The heavy metal door of the apartment clicked shut with a sharp, muted thud as Kim Seo-ah slipped inside, trembling violently and completely out of breath. The living room was pitch black and locked in absolute silence. She dropped her designer purse onto the entryway floor, her hands still shaking with an uncontrollable adrenaline rush from the intense encounter back at Flat 1202.She tiptoed quietly into the shared bedroom. On one side of the large mattress, Ma Ha-rin was completely collapsed face-down, snoring softly and entirely knocked out from the heavy drinks at Club Octagon. She was still wearing her party clothes, oblivious to the world.Seo-ah carefully climbed onto her own side of the mattress, sliding under the blanket right next to Ha-rin. She stared wide-eyed at the dark ceiling, the heavy silence of the room only making her thoughts pound louder. For the first time tonight, she was left entirely alone with the blurry, shocking memory of the kiss.She rolled over onto her side, looking at Ha-rin's peaceful profile, but her mind flashed back instantly to the sudden sensation of Dr. Hyun-woo's lips pressed against hers. She gasped silently, touching her fingertips to her own lower lip in absolute, flustered panic."Are you completely insane, Kim Seo-ah?" she whispered frantically to herself in the dark. "What on earth did you just let happen?! He was completely wasted! Why didn't you push his weight away a second earlier?!"A crushing wave of deep guilt and self-blame hit her chest. She tightly shut her eyes, desperately trying to erase the memory of his raw, desperate confession—"You have no idea how long I have searched for you... please love me." The sheer weight of his emotional words made her heart race painfully fast against her ribs."Ugh!" Seo-ah groaned silently in sheer frustration, burying her face. "You stupid, stupid girl! Why did you even step inside his private apartment? You should have just left his loose body in the passenger seat of the car!"Unable to stop the rushing thoughts, she aggressively grabbed her thick pillow, shoved it directly over her face, and pressed it down hard against her eyes to muffle a frustrated scream. Clinging to the pillow like a shield to hide her burning cheeks, she curled tightly into a ball next to her sleeping roommate. Exhaustion finally takes over her racing mind, and she slowly dropped off into a restless, troubled sleep.The bright and harsh morning sunlight pierced sharply through the bedroom curtains and fell directly onto the bed, illuminating the room. Both girls were sprawled out across the sheets, fast asleep, when suddenly Ma Ha-rin's eyes snapped open. She sat up with a heavy, throbbing head, rubbing her eyes as she noticed Seo-ah sleeping deeply nearby."Huh... my goodness," Ha-rin muttered, massaging her temples. "By the way... when on earth did Kim Seo-ah even come back home last night?"Ha-rin immediately grabbed the edge of the blanket, pulling it aggressively to wake her friend up. Seo-ah was still sound asleep, completely refusing to move, but Ha-rin forcefully pulled her upright."Get up right now!" Ha-rin commanded, shaking her shoulder. "The party is officially over. We mandatory have to go to the architecture office floor right now, otherwise we are going to get incredibly late!""Huh... let me sleep for five more minutes," Seo-ah muttered sleepily, keeping her eyes tightly shut.Ha-rin leaned in closer, a highly curious spark hitting her eyes. "Did you safely drop Doctor Hyun-woo off at his house yesterday evening? By the way, how on earth did you even find out his private residential address?"The exact microsecond Seo-ah heard Doctor Hyun-woo's name, she froze completely. The vivid memory of the bedroom scene and the intense kiss from last night flashed behind her eyelids, and all her remaining sleep vanished in a single fraction of a second. She bolted up from the bed in a massive hurry, her posture turning thoroughly nervous and flustered."Huh? Yes... I left his build there safely!" Seo-ah stamped her foot down, frantically swinging her legs off the mattress. "Come on, move fast, it's going to get late for the shift!""Wait a single minute!" Ha-rin interrupted, physically grabbing her arm to stop her. "Tell me the truth first—how exactly did you find out his residential address?"Seo-ah quickly turned her head back, deliberately avoiding her roommate's intense gaze as she packed her files. "That... well, I explicitly asked his name at the hospital desk before.""Huh?" Ha-rin narrowed her eyes, completely skeptical."Okay, I'm going to get ready right now," Seo-ah murmured, rushing toward the bathroom."Wait, Kim Seo-ah!" Ha-rin called out.'Huh! Is she really going to keep pestering my life about this until she gets a full detailed answer?' Seo-ah thought frantically to herself, her heart pounding.Ha-rin marched over, studying her features closely. "Why exactly does your face look like that right now? It