Throbbing—her head spun and she squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them again, she unconsciously held her breath.

The figure standing some distance ahead filled her entire field of vision. Features that couldn’t be hidden even by the thick rainfall didn’t seem real. 

‘Did I see wrong? Is this a dream right now?’

‘…This doesn’t make sense. No way.’

Right, it didn’t make sense. Why on earth would Executive Director Sunwoo Gyeom be here? Why, for what reason?

Her headache worsened as she tried to figure out the unknowable. Hyunseo hurriedly turned her gaze elsewhere. She didn’t know. That her patience was this pathetic.

The person standing where she looked again was definitely Gyeom.

The distance slowly closed. Hyunseo couldn’t look at Gyeom approaching her for very long.

The moment she squeezed her eyes shut again, overwhelmed by her heart beating too fast, the fuse in her head blew.

***

“Are you conscious?”

As her flickering vision gradually cleared, a low voice wrapped around her ears.

Hyunseo turned her head slightly and froze when she discovered Gyeom sitting right beside her. He asked calmly, dressed in a perfect suit that made her doubt whether she was seeing him at the office.

“Are you getting overtime pay?”

“…Pardon?”

“Ignore the internal regulations and file for it. You should get it if you worked hard enough to collapse.”

Only then did she realize she was lying on a hard hospital bed. The space enclosed by curtains was thick with the smell of disinfectant. Gyeom simply stopped her with a hand gesture as she tried to get up.

“Just bear with it a little. It’s almost all in.”

Following his gaze, she saw the IV connected to her. Judging by the amount emptied, she seemed to have been unconscious for quite a while. It was fair to say she’d been sleeping.

‘Then does that mean this man watched me sleeping the whole time right beside me?’ Embarrassment rushed in.

“Why are you here?”

The question flew at her before she could even organize her embarrassment. Hyunseo struggled to open her mouth calmly.

“My father is hospitalized here.”

“Is he very ill?”

“Yes, to the point where he can’t move around well on his own.”

“I see.”

“But what brings you here, Executive Director…”

Gyeom stared at her as she trailed off. He didn’t seem displeased, but no answer came either, so she wondered if she’d asked something unnecessary. Just when she thought it didn’t matter if she didn’t hear an answer.

“I brought my mother here.”

“…Ah, I see.”

His words, spoken matter-of-factly, didn’t sit right. Mother? Was Executive Director Sunwoo’s mother sick?

“Not Director Seong Sujeong. My birth mother.”

Hyunseo unconsciously bit her lip hard. She tried not to show her surprise, but it wasn’t easy.

Unlike her, who couldn’t settle down, the person in question was extremely composed. He didn’t look at all like someone who had revealed a hidden secret. 

In the end, Hyunseo was the first to avoid their locked gazes.

She’d heard he was from a typical royal family. Born into a chaebol family that had inherited wealth for generations and raised stably, Gyeom had no public flaws.

The financial sector, which was the company’s starting point, was managed by his father, Vice Chairman Sunwoo Guk, while the food service and media sectors were handled by his mother, Director Seong Sujeong. 

Currently, the construction field led by Gyeom was achieving outstanding results that surpassed all other businesses. But.

Learning this unexpected fact, Hyunseo felt heavy-hearted. 

‘It feels like I’ve heard something I shouldn’t have heard.’ 

She naturally had to keep quiet. Even without any particular request, absolutely.

Ah.

‘Was that why he was struggling?’

‘His disheveled appearance, his uncharacteristically crooked behavior—was it because of this story?’

“Executive Director, payment is complete.”

“Let’s go.”

While she was lost in thought, a nurse approached and removed the IV line. At the secretary’s words informing him that he’d handled the instructions, Gyeom rose, saying they should leave, and Hyunseo soon followed him out of the emergency room.

The sun, which hadn’t come out all day, had already set. She hunched her shoulders at the dreary outside air where the rain had just stopped and picked up her wallet. She was about to ask how much the hospital bill he’d paid instead was.

“Get in.”

“Pardon?”

“Don’t tell me you were planning to go separately?”

He seemed to ask if she thought he was that kind of person. Hyunseo quickly moved her lips toward Gyeom, who was asking if she thought he’d anxiously send someone who’d collapsed from accumulated fatigue alone—and an employee of his company at that.

“I’m fine now.”

“I know you’re fine.”

“I’m really okay. I can just take the train. So you don’t need to worry about me…”

She was going to say he didn’t need to. Nevertheless, the reason she ultimately couldn’t say it out loud was because Gyeom didn’t seem like he’d worry about her that much. It was just simple kindness. 

Should she refuse?

“Secretary Gu.”

“Yes, Executive Director.”

“How’s the highway situation? Can we delay further?”

Secretary Gu in the driver’s seat answered that they should leave right away. Gyeom tilted his head like “see?” 

The car door had been open since earlier. Hyunseo didn’t have the nerve to delay further in that situation.

She got into the back seat like she was possessed. Gyeom naturally got in beside her, and the heavy black sedan moved forward, cutting through the darkness. Gyeom pointed at the wallet she was still clutching tightly in her hand.

“You’ll lose it like that.”

