Was the woman Cha Geon Hak was meeting not Han Jae Hee but Han Jae Yi?

How could this be happening?

How on earth?

It was that child. The child who briefly lived at my house.

Not once had I forgotten her in my memories. Though quite some time had passed, she looked exactly the same as I remembered her from childhood.

The daughter of the live-in helper that father Yoon Chul Joong had liked so much. Han Jae Yi.

I had hated the sight of her so much. I blamed everything on her and kicked her out.

The child who could have become Soo Ah’s younger sibling if I wasn’t careful.

“Ha, this can’t be…”

Their connection seemed so fated that it made me feel instantly annoyed.

No, maybe this was an even better opportunity.

Soo Ah kept staring at Jae Yi’s back.

That child had grown up like that. The face I saw when we were young remained the same. I remembered her unique name.

‘Hi? I’m Soo Ah. What’s your name?’

‘My name is Jae Yi.’

‘Jae Hee?’

‘No. It’s Jae Yi, with Yi meaning child.’

Soo Ah’s mind was confused now. She looked back and forth between the two of them.

Did they know each other? Or not?

Did they become close knowing they had met as children? Is that why Cha Geon Hak was drawn to her?

No, no way. If that was the case, those two would never have gotten together.

She was the child who had tried to kill Cha Geon Hak.

Right, that’s it. That child had tried to kill Geon Hak.

A faint smile slowly spread across Soo Ah’s face.

Jae Yi bowed her head, looking at Geon Hak in front of her. Her mood, which had been unpleasant just moments ago, quickly improved.

He had that power. The power to suddenly make Jae Yi smile.

“Hello, Executive Director.”

“Where are you headed?”

“I was on my way to the 1st floor. Since it’s lunchtime, I was feeling tired and wanted to buy a cup of coffee.”

“I see. Enjoy your coffee then.”

“Yes. Executive Director.”

If Soo Bin hadn’t been next to her, Kim Secretary would have asked with a curious look where she was going alone without her.

Right, I’ll have to ask him about it at home later.

Soo Bin, who had been chatting comfortably next to Jae Yi, froze in place.

“Ah, hello. Executive Director.”

“Team Leader Han looks quite uncomfortable with me here. You should get going. I seem to have interrupted you two.”

“Yes. Then I’ll be on my way first.”

As Jae Yi passed by him, Geon Hak lightly tapped the back of her hand.

“Let’s go home together today.”

When Jae Yi looked at him, his eyes crinkled beautifully.

Instead of answering, Jae Yi nodded.

As Cha Geon Hak also started walking, Soo Bin beside him took a deep breath, clutching her chest as if she had been trembling.

“Phew. I always get nervous when I’m in front of the Executive Director.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Jae Yi, who is the Executive Director’s girlfriend, wouldn’t know how I feel.”

“Team Leader, shh.”

When Jae Yi put her finger to her lips, the other woman laughed.

“Everyone who needs to know already knows anyway. The people who deny Jae Yi and the Executive Director’s relationship despite knowing are just jealous.”

“Still.”

Jae Yi’s face turned red as if it would burst.

As Soo Bin said, those who believed, believed. And those who didn’t, still didn’t.

Unlike Jae Yi, who tried not to show her relationship with Geon Hak at the company, Geon Hak would rush to Jae Yi whenever he saw her, no matter where he was.

“Jae Yi. I’m really curious so I’m asking. Can I ask you something?”

Ding.

As the elevator stopped, the two of them stepped inside.

“What is it, Team Leader?”

“No matter how close you two are, how can you look into the Executive Director’s eyes? My whole body freezes up when I make eye contact with him for more than 5 seconds. Come to think of it, Jae Yi seemed to be able to look into his eyes well even before dating him.”

It wasn’t like she could look straight into his eyes from the beginning.

Whenever their eyes met, her heart would pound as if it would burst, making it hard to look at him.

Of course, it had gotten much better now, but in confined spaces or the morning after spending the night with him, it was still harder to face him.

Even now, just looking at the Executive Director made her heart flutter and fill her with excitement, a feeling she loved so much.

“I wasn’t like that at first either. I couldn’t make eye contact with the Executive Director and would just bow my head. He was so handsome that I couldn’t look at his face.”

“Ah, I agree with that. If the Executive Director had been a celebrity, he would’ve been hugely popular.”

Jae Yi also nodded. When the employees jokingly held an in-house popularity poll, Geon Hak had won first place by an overwhelming margin.

“So Jae Yi, did you fall for the Executive Director’s handsome face?”

“I just liked the Executive Director. His confident demeanor, unlike me.”

Now that she thought about it, she had been drawn to him from the moment she first saw him.

To the man named Cha Geon Hak. The person she now felt comfortable being with.

“What, that’s it?”

“Yes.”

Jae Yi smiled shyly. Soo Bin looked disappointed, as if she hadn’t gotten a satisfactory answer.

“You looked so unhappy earlier, but now you’re smiling at the mention of the Executive Director.”

Noticing Jae Yi’s drastically changed appearance, Soo Bin tapped her shoulder and joked playfully.

