Chapter 29
. Prince God Do Siwan
“Mm? Why?”
Chae Soo-hwa tilted her head with a sparkle in her eyes, acting cute.
Did she really not notice that Siwan was angry?
No.
Soo-hwa wasn’t oblivious—she simply pretended not to notice. In fact, she was incredibly quick to catch on, and she could feel very well that Siwan’s attitude toward her was completely different from usual.
And that only made her angrier.
What the hell? Is he treating me like this because of that woman? How dare he just call me ‘Chae Soo-hwa’?
His usual sharp gaze was nothing new. But this time, Siwan had called her Chae Soo-hwa—without any honorifics or titles. Normally, the presence or absence of a surname at the front says a lot about how close you are.
And until now, Siwan had never called her that way. That only made her feel more distance between them and convinced her he was pushing her away.
But Chae Soo-hwa was not the kind of woman to just bow her head and say, “Oh, I’m sorry about that.”
In moments like this, her stubbornness flared up even more.
Wearing a charming smile, she asked brazenly,
“Why, oppa? You called me—so say something.”
Siwan’s lips parted, and out came a voice hard as stone.
“Apologize.”
“Mm? Apologize to you for what? For coming here to get a free lunch?”
Looking directly into her eyes, Siwan enunciated each word.
“Not to me. To the team leader here. She’s the person I have to attend to today. Apologize for being rude.”
“What…?”
Soo-hwa gave a short, incredulous laugh.
Did he just tell me—me, Chae Soo-hwa—to apologize?
After all the years they’d known each other, how could he?
And all because of this woman—this puppy-like girl he’s only worked with for a few months?
Her insides boiled. If this weren’t the lobby of someone else’s company, she would have already screamed.
The most awkward person in the room, however, was Hana.
What on earth is happening? This is so uncomfortable.
The atmosphere had gone completely sideways.
She had just been going to have lunch together, so how had it turned into this mess?
Glancing around, she noticed people on their way out for lunch had stopped to watch.
With such a strikingly good-looking man and woman arguing, it was only natural they’d draw attention.
Hana suddenly thought,
Is it okay for people to see me with the director like this?
When he’d offered to buy lunch, she hadn’t thought twice about it, but now she felt herself growing uneasy.
She even recalled her earlier phone call with Secretary Seo Wangu, and her anxiety spiked.
Should I have canceled that lunch appointment back then?
Blinking her large eyes, she looked between the two. They were standing close, speaking in low voices she couldn’t make out, but their expressions and eyes made it clear they weren’t exchanging anything pleasant.
They don’t seem like they’re just acquaintances… Could she be his girlfriend?
Come to think of it, she’d never asked Siwan whether he was seeing anyone. She’d only heard rumors he was unmarried.
Was she causing him trouble without realizing it?
So Hana just waited for their conversation to end.
Then, suddenly, Siwan raised his hand, cutting Soo-hwa off mid-sentence.
Turning to Hana with a serious face, he said,
“To prevent any misunderstandings, I’ll say this—Soo-hwa and I are nothing at all.”
“…Pardon?”
“I’m telling you this so you won’t think otherwise or feel guilty. I’m completely single. And by that, I mean not divorced-single—never married single.”
What an out-of-the-blue explanation.
Still, since he said so, what could she do but nod?
“Oh… I see.”
At that, Soo-hwa let out a sharp, disbelieving laugh.
“Ha! Siwan oppa, what are you doing right now? Are you kidding me?”
Her voice dripped with irritation.
She was so angry she dropped the fake smile she’d been wearing until now. But Siwan didn’t even glance her way—instead, he kept his gaze on Hana.
“I’m sorry you’ve been caught up in this. I’ll sort it out shortly, so please wait just a moment.”
“Yes, understood.”
Why was it that—even though she had nothing to do with this awkward confrontation—Hana felt grateful that he was concerned about her feelings? And relieved, too.
So he really is completely single.
She discreetly checked the time.
12:05 p.m.
Five whole minutes of her precious lunch break had passed.
She wasn’t great with hot food—if she ate gukbap too quickly, the roof of her mouth would get burned. Would she be okay?