seems a bit flushed and bright red. Are you still tipsy from the lounge? But you didn't even drink a single drop of alcohol last night! Do you have a sudden fever?"Ha-rin rushed over in a sudden panic, raising her hand to check Seo-ah's forehead."Oh, no, absolutely not, Ma Ha-rin!" Seo-ah gasped, swatting her hand away."Then what on earth happened last night? Did Dr. Hyun-woo do something?" Ha-rin crossed her arms, a triumphant smile forming on her lips."Don't you dare mention his name in this apartment!" Seo-ah snapped, her face burning like fire."That explicitly means something did happen inside his place!" Ha-rin cheered, jumping in excitement. "What was it? Tell me everything right now!""Oh, nothing! It just accidentally slipped out because of my headache!" Seo-ah flustered, covering her mouth."You are violently angry at Dr. Hyun-woo—that means there is definitely, absolutely something romantic going on between your builds!" Ha-rin threatened playfully, pointing an accusing finger at her. "Tell me the truth this instant, or else I will go down to the hospital wing and ask him personally what happened between the two of you last night!""No, noway, stop!" Seo-ah panicked completely, finally giving in to the emotional blackmail to protect her secret. "Don't go there! I'll tell you the story!"To save her own skin and protect her flustered pride, Seo-ah rapidly recounted the entire edited layout of the previous night to Ma Ha-rin. She detailed the doctor's drunken antics at the club, how she managed to drive his build to the Gangnam skyscraper, how she unlocked the heavy door panel using his thumb fingerprint scanner, laid his loose frame down on the king-sized bed, and immediately left the apartment... However, she completely and meticulously omitted the part about losing her balance, falling onto his chest, and the breathless starlight kiss.
"What?!" Ma Ha-rin gasped, her eyes widening in pure admiration as she leaned back against the headboard. "Oh my god... Dr. Hyun-woo, honestly—he is so incredibly possessive! Though, I have to admit, he is kind of adorable when he's jealous. But there is one specific thing I don't get about your story, Seu... When he explicitly said he 'found' your build because you had 'forgotten' his face—does that mean he knew you beforehand? Did you two actually meet sometime in the past?""Absolutely not!" Kim Seo-ah lied firmly, shaking her head stubbornly against her pillow. "I met his face for the very first time right here at the hospital ward; I've never seen him before that week. Just completely let the subject go... He was heavily drunk; he was saying and doing all sorts of absolute nonsense because of the liquor.""Doing what, exactly?" Ha-rin teased wickedly, leaning in closer with a massive grin.Seo-ah's face turned deep crimson, and she began to stammer frantically, avoiding her roommate's eyes. "Talking... Uh... just talking absolute nonsense!""Yeah, sure, talking," Ha-rin laughed, rolling her eyes playfully. "But perhaps he really is telling the absolute truth, Seo-ah. He might have seen your face back when you used to go visit Junu at the clinic. But to be actively looking for you... I mean, if not at the hospital ward, then where else on earth could he have seen your build? Wait a minute! Maybe he was our secret classmate back in our childhood playground days! If I check his professional medical information online today, I'll figure out exactly how he knows your name!""There is absolutely no need for that research!" Seo-ah shouted in a panic, rapidly swinging her legs off the mattress. "Come on, move, we mandatory have to get to the office floor right now."Seo-ah immediately rushed out of the bedroom, leaning against the hallway wall as she let out a massive sigh of relief. 'Thank God!' she thought to herself, her chest heaving. 'It's a good thing I didn't tell her about the mattress fall and the kiss; otherwise, she would have really given me a brutal hard time today!'Meanwhile, back in the empty bedroom, the exact microsecond Seo-ah left the floor, Ma Ha-rin fell deep into a state of silent, mischievous thought. A wide, highly prescriptive smile spread across her face."Something is definitely, entirely fishy about her edited story," Ha-rin whispered to herself, tapping her chin. "I will go ahead and ask my future brother-in-law, Doctor Hyun-woo, myself! But first, I'll run a quick background check online. That way, I'll find out the absolute truth of how he knows Kim Seo-ah."Saying this, Ha-rin smiled happily, grabbing her outfit as she went off to get ready for the office floor.