Chapter 18

In the meantime, Junho, who had risen to his feet, intervened between the two.  

“I was in the middle of a conversation with Leeyeon.”  

Dokyeom slowly turned his body.  

With Leeyeon’s slender frame fitting perfectly between his broad shoulders, Junho couldn’t even see a single strand of her hair.  

“You must have had quite a lot to say to my girlfriend, Mr. Ko Junho. Even after spewing nonsense for so long, you still have more to say?”  

As he said this, Dokyeom stared at Junho with an even more domineering gaze.  

Leeyeon’s entire field of vision was filled with Dokyeom’s broad back.  

Looking at the tightly stretched suit, she felt oddly reassured.  

She was grateful that he had found her at just the right time, sparing her from further humiliation at Junho’s hands.  

“Go ahead, say what you need to say.”  

Since Dokyeom was standing like a wall between Leeyeon and Junho, anything Junho wanted to say would go straight into Dokyeom’s ears.  

“No, I mean, I have something to say to Han Leeyeon….”  

“I’m curious about what you’ll say this time. Will it be something like warning her to be careful of bastards like me who only have their looks and money to rely on?”  

“…….”  

“Or maybe you’ll tell her to be cautious because I chase after any woman who falls for my looks?”

Both Junho and Leeyeon turned pale.  

“T-that’s not what I meant…”

This meant that Dokyeom had overheard quite a bit of their conversation.  

“I can tolerate slander about me. But if you spout nonsense about Han Leeyeon one more time….”  

Dokyeom took another step closer to Junho and spoke in a chilling voice.  

“Mr. Ko Junho, your life will become quite miserable.”  

“Are you threatening me right now?”  

Even at Junho’s desperate attempt to push back, Dokyeom remained composed.  

“Why would I need to go as far as to threaten you?”  

It was as if to say, ‘You’re not even worth that effort.’  

“Didn’t the woman you’re planning to marry demand a rather expensive apartment from you?”  

“…….”  

Junho’s eyes widened as if they were about to pop out.  

It was unclear where Dokyeom had obtained such information.  

“It must be tight, with your current salary.”  

“H-how do you know that….”  

As Junho stammered, Dokyeom tilted his head slightly.  

“Shouldn’t you at least keep your current job so you can try to get a loan?”

After all, this gallery was owned by Dokyeom’s stepmother, Cha Heeyoung, meaning that his influence extended even to personnel matters.  

It also meant that if someone crossed him again, they could be fired on the spot.  

Dokyeom had more than Junho had imagined.  

Realizing this in an instant, Junho clamped his mouth shut and couldn’t say another word.  

He quietly stepped aside and looked at Leeyeon with a gentle gaze.  

“Now, apologize for the thoughtless nonsense you spewed at my girlfriend.”

“Well, I mean…”  

Junho hesitated, then suddenly began descending the stairs.  

Just as Dokyeom’s eyes narrowed slightly, wondering if Junho was actually running away,  

Just as Dokyeom narrowed his eyes, suspecting Junho might be trying to escape, Junho picked up a phone lying on the floor—its screen completely shattered.

“Hah.”  

An incredulous sigh escaped Dokyeom’s lips.  

So that’s why Leeyeon hadn’t been able to answer my calls.  

Perhaps it was fortunate that it was just the phone that had broken.  

In the meantime, Junho, holding the phone in one hand, leapt up the stairs two steps at a time.  

Then, looking awkward, he handed it to Leeyeon with a timid voice.  

“Sorry. I was so angry earlier that I just said whatever came to mind…”  

“No excuses, just apologize.”  

“Well, I mean… I’m really sorry, Leeyeon. I apologize for everything I said.”  

Junho bowed his head in apology, placed the phone in Leeyeon’s hand, and left through the emergency stairs.  

Watching this, Dokyeom retrieved the phone again.  

As he noticed Leeyeon’s eyes widen, he added,  

“I’ll get you a new one.”  

