Chapter 9

Dismissing it as an absurd thought, Leeyeon wore a comfortable smile on her lips.  

Then, suddenly, without going through her mind, a single sentence slipped out of her mouth.  

“What if you are away on business trips all week and only returns on the weekend, Director?”

Dokyeom leaned deeply into his chair, as if he wanted to hear more of what Leeyeon was about to say.  

“Of course, I don’t know how your schedule works, Director, but if the only time available is the weekend…”  

“In that case.”  

“If it’s not too frequent, I think I could come to wherever you are, even on weekends, Director.”

Dokyeom chuckled softly, as if he hadn’t expected it.  

It was amusing and intriguing because he hadn’t anticipated her willingness to step forward like that.  

“There must be a reason for such willingness.”

“The reason is…”  

She thought about it but couldn’t come up with one.

She had been the one to say that there’s no such thing as kindness without a reason.  

Even she found her own words absurd, so how ridiculous must they sound to Dokyeom? Leeyeon wanted to take back what she had just said.

After pondering for a while, Leeyeon came up with an excuse.  

“You suggested we engage in a fake relationship, and to appear as a couple to others, we need to get a bit closer.”  

“That does make sense.”  

“Yes. And I’d also like to repay you for replacing my phone and for the consideration you’ve shown me by buying lunch today, Director.”  

As he stood up, he murmured softly.  

“Why does it seem to me that you are trying to avoid having another meal with me next time, Han Leeyeon?”  

Caught off guard, Leeyeon’s brown eyes quivered slightly.  

Since he was standing, looking down at her, Leeyeon had to tilt her head up for quite a while.  

“Am I that uncomfortable to be around?”

Yes.

Standing in front of Dokyeom made her unnecessarily tense.

She had to think carefully about every word she said.

Just being with him was exhausting because the atmosphere he exuded was so overwhelming.  

“Yes……”  

“Ha.”  

Dokyeom let out another snicker at her candid response, which she didn’t even try to hide.  

“You’re truly an unpredictable person, Han Leeyeon.”  

Whether it was a compliment or sarcasm, she couldn’t tell.  

Leeyeon also stood up.  

At that moment, Secretary Choi quickly approached and discreetly handed Leeyeon a packet of medicine.  

“What is this?”  

She looked at Secretary Choi once, then at Dokyeom.  

Dokyeom shrugged his shoulders as if to say he didn’t know anything and spoke.  

“I’ll send you the time and place for the meeting regarding the contract adjustments via message. So make sure to…”  

“I’ll check it carefully.”  

She sure knows how to respond well.  

Dokyeom thought that as he looked at Leeyeon.  

A sharp woman.  

That’s why she rarely seemed to show any vulnerability.

But then again, it wasn’t as if she didn’t have clumsy moments either.  

Even though the phone model Leeyeon was using was waterproof, she managed to break it, despite it being fine before.  

It had only been three days.  

Three days since he had properly interacted with her.

Usually, with one look, he could grasp what kind of person someone was, but Leeyeon, who was so unpredictable, was the first person to pique his interest in this way.  

Perhaps other things about her were also capturing many of Dokyeom’s senses.  

The reason he brought Leeyeon into this matter wasn’t just because she was Cha Heeyoung’s personal secretary.  

Dokyeom admitted there was a bit more personal interest mixed in.  

“Secretary Choi, I’ll step outside to take a call first. Wrap things up and come out.”  

“Yes, Director.”  

As Dokyeom left, Secretary Choi began explaining the medicine she had brought to Leeyeon.

“It seemed like you weren’t feeling well, so I stopped by the pharmacy and brought this.”  

“Oh, I could have gone myself……”  

“I was already picking up some digestive medicine, so I got yours while I was at it. Please don’t feel burdened and just take it.”

Secretary Choi briefly explained how to take the medicine and then disappeared, following Dokyeom, who had just left.  

She had already been planning to go to the pharmacy to buy some general cold medicine, but thanks to the thoughtful Secretary Choi, she saved that time.  

Leeyeon first picked up the coffee cup left behind by Dokyeom, who had been sitting there.  

