Even though Yeon Yiseo worked in the secretary’s office, unlike at Dymine, he only knew a general outline of the schedule. Since Alexander had said so himself, there was nothing more he could say.
“Then… would 2 p.m. work for you?”
“Two in the afternoon. I’ll keep it in mind.”
Alexander nodded in response. Just then, the elevator arrived. Since it was the end of the workday, quite a few people were already inside. Not a word was exchanged between them as they rode it down.
Ding. The elevator announced its arrival on the first floor. Some people pushed through the crowd to step out, and among them was Yeon Yiseo.
“Get home safe.”
“Yes, you too, CEO.”
Through the crowd of people getting off, Alexander gave him a parting word. His tone felt a bit cold, but it wasn’t anything particularly strange.
Yeon Yiseo reminded himself that he’d see Alexander again over the weekend. It was quite the coincidence that they could now meet separately like this, but even that was simply the result of pure chance. A chance made possible thanks to Alexander’s consideration. He ought to be grateful for it.
As he left the building, Yeon Yiseo recalled what Seo Eunwoo had said—that Ethan had been acting strange. What exactly had changed for Eunwoo to say something like that? He hesitated, unsure whether he should ask, but eventually decided to call Natalie.
“Hello, Natalie?”
—Ah, Yiseo…! Wow, it’s so good to hear your voice. If I’d gotten this call in a better moment, I swear I would’ve screamed in delight.
That tone of hers was familiar. Natalie tended to fall back on humor, especially when she was totally worn out. Judging by that, she was probably still at work.
“You’re still at the office?”
—Sure am. I just love my job and this company so much.
Yeon Yiseo gave a wry smile at her dramatic tone. It must’ve been an especially rough day.
“Should I call back another time?”
—No, no. Ugh… I need to shove these damn papers out of the way anyway.
As she let out a deep sigh, he heard the sound of a file folder being tossed aside. It seemed she was using his call as an excuse to take a short break.
“What’s got you so worn out today?”
—Oh, you know, the usual. The new hire… mm, they’ll need some time to get the hang of things. But it’s fine. That’s part of my job too. Even if I have to explain something five times and they still mess it up, it’s… still fine. Frustrating as hell, but I’m just hoping they’ll get better. And our dear CEO—haven’t seen him in days. Only talking over the phone lately.
She clearly had a lot on her plate. Sounded like they’d hired a new assistant, but they weren’t at their desk—probably gone for the day. If they were still there, Natalie wouldn’t be venting about them to Yeon Yiseo like this. After rattling off her complaints like a machine gun, Natalie let out another sigh.
—I finally get to talk to you again and here I am just ranting. Sorry about that.
“It’s okay, Natalie. Anything else bugging you?”
—Hugo Cruz. That man.
“Hugo Cruz? The Hollywood actor?”
The name caught him completely off guard.
—He’s being considered as our next ad model and—ugh…
A heavy, unreadable sigh slipped from Natalie.
—I’ve reviewed plenty of celebrity contracts before, but if I had to name the most high-maintenance one, it’s him. No contest.
She sounded completely fed up. He could practically hear her grinding her teeth.
—That’s why the CEO isn’t coming in either. Apparently, Hugo insists he’ll only discuss the contract with the CEO directly. And with how insanely popular he is right now, well… what can we do? Ethan cleared his entire schedule for today.
“His entire day?”
Yeon Yiseo asked, surprised, and Natalie let out a sigh as she confirmed it. Suddenly, everything she’d said from the moment she answered the call made sense.
Ethan’s schedule had been finalized months in advance. Sure, adjustments were made when urgent matters came up, but blocking out hours—or an entire day—for something meant everything else had to be pushed around. Just imagining the effort that took made Yeon Yiseo’s head hurt, even though it wasn’t his job anymore.
—Hound is launching a similar campaign, right? And Hugo’s never done an ad before. So if we land him for this one, the Hugo Cruz’s first-ever commercial—yeah, you can bet that’ll make waves. That’s probably why the CEO’s giving this his all.
So Ethan was staying away from the office because of Hugo. But Natalie’s comment threw him off. From the way she described Hugo, you’d think he was the most arrogant man on Earth. But when Yeon Yiseo had met him, hadn’t he talked about humility?
In Don’t Look for the Sickly Villain, Hugo had been written as someone with an outwardly confident presence but deep insecurities about everything except his looks. Apparently, the real-life version was a little different. It was hard to reconcile the man Natalie was talking about with the one Yeon Yiseo had met in person.
“I see. Is your overtime tonight also because of him…?”
—Well, not just because of him. You know how it is, Yiseo.
“Yeah.”
He let out a dry chuckle.
—Well, sadly, my little break’s over. Thanks for calling.
“It’s nothing. It wasn’t even important.”
—No, it helped a lot. Let’s grab a meal sometime soon. Once this is over, I’m taking at least half a day off. You are eating with me then. Got it?
She sounded half-playful, half-threatening. Yeon Yiseo promised he would, then ended the call. If he hadn’t transferred to Scott Industries, he would’ve been smack in the middle of that chaos. The thought made him feel unexpectedly thankful for his current situation.
If Ethan was that busy, then Sirius would be too. Seo Eunwoo probably wasn’t aware of any of this. Yeon Yiseo sent him a quick text to let him know, then went back to the call log to check the missed number from earlier.
Who would be calling him at this hour? He hit the call button and waited for the other person to answer.
—Hello?
“Hi. I saw I missed a call from this number a little while ago.”
—Ah. …Ahaha. Wow.
A soft, cheerful laugh came from the man on the other end. Yeon Yiseo waited, still unsure who it was.
—Hello, Yeon Yiseo. This is Hugo Cruz.
“…Ah!”
Yeon Yiseo’s jaw dropped. Of all people to be talking to right now—especially right after Natalie had just brought him up—it was surreal. An almost unbelievable coincidence.
—You hadn’t returned my call, so I did a little digging to find your number. I’m sorry for that.
Hugo sounded genuinely apologetic. Of course, as a professional actor, he could easily fake that sort of emotion. Still, the fact that he hadn’t just let it go and actually offered an apology—however formal—was enough for Yeon Yiseo to forgive it.
“I see. I’m sorry I didn’t reach out. Things have been hectic lately.”
—No need to apologize. I heard you changed jobs—makes total sense. I actually met with your Director hoping I’d run into you, but I only found out later that you’d left Dymine. To be honest, I was a little disheartened when you didn’t answer. I was feeling pretty confident about it, too.
So Hugo had intentionally arranged a meeting with Ethan just for the chance to see Yiseo. That was surprising. In the game, he hadn’t been the bold type—more of a romantic fatalist. But then again, this wasn’t the game. Reality had its own version of Hugo Cruz.
—I was wondering if you’d have time to grab a meal with me.
Yeon Yiseo rolled his eyes. Sure, agreeing to a meal might trigger a favorable affection level check, but what was the worst that could happen from having one meal?
More than anything, he just wanted to help. Even unintentionally, he’d contributed to Natalie’s overtime and felt guilty about it. And on top of that, he wasn’t feeling entirely comfortable around Ethan these days.
“Sure. That sounds good.”
—…Wow. That’s a relief. You might not believe this, but I’m really happy right now. I know it’s sudden, but I’d love to set the date right away.
Yeon Yiseo couldn’t object. After all, he had promised to call back before and never did.
—How about this weekend?
Of all times, he had to mention this weekend. Saturday was already booked with Alexander, but Sunday was still free.
“Sunday works for me.”
