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What did he mean by saying he couldn’t act cold toward her?
Joo-eun waited for an explanation, unable to comprehend his words.
Min-hyuk let out a self-deprecating smile.
“Still, my acting must have been fairly natural. You looked genuinely surprised, as if you hadn’t expected it at all.”
“What do you mean?”
“I couldn’t bring myself to nitpick an otherwise perfect document just to scold you, nor could I stay cold toward you. And most importantly—”
“…”
“I can’t ignore you, even when you’re right in front of me.”
His visibly exhausted expression left Joo-eun momentarily stunned.
Did that mean everything—the harsh criticism during the meeting and his cold demeanor—was deliberate?
She had assumed things were going well with Chae-rin, rendering her useless, and that was why he had treated her so coldly.
Though she pretended to be unaffected, her heart had ached throughout the meeting.
Now that the tension was easing, an inexplicable wave of sadness threatened to bring tears to her eyes.
Not wanting him to see how hurt she felt, Joo-eun deliberately kept her tone calm.
“I don’t know what you’re implying, but bringing personal emotions into a meeting wasn’t very professional of you. If there are shortcomings in the future, please correct me as needed. I’ll work on improving.”
“Are there employees who turn away when their superior hasn’t dismissed them?”
Min-hyuk slowly rose from his seat, casting a large shadow over her face.
Despite her tense expression, her reply came out haltingly.
“It sounded too dangerous to take as a superior’s words.”
“Are you upset?”
“Why would I be?”
“I’m sorry.”
“…”
“You must have worked hard on it, and mixing personal feelings into my critique was clearly my mistake. The document was flawless—there was nothing to criticize except its length.”
Her rigid response made him fidget impatiently, twisting his tie from side to side.
“Haa… I shouldn’t have listened to that ridiculous advice.”
The slightest disarray in his always perfectly tied tie revealed an overflow of his unique, sexy charm.
Just a few more centimeters of his neck exposed made her feel as though she’d glimpsed something deeply intimate.
Joo-eun quickly averted her gaze.
“Jang Wook said that to win a woman’s heart, you need to push and pull, and I guess it intrigued me enough to lose my mind.”
“Push and pull…?”
The man who had sparked innovation at DK Media within a month and turned every project into a success story had tried “push and pull” during that brutal meeting.
It was hard to know how much of this to believe—it was utterly baffling.
“Yes. Go ahead and laugh at me. I feel pathetic myself.”
“…”
“But I’ve realized one thing.”
Min-hyuk’s dark eyes fully captured her in their gaze.
“Whatever this ‘push and pull’ nonsense is, I’m never doing it again. From now on, I’ll just keep looking at you like this.”
His gaze seemed capable of splitting the world in two and still staying fixed on her. It would be a lie to say it didn’t stir her heart.
Joo-eun shook her head firmly, trying to shake off the growing emotions.
“Please don’t. Treat me like any other employee. It’s easier that way.”
“Song Joo-eun.”
Her eyes trembled slightly at the sound of her name being called.
It was a name she heard dozens of times a day while working, yet for some reason, it made her heart flutter strangely.
“Don’t talk to me so formally. It’s scary when someone in my position acts so coldly.”
His soothing expression and voice were far too sweet, like a boyfriend comforting his lover after a fight.
Even anger she hadn’t felt melted under his sugary charm.
Joo-eun gathered the remnants of her crumbling resolve and hurled it back at him.
“Cold? How could a subordinate dare act that way toward their superior? Please continue to scold me as you did earlier. There won’t be any lingering resentment, so don’t worry.”
“Is something wrong?”
Sensing her unusually firm walls today, Min-hyuk tilted his head slightly.
It had only been a day since he met her mother at her house.
Just last night, they had been teasing each other, close enough to kiss.
Even without pressing the save button, restarting their relationship like this was startling.
“Nothing’s wrong. You’ve been uncomfortable for me since the beginning.”
“That can’t be all you feel toward me.”
“It is.”
“You want me to believe that now…?”
Before he could take another step closer, a knock interrupted them.
She glanced toward the door and bowed politely in his direction.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”
Before he could tell her to wait, she turned, opened the door, and signaled to another employee that it was okay to enter.
The entering employee flinched upon seeing Min-hyuk’s hardened expression and took a step back.
The look on their face screamed, What on earth happened here?
Walking out confidently, Joo-eun barely managed to steady herself against the wall as her legs wobbled further from the meeting room.
“Haa…”
To think the harsh reprimand during the meeting was all part of an act based on Vice President Byun’s advice.
It was infuriating, yet secretly, she felt a flicker of joy.
Unable to acknowledge her growing feelings, she was overwhelmed with confusion, unsure of what her heart truly desired.
For now, she decided to sit in the break room and catch her breath.
But as usual, the break room was filled with sighs and idle chatter.
Should she go somewhere else…?
She considered it briefly but lacked the energy, so she settled into the farthest corner seat instead.
