“We meet again, Executive Director Kang Moon-je.”

“Who are you?”

His gaze, which he had just torn away from Sa-hee, settled indifferently.

The model seemed flustered but managed a strained smile and said, “You probably don’t recognize me with my makeup on. It was yesterday… My name is Kang Yeo-wool.”

Only then did Moon-je realize that the model in front of him was the woman who had been with his brother, Moon-seok. However, since she was a person of no interest to him, he was not pleased by her friendly greeting.

“Ah, is that so.”

Moon-je cut the conversation short and stepped aside to leave.

“Executive Director, just a moment.”

Yeo-wool gently grabbed Moon-je’s shirt sleeve and said in a low voice, “If you have a moment, could we talk?”

Moon-je slowly lowered his gaze to Yeo-wool’s hand clutching his clothes. His eyes were cold.

“Take your hand off.”

At his low, firm voice, Yeo-wool flinched and quickly released her hand.

“I’m sorry. I thought you might have misunderstood the situation with the Vice President yesterday. I must have been too hasty.”

“Misunderstood?”

When Moon-je repeated the word in a dry voice, Yeo-wool, looking flustered, quickly shook her head.

“No, I mean… I just don’t want any unnecessary talk to get out.”

Yeo-wool forced a calm smile and continued. But Moon-je looked down at her without a hint of a smile.

“I don’t think that’s something I need to be concerned about.”

Moon-je replied curtly and stepped aside. Despite his cold attitude, Yeo-wool once again blocked his path.

“Please pretend you didn’t see anything yesterday. You don’t like things getting complicated either, do you, Executive Director?”

Moon-je’s face instantly turned icy.

“Don’t you think acting like this is what makes things more complicated?”

“If you’re done talking, move aside. I’m not interested.”

At his cold voice, Yeo-wool finally flinched and stepped back. Moon-je, as if nothing had happened, returned to Sa-hee’s side.

“If you’re done looking around, let’s go.”

“Ah, yes.”

At Moon-je’s word, Sa-hee immediately followed him. She was a little concerned about his unusually bad mood, but no matter how much her boss needed managing, she couldn’t interfere in his private life.

However, seeing the woman who was still standing and watching Moon-je as they left the backstage area, Sa-hee felt a strange sense of discomfort.

“Kang Moon-je, you’re just leaving? Let’s call Ju-won and have a drink.”

Seong-hwan, who had hurriedly come out from backstage, grabbed Moon-je.

“Forget it. I’m tired.”

“I even skipped the after-party to have a drink with you and Ju-won.”

“Who asked you to? I’m leaving.”

“Ah, you cheapskate. Sa-hee, are you done with work? Want to go for a drink? You know Ju-won, right? Seo Ju-won.”

At the name Seo Ju-won, Sa-hee’s expression hardened slightly. It was not a particularly welcome name.

“Next time. I have something else scheduled for today.”

“Really? That’s a shame… Then, your phone, please.”

Sa-hee tilted her head slightly and handed over her phone. Seong-hwan keyed in his number and returned it.

“We’re definitely having a drink next time.”

Before Sa-hee could answer, Moon-je frowned and spoke to her.

“Secretary Jin, are you not leaving?”

“Yes. I’m coming.”

Sa-hee gave a slight nod to Seong-hwan and left the venue with Moon-je. It wasn’t pouring like before, but it was still raining. The waiting car pulled up smoothly in front of them.

“You get in too, Secretary Jin. I’ll give you a ride home.”

Moon-je said, opening the car door.

“It’s alright. I can take the bus from the front.”

“I don’t like repeating myself.”

Moon-je spoke firmly and got into the back seat first. Since this was also an order from her superior, Sa-hee got into the passenger seat without a word. An awkward silence ensued, filled only by the sound of the rain.

“Weren’t you not very close with Seong-hwan?”

Moon-je asked in a casual tone, but there was a sharp edge to it somewhere.

“We’re not close. But we were in the same class in school, so we got along well enough.”

“You’re not close, yet you just hand over your phone like that?”

At the sudden rebuke, Sa-hee glanced at the back seat.

“My personal information is probably in there. You should be more careful in the future.”

Sa-hee looked momentarily flustered at his words.

“Your personal information, Executive Director?”

“My schedule, my contact information, it’s all in there, isn’t it? My personal information is actually quite valuable. What if company secrets get leaked?”

