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Chapter 3
A natural disaster had struck her life, yet the world kept turning as if nothing had happened.
After a sleepless night, Yeon-ha dragged herself to work. In truth, she never wanted to see those two ever again, not for the rest of her life, but she hated the idea of looking like she was running away.
The moment she stepped into the office, everyone’s eyes turned toward her. It seemed many had witnessed what happened last night, and gossip had already spread throughout the company.
Blame and condemnation poured down on Choi Kyung-jin and Oh Mi-ju.
Not only had they betrayed their colleagues by having an affair within the same department, but to do so inside the company itself—people were furious.
The younger Oh Mi-ju couldn’t endure the finger-pointing and ridicule, so she burst into tears and ran out. Kyung-jin, too, made an excuse about having outside work to attend to, then left and never came back that day.
That evening, Kyung-jin showed up at Yeon-ha’s home. When she refused to open the door, he kept pounding until she had no choice but to let him in.
The moment he entered, he dropped to his knees before her.
His attitude was a complete reversal of the brazen arrogance he’d shown the night before.
“Yeon-ha, I was wrong. That day… I don’t know what came over me. Please, just forgive me this once. I swear, it will never happen again.”
But Yeon-ha spoke firmly.
“I can’t. I’ve already told your parents that I’m breaking off the engagement.”
Kyung-jin’s eyes widened in shock at her words.
“What? You already… told my parents?”
“So go back. Nothing will change my mind.”
From that moment, he alternated between threats, pleas, and attempts at persuasion. But when she remained unmoved, he finally hurled curses at her and stormed out.
The next day, Kyung-jin’s mother came to see her.
She bowed her head, apologizing for raising such a son. At that, Yeon-ha couldn’t hold back her tears any longer.
She felt no regret about breaking things off with Kyung-jin.
What truly pained her was the thought that she would no longer see his parents, who had treated her like their own daughter.
“In truth, I came to beg you to forgive my foolish son just this once… but seeing you cry like this, I can’t bring myself to say it. Please, don’t fall ill. Stay well.”
With those parting words, Kyung-jin’s mother wiped away her tears and left.
From the start, Yeon-ha’s parents had never been supportive of the marriage.
Unlike her own family—who treated her with cold indifference despite living under the same roof—Kyung-jin’s family was warm and close. That was why she had finally accepted his proposal after he pursued her for a year: because she wanted to be part of his warm family. She thought if she could belong there, she too might find happiness.
But that had been too much to hope for.
Wanting a warmth that wasn’t hers to take had only left her with bitter laughter.
Meanwhile, Oh Mi-ju, after repeatedly skipping work without notice, was eventually forced to resign.
Kyung-jin, on the other hand, shamelessly claimed that while the affair had indeed been his fault, the real cause lay with Yeon-ha.
He complained that she always put work first and neglected him, that her temperament was so fussy it was impossible to please her, and worst of all, that whenever he tried to hold her, she said she was tired and wouldn’t let him touch her.
He spewed out one humiliating excuse after another, twisting things to make himself seem the victim. Instead of remorse, he tried to drag her down with him, and the female employees seethed with anger at his behavior.
The next day, a post appeared on Blind, the anonymous workplace forum, exposing his behavior with the company name attached. When Kyung-jin discovered it, he immediately requested deletion, but since only the author could do that, he was left helpless.
The rumor, which had previously been hushed within the office, quickly spread up the chain of command. Eventually, Kyung-jin was disciplined with a pay cut.
At first, Yeon-ha felt humiliated, as though all her private pain had been laid bare for the world to see. But it was bearable, because she hadn’t done anything wrong.
What truly weighed on her wasn’t Kyung-jin glaring at her like he wanted to kill her every time they crossed paths. It was the pitying looks from others—their gazes heavy with sympathy, as if her life were over just because her engagement had fallen apart.
Those looks felt like a prison, and in the end, Yeon-ha handed in her resignation.
Three Years Later
“Good morning, Team Leader.”
“Morning.”
When Yeon-ha walked in, Kwon Jin-young, an assistant manager on her team, greeted her. It seemed the other teams hadn’t arrived yet.
After setting her bag down at her desk and turning on her computer, Yeon-ha headed toward the break room. She was desperate for hot coffee, having tossed and turned the night before. Jin-young trotted along behind her.
“Team Leader, did you hear the news?”
“What news?”
Yeon-ha asked absently while pressing the button on the coffee machine. But the red light blinked—no beans. Of all days, why today?
“The new guy from the Planning Department who’s supposed to start today. His specs are insane!”
“Are they?”
Yeon-ha muttered indifferently and dropped a green-tea bag into a cup of hot water instead. Instant coffee would have been better to wake her up, but she hesitated. In her twenties she drank it without a thought, but now at thirty-three she couldn’t ignore the calories.
“You know Melbourne University in Australia, right, Team Leader?”
When Yeon-ha gave a distracted nod, Jin-young continued, eyes shining.
“He graduated from there. But that’s not even the most amazing part. They say he’s so handsome he could be a model—and his family’s incredible too. Both his parents are professors at Melbourne University. His dad teaches physics, his mom teaches… um, geography, I think. Isn’t that amazing?”
As Jin-young looked at her with wide eyes, expecting a reaction, Yeon-ha forced a small nod.
“Where’d you hear all this?”
“My college friend works in HR. She said when he came in for the interview, she thought he was a model for our company. Not only is his face unbelievable, but he’s over 190 centimeters tall! She swears it’s like watching a fashion spread come to life. Can you believe we get to see someone like that every day? I’m so happy I could die!”
With her hands clasped like an excited child, Jin-young beamed. Yeon-ha gave a faint smile, then tossed out the barely touched green tea and left the break room.
‘Green tea really isn’t my style.’
Murmuring inwardly, she returned to her desk.
Just then her phone lit up. A notification showed that the sample she’d requested yesterday had been received.
“I’m heading down to logistics on the first floor.”
“Team Leader, I can go for you.”
“No, it’s fine. I want to grab a coffee from the café down there too. You still like vanilla lattes, right?”
“Yes! Thank you!”
Leaving behind the always-cheerful Jin-young, Yeon-ha got into the elevator.
A few minutes later, she arrived on the first floor. She stopped by the logistics office at the far right of the lobby to pick up the sample, then headed toward the café past the central reception desk.
It was still early, so the café was quiet.
She ordered an iced Americano for herself and a vanilla latte for Jin-young. While waiting, she answered a call from a business partner.
“Hello? Yes, sir. I just picked up the sample. And by the way, do you know when I’ll be getting the evaluation samples I requested last week?”
Her drinks came out just as she was talking. Balancing a phone in one hand and the takeaway cups in the other, she turned around.
“Thursday? I’m sorry, but the review’s on Friday, so I’ll need them by Wednesday at the latest—oh!”
Focused on the call, she hadn’t been looking where she was going. She collided head-on with someone, and coffee splashed over both of them.
“……!”
Yeon-ha froze, horrified, as brown coffee dripped down the man’s clothes.
On the other end of the line, the business partner kept repeating, “Hello? Hello?”
Snapping back to her senses, Yeon-ha quickly lifted the phone to her ear again.
“Sir, I’ll call you back.”
She hung up and bowed her head in apology.
“I’m so sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going—”
But unexpectedly, the man spoke first.
“Are you alright?”
Yeon-ha blinked, bewildered, and looked up. The instant her eyes met his, her heart dropped.
Those fathomless, jet-black eyes held her in place, making her forget to breathe.
His low, gentle voice seemed to brush against her ears, strangely familiar.
What is this? I’ve heard this voice before…
But where…?
