Chapter 2
“Good morning.”
“Oh, hello, Executive Director Cha.”
At the man’s greeting, Jisoo, who was standing beside him, also bowed her head politely. Cha Lee Heon responded casually to the cheerful greeting, but he didn’t look their way.
Even though he tried to stay professional and leave out personal feelings, something deep inside him was boiling up.
He didn’t know why.
As Cha Lee Heon appeared, silence fell like it had been planned.
No one spoke, and the tension in the air grew tight and heavy. At the end of Lee Heon’s gaze was the top of a woman’s head, not showing her face.
Without a word, Lee Heon looked back and forth between Jisoo and the employee next to her, then opened his mouth.
“You two seem close.”
Surprised, the woman’s eyes flicked toward Lee Heon, then quickly dropped again. His words sounded normal on the surface, but they had a sharp edge.
At that moment, a cold wind seemed to pass between the three of them like a hallucination.
Just then, the staff announced that the drinks were ready.
As if she had been waiting, the woman quickly grabbed the drinks from the pickup counter. Her words as she turned to leave came out hurriedly.
“I’ll get going now. Thanks, Yoonkyum.”
She backed away, like she was trying to shrink herself.
Her flushed cheeks and restless eyes clearly showed her feelings and the mood.
“Jisoo Do?”
“Yes?”
Startled by the sudden call, she turned her wide eyes and stopped walking.
And then—
Before she even had time to react, Lee Heon leaned in close. His upper body loomed over her small frame.
Their different scents mixed thickly in the air.
“You had something on you.”
Lee Heon casually straightened up. In his hand was a single strand of brown hair something no one would’ve noticed unless they were really paying attention.
A crooked smile hung on his lips.
It was a kind of sneer. Even he wasn’t sure who or what it was aimed at.
Leaning in without her even realizing, he now quickly moved away again. The woman, frozen in place, opened and closed her mouth like a fish, too shocked to speak.
“I-I’ll be going now.”
She was the one who finally broke the strange tension that had returned.
Her hurried footsteps, heels clicking away with a drink in hand, didn’t match the atmosphere and sounded clumsy.
Lee Heon stood with one hand in his pocket, slightly leaning, silently watching her leave. To some, his gaze might have seemed obsessive and too direct to hide his feelings.
A slim figure. Clear skin. A straight neckline. Neat features.
It had been a month since he first saw her. Every time he did, she kept catching his eye and it scattered his thoughts.
Whenever those bright red lips opened, her soft, steady voice followed. And her warm scent, nothing a perfume could imitate was something else.
Even in that brief moment, Lee Heon took in everything about her. As if hypnotized he didn’t understand it himself.
“Mr. Yoonkyum Kang. Do you know Jisoo Do personally?”
Kang Yoonkyum from Planning Team 1.
Lee Heon casually asked the question after glancing at the name badge around the man’s neck.
He looked like a sincere person familiar to Lee Heon as one of the select staff picked for the current exhibit.
“Oh, Officer Jisoo Do?”
The man looked flustered for a moment at the sudden personal question from a senior executive.
“Yes. We went to the same university. I hadn’t seen her in a while, but my sister recently got an outsourcing job, and we ran into each other again.”
“I see.”
Lee Heon raised one eyebrow, letting out a quiet sigh.
“Your sister, huh.”
Was he bothered by how casually Yoonkyum said that, as if they were close?
Even though he should’ve been nervous around a higher-up like Lee Heon, Yoonkyum answered cheerfully. He was probably just being socially skilled, but for some reason, it annoyed Lee Heon. He didn’t know why.
“Yes She was really well-known. Everyone knew her.”
Well-known. A word that didn’t quite seem to fit her. Lee Heon repeated it in his mind.
She didn’t seem like someone very social. But the next words from the staff cleared up his doubts.
“She was really popular because she was pretty.”
“Oh. Because she was pretty.”
Repeating the simple reason, Lee Heon let out a hollow laugh. He felt pathetic for being convinced by such an ordinary reason. But he didn’t add anything more.
Pretty.
That one simple word kept repeating in his head.
On a mid-level floor of the Taesung headquarters building, there was a rooftop garden with a view of the city. No one knew who came up with the name, but its meaning had long faded.
Now, barely any plants grow there. It was supposed to be a space for employees, but hardly anyone visited. It felt too empty to be called a garden.
Still, for Jisoo, who had trouble adjusting to unfamiliar places, it was the perfect hideaway.
A place where she could feel alone, like no one knew she was there.
Even so, it was the only place where she could have some quiet time to herself.
Jisoo carefully sat on a bench in the corner. The cold air pressing through her thin blouse made her instinctively hunch her shoulders.
Her eyes felt dry from lack of sleep. She pressed her temples with her fingers to ease the throbbing.
