II - 7

Only silence remained in the office.

Standing still, I-jun gazed intently at Iryeong, lost in thought.

What did she mean by a “real relationship”?

He should have been weighing the pros and cons, analyzing the situation, but his mind was strangely muddled.

However, one thing became clear to him.

Her delicate features, neatly arranged on her fair face, were undeniably beautiful.

‘Beautiful? Chae Iryeong?’

His head tilted slightly to the side.

Determined to shake off such inappropriate thoughts, he shook his head minutely and shifted his gaze.

Below her neatly tied-up hair, her smooth neck came into view.

He wanted to touch the stray strands of hair peeking out. He wondered how soft they would feel.

‘Damn it!’

I-jun clenched and unclenched his fists, blinking rapidly. He told himself he was seeing things.

‘Hah. This is insane. It’s not like I’m some animal in heat.’

He sent himself a mental warning to snap out of it. His instincts suppressed his emotions, scolding him for letting his imagination run wild.

“…May I make a quick phone call?”

Without waiting for Iryeong’s nod, he returned to his desk and checked his phone.

There were quite a few missed calls, all from his mother, CEO Lee Jung-ae.

She must have been worried. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was past 6 PM.

Pocketing his phone again, he returned to her desk.

“It’s me, Mother.”

And as if to make a point, he dialed his mother’s number right in front of Iryeong.

“Seo I-jun! Do you have any idea how many times I’ve called you!”

The moment the call connected, his mother’s voice exploded through the line.

“I’m afraid you’ll need to cancel today’s blind date, Mother.”

Unfazed by her yelling, I-jun locked eyes with Iryeong.

“I no longer want to deceive my girlfriend.”

Then, as if nothing unusual had happened, he gave her a relaxed smile.

Iryeong, on the other hand, couldn’t hide her shock.

Before she could even process the surprise about the blind date, he had already thrown her another curveball.

Girlfriend? It seemed that she was the girlfriend in question, and all she could do was blink stupidly, her lips parted in disbelief.

“I’ll hang up now. I’ll explain everything when I get home later.”

Something about this whole situation felt off.

She didn’t want to get dragged into something involving his mother.

“She arranged an unwanted blind date for me at home.”

After hanging up, I-jun raised his index finger and gently traced her lips.

A searing heat transferred to her lips, as if they might melt.

“…Let’s pretend I didn’t hear that.”

“You said we should date. A real relationship.”

The hand that had touched her lips had already begun to slide along her jawline.

“Did you propose this because you didn’t want to go on the blind date?”

“Yes, let’s say that’s true.”

He didn’t seem particularly urgent. Instead, it felt like he was more focused on playing with his fingers.

“There was a blind date scheduled, and I didn’t want to go. That’s why I need you. All of that is true.”

His curt explanation still lacked any sense of urgency.

His dark eyes remained fixated on the hand that was casually wandering over her face.

“If you had explained the reason from the start, wouldn’t it have been better for both of us?”

Her voice faltered slightly as she found herself staring into his empty eyes.

“Would you have agreed so easily if you had known the reason?”

“That’s…”

She pouted, unsure of how to respond.

At that moment, his gaze sharpened, as if something about her displeased him.

“…Damn it.”

It wasn’t supposed to be about touching her lips.

But now he was curious about the taste of those pouting lips.

“Managing Director?”

“It’s nothing.”

For a brief moment, his usually composed face crumbled.

Iryeong didn’t miss that fleeting moment and wondered what had caused the crack in his facade.

“Let’s do it. Let’s have that relationship.”

By the time she looked up, he was already gazing down at her with his usual detached expression.

Iryeong found I-jun to be quite… complex. She was intrigued.

“About that phone call earlier—was that your mother? How can you just recklessly jump into this without thinking?”

“Things will work out somehow. Who knows what we might end up doing right here, right now.”

Then he twisted the corner of his mouth into a smirk.

“I don’t like this kind of relationship.”

Iryeong swatted his hand away from her face, which had lingered there a moment too long.

“I don’t care what kind of relationship it is.”

“Stop being so stubborn.”

This wasn’t something she had impulsively blurted out in frustration.

Iryeong stood up, suggesting they continue the conversation tomorrow.

“Iryeong, wait a moment.”

He truly was a habitual offender, always invading her personal space, especially her lips.

Once again, he brought his index finger to her lips and signaled for her to stay quiet.

“Yes, Mother.”

-Seo I-jun! Do you really have a girlfriend? Or are you lying because you don’t want to go on the blind date?

Even as his mother nagged, he remained completely calm.

“I’m on a date right now after work.”

Boldly lying through his teeth.

As Iryeong listened to his conversation, she began to organize her thoughts. Was it really right to engage in a relationship with this Managing Director, one filled with ulterior motives?

‘A real relationship.’

The weight of her offhand remark hadn’t fully sunk in yet.

It seemed that he wasn’t thinking of an ordinary, conventional relationship like most people would.

“One of the reasons I made this proposal was to avoid my mother’s interference, just like what’s happening now.”

I-jun, having ended the call, began explaining the second reason behind his proposal in his signature deep voice.

“I’m rebelling against my mother at the age of thirty.”

I-jun decided to change his approach. He needed to hold on to her, especially since she kept trying to run away.