Before she could even catch her breath, she heard the name that had been unsettling her.
“I heard Lee Chae-rin from GB Group came by this morning. Did you see her?”
Chae-rin here, Chae-rin there.
What kind of karmic connection bound her to this woman in this life or the last?
“I didn’t see her. Everyone’s been talking about her all morning.”
“It’s no surprise. With all the rumors about new business investments, factory expansions, and DK funding tied to media restructuring—if Director Min and Chae-rin get married, our company will soar.”
Right. Of course… that must be it.
“Indeed, persistence pays off. Who would’ve thought our company would grow wings?”
The excitement about the company’s future wasn’t limited to just them.
Stories about Chae-rin and Min-hyuk echoed throughout the break room, leaving Joo-eun feeling increasingly bitter.
Eventually, she couldn’t bear it anymore and stood up.
Perhaps this place wasn’t for her after all.
Her own little hideout, dark and musty but comfortable, was better than this beautifully decorated but crowded break room.
That place, those memories—they had always been better.
After the meeting, the marketing team buzzed with fervent energy.
Part of it stemmed from the scolding they received during the meeting, but mostly, it was because of Min-hyuk’s frequent comings and goings throughout the day.
He could have simply called Jang Wook over, but instead, he came out repeatedly to discuss work before retreating back into his office.
Sometimes, he returned within five minutes.
As soon as Min-hyuk entered his office, Manager Choi shuddered.
“Doesn’t it seem like the director is coming and going too often today…?”
“Yeah, and he keeps glancing our way.”
“Is he monitoring whether we’re working?”
“Maybe. I heard Song Joo-eun got thoroughly scolded after everyone left earlier.”
Manager Choi sighed deeply as he stared at Joo-eun’s still-empty seat.
“Why isn’t she back yet… I’m worried. Is she crying somewhere?”
“Nah, Song Joo-eun isn’t the type to cry.”
“Ugh… Why pick on the youngest member of the team? Shouldn’t he target the team leader? Anyway, he’s ruthless, absolutely ruthless.”
“He’s here again…!”
At Kim Dae-ri’s whisper, which was almost ventriloquism, Choi quickly returned to his seat.
Tap tap tap.
The two of them exaggeratedly typed loudly, pretending to work diligently.
Min-hyuk’s brow furrowed slightly.
The emptiness of her seat stung, mirroring the ache in his heart.
“This won’t do. I need to find her.”
As he prepared to leave, Jang Wook subtly stood up to stop him.
“Where are you going…?”
His eyes pleaded: Don’t go looking for Song Joo-eun. Stick to the plan.
Unaware that the operation had already failed.
“To cash your resignation check.”
The icy tone sent shivers down the spines of the team members, who had been diligently working with their noses glued to their monitors.
“Huh…? What do you mean by cashing a resignation check you haven’t even submitted… What kind of terrifying joke is that? Ha… ha…”
Jang Wook, who had given him dating advice, realized with horror that his push-and-pull strategy had backfired under Min-hyuk’s murderous glare.
“Oh no… This is why I shouldn’t have given dating advice…”
With a look of impending doom, Jang Wook ruffled the back of his hair.
Min-hyuk stepped out of the office, glanced left and right, and headed in one direction.
She wasn’t there. He had thought she might be in the break room.
The employees packed into the break room flinched as if they’d seen a ghost and hastily greeted him.
Reluctantly, he acknowledged their greetings, though he wasn’t remotely interested.
His focus was solely on finding her.
Where could she have gone? He peeked into empty meeting rooms one by one.
Thinking a room was empty, he opened the door only to find employees in the middle of a meeting. Awkward greetings ensued.
It was shaping up to be the day he exchanged nods with the most employees since starting work a month ago.
Just in case, he checked the floors above and below.
Exhausted from the unexpected amount of walking, he approached the storage room door with a sense of finality and opened it.
Amid stacks of boxes as tall as a person,
he spotted her sitting against the wall.
Startled, Joo-eun shot up from her seat.
“D-Director…!”
Since joining the company, this had been her private retreat—a place akin to her own sanctuary.
He was the first person to find her here.
Whether it was the novelty of this moment or the soft click of the door closing behind him, her heart began to race uncontrollably.
“Do you usually rest here?”
He scanned the old boxes and supplies slowly as he asked.
“Just… It’s quiet, so I often come here when I want to be alone.”
Her answer was calm, but her mouth was dry.
“Then I’ll have to start using this place often too.”
Through the dim piles of boxes, he slowly closed the distance between them.
The only space left for her to escape was the narrow gap surrounding her.
Stop. Please stop coming closer…
Reading the desperation in her eyes, he halted abruptly right in front of her.
“You’re responsible for this.”
“…What?”
“I can’t focus on work. Since you left after that, not a single word on the documents makes sense.”
“…I don’t think there’s anything I can do about that.”
“There’s something only you can do.”
Her entire body froze under the burning intensity of his dark gaze.
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