As Jae nodded and followed behind him, a garden connected to the rear came into view.

“You’ve arrived, Executive Director.”

The waiting security guards held black umbrellas, waiting for Geon Hak.

“I’ll carry that.”

As Director Lee Byung Seok tried to take the shopping bag from his hand, he stopped him.

“I’m fine, please take care of the guest behind me.”

Geon Hak moved, carrying the gift she had given him himself.

An uncomfortably large umbrella was placed over Jae’s head and began catching the falling raindrops.

“Young lady, let me carry that for you.”

The feeling of being treated well. It was the first time in her life she’d heard such a title.

Since the bag in her hand wasn’t that heavy, Jae shook her head.

“It’s alright.”

“No, I insist on carrying it.”

As a middle-aged man in a black suit looked at Jae and held out his hand, she had no choice but to hand over her bag.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing.”

Jae was momentarily flustered by the kind attitude of these people, but they soon began to move.

Since entering this place, she felt as if she had come to a different world, without a sense of reality.

The wide garden spread with green grass gave a sense of pressure. A fountain was placed in the central flower bed, and various trees stood in rows.

Her gaze soon turned to the two-story mansion. Its massive size made her feel small instinctively.

As they entered through the middle door, the people working there greeted Jae.

Jae also greeted them and slowly looked around the interior of the house. It was a simple yet quite stylish home. Above all, the windows were arched unlike typical shapes. So the outside scenery looked like a painting.

As Jae’s eyes moved here and there, Geon Hak burst into laughter.

“Don’t your eyes hurt?”

“Ah. I’m just so surprised.”

As Geon Hak unbuttoned his jacket, Director Lee approached and took his jacket.

“Shall we have dinner now?”

“Yes, Executive Director.”

As they entered the dining room, a large table that looked like it could be in a magazine or on TV caught her eye.

On the table were prepared not only various pastas, but also dishes for a simple meal. It was far too much for just two people to eat.

“Mrs. Kim, thank you for your hard work cooking.”

Geon Hak smiled brightly and handed over the shopping bag he had been holding.

“Oh my, is this a gift for me?”

“I’m sorry, but this is a gift I received so I can’t give it to you. I’ll buy you a gift next time, so please put away the mug I received as a gift.”

Kim Sung Kyung, who worked in this house, nodded and was about to enter the kitchen when Geon Hak called out again.

“Mrs. Kim.”

“Yes, Executive Director.”

“The handle of the mug fell off, so don’t be surprised.”

“If you hadn’t told me, I might have been misunderstood for breaking it.”

“Don’t worry. There’s no chance of misunderstanding you, Mrs. Kim.”

Perhaps because it was his space, he looked more at ease than usual. As Geon Hak sat down, Jae sat across from him.

“Please eat comfortably.”

“Thank you, Executive Director. I’ll eat well. There’s so much food, I don’t know where to start.”

“In times like that, you should choose the most appetizing looking food. For example, like this?”

Geon Hak placed cube-shaped steak on her plate and then served some on his own plate as well.

“Well then, let’s enjoy our meal.”

Throughout the meal, Jae kept pressing her fingers to her cheeks, wondering if this was all a dream.

The sensation on her fingers confirmed it wasn’t a dream.

She had the happiest meal time at the home of the Executive Director she had one-sidedly loved for 2 years.

* * *

“You met who at the department store?”

Tae In’s eyes shook as if surprised.

“It was definitely… Executive Director Cha Geon Hak.”

Ha, damn it, fooled again.

“That man’s looks are no joke. I thought I was seeing a celebrity. His aura was something else. Compared to him, you’re really nothing. How can you, an actual celebrity, be less impressive?”

“You called a busy person to come and go just to tell me that story? Just because of that person?”

Tae In furrowed his brow, annoyed by her behavior.

Suddenly calling and urgently asking if he knew who she met today, Tae In had rushed home after asking his manager for understanding.

Just to brag about seeing Cha Geon Hak, you caused such a fuss?

― Do you know who I met? You’ll be really shocked when you hear. Haa. I can’t talk long, so come home right now!

The memory of her urgent voice on the phone briefly flashed through his mind.

“How are you still the same?”

“What?”

“Did you want to lie that badly? That habit. You still haven’t fixed it!”

“How dare you raise your voice to your elder sister! Is this how I raised you? This bastard has really grown too big for his britches, acting so irredeemably.”

“Watch your language. When did you ever raise me? It was Han Jae who took care of me and made me a person.”

“Why you little-!”

Ga Yeon, who had been sitting in the recliner sofa, suddenly stood up and raised her hand high.

She lowers her hand again. When things don’t go the way she wants, her violent tendencies still emerge with a snap.

“Phew, I’ll let it go this time. I’ll let it slide since you make a living with your face.”

“If you cause trouble again this time, it’ll be a prison sentence. Don’t you know you’re on probation right now, sister?”

“You bastard, are you really mocking me right now?!”

“So get your act together and live right. If you don’t want to be dragged to the police station again.”

“Ha, like you’re any better?”

Ga Yeon looked him straight in the eye and shoved his shoulder with her fist as she began to speak.

“You say you’re doing it for Han Jae.”

“…”

“And then you do that to her? Are you even human? I may have been the initial cause, but you were the decisive reason Han Jae ran away from home.”

Tae In’s face instantly contorted. Yet Ga Yeon’s lips did not stop.

“You said we were family. You said I was the sister you cherished terribly! You kept going on about Han Jae, Han Jae. And then you commit such an act-”

“Shut up.”

“What?”

“I said shut up.”

He roughly grabbed Ga Yeon’s hand and began dragging her along.

“Hey, let go of my hand! I said let go! Hey!”

