Assemblyman Chae in the meantime? Was there perhaps something crucial he needed to know?

The vibrant woman who had been responsive to his every word suddenly wilted like a withered flower upon meeting Assemblyman Chae. Her once lively eyes became dull, and Yuri silently got into the car with Assemblyman Chae. Jeho had to fight the urge to grab her arm and pull her out of the car.

Just as he was nearing Woo Gyeol’s house, he received a phone call.

It was an unknown number, but he didn’t need to check who it was. He had a feeling he knew.

“This is Kwon Jeho.”

[It’s been a while.]

Assemblyman Chae’s voice came through the phone. It was a deep voice that exuded authority, different from Chairman Kwon’s.

[I didn’t get to greet you properly earlier due to the circumstances. I heard about your return from Chairman Kang… By the way, I heard you made quite an interesting request to the chairman. Frankly, I found it hard to understand.]

Jeho remained silent, just listening to Assemblyman Chae’s words.

[Moreover, Yuri told me earlier that you’ve become a partner at ‘Bauhaus’.]

“Yes, that’s correct.”

[…Hmm.]

After a short sigh, Assemblyman Chae continued.

[I’d like to meet with you one-on-one, if that’s alright?]

Though Jeho couldn’t guess why Assemblyman Chae wanted to meet, he had no reason to refuse. After all, Assemblyman Chae was one of the hurdles he needed to overcome.

“Sure. Please let me know a time that’s convenient for you.”

After ending the call with Assemblyman Chae, Jeho stared at his phone for a moment. He wanted to ask, ‘Is Yuri alright?’ but couldn’t. His question might put her in a difficult position.

This morning, Jeho inwardly sighed with relief upon seeing Yuri acting normal.

“Why.”

Jeho muttered to himself as he watched Yuri walk out of the office.

“Why was I worried about you?”

[This is the timeline separator]

“What are you saying? Old man, have you gone senile?”

“Lower your voice. What if others hear?”

When Min Woo shouted loudly, Director Kwon looked towards the door with a troubled expression. Although the room was soundproof, and even if the conversation leaked out, only the secretary would hear it, it was still better to be cautious.

“So what if they hear? I’m sure everyone would react like me.”

Min Woo had just heard something unbelievable from Director Kwon. Chairman Kwon had entrusted Jeho with designing Yuri and Min Woo’s newlywed home. The thought of living in a house designed by Jeho sent chills down his spine. But Director Kwon seemed to think differently from his son.

“It would be strange to have someone else do it when we have a world-renowned architect in the family. Grandfather must have thought the same.”

“I still don’t like it. I don’t want it.”

As Min Woo strongly objected, Madam Na, who had been listening silently, suddenly interjected.

“Stop complaining and listen to your grandfather. What did you say when you broke off the marriage talks with the Tae Min Group? Didn’t you say you’d do anything if you could marry Yuri? Why are you saying something different now?”

“Mom, this is different.”

“How is it different? What does it matter who designs it? Or would you rather call off the wedding?”

Madam Na had disliked this marriage from the beginning. She had rarely seen anything good come from getting involved with politicians. How many companies had poured all their money into bribes only to be left with nothing when the administration changed?

She was also displeased with Yuri’s aloof attitude, unlike the daughter of the Tae Min Group who always greeted her with smiles and aegyo.

“Assemblyman Chae Hyungsik has an election next year. If he doesn’t get elected, you’ll be grabbing onto a rotten rope. If you want to safely inherit the successor position, you’d better watch your behavior from now on.”

Min Woo glared at his parents with discontent before storming out of the room.

After leaving the executive office, Min Woo headed straight to the planning team to vent his frustration. As Min Woo entered the office, all the employees stood up with tense expressions.

“You’re all just lying around!”

While Director Min Woo Kwon’s image was that of a kind and understanding boss, in reality, he was a completely insane, flat-out psycho boss. He would yell every day, throw office supplies, hurl insults, and was infamous for his intermittent explosive disorder, even worse than Director Kwon who was known for his temper.

