Chapter 1

“Everyone, smile.”

Click

As the camera flash went off, the employees of DL all smiled at the same time.

Yiseo immediately checked the picture. Their forced smiles all looked so unnatural.

Everyone was exhausted from this taxing business trip. They did not have the energy to spare to even tour the greatest tourist attractions of Turkey in Istanbul.

So having to make those expressions look as amicable as possible put Yiseo in a difficult position.

As she regripped her camera and said, “One more time,” one of her coworkers furrowed their brow.

“I’m so tired. I think once is enough.”

“Yes, I’m sure the picture is fine.”

The coworkers started to grumble as they took turns scowling. Just then, a pleasing, low-pitched voice took charge of the situation.

“Let’s just all take one more.” It was Director Jae Han Kwon, easy to spot due to his tall height. He was also Yiseo’s boss. She worked as his secretary.

“Let’s take one last picture and call it a day. Does everyone agree?”

As he said this with a soft smile, General Manager Oh quickly stepped in to resolve the situation.

“Haha, of course we all agree, Director. C’mon everyone.”

At his insistence, all the employees put on their best smile.

Click.

The camera shutter sound went off again.

Yiseo checked the picture and raised her hand, assuring them that the picture was decent, and they didn’t have to take any more pictures.

“Ms. Chae, you’re really good at taking pictures.”

Yiseo was in the middle of organizing her camera equipment when her senior, Hae Ran, came up to her to look at the pictures she had taken. At this, the other ladies in the secretary department came by in curiosity.

“Oh, wow. Everyone has their eyes open. The lighting is great too. I heard that photography was your hobby. Your talent is wasted as an amateur photographer!”

Yiseo answered with a faint smile. The ladies of the secretarial department were not normally affectionate toward her. They were more likely to be wary of her and to hold her at arm’s length.

There was one simple reason that those people were praising her and putting her up on a pedestal.

“The Director looks like a model.”

Someone zoomed into the picture and Jae Han’s features filled the screen. His kind face and smiling eyes were warm and gentle.

Jae Han was indeed a kind man in real life. He was courteous to everyone, but also strict when he had to be. He was a professional at work, but he never used his status as the director to be rude or offensive to anyone.

“Oh, no. You were so busy taking the picture that you’re not in any of them, Yiseo,” Hae Ran said in disappointment. Yiseo replied that it was fine and took the camera from her.

Just then, a coworker added, “Isn’t there one more person?”

“Who?”

“Vice President Kwon.”

Yiseo screamed inwardly, constrained by the formal setting.

“I’m sure he won’t show up. He hasn’t been back for even a minute, and this had to happen. He must be in a foul mood.”

Just as they were about to release a new product, an executive made a mistake, causing a miscommunication with the partnering company. Their factories might even stop operating with their launch date so close, so this was an urgent matter.

Therefore, Vice President Jae Yeol Kwon, who had been working in the overseas branch up until recently, came a week earlier than his employees to Turkey, to take the bullet.

“I overheard Manager Kim talking to him on the phone and it seemed like he was staying at a different hotel.”

“Why?”

“Because…”

The woman’s voice trailed off as she looked at Jae Han, who was talking with Manager Kim.

“I know that they’re stepbrothers, but how could they be so different? The Vice President is extremely good looking but…he’s a bit cold, isn’t he? According to rumors…”

“Shh, watch your mouth,” Hae Ran lowered her voice and warned the girl.

“How did you make it into the secretarial department with that mouth, Chae Yeon?”

“I apologize, I will be more careful.” Chae Yeon quickly bowed low. She had forgotten for a moment that above all, she had to be careful what was said about Vice President Jae Yeol Kwon. He was not someone she could speak lightly of.

Jae Yeol Kwon and Jae Han Kwon.

Jae Han was born a year earlier than Jae Yeol, and while he was easy to approach, Jae Yeol was the exact opposite.

He did not smile easily and outside of anything work-related, it wasn’t common to hear his voice. It had been over a month since he had taken office in the headquarters, but only a handful of employees had seen him.

“Hey, isn’t that the Vice President’s car?”

Someone pointed to the downhill pathway connected to the hotel. Yiseo’s eyes narrowed as she looked. A pair of headlights beamed on the road and soon, a car came into view.

Manager Kim and a few of the employees moved swiftly and lined up in front of the hotel entrance.

Manager Kim personally opened the back door. A gleaming pair of leather shoes stepped on the ground, and a tall man moved nimbly and softly out of the car.

“Welcome, sir.” Manager Kim gave a firm bow. The other employees quickly followed suit. At the unannounced and sudden appearance of the Vice President, who was dogged by rumors, everyone seemed a bit flustered.

Jae Yeol, who had been looking down disinterestedly at the employees, glanced at the watch on his wrist.

“Is there any reason why you are all still gathered here?”

“Well, that’s…” Manager Kim let out an awkward laugh as he gazed at the camera in Yiseo’s hand.

"We were in the middle of taking a group picture to celebrate the end of the project.”

“Picture?” Jae Yeol’s eyes went to Yiseo. There was quite a distance between them, but he looked squarely at Yiseo’s face and the camera in her hand.

Manager Kim added quietly, “It’s one of the instructions that the President gave.”

To take a group picture every time there was an important project was something President Kwon had insisted on since he was young.

