Chapter 12

Leeyeon subtly bit her lip as she watched Cha Heeyoung, who jumped straight into the main topic.  

“Hey! I’m asking you right now!”  

Cha Heeyoung laughed loudly, as if in disbelief, while approaching Leeyeon, who didn’t respond.  

“Earlier, when you served the tea, I noticed our Dokyeom kept looking at you. Did you secretly make a move on him behind my back?”  

“No, that’s not true.”  

That was the truth.  

She had never once initiated eye contact with Dokyeom.  

In fact, it was Dokyeom who had suggested the fake relationship in the first place.  

“You’re lying until the end!”  

Cha Heeyoung’s eyes landed on a water-filled cup in her sight.  

Without hesitation, she picked up the cup and threw it at Leeyeon.  

In an instant, the clothes Leeyeon was wearing and her face became soaked.  

As she wiped the water running down her face with the back of her hand, Cha Heeyoung glared fiercely at her.  

“Do you think I haven’t seen girls like you before?”  

“……”  

“There’s no shortage of women who try to seduce Dokyeom by spreading their legs first!”  

Without even revealing that the two of them were in a relationship, Cha Heeyoung was already throwing such a tantrum.  

How much angrier would she be if she were to find out about it?  

Just as Cha Heeyoung, unable to control her anger, grabbed the lunchbox to strike Leeyeon on the head—  

“Director Cha.”  

A pleasant, low voice suddenly interrupted, and Dokyeom grabbed Cha Heeyoung’s wrist with a sharp sound.

As a result, the food inside the lunchbox Cha Heeyoung was holding splattered all over Dokyeom’s expensive suit jacket.  

“Oh my, Son……”  

Startled, Cha Heeyoung dropped the lunchbox she was holding, and a dull thud soon followed.  

Dokyeom let out a short, sharp breath and quickly scanned the room, which had turned into a mess in a split second.  

“Has it always been like this?”  

“Son, wh-what do you mean?”

“Have you always treated personal assistants like this, and is that why people kept resigning and leaving in such a short time?”  

Cha Heeyoung repeatedly shook her head, insisting that it wasn’t true and that this was the first time.  

Dokyeom pressed his forehead with one hand, as though he was starting to get a headache.  

“Did it never occur to you, even for a moment, what would happen if this incident with you were to leak outside, Director Cha?”  

Even as he spoke, Dokyeom’s icy gaze focused on Cha Heeyoung, as if in disbelief.  

“If you tarnish the image of the Jicheol Group, Father will be absolutely thrilled, won’t he?”  

“Oh my, oh my, Son!”  

The mention of her husband seemed to bring Cha Heeyoung back to her senses, and her face turned pale.  

“You’re not going to tell your father about what happened today, are you?”  

Dokyeom neither affirmed nor denied her question and instead shifted his gaze to Leeyeon.  

Leeyeon, who was sitting quietly in place, soaked with water, looked pitiful to him.  

He shouldn’t have left her alone, not even for a moment.  

“Are you okay?”  

“Pardon?”  

“That was a poor question. Of course, you’re not okay.”  

Dokyeom pulled out a handkerchief, handed it to Leeyeon, and spoke in his pleasant, low voice.  

“No, I’m really fine. I think you should wipe yourself off, Director, rather than worry about me.”  

The water would dry eventually, but food had splattered onto Dokyeom’s clothes, making him look more uncomfortable than her.  

That’s why she declined this time.  

However, Dokyeom ignored her refusal and firmly placed the handkerchief in her hand.  

Then, he took off his food-stained suit jacket and carelessly tossed it onto the sofa.  

As the atmosphere grew cold and tense in an instant, Cha Heeyoung glanced at Dokyeom, trying to change the subject.  

“Son, since you didn’t have a proper meal today, how about I treat you to a delicious lunch tomorrow? If you have time, we could even invite Artist Bae Yerin to join us for lunch.”

However, Dokyeom spoke in a firm voice.  

“No, I don’t think that will be possible.”  

“Oh, I see. You must be very busy.”

“Yes. I’ve decided to have lunch with my girlfriend every day from now on. I was planning to do that today too, but this situation escalated while I stepped out to take a phone call.”  

At those words, Cha Heeyoung’s eyes trembled violently.  

