Minra had never been this aware of HyunSeong before.

  Not like this.

  Not in a way that made her pulse race.

  Not in a way that made her hyper-aware of his presence.

  Not in a way that made her feel trapped.

  Because every time she walked past him,

  Every time he spoke in a meeting,

  Every time he glanced her way—

  She felt it.

  The weight of what happened.

  The fact that she still hadn’t processed it.

  And worst of all?

  Worst of all—

  He wasn’t avoiding her.

  If anything, he was getting closer.

  .

  If Minra had hoped HyunSeong would act like nothing happened,

  She was terribly mistaken.

  Because he wasn’t acting distant.

  Wasn’t pretending it was a mistake.

  Wasn’t giving her space to think.

  Instead—

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  Instead, he was always there.

  At meetings.

  In the hallways.

  Stopping by her desk with casual remarks.

  Checking in on her projects with focused attention.

  And worst of all—

  Looking at her like he knew exactly what she was thinking.

  Like he knew she was trying to avoid him.

  Like he wasn’t going to let her.

  And that?

  That made her panic even more.

  .

  Of course, if something felt off,

  Reyne was the first to notice.

  He had been watching her for days now.

  Watching the way she stiffened whenever HyunSeong was near.

  Watching the way her eyes darted toward him, only to immediately look away.

  Watching the way she had been acting way too careful.

  And of course, Reyne wasn’t one to stay quiet.

  So, naturally—

  He brought it up in the worst way possible.

  They were in the break room.

  Minra had just taken a sip of her coffee.

  When Reyne, casually leaning against the counter, said—

  "What? Why are you so awkward around Mr. Hwa? Did you two accidentally hook up or something?"

  Minra choked.

  Violently.

  Coughed.

  Almost died.

  And Reyne—

  Reyne just grinned.

  "Whoa, whoa, relax. It was just a joke—"

  "We didn’t!" Minra blurted out too quickly.

  Too forcefully.

  And that’s when Reyne’s grin faltered.

  Just a little.

  Because—

  Because why was she panicking?

  Why was she denying it so aggressively?

  Why was she suddenly acting like it wasn’t just a joke anymore?

  .

  On the other side of the break room—

  HyunSeong had just stepped in.

  Just in time to hear Minra’s explosive denial.

  And for the first time—

  He had to hold back a smirk.

  Because.

  Because she was terrible at hiding things.

  Because now, Reyne was looking at her suspiciously.

  Because now, she was about to dig herself into a hole.

  So.

  So, HyunSeong did what he did best.

  He walked in like he hadn’t heard a thing.

  Looked at Minra.

  Then at Reyne.

  Then, casually, asked—

  "Is there a problem?"

  Reyne immediately straightened.

  "No, sir! We were just—"

  Minra, still recovering from her near-death choking, just glared at Reyne.

  "Nothing!" she blurted. "Absolutely nothing!"

  HyunSeong’s gaze flickered between them.

  Then, finally—

  He met Minra’s eyes.

  "Good." he said smoothly. "Then get back to work."

  And just like that—

  He walked out.

  But not before catching the way Minra’s entire face turned red.

  And not before noticing the way Reyne was now looking at her like he had just uncovered a mystery.

  .

  The moment HyunSeong left—

  Reyne turned back to Minra.

  Narrowed his eyes.

  Leaning in slightly, he said,

  "You denied that way too fast."

  Minra, desperately trying to keep her cool, snapped, "Shut up, Reyne."

  "No, but seriously—"

  "Shut. Up."

  "Wait, hold on, did something actually—?"

  "I SAID SHUT UP!"

  Reyne grinned.

  Because now—now, he was suspicious.

  And if he was suspicious—

  That meant he was going to dig.

  And that meant—

  Minra was in for a long, long week.

  .

  Chapter 35: "The Boss’ Favorite"