Chapter 1
Late at night, in a quiet park.
Gaeun waited for Hankyung, lighting the candles one by one around a small heart she had arranged on the ground.
“What are you doing?”
“Ah! You scared me!”
“I asked what this is.”
With both hands shoved into the pockets of his pants, Jung Hankyung pointed at the candles with his chin, wearing a smug expression.
“You could at least say you’re here if you’ve arrived. Congratulations on your first day at work, Jung Hankyung.”
“It’s just going to work like everyone else does. What’s there to celebrate?”
Hankyung had recently passed the civil service exam and was about to begin his first day as a Grade-9 government official. His swagger irritated her a little, but Gaeun forced a smile.
She had once prepared for the same exam herself, so she knew how hard it had been. She tried to understand.
“…Congratulations. It must have been really tough studying and going through training all this time.”
“Gaeun, thanks for the congratulations, but seriously. Did you really do all this just to move me?”
“‘All this’?”
“Isn’t this a bit much? Doing something this embarrassing out here on the street?”
His face was filled with annoyance as he called it embarrassing.
Gaeun’s pride shriveled.
Of course, she had wanted to celebrate him properly too, like everyone else did—at an expensive restaurant with a nice meal.
But Gaeun had given up the civil service exam while studying alongside him and had started working at the front desk of a private academy a year ago. Her finances simply weren’t generous enough for that.
“Embarrassing?”
“What are these cheap candles supposed to be…? Seriously, it makes me look bad compared to others. And what’s that?”
Hankyung’s eyes gleamed when he noticed the suit case sitting on the bench.
Instead of spending money on one expensive dinner, she had decided it would be better to buy him a suit he could wear on his first day at work.
“…A gift for your first day.”
“Is this really from that brand?”
“Yeah.”
“Hey, thanks.”
As Hankyung walked over to grab the suit case, his foot kicked the candles aside. They rolled pitifully across the ground.
Gaeun hadn’t expected tears of gratitude.
But she had hoped to hear something simple.
Sorry for snapping at you all this time while studying. Let’s go on more dates from now on.
Just a small promise like that.
“The gift is nice, but don’t do stupid stuff like this again. It makes it seem like you’re trying to mess with me on purpose.”
The few remaining candles flickered weakly in the night breeze before going out.
Gaeun clenched her eyes shut, holding back tears that threatened to spill.
Even if she ended up crying alone later, she absolutely didn’t want to cry in front of Jung Hankyung.
“You think I did this on purpose just to mess with you?”
“No, that’s not what I meant—”
“I did this because I wanted to make you happy. This street? This is where we always came on dates. I wanted to celebrate here because it’s a place filled with our memories. And all you can say is that it’s embarrassing? That I’m messing with you?”
“Hey, Oh Gaeun?”
Startled by the rapid stream of words pouring out of her, Hankyung took a small step back.
“No matter what, Jung Hankyung, you shouldn’t treat me like this. If you’d thought even once about how I felt preparing all this, you could at least say thank you—even if you didn’t like it.”
“I am thankful. I’m just saying—did you really have to do this here? Think about how I feel too.”
“Your feelings? Do you think I’ve always felt great while dating you? Do you think the only reason I smile at you is because I like you so much I’m crazy about you?”
“Well… you do like me.”
“I’ve had plenty of moments with you that were humiliating and miserable too. Sitting on shabby benches like this, drinking canned coffee, eating cheap meals. Even when we went to the movies, you’d just stand there with your hands behind your back until I took out my wallet and paid first. It was disgusting and petty, but I endured it.”
They had met when they were twenty.
Now she was twenty-seven.
Seven years together flashed through her mind.
Why is it that none of the good memories come to mind—only the pathetic ones?
“There were plenty of times I wanted to say things just like you are now. But do you know why I didn’t? Because I was considerate of you. Because I thought you might get hurt. But right now, you’re not thinking about my position or my feelings at all, and you’re talking like that?”
“Then why be considerate? If you didn’t like it, you should’ve just said so. What—are you reluctant to break up now that I passed the exam?”
“Reluctant? Because of you? I’m not reluctant about you. I’m just reluctant about all the time I stupidly wasted beside you!”
“Then let’s break up.”
Seeing Hankyung say it so expressionlessly, Gaeun let out a hollow laugh.
She gathered the scattered candles and threw them straight into the trash can.
Then she looked directly into Hankyung’s eyes as he stood there arrogantly with one leg cocked.
“Let’s break up.”
“Fine. Let’s break up.”
“Give it back.”
“What?”
“The gift. Why would I give a gift to someone I’m breaking up with? Hurry up and hand it over.”
“You said it was for my first day at work…”
Hankyung tightened his grip and hid the suit case behind his back.
“We’re strangers now. What gift?”
“Who takes back a gift after giving it?”
“So you’re saying you won’t give it back?”
“……”
“You’re really determined to show the very worst of yourself, huh. If you don’t give it back, I’ll report you. For taking a bribe.”
“What bribe?”
“You’re going to work at our district office, right? If a resident gives you an expensive gift like that, it’s a bribe, isn’t it?”
