Chapter 6. Straight to the Point  

That night, it was the same question she had been asked.

Han Yerin’s heart pounded so hard it felt like it might burst.

She tried her best to hide her nervousness and put on a businesslike smile.

“Before being assigned to this department, I served Executive Director Mo at Jiseok Electronics. I believe we might have crossed paths a few times at the company.”

“Hmm.”

It didn’t seem to be the answer Lee Hyun wanted, as he continued tapping his index finger on the desk.

‘Does he really recognize me? No, if he did, he’d be questioning why I ran away that day instead of probing like this, wouldn’t he?’

Her anxiety wrapped around her entire body, making her feel like she might explode at any moment.

‘It’s fine. He won’t connect who I was that day with who I am now.’

The heavy makeup she wore that day was completely different from how she looked now.

She even wore a short blonde wig borrowed from Nari, so there was no way he’d recognize her.

Still, just in case, Yerin swallowed nervously.

‘Even if he does recognize me… surely he wouldn’t bring up that night at work, would he?’

Secretary Choi cautiously asked a question, trying to break the tense atmosphere that had suddenly settled.

“Director, may I ask why you’re curious about this…?”

“It’s nothing.”

Lee Hyun, seemingly losing interest, turned his attention to the report Secretary Choi had brought.

Flipping through a few pages with an indifferent gaze, he spoke in an even colder tone than before.

“Team Leader Go must have no sense of integrity.”

Lee Hyun let out a sly grin, pulling up the corners of his mouth.

But everyone in the room could tell it wasn’t a smile born of joy.

“This proposal… wasn’t it rejected once before?”

“Ah, yes. I definitely told them to revise it before resubmitting.”

“Secretary Choi.”

“Yes, Director.”

Lee Hyun fixed his now even icier gaze on Secretary Choi.

“If you’re going to slack off just because you’re leaving soon, I’ll be very disappointed.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“With this attitude, how can you properly train your successor?”

All Secretary Choi could do was repeatedly apologize, saying he was sorry.

After slamming the proposal shut, Lee Hyun turned his gaze back to Yerin.

“Secretary Han, come here.”

When Yerin approached, Lee Hyun picked up the problematic proposal and handed it to her.

Yerin extended her hands to receive it.

“What do you think the issue is?”

It was a proposal she hadn’t even read once.

Although the Executive Director Mo she used to assist was an executive at Jiseok Electronics, he had been in the Mobile Business Division.

This meant the data she had observed and learned from back then was no longer applicable.

Yerin quickly flipped through the report, trying her best to grasp its content.

The report from the Product Planning Team contained research on recent trends.

It seemed to be a market analysis conducted before launching a new product, but it failed to hit the key points.

Yerin cautiously shared her opinion.

“It seems that in their effort to include a lot of information, the report lacks a clear focus on its main message.”

Lee Hyun’s eyes glimmered with a trace of approval, as if he was impressed.  

“If it’s alright with you, may I review the report and prepare a summary for you?”

“Do so.”

Lee Hyun nodded once and gestured toward the office door, signaling her to leave.

Clutching the report tightly, Yerin quickly exited his line of sight.

As the door closed with a thud, Secretary Choi gave her a thumbs-up.

“Secretary Han, how did you manage to grasp it so quickly?”

“The issues with most reports that come in are usually quite similar.”

The Executive Director Mo she used to serve hardly did any work.

Even well-prepared reports and proposals would be rejected outright if they exceeded one page of A4 paper.

She never imagined that the countless report summaries she had prepared under such a boss would come in handy like this.

“Secretary Han, I’ll leave the summary of the Product Planning Team’s report to you.”

“Yes.”

Secretary Choi returned to his desk, quickly searched for something, and began making a call.

“Yes, is this CEO Kim Nari of the brand Chetto?”

Hearing the familiar name out of nowhere, Yerin froze mid-typing.

She stared at Secretary Choi as if entranced.

“This is Choi Hyun Joon, secretary to Director Cha Lee Hyun of Jiseok Electronics.”

After politely introducing himself, Secretary Choi swiftly got to the point.

“I’m calling because there’s something I’d like to ask you in person.”

Yerin’s pupils trembled slightly.

‘He’s meeting Nari? Secretary Choi? Why?’

Her heart began to race.

What followed was even more absurd.

“Our Director insisted that I meet you today, CEO Kim Nari, even going as far as to threaten me.”

Realizing his use of the word “threaten” might have been too much, Secretary Choi quickly corrected himself.

“Ah, well, maybe not a threat, but he did speak rather strongly. Anyway, my point is, would you be able to make time today?”

Pretending to focus on her monitor, Yerin perked up her ears.

In the meantime, Secretary Choi seemed to have set up a meeting with Nari and ended the call with a triumphant cheer.

Secretary Shin clicked his tongue and spoke to Secretary Choi.

