Chapter 3
“E–Executive Director, why are you here…?”
Da-in’s heart thumped wildly.
The man who suddenly appeared out of the darkness happened to be the very source of her morning’s torment.
“I was just about to leave after finishing the document review.”
Taekyung answered calmly, as if nothing was out of the ordinary, then threw the question back.
“Now it’s Assistant Manager Min’s turn to answer my question, isn’t it?”
“Pardon?”
“Why did you just let those people go?”
So he had heard her coworkers gossiping about her.
‘They could’ve at least gossiped quietly before leaving…’
Da-in silently cursed her teammates from Sales Team 1 and bowed deeply.
“I didn’t realize you were here, sir. Please excuse me, I’ll just be go—”
“Don’t run away.”
As she tried to retreat step by step, Taekyung closed the distance in a single stride, blocking her way.
With his broad shoulders, his shadow fell across the top of her head.
Suddenly trapped in the space of his arms, Da-in flinched and looked up in alarm.
A faint fragrance clung to him, tickling the tip of her nose.
“Well? Why was that?”
His question was sharp and relentless, leaving her no chance to escape.
Da-in rolled her eyes for a moment, then muttered like a schoolchild making excuses before a teacher.
“Because if I get involved for no reason… it’ll only make things bothersome for me. They might be curious about everything, but I’m not.”
Taekyung’s brow furrowed slightly, clearly unsatisfied with her dry response.
Lowering her gaze, Da-in braced herself for the criticism she knew was coming.
She was sure he’d say something pointless, like Why live life at such a loss? Most people who didn’t understand her exhaustion tossed out such advice without a second thought.
“You’re someone who values efficiency, Assistant Manager Min.”
At that, Da-in blinked at him in surprise.
“…Sorry?”
“Doesn’t that mean you don’t want your working hours wasted by unnecessary trouble? That’s a model answer for every employee.”
He stroked his chin, looking genuinely impressed.
“As an executive, I found that answer very pleasing. Excellent.”
Da-in stared up at him blankly.
The unexpected remark was so absurd she almost laughed.
“No one has… ever said that to me before.”
While she struggled to suppress her smile, Taekyung pressed on.
“It was a compliment. You can afford to feel a little proud.”
“Pfft—ah, excuse me.”
Da-in hastily covered the slip of laughter that escaped.
But Taekyung only smiled wider, as though that mistake delighted him.
With her usual expressionless face, she looked rather forlorn, but when she smiled even a little, the lively glow from the past returned. He found that sight refreshing.
“Is your nephew doing better? I heard Director Jung took him to the hospital.”
Taking advantage of her eased tension, Taekyung asked.
Da-in nodded with a far calmer expression than before.
“Yes, his fever went down a lot… He’s much better. It’s all thanks to you, sir. If you hadn’t helped that day, I wouldn’t have found him so quickly.”
“He’s a good kid. Polite, too.”
Taekyung recalled Yeoreum, who had chatted endlessly while being escorted to the office.
Losing his way should’ve made him cry in fear, but for a seven-year-old, he was remarkably composed.
Even while holding Taekyung’s hand, the boy kept glancing around to check if they were going the right way.
For his age, he was unusually cautious and wary.
“He was so worried about his aunt forgetting his lunchbox.”
Embarrassed, Da-in blinked her large eyes.
If only she’d packed the lunch properly in the first place, none of that would have happened.
“I should have been more careful. I also heard about spilling water on you, sir.”
“It was only water, and just a little. It doesn’t matter.”
“Even so… I’m truly sorry.”
With a solemn face, she bowed in apology again.
Looking back, she still thought she’d been too harsh to someone who had helped her.
“Hitting your hand away before hearing the full story—that was a mistake. It’s late, but… I apologize once more.”
“As a guardian, it was the right decision. If a strange man had been holding my nephew’s hand, I’d have done the same.”
Though she considered it rude, Taekyung praised her, saying it had been the correct response.
Once again, it was a kind of compliment she’d never heard before.
“I feel I should at least pay for your dry-cleaning.”