“No, it’s fine, I can just get it repaired…”  

“I don’t like the idea of another guy’s hands having touched it.”  

Dokyeom casually slipped the phone into the inner pocket of his suit.  

Then, leaving the emergency stairs, the two hurriedly walked toward Dokyeom’s car.  

Noticing Leeyeon’s gaze repeatedly drifting toward his chest pocket, where her phone was, Dokyeom spoke:  

“I won’t look at any of the information on this phone. I’ll transfer everything to a new one, so don’t worry.”  

Even as he spoke, Dokyeom’s gaze lingered on Leeyeon’s wrist, which was still red and swollen.  

“This is really fine. It’ll get better soon.” 

Leeyeon said with a faint smile, hiding her wrist behind her back.  

And she avoided Dokyeom’s gaze.  

Because, strangely, he felt overly kind.

Perhaps Junho’s harsh tone had startled her so much that she was misunderstanding things.  

At the very least, Dokyeom had never spoken as forcefully as Junho.  

That’s why she kept telling herself that this was just her imagination.  

At that moment, Dokyeom spoke softly.  

“I feel like I made a mistake by making that proposal to you, Han Leeyeon.”  

“Pardon?”

Not understanding what he meant, she felt she needed to look at Dokyeom’s expression.  

When she looked up to meet his gaze, his face carried a somewhat troubled expression.  

Seeing his face only made it harder to grasp the meaning behind his words.  

“Director, what do you mean by what you just said?”  

Was he upset that I hadn’t been able to handle Junho properly and had caused trouble?

Or was he upset because, instead of quietly observing Cha Heeyoung’s every move, I had caused a scene?  

Did he regret entrusting me with this task?

Her heart raced anxiously.

‘Surely, he’s not going to say we should call this whole thing off, right?’  

If he did, everything would fall apart, and the thought made her feel incredibly anxious.  

Dokyeom opened his mouth again, and what came out was even harder to interpret.  

“I’m wondering if I was wrong to think you were the right person for this job.”

Suppressing her trembling voice as best as she could, Leeyeon asked,  

“Does that mean you regret getting involved with me like this?”  

“Exactly.”  

Feeling that her unsettled emotions might show if she kept looking at him, Leeyeon turned her head away first.  

She took a deep breath to compose herself and asked,  

“Why? I’ve done my best to provide you with all the information I could gather so far… If it wasn’t enough, I’ll try even harder.”  

Dokyeom steadily gazed at Leeyeon’s face as she spoke hastily.  

“I’ll observe more closely and report every detail to you. So please don’t tell me to stop now—it’s too much.”

“Stop?”  

This time, Dokyeom spoke in a tone of surprise.  

“I was talking about our fake relationship.”

“Oh…”

“I was saying I regretted suggesting that we pretend to date to make things easier.”

Leeyeon bit her lip.

“Because of that, you’re dealing with things you shouldn’t have to.”

Leeyeon quickly waved her hands in denial.

“No, it’s fine. Things got a little heated in the stairwell, but after you arrived, it was actually quite satisfying.”

Despite her reassurance, the doubt in Dokyeom’s eyes didn’t disappear.

And why would it?

It was undeniable that she wouldn’t have faced such trouble if she hadn’t gotten involved with him.

Still, she didn’t want to give up her role of monitoring Cha Heeyoung, even if it made her seem desperate.

‘What would I even say if he asked why I’m so determined to do this?’

As she pondered, Dokyeom opened the car door for her and whispered softly.

“What’s so satisfying about this?”

“Thanks to you, I got to see Junho shrink back in fear. That alone made me happy.”

She meant it sincerely.

“So please don’t regret your proposal to me.”

Dokyeom tilted his head slightly, holding the car door open.

“You know what? You’re unusually assertive today, Han Leeyeon.”

Leeyeon nodded slowly.

“When I first proposed the fake relationship, you didn’t seem this cooperative.”

His sharp gaze slowly scanned her face.