ITLW 08

Chapter 8

Is It a Coincidence, and Not Fate?

………………Does the CEO not work these days?

“Hello, CEO!”

“It’s nice to see you again, Ms. Lee Dan-ah.”

Now they were even running into each other in the elevator?

Well, that could happen.

The elevator belonged to everyone who worked at the company, after all.

“Were you coming back from a meeting?”

“Yes! And what brings you, CEO………………”

Oops.

They had been running into each other so often that she had almost casually asked about the CEO’s business.

What an impertinent employee.

“The weather is nice today, CEO.”

“It’s raining.”

“R-Rain. I like rain. I like heavy rain, too. I even like hail, and rainy-day commutes are the best………………”

Dan-ah had never known she was this kind of person.

Was she really the sort of person who shamelessly flattered her superiors?

Could she really become this pathetic and servile?

Then, all of a sudden, a long arm reached toward her, as though he were about to pin her against the wall.

No way.

Was this where the story was going……………?

Thump, thump.

Her heart began pounding wildly.

But then—

“What floor?”

“Huh? The third floor, for a moment…….”

He pressed the button for her, then stepped back.

Oh.

Was she so flustered that she hadn’t even pressed the button herself?

“Good work.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you………………”

When the doors opened, the CEO stepped out of the elevator first.

Oh, seriously.

Sigh.

I’m so nervous I feel like I’m going to die before my time.

Dan-ah finally let out a breath of relief.

It seemed as though the CEO’s faint fragrance still lingered inside the elevator.

This is exhausting, CEO.

Please, let’s never run into each other again!

………………Or so she thought.

After that, they continued to run into each other.

While sitting in on meetings, in the rooftop garden, in the archives, and so on!

They kept meeting by coincidence.

And every time, she had no idea how many times she bowed and fawned over him.

Slumped over her office chair like a completely exhausted person, Dan-ah suddenly found herself puzzled.

What is this fatigue?

I’ve been seeing the CEO almost every day lately.

Why on earth is this happening?

No matter how she thought about it, there was no reason for an ordinary employee to keep encountering the CEO this often.

……………Could it be?

“That confession?”

Dan-ah peeked outside from inside the women’s restroom.

He’s not there, right?

He’s not there?

Surely she wasn’t going to run into the CEO even in the restroom.

And of all people, the CEO.

Still, the saying that the unexpected can get you into trouble hadn’t come from nowhere.

“What are you doing, Lee Dan-ah?”

“Ah! You scared me.”

Dan-ah flinched when Yoonseo whispered from behind her.

“Why aren’t you going to the conference room?”

“I am.”

Even as she said that, she didn’t take a single step forward, instead darting her eyes around.

She stuck her head out and cautiously sniffed the air.

At least there didn’t seem to be any trace of the CEO nearby.

She had gotten to the point where she could almost tell how close he was by his scent, but there was still no sign of him.

“Lee Dan-ah, aren’t you coming? I’m in charge of today’s meeting materials, so I need to get there quickly.”

Dan-ah grabbed Yoonseo as she was leaving the restroom.

“Hey. I think I might be imagining things, so could you pour some cold water over me?”

Yoonseo immediately turned on the faucet.

Dan-ah quickly stopped her.

“No, with words! Just pour cold water on me with words.”

“What is it?”

“……It’s about the CEO. I feel like I’ve been seeing him around me a lot lately.”

“Really? The CEO? So what? Is it because you like him so much?”

“I just wondered if it might have something to do with my confession……………….”

“What does your confession have to do with the CEO appearing around you so often?”

“Well, the CEO heard me confess, right? Maybe he’s bothered by my confession, so he keeps hanging around near me……………”

Pfft.

Yoonseo burst out laughing and quickly covered her mouth.

Dan-ah glared at her.

“I know. I know how ridiculous that sounds. But no matter how I think about it, isn’t it strange? I’d never even run into the CEO before, and now I’ve been seeing him constantly ever since that confession………………”

“So you’re saying the CEO heard your confession and became so, so interested in you that he’s been circling around you?

He doesn’t even like you, and he didn’t hear you confess directly. He just happened to overhear it, and now he’s coming around to see you?”

Now that Yoonseo put it that way, it really was absurd.

Why would that busy man—

No, why would someone as exalted as the king of heaven himself—

go wandering around the vicinity just to see someone as insignificant as her?

“He wouldn’t, right?”

“No. He wouldn’t. The CEO is getting married soon, after all.”

“Huh? Married?”

