Chapter 09….
“Uh… what’s going on?”
A startled woman’s voice rang out in the darkness.
To keep her from panicking, Dohyun spoke calmly.
“Looks like a power outage. Are you okay?”
“What? Oh, yes… But why isn’t the light coming back on…?”
He could hear her fumbling against the wall. She must have been trying to press the emergency button, but it didn’t seem to work. Her voice trembled with unease.
“Let me try.”
Dohyun slowly approached so as not to startle her.
At that moment, her breathing grew more and more ragged.
Huff—huff—huff—
Hearing her gasping for breath, he asked cautiously,
“Are you… scared of the dark?”
“…I… I have claustrophobia.”
Her low, quivering voice was heavy with fear.
“Just a moment.”
Feeling along the wall with his fingertips, Dohyun quickly found the button and pressed it.
Moments later, a voice came through the speaker from the control room.
“Someone is trapped inside the elevator.”
[Yes, the power is out. We’re working on restoring the system.]
“There’s someone with claustrophobia in here, please hurry!”
[Understood. Please hang on a little longer.]
Soon, a dim emergency light flickered on overhead.
But it was so faint that only vague silhouettes could be seen; their faces and expressions were indistinguishable.
Even with the light back, her breathing was still shallow and uneven.
Judging she wasn’t doing well, Dohyun gently suggested,
“Would you like to sit down for a bit? If you lean back against the floor, it’ll be easier to breathe.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than she collapsed onto the floor. He set his phone light on the ground to create a soft glow.
Now he could see her faintly—her face was tight with anxiety. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead, and her trembling shoulders betrayed her fear.
Trying to soothe her, Dohyun said steadily,
“You’re here with me. You’re not alone.”
She nodded, but her short, rapid breaths didn’t ease.
“They’ll fix it soon. We’ll both be fine. If your breathing feels too heavy, would you try following me?”
She nodded again, and he continued.
“One, two… slowly inhale… Three, four… exhale.”
In a calm tone, he set the rhythm of their breathing.
Matching his steady breaths, she gradually adjusted her own.
After a while, her stiff shoulders began to loosen. It was as if a tightly wound thread had started to unravel.
“Do you feel better now?”
“…Yes. Better than before.”
She gave a small nod.
Her breathing had steadied somewhat, but her body still held traces of tension.
Then—
Ding.
The lights overhead flicked back on.
Dohyun instinctively looked at her, but she squeezed her eyes shut against the sudden brightness.
With a jolt, the elevator stopped and the doors slid open.
“Here they are!”
Building staff and emergency responders rushed in.
“Are you alright?”
One of them knelt by her side to check her condition.
She still couldn’t open her eyes properly under the glaring lights and kept her head lowered.
“She doesn’t look good. Miss, let us carry you out.”
“No, I’m okay…”
She tried to insist, but her pale face slick with cold sweat convinced them otherwise.
Soon, she was lifted onto someone’s back and whisked away from sight.
Left alone, Dohyun stared blankly after her.
He wanted to follow, to make sure she was really alright.
But because of the blackout, time had been lost, and his next interview appointment was already tight.
Even so, he couldn’t bring himself to leave right away.
They hadn’t even exchanged names, yet the time they had shared felt anything but brief—and strangely, her absence left an emptiness inside him.
Just then, a security guard approached hesitantly.
“Are you alright, sir?”
“Ah, yes.”
Giving only a short reply, Dohyun turned away from the guard’s apology and headed toward the underground parking lot.
And from that day on, the image of her wouldn’t leave his mind.
Was it because he worried for her well-being?
Or because her beauty had been so captivating he couldn’t look away?
Or perhaps it was a vague regret, knowing she hadn’t even noticed his presence?
Though it had been less than thirty minutes, Dohyun realized for the first time that even a fleeting moment could etch someone deeply into memory.
That night, after finishing his interviews, Dohyun declined offers from two companies that had accepted him and informed LS Fashion of his intent to join them.
It wasn’t just to see her again. LS Fashion was, among all the brands he’d experienced, the most impressive in its sensibility, and the atmosphere during the interview had felt like the ideal environment for him.
But above all, she was there.
“…Dohyun-ssi?”
His reverie was broken by Suji, who had approached him as if they were close, though they had only met a handful of times.
Suppressing the irritation rising inside, he turned his head. Suji glanced quickly in the direction he’d been looking.
“Is someone there?”
“No. What is it you wanted to say?”
Looking around the empty hallway, she fluttered her false eyelashes and cautiously asked,
“It’s just… do you have time today?”
“What for?”
“How about a beer after work? I know this really good place.”
Suji wrinkled her nose in a way she knew made her look cute.
“I have to stop by a real estate office, so I can’t.”
“Real estate? You’re house hunting?”
Her eyes widened with delight at his answer.
“Then move to my neighborhood! It’s quiet and a nice place to live.”
“I’ve already decided.”
“Already? Where?”
Looking disappointed, she pouted. Dohyun, however, replied firmly,
“I can’t tell you that.”
“Why not? Afraid I’ll come find you?”
“I keep work and personal life separate.”
His clear boundary momentarily unsettled her, but she quickly masked it with a bright smile.
“You never know. We could get closer outside of work.”
Just as he was about to say, That won’t happen, his phone rang.
On the screen, the name glowed: Cheongun Detective Agency.
His grip tightened involuntarily.
“I have to go.”
Without waiting for her response, he strode away.
Desperate to create some connection with him, Suji watched him disappear down the hall, disappointment clouding her eyes, before reluctantly returning to her desk.
Meanwhile, Dohyun slipped into a quiet emergency stairwell, away from prying eyes.
After making sure both the floors above and below were empty, he pressed the call button.
“Hello.”
[This is Kim Ki-cheol. I’m calling because there’s something to report.]
“Did you… find it?”
His voice quivered ever so slightly.
A few days later.
On her way back to the office after lunch, Yeonha ran into Nam Dohyun in front of the elevator.
Having deliberately avoided him until now, she was caught off guard when they met face-to-face.
“Team Leader.”
“What is it?”
She intended only to greet him lightly and move on, but Dohyun called her back.
Ignoring the quickening of her heartbeat, Yeonha asked in her most businesslike voice,
“Do you have a moment?”
“Go ahead.”
Since they worked on different floors, most communication had gone through the planning department head or Jinyoung. It was rare for Yeonha to deal directly with Dohyun.
“Let’s go to the meeting room.”
“You can just say it here.”
“Others might overhear. It could be problematic.”
“Is it about me?”
“Yes.”
What could it be, that he wanted to say in private?
Though she wished to avoid being alone with him, his words—It’s about you—left her no room to refuse.
“Go ahead. I’ll be right there after I put this down.”
After leaving her bag at her desk, Yeonha went to the meeting room, where Dohyun rose to greet her.
She closed the door and sat across from him.
In the quiet meeting room, only the sound of their breathing filled the air.
