Yeonjin stepped between Juhee and Dongkyu with an anxious look.

“Manager, now might not be the best time……”

But Juhee stepped forward with a calm expression. Her gaze went straight to Dongkyu.

“Whatever you want to ask the Director is about me, so I’ll answer it myself first. If my answer still doesn’t satisfy you, then by all means go ask the Director directly afterward.”

The confidence in Juhee’s bearing gave Dongkyu a moment’s pause. But he quickly moved Yeonjin aside and faced Juhee head-on.

“All right. Then I’ll ask. I heard that you were fired from Jangwon Trading for tarnishing your reputation as a designer.”

“……”

“On top of that, I’m told that in seven years, you never once led a team, let alone produced a single design under your own name. I simply cannot understand how someone like that was suddenly scouted to lead our team at the deputy director level. Could you explain?”

“Tarnishing my reputation as a designer…… I’ll partially admit to that.”

Juhee’s answer widened not only Dongkyu’s eyes but Yeonjin’s as well, watching anxiously from the side.

“Are you saying it’s true that you stole designer Jean Regiani’s blueprints with the intent to plagiarize them?”

“No.”

Dongkyu looked thrown by Juhee’s flat answer.

“You just said you’d admit to tarnishing your reputation as a designer.”

“I said that in the sense that I failed to value my own designs.”

“……?”

“You said I never produced a single design under my own name in seven years? Yes, that’s also true. Every design I created, I handed over to one person.”

“……!”

“That person rode my designs all the way up to managing director. And then he threw me away. By pinning on me the false charge of stealing a renowned designer’s blueprints from a collaboration.”

Dongkyu and Yeonjin exchanged stunned looks.

“Hard to believe, isn’t it? Of course it is. Even I couldn’t believe something like that had happened to me. But when people with power make that claim, it becomes the truth, and in the end I was fired from Jangwon without even being given a chance to explain myself.”

“How are we supposed to believe what you’re saying is true?”

“I’ll show you every blueprint I designed over seven years, along with every thought process that went into creating them. What I was thinking, what I wrestled with, why I designed them the way I did. I’ll explain it all, even if it takes all night.”

“And the accusation about stealing Jean Regiani’s blueprints?”

“Ask Jean directly. He already testified that it was a misunderstanding that grew out of an incident.”

Dongkyu’s expression still looked conflicted.

“Then while I’m at it, one more question.”

“Go ahead.”

“There’s a rumor that the Director has personal feelings for you, and that he scouted you to keep you close. What’s the truth of that?”

Juhee’s eyes went round.

She hadn’t expected a question like that. Her gaze began to waver with unease.

“Why are you hesitating to answer? This is a matter of trust in the Director. Please answer honestly.”

Dongkyu caught her flustered reaction and pressed for an answer.

“That is……”

Juhee started to speak, hesitating.

Her words trailed off.

***

By the time Ihyun returned to the office, received various reports, and checked on things, it was already six o’clock. He confirmed it was time to leave, got up from his chair, picked up his jacket, and walked out of the office.

Seonjae spotted him leaving and immediately fell into step behind him.

“Heading out?”

“Yes. As you can see.”

“Shall I take you home?”

“No.”

Seonjae blinked.

There was no dinner meeting tonight, no other outside schedule.

On top of that, Ihyun wasn’t someone who enjoyed private outings, and he had no particular hobbies or cultural activities he pursued.

On evenings like this, he always went straight home. So where was he going today?

“Then where shall I take you?”

“Are you coming along?”

“Well, of course……”

Ihyun stopped abruptly. Then he turned to look at Seonjae with an odd expression.

The corner of his mouth twitched, like he had found something to tease.

“I’m just now noticing you have a strange hobby, Chief Secretary Kang.”

“Excuse me?”

“I understand you’re dedicated to assisting me, but wanting to tag along on my date is a bit of a problem, don’t you think?”

Seonjae’s eyes went wide.

“A date? Did you just say date, Director?”

“You’re the one who looked up the location for me earlier, and now you’re playing dumb?”

Seonjae’s mouth fell open at Ihyun’s shameless reply.

“What I looked up for you earlier was a kimchi stew restaurant. Don’t tell me you’re going on a date at a kimchi stew place? No, wait—you’re actually going on a date? You, Director? With who?”

Ihyun smiled with the look of someone who found it amusing to be asked something he already knew the answer to.