Maybe she should order it t separately, so it wouldn’t feel as hot.
Would it be rude to ask for some boiled pork on the side?
And… was the pork gukbap place the director mentioned that Original Grandma’s Pork Gukbap? That place was amazing.
If so, she’d definitely get the offal version.
With those thoughts, she mentally tuned out of the Siwan–Soo-hwa standoff entirely.
She trusted Siwan. He might be a little odd, but he felt genuine.
Since he said he’d take care of it quickly, she believed him.
No need to stress herself over it.
* * *
Meanwhile, the Food Planning Team was waiting for the elevator.
Buzz.
Team leader Oh Ah-young’s phone vibrated briefly.
“Hm?”
Her eyes widened as she checked the message—from none other than Deputy Manager Cheon So-woon, one half of the company’s top rumor-spreading duo.
Without any explanation, the message contained a single photo.
Director Do Siwan, facing a model-like woman in an ivory dress covered in luxury brands.
They seemed to be talking—but it was obvious the atmosphere wasn’t pleasant.
Behind Siwan stood another woman in a pink hoodie, hands in the front pocket, looking completely uninvolved.
Almost simultaneously, the other team members’ phones pinged with the same photo.
It seemed So-woon and her partner, Kim Da-eon, had sent it around everywhere.
When those two spread a photo to so many people at once, it meant something huge had happened.
Ah-young burst out laughing when she saw it.
“Pfft! Why is our Joo-jooim standing there like that? People will think she’s with them.”
Other teammates had similar reactions.
“Aww, she’s so cute.”
“But why is she in the lobby? Didn’t she bring her lunch today?”
At that, Gu Dong-geun spoke up.
“She said she didn’t bring lunch today. I think she said she had plans.”
Ah-young narrowed her eyes at him.
“Dong-geul-ssi, are you sure? She didn’t mention that earlier.”
“It’s Dong-geun. And she told me this morning.”
“Why would she tell you that?”
“Uh… well…”
He couldn’t exactly admit he’d asked her to eat together and she’d turned him down—his pride wouldn’t allow it.
Before he could figure out what to say, another message arrived on everyone’s phones.
Food Planning Team
Kim Da-eon: Photo of Director Do and Joo-jooim heading somewhere. Ivory-dress lady hitting on the director. Out of nowhere, they start arguing. Then the director goes all serious and says:
‘Apologize. This person (Joo-jooim) is someone precious I have to take care of today. Apologize for being rude!’
OMG isn’t Director Do so cool?? Then he says: ‘I’m a perfect single. Joo Hana, I’m YOUR perfect single.’ Don’t you think that’s what he meant? Goosebumps!!!
Who knew what they were really thinking, but the “duo” always sent their updates with a wild, imagination-filtered commentary.
The women of the team crowded around Ah-young’s phone. They’d all received the same message, but they were looking at her screen as if it were a special edition.
When Ah-young zoomed in on the photo, everyone’s expressions turned dreamy.
Originally, it was just a picture of Director Do arguing, with Joo Hana awkwardly caught in the background.
But now, after hearing the “lines” supposedly spoken, the photo looked completely different.
Prince Do Siwan, bravely confronting a beautiful princess-like rival to protect the commoner Joo Hana.
Romance aficionado Assistant Manager No Mi-seon let out a languid sigh.
“When I first saw it, I didn’t think much. But knowing those lines—this is the photo of the century. God Do Director!”
She placed her finger on the screen, enlarging the part where he was standing protectively in front of Hana.
“Ahh, the way he’s blocking her path—so dependable… This is why I can’t quit romance stories.”
Mi-seon, who only ever watched romance movies, read romance novels, and devoured romance webtoons, never thought she’d witness such a thrilling scene at work.
No one knew it, but there was a resignation letter in her bag. Lately, she’d been feeling worse and had planned to take a break from work.
But now—getting to witness a scene straight out of a drama in person? There was no way she could quit now.
She resolved to rip up her resignation letter the moment she got back from lunch.
Ah-young, too, kept exclaiming in amazement—but unlike the others, her admiration wasn’t for Director Do, but for Hana.
“Wow… our Joo-jooim is a real pro.”
