Chapte 6: Cracks Beneath the Surface
The next morning, the halls of Lee Financial buzzed with the usual Monday chaos — staplers clicking, keyboards tapping, phones ringing nonstop.
Seo-Ah buried herself behind her desk, cheeks still flushed with the memory of the gala.
"This conversation never happened," he had said.
And yet, it had.
It lived inside her now — a secret she couldn't shake off, no matter how much she tried to focus on reports and memos.
She caught herself once, mid-typing, staring blankly at the screen while replaying every second on that terrace.
The way his voice had lowered.
The way the city lights had framed his profile like a painting.
Seo-Ah shook her head fiercely.
Get a grip.
Meanwhile, across the building, Lee Min-Jun was doing a far worse job at pretending.
He hadn't slept well.
Every time he closed his eyes, images of her standing under the stars haunted him — soft, fragile, real.
It irritated him to no end.
She was nothing. A junior employee. A child playing in a world she didn't understand.
And yet—
Min-Jun's hand curled into a fist atop his mahogany desk.
He needed a distraction.
Something stronger than reports and deadlines.
Something to burn her ghost from his mind.
His assistant knocked once and entered, careful not to meet his boss's stormy gaze.
"Sir," she said, bowing, "the chairman of HJ Group is requesting a private meeting regarding the merger proposal."
Min-Jun's eyes narrowed.
HJ Group was notorious for their cutthroat tactics — shady mergers, blackmail, hidden scandals.
Perfect.
"Arrange it," he said, voice cool as steel.
If he couldn't forget her, he would bury himself in war instead.
---
By Wednesday, Seo-Ah noticed something strange.
Lee Min-Jun wasn't just distant — he was absent.
His once-daily appearances on her floor became nonexistent.
The occasional meetings she managed to glimpse him through were replaced by high-level conferences behind closed doors.
And even then, his presence — once crackling and magnetic — now felt heavier, darker.
Everyone felt it.
Even the executives whispered nervously behind polished doors.
"He's different lately," one said, voice low.
"More dangerous," another murmured.
Seo-Ah clutched her file tighter, moving quickly past them.
Whatever storm was brewing, she wanted no part of it.
She needed stability. She needed this job.
She couldn't afford foolish daydreams about a man like him — a man who could destroy her without blinking.
Still...
Late at night, when the office emptied and the city glowed beyond the windows, Seo-Ah found herself staring out into the skyline and wondering:
Where had the man from the terrace gone?
Had he ever really existed?
Or had she only imagined the crack in his armor?
---
On Friday morning, a sharp knock on her cubicle startled Seo-Ah so badly she almost dropped her coffee.
A neatly dressed junior manager — someone she'd barely spoken to — handed her a crisp white envelope.
"From the CEO's office," he said, bowing quickly before disappearing down the hall.
Seo-Ah stared at the envelope as if it might explode.
The gold embossed letters spelled it clearly:
PRIVATE.
With trembling fingers, she opened it.
Inside was a simple card, typed in perfect formal script:
> Ms. Jung Seo-Ah,
You are requested to assist the Executive Office during the upcoming merger conference on Saturday morning.
Attendance is mandatory.
- Office of the CEO
Seo-Ah's stomach dropped.
Merger conference?
Executive Office?
This was no ordinary meeting.
Assistants — especially junior ones like her — were rarely, if ever, allowed near such sensitive negotiations.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
But she couldn't say no.
Refusing an executive order would be career suicide.
Heart hammering painfully, Seo-Ah clutched the card to her chest.
What did he want from her?
---
Saturday arrived far too quickly.
Seo-Ah stood in the lobby of Lee Financial's private conference wing, shifting nervously in her best professional suit.
The corridors were eerily silent.
She adjusted the notepad and files in her hands, reminding herself over and over:
Professional. Invisible. Forget the man. Focus on the job.
The heavy doors to the main conference room swung open.
"Inside," barked one of the security officers.
Seo-Ah swallowed hard and stepped in.
The room was massive — a sleek, intimidating arena of glass, steel, and polished wood.
At the far end sat the two sides of the impending merger:
Lee Financial's executives on the right.
HJ Group's delegation on the left.
And at the head of the table — alone, cold, immaculate — sat Lee Min-Jun.
His dark gaze met hers instantly.
Seo-Ah froze.
For just a second, she could have sworn his expression shifted — the barest flicker of something dark and unreadable flashing across his face.
Then it was gone.
Without a word, he gestured subtly to the seat beside him — an assistant's chair, smaller, lower.
Seo-Ah moved quickly, sitting down, careful not to make a sound.
The negotiations began.
Hours blurred together in a tense whirlwind of legal jargon, financial threats, veiled insults.
Seo-Ah took notes furiously, fingers cramping, trying to keep up.
But every now and then — when she dared to glance sideways — she caught him studying her.
Not angrily.
Not coldly.
Curiously.
As if she was a puzzle he hadn't quite solved.
And worse — sometimes, when the conversation grew tense and aggressive — she swore she could feel him... protecting her.
Whenever tempers flared, his body angled slightly in front of her — shielding her from the worst of the verbal crossfire without ever acknowledging it.
Seo-Ah didn't know what to make of it.
All she knew was that, sitting there under his shadow, close enough to feel the faint scent of his cologne — cold spice and something darker — she felt a dangerous, treacherous longing spark to life.
And from the way his hand brushed her chair when he shifted — almost deliberately —
maybe, just maybe, he felt it too.
Suddenly she heard a cold voice
What do you think miss?
Seo-Ah turned towards him to realize he was speaking to her.
Huh?? That was the only word she could mutter.
Don't let me repeat myself, what's your take on this?
All eyes were on her, everybody expecting her to say something that will neither make her or become the opposite.
Seo-Ah regained herself and confidently started speaking, bringing her ideas to life and pointing things she felt was a bit tricky and needed more consideration.
Good.
She heard what seem like an approval from him and it made her feel happy.