The door to her office clicked shut, but the unsettling silence it left behind was even louder. Hong Hae-in was a queen unseated. The cool, impenetrable mask she had worn for years was gone, shattered by a smile, a teasing remark, and a single, infuriating wink. She pressed a hand to her cheeks, still hot with the memory of her blush. She, Hong Hae-in, who had intimidated corporate rivals and commanded boardrooms, had been flustered by her own husband.
Secretary Na, ever the silent observer, carefully placed a glass of water on the desk. "Director Hong… are you alright?" she asked, her voice laced with genuine concern and a touch of professional curiosity.
Hae-in didn't answer immediately. She took a slow, deliberate sip of the cool water, trying to regain her composure. Her mind was a whirlwind. What was that? The old Baek Hyun-woo would have been stammering, apologizing, and shrinking under her glare. This new version was a confident, charming, and utterly infuriating stranger. He had seen through her facade, had exposed her jealousy, and had even managed to turn her fury into… embarrassment.
"He's acting," Hae-in finally declared, more to convince herself than her secretary. "It's a ploy. A new tactic to get on my nerves. Or maybe… maybe he's trying to get back at me." The thought held a twisted logic that, to her, seemed perfectly plausible.
Secretary Na gave a slight shrug. "With all due respect, Director Hong, he didn't seem to be acting. He was… quite natural."
That was the problem. It felt natural. His movements were fluid, his words effortless. The mischief in his eyes was too genuine to be feigned. He was a different man. And she needed to know why. A new mission formed in her mind, a clandestine operation to uncover the truth.
"I need you to keep an eye on him," Hae-in instructed, her voice low and serious. "Discreetly. Follow him from a distance. See who he talks to, what he does. Every movement, every conversation. I need to know if this is an act. And most importantly, make sure he doesn't find out."
Secretary Na, a professional through and through, simply nodded. "Understood."
Throughout the rest of the day, a subtle game of cat and mouse unfolded. Hyun-woo, now the unknowing subject of a covert investigation, went about his business with a serene confidence. He navigated his meetings with the precision of a master strategist, his enhanced intellect allowing him to see angles and opportunities that others missed. He was efficient, articulate, and completely unaware that a well-trained spy was tailing him. Or so she thought.
From his peripheral vision, Hyun-woo caught glimpses of Secretary Na. He saw her feigning interest in a potted plant on one floor, her phone glued to her ear on another, her reflection in a glass pane as he spoke with a colleague. A small, knowing smile played on his lips each time. He wasn't surprised. He knew Hae-in. This was exactly the kind of thing she would do. He decided to let her have her fun. It was, after all, a good sign. It meant he was getting to her.
He finished his work for the day, his department staff still buzzing with rumors. He packed up his bag and headed down to the parking garage. Secretary Na followed at a safe distance, watching as he got into his car, a surprisingly plain sedan that stood in stark contrast to the luxury vehicles of the Hong family.
Later that night, Hae-in was back in her office, feeling a mix of frustration and restless energy. The day had been productive, but her thoughts kept drifting back to her husband. She was a CEO, not a detective, and this cloak-and-dagger game was more distracting than she'd anticipated. Secretary Na returned, her face a mask of disappointment.
"Director Hong, I have my report," she said, looking dejected. "He did nothing out of the ordinary. He completed his work, met with no one suspicious, and left the office as usual. The only difference was his extraordinary performance and the fact that he was… very polite to everyone."
Hae-in's frustration grew. An ordinary day? After all the commotion he had caused? She was just about to demand a more thorough investigation when her phone buzzed with a new message.
It was from Hyun-woo. She felt an irrational jolt of adrenaline. She opened the message, her eyes scanning the text.
'I hope you got all the answers you were looking for from your little spy. It was adorable having Secretary Na follow me around all day. I won't be coming home tonight. Going to visit my family in Yongdu-ri. Don't miss me too much! 😊 P.S. Don't worry, you're the only one for me.😉'
At the end of the message, a single, infuriating emoji: a playful winking face followed by a kiss emoji.
Hae-in's jaw dropped. He knew. He had known all along. The embarrassment and anger from earlier returned, but this time, they were joined by a new, more complex feeling. He wasn't just acting; he was playing with her. He had let her go on this wild goose chase, knowing full well what she was doing. He was in control of this situation, not her.
Then, her eyes landed on the end of the message. 'Going to visit my family in Yongdu-ri. I won't be coming home tonight.' A subtle, undeniable pout formed on her lips. He hadn't asked her to come with him. He had just decided on his own and was simply informing her. For a moment, she was genuinely hurt. Why didn't he ask her? She could have gone. She could have seen his family, eaten their home-cooked food. The thought, a flash of genuine longing, was so quick she almost missed it.
Stop it, Hong Hae-in! she chastised herself mentally. You don't care about his family. You don't care where he goes.
But even as she told herself that, she scrolled back to the message, rereading it for the third time. The message about her being the only one for him made her heart skip a beat, before she scoffed at the kiss emoji at the end of the message and threw the phone back on the table with a huff.
He wasn't just a new man. He was a new problem. A new challenge. And for the first time in a long time, the Queen of Tears felt a stir of something she hadn't felt in a long, long time: a thrilling, terrifying sense of anticipation. This game was just getting started.