Only after hearing the word bribe did Hankyung reluctantly hand the suit case to Gaeun.
His face was full of regret.
“That’s petty.”
“Petty? You’re the pathetic one, you jerk!”
“Pathetic? Hey, Oh Gaeun! Are you done talking?”
“Not even close! There are so many insults I want to throw at you, but if I said them all, you might actually lose your mind. And don’t you dare go around telling people you dated me. It’s embarrassing!”
Gaeun deliberately shoved Hankyung’s shoulder aside as she walked past him.
For seven years she had endured that man.
Why had she done that?
“I’m going to meet a man way better than that jerk and shove my marriage registration right in his face!”
Realizing she couldn’t work at the academy desk forever, Gaeun decided to attend an interview for a job at an online shopping mall.
It felt strange that the interview location was a hotel lounge, but when she heard the office was under renovation, she accepted it. She was too desperate to be picky about interview locations.
Still… were hotel lounges usually this quiet and empty?
“Are you here alone?”
“Oh, no. I have an appointment.”
After returning the staff member’s greeting, Gaeun glanced around the lounge.
There was only one person sitting there.
The owner of the online shopping mall she had applied to—
Kim Geumbong.
Smoothing the wrinkled hem of her skirt with her hands, Gaeun approached the man who appeared to be the boss.
“Hello, I’m the one who came for the interview today—”
“Please sit.”
Despite his stiff tone, the corners of Gaeun’s lips lifted automatically.
When she saw the name Kim Geumbong, she had imagined a pot-bellied man in his fifties. But the man sitting across from her now looked nothing like that.
He was young.
And incredibly handsome.
I’m definitely getting this job, Gaeun vowed as she sat down.
“I don’t have much time, so I’ll only ask a few simple questions.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Do you always smile that much?”
“…Pardon?”
“Or do I have something on my face?”
It’s because you’re handsome, sir, so I can’t help smiling.
Gaeun nearly blurted out the thought but quickly took a deep breath and replied calmly.
“There’s a saying that people aren’t happy because they smile—they’re happy when they smile. I try to think positively about everything, so I smile often.”
“Positive about everything… That’s not bad.”
According to the information she had found online, the shopping mall was essentially a one-person company run solely by this handsome boss in front of her. The salary wasn’t particularly high, but having such a handsome boss in the same office was already an excellent working condition.
“Are you good at keeping secrets?”
“Ah… yes. I’m very good at that.”
“I dislike rumors about me spreading. Especially those concerning my private life.”
“I have absolutely no interest in other people’s private lives, sir.”
Is he the type who lives exactly like he looks?
The way he spoke made it sound as though he was warning her to turn a blind eye and deaf ear to his messy personal life.
That’s easy enough.
“All you need to do is your assigned work diligently. I expect absolutely no excessive actions beyond that.”
“Yes, I’m the type who only focuses on the tasks I’m given…”
A strange thought crossed her mind.
Don’t most bosses like employees who go beyond what they’re asked to do?
Curious about what kind of person Kim Geumbong was, Gaeun lifted her head slightly and looked at him.
He sat there with a dignified posture and overwhelming confidence, as if he had been a boss since the moment he was born.
Sharp eyes that seemed unwilling to tolerate even the smallest mistake.
Firm lips.
But his face looked strangely familiar…
Where have I seen him before?
“Just do the work you’re assigned. And that habit you have—looking at people like that.”
Apparently he had noticed her staring.
His gaze turned sharp.
“You’d do well to fix it.”
“Yes, I will.”
“Let’s end the interview here.”
“Will there be more interviews?”
No matter how good-looking he was—even if that appearance could excuse his arrogant way of speaking—she couldn’t understand why a company this tiny would require multiple interviews.
“Didn’t Secretary Tak explain it to you?”
“Secretary Tak?”
A one-person company with a secretary?
What kind of strange company is this?
“I’ll tell Secretary Tak to explain again. And this is my personal contact information.”
The boss stood first and handed her a business card.
Gaeun slowly read what was written on it.
“President of Jushin Retail… Joo Seokjin…?”
Reading the name aloud, Gaeun swallowed hard.
The man she had thought looked familiar—
was the very man she had seen on the news.
Jushin Retail was one of the largest distribution companies in the country.
Department stores, supermarkets, convenience stores—everything.
So why was the president of that massive company sitting here conducting an interview with her?
Seeing her shocked expression, Seokjin looked down at her as if wondering what was wrong.
“It’s a secret that today I was conducting interviews to find a wife.”
“A… wife?”
The president of Jushin Retail, Joo Seokjin, holding interviews—not for a blind date, but to find a wife?
“Is there a problem?”
At that moment, Gaeun’s phone—lying on the table—vibrated.
It was Kim Geumbong, the owner she was supposed to meet today.
“…Hello?”
—Ah, what should I do? My friend’s daughter decided to take the job, so let’s cancel the interview.
“…I see.”
The shock of meeting Joo Seokjin was so overwhelming that the cancellation barely registered.
After politely ending the call, Gaeun looked back at Seokjin.
“Um… I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else.”
“Are you not Yoon Hyejin?”
“I’m Oh Gaeun…”