[Scene: Dr. Hyun's Luxury Apartment – Bedroom – Day]The morning sun streamed sharply and harshly through the grand glass curtains of Dr. Hyun-woo's spacious master bedroom, splashing a bright golden light directly over the cluttered mattress. Hyun-woo was still completely buried underneath his heavy duvet blanket, fast asleep. His face looked noticeably drained, pale, and exhausted from a brutal combination of a massive hangover and intense mental distress from the night before.Suddenly, the main entryway door handle of the flat released with a soft, mechanical 'click' sound.Choi Sun-woo rushed inside the luxury apartment right before heading off to lead his morning shift at Hanseong Architecture Company. He stepped through the front door, his long strides carrying him into the living room as his eyes scanned the eerie, quiet silence of the empty flat. He immediately began checking around the rooms to look for his younger brother."Hyun-woo?!" Sun-woo shouted loudly, his commanding executive voice echoing across the walls. "Hey, bro, where on earth are you hiding? It's practically 8:00 o'clock already and your personal smartphone is still completely switched off! I am running incredibly late for my office too, man!"Sun-woo checked the empty rooms. Receiving absolutely zero answer from the space, he headed straight down the short hallway corridor and forcefully pushed the bedroom door wide open. He stopped dead in his tracks, finding Dr. Hyun-woo sprawled messily across the bed, dead to the world in a heavy, alcohol-induced sleep.Sun-woo marched right up to the side of the mattress, placing his hands on his hips in utter disapproval. "Wow! Look at you, just completely knocked out in a deep sleep. Aren't you professionally supposed to be standing at the International Daehan University Hospital campus today to handle your clinical rounds?"Sun-woo reached down to the nightstand, checking the digital screen of Hyun-woo's phone. "Look at this mess, your junior doctor has left a ton of urgent missed calls on your screen, and here you are just comfortably sleeping with the blanket pulled entirely over your head!"Sun-woo didn't waste a single second of time. He reached down and aggressively, forcefully yanked the heavy duvet blanket completely off Dr. Hyun-woo with a sharp, violent pull.Hit by the sudden, freezing rush of the cool air and the blinding morning sunlight, Hyun-woo winced heavily. He tightly squeezed his eyes shut against the glare, rolling over on the mattress as he mumbled out his frustration in a low, thoroughly raspy, and gravelly voice."Ugh..." Hyun-woo groaned heavily, his voice thick with raw fatigue as he clutched his forehead. "Give the blanket back, Sun-woo... my head is literally splitting into pieces with a massive, crushing headache. Just shut off the lights and leave my room..."Sun-woo tossed the blanket aside into an armchair, staring down at his brother with a highly suspicious expression. "A crushing headache was completely bound to happen, bro! After the reckless way you ruthlessly emptied one liquor shot after another at the bar counter last night, your system was bound to feel the physical damage. By the way, what exactly happened inside this room last night? Kim Seo-ah left your body completely safe and sound inside your flat, right?"Dr. Hyun-woo's hand froze against his forehead. "What? Did Kim Seo-ah... did she actually bring my build all the way here to this apartment?"Sun-woo let out a sharp scoff. "Don't tell me your intoxicated brain doesn't remember a single thing about the drive?""Huh... I really can't recall anything clearly after the counter," Hyun-woo muttered, tightly clutching his throbbing forehead with his palm as he struggled to think.Sun-woo leaned against the door frame, crossing his arms. "Hmm... rack your brain and try your absolute best to remember, Hyun. You were totally wasted, and on top of that, your temper was drowning in pure, unadulterated jealousy over that hospital rival. You didn't end up saying or doing something totally out of professional line to her, did you?""What?!" Hyun-woo gasped.Right at that exact microsecond, Dr. Hyun-woo's eyelids snapped open with a sudden, violent jolt. The blurry fragments of the previous night—his desperate weeping in the passenger seat, his raw, deeply emotional confession under the ceiling, and that intense, breathless bedroom kiss—flashed back into his mind with the terrifying force of a lightning bolt. He bolted upright on the mattress, his chest heaving as he panted in sheer panic.Sun-woo stepped closer, his executive gaze sharpening. "What is that look? Did you actually do something inappropriate to her? Speak up right now, man!""Oh my god..." Hyun-woo whispered, his face turning completely pale as he buried his face in his hands. "What on earth have I done in my drunken state? Kim Seo-ah... she is absolutely, mandatory never going to talk to my face ever again."Sun-woo frowned. "What did you do that was so bad?""Oh, I... I..." Hyun-woo stammered, completely opening up to his older brother as he recounted every single raw detail of the starlight confession, the mattress fall, and the breathless bedroom kiss.Sun-woo's jaw dropped in absolute, paralyzing corporate shock. "Are you completely, entirely out of your mind, Hyun-woo?! How