Kang Jisung

28 years old.

CEO of the biggest tech company in Korea: JS Group.

Cold. Untouchable. Perfectionist.

He hates:

being late

loud people

unnecessary conversations

physical touch

Employees are terrified of him.

One glare from him is enough to make managers cry.

Rumors say he once fired someone for yawning during a meeting.

No one has ever seen him smile.

Lee Hyunwoo

24 years old.

Jisung’s newly assigned personal secretary.

Friendly. Clumsy. Talkative. Loved by everyone.

He remembers every employee’s birthday, brings snacks to meetings, and somehow makes even interns laugh.

Completely opposite of Kang Jisung.

Which is probably why Jisung already dislikes him.

Nobody liked the top floor.

Not because it was quiet.

Not because it looked expensive enough to make employees nervous about breathing near anything.

But because Kang Jisung worked there.

Even the elevator ride up felt stressful.

People fixed their posture before the doors opened. Some checked their reflection. Others mentally rehearsed apologies for mistakes they hadn’t even made yet.

The executive floor operated differently from the rest of the company.

Phones stayed on silent.

Conversations stayed short.

Laughter barely existed.

And in the center of it all—

Kang Jisung.

Twenty-eight years old. CEO of JS Group. Cold enough to make grown men sweat during meetings.

People feared him for good reason.

He fired incompetent employees without hesitation.

He once made a senior manager redo an entire presentation because one slide was misaligned.

And according to office rumors, he’d walked out of a company dinner because someone tried touching his shoulder while laughing.

Nobody knew if the rumor was true.

But honestly?

It sounded believable.

Which was why the executive floor nearly stopped functioning the moment Lee Hyunwoo walked out of the elevator smiling.

Actually smiling.

Like he hadn’t unknowingly stepped into the most terrifying department in the entire company.

“Good morning!”

Several employees looked up at once.

Hyunwoo stood there with messy black hair, slightly wrinkled clothes, and two trays of coffee balanced in his hands.

He looked completely harmless.

The exact opposite of what belonged on this floor.

“Oh no,” Minji whispered immediately.

Jaeho looked genuinely concerned. “That’s the new secretary?”

“I think so.”

“He’s smiling too much.”

“He’s going to die.”

Hyunwoo blinked at the reactions. “Uh… should I not smile here?”

Nobody answered.

Which honestly answered enough.

He laughed awkwardly. “Wow. Tough crowd.”

Minji hurried toward him before anyone else could say something worse.

“You’re Lee Hyunwoo, right?”

“Yep!” He handed her a coffee immediately. “I got extra because I didn’t know what people liked.”

She stared at the drink.

Nobody had ever brought coffee for the executive floor before.

Mostly because everyone here was too stressed to think about kindness.

“You’re… really working for CEO Kang?”

“That’s what the contract says.” Hyunwoo grinned.

The surrounding employees exchanged looks filled with pity.

Poor thing.

He had no idea.

“You should go upstairs quickly,” Minji warned quietly. “Before he notices.”

Hyunwoo checked the time on his phone.

8:47 AM.

“…I’m early though.”

Jaeho nearly choked.

“Early?” he repeated.

“Yeah?”

“CEO Kang arrives at 8:30 every day.”

“…Oh.”

“Actually,” Sumin added, “he expects his secretary there before him.”

Hyunwoo stared blankly for a second.

Then sighed dramatically.

“So basically I’m already unemployed.”

A few employees accidentally laughed.

Immediately afterward, everyone looked nervous about laughing on this floor.

Hyunwoo noticed.

And smiled softer this time.

“It’s okay,” he reassured them. “He can’t be that scary.”

The silence afterward was deafening.

—

The walk to the CEO’s office suddenly felt much longer.

Hyunwoo adjusted his tie nervously while staring at the large black doors in front of him.

He could still hear the employees downstairs saying poor guy in their heads.

That was never comforting.

He knocked carefully.

“Enter.”

Low voice.

Cold voice.

Definitely scary voice.

Hyunwoo pushed the door open slowly—

—and nearly forgot how to breathe.

The office looked enormous.

Dark wood shelves lined the walls. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city skyline. Everything looked clean, sharp, untouched.

Not a single thing out of place.

Including the man sitting behind the desk.

Kang Jisung didn’t look humanly perfect.

People shouldn’t look like that in real life.

Black suit.

