“How have you been?”

“Well, you know how it is.”

As they spoke, they arrived at the second floor.

As Yeo Reum tried to enter the store, he stood beside her.

“I’m just browsing the store. For work.”

Yeo Reum nodded roughly and walked on.

“I wanted to see you again anyway.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I wanted to let you know the disciplinary action taken against the employees who were rude to you before, and also to compensate you for the trouble. But you never reply to my emails.”

His dark brown eyes looked at Yeo Reum with a slightly reproachful expression.

“I’m sure the CEO handled it well. And I already said compensation isn’t necessary.”

“Still, I don’t feel right about it. Look, um…”

He fidgeted with one hand, seeming unsure of how to address Yeo Reum.

The atmosphere urged him to say her name, but she pretended not to know until the end.

With a look of resignation, he said,

“Our department store made many mistakes. That’s why I really wanted to compensate you. And I still need to.”

“CEO, you’re unnecessarily serious, aren’t you?”

Suddenly, he burst out laughing.

He laughed so loudly that people around them all turned to stare.

‘Is what I said funny? Is this laughable?’

“Anyway, I’m fine, so don’t worry about it.”

Yeo Reum walked straight towards the skirt she saw.

The indifferent employees hurriedly bowed their heads in surprise as the White Peacock entered.

“Do you like this one?”

He asked, sticking close to Yeo Reum.

“Isn’t it pretty?”

“Well…”

‘Judging by my lack of response, I guess this one isn’t it.’

It was a shame, but they left the store.

The employees standing behind them bent at a 90-degree angle and the sound of their greetings could be heard.

Yeo Reum glanced to the side.

The White Peacock was still with her, and behind him, people who seemed to be his secretaries were also following.

“Excuse me, CEO.”

“Yes?”

“Could you do your work a little further away?”

“Am I bothering you right now?”

“Yes.”

At Yeo Reum’s answer, he made a disappointed, sulky expression.

‘Why are you doing this? Why are you acting pitiful over such a thing?’

“No, it’s just that with you here, the employees are all staring and it’s a bit awkward.”

“I understand. Then you go on ahead.”

He held out one hand.

Yeo Reum felt a little bad, but walked out first.

Glancing back, he was following a few steps behind as promised.

‘Why is that White Peacock acting like this?’

Seeing the handsome man walking listlessly, she felt unnecessarily more guilty.

Still, remembering her purpose for coming here, Yeo Reum looked around the store.

The clothes were pretty, but the prices were definitely department store level.

Before she knew it, Yeo Reum was only looking at the racks placed in front of the store.

Then she glanced to the side again.

He was standing blankly, looking at Yeo Reum.

‘White Peacock, aren’t you going to do your work?’

She had to pick out clothes, but she kept being distracted by him.

Having no choice, Yeo Reum gestured with her hand.

As if he had been waiting, he trotted over and stood by her side.

“How about this one?”

He made an awkward smile.

“But even I can see this is just for display. I don’t know why department store sizes are so small.”

Hearing Yeo Reum’s grumbling, he chuckled.

Of course, he quickly shut his mouth at Yeo Reum’s sharp glance.

Putting the clothes back on the rack, Yeo Reum walked slowly again.

Watching her reaction, he kept standing next to her and constantly gave her a bright smile.

‘I’m really letting this slide because he’s so handsome.’

Yeo Reum smirked.

Perhaps because of that, he gathered a bit more courage and approached her.

“By the way, are you still at the Blue House?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Why, were you worried I might have gotten fired?”

“Yes.”

Yeo Reum turned to look at him.

“And if you ever want to work somewhere else, I’ll help you.”

“Is this part of the compensation you’re offering?”

“If you want.”

“How kind of you to offer that as compensation. But I’m still clinging on well at that household, so there’s no need for that.”

She had looked around the whole store but didn’t find any clothes she particularly liked.

Then the White Peacock spoke.

“The third floor seems more suited to your taste. It’s a bit more young casual there.”

“Is that so?”

“Would you like to take a look?”

“No. And I should get going now.”