“G-girlfriend?”  

Her face showed disbelief, even after hearing it directly from Dokyeom’s mouth.  

“Son, you’ve been seeing someone?”  

As Dokyeom remained silent, Cha Heeyoung asked urgently, almost gasping for breath.  

“Since when? No, wait. Well, it would be stranger if someone as good-looking as my son didn’t have a girlfriend, wouldn’t it?”  

Trying to appear cheerful, Cha Heeyoung continued speaking.  

“But since you’re going to get engaged to Artist Bae Yerin soon, wouldn’t it be better to end things with someone you’re just casually seeing?”  

Dokyeom stood up from his seat and stared coldly at Cha Heeyoung.  

“Who says it’s just a casual relationship?”  

“W-what?”  

Cha Heeyoung’s lips parted in shock.  

“I’m in a serious relationship.”  

“Hahaha. Is that so?”  

Cha Heeyoung forced a laugh, though she wasn’t happy at all.  

She glanced briefly at Leeyeon, feeling a sense of relief.  

It seemed better for Dokyeom to have a girlfriend than to be entangled with someone like Leeyeon, whose intentions were hard to read.  

If Dokyeom already had someone, then someone like Leeyeon wouldn’t be able to get any closer to him.  

“I’m really curious about the kind of woman who had you so deeply smitten, Son.”  

“You know her too, Mother.”  

“I know her?”  

“Yes.”  

It seemed as though Cha Heeyoung’s mind was racing furiously.  

“If it’s someone I know…”  

Cha Heeyoung was eagerly waiting for Dokyeom’s next words.  

Knowing this, he deliberately ignored her anticipation.

Dokyeom turned his head and took in the sight of Leeyeon, who was still tense, unable to use the handkerchief he had handed her.  

“Were you waiting for me to wipe it for you?”  

“Pardon?”  

Leeyeon’s eyes widened noticeably, and Dokyeom took the handkerchief back.  

“If that’s the case, you should have said so.”  

Then, he closed the distance and gently wiped the moisture off Leeyeon’s face with the handkerchief, whispering softly.  

“Your clothes must be very uncomfortable since they’re wet.”  

The way he looked at Leeyeon was anything but ordinary.  

“Let’s get out of here first.”  

When Dokyeom intertwined his fingers with Leeyeon’s and pulled her along, Cha Heeyoung screamed in disbelief.  

“S-son! What on earth are you doing?”  

Cha Heeyoung’s mouth hung open as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.  

With a relaxed smile on his lips, Dokyeom wrapped an arm around Leeyeon’s waist.  

“Mother. This is the woman I’m seriously seeing.”  

“No… What are you even saying? Secretary Han, you tell me. This has to be a joke, right? Dokyeom must be joking!”  

Cha Heeyoung’s face had turned completely pale.  

It was as if her expression was saying, ‘How dare someone like you date my son.’  

Then despair filled Cha Heeyoung’s face.  

She looked as if she had lost something precious, her expression hollow and devastated.  

It was a look Leeyeon had never seen on Cha Heeyoung before.  

Leeyeon smiled faintly to herself as she watched.  

‘You shouldn’t be this upset over something like this.’  

Cha Heeyoung had done far worse to her family, taking so much from them.  

It was absurd to see her act as though her world was crumbling just because Leeyeon was dating Dokyeom.  

Especially since Dokyeom wasn’t even Cha Heeyoung’s biological son.  

For the first time, after enduring all the verbal abuse Cha Heeyoung had hurled at her, Leeyeon felt a sense of relief, as though a weight had been lifted from her chest.

Even though it was just the beginning.  

‘I’m glad I accepted Director Ji Dokyeom’s proposal.’  

Thinking that an even deeper hell would unfold for Cha Heeyoung in the future, her heart felt much lighter.  

Because of that, Leeyeon momentarily forgot that she was in Dokyeom’s embrace.  

Leeyeon simply smiled brightly and looked up at Dokyeom.  

They looked like such a perfect couple.  

To the point where one wouldn’t want to admit it.  

Thud-  

Eventually, Heeyoung slumped down onto the sofa.  

Even seeing that, Dokyeom’s face showed no change in expression.  

“You’ve always respected my choices, so I believe you’ll do the same this time.”  

This was a clear warning.