“Mr. Kangwook! What are you doing? I left it with the secretary’s office because you seemed busy. What is this?”

She had been standing there waiting for the elevator, lost in her own thoughts, when this had happened to her. She had delivered what he asked, so she couldn’t understand why he was acting like this. Yunjoo was startled and struggled, trying not to be dragged along, and the irritation that had been building in him finally broke through.

“Cha Yunjoo, honestly!”

He bit down and held back, knowing another word would bring out something worse. Kangwook didn’t let go of the arm he had taken and walked straight through the secretary’s office and into his own, and the secretary’s office began to stir. Nothing like this had ever happened before.

The madam had never come to the company in person to deliver documents. And then, after she had done exactly that, he stormed out furious that they had let her leave, run out himself, taken her by the hand, and brought her back into the president’s office. Team Leader Moon, who had served at Kangwook’s side for years, stared at the closed door of the president’s office with a bewildered expression.

Right now, Kangwook couldn’t see anything else. What other people thought or how they looked at him didn’t matter to him. All he could see was the woman who had come all this way without knowing what was in his heart and had been about to leave without a word. 

He called her out on the pretext of having lunch together because the thought of not seeing her face for a few days had been nagging at him, and she had been about to walk out without saying anything, and that was why he was angry. Only once they were inside his office did he let go of Yunjoo’s arm. Yunjoo was just as angry at the roughness of it all.

“Cha Yunjoo, why would you come all the way here and just leave?”

“What do you mean, why? You seemed busy, so I figured I’d drop it off and let you work.”

“So you came all this way just to hand something over and go?”

“Well, what was I supposed to do?”

“Ha…… Cha Yunjoo.”

He said her name like a sigh, then took hold of her shoulders and stepped close, looking into her eyes, and Yunjoo’s face went tense. The closeness was too much, and having his eyes that near was overwhelming. Kangwook stood still, facing her without moving, and Yunjoo could only look up at him with wide eyes.

She sometimes had no idea what Kangwook was doing when he called her name like this and looked at her this way. Something in her trembled, something in her stirred, but it was only a feeling she couldn’t name. 

She understood it was because of the uncomfortably close distance, but the man himself she couldn’t read. She couldn’t even blink from the tension, and when he spoke, the words landed so unexpectedly she wondered if she had heard them wrong.

“Cha Yunjoo, let’s forget it and go eat.”

He watched Yunjoo standing there, eyes wide open, barely breathing from the tension of him being so close, and let go of her shoulders and turned to walk over and get his jacket. Every time he stepped near her, Yunjoo tensed up. It bothered him, but it also made him feel bad.

He turned away from Yunjoo and was trying to settle the thing in his own chest that had started beating on its own, when he heard Yunjoo let out a quiet breath behind him.

“I’m fine. You’re busy, you don’t have to.”

“I have to eat to work too. We can go and come back.”

At the easy tone of his voice, Yunjoo’s eyes filled with suspicion. She couldn’t figure out what was behind this. Given how Kangwook normally acted, suspicion was only natural. Kangwook heard her small exhale and turned around, jacket on. Then he walked toward the door and looked back at her still standing there.

“No need to make that face. Aren’t you coming?”

“You really just want to have lunch?”

“Then what else would I do with Cha Yunjoo?”

“Alright. Let’s go.”

“What do you want to eat?”

Yunjoo’s expression said everything at Kangwook asking what she wanted to eat. Her face was asking why he was asking her that.

“Whatever you want, Mr. Kangwook.”

A faint shadow crossed Kangwook’s face at her words. He had called her out wanting to buy her a good lunch since things were going to be busy for a few days, but the atmosphere had only grown more awkward and distant. He had called her because he wanted to feed her something good before she went off to do hard work.

Not knowing any of that, Yunjoo had been about to leave, and that was why he had snapped the moment he saw her. He had taken hold of her shoulders and stood facing her to calm his frustration, and that had only made her shrink back.