“How can you handle work like this? Did I tell you to be this sloppy when I said to be moderate?”

Min Woo looked around at the employees, shouting expletives and throwing a file of documents.

When rumors spread that he would soon inherit management rights, he felt like he was flying. But the situation had changed 180 degrees. They said they would review the progress of the Arcadia complex shopping mall project before making a final decision.

It was like a bolt from the blue. Thinking that Director Kwon would take the chairman’s seat first, he had prepared a slush fund for the future.

Throughout the mall construction, he had given bribes, received kickbacks, embezzled construction costs, and so on. While wedding preparations were important, he first needed to clean up the mess he had made.

On top of that, his cousin Jeho suddenly appeared. He couldn’t fathom Chairman Kwon’s intentions in entrusting the newlywed home construction to Jeho.

What the hell is going on?

Min Woo frowned as he roughly loosened his tie.

[This is the timeline separator]

Belying the term ‘first day’, Jeho didn’t take his eyes off the design drawings even as the clock ticked well past quitting time. Although Manager Kim told him to take it easy, it seemed Jeho wouldn’t be satisfied until he finished all the work he had set out to do.

As a result, Yuri also ended up working overtime. As she was tidying up her desk to leave, she received a call from Min Woo.

[Yuri, did you hear about the newlywed home?]

He skipped greetings and went straight to the point.

“Yes, I heard from father last night.”

[…And you’re okay with it? You didn’t object at all?]

Though not entirely clear, Min Woo’s voice seemed to tremble slightly as if he was trying hard to contain his anger. Why? The chairman himself is providing their newlywed home, is there any reason to object angrily?

“If it’s not okay… Why? Is there a problem?”

[Sigh.]

Instead of answering Yuri’s question, Min Woo let out a long sigh.

“What is it?”

[Never mind. No matter who builds the house… Right, it doesn’t matter to you. Forget it. Let’s talk later.]

Yuri didn’t understand Min Woo’s last words.

It doesn’t matter who builds the house?

The story she heard from Assemblyman Chae was that Chairman Kwon would personally provide their newlywed home. Was there something more to it? As she tilted her head in confusion and stood up, her eyes met Jeho’s.

Ah, this is why sitting next to him is uncomfortable.

“You’re still not leaving? What are you doing?”

“I was just about to.”

Yuri forced a smile as she slung her bag over her shoulder. Jeho also seemed to be preparing to leave, turning off his computer and standing up.

“Let’s discuss the important matters slowly over dinner.”

Important matters? Is he talking to someone else? Yuri quickly looked around. But there was no one else nearby. Jeho was definitely talking to her.

“Important matters? What do you mean?”

“I thought you heard from Assemblyman Chae yesterday…”

As Yuri looked at him with a completely clueless expression, Jeho chuckled briefly.

“Didn’t Assemblyman Chae tell you that I’ll be designing your newlywed home?”

“What?”

Who’s designing what?

Yuri froze in place for a moment. After a while, her mind started working again.

Ah, so that’s why Min Woo…

Now Yuri could understand Min Woo’s reaction during their phone call. She couldn’t understand why Assemblyman Chae had omitted the fact that Jeho would be designing their newlywed home. But it seemed to be part of what Chairman Kwon had conveyed.

Chairman Kwon must have thought entrusting Jeho with the newlywed home construction was the best choice.

In fact, it sounds fantastic just hearing about it! Who would refuse to have a world-renowned architect personally design their newlywed home?

Of course, if she could, she wanted to decline. Just when she was starting to have doubts about this political marriage because of someone, to start her married life in a house designed by Jeho…

“You must be very busy, there’s no need to make time for us.”

Yuri forced a smile and politely declined. But of course, she didn’t expect him to accept it easily.

“It’s true that I’m very busy, but…”

As expected, her refusal was rejected.

“The chairman made a special request.”

As Jeho’s eyes curved like a bow as he gazed at her intently, Yuri felt a sudden pain in her chest and quickly took a breath.