Silver watch.

Sharp eyes focused on documents spread across his desk.

He didn’t even glance up immediately.

Which somehow felt scarier.

“Good morning, sir,” Hyunwoo greeted politely.

Silence.

Papers flipped.

Keyboard clicking.

Then finally—

“You’re late.”

Straight to the point.

Hyunwoo blinked. “It’s 8:48.”

“You were expected at 8:40.”

“…Right.”

No greeting.

No introduction.

Not even eye contact yet.

Just criticism.

Hyunwoo suddenly understood why the turnover rate for personal secretaries was terrifyingly high.

Still, he walked forward carefully and placed a coffee cup near the desk.

“I brought coffee.”

Jisung’s gaze finally lifted.

And wow.

Those eyes were brutal.

Sharp enough to make most people immediately apologize for existing.

“I don’t drink sweet coffee,” Jisung said coldly.

“It’s not sweet.”

“You don’t know my order.”

“It’s vanilla latte with one extra espresso shot.”

Silence.

For the first time, Jisung actually looked at him properly.

“…Who told you that?”

Hyunwoo shrugged casually. “The café downstairs.”

“You asked about me?”

“Well, yeah.” He smiled lightly. “I’m your secretary.”

That answer should not have affected him.

It absolutely should not have.

Yet something about Hyunwoo saying it so naturally made Jisung pause for half a second longer than usual.

Annoying.

Very annoying.

Jisung looked away first.

“Your tie is crooked.”

Hyunwoo immediately fixed it. “Sorry.”

“You were also talking loudly outside.”

“…Sorry.”

“You touched items on my desk.”

“I was moving the files into order.”

“I already had them organized.”

“…Sorry.”

Every sentence came out cold. Sharp. Distant.

Most employees would’ve been sweating by now.

Some cried.

One previous secretary had actually fainted during their first week.

But Hyunwoo only nodded each time without looking offended.

No fake nervousness.

No desperate attempts to please him.

Just calm acceptance.

It irritated Jisung for reasons he couldn’t explain.

“Sit,” he ordered shortly.

Hyunwoo sat immediately.

Then accidentally rolled slightly too far back in the chair because the wheels were too smooth.

He grabbed the desk to stop himself.

Jisung’s expression darkened instantly.

“Don’t touch my desk.”

Hyunwoo pulled his hand back so fast he nearly fell again.

“Right. Sorry.”

Silence filled the office.

The uncomfortable kind.

But Hyunwoo couldn’t help staring slightly.

Kang Jisung was honestly unfairly handsome.

Not soft handsome.

Dangerous handsome.

The kind that looked expensive and impossible to approach.

Even his hands looked intimidating.

Long fingers.

Perfectly straight posture.

Everything about him screamed control.

Meanwhile Hyunwoo had already almost fallen out of a chair in the first five minutes.

“…Why are you staring?”

Oops.

Hyunwoo smiled awkwardly. “Sorry. You’re just younger than I expected.”

“I’m twenty-eight.”

“That’s young for a CEO.”

“That’s irrelevant.”

“True.”

Another silence.

Jisung narrowed his eyes slightly.

Normally conversations with employees felt exhausting.

Everyone filtered themselves too much around him.

Too careful.

Too fake.

But this secretary talked naturally.

Like he wasn’t scared.

Which made absolutely no sense.

“You talk too much,” Jisung said.

“That’s what my friends say too.”

“I’m not your friend.”

“I know.”

Again—

No hesitation.

No awkward panic.

Just honest acceptance.

Jisung suddenly found himself unable to predict this person at all.

And he hated unpredictability.

“Your responsibilities,” he started coldly, “include organizing my schedule, managing meetings, handling calls, and ensuring there are no disruptions during work hours.”

Hyunwoo nodded seriously now.

“No unnecessary mistakes.”

“Understood.”

“No emotional behavior.”

“…What counts as emotional behavior?”

“Crying.”

Hyunwoo blinked.

“…Has that happened before?”

Jisung looked back at his documents.

“Yes.”

“…Oh.”

“That will not happen again.”

Something about the way he said it sounded less like confidence and more like a threat.

Hyunwoo swallowed slightly.

Okay.

Maybe everyone downstairs had been right.

This man was terrifying.

Then suddenly—

Growl.

Silence.

Both men froze.

Hyunwoo’s face slowly turned red.