on earth could you do something so entirely reckless and aggressive! Now she is going to maintain a massive, permanent distance from your life. Was there even any progress left for you to ruin in this relationship loop?""Just shut up, man!" Hyun-woo groaned, his voice cracking with intense distress. "I have absolutely, completely no idea what step to take next. She must be absolutely furious at my name right now, shouldn't she?""Duh! Obviously she is furious!" Sun-woo countered deadpan, throwing his hands up. "What did you expect her to do, be blushing about a drunken ambush? Do yourself a massive favor, walk out of this flat, and go apologize to her face directly right now.""No way, I am absolutely, mandatory terrified of facing her right now," Hyun-woo admitted, shaking his head frantically. "Let me handle the situation this way... I will send a beautiful, massive bouquet of premium flowers straight to her office desk along with a formal card saying sorry."Sun-woo rolled his eyes in sheer executive disapproval. "Yeah, sure, flowers. But a real man should always deliver a critical apology in person, face-to-face.""Not right now," Hyun-woo argued, swinging his legs out of the bed. "Her anger must be through the roof today. Tomorrow morning, once her temper has completely cooled down, I will go find her branch and apologize properly. Right now, I need to get moving. I have a critical, complex surgery scheduled at the hospital wing today."Sun-woo checked his brother's disheveled state as he stood up. "Are you seriously going out into the public like that? At least change your wrinkled clothes first! You look like a total mess.""No time, I am running way too late for the medical board," Hyun-woo called out, rushing toward the bathroom. "I'm leaving. I keep an extra set of fresh, ironed clothes inside my hospital locker anyway.""Alright then, I am heading out to the garage too," Sun-woo sighed, grabbing his briefcase. "I am already majorly late for my own morning shift schedules."[Scene: INT. Hanseong Architecture Company – Creative Department – Day]The sleek glass sliding doors of the corporate headquarters opened with a soft, melodic chime, and Kim Seo-ah and Ma Ha-rin stepped into the bustling creative department floor. The morning office environment was usually filled with the quiet, rhythmic clicking of keyboards, but today, a giant, excited crowd of employees had gathered tightly around Seo-ah's desk aisle.Her friends, Min, and several other design colleagues were giggling loudly, leaning completely over the cubicle partition, and whispering with intense, overflowing curiosity. Ha-rin's eyes went wide with immediate excitement, and bursting with high energy, she quickly dashed over to the cubicle to see what the massive fuss was all about."Oh my god!" Ha-rin shouted with full energy, a massive, excited grin spreading across her face as she pointed at the desk. "Look at this massive bouquet of flowers! Who on earth sent this beautiful, premium arrangement to our aisle?!"A nearby department colleague turned around, whispering excitedly, "We were all just crowding around to inspect it! The delivery guy just dropped it off a few minutes ago. Look, the glossy signature card has a specific name written on it—Dr. Hyun!"Min clapped her hands together, letting out a dramatic gasp as she nudged Seo-ah's arm. "Wait, what?! Is that the exact same incredibly handsome guy from the club last night? Is he officially your secret boyfriend, Kim? He is so romantic!"Seo-ah walked up to her desk station and froze completely in absolute, paralyzing shock. Her heart dropped straight into her stomach, and a cold sweat hit her neck as she stared at the gorgeous, sprawling collection of premium neon flowers resting on her keyboard. Her face burned bright, violent red instantly as the memory of the bedroom kiss flashed before her eyes.Feeling completely mortified and utterly exposed in front of the entire office staff, she frantically snatched the massive bouquet out of Ma Ha-rin's hands and spun around aggressively to push back against her nosy colleagues.
"Everyone, please! Just stop crowding around my space and go back to your respective desks to do your work!" Kim Seo-ah pleaded, her voice cracking with deep embarrassment as she frantically waved her hands to clear the aisle.Min and the other creative department colleagues, however, completely refused to budge from her cubicle. Instead, they immediately surrounded her desk even closer, making playful kissing faces and teasing her ruthlessly. Seo-ah let out a helpless, frustrated groan, clutching the giant premium bouquet tightly against her chest to hide the glossy signature card from their prying eyes."Oh my god, I keep telling you all, he is absolutely, completely not my boyfriend!" Seo-ah flustered, her face burning like fire. "Please just understand my words and drop the subject right now!"She tried her absolute best to explain the