He flung open the front door and threw Ga Yeon’s designer bag and shoes on the ground as her vulgar curses shook the house. Yet Tae In paid no mind and sharply released her wrist.

Bang! Tae In quickly shut the door.

“Do you know how much these bag and shoes cost?! How dare you act like this! Hey, are you crazy?!”

Bang bang!

Though she kicked at the front door, Tae In didn’t budge at the sound of her voice from outside and turned up the volume on the remote control.

Her voice gradually faded against the sound flowing from the television.

― Nice to meet you. I’m rookie actor Park Tae In.

As if on cue, his own image was playing on the TV. Not the irritable appearance from just now, but smiling brightly with eye smiles in full force.

He plopped down on the sofa and leaned his head back, closing his eyes tightly.

‘And then you do that to her? Are you even human? I may have been the initial cause, but you were the decisive reason Han Jae ran away from home.’

He threw the remote control in his hand at the wall, and with a crack, plastic fragments scattered in all directions.

After rampaging like a madman for a while, Ga Yeon took deep, ragged breaths.

She picked up her bag that had fallen to the floor and checked it. She examined whether there were any scratches on her bag.

“Ah shit! It’s scratched! Jeez, his eyes flip whenever Han Jae’s name comes up!!”

Just wait and see if I tell him I saw Han Jae at the department store. I won’t say a word.

“Crazy bastard.”

She muttered a low curse and put her shoes back on properly. Then she kicked his front door hard one more time before turning away.

* * *

Like his personality that never wavered, his room was sophisticated and exuded class.

Above all, what naturally caught the eye was the large bookshelf installed in the bedroom. Discovering the numerous books lining the wall, Jae headed in that direction.

As she slowly ran her finger along the books, her hand stopped. Unlike the neatly inserted books, that one stuck out conspicuously.

Jae’s gaze fell on the book title.

Franz Kafka’s .

It was the first book her mother had gifted to Jae as a child. It had been too complex and difficult for young Jae to read.

Come to think of it, where is that book I received back then?

Jae shrugged her shoulders.

As she flipped through the book, faded unlike the others, parts underlined with highlighter could be seen here and there.

“What are you doing?”

Startled by his presence, Jae dropped the book she was holding, and Geon Hak caught it in one swift motion.

“Ah. I didn’t realize you had come in.”

“Were you looking at the book?”

Jae nodded.

“Did you take out that book knowing what it was?”

Geon Hak looked at the title of the book in her hand and made an amused expression.

“When I was young, I read a little and then put it down.”

“Well. Even I was shocked when I first saw that book and had to close it.”

Feeling like she had found something in common with him, Jae smiled. He inserted the book he was holding back into the bookshelf as Jae asked curiously:

“I noticed there were a lot of underlined parts in the book, did you read it several times?”

“After quite some time had passed, I opened that book again and found I just couldn’t put it down.”

“I see.”

“The protagonist, who had only seemed disgusting before, now felt like the most pitiful character. I even got angry at his family members who were worse than insects.”

“Really?”

“The betrayal of those he believed to be family.”

At his words, Jae felt her heart sink.

“The protagonist must have suffered a lot, seeing his family trying to kill him.”

He sat on the sofa and poured red wine that he had brought beforehand into glasses.

“Sit next to me.”

At the clear sound of the deep red wine being poured, Jae approached and sat beside him.

“Strangely, that book is one I keep thinking about again and again. Whether it’s movies or dramas, if the ending is tragic, it leaves a lasting impression, right? Maybe that’s why that book also leaves quite a long-lasting impression.”

At his calm voice, Jae slowly opened her lips.

“If it’s alright with you, may I borrow that book?”

At Jae’s question, he smiled with the corners of his eyes and said:

“Of course.”

Clink― The sound of wine glasses touching rang through the room.

“Have a glass. The alcohol content isn’t high, so it shouldn’t be burdensome for you to drink, Jae.”

Jae nodded.

Not only had she come to the home of the man she secretly loved, but now she was drinking wine alone with him in his room – it had been a day full of dream-like events.

Perhaps because it was wine he had brought with Jae in mind, the alcohol tasted sweet. The fruity aroma that filled her mouth was very alluring, sweet in flavor as well.

“Seems it suits your taste.”

“Yes. It’s sweet and delicious.”

“I’m glad. Earlier I went to the department store to buy wine with an even lower alcohol content but couldn’t, so I was worried when I just came back empty-handed.”

Jae’s heart fluttered at his words that the reason he went to buy wine at the department store was because of her.

It felt like her heart would burst because of Executive Director Cha Geon Hak, who kept making her heart flutter like this every time.

“You were being considerate of me?”

“It wouldn’t be polite to invite someone and then serve alcohol they can’t drink.”

Jae smiled and picked up her wine.

Outside, the sound of rain still hadn’t stopped, and raindrops hit the window and fell. Every time he took a languid sip of wine, Jae’s heart pounded and raced.

Jae took another sip of the wine in her hand.

“Han Jae.”

“Yes, Executive Director.”

“While looking for your number, I happened to check the employee records. There was nothing written in the family information section.”

Startled by the sudden question, Jae dropped the wine glass she was holding.

“Ah.”

Fortunately, she caught the stem so it didn’t break, but the contents that had filled the glass spilled from her blouse to her skirt and the fabric sofa.

Jae quickly placed the wine glass she was holding on the table and began wiping the sofa first with tissues.

“Ah, I’m sorry, Executive Director.”

Seeing her wipe the sofa first instead of her own clothes, Geon Hak gently grasped her wrist. Their gazes became heated as they looked at each other from close proximity.

“You’re all wet.”

“I’m sorry. Because of me, there’s a stain on the sofa-”

“I’m not talking about the sofa, I’m talking about Han Jae’s clothes. You must be uncomfortable being wet, would you like to wash up?”