HERS
A black Rolls-Royce stopped in front of the towering glass building.
Men in black suits hurried toward the car, nervously opening the door.
“What took you so long?” she snapped the moment she stepped out.
The manager visibly trembled before quickly handing her favorite black coffee to her.
As she sipped it, he rushed through her schedule beside her.
THUD. THUD.
The sharp sound of her heels echoed through the office corridors.
Every employee immediately stood up.
Some out of respect.
Most out of fear.The employees feared her.
One glance from her was enough to destroy a career people had spent years building.
The moment she entered her private office, the entire floor released quiet sighs of relief.
But not everyone was lucky today.
“Ms. Daian has called Mr. Kim to her office.”
The secretary’s announcement instantly drained the color from his face.
Mr. Kim hurried toward the office, panic tightening in his chest with every step.
As soon as he stood face-to-face with Ms. Daian, fear completely consumed him.
Getting fired was the least terrifying thing she could do.Pure silence filled the office.
Mr. Kim could hear nothing except the terrifying sound of his own heartbeat.
Ms. Daian calmly looked through the documents in front of her before finally speaking.
“What is the progress of today’s presentation?”
Her cold voice made him tense immediately.
“M-Ma’am, everything is ready,” Mr. Kim answered nervously. “My team is prepared. We were waiting for your approval to begin the presentation.”
Before he could say anything else, Ms. Daian’s secretary quickly stepped forward and began explaining her schedule for the day.
“You have a one-hour opening before the investor meeting, ma’am.”
Ms. Daian closed the file in her hands.
“Good,” she said coldly.
Then she lifted her eyes toward Mr. Kim.
“Present it now.”Pure silence filled the office.
Mr. Kim could hear nothing except the terrifying sound of his own heartbeat.
Ms. Daian calmly looked through the documents in front of her before finally speaking.
“What is the progress of today’s presentation?”
Her cold voice made him tense immediately.
“M-Ma’am, everything is ready,” Mr. Kim answered nervously. “My team is prepared. We were waiting for your approval to begin the presentation.”
Before he could say anything else, Ms. Dian’s secretary quickly stepped forward and began explaining her schedule for the day.
“You have a one-hour opening before the investor meeting, ma’am.”
Ms. Daian closed the file in her hands.
“Good,” she said coldly.
Then she lifted her eyes toward Mr. Kim.
“Present it now.”Despite Mr. Kim’s desperate pleas, Ms. Dian showed no mercy.
“You’re fired.”
Her voice remained cold and emotionless.
Before anyone could react, security was ordered to escort Mr. Kim out of the office.
The entire floor fell silent as he walked away in humiliation.
After an exhausting day, Ms. Daian finally returned home.
For the first time since morning, the mansion felt quiet.
She loosened the collar of her shirt and sat down on the couch, closing her eyes briefly.
But something felt strange.
Uncomfortable.
Guilt slowly crept into her chest.
“Why do I feel like this after firing Mr. Kim today...?”
She frowned at her own thoughts.
Feelings were meaningless to her.
So why couldn’t she stop thinking about him?
Without realizing it, she picked up her phone and called him.
The call connected almost immediately.
“Mr. Kim,” she said calmly, hiding the strange emotions in her voice. “Return to the office tomorrow.”
For a moment, there was only silence on the other end.
“T-Thank you, ma’am,” he replied shakily. “I’m very sorry for disappointing you today.”
Ms. Daian stayed silent for a few seconds before ending the call.
But even after the screen went dark—
She still couldn’t stop thinking about him.Strange feelings slowly began growing inside Ms. Dian.
Feelings she had never experienced before.
For the first time in years, someone remained in her thoughts long after work ended.
The next morning, the office atmosphere became tense the moment Ms. Daian arrived.
Employees immediately stood up as usual.
But today—
Something was different.
The moment her eyes landed on Mr. Kim, her cold expression softened ever so slightly.
She gave him a small nod.
The entire office froze in shock.
Did Ms. Daian just acknowledge someone voluntarily?
Whispers quietly spread among the employees.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kim stood there silently, equally surprised by her unusual behavior.
A few moments later, the secretary approached him nervously.
“Mr. Kim, Ms. Daian is calling you to her office.”
Within five minutes, Mr. Kim stood inside her office once again.
This time, however, the atmosphere felt strangely less terrifying.