situation, but absolutely nobody in the room believed a single word she uttered. Ma Ha-rin stood right behind the giggling group, smirking mischievously and playfully supporting the colleagues by nodding her head in agreement to fuel the fire.Just at that exact second, the sleek glass doors slid open, and Mr. Choi Sun-woo stepped firmly into the creative department floor. Seeing the big executive boss arrive so unexpectedly, the employees instantly stopped whispering and frantically scrambled, rushing back to their respective cubicles to look like they were deeply immersed in their blueprints.Ma Ha-rin, trying to dash back to her own rolling chair in a total state of panic, accidentally caught her foot on a stray metal chair leg and completely lost her physical balance. With a loud gasp of surprise, her hands flew out, and she tumbled right onto the hard carpeted office floor."Ah!" Ha-rin cried out.Sun-woo tracked her movement instantly through the crowd. Seeing her fall, a flash of genuine panic hit his strict features, and he rushed forward without a single second thought. He reached down, grabbed her arm gently but firmly, and pulled her back up to her feet, steadying her posture against a desk partition."Are you okay?" Sun-woo asked worriedly, his deep voice rich with emotion as he looked straight into her wide eyes. "Watch your step carefully!"Ha-rin's face turned bright, violent crimson, perfectly matching the shade of the red roses resting in Seo-ah's hands. In a single instant of intense, flustered panic, she aggressively ripped her arm completely away from his grip, entirely overwhelmed by his proximity. She bolted straight to her workstation, sliding into her rolling chair and staring intensely at her blank desktop monitor to hide her burning cheeks.Sun-woo cleared his throat, looking around at the suddenly quiet, clicking room as he crossed his arms over his chest. "What exactly is going on here early this morning?""Nothing, Sir!" everyone answered in perfect unison, typing furiously on their mechanical keyboards without raising their heads.Sun-woo nodded slowly, pretending to completely accept their casual cover-up layout. But then, his intense eyes landed directly on the massive, unmistakable bouquet tightly held against Kim Seo-ah's frame. He instantly recognized the floral design and realized that his panicky, hungover brother, Hyun-woo, had actually gone through with his ridiculous flower apology plan first thing in the morning.Even though he knew the exact, absolute truth behind the arrangement, Sun-woo decided to play completely dumb and intentionally question his project lead just to tease her flustered nerves.Sun-woo marched straight over to her desk cubicle, raising a cool eyebrow with a smug, knowing look. "Miss Kim Seo-ah... what exactly is that giant structure in your hands?"Seo-ah began stammering wildly, her eyes darting around the room frantically as she cooked up a terrible, transparent excuse. "Oh! This, Sir? This is... uh... just some random street flowers I personally bought on the street on my way here to decorate my desk... yes!""Don't listen to her false alibi, Mr. Sun-woo!" Min interrupted loudly from her adjacent cubicle, leaning entirely over the divider desk with a highly mischievous, wide grin. "It is a luxury delivery from her secret boyfriend! Sir, that is the exact same handsome guy whom you explicitly told Kim Seo-ah to drop home safely from the club last night, remember?!"Sun-woo put on a perfectly shocked executive performance, widening his dark eyes as he feigns complete, absolute disbelief. "What?! A boyfriend? That intoxicated guy from the counter?!""Yes, Sir! The very same one!" Min cheered, bursting with fresh gossip files, absolutely delighted that the main CEO was paying attention to the desk drama. "She claimed to our team that she was just dropping his body off safely at his place because he was completely wasted, but it turns out he is totally meeting her and pursuing her secretly in real life! Look, he even sent premium flowers first thing in the morning to mark his territory!"Sun-woo bit the inside of his cheek so incredibly hard it hurt, desperately forcing his chest to suppress a massive, roaring wave of hysterical laughter. He held his breath with great difficulty, looking down at Kim Seo-ah's completely red, deeply embarrassed face as she tried to sink into her chair.'Oh my god, this is absolute gold!' Sun-woo thought to himself, laughing hysterically inside his own mind as he adjusted his cuffs. 