“A special relationship… What does that mean?”

“It means I’ve become interested in CEO Han Bo Mi.”

“What?”

Jae Kyung didn’t create this time with Bo Mi just to have a leisurely meal.

Anyway, probing wasn’t Jae Kyung’s style.

“I saw you coming out of CEO Hwang Min Jun’s house earlier.”

At Jae Kyung’s direct statement, Bo Mi, who was pushing a chopstick full of cold noodles into her mouth, paused as if frozen. How fortunate she didn’t spit it out.

“What is your relationship with CEO Hwang Min Jun?”

Bo Mi’s mouth felt parched. She gulped down the water within reach.

Cough.

Though she needed to stay calm, Bo Mi’s heart raced, fearing she’d arouse more suspicion.

“Well, you see…”

“Do you know about my relationship with CEO Hwang?”

Bo Mi nodded. The factional infighting that had continued from the previous generation was quite well-known. Moreover, Bo Mi had overheard a conversation in the bathroom when she was contracted to Do Won Group.

‘Chairman Lee Hae Young is backing CEO Hwang Min Jun. What’s the relationship between those two?’

‘He’s the son of the late Vice Chairman Do Won Il’s mistress.’

‘They say Chairman Lee Hae Young hated that woman terribly. Apparently, she was close to poisoning her food.’

It was a rumor about Hae Young, Do Jun Seok’s wife and current acting chairwoman.

‘Whoa… So then?’

‘The acting chairwoman couldn’t have children, which was always her complex. But the chairman had an affair and brought back a child. The chairman’s bedridden now. She’s seized power. Rather than that woman’s bloodline, she finds outsider CEO Hwang Min Jun more comfortable.’

The current situation at Do Won Group was unfavorable to Jae Kyung. Most people were more concerned with Hae Young’s opinion than Jae Kyung’s abilities.

CEO Hwang Min Jun had also revived Hwang Construction, and there were quite a few executives who supported the promise to hand over the next chairman position to the Hwang family, as agreed between the late Chairman Hwang and Chairman Do.

“Then this conversation should be quick.”

“I had no intention of…”

Bo Mi swallowed and pressed her lips tightly.

“You weren’t planning to tell me either, right?”

“Ahem.”

Bo Mi coughed as if choking on the water she was drinking.

She’s not good at lying, it seems. Jae Kyung covered his mouth, unaware he was smiling at Bo Mi’s transparent behavior.

“It’s a shame about the project CEO Han Bo Mi participated in. Confidentiality should be the top priority, but it’s regrettable that I can’t trust you.”

“Are you… thinking of terminating the contract? It’s a direct contract with Do Won Distribution.”

“The position of director requires considering Do Won Group as a whole.”

Ah… This is infuriating. Bo Mi clenched her fist at Jae Kyung’s arrogant demeanor.

“This is unfair. It has nothing to do with Narae Creative.”

“How can you prove that?”

I’m going to choke… Bo Mi felt her chest tightening uncomfortably.

“CEO Hwang Min Jun is…”

How honest should I be with this person for the sake of Narae Creative?

“He’s my sponsor. I…”

Bo Mi hesitated for a moment, biting her lip.

“I don’t have parents. They passed away in an accident when I was young.”

“I’m sorry.”

“My maternal grandfather was the caretaker of CEO Hwang’s villa. That’s how he took me in. CEO Hwang was just being generous to an employee’s family.”

Bo Mi herself didn’t know what she meant to CEO Hwang Min Jun. Min Jun had seemed indifferent as Bo Mi grew up, always leaving choices to her. Or rather, he tended to overlook Bo Mi’s stubbornness.

The only time Min Jun acted forcefully and angrily was when he encountered the pregnant Bo Mi at the hospital. But even that was just for a moment. Min Jun could have found Bo Mi, who had run away while pregnant, and confined her according to his will.

But CEO Hwang Min Jun didn’t interfere at all with Bo Mi giving birth and raising the child. She thought he had given up on her.

