The words hit like a blunt, heavy throw, and Yunjoo was caught off guard. It felt different from being asked at the team dinner whether she was married. More than anything, she didn’t want Kangwook to see her as the kind of woman who went around seeing men before she had even gotten a divorce.

“It’s not like that.”

“Then why does it look like Mr. Lee Sihyeong thinks he has the right to say what goes with Ms. Cha Yunjoo?”

His voice didn’t rise and he didn’t show anger, and Yunjoo watched him carefully. She could see Kangwook’s expression hardening by degrees, and she knew this couldn’t go on much longer. It was time for her to take control of the situation. She could tell he was holding back, and if Choi Kangwook exploded, it would all be over.

Just as Yunjoo moved to send Sihyeong off before things got any more complicated, Sihyeong took her hand. Startled and flustered, Yunjoo’s eyes went not to Sihyeong but to Kangwook. Yunjoo wasn’t the only one caught off guard. Kangwook’s brow twitched sharply.

“President Choi Kangwook, I was here first today, so I’ll be taking Ms. Yunjoo.”

The hand-holding alone was already enough to push him to the edge, and now the man was saying he would take her. Kangwook had no idea what expression he was supposed to wear. Watching Sihyeong stand there holding her hand, something like a massive explosion went off inside his head. All he wanted was to pull that hand free and draw her to his side.

People had always said he was too rational, that he had no feelings. He could throw that to the dogs. His hand, moving on its own against his will, he clenched with every bit of strength he had. He spoke to Sihyeong but kept his eyes on Yunjoo. Those eyes held a great deal, and all of it showed.

“Well then, let me ask Ms. Cha Yunjoo. Should I take what I’m seeing at face value?”

At Kangwook’s cold, even voice, she pulled her hand from Sihyeong’s before she even realized she had done it. She didn’t know exactly why, but it felt like she had done something she shouldn’t have in front of Kangwook, and she felt sorry for making him angry. She couldn’t understand why she was watching his reaction when she didn’t even know why she felt sorry.

When Kangwook’s cold expression turned toward her, she shook her head without thinking, a reflex that looked like a denial. She didn’t want to watch those cold eyes turn away from her. Before they could, she pulled her hand free.

“Mr. Sihyeong, let’s leave it here and see each other another time.”

“Ms. Yunjoo…….”

She pretended not to see the bewilderment on Sihyeong’s face. He hadn’t expected to be turned away here. Sihyeong watched Yunjoo pull her hand free and face Kangwook, and the current running between the two of them baffled him. As far as he knew, Yunjoo and Kangwook had no reason to be meeting privately. He also knew they had met for the first time at the team dinner.

His gaze dropped from the two of them to his own hand at his side. He didn’t want to let Kangwook take Yunjoo. Sihyeong had shown Yunjoo all of his feelings, and all he wanted was to pull her away from Kangwook’s side. He couldn’t stand the thought of stepping back and letting Yunjoo go with him.

“I’d like to ask what business President Choi Kangwook has with Ms. Yunjoo.”

“Oh, since you’re curious, may I tell him, Ms. Cha Yunjoo?”

Kangwook was angry, that much was clear. He was calm, but the meaning behind his words was unmistakable. The more he held back the rising anger, the lower his voice dropped and the slower his words came. The low, unhurried cadence sent a wave of tension through her.

“Mr. Sihyeong, I’ll contact you later. Please go for now.”

Kangwook cut across Yunjoo’s words as she stood there looking helpless and at a loss. She felt like a tightrope walker between two men, one wrong move away from falling.

“Mr. Lee Sihyeong, let me say it. You asked why I came to see Cha Yunjoo, didn’t you? I’ve been having a hard time getting a meal at home lately, so I’ve been having to sort it out elsewhere. So…….”

Kangwook’s expression as he spoke to Sihyeong was not a good sign. The low, set look on his face was shifting in a strange way, the line of his mouth softening. She couldn’t let this go on. With her heart clenching, Yunjoo watched Kangwook and, not knowing what was about to come out of his mouth, cut him off in a rush.

“Mr. Kangwook!”

“Ms. Cha Yunjoo, what’s the matter? Mr. Lee Sihyeong was curious, so I was going to tell him. Is that not allowed?”

“Stop it and let’s go.”

