A few days after Jung Se Hyun’s visit, Ga Eul entered the empty office and grumbled.

“Just as I thought. He shows up at the office during normal working hours for a few days. That was just a temporary whim. But I get nagged at for being late.”

She was on her way back from finishing training a new part-timer at the convenience store.

The new female employee, for whom this was her first convenience store job, couldn’t focus on the training, so it took longer than expected. She showed more interest in the convenience store owner than in the actual work.

After finishing the training, she set aside expired products separately and took down outdated promotional signs that were still up. She also checked the display and cleanliness conditions. She did the same at two other convenience stores.

Even after returning, the boss still hadn’t come down from the second floor.

“Boss, even if you’re the owner, you should have some conscience. It’s already what others would call afternoon.”

As Ga Eul started lecturing as if the boss was right in front of her, she heard the boss’s voice from the stairs.

“Did you finish what I asked you to do?”

Ga Eul’s mouth snapped shut. Startled that the boss might have heard what she said, she hurriedly headed to her desk.

“Here it is.”

Ga Eul handed over the materials she had compiled about an Indian conglomerate.

The boss flipped through the pages half-heartedly, then looked closely at what seemed to be the page summarizing the group’s financial status. Then he flipped through the pages again. After skimming through to the last page, he tossed the file onto Ga Eul’s desk.

“Shred this with the document shredder and throw it away. Make sure to use the document shredder.”

Ga Eul’s mouth fell open. She was so angry she couldn’t speak. He was going to throw away the materials she had spent two full days compiling after just a cursory glance?

“There’s no way information that’s freely available on the internet would contain a company’s core information. Get me a cup of coffee.”

Seemingly having read Ga Eul’s expression, the boss blurted this out and then sprawled out on the sofa.

“I’m tired from staying up too late last night.”

Ga Eul shot a fierce look at Ki Dae Un lying on the sofa before heading to the pantry. Then he shouldn’t have asked her to compile the information. She had worked so hard to find even the data released by American securities firms.

“Se Hyun will be here soon.”

“Why is Jung Se Hyun coming so often?”

Ga Eul muttered irritably, forgetting that she had agreed to pretend to date Se Hyun. When Se Hyun comes, she’ll have to report to Woo Jin’s father again.

She had faithfully relayed to Woo Jin’s father that the boss and Jung Se Hyun were trying to acquire TS Tech. It seemed like that’s what the boss wanted. Even so, her heart felt heavy knowing she was doing something dishonest.

As Ga Eul placed the coffee in front of Dae Un, Se Hyun entered the office.

“Hello, Attorney.”

“Hello, Ms. Han Ga Eul. Could I trouble you for a cup of coffee as well?”

Both Ga Eul and Se Hyun greeted each other politely, as if they had forgotten they were supposed to be dating. Se Hyun picked up the coffee cup in front of Dae Un and brought it to his lips as he spoke.

“Get up. It’s almost time for our appointment.”

“Ugh, tell them to wait.”

Ki Dae Un groaned as he got up from the sofa. Ga Eul went behind the partition, looking at the boss with disdain before their eyes met. Ga Eul quickly put on a polite expression.

“Mohindra sent someone all the way from India to Korea. How can we, who are already in Korea, not keep a simple time appointment?”

Ga Eul’s ears perked up at the mention of ‘Mohindra’.

Mohindra was the company in the file that Ga Eul had diligently compiled over two days and handed to the boss, only for him to skim through carelessly and toss aside. It was now sitting on Ga Eul’s desk, soon to be shredded.

“Boss, I’ll be heading to the community credit cooperative.”

Ga Eul said as she set down the freshly brewed coffee in front of Dae Un.

“The credit cooperative? Why? Do we do business with them?”

“You told me to make sure to shred this with a document shredder. I’m going to borrow the one at the credit cooperative. My friend works there.”

Ga Eul waved the Mohindra file in her hand, as if to remind the boss that the office didn’t have expensive office equipment like a document shredder.

“Do that after we get back. Stay on standby in case we need you to run an errand.”

This definitely smells fishy. Ga Eul rolled her eyes. It’s like they want me to listen to their conversation. So they want me to hear it and relay it to Woo Jin’s father?

She had said she was going to the credit cooperative to test the boss. She wanted to confirm if the boss really intended for their conversation to leak out. The result of her confirmation was ‘yes’.

She was certain now that the boss knew she was reporting his situation to Woo Jin’s father. Since when? When did the boss start suspecting her? Had he known from the beginning? Even as she thought ‘surely not’, her heart grew cold.

“Are you sure Mohindra has the ability to acquire Shinshin Automotive? There was a case where Edison Motors failed to acquire Ssangyong Motor because they couldn’t pay the balance. If Mohindra’s acquisition of Shinshin Automotive falls through, we as the intermediaries will take a big hit too.”

“Mohindra is one of India’s leading conglomerates with total assets exceeding 130 trillion. It doesn’t make sense that they would let a 600 billion acquisition fall through due to lack of payment ability. You know how eager Mohindra is to enter the automotive industry. Their competitor has acquired major sports car companies, so Mohindra must be desperate.”

Dae Un dismissed Se Hyun’s concerns.

“I guess they must really want to acquire Shinshin Automotive this time, since they lost to their competitor in the airline acquisition competition.”

“That’s right, so we hold the cards. We can afford to be a bit relaxed.”

“How did you get connected with Mohindra’s chairman? I heard Chairman Mistry specifically chose you to handle Shinshin Automotive’s share acquisition.”

“I helped with the chairman’s personal investments when I worked at ‘S&B’. When I said I could no longer handle the chairman’s affairs because I was going to Korea, he asked me to help with matters in Korea instead.”

