Chapter Six
593 Words
Jie-eun sat alone at her desk, her fingers trembling slightly as she typed the final lines of a report.
Her body was exhausted — but she couldn’t stop.
Every page completed, every task checked, was another step toward saving her grandmother.
She barely noticed the sound of footsteps approaching, until his voice — low, unfamiliar in its softness — broke the silence.
“You’re still here.”
She looked up, startled.
Joon-ho stood there, hands in his pockets, his sharp suit immaculate as always.
But there was something different in his eyes tonight.
A question he couldn’t seem to voice.
Ji-eun swallowed hard.
“I still have work to finish, sir.”
“You work too hard.”
She blinked, unsure if she’d heard him right.
Before she could reply, he placed a warm can of coffee on her desk.
“Don’t skip meals.”
He didn’t wait for thanks — just turned and walked back toward his office, his figure swallowed by the shadows.
Ji-eun stared at the can.
Her heart beat too fast.
Why? Why are you being kind now?
She shook her head, forcing herself to focus.
But that simple gesture stayed with her all night.
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His Hidden Struggle
In his private suite above the office, Joon-ho loosened his tie and sank into the leather chair by the window.
The city stretched before him — cold lights, endless roads, like the emptiness he carried inside.
Why did I do that? Why do I notice her?
He hated the feeling.
Caring meant weakness.
And weakness had cost him everything before.
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t erase the image of Ji-eun’s tired face, her determined eyes.
And a small, painful truth crept in.
She reminds me of Mother… always giving, always fighting, until she broke.
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The Stepmother’s Wrath
Far across the city, in a house filled with luxury but no warmth, Joon-ho’s stepmother sat with narrowed eyes.
The latest report was on her desk — the investigator’s findings on Ji-eun.
“Poor… no family but a sick grandmother… working herself to the bone…”
She smiled — a cruel, calculating smile.
“Perfect.”
The plan formed swiftly.
She would leak whispers of an affair. Suggest favoritism. Plant photos, staged and real.
Let the world tear them down. Let the board question his judgment. Let him fall.
She lifted her glass of wine in a silent toast to herself.
---
The Calm Before the Storm
Over the next weeks, the bond between Ji-eun and Joon-ho deepened — though neither spoke of it.
There were no confessions, no promises.
Only small moments:
— The way he’d pause by her desk, as if to check on her, before moving on without a word.
— The way she’d bring him tea during late meetings, pretending not to notice when his hand brushed hers.
— The quiet understanding in their eyes, in stolen glances neither dared admit.
But the storm was coming.
And soon, their fragile peace would shatter.
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A Hint of the Trap
One morning, Ji-eun arrived at work to find whispers trailing behind her.
Secretive glances.
Soft laughter that stopped the moment she turned.
Her heart sank.
What is this?
She couldn’t know yet — that the first staged photos had been sent to a gossip site.
A blurred image of her leaving his apartment the night she saved him.
A headline ready to destroy:
“CEO’s Secret Lover? The Unknown Girl Behind Kang Group’s Cold Prince”
And the stepmother watched, satisfied.
Let them both burn.
- Writer
