Chapter 08
Candidate No. 2: Yoo Hyun-joon
A new name appeared in Kang Seung-eon’s deduction notebook, which already had one name written.
Boyfriend possibility = ……
Just before writing down the percentage, Seung-eon hesitated for a moment, lips parting slightly.
Boyfriend possibility = 50%
Haah.
Seriously, this is driving her crazy.
“What the hell have you been doing, Seung-eon?”
This was like waking up one day and finding the entire world flipped upside down.
Only two years had passed since the last point she could remember, and yet…
Her best friend—someone she used to drink with after work and complain about their jobs together.
A younger colleague—who, after joining her company, had become so busy with clients that she barely saw his face—was now wagging his tail like a puppy.
How did these two guys change so much?
“Does that even make sense?”
The men who now stood before Seung-eon, after she had awoken from her coma and skipped ahead two years, acted in ways they normally never would—saying and doing affectionate things without hesitation.
They were so forward that she instinctively backed away.
If their behavior had just been out of concern for her six-month hospitalization, she could chalk it up to how close they all used to be.
But—
“They both seem to have a thing for me!”
Kang Seung-eon was quick to catch on.
Thanks to years of growing up under the affectionate-yet-harsh teasing of her youngest aunt, Kang Joo-hee, she had become adept at reading people’s true feelings.
Which is why—
She couldn’t make sense of this situation.
One guy—whom she saw every day from elementary school through university and into their working lives—was the last person who’d suddenly confess feelings.
The other—whom she hadn’t seen in years after graduation—hadn’t exactly looked overjoyed when they reconnected.
They’d only not seen her for six months, yet now both were openly showing interest?
And to top it all off—
“Even physical contact isn’t an issue anymore?”
Come to think of it, she had brushed fingers with Jung Hee-do when he handed her flowers, and Yoo Hyun-joon had caught her when she nearly fell.
Each time, instead of the usual discomfort—
She was fine.
Unlike before—when even the lightest touch from a man would trigger intense nausea and dizziness—she felt no aversion at all.
“What the hell is going on…?”
Something was off.
She had woken up to a world where everything she knew had been shaken.
Candidate 1: Jung Hee-do – Boyfriend possibility 50%
Candidate 2: Yoo Hyun-joon – Boyfriend possibility 50%
And just like that, the number of “secret boyfriend” candidates that Seung-eon had hidden even from her secretary, Chu Yeong-eun, had increased from one to two.
Worse still, both were viable candidates.
“I really need to find that guy—fast.”
It was already August.
More than half the year had flown by. In order to carry out her grandmother’s will, she had to uncover the identity of this secret boyfriend—whoever he was.
She needed to marry him quickly, inherit the first portion of her shares, then have a child soon after to receive the second portion. Only then would the battle over management rights—of both Lukin and HG—be put to rest.
But with not just one but two suspects, asking either of them directly would risk both thinking she was crazy.
No one would believe a woman who suddenly proposed marriage and insisted on having a child right away was sane.
“You’re groaning like a dog that needs to pee. Not like you at all, ma’am.”
As usual, it was Secretary Chu who snapped her out of her thoughts.
“Why don’t you get some air? What if Director Kang sees you pacing around like that?”
Taking Chu’s advice, Seung-eon left the executive office.
She ended up at the rooftop garden—the highest point of the Lukin headquarters.
“Fresh air, huh…”
As she walked toward the railing, the street view of Hwangyo, packed with Korean game companies, spread out before her.
“But Secretary Chu…”
There’s… no breeze up here?
If there were a sharp wind slapping her face, it might help clear her head.
Instead, the sun beat down on her scalp, scorching her skin.
At this point, air conditioning in her cozy office would have been far better.
Feeling worse than before, her face twisted in frustration. She gave up on clearing her head and turned to head back inside.
Clunk!
That’s when it happened.
“Hmm?”
Like most IT firms in Hwangyo, Lukin promoted a horizontal structure.
So naturally, even the rooftop garden wasn’t reserved just for her, despite her <Do Not Enter> sign.
Creak!
The heavy iron door groaned open, making Seung-eon’s delicate brow furrow.
Who the hell ignored the sign and barged in?
As she narrowed her eyes, waiting to confront the intruder, she stopped dead upon seeing who it was.
“Secretary Chu…”
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Let’s cross this guy off the boyfriend list.”
“Team Leader Seo? Why?”
“Why do you think? Does he look like the ‘bunny boyfriend’ you described?”
“…Hmm.”
“See? You can’t even answer right away. And did you forget what kind of guy I hate the most?”
“Someone who doesn’t take care of himself.”
“Exactly. That’s why I’m eliminating Team Leader Seo. He’s the definition of that type.”
The very man she’d first removed from the candidate list had entered the rooftop garden.
Messy bangs almost entirely covering his face, thick black-rimmed glasses so strong you couldn’t tell how big his eyes were, and pale skin as if he’d never seen sunlight.
His green-and-black plaid shirt made her feel hot just looking at him—and he wore that same pattern in different colors all the time.
Rejected Candidate No. 3: Seo I-soo, froze mid-step when his eyes met Seung-eon’s.
As if she were some ghost risen from hell.
“Team Leader Seo.”
His shoulders visibly twitched when she called him. She almost laughed.
“I’m not a ghost, you know. I’m alive.”
Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen him during the chaotic welcome party this morning. She’d been a little hurt by that, honestly.
As she spoke, Seo I-soo’s tightly pressed lips twitched slightly.
His soft-looking red lips parted, then closed again, repeatedly.
Seung-eon found herself staring at his lips, then shook her head vigorously.
“Definitely not.”
No way could she date someone who couldn’t even answer properly.
Trying to kiss that slowpoke would probably take years.
Just as he turned to leave, Seung-eon called out, unable to resist teasing him.
“You avoiding me?”
His retreating figure made her want to mess with him.
“We haven’t seen each other in ages. Can’t you be a little happy to see me?”
“……”
“Hey, Team Leader Seo. Look at me—oof!”
Six months in a hospital bed had clearly taken a toll on her muscles.
Despite a month of intense rehab, she was still wobbling like this.
Unlike when she was with Yoo Hyun-joon, there was no one to catch her now. She was sure she was going to fall—
Then suddenly, she smelled something familiar and warm.
“…Director Kang.”
A low, pleasant voice vibrated in her ears.
“Are you alright?”
Seo I-soo had caught her.
And his voice… was almost too sexy. Like it jabbed straight into her brain.
If it made her feel dizzy—
Maybe… it was just her imagination?