Seeing Kangwook with that uncharacteristic smirk on his face told her he had reached his limit. She didn’t even register Sihyeong watching them strangely. Yunjoo pressed close to Kangwook’s side, glaring at him, and barely moved her lips.

“Stop. Don’t you dare say it!”

“Say what? Do you know this looks even stranger?”

“It’s been strange since a while ago.”

“True. I saw you panicking.”

“You knew and you did it on purpose……!”

“Bingo. I’m not interested in that man.”

“You……!”

Yunjoo’s eyes bored into Kangwook with a look that could have killed him, and his lips stretched into a long, slow smile. He had been drawing things out purely to look at Yunjoo, with no interest in Sihyeong whatsoever. Satisfied that he had done everything he wanted, Kangwook turned and flashed a grin at Sihyeong, who was standing there in a daze watching them both.

“Mr. Lee Sihyeong, where was I? The point is, I need to have a meal with Ms. Cha Yunjoo. Ms. Cha Yunjoo is acting a bit strange, isn’t she? I suppose I am too. Well, let’s meet again sometime. Ms. Cha Yunjoo, shall we?”

“President, why do you need to have a meal with Ms. Yunjoo?”

“Because I want to. Does that answer the question?”

Yunjoo watched Kangwook walk to the car at a leisurely pace, looking perfectly at ease, after throwing her into a bewildering situation in an instant and leaving her completely flustered. The rage rose in her. Her heart had been in her throat this whole time, and now she knew it had all been to tease her. She could not let this go.

“What is he?”

The words came out low, but they reached Kangwook’s ears. It was the first time Yunjoo had spoken about him so bluntly. She seemed genuinely furious.

“Ha, haha.”

He laughed. Loudly. Listening to Kangwook’s booming laugh, Yunjoo’s burning glare silently aimed itself at the back of his head. Then Kangwook turned, and the moment their eyes met, he gave a small wink and smiled again without a sound.

Yunjoo decided she couldn’t stand there in a daze any longer. She said a quick goodbye to Sihyeong and hurried after Kangwook into the car.

Sihyeong couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed. Their words said one thing, but the ease between them was the kind that only came from people who had known each other for a long time. He stood there watching Yunjoo walk after Kangwook, and even after getting into his own car, he didn’t move.

Watching Yunjoo get into Kangwook’s car so naturally, Sihyeong felt his thoughts grow unsettled. Kangwook got into the driver’s seat and drove himself, and through the rearview mirror he could see Sihyeong still sitting there, not moving, watching them.

“Cha Yunjoo, feeling disappointed?”

“Disappointed about what?”

“I went and stopped you from having a date with Lee Sihyeong. What do I do?”

“A little late to be worrying about that.”

“So you are disappointed.”

Yunjoo glanced over at Kangwook at the sound of his low voice. It seemed like he saw her as someone who was sorry to have missed time with Sihyeong. She didn’t want him to misunderstand.

“Mr. Sihyeong and I are friends. It’s not like that.”

“I wonder if Lee Sihyeong sees it that way.”

“That’s not something Mr. Kangwook needs to concern himself with. Why did you come?”

“Not something I need to concern myself with…….”

It landed like being told he had no right, and it left a hollow feeling. Here was a man who wanted to go on a date with his wife, and all he got was being told not to concern himself.

“Mr. Kangwook, you must have had a reason for coming all the way out there. Just say what it is.”

“Let’s just say I had time to spare.”

“Say something that makes sense. Choi Kangwook had time to spare? What is going on with you lately? Just say it plainly.”

It wasn’t the first time he had been acting strangely, and now she was starting to wonder if it was contagious, because there were moments when the way she looked at Kangwook felt strange too.

“Cha Yunjoo is going to have to figure it out herself. Why I’m like this. I only just figured it out myself. So if you want answers, you’ll have to find them on your own.”

He always went in circles like this. She kept feeling like he was orbiting around her, yet he never said why.

“Mr. Choi Kangwook.”

“What.”

“Ha…… forget it. Just tell me why you really came.”

She decided to drop it. Kangwook wasn’t the kind of man who would tell her plainly, and she had a feeling that figuring it out would only make things more complicated.

“I already told you. I came to eat, because I have a wife at home who won’t feed me.”

“You’re joking!”