Seeing CEO Hwang Min Jun’s behavior today left Bo Mi confused.

Until now, Bo Mi had only disappointed him, and for the sake of Narae Creative, she would make another choice that would disappoint Min Jun again.

“Can you say that CEO Hwang Min Jun’s influence wasn’t involved in this collaborative company recruitment?”

“It has nothing to do with the CEO. It’s Narae Creative’s own ability.”

Bo Mi raised her voice, sounding indignant.

“It seems CEO Han Bo Mi will have a lot of loyalty to keep to CEO Hwang Min Jun in the future.”

Bo Mi gripped her water glass tightly and stared into Jae Kyung’s eyes. Her life had never been controlled by Min Jun.

“Personally, I may have loyalty to keep, but as the CEO of Narae Creative, I’m prepared to discard even that loyalty if necessary.”

I wonder what CEO Hwang Min Jun would say about this decision of mine…

‘I hope our Bo Mi lives doing everything she wants to do. Don’t give up what’s most precious, like your mother did.’

That’s what Mom Ga Eul had said to Bo Mi. What did Mom give up?

“I will never do anything to harm Narae Creative or Do Won Group.”

“The words of CEO Han Bo Mi…”

What’s left in Korean society if you exclude academic background, regional connections, and blood ties? Even Jae Kyung couldn’t deny the fact that he had climbed the promotion ladder faster than others due to his title as the chairman’s grandson. Someone else might have let it slide, but to think she’s directly related to CEO Hwang Min Jun…

“Should I believe you without any evidence?”

CEO Han Bo Mi is just unlucky.

“I received the car fare well.”

Jae Kyung coldly said goodbye and stood up.

“Wait! Director Do Jae Kyung! You can’t leave like this!”

Bo Mi hurriedly stood up to grab Jae Kyung, but he coldly avoided her. Her hand, with nowhere to go, flailed in the air and clumsily stumbled.

“Ah!”

This is embarrassing. She couldn’t raise her head due to shame. Jae Kyung’s arm around her waist stimulated Bo Mi’s sense of humiliation.

“…”

“How long do you plan to lean on me?”

Bo Mi pressed her hand against the arm wrapped around her waist and stood up.

‘They say he was unconscious for a year 5 years ago and suddenly recovered. He was almost a living corpse…’

The year Jae Kyung was unconscious overlapped with the time Bo Mi spent with Nakwon. It was definitive proof that they couldn’t be the same person.

Yet, his scent made a corner of her heart ache, constantly reminding her of Nakwon.

Get a grip, Han Bo Mi. Now is not the time to think about him. If you don’t cling to Director Do Jae Kyung, Narae Creative will be out on the streets.

Bo Mi firmly grasped Jae Kyung’s arm with trembling hands.

“CEO Han Bo Mi?”

“Director, please.”

“Let go now.”

“No, I can’t do that.”

Bo Mi stubbornly refused and looked up at Jae Kyung.

“I’ll drop out of this project, so please let Ha Su Young and the other employees continue working.”

Ha. This woman, really. Should I believe this?

‘The moment your heart weakens is the moment you meet death like your father.’

Bo Mi’s desperate appearance reminded him of his mother Sung Yeon Hee’s words.

Grandmother Lee Hae Young saw her daughter-in-law and grandson as thorns in her side, and now CEO Hwang Min Jun, who was his father’s close friend, was aiming for the leadership position of Do Won Group. When no one could be trusted…

Why is this woman…

“I’ll do anything I can.”

“Anything…”

Can you really do anything for the company? Jae Kyung felt rather intrigued by Bo Mi’s pitiful plea that seemed to lack any pride.

“Then can you promise?”

I don’t intend to trust Bo Mi, but if she can be a card to keep close and use, wouldn’t it be better to make her my ally?

“Yes. Please tell me.”

A glimmer of light sparkled in Bo Mi’s eyes. She couldn’t take her gaze off the corner of his lips, waiting for Jae Kyung’s words.

