Chapter 07
Click.
Seung-eon quietly shut the door behind her as she stepped into the CEO’s office.
Secretary Chu, who had been waiting inside, opened her mouth as soon as she saw Seung-eon’s tense face.
“You’re here.”
“…Yeah.”
“How did it go?”
“…”
“Director?”
Seung-eon, unable to even think of a response, slumped to the floor and muttered,
“I don’t know. That bastard Jung Hee-do must be seriously insane.”
He said…
…he’d sleep with me.
That lunatic!
She swallowed the words that nearly burst out of her mouth and let out a sigh.
Candidate 1: Jung Hee-do
The strikethrough line that had once crossed out Jung Hee-do’s name vanished.
Boyfriend potential = 50%
The likelihood had skyrocketed from 0% to 50%.
“Why that face?”
“…Huh?”
“Isn’t that what you wanted to hear?”
“Well, that’s…”
“I’ll do anything you want. You’re Kang Seung-eon.”
“…”
“Take care.”
Jung Hee-do left the café first, smiling nonchalantly, leaving Seung-eon speechless.
Unlike his cool demeanor, it was her face that turned red with embarrassment.
Was he teasing me?
She considered chasing after him in a fit of rage but stopped in her tracks.
“I said I’d sleep with you.”
There was no hesitation in his eyes when he said it.
Though he followed up with a joke after seeing her frozen expression, Seung-eon had known Jung Hee-do for over 30 years. She could tell instantly he wasn’t joking.
That damned guy.
His words were far from a joke.
“There’s a chance now, huh?”
As Seung-eon crouched on the floor in front of the office door with her head down, Secretary Chu commented dryly.
Seung-eon quickly lifted her gaze and glared.
There was Chu-young, wearing her usual deadpan expression.
There’s more than just a chance—it’s overflowing!
Seung-eon almost blurted it out but held her tongue and calmed herself.
She stood up, as if nothing had happened.
“Who was the second candidate again?”
As if waiting for the question, Secretary Chu answered promptly.
“Team Leader Yoo Hyun-joon from Marketing.”
“Yoo Hyun-joon…”
“This is Yoo Hyun-joon. He’s that sweet junior who hung out with me while you were on training. Hyun-joon, this is—”
“I know. Kang Seung-eon sunbae, right? I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Yoo Hyun-joon. I think we’ll be seeing each other often, so please be kind.”
Yoo Hyun-joon, a junior from college, had become close to Jung Hee-do while Seung-eon was in the U.S. on a short training program.
But after graduation, and Seung-eon’s entry into HG, contact with Yoo faded, unlike with Hee-do.
This was because Seung-eon was working tirelessly to fulfill her grandmother’s wish for her to establish herself quickly in the company.
But then—
“I’m a little hurt, sunbae. You didn’t forget I’m your friend too, not just Hee-do hyung, right?”
When Seung-eon left HG to save her father’s shaky company, Lukin, it was Yoo Hyun-joon—alongside Jung Hee-do—who appeared before her with a warm smile.
Though Lukin had started as a small gaming company, it had risen to become a respected name in the industry—thanks to Seung-eon’s determination, Hee-do’s steadfast support, and Yoo Hyun-joon’s trend-savvy marketing sense.
Had any one of the three been missing, Lukin wouldn’t have come this far, nor would it have become the parent company of the HG Group.
Could she and Yoo Hyun-joon, with such a long history, have become secret lovers without even Chu or Hee-do knowing?
No way.
Seung-eon scoffed.
With her personality, once she started seeing someone as family, she couldn’t see them any other way.
Or could I?
Even with Hee-do, who she always thought of as just a friend, that “0% chance” had suddenly become 50%.
Male-female dynamics can shift at any moment—even between close friends.
“Director.”
Before the morning shock from Hee-do had even settled, Seung-eon looked up.
A familiar face, smiling brightly like the midday sun, approached her.
The man, with long strides and a wave, had a pale complexion and delicate features that seemed perfectly placed.
If Jung Hee-do was a ruggedly handsome man, Yoo Hyun-joon had a gentle, soothing charm—someone who made you smile just by being around, like human sunshine.
His naturally brown hair shimmered like his soft eyes.
Now that she thought about it, Yoo had been wildly popular during college—both in their business school and across the campus.
“Unnie, are you dating Hyun-joon oppa or Hee-do sunbae? Don’t tell me it’s both?!”
Because Seung-eon, Hee-do, and Yoo Hyun-joon were always together in school, misunderstandings like that had been common.
“Sunbae?”
Though he stood right in front of her, Seung-eon seemed dazed. Yoo Hyun-joon’s lips curled into a gentle smile as he called out to her.
With the sun streaming in from the large windows behind him, he looked like he was glowing.
Even a sun god wouldn’t shine this bright.
“Hey, Team Leader Yoo.”
When their eyes met, Yoo Hyun-joon opened his mouth again.
“I heard from Secretary Chu. You found it?”
Yes, she had found it.
Though new game releases had paused during Seung-eon’s absence, maintaining existing titles required Marketing’s efforts—especially Yoo’s.
Apparently, thanks to his new strategies, stagnant profits had risen significantly. These days, Yoo Hyun-joon—not Hee-do—was the busiest man in the company.
Seung-eon handed him the ion drink she was holding and smiled.
“Here, drink this.”
“You picked this for me?”
“More or less.”
“I can’t refuse, then,” he chuckled softly, then cracked the can open and drank it in one go.
“Secretary Chu said you visited me often while I was in the hospital?”
Yoo Hyun-joon’s soft brown eyes slid to the side, a gentle smile forming.
“Of course. My sunbae was there.”
Seung-eon quietly studied his face. My sunbae?
Then she smiled and replied,
“Sorry for making you see me lying down all the time. I should’ve recovered faster.”
“You looked beautiful even asleep.”
“Are you teasing me?”
When he answered so smoothly, Seung-eon chuckled and, as she often did, went to playfully tap his shin.
“Ow!”
“Sunbae!”
It happened suddenly.
Still not fully recovered, she lost her balance. As she stumbled forward, Yoo Hyun-joon quickly reached out and supported her around the waist.
‘…!’
Caught off guard by the contact, she leaned into his arm and looked up. He gently steadied her and pulled back.
As she stood frozen by the unfamiliar sensation—
“Sorry. Are you going to break out in hives?”
“This much is fine.”
“That’s a relief.”
Yoo Hyun-joon was one of the few people who knew about Seung-eon’s condition—her difficulty with physical contact with men.
She looked up at him and murmured,
“I… I just got out of the hospital, so my legs aren’t steady yet. Thanks for catching me.”
“You don’t owe me anything, not between us.”
Between us.
That phrase again—between us.
Why did it sound different today? Was she imagining it?
Just then, her phone rang—it was Secretary Chu. The perfect excuse.
“Team Leader Yoo, I’ve got to go back to the office. I just came back today, so I’m being called from all directions. Let’s get together soon, okay? I owe you for everything. Got it?”
Maybe it was the earlier contact, or maybe Yoo’s gaze felt too gentle—unlike how she remembered.
She avoided his eyes and hurried her words.
“Sure,” he replied simply.
Why am I so nervous?
Feeling awkward from the tension, Seung-eon turned toward the elevator to return to the CEO’s office on the 15th floor.
“Sunbae!”
She was just rounding the corner when she stopped.
Yoo Hyun-joon’s voice called her back.
She turned around—and there he was, smiling brightly like a blooming flower.
“I’m really glad you’re okay. I was so afraid I might lose you.”
And then,
“I never want to feel like that again. So don’t get hurt anymore, okay?”