*Why would there be company secrets on my phone? And besides, they’re friends, they probably already have each other’s contact information. What’s this about personal information?*

Sa-hee swallowed the words that were about to come out.

*Well, this is what work life is like.*

“I’m sorry. I will be more careful in the future.”

When Sa-hee apologized politely, Moon-je said no more and turned his quiet gaze to the window.

***

*Tap, tap.* Sa-hee shook the water from her wet umbrella and entered the lobby of her officetel. She collected some documents and mail from the mailbox at the entrance and quickly got on the elevator.

The day had felt unusually long. She desperately wanted to go inside and rest. As if it knew her feelings, the elevator door opened with a *ding*.

Once inside her apartment, Sa-hee tossed her bag and mail onto the sofa and turned on a single small lamp on the coffee table.

After a quick shower and a change into comfortable clothes, she sat on the sofa and started looking up articles about today’s fashion show.

As expected of a famous show, numerous articles had already been posted, even though it had only just ended. Looking at the sparkling stage and stylish models in the photos, Sa-hee quickly sketched in her drawing book.

Just then, her hand, which had been scrolling down, stopped.

Model Kang Yeo-wool.

It was the woman who had been talking to Moon-je backstage.

She remembered how she had casually grabbed his sleeve and whispered something to him.

*What is their relationship?*

Recalling Moon-je’s cold reaction, Sa-hee tilted her head. It didn’t seem like a good relationship, but she couldn’t forget Yeo-wool’s friendly expression.

Even as she told herself it was none of her business, the image of the two of them wouldn’t leave her mind.

Sa-hee closed her drawing book along with her laptop screen.

Normally, she would have quickly become engrossed in sketching, but strangely, her mind was scattered.

Her scattered gaze shifted to the mail she had tossed carelessly onto the sofa.

Most of her bills were electronic, but it seemed there were still some she hadn’t changed over. With a sigh, Sa-hee started flipping through the mail.

It was mostly advertisements from credit card companies and promotional materials from various businesses.

The mail failed to hold her interest, falling from her fingertips one by one. But then, her hand stopped at one particular envelope.

<Cheongsong Prison>

A familiar envelope with bold letters written on it.

Her face hardened, and a cold chill spread through her eyes. The fingertips holding the envelope trembled slightly.

Without even opening it, Sa-hee tore the envelope and threw it in the trash. She stared at the pieces that had fallen into the trash can for a moment, then turned her head away. She had thought it was over, but no matter how hard she tried, it clung to her with sickening persistence.

Sa-hee closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath.

When she raised her head again, her face was expressionless. As if the emotion she had just felt had never existed. Sa-hee sank into the sofa as if exhausted, but her body, leaning against the backrest, was still stiff and tense somewhere.

***

“Wow, you guys are too much. Why are you so late?”

Seong-hwan, who seemed to be already quite drunk, complained as Ju-won entered the room.

“Your friend just finished a great show, skipped the after-party to have a drink with his beloved friends, and you guys are playing this hard to get?”

Ju-won let out a small laugh and sat down.

“Is Moon-je not coming?”

“I don’t know. He just watched the show and left.”

“Moon-je went to a show?”

Seong-hwan, holding his glass, nodded his head.

“That’s why I’ve decided to forgive him for not drinking. It’s the first time that jerk has ever come to one of my shows, you know.”

“What’s gotten into him lately, doing all these things he never used to do… ”

“Is it because of Jin Sa-hee?”

At the mention of Sa-hee’s name, Ju-won’s eyes widened slightly.

“Jin Sa-hee?”

“You remember her too, right? Same class in high school.”

“…I know her well.”

“You know her well?”

As Seong-hwan tilted his head in surprise, Ju-won poured a drink into his glass.

“She lived at Myeonghwawon, so she was always with Moon-je. It’d be strange not to know her.”

“Well, that’s true.”

“But why does Jin Sa-hee’s name come up when you’re talking about Moon-je changing?”

“Jin Sa-hee was Kang Moon-je’s first love! And now that they’ve met again, it’s obvious he wants to look good for her.”

“Met again? Speak properly…”

“Jin Sa-hee is Moon-je’s secretary. Isn’t that crazy?”

At Seong-hwan’s words, Ju-won’s usually composed eyes wavered strangely.