He walked out of the office ahead of Yunjoo, who made no effort to hide how uncomfortable she was being alone with him, and every staff member in the secretary’s office rose from their seats and watched the two of them with tense, guarded faces. They all assumed Kangwook was seriously angry at Yunjoo about something and were bracing themselves.

But Kangwook said nothing more, told them he was going for lunch, and left the building and got into the car. Yunjoo found Kangwook confusing. He looked at her conflicted expression and pushed down what he was feeling, then spoke lightly.

“Tell me what you want to eat so we can get going. I’m saying I’ll buy you lunch since you came all the way to the company. Ease up and just tell me what you want.”

“Somewhere nearby is fine.”

“No need to make it complicated. Can you even digest anything with that look on your face?”

Yunjoo was startled that Kangwook had seen right through her. He was a man who gave nothing of himself away while seeing straight through everyone else.

“I eat just fine. Something simple is good.”

“You’re about to do hard work though. Let’s have something good.”

Kangwook could tell the more he said the more complicated things got in Yunjoo’s head, so he decided to stop asking.

Kangwook’s car pulled out of the parking lot and arrived at a place known for its steak. Yunjoo knew this place well. She sat down and looked at Kangwook, then remembered what she was wearing. Sitting here in work clothes felt a little awkward.

‘Is he doing this on purpose?’

But Kangwook wasn’t the type to pull petty tricks to make someone feel bad. If he had something to say, he would say it plainly without wasting time.

‘What is Choi Kangwook doing? Taking time out of his day to buy me lunch? And telling me to eat something good because the work is hard.’

He noticed her staring at him deep in thought, and then she gave a small, wry smile and laughed quietly. He could guess that smile had something to do with thinking about him. Kangwook pretended not to notice.

“What, you don’t like steak?”

“No. I like meat.”

“Your face doesn’t say that. So is it that you don’t want to be here with me?”

“Why would I say no to expensive meat?”

“So expensive food is all it takes and anyone will be happy.”

“Who said that!”

The offhand remark pulled Yunjoo back from whatever else had been occupying her mind. Pfft, Kangwook’s lips curved up into a soft arc.

“If it’s not true, it’s not true. Why so startled.”

“Because it’s strange. President Choi Kangwook buying lunch for someone with no prior arrangement. You’re not that generous a person.”

“Maybe it’s alright for me to have one person like that.”

At Kangwook’s words, Yunjoo nodded. Sure, he probably had someone like that. She knew it wasn’t her, and it didn’t bother her.

“Someone like that for Mr. Choi Kangwook would have to be a very special person.”

“Cha Yunjoo.”

“Do you have someone like that, Mr. Kangwook?”

Without realizing that Kangwook’s eyes had gone quiet and low and were resting on her, she turned her gaze in a lighter mood toward the food arriving at the table. The meal turned out better than either of them had expected. Kangwook asked less about himself and more about Yunjoo’s work.

He asked what it was like working at the site and showed interest in what she did, and the meal was pleasant because of it. Watching Yunjoo, who had shed the conflicted look from earlier and was now laughing easily, Kangwook’s expression had turned warm as well. Watching her eat well, clearly enjoying the food, he felt glad he had brought her, and something in him settled.

The atmosphere had softened so much from when they had left the office that Yunjoo was meeting Kangwook’s eyes and showing him the way her round eyes curved when she smiled. Kangwook found it remarkable, the way Yunjoo smiled at him like that, and he couldn’t stop his gaze from drifting back to her.

“Do you always eat this well?”

“I eat well.”

“Were you hiding somewhere to eat before? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you eat like this.”

“The food wasn’t good.”

“That sounds like you’re saying food doesn’t taste good when you eat with me. Am I right?”

“It’s not like we ever ate together that much. It wasn’t that. Let’s just say life didn’t taste like much.”

“Life didn’t taste like much?”

“No. Everything I did was a lie. The marriage, the smiling, the acting well-behaved. None of it was me.”

Everything was a lie, and she was saying he was part of that lie. She had said it lightly, but it landed on Kangwook with weight. His eyes went low as he pushed the salad plate toward her, and just then someone approached their table and greeted them.

“Hello. President Choi Kangwook.”