“He has a fiancée, remember? Baek Seorin of Dongyeon Group. They say she’s prettier than a celebrity in person. There are already rumors going around that they’ve set a wedding date. You didn’t know?”

“I’ve been too busy working to worry about whether the CEO has set a wedding date.”

“What are you talking about? The person you like is getting married, and you don’t care? Even though you like the CEO that much.”

“Huh? Oh, uh, right. That’s true. I like the CEO. He’s practically the only thing I can see………………”

At this point, should I actually start liking him for real?

She kept forgetting.

Should I stick a yellow memo on my desk or something?

Just as she was pondering that—

“………………I’m sorry.”

Yoonseo suddenly spoke with an extremely sympathetic expression.

“You like the CEO, but I can’t even say anything positive to you about it.”

“It’s okay. It’s not like I didn’t know the CEO was engaged.

If he’s engaged, of course he’ll get married. But when is the wedding?”

“They say in two or three months.”

So all of this really had been completely unfounded worry.

And a misunderstanding.

Of course.

There was no way the CEO had come to the company cafeteria, visited the break room, conducted department inspections, and deliberately arranged encounters just to see her.

Who was she, anyway?

She was embarrassed that she had even briefly worried that the CEO might have been bothered by that confession.

Besides, when she searched online for photos of Baek Seorin of Dongyeon Group, it became painfully obvious that such a thing was impossible.

A man who was going to marry a woman like that—

Had she really thought he was hanging around her?

And the CEO himself was ridiculously handsome.

She had actually thought a man like that had come looking for her?

“Haha. Lee Dan-ah, you really are something.”

Let’s not make ridiculous assumptions about a man who’s about to get married.

They really were a perfect match.

Blessings to both of you.

Dan-ah quietly applauded.

But then.

What were the odds of an ordinary employee running into the CEO on her way home from work?

“It’s a coincidence, Ms. Lee Dan-ah.”

………………Is it really?

We don’t even live in the same place, and we take different routes home.

At this point, isn’t this closer to fate than coincidence?

How am I supposed not to misunderstand when this keeps happening?

Of course I won’t misunderstand.

He said he’s getting married in three months.

A heavenly woman and a heavenly man.

“Hello, CEO!”

She greeted him brightly.

“Even though it’s quitting time, you still seem full of energy. Get in. I’ll give you a ride.”

“What? No, no. It would be a bother. I’m fine.”

“What if it’s not a bother? It’s fine, so get in. I’m not the one driving, anyway.”

He opened the car door for her himself.

“Uh……………”

Her gaze naturally drifted toward his car.

It was black, glossy, and unmistakably luxurious………………

A Mercedes-Benz Maybach S-Class!

Priced at roughly 300 to 400 million won.

The highest-end line of the Benz S-Class, the pinnacle of luxury.

Equipped with either a V8 4.0-liter twin-turbo engine or a V12 6.0-liter engine. With a zero-to-sixty acceleration time in the four-to-five-second range, it possessed sports-car-level acceleration despite being a full-sized sedan.

And the interior?

Wood trim, premium Nappa leather, and massage seats.

A smooth ride that felt like ‘floating above the clouds.’

Soundproofing so thorough that the silence itself was almost tangible.

The chances of her ever riding in a car like this in her lifetime were probably lower than the chances of the CEO actually chasing after her.

“Then I’d appreciate it if you could drop me off somewhere along your route.”

Dan-ah quickly climbed into the car.

The moment her insignificant self entered such a precious vehicle, she instinctively became extremely polite.

Silence filled the car.

It really was a good car.

She could barely even feel that she was inside a vehicle.

It wasn’t merely quiet.

It was almost awkwardly silent.

Would it seem rude if she just sat there quietly?

Should she say something?

“Ms. Lee Dan-ah, is there someone you’re having dinner with tonight?”

She was too slow.

The CEO had actually initiated small talk.

Is this how you’re going to handle your career, Lee Dan-ah?

“No. My company is far from my family home, so I live by myself.”

“Same here.”

“Oh. You live by yourself too, CEO.”

It wasn’t exactly wrong, but somehow the phrase live by myself sounded strangely inappropriate coming out of her mouth in front of him.

Apparently he thought so too, because he suddenly gave a small chuckle.

Haha.

Dan-ah offered an awkward smile of her own.

“Ms. Lee Dan-ah.”

“Yes.”

“Would you like to have dinner with me before you go home?”

“Ah, yes, yes!”

Huh?

Employee Lee Dan-ah had instinctively answered before she could even think.