His stomach had just growled loudly enough to echo in the office.

Jisung looked up slowly.

“…Did your stomach just interrupt me?”

“I skipped breakfast.”

“Why?”

“I was late.”

“You were not late.”

“I thought I was.”

Jisung stared at him for a long moment.

Then, unexpectedly—

“…Eat before work tomorrow.”

Hyunwoo blinked in surprise.

The concern disappeared immediately afterward.

“Low blood sugar decreases productivity.”

Ah.

There it was.

Back to terrifying CEO.

Still…

For half a second, Hyunwoo thought maybe Kang Jisung wasn’t completely heartless after all.

By Hyunwoo’s third day working at JS Group, he realized something important.

Nobody breathed normally around Kang Jisung.

Not managers.

Not directors.

Not even executives twice his age.

The entire company moved according to the CEO’s mood like their lives depended on it.

Which honestly?

Maybe they did.

“CEO Kang rejected the marketing proposal.”

The office instantly became tense.

“Again?”

“He said the font looked unserious.”

“…It was Arial.”

Meanwhile, at the center of the chaos—

Hyunwoo sat at his desk eating strawberry yogurt while answering emails.

Minji stared at him in disbelief.

“How are you still alive?”

Hyunwoo looked up innocently. “Hm?”

“It’s been three days.”

“Okay?”

“Nobody survives three days without crying.”

“I almost cried yesterday.”

Minji gasped. “Really?”

“The printer jammed.”

“…Oh.”

He smiled.

She looked exhausted already.

Honestly, Hyunwoo didn’t think Kang Jisung was as horrible as everyone made him sound.

Yes, he was terrifying.

Yes, he stared at people like he was calculating whether they were worth keeping employed.

And yes, his personality genuinely needed sunlight.

But—

He wasn’t unfair.

That was the strange part.

Cold?

Absolutely.

Demanding?

Painfully.

But every correction had logic behind it.

Every expectation made sense.

Even his strictness felt precise instead of cruel.

Still scary though.

Very scary.

As if summoned by fear itself, the CEO’s office door suddenly opened.

The entire floor straightened immediately.

Kang Jisung stepped out wearing a black suit sharp enough to kill someone psychologically.

“Meeting room. Five minutes.”

That was all he said.

Then his eyes landed on Hyunwoo.

Briefly.

One second at most.

Yet somehow the atmosphere changed instantly.

“You’re chewing loudly.”

Hyunwoo froze mid-bite.

“…Sorry.”

“Finish eating before entering meetings.”

“Yes, sir.”

Jisung walked away.

Silence covered the office for exactly three seconds before everyone turned toward Hyunwoo in shock.

“You just apologized to him normally,” Jaeho whispered.

“…Should I not?”

“Usually people panic first.”

Hyunwoo blinked slowly.

“…You all work in fear.”

“We work in survival.”

—

The executive meeting room felt painfully tense.

Directors organized papers nervously while waiting for Kang Jisung to arrive.

Hyunwoo sat near the end of the table, quietly preparing schedules and documents.

He noticed something quickly.

Nobody spoke casually around the CEO.

Not even small talk.

The room stayed silent until the door opened.

Kang Jisung entered exactly on time.

Not one second early.

Not one second late.

The meeting started immediately.

And honestly?

Watching him work was kind of insane.

He noticed everything.

Every mistake.

Every inconsistency.

Every weak explanation.

“Your projected numbers don’t match last quarter’s reports.”

The director visibly paled.

“I—”

“Page seven,” Jisung said coldly. “Third graph.”

Everyone scrambled through papers.

He was right.

Of course he was right.

“You prepared this presentation for three weeks,” Jisung continued calmly. “Yet my secretary noticed the error in under four minutes.”

The room went silent.

Every head slowly turned toward Hyunwoo.

Hyunwoo nearly dropped his pen.

“…Me?”

Jisung looked at him briefly. “You circled the numbers earlier.”

“Oh.”

Right.

He did do that.

He thought it was just a typo.

The director looked seconds away from fainting.

Hyunwoo suddenly felt bad.

“…It was probably just stress,” he offered carefully.

Jisung’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“You’re defending him?”

Hyunwoo blinked. “Should I not?”

The director looked emotional enough to cry.

Meanwhile, several employees silently prayed for Hyunwoo’s safety.

Nobody interrupted Kang Jisung during meetings.

