Chapter 13 (Part 5)

‘Beep—’  

The kettle on the stove signaled that the water had boiled.  

“What were you thinking, In-ah?”  

Jinwon’s pointed question made her flare up.  

“What was I supposed to think?”  

“I’m not trying to play word games here.”  

“Who said I was playing?”  

Silence again.  

Answer me. 

With her eyes, In-ah pleaded.  

Don’t tell me to just trust you—don’t give me vague reassurances.  

“Do you not trust me, In-ah?”  

She squeezed her eyes shut.  

It was the worst response she could have heard.  

It felt like the path to Jinwon was crumbling beneath her feet.  

What she needed now was the truth—not a demand for trust, but a truth she could believe in.  

But Jinwon wasn’t the only one hurt by this situation.  

He, too, looked wounded.  

When he had rushed to see her in the middle of the night, he hadn’t expected to hear such words.  

Before he could bare the wounds in his heart, In-ah ended their conversation.  

“You must be tired. Go home and rest.”  

Jinwon lowered his gaze to the floor. His eyes landed on the still-wet footprints left by In-ah.  

Instead of answering her, he sat back down and began wiping the wet footprints on the floor.  

As he did, he spoke slowly.  

“My mom… she’s been unwell for a while.”  

“…”  

Why was he suddenly bringing up his mom when we had been talking about Shin-hye?  

In-ah stayed silent and listened.  

“She’s… struggling emotionally. She has depression.”  

In-ah was so shocked that she was at a loss for words. It was something she hadn’t expected.  

“There’s nothing I can do except stay by her side. That’s why I’ve been doing what I can.”  

Jinwon raised his head to look at her.  

“Shin-hye knows about my mom’s condition. Back when I was studying abroad, my mom wasn’t doing well.”  

In-ah slowly lifted her gaze to meet his eyes.  

“She visited my mom recently. I guess that’s when she must’ve taken the phone.”  

Just as In-ah opened her mouth to respond, Jinwon spoke again.  

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier…”  

His last words were swallowed by In-ah’s embrace as she threw herself into his arms.  

“I’m sorry, Jinwon. I’m so sorry.”  

Jinwon hugged her tightly in return.  

In-ah squeezed her tear-filled eyes shut. She didn’t want him to see her crying.  

She felt too guilty, too sorry, and too ashamed to let him notice her tears.  

For a long time, the two of them held each other tightly.  

***

In-ah squinted as the morning sunlight hit her face, slowly opening her eyes.  

Startled by the strong arms wrapped around her, she quickly opened her eyes wide.  

As she tried to sit up, the memories of the previous night came flooding back.  

She stopped moving, took a deep breath, and smiled softly.  

The happiness she felt sparkled as brightly as the morning sunlight.  

She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Then, turning her head slowly, she looked at Jinwon’s face.  

Watching him with a satisfied smile, she bit her lip, conflicted.  

Then, glancing at him again to make sure he was still asleep, she blew into her palm.  

“What’s with the long pre-check?”  

Startled, In-ah froze as Jinwon, his eyes still closed, spoke.  

Opening one eye, Jinwon smiled and pulled her into his arms.  

Then, in one swift motion, he stole a kiss from her lips.  

Wide-eyed, In-ah stared at him in shock while Jinwon grinned mischievously.  

“No more pre-checks next time.”  

Even as he hugged her again, In-ah blew into her hand and grimaced.  

Ugh. Does it smell?  

Covering her mouth belatedly, she said,  

“We need to get ready for work. Get up.”  

“I don’t want to.”  

Jinwon buried his face in her ear, his breath tickling her.  

In-ah shivered, then quickly glanced at him, embarrassed.  

Surely he didn’t notice that, right?  

But their closeness made it impossible for him to miss it.  

A playful smile appeared on Jinwon’s face.  

“In-ah.”  

He whispered directly into her ear, making no effort to hide his intentions.  

In-ah tried to maintain her composure.  

“What?”  

“How am I supposed to go to work when you’re like this?”  

Tense, In-ah swallowed hard.  

Think of something else… anything else…  

“Oh! The disciplinary committee! What’s going to happen now?”  

Jinwon seemed to be deep in thought as he replied,  

“I’ll handle it step by step.”  

“Could you start by letting go of your arm?”  

Gesturing at the arm wrapped around her, she asked him to release her.  

When Jinwon finally let her go, In-ah jumped up and dashed to the bathroom.  

The door slammed shut, and moments later, the sound of vigorous toothbrushing echoed through the apartment.  

Jinwon couldn’t help but smile sweetly.  

She’s so adorable.  

Moments like this reminded him of the little girl he had first seen at the market.  

It was a shame she didn’t remember that moment.  

Or maybe it made her even more precious—the little girl who lived only in his memory.  

***

When Jinwon arrived at the office, all eyes were on him.  

He, however, seemed completely unfazed.  

After entering his office, In-ah walked in a little later and headed to her desk.  

“Did you see?”  

Before In-ah could even sit down, Hye-yoon asked her a question.  

“See what?”  

As In-ah sat down, Hye-yoon leaned in and whispered as if sharing a big secret.  

