“Is that you, Jisu? You’ve become so beautiful, I almost didn’t recognize you.”
“Ah. What? I was always pretty.”
Princess syndrome as always. Jihoon chuckled.

“But why are you here at the company? Has the project already started?”
Jihoon’s gaze turned towards Ha Joon.

In the end, Su Ah disappeared from view around the corner, and Ha Joon, with his path blocked, opened his mouth with a displeased expression.

“Right now, only the TF team has been formed. Once the office location is finalized this week, we’ll start work.”
“So you’ll be a guest at Hyun Sung Group’s office for a while?”
Jisu lifted one corner of her mouth.

“Let me know as soon as the dates are confirmed. I need to come in and adapt too.”
“Alright, then go ahead.”
Just as Ha Joon was about to turn away,

“Ah, I would appreciate if you refrain from dropping by the company unexpectedly before the project starts.”
His voice was heavier than before.

“Don’t forget to address me as Vice President or Team Leader the next time we meet.”
Since there was no need to consider the other party’s feelings, Ha Joon walked in the opposite direction without looking back.

‘I should have seen her face…’
Su Ah was unable to concentrate on her work as she kept recalling the sight of Ha Joon arm in arm with an unfamiliar woman.

As the only daughter of Jin Sung Group, her family background didn’t need to be stated.

Is she really that pretty? Of course, she must be much prettier than me.

As one thought led to another, a greater sense of anxiety pushed at Su Ah’s back.

Ding dong. A message notification sounded from Su Ah’s phone.

Snapping back to reality, Su Ah checked the screen.

[I’m near your office, can we have lunch together?] It was a message from Dae Eun.

[Yeah, I’ll tell my supervisor and go out.] [I’ll be sitting in the park in front of the office, contact me when you come out.] [Okay, see you later.] After sending the message, Su Ah tried to focus on her work with renewed determination.

As time passed, the clock pointed to 12 o’clock.

Watching the employees getting up from their seats one by one, Su Ah cautiously approached Min Joon.

“Deputy Manager, a friend of mine is at the office. I’m going to have lunch with her and come back.”
“Oh, really? That sounds nice. Enjoy your meal.”
“Yes, enjoy your meal as well, Deputy Manager.”
As the employees in the office exited like the ebb tide, Su Ah also stood from her seat and headed to the first floor.

“Wow, this looks delicious. It’s been a long time since I had pizza.”
Su Ah, who had come to the spaghetti restaurant in front of the office with Dae Eun, sparkled at the sight of the pizza and spaghetti on the table.

Su Ah twirled the spaghetti with a fork and took a bite.

“How’s life at the office? No one’s bothering you, right?”
Dae Eun, who was watching Su Ah chew her mouthful of spaghetti, asked.

It was something she would have known without asking under normal circumstances, but Dae Eun had been busy with work recently and hadn’t been able to talk with Su Ah for a while.

“No, there isn’t. Everyone is so nice to me. I love it.”
“But why do you look like that? As if something’s bothering you.”
Su Ah’s hand, which was about to grab a slice of pizza, froze for a moment.

“Is it that obvious?”
Sure enough, no matter how hard she tried to act bright and unaffected, she couldn’t fool Dae Eun’s eyes.

“Of course. Don’t I know you? I can tell right away.”
“Well, it might not be a big deal, but it’s just bothering me a bit…”
That’s how it was.

“What is it? Tell me.”
Dae Eun took a bite of pizza, locking eyes with Su Ah.

“Today, I heard the only daughter of Jin Sung Group visited our office.”
“The only daughter of Jin Sung Group? Who is she?”
“I’m not quite sure. Anyway, there’s a woman like that.”
“Okay, so?”
“And the employees were saying that she was alone with Ha Joon.”
“Oh?”

Dae Eun, perhaps intrigued by the story, put down the pizza in her hand and leaned forward.

“So, I went to that meeting room where they were together.”
“Did you see her? What did she look like? Was she pretty?”
“She was turned away, so I couldn’t see her face.”
At Su Ah’s words, Dae Eun sounded disappointed.

“But according to the staff, she’s very pretty. They said she’s like a celebrity? Even from the back, she looked like a celebrity to me. Her height and figure were just….”
Su Ah trailed off, stabbing at her spaghetti with a fork.

There was no way that just the visit of a pretty woman could make Su Ah this downcast.

“Why? Was there something going on between that woman and Ha Joon?”
At Dae Eun’s question, Su Ah quickly lifted her gaze.

“I’m not sure. She was crossing her arms and saying something.”
“Something?”
“Yeah. It was as if she was having a hard time with her tongue. She was even snorting through her nose as she naturally crossed her arms.”
Although Su Ah wanted to sound nonchalant, she couldn’t help but spit out her words in a nervous tone.

“So, you fell into a depressive mode?”
“No, I wouldn’t say it was a depressive mode.”
She tried to deny it with words, but she couldn’t hide her expression.

“What’s there to hide between you and me? Be honest. So, you felt bad.”
“It’s not so much that I felt bad….”
Su Ah trailed off, reflecting on her feelings.

“Anxiety?”
Yes. If she were to find the right word, it was closest to anxiety.

“Are you worried that the heiress will take Ha Joon away from you?”
Su Ah’s eyes widened as if she had been hit on the mark, and then sank heavily.

The anxiety and fear that came rushing in whenever she saw the women by her boyfriend’s side, even when things were going well.

It was the beginning of an exhausting trauma.

“Su Ah, isn’t it time for you to move on?”
“……”
“Of course, I know it’s not as simple as you wanting to move on and being able to. Still, I wish you had a happy relationship.”
“I want that too. I want to believe that Ha Joon isn’t that kind of person.”
At the creeping tone of her voice, Dae Eun quickly added on.

“If you want to believe, then you should. Why do you keep trying to find reasons to doubt? Don’t overthink and just trust Ha Joon.”
She was not wrong.

My trauma always dredged up trivial matters, filling the empty space with anxiety.

“Right. I trust Ha Joon.”
This time, I would trust Ha Joon to the end, and give him my complete love.

“Thanks, Dae Eun. I always feel at ease when I talk to you, and it helps me make decisions.”
“Good. Stick to that decision. Ha Joon seems like a really good person. Don’t let him slip away.”
“Yeah. I won’t. Let’s eat. I suddenly have a big appetite.”
It felt as if the tangled threads had been untangled in an instant.

“Ah. I’m full. It was really delicious.”
“Indeed. We found a great spaghetti place.”
“Next time, let’s try risotto too.”
Perhaps regretting the uneaten risotto, Su Ah, patting her full stomach, whetted her appetite again, promising the next time.

“Alright. Let’s do that. Get home safely.”
“You too, take care on your way home.”
After confirming that Su Ah had entered the office, Dae Eun turned to leave.

‘…Kim Ji Su?’
Dae Eun quickly recognized the woman getting into the black sedan parked nearby as Ji Su.

‘Su Ah said she met her around here too. Is her office nearby? This is making me feel bad for no reason.’

She felt as though she had seen something she shouldn’t have. Dae Eun’s facial muscles twisted minutely.

…Could it be? No, right?

Dae Eun wondered for a moment if they might work at the same company, but soon shook her head vigorously, dismissing the thought as absurd.

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