“It’s because of that woman, isn’t it?”

The phrase “that woman” stuck firmly in Yerin’s ears.

“Haah… yeah. Honestly, the Director is driving me crazy these days.”

As if he hadn’t had it hard enough already.

Muttering under his breath, Secretary Choi stood up, still grumbling.

“Why does he expect me to find the woman he fell in love with at first sight after losing her himself?”

At those words, Yerin dropped the pen she was holding.

The pen rolled across the desk before falling to the floor with a clatter.

Secretary Choi noticed Yerin’s flustered state and asked.

“Secretary Han? I think you dropped your pen.”

“Ah, yes.”

Yerin quickly picked up the pen and composed herself.

‘What is Secretary Choi planning to do by meeting Nari?’

Without even asking, she felt she already knew what kind of conversation would follow, which only made her feelings more complicated.

Secretary Choi stood up from his seat and spoke to Yerin.

“Secretary Han, there’s somewhere urgent we need to go together.”

“Where… are we going?”

“We need to handle the matter the Director has been most concerned about lately.”

Following behind Secretary Choi, Yerin clasped her hands tightly.

Unaware of Yerin’s inner turmoil, Secretary Choi briefly explained the situation.

He spoke of how, after the charity auction hosted by the brand Chetto, Lee Hyun had met a woman at the after-party and had been obsessively searching for her ever since.

“Why is the Director looking for this woman?”

“It seems he fell in love with her at first sight that day.”

“What?”

Yerin was startled.

Secretary Choi let out a deep sigh, as if her reaction was only natural.

“For someone who’s never paid attention to women his entire life to be so captivated… she must be an extraordinary beauty.”

“….”

Yerin bit her lip tightly.

Listening to this absurd story about Lee Hyun falling in love with her at first sight made sweat trickle down her back.

‘Stop looking for me! It was just one night. Why is he going to such lengths to find me…?’

Yerin cautiously voiced her opinion.

“I don’t think the woman would want to be found.”

Secretary Choi nodded slightly at her words.

“I’ve told the Director that more than a dozen times.”

“And?”

“He just keeps repeating that we need to find her.”

Secretary Choi sighed so deeply it seemed the ground might cave in.

At that moment, the office door suddenly swung open, and Lee Hyun appeared with his usual indifferent expression.

“Director, we were just about to leave.”

“I’m coming too.”

“You’re coming as well? But you have a meeting soon…”

“Cancel it.”

Lee Hyun, as if the meeting didn’t matter at all, strode out of the office with his long legs.

Following behind him with Secretary Choi, Yerin cautiously asked.

“Are we going to meet the CEO of the Chetto brand?”

“That’s right. We’re going to get the list of attendees from the after-party that day.”

“….”

It was enough to make her want to lose her mind.

She had to prevent her name from appearing on that party attendee list at all costs.

Hurriedly, Yerin pulled out her phone and sent a message to Nari.

[Nari, I’m on my way to your company right now. If you see me, don’t act like you know me.]

Sitting in the car, Yerin glanced at Secretary Choi, who was focused on driving, and quickly typed another message.

[Also, a man will ask for the list of attendees from the after-party. Make sure my name isn’t on it. Got it?]

As soon as Yerin sent the message, Nari called her.

There was no way she could answer here, so Yerin quickly switched her phone to silent mode.

If she had known that one night of impulsiveness would lead to such a huge ripple effect, she would never have spent the night with Lee Hyun.

‘If only I had known it would turn out like this.’

Yerin stared out the window, trying to hide her growing anxiety.

From the back seat, Lee Hyun called her softly.

“Secretary Han.”

“Yes, Director.”

“Secretary Choi seems to have no talent for finding people.”

Leaning deeply into his seat, Lee Hyun stared at Yerin’s back with a cold gaze.

“I hope you’ll be different.”

“Well, to be honest, this is my first time trying to find someone…”

“You’ll have to find her.”

“What?”

Before she could fully grasp the meaning of his words, the car Secretary Choi was driving arrived at the Chetto headquarters.

Lee Hyun, seemingly in a great hurry, got out of the car and quickly disappeared inside.

It was truly a moment when she wanted to run away.

***

Yerin forced her reluctant feet to move and entered the Chetto headquarters.

It seemed they had been informed of Lee Hyun’s visit in advance, as a large conference room was empty.

“Welcome.”

Nari couldn’t hide her surprise upon seeing Yerin appear alongside Lee Hyun.

Standing behind Lee Hyun, Yerin quickly shook her head.

‘Please, if you have any sense, don’t act like you know me.’

Thankfully, it seemed Nari understood her unspoken plea, as she put on a businesslike smile and guided the two of them.

“What kind of tea would you like?”

“That won’t be necessary. More importantly, I’m looking for someone.”

Lee Hyun got straight to the point.