BR - 2

“Come on, let’s eat lunch and get back to work.” 

At Team Leader Park’s urging, Eun-chae closed the document she’d been reviewing. She knew she’d only grow irritable if she didn’t eat properly. 

“Another homemade lunch today?” 

Hyun-jung, a permanent employee in the planning department, approached Eun-chae. Though Hyun-jung was a full-time staff member, she treated Eun-chae warmly, perhaps out of solidarity for joining the company around the same time. 

“Yeah, what else?” 

“Should I start packing my own too?” 

“Think you can handle it?” 

“Probably not.” 

“Then go enjoy your meal. I’ll see you back.” 

Eun-chae smiled, gently nudging Hyun-jung toward the elevator. 

But today, Team Leader Park intervened. 

“Eun-chae, join us today. There’s a department-wide announcement, and you can use the corporate card. No need to worry.” 

“Ah, okay.” 

Eun-chae reluctantly put her homemade lunch back into her bag and stood. She chatted idly with colleagues while waiting for the elevator, but her mind was elsewhere. 

When the elevator doors opened, her breath caught. 

Baek Seok-kyung. 

It was unmistakably him. 

His towering frame, sculpted from years of sports, his sharp features that defied simple labels like “handsome”—everything about him screamed familiarity. 

Eun-chae quickly averted her gaze. 

Three years had passed since their divorce. She’d ended their marriage over a phone call from London, where he’d been stationed. Now, here he stood, as if time had folded in on itself. 

What if they recognize him? 

She’d kept her marriage to Seok-kyung a secret at work. But her worries were unfounded. 

Seok-kyung brushed past her without so much as a glance, his indifference cutting deeper than any words. 

The faint scent of his cologne—woodsy, crisp—lingered in the air. The same fragrance she’d once loved. 

“Eun-chae, you coming?” 

Hyun-jung’s voice pulled her back. Eun-chae stepped into the elevator, heart racing. 

Three floors. Just three floors. 

But the moment the doors closed, she regretted her decision. 

“Three years, huh?” 

Seok-kyung’s low, velvety voice broke the silence. 

Eun-chae froze, eyes squeezed shut. The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. 

“Interesting.” 

He tapped her shoulder as he exited, leaving her breathless. 

The familiar scent of his cologne faded as he walked away. Eun-chae leaned against the elevator wall, clutching her chest. 

He remembered me. 

Even if their encounter was fleeting, the fact that he acknowledged her existence brought a bittersweet comfort. 

Once her first love, then her husband, now a stranger colder than an enemy. 

---

Secretary Won placed a thick stack of resumes on Seok-kyung’s desk, his round face glistening with sweat. 

“Here are the Studio FIRST employee profiles you requested, Director.” 

“Leave them and go.” 

“Yes, Managing Director.” 

The door clicked shut, and Seok-kyung turned his attention to the documents. 

He flipped through each resume, searching for a name that wasn’t there. 

Strange. She should be on the list. 

Then he found it—tucked at the end, marked in red: Contract Employee. 

Lee Eun-chae. 

The woman who’d divorced him after a year of marriage, leaving him for another man. 

—I want a divorce. 

—There’s someone else. 

—I want to be happy with the man I love. 

“You can keep seeing him. But divorce? No.” 

—My mother-in-law already knows. 

Seok-kyung had assumed their marriage was purely transactional. He hadn’t cared if she sought companionship elsewhere—as long as it stayed hidden. 

But when her betrayal became public, the stakes changed. 

“Who is he?” 

—What does that matter? 

Maybe I’ll ruin whatever happiness she thinks she’s found. 

He’d chuckled bitterly that night, downing whiskey as London’s autumn rain pattered against the window. 

A year later, back in Korea, he’d tracked her down only to learn she was living with another man. After that, he’d buried her from his thoughts. 

Until today. 

Her once-lustrous chestnut hair was chopped short. The designer outfits he’d bought her replaced by drab office attire. Her slender frame now gaunt, her eyes dulled—except for a flicker of defiance he recognized. 

So she’s a contract worker now? 

Claimed she wanted to be happy with her lover? 

And yet here she is, pretending not to see me. 

Seok-kyung sneered. 

“How shameless of you, Lee Eun-chae.” 

A dormant anger stirred within him, unbidden.