Nobody softened his criticism.

Yet somehow this secretary kept doing exactly that without fear.

Strangely—

Jisung didn’t tell him to stop.

—

After the meeting ended, employees escaped the room like survivors leaving a disaster zone.

Hyunwoo stayed behind organizing documents.

“You shouldn’t defend mistakes.”

Hyunwoo looked up.

Jisung stood beside the table reviewing files.

Still calm.

Still cold.

Still unfairly attractive for someone with the emotional warmth of winter.

“He looked nervous,” Hyunwoo replied honestly.

“Nervous employees make careless employees.”

“People usually make more mistakes when they’re scared.”

Silence.

Jisung slowly looked at him.

Most employees agreed with him immediately.

Not because they believed him.

Because they feared him.

But Hyunwoo spoke naturally.

Honestly.

Like he forgot who he was talking to half the time.

“That mindset decreases efficiency,” Jisung said.

“Maybe.”

“You disagree?”

“A little.”

The room suddenly felt quieter.

More dangerous somehow.

Hyunwoo realized too late that disagreeing with the CEO of a billion-dollar company was maybe not the smartest career decision.

“…Respectfully,” he added quickly.

Jisung stared at him for a long moment.

Then unexpectedly—

“Interesting.”

That was it.

No anger.

No warning.

Just one word before he walked out.

Hyunwoo stood there blinking in confusion.

What did that mean?

—

Later that afternoon, Hyunwoo made another discovery.

Kang Jisung absolutely hated physical contact.

Not disliked.

Hated.

It happened accidentally.

The executive floor became crowded after lunch, employees rushing between offices carrying files and laptops.

Hyunwoo turned a corner too quickly—

—and bumped directly into Jisung.

Not hard.

Barely a shoulder touch.

But the reaction was immediate.

Jisung stepped back sharply.

Expression darkening instantly.

The surrounding employees froze in horror.

One assistant literally covered her mouth.

Hyunwoo realized what happened a second too late.

“Oh— sorry.”

Jisung’s jaw tightened.

His posture looked rigid now.

Tense.

Like even brief contact genuinely bothered him.

Hyunwoo immediately stepped back further. “I didn’t mean to—”

“Watch where you’re going.”

Cold voice.

Sharper than usual.

The atmosphere turned uncomfortable instantly.

Everyone nearby lowered their heads.

Nobody moved.

Hyunwoo felt guilty immediately.

“Sorry, sir.”

Jisung didn’t answer.

He simply walked away.

The second he disappeared around the hallway corner, the employees collectively exhaled.

“…You touched him,” Minji whispered like Hyunwoo had survived a near-death experience.

“I know.”

“Nobody touches him.”

“It was an accident.”

Jaeho leaned closer dramatically. “Last year a manager grabbed his arm during an argument.”

“…And?”

“He got transferred to another country.”

Hyunwoo stared.

“…That sounds illegal.”

“No, that sounds like CEO Kang.”

Still…

Something about the earlier moment bothered him.

Not because Jisung got angry.

That part made sense.

But for half a second—

Right after the accidental touch—

Jisung looked almost panicked.

Not angry.

Panicked.

Like physical contact genuinely unsettled him.

Which felt strangely sad.

—

That evening, most employees had already left the office.

Except Kang Jisung.

Of course.

The lights in his office still glowed against the dark city skyline outside.

Meanwhile, Hyunwoo sat at his desk finishing tomorrow’s schedules while quietly eating convenience store ramen.

Executive floor dinner.

Very glamorous.

He was halfway through eating when the CEO’s office door opened suddenly.

Hyunwoo looked up quickly.

Jisung stepped out.

His gaze immediately landed on the ramen cup.

Then on Hyunwoo.

“…That’s your dinner?”

Hyunwoo looked down at the noodles. “Uh. Yeah?”

“You’re still working.”

“So are you.”

Silence.

Nobody usually answered him like that.

Not rudely.

Just naturally.

Like equals having a conversation.

It should’ve irritated him.

Instead—

“…That food has no nutritional value.”

Hyunwoo blinked.

Was that concern?

No.

Impossible.

“You told me to eat before work,” Hyunwoo pointed out carefully. “You didn’t say anything about after.”

Jisung stared at him.

Then, unexpectedly—

Very quietly—

“…Idiot.”

And for some reason—

It didn’t sound mean at all.