Flustered yet relieved, Da-in’s cheeks flushed as she offered compensation.
But it wasn’t the answer Taekyung wanted; one eyebrow arched.
“There’s no need for that.”
He paused for a moment, then his face lit with a pleasant thought.
“Instead…”
What was he going to ask?
Da-in stiffened nervously.
Looking down at her, frozen like prey before a predator, Taekyung smiled with satisfaction.
Taekyung sat in his executive office chair, gazing out the window.
Between the tall buildings, the sky was beginning to glow with sunset.
The reddening sky reminded him of the woman who had blushed so quietly before him.
“Sir, here’s Assistant Manager Min Da-in’s résumé.”
As if reading his mind, Director Jung stepped forward and handed him the file.
“Good work.”
Taekyung leaned forward and examined it.
A neat ID photo of Da-in was affixed at the top.
Imagining her nervously staring into the camera made him chuckle.
“She’s your first love, isn’t she?”
Jung couldn’t hide his suspicion.
From what he saw yesterday, Da-in clearly didn’t recognize Taekyung at all.
“She didn’t even remember you.”
“No one remembers everything forever. If we did, our heads would explode.”
“But you remembered her.”
“We were ten when we parted ways. It’s not strange that she doesn’t remember me.”
“…Ten? Not twenty?”
Stunned, Director Jung stared at him.
“Your tone’s slipping, Director.”
Taekyung smirked at the jab, but Jung wasn’t about to back down.
“How exactly are you remembering her, sir? If I were Assistant Manager Min, I’d think it creepy.”
At the blunt criticism, Taekyung only scoffed, his eyes dismissive.
“Harsh. What do you take a man’s pure feelings for?”
“If it was so pure, why didn’t you look for her earlier?”
Jung frowned. Both Taekyung and Da-in were already thirty.
Some might still call that young, but in Chairman Go’s eyes, they were well within marriageable age.
“Because of this.”
Taekyung shrugged with a deadpan face.
“…What?”
“I was afraid she’d forgotten my face, my name, everything.”
He had been terrified she might have erased every memory of him. That fear had kept him from looking, and from even daring to return to Korea.
If he hadn’t stumbled across her photo in a company brochure, he would have refused the chairman’s order to return to headquarters.
He’d had no need to leave the strong position he’d built at the U.S. branch.
“And the child?”
Sensing the heavy mood, Jung awkwardly shifted the subject.
The boy from yesterday was clearly on his mind.
“He’s her nephew. From what I can tell, she’s raising him for personal reasons…”
Taekyung flipped through the résumé, speaking calmly.
He recalled how Da-in’s face had stiffened when she overheard the gossip.
“I’ll have to find out more soon.”
He tapped the file lightly, his eyes settling on her photo.
Though the bright energy she’d once had was gone, her smiling face was still as endearing as before.
“How exactly?”
“I told her, instead of laundry fees, just buy me a meal.”
The Da-in he’d loved at ten years old—
Even while sobbing over his little yellow lie, she had smiled brightly when he gave her that last dandelion ring.
His first love. So precious that even recalling her had felt like a sin.
Now, that first love seemed like an entirely different person.
“If you meet her privately for personal reasons, the chairman will definitely—”
Jung’s complexion paled as he tried to object, but it was useless.
“That’s why you have to help me. Right?”
Taekyung countered smoothly as he rose from his seat.
Just as he was about to call it a day—
“Hm?”
His phone buzzed lightly.
He glanced at the messages, eyes widening.
[Uncle, you’re coming to pick me up, right?]
[You’d better! Don’t you dare break your promise!]
[You prooomised!!]
Reading the flood of texts, Taekyung straightened his tie with his free hand.
“Head home, Jung.”
Watching his boss stride toward the door, Jung frowned. There was no more business left for the day.
“I’m leaving too.”
“Where to, sir?”
Jung trailed after him, baffled.
Taekyung waved him off with a smile.
“Kindergarten.”
His gaze, fixed on the number glowing on his phone, was surprisingly tender.
