By the time Kang Hye-rin finished her proposal, exhaustion clung to her like a second skin. She'd spent the entire night hunched over her laptop, rewriting sentences until her vision blurred. Her hands trembled slightly as she placed the printed file on Lee Joon-hyuk's desk.
He didn't look up right away. Just flipped through the pages, each turn of paper louder than it should've been in the quiet office. His face gave away nothing — no approval, no disapproval, just that infuriating calm she'd grown to despise.
Finally, he closed the folder. "You met the deadline."
"That's all?" The words came out sharper than she meant.
He glanced up, one brow arching. "Do you want applause?"
Her chest tightened. "No. Just… acknowledgment."
For a moment, silence. Then, so faintly she almost thought she imagined it, his lips curved — not into a real smile, but something dangerously close. "You've improved."
Her heart stuttered, betraying her. The warmth of those two simple words lingered far longer than they should have. But before she could reply, he pushed the folder aside, his voice turning back to ice. "Get back to work."
Just like that, the moment vanished.
She turned and walked out, frustration biting at her throat. It was always the same — he'd open a door with a single word, then slam it shut before she could step through.
Her thoughts were still tangled when she nearly collided with someone in the hallway.
"Whoa, easy there."
A steady hand caught her shoulder. She looked up and found Choi Min-jae's warm eyes studying her with quiet concern.
"You look exhausted," he said lightly. "Are they working you too hard already?"
She laughed weakly. "Something like that."
Without a word, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small can of coffee. "Here. It's nothing fancy, but it helps."
She hesitated, then accepted it, her fingers brushing his briefly. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it," he said with that effortless smile that seemed to light up the room around him.
As he walked away, she stared down at the can in her hand. Joon-hyuk's cold acknowledgment still echoed in her chest — but it was Min-jae's quiet kindness that somehow warmed it.
And that was the part that scared her most.