Chapter 28

After handling the busy gallery work, Cha Heeyoung took Leeyeon to Jicheol Department Store.  

When feeling low, Cha Heeyoung often relieved her stress by indulging in extravagant spending.  

Recently, she had been hysterical, perhaps due to unresolved issues, and today, she was swiping her card nonstop.  

All Leeyeon did today was act as a porter, following her like a shadow.  

While making her rounds in the luxury section, Cha Heeyoung received a phone call and broke into a radiant smile.  

“Darling!”  

Seeing her smile so brightly, it was obvious who was on the other end of the line.  

“You’re already leaving work today?”  

Cha Heeyoung gestured for Leeyeon to follow her and began walking.  

Leeyeon quickly contacted Driver Kim, who was on standby.  

“Yes, I’ll head home. See you soon, darling.”  

After finishing her call with her husband, Cha Heeyoung looked at Leeyeon.  

“What about Driver Kim?”  

“He’s on standby.”  

After putting the shopping bags into Cha Heeyoung’s car, Leeyeon opened the backseat door for her.  

“Have a safe trip home, ma’am.”  

Director Cha Heeyoung didn’t even acknowledge Leeyeon’s farewell and drove off.  

Since Vice President Ji Jungcheol had left work early, she must have been rushing home, abandoning her beloved shopping spree.  

In any case, it was always nice when Cha Heeyoung had plans with her husband, as it meant Leeyeon could leave work early.  

On such days, Leeyeon didn’t have to escort her to Baek Chan-jae either.  

In fact, early on in her employment, Cha Heeyoung had warned her not to even think about going near Baek Chan-jae while Ji Jungcheol was home.

According to her predecessor, this was to prevent Ji Jungcheol from turning his attention to younger secretaries.

Perhaps Cha Heeyoung thought Leeyeon would try to seduce Ji Jungcheol.

When in fact, her true target was someone else entirely.  

As she stepped out of the department store, the warm spring breeze gently teased Leeyeon’s soft hair.  

Thanks to the longer daylight hours, it was still bright even though it was nearing quitting time.  

Since she had plans to meet her friend Nahyun after a long time, Leeyeon headed toward the Jicheol Construction building.

Although she often visited the Jicheol Construction building to see Nahyun, for some reason, just looking at the exterior of the building made her think of Dokyeom first.  

It was a natural reaction, as he was the man who currently occupied the largest part of Leeyeon’s life.  

Arriving at the restaurant near the Jicheol Construction building that she frequented, Leeyeon waited for Nahyun.  

She filled her glass with water and was about to take a sip when she suddenly paused.  

It reminded her of the day Cha Heeyoung had splashed water on her.  

More precisely, it reminded her of the moment after being splashed, when she was in Dokyeom’s arms.  

“No, why am I suddenly…?”  

To be honest, it wasn’t something she could easily forget.  

Even though they weren’t in a romantic relationship, they had shared physical contact as if they were lovers.  

Considering that the most she had ever done with Junho, who had once been her boyfriend, was hold hands, it left an even deeper impression.  

Recalling Dokyeom’s firm body, which she could clearly feel even through his dress shirt, Leeyeon pressed the cold glass of water against her cheek.  

‘Why do I keep thinking about that!’  

As if she were someone hoping for such an incident to happen again.  

“That won’t happen.”  

Other than pretending to be lovers once in front of Cha Heeyoung, she had never been so closely entangled with him, and she wouldn’t be in the future either.  

While she felt relieved, she also couldn’t help but feel strangely disappointed without realizing it.  

And then she remembered a few mornings ago, the day he asked her not to wear perfume.  

The moment when Dokyeom, upon hearing it wasn’t perfume but shampoo, came closer to confirm, his face naturally came to mind.  

‘He really does seem to have some strange charm that captivates women.’  

The fact that she kept having such inappropriate thoughts made her realize she had to admit it to some extent.  

“The rumors that Ji Dokyeom has many women might not be true after all.”  

Except for the times he was away on business trips, Leeyeon had spent most of her mornings and evenings with him.  