Seeing Yeo Reum refuse so decisively, he looked taken aback.

“Did I make you uncomfortable?”

“No. On the contrary, I’m grateful.”

“Pardon?”

“If it wasn’t for you, I would have spent a ton of money on ill-fitting clothes. Let’s consider that as your compensation.”

“But…”

Yeo Reum bowed her head to him as he looked apologetic.

And then she went straight to the escalator.

As she was about to get on, he hurriedly said,

“At least have a cup of tea before you go? I feel so bad sending you off like this.”

“It’s fine. Well then.”

Yeo Reum got on the escalator alone.

As he watched Yeo Reum get further away, he muttered to himself.

“She’s quite iron-walled. The more I see her, the cuter she gets.”

Jung Rok smiled as he watched Yeo Reum energetically cross the lobby.

After looking down at the first floor for a while, he started walking.

His secretaries quickly followed behind him.

Jung Rok got off on the 9th floor where his office was located.

Hae Rin, who was sitting on the sofa at the entrance, stood up happily.

As always, her secretary Cha was with her.

Approaching Hae Rin, Jung Rok asked,

“When did you get here?”

“A little while ago. I texted you too.”

“I had something important to take care of so I couldn’t check. But what brings you here?”

Rather than Jung Rok who asked for her reason for coming, Hae Rin was the one who looked flustered.

“Oh, I wanted to have a cup of tea with you, oppa.”

“I’m sorry. I have a lot of work to take care of right now.”

“Then hurry up and go in to work.”

“Thanks. Well then, be careful on your way back.”

Jung Rok entered his office with a grin.

Left feeling awkward, Hae Rin gave a light nod to his secretaries and headed for the elevator.

“CEO Kim, isn’t that too much? The young lady waited for over 30 minutes outside your office, but you didn’t even check her messages and sent her away without having a cup of tea?”

“Oppa is busy.”

“Don’t tell me you have something else in mind?”

Hae Rin turned to Secretary Cha.

“What do you mean?”

“Could it be that you’re planning to switch to PR?”

Hae Rin spoke in disbelief.

“You can’t possibly think I would lose out to that bumpkin?”

“CEO Kim may not, but Madam Lee already doesn’t look favorably upon you. It’s entirely possible.”

At Secretary Cha’s point, Hae Rin’s brow furrowed.

“No matter what, Jung Rok oppa is on my side.”

“Miss, you should beg your father to have an engagement ceremony this time.”

“Mother said to wait a little longer.”

“The way I see it, Madam has no intention of letting you get married until Young Master Hae Il wakes up. I would do the same. How could she bear to see you living happily while her own son is lying there no different from a corpse?”

“Mother isn’t like that.”

“How is she not? I’m on pins and needles worrying that something might go wrong at this rate.”

“Look, Jung Rok oppa is my man no matter what anyone says. And I’m the only one for him. So stop saying such nonsense.”

In the end, Secretary Cha, who had been watching Hae Rin’s reaction, took a step back.

“I understand.”

*

“Director, aren’t you going to eat your lunch box? Your girlfriend will be disappointed.”

At Secretary Choi’s words, Secretary Oh and Manager Lim, who were sitting on the office sofa, asked in unison,

“What do you mean by that?”

They were in the middle of reporting with stacks of documents, whether San Ha, who was dozing off in the head seat of the sofa, was listening or not.

Perhaps because their voices were loud, San Ha, who had been nodding off, also raised his head.

“You two don’t know, do you? Our director has a girlfriend.”

Secretary Oh and Manager Lim looked at San Ha in surprise.

Come to think of it, there was an eco bag on his desk that he had brought to work.

“Well, the menu is eel.”

“Really?”

The secretaries were delighted, but San Ha looked troubled seeing them.

He cleared his throat and said,

“She’s not my girlfriend, she’s my friend.”

Secretary Oh said,

“There’s no such thing as friends between men and women.”

“That’s right. What kind of friend gives you eel? Unless she’s your girlfriend.”

Manager Lim also agreed.