Ms. Daian looked through several documents before finally speaking.
“I’ll give you a second chance to present the project.”
Mr. Kim immediately lifted his head in surprise.
“Use this opportunity properly,” she continued coldly. “Tomorrow at ten o’clock, you and your team will present the product again.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Mr. Kim replied quickly.
But before leaving, he glanced at her once more.
Because for the first time—
Ms. Daian’s eyes no longer looked completely emotionless.As an apology, Ms. Dian invited Mr. Kim to lunch.
The news alone was enough to shock the entire office.
Nobody had ever been invited by Ms. Dian personally before.
The restaurant was quiet and elegant, filled with soft music and dim golden lights.
At first, the atmosphere between them felt awkward.
But surprisingly, Ms. Dian was the one who started the conversation.
“So,” she asked while taking a sip of her coffee, “what do you usually do outside of work?”
Mr. Kim looked slightly surprised by the question.
“Hobbies?” he asked carefully.
Ms. Dian nodded.
As he slowly began talking about himself, the tension between them unexpectedly faded.
Soon, their conversation became lighter.
Then funnier.
For the first time, Mr. Kim heard Ms. Dian laugh softly.
And for a moment—
He forgot she was the terrifying woman everyone feared.
But throughout the conversation, his attention kept drifting toward her lips.
Soft.
Red.
Dangerously distracting.
Every time she spoke, his eyes unconsciously followed the movement of her lips.
As if he were becoming addicted to watching them.
Ms. Dian eventually noticed his staring.
“What?” she asked calmly.
Mr. Kim immediately looked away, his heartbeat quickening.
“Nothing, ma’am.”
But deep inside—
He knew it was becoming harder to look at anything else.When Mr. Kim asked about Ms. Daian’s hobbies, he didn’t expect her answer.
“Painting,” she said simply.
He froze for a moment.
It was the same hobby he secretly loved.
The conversation shifted further when they discovered something even more unexpected—
Ms. Daian was his senior from school.
That realization changed something between them.
Not loudly.
But quietly, in the way they looked at each other afterward.
In the days that followed, Ms. Daian began spending more time in the office than usual.
And somehow, Mr. Kim always found reasons to stay longer too.
Soon, the entire office noticed the change.
Whispers spread quickly.
“Ms. Daian… and Mr. Kim?”
The idea alone made people uneasy.
Their relationship felt too strange. Too unpredictable.
But neither of them seemed to care.
Outside the office, Mr. Kim began preparing small things carefully.
A meal he thought she might like.
A bouquet he picked himself, choosing every flower with quiet attention.
And every time they met—
Something unspoken grew between them.
Something neither of them fully understood yet.That evening, Mr. Kim’s phone rang.
It was his father.
“Son, how are you doing?” his father’s voice came through, calm but firm.
“I’m doing fine, Appa,” Mr. Kim replied softly. “How are you? It’s been a month since I saw you.”
There was a short pause on the other end.
Then a message notification appeared on his screen.
His expression changed instantly.
It was from his father.
Your mother’s condition is not good.Mr. Kim requested four days of sick leave and left the office the same day.
When he reached his home, he rushed inside without wasting a second.
“Omma!”
His mother turned toward him, surprised.
“I’m fine, my dear,” she said softly. “How are you? Your father said you haven’t been taking care of yourself.”
“I’m okay,” Mr. Kim replied quickly, forcing a small smile. “You should rest. I’ll come back later. I’m a little tired.”
After spending a short while with her, he slowly returned to his room.
The moment he closed the door behind him, the silence felt heavier.
He leaned back against it for a moment, eyes closed.
Then he turned around.
On the other side of that elegant door—
were photographs of Ms. Daian. In the quiet of her office, Ms. Daian noticed something unusual.
Mr. Kim wasn’t there.
The silence felt different today.
Without fully understanding why, she unlocked her phone and typed a message.
Hello.
On the other side, Mr. Kim’s phone lit up.
A slow smile formed on his face the moment he saw her name.
For a moment, he just stared at it.
As if it meant more than it should.
He went to take a shower, but even under the falling water, his thoughts stayed elsewhere.
Her message lingered in his mind longer than it should have.
When he finally stepped out, he dried his hair, sat down, and only then replied.
Calmly.
Carefully.
As if he had been waiting for the right moment to answer her.
