Chapter One – A Terrible First Impression
The elevator doors slid open with a cheerful ding, but for Yoon Ha-rin, it sounded like the funeral bells of her career.
Her hair, once carefully tied, was now loose from her mad dash across Seoul. Her blouse bore a faint stain from spilled coffee — the coffee she had intended to drink for courage. And in her trembling hands she clutched a folder stuffed with résumés, certificates, and one very crumpled cover letter.
"First impressions are everything," her best friend had reminded her last night.Well, then I'm doomed.
Ha-rin stumbled into the grand marble lobby of J&K Group, the most prestigious conglomerate in the country. The ceiling stretched high above, glittering with chandeliers. Employees glided past in sharp suits, their heels clicking like a symphony of confidence.
Ha-rin, by contrast, looked like she had survived a hurricane.
She hurried toward the reception desk, muttering apologies as her papers slipped from her folder and scattered like confetti across the polished floor.
And that was when it happened.
A pair of expensive black leather shoes stopped directly in front of her. Slowly, Ha-rin lifted her gaze — past tailored trousers, a crisp suit jacket, and a perfectly knotted tie — to meet the sharpest pair of eyes she had ever seen.
The man was tall, impossibly handsome, and carried an aura so cold that even the air-conditioning seemed unnecessary. His expression didn't change as he looked down at her, crouched on the floor like a child playing pick-up.
"Do you usually block the lobby this way," he asked coolly, "or is today special?"
Ha-rin's throat went dry. Of course. Of course the very first man I embarrass myself in front of has to be ridiculously good-looking. Drama rules, Ha-rin. Drama rules.
"I—I'm sorry!" she stammered, grabbing at her scattered papers. "I was just—uh—this isn't—"
Before she could finish, he bent down and picked up one of her pages. His eyes flickered over her résumé.
"Yoon Ha-rin," he read aloud. His gaze returned to her, sharper now. "You're late for your interview."
Her jaw dropped. "Wha—how—?"
He straightened, towering over her with a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "Because I'm the one interviewing you."
Ha-rin froze. Her mind went blank. Her heart thundered in her chest so loudly she wondered if he could hear it.
The marble lobby, the glittering chandeliers, the rows of curious employees watching — all of it faded. There was only her… and the man who would decide her future.
The man she had just made the worst possible first impression on.
The CEO himself.