'The entire corporate office actually thinks my high-and-mighty, professional surgeon brother is Kim Seo-ah's secret, hidden boyfriend! Hyun-woo is going to die when he hears this!'Sun-woo cleared his throat loudly, trying his absolute best to regain his strict professional composure, though his eyes were still dancing with pure, unfiltered amusement. "Ahem... I see. Well, back to work immediately, everyone. We have heavy blueprints and strict project deadlines to finish before the lunch break."The employees reluctantly settled down, clicking their mice. Seo-ah swiftly hid the massive, bulky bouquet completely under her desk space, feeling utterly, thoroughly mortified.The office finally settled back into its usual professional routine. The loud clacking of keyboards and the faint ringing of telephones filled the creative room. Everyone was back to focusing on their blueprints. Kim Seo-ah was sitting at her desk, but she was completely restless. She kept glaring down at the massive bouquet hidden under her desk, her eyebrows furrowing in irritation."Huh! What an absolute coward," Seo-ah muttered furiously under her breath to herself, her eyes burning with frustration. "Couldn't he have just come over to the building complex and said sorry face-to-face like a proper adult? Yesterday evening, when he was acting so wildly, possessively, and aggressively inside his master bedroom, he didn't feel a single drop of shame or fear! But now, he is hiding behind a bunch of cheap street flowers? Unbelievable!"She rolled her eyes in sheer, absolute disgust, letting out a frustrated sigh as she aggressively slammed her fingers onto her keyboard to force her thoughts to focus on actual design work.A few cubicles away, Ma Ha-rin was still keeping a sharp, watchful eye on her roommate. She leaned her weight sideways, trying her best to peek completely under Kim's desk panel to get a better look at the massive arrangement of roses. Suddenly, her sharp vision caught something else. Tucked tightly into the side of the floral arrangement, hidden between the dense green leaves, is a small, premium white envelope.Ha-rin slowly and quietly scooted her rolling chair over, inch by inch, rolling smoothly across the carpet until she was right next to Kim Seo-ah's desk space. With a swift, lightning-fast movement, she reached her hand down into the green leaves and snatched the premium white envelope out of the bouquet."Kim!" Ha-rin whispered softly, waving the letter triumphantly in the air with a mischievous grin. "Look at this... Dr. Hyun-woo even sent a private letter attached to the side of the roses!"Seo-ah panicked completely, her heart skipping a violent beat as she whispered back aggressively through her teeth. "Shh! Shut your mouth! Do you want to blast this secret data to the entire office floor?! Give that letter to my hands right now!""Yeah, yeah, I'll give it to you..." Ha-rin smirked mischievously, clutching the envelope tightly against her chest to block her reach. "But let me read the contents first!""No! Give it to me right now, Ma Ha-rin!" Seo-ah hissed, her face burning.Ha-rin gestured subtly toward the nearby colleagues with her eyes. "Hey, keep your voice down, or else everyone is going to find out the truth!""Fine, then—"Seo-ah lunged forward over the desk divider, desperately trying to yank the paper out of Ma Ha-rin's fingers, but Ha-rin swiftly dodged her frame. She flipped the envelope open, slid the card out, and began reading the doctor's handwriting under her breath."Oh..." Ha-rin muttered, reading the script out loud in a low voice. "'I am so incredibly sorry, Kim Seo-ah. I was completely out of my mind and not in my right senses last night...'"Seo-ah froze in absolute, paralyzing dread, her face turning pale as her thoughts raced frantically. 'Oh my god, stop! If he actually wrote down specific, explicit details about what happened inside his master bedroom last night, I am totally ruined in this company...'Ha-rin continued to read the card, her eyes suddenly widening to the size of saucers in sheer, absolute shock as she hit the core sentence. "'...I am deeply sorry for whatever I did. The absolute second my eyes landed on your face, I completely lost my self-control... and I kissed you...'"The exact microsecond she hit that final word, Ma Ha-rin's jaw completely dropped to the floor tiles. She snapped her head up sharply, staring blankly at Kim Seo-ah in total disbelief, and completely losing her composure, she spiked an accidental scream at the top of her lungs."WHAT?!"Because of her sudden, thunderous outburst, the entire creative department floor fell dead silent. Min and every single colleague instantly stopped what they were doing and snapped their heads around to stare directly at their cubicle.Seo-ah's face turned pale white with pure terror. She frantically forced a tight, painfully fake smile onto her lips, waving her hands desperately at the nosy crowd to diffuse the situation."Oh, it's completely nothing! Absolutely nothing, guys!" Seo-ah laughed awkwardly, her voice shaking as she sweated in pure panic. "Just go straight back to your computer monitors. She has completely, entirely gone insane today because of her hangover! Ignore her!"The colleagues reluctantly looked away, turning back to their design files. Ma Ha-rin immediately leaned her entire body over the desk divider, dropping her voice into a sharp, intense, and furious whisper."What on earth was that description, Kim Seo-ah?! You two actually, mandatory kissed last night inside his apartment?! Why on earth didn't you tell my face this critical information first thing in the morning?!"Seo-ah, on the verge of tears from the sheer mortification, whispered back miserably as she hid her face in her palms. "This is exactly, precisely the reason why I didn't tell your loud mouth! Because if I did, the entire office floor would find out within five minutes, wouldn't they?!