“Become my person.”

At the gentle tone, as if proposing to a lover, Bo Mi blinked her large eyes.

Knowing it didn’t mean that, her heart was still pounding loudly. It was time to make the best choice as CEO Han Bo Mi, not as a woman, to protect what was precious.

A week after starting work at Do Won Distribution, on a morning, Bo Mi encountered Secretary Kim from the Strategic Planning Office at the entrance of her assigned office from last week.

“Hello. I’m from the Strategic Planning Office, serving Director Do Jae Kyung.”

“Yes, hello.”

Bo Mi responded glumly, recalling what had happened over the weekend.

“The director would like to see CEO Han.”

“Yes. Now… Huh? Where did all this stuff go?”

Bo Mi looked around in surprise, noticing that Narae Creative’s belongings moved in last week had disappeared.

“We were told by the director to remove the luggage.”

“What? What’s going on here.”

Bo Mi turned to Secretary Kim in confusion.

“For now, let’s hear what the director has to say. An official notice will be sent to the employees by email. I have other errands, so I’ll be going.”

“I’ll go to the director’s office right away.”

Leaving behind the emptied office and confused Narae Creative employees, she hurriedly made her way.

Hadn’t the discussion been concluded last time, and Narae Creative’s work was guaranteed?

In a world where no one can be trusted… To believe in a verbal promise just by looking at Jae Kyung’s face.

After being backstabbed by Senior Jung Hoon and nearly losing even her aunt’s house.

Han Bo Mi… you fool.

“I’m Han Bo Mi, CEO of Narae Creative. I heard the director called for me.”

“I’m sorry. Please wait a moment. An urgent guest arrived first.”

A pretty-looking secretary who seemed to be a fresh graduate guided Bo Mi to a chair by the wall.

Bo Mi wanted to burst through that door and confront Jae Kyung about what was going on, but she was the CEO of a company and in a position where she had to be the underdog under the name of collaboration with Do Won Group.

She swallowed her anger and stroked her chest. To avoid getting caught up with Jae Kyung, she needed to control her mind.

At times like this, think of Yeo Reum.

Remembering Yeo Reum’s round, chubby cheeks and beautiful large eyes with tear moles, her heart became more at ease. Bo Mi’s lips loosened into a relaxed smile. Just then, the sound of the door opening was heard, and a middle-aged woman and a young woman, elegantly dressed in black dresses, walked out. And the one who opened the door as if seeing them off was none other than Do Jae Kyung.

Bo Mi tensed up unnecessarily when her eyes met Jae Kyung’s, straightening her back and standing up.

The young woman standing behind the middle-aged woman peeked her head out. She was a woman Bo Mi knew all too well.

Ga Young’s eyes gleamed like a hyena spotting its prey.

“Han Bo Mi?”

“Do you know her?”

“I do know her, but she’s not someone you need to worry about, Mother.”

Ga Young spoke to Sung Yeon Hee, Jae Kyung’s mother, in a coquettish voice and smiled.

“She’s an orphan Uncle sponsored.”

“CEO Hwang… did something that doesn’t suit him.”

Wariness flickered in Yeon Hee’s eyes as she looked at Bo Mi.

“He took in a girl with nowhere to go and made her work as a maid in our house.”

Ga Young couldn’t stop excitedly spilling Bo Mi’s information to Yeon Hee.

Don’t. Don’t say such things in front of that person.

Bo Mi felt miserable under Jae Kyung’s unmoving dark eyes.

“It’s too below your concern, Mother. She must have been pushed by Uncle to be selected for this collaboration. Who knows what she gave in return.”

Bo Mi’s fingertips trembled and turned cold as she thought about how Jae Kyung would react to Ga Young’s words. He had threatened to terminate the contract just for meeting her in front of CEO Hwang Min Jun’s house, showing how much he disliked Min Jun…

“Yeon Ga Young.”

Jae Kyung called Ga Young in a low voice. Bo Mi’s heart sank.