“He’s a wonderful person……”

Due to drinking whatever was given, Ba Ha continued speaking with hazy eyes and slurred words.

“I’m so grateful, really grateful, truly… grateful person. A person like sunshine. A warm person.”

Her words describing him as warm sunshine made Tae Un’s heart flutter. Hiding his reddening face, he lowered his head and gently held Ba Ha’s hand.

And that too, hidden under the table in the most classic way.

As soon as his warmth touched her, Ba Ha forgot this was a company dinner and gazed at him with a silly grin, while Tae Un tried hard to hold back his own laughter at the sight.

“Ahem… I’ll be going now. Assistant Han seems quite drunk too, let’s get up. I’ll take you home.”

Tae Un left the dinner venue supporting Ba Ha. He was surprised to find his mood could fluctuate with just a word from her.

This feeling, experienced for the first time in his life, wasn’t bad. Happiness filled a corner of his heart, feeling Ba Ha had taken a step closer.

“Let’s go, Han Ba Ha.”

[This is the timeline separator]

It was firm.

At this unfamiliar yet familiar soft and firm sensation, Ba Ha gently opened her eyes, and blinking at the flesh-colored scene unfolding before her, she greeted the morning once again in Tae Un’s arms.

‘He’s a wonderful man…, a man like sunshine…’

“Hah……”

I should quit drinking. Ba Ha wanted to cover her own mouth that always said such things when drunk, but sighs kept escaping instead.

“It’s too hot. Isn’t it cheating to breathe like that first thing in the morning?”

“You’re… awake?”

With a face gradually reddening from embarrassment, Ba Ha turned her back in his arms and peeked under the blanket.

“Don’t worry. I don’t have the bad taste to embrace someone drunk and out of their mind.”

“……”

“Well. The alcohol should have worn off by now. It doesn’t seem to be a lie.”

If a reddened face is visible even when turned away, it must be really serious. Tae Un approached Ba Ha with a smirk as she had her back turned.

“Wait! But where is this?”

Startled by the sudden embrace and the solid feeling against her back, she escaped from Tae Un’s arms with trembling lips. Once free from his arms, she looked around at the unfamiliar ceiling that now caught her eye.

It was a dark-toned bedroom, with large windows that made it not feel stuffy, a simple and neat room somehow resembling him.

“My home.”

“The Vice Chairman’s home? No way…?”

Embarrassed by the fleeting memory, Ba Ha quickly got up to leave the bed as cold sweat formed on her forehead, and Tae Un grabbed her wrist with a broad smile.

“Wh-what time is it now? Don’t you have to go to work, Vice Chairman?”

“Already? Let’s stay in bed a little longer……”

Bzzt-!

The phone vibrated loudly next to Tae Un, who was still holding Ba Ha’s wrist. It was Joon. Annoyed by the noisy vibration similar to Joon and the three characters of his name on the screen, Tae Un furrowed his brow and answered the phone.

“Hello.”

-Vice Chairman, where are you?

“Where else would I be? At home. Does Director Jang never sleep?”

-You’re still at home then? Understood! Stay there!

Tae Un frowned even more at Joon’s seemingly urgent voice. He had a bad feeling, but that wasn’t the issue right now. He was only concerned about Ba Ha sitting in front of him looking disheveled.

Is this what it would feel like if I really married you?

“What is it? Did something happen?”

“It’s nothing. By the way, Han Ba Ha, should we really……”

Ding dong-!

At the faint sound of the doorbell, sensing Joon had arrived, Tae Un opened the door and immediately frowned.

“Director Jang……”

“Vice Chairman!”

“What? Did you call from right outside? Why are you here so fast?”

“Phew……”

“We’ll see each other plenty at the company, won’t we? This is troublesome.”

Even seeing Joon panting as if he’d rushed over, Tae Un wasn’t curious about the reason. He was just blocking Joon so Ba Ha inside wouldn’t feel embarrassed.

“Vice Chairman, may I come in to report?”

“…That won’t work.”

“Hah… Vice Chairman, I’m really struggling here.”

Joon looked around behind Tae Un, who seemed to be hiding something. It was strange that Tae Un, who would normally invite him in without hesitation, was keeping him standing at the door.

“Then hurry up and tell me. We’ll see each other at the company.”

“Hah… Vice Chairman, you know you went too far today, right?”

“I’m sorry.”

