LOVE MY BOSS

--- Loving my Boss Chapter 1: The Nanny Who Didn't Know Her Boss Rule #1 of being a nanny: Don’t fall for the dad. Rule #2: Don’t snoop. Rule #3: Don’t assume the "unemployed" man in sweatpants is broke. I broke all 3 in week one. --- 8:00 AM - Monday, Gangnam District, Seoul The ad said: NANNY NEEDED. 2 KIDS. 5 DAYS A WEEK. 8M KRW/MONTH. LIVE-IN OPTIONAL. 8 million won. For watching kids. I applied in 2 minutes. My name is Han Soo-jin. 26. College dropout. Debt: 40 million won. Mom in hospital. Little brother in high school. I needed this job. The interview was at a mansion. Not a house. A mansion. Glass walls. Private garden. 3 cars in the driveway. All of them looked expensive. The housekeeper opened the door. “Miss Han? Madam is waiting.” Madam = Mrs. Kang. Late 50s. Chanel suit. She looked me up and down. “Experience?” “3 years. Twins. Ages 4.” “Good. The children are Min-woo and Min-ah.” “And the father?” “Oh.” She smiled weird. “He’s... between jobs. He’ll be home. Don’t mind him. He’s harmless.” Harmless. That’s the word she used. 10:00 AM - Meeting the Kids Min-woo and Min-ah. 4 years old. Identical. Dark hair. Big eyes. They ran to me immediately. “Auntie! Are you our new nanny?” “Yes. I’m Soo-jin.” “Can you make pancakes?” “I can try.” They dragged me to the kitchen. That’s when I saw him. On the couch. Sweatpants. Gray t-shirt. Hair messy. Laptop closed. Phone in hand. Looking like he hadn’t slept. And handsome. Stupidly handsome. Mrs. Kang: “This is my son, Kang Jae-hyun. Jae-hyun, this is Soo-jin. The new nanny.” He looked up. And froze. His eyes were sharp. Black. Tired. But when he saw the kids, they softened. “Hi,” he said to me. Voice rough. “Hi,” I answered. He stood. 6'1. Taller than I thought. Walked to the kids. Picked up Min-ah. “Did you eat?” “We’re hungry,” Min-woo said. “I’ll make pancakes,” I offered. Jae-hyun looked at me. Really looked. “You don’t have to. I can—” “I’m the nanny,” I said. “It’s my job.” He nodded. Sat back down. But he watched me. The whole time I cooked. 12:00 PM - First Red Flag After lunch, Mrs. Kang pulled me aside. “One thing. Don’t ask Jae-hyun about work. He’s... sensitive about it.” “Sensitive how?” “He’s taking a break. From everything. Just let him be.” Break. From what? The man lived in a mansion. I went to the kids’ room. Jae-hyun was already there. Building blocks. On the floor. In sweatpants. Like a normal dad. “You don’t have to do that,” I said. “I like it,” he said. Didn’t look up. “Mrs. Kang said you’re on a break.” His hands stopped. “Yeah. A break.” That was it. 6:00 PM - First Night I was supposed to leave at 6. But Min-ah had a fever. “I can stay,” I said. “Just tonight.” Jae-hyun: “Thank you.” We took turns. Me. Him. At 2 AM he was in the chair next to her bed. Falling asleep. I covered him with a blanket. He woke up when I touched him. “Sorry.” “It’s okay. Go sleep in your room.” “I’m fine here.” “Mr. Kang—” “Jae-hyun.” “Jae-hyun. You should rest.” He looked at me. Really looked. “You’re good with them.” “You’re good too.” He smiled. Small. First time I saw it. It ruined me a little. Wednesday - Week 1 Pattern: He was home. All day. Sometimes on calls. Muffled. In his office. Sometimes playing with kids. Sometimes just... staring out the window. Mrs. Kang came daily. Brought groceries. Checked on us. Never mentioned what Jae-hyun did before. One day I heard her on the phone: “Yes, he’s still pretending. No, she doesn’t know yet.” Pretending what? I shook it off. Not my business. I had 8 million won reasons not to care. Friday - The Delivery Courier came. 5 boxes. Addressed to: KANG JAE-HYUN, CEO, KW CONSTRUCTION CEO. KW Construction. One of the biggest companies in Korea. I was holding a box when he walked in. He saw it. Saw me reading the label. And his whole body went still. “Put that down,” he said. Quiet. “CEO?” I asked. “Give me the box, Soo-jin.” I did. “Are you a CEO?” “I was.” “Was?” “I quit.” Lie. I could tell. He took the boxes to his office. Locked the door. For the rest of the day he didn’t come out. Sunday - Week 2 Mrs. Kang called me. “Soo-jin, can you come early tomorrow? 7 AM. Important meeting.” “Okay.” 7 AM. I arrived. The house was full of people. Lawyers. In suits. And Mrs. Kang. And Mr. Kang. And Jae-hyun. In a suit. Black. Tailored. Hair combed. No more sweatpants. He looked like a different person. Cold. CEO. Mrs. Kang saw me. “Ah, Soo-jin. Perfect timing.” A lawyer stepped forward. “Miss Han, we need you as a witness.” “For what?” “For this.” He opened a folder. Inside: News articles. KW CONSTRUCTION CEO MISSING FOR 3 MONTHS COMPANY IN CRISIS BOARD DEMANDS ANSWERS My stomach dropped. The lawyer: “Mr. Kang Jae-hyun has been absent from the company. The board filed a case with the state. For negligence. Today is the hearing.” Jae-hyun finally looked at me. His eyes. Apologetic. Tired. “I’m sorry you had to find out like this.” Mrs. Kang: “We hired you because we needed someone the kids trusted. Someone he wouldn’t suspect. The state needed proof he was home. Not working.” I felt sick. “You used me?” “We protected him,” Mrs. Kang said. “He was burning out. He needed time with his kids. But the board wouldn’t allow it.” Jae-hyun stepped forward. “Soo-jin. I’m sorry. I didn’t plan for you to get involved. But you were... good. To them. To me.” The doorbell rang. Two men in suits. State investigators. “Mr. Kang Jae-hyun?” “Yes.” “You’re required at the state office. Now.” He looked at the kids. At me. “Will you watch them?” I nodded. Couldn’t speak. He left. In handcuffs? No. But like a criminal. The house went silent. Min-woo: “Auntie, where’s Daddy going?” I picked him up. “I don’t know, baby.” And that’s when I realized. The harmless man in sweatpants Was the CEO of a billion-dollar company. And I was the nanny who didn’t know. And the family who lied to me. 11:00 PM - That Night Mrs. Kang stayed. “Eat something.” “I’m not hungry.” “Soo-jin. He didn’t mean to deceive you. He just needed—” “Three months? You let me think he was unemployed?” She sighed. “He’s my son. Wouldn’t you lie to protect yours?” I didn’t answer. My phone buzzed. Unknown number. It’s me. Jae-hyun. I’m out. Can we talk? Not at the house. Tomorrow. 9 AM. Coffee shop near you. Please. I stared at it. CEO. Liar. Dad. The man who made pancakes in sweatpants And ran a company in a suit. What was I supposed to do? [End of Chapter 1] --- Writed by Omahcbeauty THE TWIST!! "Harmless" CEO was hiding from the board. And WE were part of the plan. Chapter 2 Preview: Coffee shop. Confrontation. "I wasn't pretending about you." And the state case gets WORSE.