“If I hadn’t met you that night, on Friday, I wouldn’t have made this proposal.”

He didn’t particularly value marriage, but he wanted to avoid a forced strategic marriage.

“By coincidence, you’re single too, right? I’m single as well. So what’s the problem? Didn’t you say we should date? Fine. We’ll date, just as you suggested.”

Sure enough, the crazy man remained consistent.

Iryeong stared at him, unable to hide her bewilderment.

“What if this creates a difficult situation for me?”

“What could possibly be difficult for you, Ms. Chae? Are you saying it’s troublesome because my mother will find out?”

The madman asked as if he truly didn’t understand.

“Isn’t it obvious? Your mother will wonder who you’re seeing, and then she’ll find out it’s me.”

A man using a temporary romance to avoid an arranged marriage. Iryeong found him disappointing.

“We’ll start a secret relationship from today.”

“Se… secret relationship?”

His words were beyond anything she had imagined, and her face turned pale.

“We share the same workspace, don’t we? Unless we’re getting married, it’s risky to let our coworkers or other employees know about us. If things end happily, great. But sometimes relationships end badly.”

She couldn’t entirely disagree with his reasoning.

If their public relationship were to end, she knew she’d suffer more than he would.

“If we’re going to do this, then what’s the point of dating? If no one knows about it, why even bother? You might as well just borrow my name to cover your expenses—it’d be more convincing that way.”

Iryeong glared at him sharply.

“I’m only suggesting we keep it a secret at work.”

“What?”

She was certain now—she had been unwittingly ensnared in his scheme.

“I’ll do my best for you while we’re dating.”

What did he mean by “doing his best” in a secret relationship?

Confused, Iryeong scrunched up her face.

“Be the best partner you can be by my side. I’ll do my best too.”

She was starting to get confused about whether he was serious about dating her or not.

“I’ll do whatever you want, whatever it is.”

In an instant, his upper body leaned toward her, as if he were about to kiss her.

His hand brushed quickly and naturally over her lips, which she had firmly pressed together to suppress her breath.

“…I never gave you permission to touch me.”

Her neck flushed bright red as she swatted his hand away.

“The whole idea of dating you? On hold.”

She wanted to tame this self-serving lunatic.

“Wait.”

She felt a strange sense of resistance against him for wanting to use her.

* * *

Iryeong had declined I-jun’s offer of a ride and returned home.

To her surprise, her parents were home late at night. These were people who were usually busier on weekday evenings—what brought them back so early?

Her previously buoyant mood plummeted to the depths.

“Are you resting today?”

A cold tone escaped Iryeong’s lips.

She wanted to be kinder, but whenever she saw her parents, her defenses automatically went up.

“We came back early because we have something to discuss with you.”

Her father, Gun-tae, cautiously opened his mouth while observing his daughter’s reaction.

“With me?”

“Yes. So, please sit down for a moment.”

Iryeong found even their cautious demeanor uncomfortable and unpleasant. The strange emotional distance between them was palpable.

And just like her father, she couldn’t stand how her stepmother, Cha Ji-hyun, also seemed to be tiptoeing around her.

“Go ahead and speak.”

Iryeong pulled a dining chair and sat facing her parents, who were seated side by side on the couch.

She stared at their tightly clasped hands.

“It’s about Jeong-min. Since he’s now in his final year of high school, how about bringing him back home?”

She hadn’t expected her father to bring up Jeong-min directly.

Iryeong’s gaze naturally shifted to her stepmother, who bowed her head deeply as if guilty of some crime.

In her posture, Iryeong could see traces of Jeong-min.

The sight of this mother and son making her feel like the villain heated her chest with anger.

“It’ll soon be spring. It’s already late enough as it is, so I hope you can make a quick decision, Iryeong.”

Her father’s urging twisted her emotions in an odd way. It was clear that this was merely a formality.

“Why do you need my permission?”

“Well, you’re family too, so it’s only natural to ask you.”

The image of Jeong-min from the weekend flashed in her mind—the way he smiled shyly while still being cautious.

“Considering how much time we spend at the store, it might be good if you could occasionally check in on Jeong-min.”

Her father’s request felt foreign. She couldn’t recall ever feeling warmth from him.

“Why should I take care of a fully-grown person? I work! I’m not someone who has free time!”

Finally, she lashed out at her father, raising her voice.

Why did they only think of him and not consider her feelings as their daughter?

“Dear…”

Her stepmother tightly held her father’s hand, trying to calm him down.

The affectionate scene between them made bitterness rise in her throat.

“I’m tired.”

“Hurry and rest. Just forget what your father said.”

Her stepmother consoled her on behalf of her father.

Iryeong rushed into her room like she was being chased and locked the door behind her.

Overwhelmed by the swirling emotions, she collapsed onto the floor.

“…It’s so frustrating.”

Her face quickly became streaked with tears. The house, already uncomfortable, felt unbearable tonight.

The nauseating feeling of inevitability washed over her—her father’s request had already been decided long before he even spoke.

She wanted to escape from this house where she had no one on her side.

“Whatever you want, I’ll do it for you.”

At her most wretched moment, I-jun came to mind.

“Maybe I should just get married.”

At that moment, it seemed like the only way out for her was through Managing Director I-jun.