“Our team leader. He’s tougher than I thought. He looked like nothing was wrong.”  

In-ah couldn’t help but glance toward Jinwon’s office, clearly distracted.  

“In this situation, where he might get fired…”  

Hye-yoon’s last words only fueled In-ah’s anxiety.  

It seemed like focusing on work today would be impossible. 

In the break room, Assistant Manager Jeong was brewing coffee alone when a box of mandarin chocolates was suddenly held out in front of him.  

“I went to Jeju Island during my vacation. These go really well with coffee.” 

Said In-ah.  

Despite his indifferent expression, In-ah continued speaking cheerfully.  

“Not you, Assistant Manager Jeong—the chocolates. I meant the chocolates go well with coffee. Hehe. Just in case you misunderstood.”  

Even as In-ah kept chattering despite his disinterest, Assistant Manager Jeong finally turned to look at her.  

“Do you want to engage with me, Seo In-ah?”  

“Pardon?”  

“Everyone else doesn’t even want to make eye contact with the mistress.”  

At his words, In-ah paused, as if deep in thought.  

“Well… I don’t want to make eye contact with women like that either.”  

“Are you joking with me right now?”  

In-ah placed the box of chocolates into his hand and said,  

“Just because something happened doesn’t mean you’re no longer Assistant Manager Jeong. Does that make sense? Anyway.”  

Assistant Manager Jeong listened to her words with a stiff expression.  

“The Assistant Manager Jeong I know seems like someone who would regret it and reflect on it, too.”  

Suddenly, Assistant Manager Jeong let out a bitter laugh. It was a self-deprecating laugh.  

“I didn’t know you were such a funny person, Seo In-ah.”  

In-ah stared at him quietly as he mocked her.  

Then, abruptly stopping his laughter, Assistant Manager Jeong looked straight into her eyes and said,  

“Do you think you know me that well?”  

“Oh, no~ I don’t. How could I possibly know everything about you, Assistant Manager Jeong? I don’t need to know everything, either.”  

Her unexpected response left him speechless.  

“Even if everyone doubts and mistrusts you, you’re the one person I believe in unconditionally because we’re colleagues. That’s who you are to me, Assistant Manager Jeong.”  

His expression hardened even further, but In-ah continued speaking as if she didn’t notice.  

“Oh, of course! You did slip up once. But it’s not my place to judge or evaluate you. Oops! I’ve talked too much. I’ll go now.”  

As In-ah turned to leave, Assistant Manager Jeong, who had been staring blankly at the box of chocolates in his hand, finally spoke.  

“It was Team Leader Kang Cheol.”  

“Sorry?”  

In-ah turned back, unsure if she had heard him correctly.  

“That day—when you were misunderstood for causing the sizing error with the Corners project. The one who worked overtime that day was Team Leader Kang Cheol.”  

“How do you know that?”  

Assistant Manager Jeong answered with silence, staring intently at her.  

It didn’t take long for In-ah to realize what he meant. That was when Assistant Manager Jeong had been involved in his affair, pretending to work overtime.  

“Thank you. It must not have been easy for you to tell me.”  

She bowed her head slightly in gratitude and left the break room.  

Sitting back at her desk, In-ah’s mind was a whirlwind of thoughts.  

She recalled the day of the disciplinary committee and the moment she had run into Team Leader Kang Cheol outside the conference room.  

No way! He’s so close to Jinwon—there’s no way he’d do that.  

If In-ah had deliberately or accidentally caused the sizing error, it would have also implicated Jinwon as the team leader.  

Realizing this, she quickly grabbed her phone.  

I need to tell Jinwon about this right away.  

At that moment, she saw Jinwon leaving his office and heading toward the audit office.  

She hurriedly sent him a message, but Jinwon seemed too preoccupied to check his phone.  

That was because he had just run into Director Lee Seong-jun in the hallway.  

Seong-jun, with a cold expression he had never shown before, stared at Jinwon.  

“Team Leader Lee Jinwon. Do you remember me saying that Lysian would become a clean company?”  

“No, I don’t recall hearing that.”  

Even in front of the director, Jinwon showed no signs of being intimidated or uneasy.  

The employees eavesdropping from a distance were the ones holding their breath in nervous anticipation.  

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Seong-jun spoke again in a measured tone.  

“I said it during the inauguration ceremony.”  

“Oh, I wasn’t in the office at the time.”  

Seong-jun took a step closer to Jinwon, smiling faintly.  

“That’s unfortunate. If you had heard me then, this situation might not have happened.”  

“May I leave now? I was on my way to the audit office.”  

Jinwon’s unyielding attitude left the employees in silent shock.  

As he bowed slightly to Seong-jun and walked past him, Seong-jun raised his voice, causing Jinwon to stop in his tracks.  

“I said, ‘Privileges or unfair conduct will never be tolerated. There will be no warnings—you’ll be out of Lysian immediately.’”  

After finishing his statement, Seong-jun watched as Jinwon walked away without even glancing back.  

Aware of the employees’ stares, Seong-jun quickly resumed walking as well.