“I’m telling you, she really is.”

However, the two secretaries asked Secretary Choi,

“Is she pretty?”

“Yes. She’s super cute and bright. The director calls her ‘Magpie’.”

“The director even has a pet name for her?”

“I’m telling you!”

“That’s impossible…”

“Just like her nickname Magpie, she’s a very lively person. And the director couldn’t do anything about her.”

“Is that so?”

“I told you, she’s just a friend.”

But no matter how much San Ha denied it, the three secretaries didn’t even pretend to listen.

Suddenly, Secretary Choi jumped up.

He brought the eco bag over, took out the lunch box, and set it on the coffee table.

“Wow, just look at this color.”

At a glance, the eel was large and well seasoned with sauce, making it look like a work of art.

“You’re not going to eat this delicious eel rice and just throw it away? Hurry up and eat it.”

“I told you, I’m not hungry.”

But Manager Lim forcibly put chopsticks in San Ha’s hand, and Secretary Oh pulled out a tissue and tucked it into San Ha’s collar like a bib.

“Director, you can’t ignore your girlfriend’s sincerity. You have to eat it all. You know you can’t leave until you finish it all, right?”

“What?”

“You’ll have to send a verification shot to your girlfriend showing that you ate it all. Imagine how happy she’ll be? So you must eat everything.”

“I’m really not hungry right now…”

“What do you mean you’re not hungry when you didn’t even eat breakfast properly? Take your time and chew thoroughly to enjoy your meal.”

“Let’s eat together.”

“Oh no, we’re not that tactless.”

The three secretaries left the room, laughing loudly.

“I’m really not hungry.”

San Ha, who was grumbling lightly, looked down at the lunch box.

Eel rice with a glossy brown sheen.

But it seemed like way too much for a woman to eat alone.

Suddenly, the image of Yeo Reum stuffing her cheeks full of food and eating deliciously came to mind.

He couldn’t help but chuckle.

As if he had no choice, San Ha carefully picked up a piece of eel with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth.

“It’s delicious…”

The rice had already cooled down long ago.

But somehow, it felt warm.

*

“Good work everyone!”

Yeo Reum greeted the security guards at the checkpoint guarding the alley brightly.

Her two feet walked vigorously towards the Blue House.

“Isn’t it a bit strange?”

One of the security guards tilted his head and said,

“What is?”

“That young lady’s commuting pattern is different from the existing Blue House employees. Could she be the chaebol heiress from the PR group that came recently? They said the young lady is twenty-five years old, which is exactly her age.”

“Hey, talk sense. Would the heiress of such a prestigious family be walking to take the bus?”

“I heard rumors that Chairman Kang hates that young lady. You’ve heard it too.”

“That may be true. But that young lady isn’t her, no matter what.”

Another security guard shook his head strongly.

“Why?”

“Among the people living in this neighborhood, how many treat us like human beings? Is there anyone who even greets us properly?”

“There’s Chairman Dae and Director Gu. They even send us gifts every holiday.”

“Hey, those two are special cases. Anyway, that young lady isn’t the PR Group heiress. The more I see her, the more I think she’s not the dirty water of this neighborhood, but deep, clean spring water.”

“I guess so.”

Despite their chatter, Yeo Reum only walked forward.

Then, a short sound rang and a text arrived.

Along with a picture of the completely empty lunch box, there was a short message saying “Ate well. Totally delicious!”

‘I’ll have to pack something even more delicious tomorrow!’

Filled with happy thoughts, Yeo Reum entered the Blue House.

As she approached the main building, the sound of people’s laughter could be heard.

Under the beautiful canopy and white tables set up in the garden, six well-dressed young women were having a meal.

The Blue House staff serving and cooking noticed Yeo Reum and tried to greet her, but seeing that they were busy, she raised a hand and greeted them with a nod instead.

It seemed Sophia had invited her friends and was sitting at the head of the table.

Yeo Reum tried to pass by pretending not to see them.

But then she heard a question in English from behind.

“Sophia, who’s that totally tacky girl? Did you hire a new maid?”