Ma Ha-rin let out a long, heavy breath, the playful and teasing smirk completely vanishing from her face as her expression turned deeply serious. She leaned closer over the desk partition, her dark eyes locking onto her roommate with a profound sense of worry. "Huh... Kim Seo-ah, you always loved that specific boy from your childhood playground days, didn't you? Did you completely forget about his memory after last night? Every single time over the past few years that I told your face to go out, move on, and find a real boyfriend, you constantly stopped yourself from opening up because of that one guy... so what exactly happened inside that apartment last night?"Seo-ah slowly looked down at her lap, her fingers trembling as her voice broke with a wave of deep, agonizing sorrow. "Yes... I know, Ha-rin. I haven't forgotten his face at all, and I don't think I will ever be able to forget him for a single day in my entire life. You know exactly how desperately and frantically I searched for his name across this city... but last night, when Dr. Hyun-woo did that to me... for a few fleeting, breathless moments on that bed, I completely forgot what I was doing. My mind just blanked out. I... I just feel so incredibly guilty and full of painful regret about it today. Now, please, just give me that confession letter."Ha-rin nodded slowly with a heavy sense of empathy, her heart aching for her best friend's emotional turmoil. She gently slid the crumpled paper card directly into Seo-ah's waiting hand, offering a quiet, realistic piece of advice. "Fine, here, take it... but Kim Seo-ah, you really need to try and understand the harsh reality of this situation. That childhood boy is never coming back to save you. He's completely gone. You mandatory need to forget his ghost... and honestly, you should just stop running away and accept Dr. Hyun-woo's genuine proposal."Seo-ah tightly crumpled the paper letter inside her trembling fist, her posture instantly stiffening as her professional tone turned completely, chillingly cold. "I absolutely do not want to talk about this personal topic ever again with anyone on this floor. Just do your own work and handle your blueprints."Without waiting for another response, Seo-ah aggressively spun her rolling chair around to face her computer monitor, slamming her fingers forcefully onto the mechanical keyboard to block out the noise. However, despite her best corporate efforts, her eyes kept drifting back down to the massive, unmistakable bouquet of roses hidden beneath her desk panel. Her mind was completely racing at a million miles an hour, rendering her entirely unable to focus on a single architectural blueprint line on her screen.Ha-rin let out a soft sigh, slowly scooting her rolling chair back over to her own adjacent desk cubicle while mumbling under her breath. "Fine, keep stubbornly ignoring the truth... whatever, I am going to focus strictly on my own project work anyway."Ha-rin sat down at her workstation, but her internal detective instincts completely and totally refused to rest after reading that shocking letter. Moving stealthily, she immediately opened a private browser window on her office desktop terminal and began running an intense, deep online background search on Dr. Choi Hyun-woo's profile.She aggressively scrolled through page after page of digital search results, clicking her mouse rapidly, but the screen only displayed standard medical photographs, major university hospital achievements, and complex surgical journal entries."Ugh!" Ha-rin glared at her monitor, clicking her mouse in absolute, pure frustration. "There is absolutely nothing useful or historical here! His professional corporate profile doesn't show a single line of early childhood history to prove whether he actually knew Kim Seo-ah in the past playground days, or if he was just talking absolute drunken nonsense because of the alcohol last night! Whatever... let it go for today. The very next time I get a proper physical chance, I am going to confront Brother-in-law directly face-to-face and ask him the absolute truth myself!"Ha-rin let out a sharp, decisive sigh, minimizing the private browser tab with a swift click. She forced her eyes to open her pending architectural layouts, leaving the creative department floor buried under a heavy, suffocating cloud of intense emotional tension and hidden family secrets.