“What did you just say? No, that’s not the issue. An article about Han Ba Ha has been published.”

At Joon’s urgent words, Tae Un’s face, which had relaxed somewhat, gradually hardened. After checking his expression, Joon fiddled with the tablet he was holding and pulled up an article to show Tae Un.

[ Cha Hi Ra♥, Lee Han. Secret meeting with mysterious woman? Who is she? What about Cha Hi Ra? ]

It was enough.

The article headline was sufficient to grab people’s attention. It was the height of sensationalism. If he were the editor-in-chief, he’d give a bonus for such a headline, saying they’d scored big.

“Vice Chairman, who……”

“Hah… What is this?”

Tired of waiting after Tae Un had been gone for a long time, Ba Ha finally came out curious. Seeing Ba Ha, Tae Un answered her question with another question instead of a reply.

Joon was surprised to see the two of them, realizing that Ba Ha was the reason Tae Un, unlike usual, hadn’t let him in and was hiding something. Ba Ha was shocked to see the article about herself, her hands trembling.

“Tell me. What was this situation? That’s the only way I can protect you.”

Tae Un gently took Ba Ha’s trembling hands. It was obvious who would do such a thing. It had to be the crazy Cha Hi Ra, blinded by jealousy with nothing to fear. Tae Un was just angry that Ba Ha had to be the target of their love game.

“…I’m sorry. We just briefly ran into each other on the company dinner night. I didn’t know this would be photographed. I’m sorry.”

“Hah… You have nothing to be sorry for.”

There were only two photos in the article.

One photo of Lee Han grabbing Ba Ha’s wrist, her face blurred out, and another of Lee Han holding the hem of Ba Ha’s clothes. Just those two photos. People didn’t care whether the woman in those photos was Ba Ha or someone else.

All that mattered was that the woman Lee Han was desperately clinging to in that frame wasn’t Cha Hi Ra.

“Don’t worry too much.”

Tae Un said, looking at the trembling Ba Ha.

Would people really care about the truth?

The article was outrageous. It was filled with speculative content claiming Lee Han was cheating on Cha Hi Ra behind her back, and that he was arguing with Ba Ha, the other woman. Through the publication of these completely false stories, Hi Ra had become the pitiful woman, and the speculation that Ba Ha was the bad woman was gradually becoming accepted as fact.

How could they write such an article without a single fact check and call it news? Ba Ha couldn’t stop trembling at the false content.

“Let’s go out now. I’ll get you out of this. I promised, didn’t I?”

“……”

Ba Ha couldn’t say anything as she watched Tae Un standing beside her, speaking in a gentle voice.

“Well. That……”

Her mind was in turmoil.

She had thought about breaking out and leaving someday. At first, she wanted to get out somehow, even if it meant using Dae Han as a lifeline, but seeing Lee Han’s continued cruel behavior and Tae Un watching over all of this until the end, she came to want to break through this wall and leave on her own.

Having to break out and leave with Tae Un’s help, when she wasn’t even mentally prepared yet, only made her feel helpless.

“Just come with me. That’s all you need to do.”

“I’ll… I’ll do it myself. Please wait a little. I’m sorry.”

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There were no secrets.

Do secrets truly exist in this world? In the short time since the article was published, the world had become noisy. Not only was Ba Ha’s personal information revealed, but throughout the journey from Tae Un’s house to the company, their own league was unfolding in the online world.

‘Actually, she was my high school classmate…’

‘I know that woman.’

‘I heard she works at D* Group.’

‘She’s famous among Lee Han’s sasaengs, that woman.’

↳ ‘Then how do you know? Are you one of those sasaengs?’

Did everyone think this was their chance?

A mix of true and false stories began to circulate. As Ba Ha couldn’t let go of her phone the entire time she was in Tae Un’s car, Tae Un, unable to stand it anymore, took her phone away.

“Stop looking at it.”

“Hah… Alright.”

With her phone taken away, Ba Ha sighed and looked out the window. In the scenery she saw, a heavy rain began to fall without warning. Thunder roared and lightning flashed. In an instant, the clear sky turned dark and noisy.

Just like Ba Ha’s heart.

“Let’s just go up together.”

Arriving near the company, Tae Un, worried, held Ba Ha’s hand and wouldn’t let go, but Ba Ha forced a smile and released his hand. Looking at him so he wouldn’t worry, she shook her head.

“…No. I’ll go in alone.”