“Is there more than one person I’d be going on a date with?”

Saying it that way meant the person was someone Seonjae already knew. And if there was anyone Ihyun might go on a date with……

“Don’t, tell me. Are you talking about Manager Cha Juhee?”

“Why the surprise? We’ve already been on one date, so going on another isn’t strange.”

“No, but that was a strategic approach to persuade Manager Cha……”

“Who said that? That it was a strategic approach?”

“Excuse me?”

“Our first date was better than I expected. So I want to see her again.”

Seonjae’s face fell into bewilderment. The more flustered Seonjae looked, the more Ihyun’s face settled into a smile that mixed amusement with mischief.

“Director……?”

“She asked for the first date, so it’s only fair I ask for the second.”

A helpless laugh escaped Seonjae.

“So go on, then. Don’t get in the way.”

Ihyun waved him off in a playful shooing gesture and headed toward the elevator.

Seonjae watched his retreating figure with a dumbfounded expression.

***

Knock, knock, knock.

Ihyun had been watching Juhee from the middle of the office for quite a while, and when she still hadn’t noticed him no matter how long he waited, he finally knocked on a nearby desk to get her attention.

The rest of the team had apparently already left for the day, leaving Juhee alone in the office.

The knock startled her and she tore her eyes from the monitor, then looked even more startled to find Ihyun standing in the middle of the office.

“Oh? Director, how long have you been standing there?”

“Let’s see. About ten minutes?”

“What? Really? Were you really a cat in a past life? Why do you move around with absolutely no presence?”

Ihyun smiled his sly smile, clearly seeing through her attempt to cover her embarrassment with complaints.

“Have you ever seen a cat this tall and handsome? What were you so absorbed in that you didn’t notice someone walk in?”

“Oh, that…… I was looking into the topographical features of Hannam-dong.”

“Topographical features?”

Ihyun moved behind her chair to look at her monitor.

Juhee turned the monitor toward him and continued her explanation.

“Hannam-dong is surrounded by Namsan to the north, Maebongsan to the east, and the Han River to the south. What people call a prime location. I was thinking about how to incorporate those topographical features into the exterior design and landscaping of the apartments.”

“That’s an interesting idea. What’s this?”

Ihyun suddenly leaned forward, one hand braced on the back of her chair and the other reaching for the mouse, and pulled up a hidden window that had been mostly covered by the map, with only a corner peeking out.

With his large frame hovering over her, Juhee found herself completely unable to move.

The subtle, refined scent of him drifted to her and made her head swim.

The warmth radiating from his face, right beside hers, sent a ticklish feeling through her. She was acutely aware that one careless movement would bring their faces into contact, and every nerve in her body went on edge.

“This is interesting.”

The words snapped her back to her senses, and Juhee realized he was looking at something she had been doodling for herself. She fumbled to close the window and reached for the mouse.

“Oh, those are just rough keyword sketches I made for myself. They’re not ready to show anyone.”

But Ihyun hadn’t let go of the mouse, so what she ended up grabbing was his hand.

She recoiled with a start.

Ihyun’s hand was large and solid and warm. The sensation lingered on her hand long after, making her heart beat faster.

That lingering warmth soon brought back thoughts of the night at the hotel she couldn’t remember.

What had happened?

‘Forget what you can’t remember. It’s a question with no answer.’

She turned over Ihyun’s response to her question about what had happened that night. Strangely, it left her feeling a little stung.

Why couldn’t he just tell her……

Whether or not he sensed her feelings, Ihyun kept scrolling through the sketches, thoroughly absorbed.

She caught a glimpse from the corner of her eye of his lips parting with what looked like enjoyment.

The sting turned into irritation.

“Stop looking and move back a little, would you? This is uncomfortable.”

Ihyun turned only his head to face her, his expression amused.

His face was full of that teasing smile, but to Juhee it felt more dangerous and unsettling than usual.

“Am I making you uncomfortable?”

“You’ve got me completely trapped and unable to move, so of course I’m uncomfortable.”

“Is that why you’re uncomfortable?”

“What else would it be?”

“Could it be that you’re uncomfortable wondering what happened that night we were together?”

Juhee’s eyes went wide.

Ihyun was still right there in front of her, wearing that same sly, teasing smile.

His lips were unusually red, and they kept drawing her gaze. Juhee swallowed without meaning to.

A sudden curiosity surfaced.

What would it feel like to kiss those lips?