If Director Cha Heeyoung came downstairs and noticed traces of someone else having been there, she would undoubtedly interrogate her.

Quickly erasing any sign of Dokyeom, Leeyeon began to enjoy the remaining sandwich again.  

Although Dokyeom had been gone for a while, it still felt as if his intense gaze lingered in the spot where he had been sitting.  

What a man with such a strong presence.

She thought as she finished the sandwich.  

***

On the way back to the office, Secretary Choi carefully brought up a topic.  

“She accepted the medicine, fortunately.”

“Really?”  

“Yes, I explained how to take it. I hope she takes it……”  

Whether she took it or not, whether she got better or not, it wasn’t something that should concern him.

So why had he been so bothered that he asked Secretary Choi to buy medicine for her?

It was a puzzle he couldn’t solve.

Moreover, there was something else that irritated Dokyeom.  

“Did Secretary Han just accept the medicine without saying anything?”  

“Hmm……”  

Secretary Choi belatedly recalled what she had said.  

“She mentioned that she could have bought it herself and apologized for the trouble.”  

“And then?”  

“And then she just grabbed the medicine packet.”  

As if wondering what was wrong, Secretary Choi glanced at Dokyeom for his reaction.  

Yes, this was precisely the point that Dokyeom found unsatisfactory.

When it came to things he gave her—even a jacket or an old umbrella—she refused to accept them.

But why does she just accept the medicine that Secretary Choi personally spent money and time to buy?  

People should be consistent.

She claims she doesn’t accept favors without reason, but Secretary Choi really did act out of pure kindness because he asked him to.  

Why is it okay when it’s Secretary Choi but not when it’s me?  

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t find an answer.

Concluding that she was a woman who got under his skin, Dokyeom pulled out his phone.

Where should I tell her to come to sign the contract later?  

Even though they had agreed to fake a relationship, Dokyeom didn’t really want to have conversations in places where others could see them.  

Especially considering the nature of the discussions they needed to have—extremely private matters.  

That left only a few options.  

A hotel where they could be alone, his house, or her house.  

As these thoughts crossed his mind, Dokyeom’s car stopped in front of the Jicheol Construction building.  

In fact, there was one more place.  

Having made up his mind, Dokyeom quickly typed a concise message and sent it to Leeyeon.  

***

At a time when everyone had already left work,  

Leeyeon was in Dokyeom’s office with Secretary Choi.  

“If you wait here, he’ll be with you shortly.”  

“When will the Director arrive, by any chance?”  

At Leeyeon’s question, Secretary Choi, who was guiding her, looked apologetic.  

“It seems the meeting is running longer than expected. He’ll come straight here as soon as it’s over.”  

“All right, I’ll wait.”  

“Would you like something to drink?”  

“Just a glass of cold water, please.”  

A moment later, Secretary Choi placed the water on the desk and left the office.  

Left alone in the spacious office, Leeyeon sat awkwardly on the sofa, stiff in her posture.  

Leeyeon clenched and unclenched her fists, letting out a short breath.  

If she were to meet Dokyeom again later, it would already be the third time seeing him today.  

Despite the frequency, the time they spent together was always brief.

Yet, even in those short moments, the impression Dokyeom left was overwhelming.

Would I ever get used to seeing him often?

Thinking this, Leeyeon straightened her back and tried to compose herself.  

However, perhaps because she wasn’t feeling well, her eyelids began to grow heavy against her will.  

“I have to wait……”  

She knew she shouldn’t fall asleep.

But that strong resolve ultimately succumbed to her poor physical condition.  

Leeyeon leaned back on the sofa and fell asleep just like that.  

***

A little while later, the office door suddenly burst open, and Dokyeom appeared.  

“It’s a similar scale, but don’t you think the budget was unnecessarily high?”  

While on the phone, Dokyeom belatedly noticed Leeyeon curled up asleep on the office sofa.  

“I’ll call you back.”  

Hastily ending the call, the man gazed at Leeyeon with a cold expression.  

Leeyeon, clearly unwell, was letting out faint groaning sounds.  

“If she was feeling this bad, she could’ve just said so and postponed the meeting.”

As he said this, a hint of concern appeared on Dokyeom’s face.