Stay focused. You can’t mess up.
She had never been allowed to have any flaws beyond what was given to her. That’s how she was raised. That’s how she lived. Self-discipline had become a habit.
Even if she was appointed as a team lead, she was still an outsider. People would surely judge her more harshly.
Just then, her phone vibrated. It was her mother, Hong Yeon.
[When are you sending money this month? We’re late on the hospital bill.]
Reading the blunt message, she gasped. Payday had passed, but she’d been so distracted she’d forgotten.
And it wasn’t just anything it was her brother’s hospital bill.
Her heart sank. She quickly opened the banking app and rushed to transfer the money.
[I just sent it.]
Her reply was short and cold, but she sent it with urgency.
There was no reply. It wasn’t the first time, but it still left a bitter taste.
Just a simple “Thanks.” Three dry syllables. That would’ve been enough.
She didn’t know who she was feeling bitter for. She swallowed the hollow emotion as best she could.
Everything was making her sensitive in this chaotic situation. Letting out a small sigh, Jisoo shook her head to clear her thoughts.
Just then, her phone vibrated again. Hoping it might be from her mother, she quickly checked the screen her face lit up.
It wasn’t exactly someone she was waiting for, but it was someone she was happy to hear from. She quickly answered; her voice bright.
“Yes, Director.”
Jisoo.
It was Misun Hong, the director of Gallery Haram, where Jisoo worked. She treated Jisoo like her own daughter and had always been warm to her practically a lifesaver.
“What’s the matter? Is something wrong?”
Come on. Do I need a reason to call you? I was just worried. Are you doing okay?
“I’m not sure I can say I’m doing well yet. I’m still adjusting. There’s not much direction so far.”
What about the people? Are your coworkers treating you well?
“There’s not much to talk about. We just work. I took a look at the last exhibit plan, but nothing’s been decided yet. I think we’ll start planning meetings this week.”
You’ll do great. You’re Jisoo. Of course you’ll do well.
Hearing that kind of blind belief from someone who cared about her wasn’t a burden it lifted her spirits. That’s why Jisoo felt she had to succeed.
But her mood crashed the moment Director Hong said the next thing.
By the way, have you met Executive Director Cha?
“What?”
You know, Executive Director Cha. Lee Heon. I think you might’ve seen him back when you used to come to Pyeongchang-dong?
Jisoo went silent for a moment, then answered slowly.
“Yes. I’ve seen him before.”
“Seen him” didn’t come close.
She had spent three years trying to forget him, trying to erase him but she had never succeeded. That’s why Jisoo still couldn’t let go of Lee Heon.
The 26-year-old Jisoo felt like a stranger now like someone else.
She hadn’t grown up wealthy, but she had been content with her situation. Doing her best in her role was her way of showing respect to those who had given her opportunities.
At first, Cha Lee Heon was just the son of her sponsor. A well-raised rich boy. Nothing more, nothing less.
“Did you major in art?”
That’s why she was so thrown off when he suddenly asked.
Even though they had crossed paths several times, he had never done more than nod politely.
As usual, she was slowly changing into her shoes and preparing to leave the mansion, when he appeared in uniform from the living room and stared at her before asking.
Jisoo was surprised but managed to steady her voice.
“No.”
“Then?”
“Archaeology.”
Leaning against the hallway entrance leading to the dining room, he let out a short sigh.
It wasn’t the kind of reaction you’d expect from someone who was curious.
Feeling uneasy, Jisoo straightened her back. His tone had a sharp edge that made her uncomfortable.
Even as he raised a teacup to his lips, his deep gaze remained fixed on her. She tried not to meet his eyes.
But the questions continued.
“So, do you like art?”
“Yes.”
“Then that’s good.”
She had been worried about what to say if he asked more, but his vague answer surprised her.
Her tension eased for a moment until he spoke again, and her shoulders tensed right back up.
“You seem to get along well with Madam Shim. Even though the sponsor’s name is actually my mother.”
He said it plainly, but with clear mockery. His eyes were as cold and sharp as blades like they could freeze everything around them.
And yet, there was heat in them too.
The heir of Taesung, who lost his birth mother at a young age.
She didn’t know much about his family, but it was clear that the man in front of her held deep resentment toward his stepmother.
Jisoo swallowed hard and calmed herself.
What kind of answer would this man want right now? She thought carefully before replying.
“I’m grateful to both Madam Shim and Madam Lee.”
She acknowledged her place, choosing words that wouldn’t upset him never stepping out of line.
“Thanks to them, I can study with peace of mind.”
She had grown up with nothing. She just wanted to stay as someone who knew her place.
And the man’s expression didn’t change at all.
That was the first conversation Jisoo ever had with Lee Heon. So intense, it had never left her memory.
