Chapter: The Present - A New Beginning

The sleek elevator doors slid open with a soft chime, revealing the gleaming glass-and-steel offices of HanKyung Capital. Yoon Se-young stepped out, her heels clicking sharply against the polished marble floor. Dressed in her usual power suit, a tailored navy ensemble that emphasized her commanding presence, she exuded the confidence befitting her role as Vice President. But behind the flawless exterior, her thoughts were a swirl of apprehension and distraction.

Today was the day. The day he returned.

Kang Joon-ho, her ex-husband, was back after five long years, and not just in any capacity, he was the firm’s newly appointed Managing Director. The Board of Directors had finalized his transfer from Busan, positioning him as her direct superior. Se-young wasn’t sure whether the churn in her stomach was from anxiety, anticipation, or something more confusing, something she hadn’t fully acknowledged yet. 

She inhaled deeply and made her way to her corner office, its glass walls giving her a panoramic view of the bustling city below. A soft knock interrupted her thoughts as she placed her laptop on the desk.

It was Mi-jin, her assistant, a young woman with a calm but bright demeanour. 

“Vice President Yoon,” she greeted politely, a small smile on her lips. Do not forget about Director Kang’s introductory meeting with the department heads; it's scheduled for 11 am.”

Se-young kept her face neutral, though the mention of Joon-ho stirred something in her chest. “Thank you, Mi-jin. I’ll be there.”

As Mi-jin exited the room, Se-young allowed herself a brief moment to sit down, letting the reality sink in. Five years. Five years since their divorce, a decision made hastily in the aftermath of a whirlwind romance turned work-obsessed nightmare. 

She had thrown herself into her career after the divorce, and now, she had reached the pinnacle of success. But the hollowness within her remained, no matter how many accolades or promotions she achieved.

And now, Joon-ho was back.

---

The conference room buzzed with quiet conversations when Se-young arrived. The department heads sat around the massive mahogany table, flipping through reports and exchanging pleasantries. Se-young took her usual place, but it felt slightly different today. The seat beside her remained empty.

When the firm was given notice, Kang Joon-ho, who had risen quickly through the ranks in Busan, was returning to the main branch as the Managing Director. It sent alarm bells ringing throughout the firm. How could someone so young be given the position of Managing Director over those who have been around longer and had twice the experience?

Many of the senior executives, outraged by the parachute appointment, walked up to the Board of Directors to complain. Only to have their complaints fall on deaf ears. The board had their reasons. Today was going to be the day that they find out why a novice all those years ago is now coming back as the Managing Director of the main branch. 

Everyone’s attention turned to the door as it swung open. Immediately, the room stood up and bowed as Chairman Park and the new Managing Director walked into the large conference room. 

Joon-ho hadn’t changed much. If anything, he seemed more self-assured, more composed, his presence filling the room as his eyes swept across the table before landing on her. For a moment, Se-young felt the air shift as if the years between them had been erased, and they were back in time,two ambitious souls drawn to each other with the intensity of magnets.

But that was a different time. A different Se-young.

Joon-ho nodded politely to the room, but when his gaze finally met hers, a flicker of recognition passed between them. His smile, though professional, held something else, a familiarity, a history that couldn’t be forgotten.

“Vice President Yoon,” he greeted her as he sat beside her. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Director Kang,” Se-young replied, her voice steady. She felt the weight of his words more than she wanted to admit.

“Everyone, please have a seat,” Chairman Park said, motioning everyone to take their seats.

The meeting proceeded with formal introductions, but Se-young barely registered the exchanges. 

Her mind drifted back to the past, to late nights spent working together, to the gradual unravelling of their marriage as their work consumed them. The tension in the room was palpable, at least to her. Could the others sense it, too? The unspoken history, the lingering connection?

As the meeting wrapped up, Joon-ho stood. “I look forward to working with all of you,” he said, his voice clear and authoritative. He glanced at Se-young one last time before he left the room, his expression unreadable.

---

Later that evening, Se-young sat in her office, her fingers tapping restlessly against the desk. Her phone buzzed with a text from Lee Hyun-woo, her boyfriend of two years. She hesitated for a second before opening it.

Dinner tonight? You know we should talk about your schedule. These late meetings are starting to take a toll.

Se-young sighed. Hyun-woo was always subtly reminding her of how she was pushing boundaries and how her career was bleeding into their personal life. Something she was already too familiar with.

Still, Hyun-woo was practical and stable. He provided a sense of order in her life, albeit somewhat controllingly. But there were moments when his words made her second-guess herself and feel less certain in her decisions.

Se-young was about to type a reply when the intercom buzzed. “Vice President Yoon,” Mi-jin’s voice echoed, “Director Kang is here to see you.”

Before Se-young could process the message, Joon-ho appeared at her office door. His presence seemed to fill the room in a familiar and unsettling way.

“Got a moment?” Joon-ho asked, his tone casual but with an undertone of something more.

“Of course,” Se-young replied, motioning for him to sit. Her pulse quickened slightly, and she couldn’t tell if it was from nerves or something else entirely.

They sat across each other, the space between them thick with unspoken words.

“It’s been a while,” Joon-ho began, his gaze softening. “A lot has changed.”

“Yes,” Se-young agreed. “It has.” Her voice was steady, but her heart was anything but. “It’s good to see you, Joon-ho.”

The silence that followed felt loaded with a thousand things neither of them were ready to say. But before either could speak, Se-young’s phone buzzed again. Hyun-woo. Se-young glanced at it briefly, a flicker of irritation passing across her face.

Joon-ho’s eyes caught the movement. “Hyun-woo?” he asked, his tone neutral but his gaze sharp.

Se-young nodded, putting the phone face down on her desk. “Yes.”

There was another pause, a subtle shift in the atmosphere.

“If this is who I’ve been hearing so much about,” Joon-ho said carefully, his words probing. “Your boyfriend?”

Her defences immediately went up. “Yes, my boyfriend.”

Joon-ho’s expression softened. “Relax, I didn’t mean it that way. You seem happy.”

“I am.”

He studied her for a moment longer before nodding, accepting her words, even if he didn’t fully believe them.

“Well,” he said, standing up, “I look forward to working alongside you again.”

His words lingered, carrying a weight that Se-young couldn’t quite shake. She stared after him as he left her office, her mind racing.

Joon-ho was back, but so was something else, something deeper, unresolved, and undeniably real. 

And for the first time in years, Se-young wasn’t sure if she was ready to face it.

The door closed with a soft *click* behind Kang Joon-ho, but the room still felt charged with his presence. Se-young sat back in her chair, her fingers tightening around the pen in her hand. Her phone buzzed again, Hyun-woo’s name lighting up the screen, but she ignored it. Her mind was already elsewhere.

Joon-ho had always been perceptive, too perceptive, even now. He could still read her in ways no one else could, and that unnerved her. His arrival was stirring up emotions she thought she had buried long ago, emotions that had no place in her meticulously crafted life.

Still, Joon-ho’s words lingered like an uncomfortable truth she wasn’t ready to confront.