However, this time, there was a hidden agenda.

“I hear that you’re quite a photographer, Secretary Chae.”

A few days before leaving for Turkey, President Kwon secretly called Yiseo to his office.

“I ask that you take a group picture during the business trip. It’s been over a month since I’ve seen Jae Han. As time passes, I get the feeling that he is avoiding me. As you know, Jae Han…”

Jae Han was the son of the first love that the president lost. It was already something that was well-known all throughout the company. Nobody talked about it, but it was hard to find someone who didn’t know about it.

“We were just in the middle of talking about how we wished you were in the picture. You must be exhausted, but still, why don’t you come in for a group picture?”

At Manager Kim’s suggestion, Jae Yeol silently gazed at Yiseo.

The way he scanned her body from head to toe was somewhat obvious and frigid. As she gripped the camera in her hand, she heard, “Aren’t you tired, Ms. Chae?”

It was the warm voice of Jae Han. He finished gathering up the camera equipment that she had not quite finished organizing and pushed her forward.

“Why don’t you go up and get some rest?”

“I’m fine,” she responded.

“We have to move earlier tomorrow morning than we did today. Taking care of yourself is also a professional skill as well as an asset.”

Jae Han was known for taking care of his people. It was more conspicuous when it came to his secretary, Yiseo. But today, she found his kindness very uncomfortable.

The staff and Jae Yeol’s eyes were all still on Yiseo.

“Why don’t we call it a night?” someone said amid the tense air.

It was Jae Yeol.

He coldly turned and entered the hotel lobby. As she watched his long legs moving under his black coat, Yiseo’s expression looked conflicted.

***

“I heard that it’s snowing there. Are you dressing warmly?”

JoungWha’s warm voice flowed out of the phone’s speaker.

Yiseo wrapped her arms around her shoulders, feeling a chill, and continued the conversation with her mother.

“Mom, I’m not a child anymore.”

“Have you forgotten how prone you’ve been to colds since you were a baby? I don’t know who you take after with such cold hands and feet.”

Who else would I take after? It’s probably the father I’ve never known.

She felt these words rise to the tip of her tongue, but she just forced herself to laugh it off.

“Make sure you turn up the heat high so that your knees aren’t sore. Don’t try to save money by just wrapping yourself in blankets. It hasn’t been long since you had your surgery,” Yiseo said.

“Don’t you know that I spend however much I want because I know you’re making such good money?” her mother retorted.

Liar.

No matter what her mother said, the largest purchase she had seen didn’t go over 100,000 won. ($100)

“I’ll call you when I get back to Korea.”

“Okay. No matter how busy you are, don’t skip your meals,” she admonished.

“Yes, Mom.”

After hanging up with her mother, Yiseo’s gaze was distant.

“... it’s so pretty.”

The vast view of the wintry scenery of Istanbul stretched out in front of her. It was peaceful and beautiful. She knew she had to wake up early tomorrow morning, but she left her bed behind and went to the back of the hotel. She didn’t think that she would be able to savor this gorgeous view again if she didn’t do it now.

Also…Yiseo’s hand reached for her heart. She felt a lump there and it felt like she was suffocating. She had a vague idea as to why she was feeling this way and so gave a futile smile.

He had only just looked at her. It wasn’t a big deal.

Suddenly, the face of Vice President Jae Yeol Kwon popped into her head.

The man who looked great in all black.

That was Jae Yeol’s image to Yiseo.

He would always dress head to toe in neutral colors, but even without any particular embellishments, his presence could always draw attention.

And this man treated all that attention the same way one would look blandly at neutral colors.

Just like the look he gave Yiseo today.

She could tell by that indifference that he definitely did not remember her.

“Is that for the best?” a voice asked.

“God, I had to fight the urge to smoke all day.”

She abruptly heard random voices in the alleyway below. Two large shadows appeared on the walls between two buildings.

Yiseo immediately knew who they were.

“That’s better.”

“I know, right?”

It was the youngest member of the secretary department, Sae Eun and her senior, Chae Yeon.

Both of them sucked hard on their cigarettes.

“By the way, Sae Eun, did you see before? The way Director Kwon took Yiseo’s side?”

“I was so shocked. No less, with the Vice President right there.”

“After witnessing that scene, I can see how the rumors could be true.”

“Rumors?” Sae Eun asked.

“You didn’t hear? They say that Yiseo is Director Kwon’s… you know. It’s widely rumored that those two have been in and out of hotels, sleeping together. He’s like her sugar daddy.”

“No wonder. All the handbags that Secretary Chae carries are limited editions. One of her peers told me that Yiseo wasn’t from that kind of family. Then that means Director Kwon bought her all those…”

“How else would she have made it into our secretary department? She’s not that qualified.”

The two who had commented how pretty her pictures were moments ago were now busy bad-mouthing Yiseo.

Yiseo was used to this. It was expected from the moment she became Jae Han’s assistant. Choosing to stay while knowing this type of gossip circulated, was Yiseo’s decision.

So don’t be shaken by this.

It’s not a big deal, it’ll pass.

As was her habit, she gathered herself together, when she heard the click of a lighter.

Someone’s arm was on the fence that Yiseo was leaning on, smoking a cigarette. The leather gloves that covered the large hands looked familiar.

The man was wearing all neutral colors.

It was Vice President Jae Yeol Kwon.