Chapter#9
In the company cafeteria earlier, his finger had stopped midway.
Now, it gently touched her lips.
Yulhee froze in surprise at the warm touch against her cold lips.
A tense silence filled the emergency stairwell.
His finger slowly traced the shape of her lips.
It lightly followed the curve of her upper lip and gently pressed her lower lip.
His touch was calm and careful, as if he was smoothing her dry lips.
Yulhee couldn’t focus on anything else.
All her attention was on his hand. Every small movement made her feel nervous and aware.
“Mm…”
She let out a small, surprised sound without meaning to.
For a brief moment, his finger moved closer, then slowly pulled away, brushing past her lips one last time.
The warmth faded, and her lips felt cold again.
“If you want, I’ll go apologize.”
Sihyeok said in a slightly rough voice.
Yulhee didn’t answer.
She was more surprised by her own strange reaction than by his words.
She should have been angry and scolded him for acting like that at work…
But instead, she felt confused.
“…It’s fine.”
After hesitating, she finally spoke.
Then she quickly turned away, opened the stairwell door, and hurried out.
Her thoughts were a mess, but one thing was clear—
She needed to get away from there immediately.
Otherwise, she might make another big mistake.
Later…
“How am I supposed to do all this by myself?!”
Sora complained with a frustrated face.
“I even booked a nail appointment for tonight!”
To her, fixing her nails felt more important than tomorrow’s executive meeting.
“Oppa, can’t you skip your meeting today? I’ll talk to my dad for you.”
Sora held onto Byeongju’s sleeve and begged cutely.
But his expression hardened.
“What are you talking about? That’s not possible.”
“Why not? I just want you to help me!”
Sora snapped back, clearly annoyed.
The meeting was important—it was about a business contract.
There was no way he could skip it.
Even though she knew that, Sora kept insisting.
“Maybe I can ask the team leader—”
“So the meeting is more important than me?”
She interrupted him sharply.
Some employees passing by glanced at them because of her raised voice.
“Lower your voice,” Byeongju whispered.
Even though they were planning to get married, causing a scene at work wasn’t good.
“Fine! Just go! Forget everything and go!”
But Sora was already too angry to listen.
She shook his hand off, acting upset like a child.
Byeongju felt tired.
Sora had grown up spoiled as the youngest daughter in a wealthy family.
She was very stubborn and always wanted things her way.
Even during wedding preparations, she was the same.
“The wedding must be at a hotel!”
“The ring must be at least 5 carats!”
“I want a designer wedding dress!”
No matter how much Byeongju worried about money, she didn’t change her mind.
“Alright, alright… calm down.”
In the end, he gave in again.
“I’ll come back after the meeting and help you.”
“Really? Thank you!”
Sora smiled happily and leaned on him, but he didn’t feel the same.
He was already tired thinking about working late after the meeting.
“Then I’ll go get my nails done first.”
Sora had no intention of fixing the report herself.
She just hummed happily while scrolling through nail designs on her phone.
Byeongju watched her with a troubled expression.
Thinking about always having to take care of her gave him a headache.
He was even more worried about after marriage.
Would she help at home? What about taking care of kids?
A bad feeling crept into his mind.
Yulhee wasn’t like this…
He suddenly thought of Yulhee.
During their 4 years together, she had never bothered him.
She was hardworking and even helped him succeed at work.
His life with her would have been calm and stable.
But still… not Yulhee.
It wasn’t just because she wasn’t from a rich family or wasn’t as cute as Sora.
There were too many problems surrounding her, and he didn’t want to get involved.
Just then, the stairwell door opened, and Yulhee walked out.
Seeing her, Byeongju smirked slightly.
But before he could think more, the door opened again, and Sihyeok came out.
Why is he there…?
Byeongju frowned.
It bothered him that the two had been alone together.
Their slightly flushed faces made him feel even more uncomfortable.
Don’t tell me they…?
He shook his head, dismissing the thought.
Sihyeok had just joined recently. Nothing could have happened in such a short time.
Pushing away the thought, Byeongju headed off to prepare for his meeting.
Later in the office…
“The bonus has been deposited!”
Someone shouted excitedly, and cheers spread across the office.
Everyone quickly picked up their phones to check.
Yulhee also reached for her phone.
A notification appeared:
[Deposit] Seonjin Electronics Performance Bonus: 30,126,010 won
“They said we had record results this year. Good thing the company rewarded us. I’ll use this to change my car.”
“I was worried about my rent going up, but this helps a lot.”
The office was full of smiles.
The only ones who couldn’t fully share the excitement were Sihyeok, who had just joined, and Sora, who was still an intern.
“You two will get bonuses next year too.”
“Yes, I’ll work hard.”
Sihyeok replied politely, but he didn’t seem jealous.
Sora also looked uninterested, just playing with her phone.
“It’s nice to get a bonus, but I wish it was more private. Now it’s even in the news…”
One married employee sighed, and others nodded in agreement.
Sure enough, “Seonjin Electronics bonus” was already trending online.
Then—
Bzzz…
Yulhee’s phone started vibrating.
[Mom]
The moment she saw the caller name, her expression darkened.