“Um, earlier the payment…”

“Think of it as workers’ compensation.”

Gyeom spoke like it was no big deal and picked up the tablet PC stored in the seat back pocket. Hyunseo withdrew her gaze from him as he immediately focused on examining work-related documents. It felt awkward to ask repeatedly.

She put away her wallet properly and looked out the window. The entire time she followed the scenery heavy with darkness with her eyes, her heart was endlessly troubled. 

‘What am I doing right now?’ she thought. ‘Is this even remotely reasonable?’

‘This is uncomfortable.’

The luxury sedan had plenty of interior space. Even the plush seats were particularly comfortable, but Hyunseo couldn’t quite settle down. Just the fact that she was in the same space as Gyeom made her heartbeat jump erratically.

‘I have to go all the way to Seoul like this.’ 

She resented her perfectly clear mind when she wished sleep would come. No matter how hard she tried to act indifferent, it was futile. She couldn’t help but be conscious of Gyeom right in the next seat.

“This is going to take quite a while.”

Moreover, to make matters worse, even the road was blocked. Secretary Gu expressed difficulty at the cars lined up on the highway to the point where it was hard to find the starting point. 

Gyeom spoke while looking at his tablet, “How long do you think it will take?”

“If it continues like this, it’ll be well past midnight, Executive Director.”

“I won’t be able to stop by the main house. Contact them.”

“Yes, understood.”

Just when it seemed like they were picking up speed, the car immediately refrained from moving again. At this rate, they couldn’t even say they were going.

In a situation no different from being stopped, the only composed person was Gyeom. Or maybe he just seemed composed. Hyunseo became even more troubled when she thought that this might actually be her fault.

‘I shouldn’t have lost consciousness earlier.’ 

Her mouth went dry at the realization that Gyeom’s feet were tied because of her, who had unfortunately caught up on sleep at that moment. It wasn’t intentional, but that made her even more at a loss.

“Are you uncomfortable somewhere?”

She thought she hadn’t shown it, but it must have been obvious because Gyeom asked gently, and Hyunseo apologized.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“It seems like you’re late for an appointment because of me.”

“I’m rather grateful.”

She knew for certain. Gyeom wasn’t on very good terms with Vice Chairman Sunwoo Guk and Director Seong Sujeong.

Nevertheless, her apologetic feelings didn’t easily fade, so Hyunseo repeatedly conveyed her apologies. She desperately hoped that Gyeom’s answer that it was really okay wasn’t a lie told out of consideration for her.

Whirr!

A tow truck ran along the shoulder with a loud noise. There was a separate reason why the highway, which they’d expected to be smooth, suddenly became severely congested. Before long, flashing accident markers appeared.

Like other cars crawling past, Gyeom’s sedan slowly passed the accident site. But even after that, the situation didn’t improve much. It was around then that the quiet sky started pouring rain again. 

The glass window got wet quickly. Secretary Gu hurriedly activated the wipers.

“Maybe I’m not meant to go up.”

A small voice close to a whisper. But it was loud enough for Hyunseo, who was right in the next seat, to hear.

She carefully turned her head. Gyeom, who had at some point fixed his gaze beyond the car window, was looking up at the pitch-black sky. 

His posture, leaning back fully with his long legs wrapped in a black suit slightly crossed, was extremely relaxed. She felt it every time she saw him, but he was a picture.

‘I should stop looking,’ she thought. Yet Hyunseo unconsciously continued to take in Gyeom’s appearance. 

Patter patter, the intensified rainfall ceaselessly struck the glass window. Thanks to the soundproofing, the sound of rain was merely faint.

The car that had been struggling forward stopped again. Just as Secretary Gu sighed in difficulty.

Startled Hyunseo’s eyes widened. It wasn’t just because her eyes met Gyeom’s as he turned his head.

“…Ah.”

Her hand moved first. In that moment, she had no thought other than that she had to somehow stop the flowing blood.

‘In case it drops on the tablet. No, in case it dirties his suit pants.’ 

Hyunseo could give countless reasons for her actions. Even so, blocking Gyeom’s nose with her bare hand was actually a reckless act.

“I’m, I’m sorry…”

Gyeom grabbed her hand as she tried to pull away. Unlike her eyes that widened further, Gyeom’s expression was composed.

She realized subtly. That he seemed composed but absolutely wasn’t. She clearly saw the strange flash in the black eyes directed at her. 

‘Was it an illusion that even the atmosphere seemed to have changed?’

“Executive Director, are you alright?”

Secretary Gu, who belatedly grasped the situation, hastily pulled out tissues from the glove box and held them out.

Gyeom didn’t take them. Instead.

“Secretary Gu.”

More strength went into his fingertips. His black eyes didn’t leave Hyunseo’s face for even an instant.

“I’m too tired to continue.”

“Pardon? Then…”

“Find a place to stay nearby. Anywhere is fine.”

“Ah, yes! Understood!”

Hyunseo swallowed dry saliva. The inside of her palm where Gyeom’s lips touched seemed to grow hotter and hotter.

Secretary Gu, who had been struggling to find a way out, hurriedly turned the wheel. The rainfall intensified even more.