“Then, what did the Executive Director like about Jae Yi?”

“Pardon?”

“The Executive Director must have had a reason for falling for Jae Yi too. What was that reason?”

Huh? Come to think of it, she had never heard that from him.

What about me did the Executive Director really like that made him fall for me?

I don’t have a bright personality like others, and I’m not outstandingly pretty either.

What part of me did he like?

As Jae Yi got lost in thought, Soo Bin laughed heartily.

“Don’t be like that. Ask him sometime while buying him a cup of coffee.”

Just then, the elevator opened and Jae Yi nodded.

* * *

Geon Hak’s steps came to an abrupt halt.

Spotting Yoon Soo Ah in the executive office, his thick eyebrows naturally furrowed.

Geon Hak glanced at Secretary Kim’s empty seat, who had stepped out for a moment, then fixed his gaze on her.

She had come to see him without even a phone call.

Back in the hospital when her moods had been volatile, but now she was grinning from ear to ear.

“Surprise!”

“What brings you here all of a sudden?”

“What, you’re not happy to see me at all? I rushed over here the moment my cast was removed. Look, my cast is off and I’m completely fine now.”

As if to show that her arm had fully healed, Soo Ah twirled it around and around.

“Is that what you came all the way to the company to say?”

“Yes. I wanted you to be the first to see.”

“You’re going straight to Han Seo Group. Is it okay for you to return to the front lines right away?”

“See, you’re the only one who worries about me, Geon Hak.”

It wasn’t that he was worried about her.

Geon Hak knew she was fine.

The first day after parting with her like that, Geon Hak had been worried about her and stopped by the hospital room, only to witness it by chance.

Her arm that had supposedly been injured in the car accident was perfectly fine.

The cast was carelessly unwrapped on the sofa, and unbelievably, she was holding a knife in her right hand, cutting into a steak.

Seeing that, Geon Hak had immediately turned around.

It was the same now. Concern voiced unconsciously, without much emotion.

It was true that he was worried because she had been a woman he truly loved at one point. As she said, the long time they had been together didn’t change.

Until Jae Yi appeared, Yoon Soo Ah had been more than family to Geon Hak.

“If you’re done talking, leave. I’m busy.”

As Geon Hak turned his back, Soo Ah immediately followed him into the executive office.

Soo Ah, who had entered the office on her own accord, slowly looked around.

“As expected of the Cha Myung Group’s executive director? It’s really nice. Did you always talk to me from here during our calls?”

“Yoon Soo Ah.”

His face showed that he didn’t want to hear any more nonsense and just wanted her to get to the point.

“You’re too much, really. Do you know what I think every time you act like this? I feel like you’re discarding me because you’re burdened now that I’ve broken off my engagement and come to you.”

“Yoon Soo Ah!”

At his outburst of anger, a gentle smile spread across Soo Ah’s face.

“Right. I know it’s not like that. Even if I had gotten divorced instead of breaking off the engagement, you were always ready to accept me. The reason you’re acting like this now. It’s because you’re worried about hurting that woman, isn’t it?”

Geon Hak’s thick eyebrows twitched.

“So I really regret it. I should have chosen you no matter what father said. Even if I got beaten to death, I should have just stayed with you.”

Her eyes gradually reddened and Soo Ah stepped closer to Geon Hak.

“I love you, Geon Hak. I… really love you a lot.”

Soo Ah wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly.

“Being in your arms like this makes me so happy, Geon Hak.”

When Geon Hak tried to forcibly remove her arms around his waist, she cried out as if in pain.

“Ahh, it hurts. Even if the bone has healed, it hurts if you handle it like that. Be gentle with me.”

“That can’t be.”

“Huh?”

“Your arm wasn’t injured in the first place.”

“…..”

The smile on Soo Ah’s face disappeared and Geon Hak forcibly removed her hands.

“I’m pretty sure I told you in the hospital room.”

Soo Ah’s eyes wavered.

“I told you not to expect anything more. Should I say it again? I’m not going back no matter what you say.”

“…..”

“I thought I told you not to hold on to any lingering attachments if you wanted to completely end things with me.”

“…Does that woman matter to you that much? What’s the big deal if we do this when she’s not in front of us!”

Soo Ah’s eyes flashed as she looked at Geon Hak. Then, a faint voice reached Soo Ah’s ears.

* * *

Jae Yi entered the executive office holding a coffee carrier.

“Secretary Kim.”

Secretary Kim showed a momentarily surprised expression at Jae Yi’s appearance.

Secretary Kim, who had been out on an errand, had pushed back all of Geon Hak’s schedules upon Yoon Soo Ah’s arrival.

Secretary Kim quickly managed his expression at Jae Yi’s sudden appearance.

“You must have been surprised by my sudden visit. I bought some coffee. I wanted to give it to you since I came down to the 1st floor. Please have some, Secretary Kim.”

“Ah. Thank you.”

“If the Executive Director is inside, could you let him know I’m here?”

Before Jae Yi could finish her sentence, the office door swung open.

Jae Yi’s head slowly turned, and her eyes wavered at the sight of the woman inside the executive office.