Ki Dae Un finished speaking and downed his coffee in one gulp. ‘S&B’ was a company Ga Eul had heard of before.

The largest investment company in the U.S. She had learned that much while working under the boss. It was unexpected that the boss had worked at such a company. How much did she not know about the boss?

“Shall we go then?”

“You’re going dressed like that?”

Unlike Se Hyun in his neat suit, Dae Un was wearing a shirt and cotton pants. The shirt tucked into his pants was severely wrinkled. Of course, since he had been lying on the sofa.

“I’ll buy something to wear on the way.”

Dae Un said nonchalantly as he got up.

“Ms. Han Ga Eul, the coffee was great. I’m worried I might get addicted to instant coffee at this rate.”

Se Hyun stood up as well.

“We’ll be late, so don’t wait and go home.”

Dae Un left without even glancing at Ga Eul.

“Boss.”

After hesitating for a moment, Ga Eul ran out of the office and called out to the boss. She wanted to confess that she was supposed to report the conversation the boss and Jung Se Hyun just had to Sun Woo Jin’s father.

“I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me tomorrow.”

The boss waved his hand dismissively and got into Jung Se Hyun’s car parked in front of the office. Ga Eul watched the car leave and then returned to her seat, slumping down.

All her courage had drained away. It felt like the boss’s warning to let her hear their conversation.

I know what you did last summer. If you’re going to do the same thing this summer, you’d better think again. You should at least tell me what you’re planning to do.

Ga Eul sighed. Had the boss given her a chance to come clean? But the fact that he didn’t even look at her bothered her. Ga Eul jumped up from her seat and started cleaning the office. When your mind is troubled, it’s best to keep your body moving.

* * *

After finishing her tutoring session, Ga Eul trudged home and stopped by a convenience store to buy a bottle of soju. She was determined to try drinking properly today. It was a day that called for a drink.

She had been fired from all the homes where she tutored. Each family gave a different excuse, but those were mere pretexts. It was probably due to Woo Jin’s mother’s influence. Otherwise, there’s no way they would all suddenly say they were quitting at the same time, as if they had planned it.

Ga Eul thought that Woo Jin’s mother had exerted her influence this way because she hadn’t cleanly ended her relationship with Woo Jin.

Originally, these were all places Woo Jin’s mother had introduced her to. So she didn’t feel resentful even if the person who gave them took them away. Still, she couldn’t help feeling hurt.

Ga Eul stood in front of the convenience store for a while. She couldn’t go home right now. Today was her grandfather’s memorial day. Her uncle was coming.

Her uncle, who thought that the inheritance he was supposed to receive had been taken and squandered by his older brother for business, would cause trouble whenever he saw her and Gyeo Ul.

For Ga Eul and Gyeo Ul, who couldn’t handle this, avoiding their uncle was an unspoken rule. Gyeo Ul would also come home only after their uncle had left, using night self-study as an excuse.

Ga Eul trudged to the office where she worked. Despite saying he’d be late, the boss didn’t seem to have returned yet. The entire building was dark. Even the second floor where the boss lived had its lights off.

Ga Eul entered the office but didn’t turn on the lights. She wanted to hide in the darkness.

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Ga Eul went straight to her desk and sat down. She opened the soju bottle and drank straight from it. Her throat and esophagus burned. Heat rose even on an empty stomach.

After emptying one bottle, Ga Eul slumped over her desk. She felt unusually weak. Was it because she skipped dinner, or because she was fired from her tutoring jobs?

“The kids said they wanted to keep learning from me. The mothers said why am I doing this? Now that their skills have improved, they’re going to send them to famous academies’ elite university prep classes? Was my class just preparation for elite university prep classes, or what?”

Ga Eul raised herself up again and tilted the soju bottle to her lips. Nothing came out of the bottle. Only then did she remember that she had emptied it. Ga Eul put the soju bottle back on the desk, which produced nothing even when shaken.

“Maybe it’s for the best. I would have had to quit eventually anyway.”

Ga Eul slumped down again and started singing. A soulful trot song flowed from Ga Eul’s lips. It was a song her father used to enjoy singing. Her father said it was also a song her grandfather used to enjoy.

“Life is so unpredictable. To think I’m a chaebol’s granddaughter. So I’m going to quit this company too. But what will the boss do if I quit? I guess he’ll hire a new employee. He needs to fix that temper of his if he wants employees to last long. Only someone like me could endure it. No, even I would have spit and left if I wasn’t strapped for cash.”

Ga Eul, feeling the effects of alcohol, was muttering to herself when she suddenly stiffened. She thought she heard what sounded like a groan. Ga Eul felt all the hair on her body stand on end as a chill ran down her spine. She couldn’t even scream.

“Ughh.”

The sound came from the direction of the sofa. There was someone else in the office besides her. Ga Eul, getting goosebumps, turned on her phone’s flashlight function and shone it towards the sofa.

“Boss?”

Ki Dae Un was lying on the sofa. It seemed the boss had passed out from drinking again. Ga Eul sighed in relief and approached the boss.

“Boss?”

She tried to wake the boss to send him upstairs, but the boss didn’t wake up. The boss seemed to be in a deep sleep. Ga Eul looked at the boss’s face and grumbled.

“Boss, you really aren’t helpful at all. I came here to catch my breath, but you’ve even taken up that space. But you know what, boss?”

Ga Eul paused and looked down at the boss’s face quietly. Whether it was the shadow created by the phone light, the boss with his eyes closed looked gentle. Since the boss was asleep, and she was drunk, she thought it might be okay to say what was on her mind.

So Ga Eul opened her mouth.