Yeong Ye-Jun shouldn't be there. He shouldn't be walking into this room. And he certainly shouldn't be talking to her. 

There is hope after all... 

"Hello" she said, the moment she regained control of her voice. 

"Sorry. Did I scare you? Again?" Yeong Ye-Jun asked. 

"No. I was just... waiting" she replied.  

“Waiting for... someone?" he pressed. 

She blinked, feeling her face heat with a flush. "Um... Mi-Suk? She said she would come?" she said, sounding more like a question. 

"Are you asking me? I haven't seen her yet" he replied, a flat note in his voice. 

She found herself blinking again. "No! It was a statement" she clarified, forcing a smile. 

"I see. I was passing by and dropped in for a glass of water. I saw you here and thought it was a good opportunity to explain a few things" he explained. 

Oh! He wants to talk with me? 

Had he calmed down? A fragile flicker of hope sparked within her. She couldn't stop admiring his flawless English accent. He was born and raised in the US, after all. Was now the time to reveal she could speak Korean? She decided not to complicate things. "Sure" she responded. 

"I guess Chloe explained why I was... surprised yesterday. I treasure my work and my personal life, and I want to be around people I know and trust. I don't know you, and that is why you make me uncomfortable" he said, his tone serious. 

"I understand" she replied. And she did. Noelle could completely understand his anxiety. Balancing being a celebrity and being oneself cannot be easy. 

"Good. So you will also understand my next request. I'll cut right to the chase. To keep everything functioning the way it has for years, you should... leave" Yeong Ye-Jun said. 

That wasn't a request. It was an order. 

And it was the one thing Noelle could not do. 

She had planned for over three years. 

It was the one and only target she had ever set. 

She could let down her professor. 

She was out of time. 

But most of all, this was her only opportunity to be close to him. 

Her mind buzzed with a million reasons, freezing her in place, rendering her unable to form a meaningful response. "Why...?" was all she could manage. 

"You said you understood. I don't trust you, so you need to get out" he explained, as if to a child. 

Noelle should have been prepared for this, but she had ignored all the signs. In a moment, her entire plan was crumbling, and the one holding the wrecking ball was the very person she was here for. 

Of course, there was a huge gap in his understanding. He had no idea. Nobody did. Absolutely no-one. 

Maybe that was why this desperation felt so suffocating. Until now, everything had gone smoothly. But she was facing her first major obstacle—one she hadn't foreseen—with no one to turn to. 

"Of course I understand, but if you got to know me..." she suggested, in a last, desperate attempt. 

"No. I don't want to know you. I don't care a bit" Yeong Ye-Jun said. 

The words felt like a stab to her heart. A complete rejection. Her eyebrows furrowed and she bit her lower lip before she could stop herself. 

Where was the kind, polite, carefree man from yesterday? The one with the bright smile? 

Hurt but struggling to make a sense out of it, she tried another idea. "Then don't get to know me. I just work with Chloe. There's no reason to worry" she said, trying to sound reassuring. 

But the glint in his eyes told her she wasn't getting through. 

"It doesn't matter who you work with. Since you have the nerve to deal with me directly, you are unwanted" he said. 

That sounded like an insult. It was official. The man she met yesterday was a persona. Here stood the true Yeong Ye-Jun: arrogant, crude, and determined to make her feel small. 

If this is who he really is, then I have nothing left to hope for. 

"That's not fair. I have an arrangement" Noelle said, a hot sense of injustice rising in her chest. 

"Why should I care about your arrangements? Mine are far more important. I'm doing you a favor by asking you politely to remove yourself. I could just go to the president and have you kicked out" he continued, openly now threatening her. 

Noelle had had enough. The man whom she came here to meet was nowhere to be found. She had her dignity and that she would defend to the end. 

"Then why don't you?" she shot back, not hiding her annoyance. "Go upstairs, knock on the CEO's door, and get me fired." 

Yeong Ye-Jun blinked, anger flashing in his eyes. "Don't test me. I will do it" he said. 

"I'm not testing you. Go ahead. Right now". She felt her narrowed eyes spark with a fire she hadn't known she possessed. 

He was surprised, but hid it well, covering it with a low chuckle. "You've got spirit, I'll give you that. But are you sure you know what you're doing? I am the biggest hit in this company. Maybe the biggest in the country. I could squeeze you like an ant". 

"You can't squeeze an ant" she retorted without thinking, saying something that she normally shouldn’t know. 

Shit, I shouldn't have said that... 

She quickly regained control over her expression. "And you can't ask any favors from the CEO. He's been quite pissed at you for the past two years for rejecting those international tours. So, I think I'm safe from your threats!". 

She couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth. A flame had sparked in her heart, and she was ready to burn down anything that stood in her way. She had hoped for a treasure but found a disappointment. Fine. She would, at the very least, save her thesis. 

He gasped. "I see you know some things after all. Should I blame Chloe for that, or have you already done your homework? You made some wrong decisions today. You must have also heard that I'm stubborn and resourceful. I am about to unleash a weapon that you can’t imagine. Are you sure you can handle it?” he asked, squinting his eyes, trying to intimidate her further. 

"Bring it on. I'm not going anywhere". Noelle said, the defiance now flowing freely. 

"Wait and see. You'll regret going up against me. You should have run when you had the chance". With that final threat, Yeong Ye-Jun turned and walked away. 

She watched him until he disappeared from the break room. Her heart was pounding frantically, her breathing heavy. She had just quarreled with and openly challenged Yeong Ye-Jun. 

Let's see who will be the last one standing...