Of course, the time spent reporting to him was short, so he could have freely met women after she left.  

But from what she had observed, Dokyeom would always dive straight into catching up on his piled-up work after sending her off.

“Unlike the rumors, I only focus on one woman.”  

“So, I hope you’ll make an effort, Han Leeyeon.”  

Dokyeom’s sudden words from that time were still confusing, even when she thought about them again.  

It wasn’t even a real relationship; it was a fake relationship meant to fool others, so what kind of effort could possibly be needed?  

In any case, it had nothing to do with her.  

The fake relationship was just like a smokescreen to make it easier for the two of them to talk about Cha Heeyoung.  

There would be no need to pretend to be fake lovers in front of someone again in the future.

While she was thinking this, Nahyun hurriedly approached the table, panting heavily.  

“Leeyeon, I’m sorry I’m late. Did you wait long?”  

“No. I just got here too.”  

“Ah, Ji Dokyeom had to attend the meeting today of all days, and it just wouldn’t end. The meeting ran late, so all my other plans got delayed too. Sorry for being late.”  

“…What? Who?”  

“Huh? Oh, Ji Dokyeom, our Director. Our team was merged into the New Business Division.”  

So, to summarize, it meant that Nahyun’s boss was now Dokyeom.  

“Since when?”  

“It’s been a while. I think I told you about it, didn’t I?”  

“Yeah, you did. You said your team was placed under another division.”  

“Right! That’s this. So now the company atmosphere is just insane.”  

“Really?”  

Leeyeon awkwardly smiled and took a sip of water.  

When she first heard that Nahyun’s team was being absorbed into another division, Leeyeon thought it had nothing to do with her.  

Even though Nahyun worked at Jicheol Construction, it was such a large corporation that she assumed there would be no connection whatsoever with Dokyeom.  

But now that Nahyun’s boss turned out to be Dokyeom, it was unbelievably shocking.  

No, wait.  

Maybe this was another opportunity.  

A perfect chance to learn more about Dokyeom.  

So, Leeyeon casually asked,  

“What kind of person is Director Ji Dokyeom?”  

“Don’t even ask. He’s so strict, a total workaholic, and absolutely intolerant of any mistakes!”

Leeyeon stared at Nahyun as if she wanted to hear more details.  

“They say Director Ji Dokyeom is also incredibly suspicious. That’s what I heard from the team he used to work with.”

Nahyun added that he likes to dissect not just the results but also the process of how the work was done.  

“Usually, bosses just delegate tasks to their subordinates and evaluate the results, but Director Ji Dokyeom isn’t like that.”  

He likes to receive and control everything perfectly, from start to finish, especially regarding things he’s curious about.  

Hearing this made Leeyeon unnecessarily tense.  

She was even more cautious because she was hiding the true reason for approaching Cha Heeyoung and doing what Dokyeom instructed.  

Knowing he is a suspicious person made her feel she needed to be extra careful.  

Nahyun seemed to remember something and exclaimed, “Ah!” before asking,  

“You said you’ve been busy lately. How’s the job of monitoring that woman going?”  

Leeyeon had briefly told Nahyun that she was tasked with watching Cha Heeyoung’s every move.  

“Well, you know. Actually…”  

Leeyeon hesitated before speaking.  

“The person who ordered that job is your Director.”  

“What?”  

Nahyun belatedly covered her mouth with one hand.  

Seeing her eyes widen as if they might pop out, it was clear she was quite shocked too.  

“Really?”  

Leeyeon nodded.  

Nahyun leaned in closer and asked,  

“Then the person you’re in a fake relationship with is also our Director?”  

“Yeah.”  

“Wow, how can something like this happen?”  

Nahyun added that the world is indeed small.  

“So that’s why you were asking so specifically about what kind of person our Director is earlier?”  

“Exactly. Do you have anything else to tell me? It would be good to be careful.”  

Nahyun, after some thought, asked a question in return.  

“Have you two gotten close?”  

“No?”  

“You should get close!”  

As Leeyeon looked at her as if asking why, Nahyun hurriedly continued.