"Don't make eye contact with him."

That was the first thing I heard on my first day at Kang Group.

I glanced at the employee beside me.

"What?"

"The CEO."

The woman lowered her voice.

"If you value your job, stay out of his way."

A nervous laugh spread through the elevator.

Nobody looked amused.

Everyone looked terrified.

The elevator stopped.

The doors opened.

And suddenly, the entire floor fell silent.

Employees who had been chatting moments ago lowered their heads.

A few even stepped aside.

As if a king had arrived.

Or a monster.

I looked up.

A tall man walked through the hallway.

Black suit.

Sharp features.

Cold eyes.

His expression was unreadable.

Noah Kang.

The CEO.

The man I had spent three years trying to get close to.

The man connected to my brother's death.

My hands clenched.

Three years ago, my brother had worked for him.

Three years ago, my brother was found dead.

The case was closed within weeks.

Suicide.

At least that's what they called it.

I never believed it.

And today, I was finally inside the company.

One step closer to the truth.

Noah walked past the employees without a single glance.

His presence alone was enough to silence an entire room.

Then it happened.

He stopped.

My heart skipped.

Slowly, he turned his head.

His eyes landed on me.

For a second, nobody moved.

Nobody breathed.

The CEO stared directly at me.

The air felt heavy.

Dangerous.

Then something impossible happened.

His expression changed.

Only slightly.

But I saw it.

Recognition.

As if he already knew who I was.

The woman beside me looked ready to faint.

Noah held my gaze for a few seconds.

Then he spoke.

"Come to my office."

The entire floor froze.

Including me.

No explanation.

No greeting.

Just a command.

And before I could respond, he walked away.

Leaving behind complete silence.

"What the hell?" someone whispered.

I was wondering the exact same thing.

Because this was my first day.

And I had never met Noah Kang before.

At least...

Chapter 1: part 2. You're Finally Here

The walk to the CEO's office felt endless.

Every employee I passed looked at me with pity.

Or shock.

Or both.

I heard whispers behind me.

"Why did the CEO call him?"

"Did he make a mistake already?"

"Poor guy."

None of that mattered.

My heart was racing for a different reason.

I had spent three years trying to get close to Noah Kang.

And now he had summoned me on my first day.

Something wasn't right.

The secretary opened the office door.

"Mr. Kang is waiting."

The office was enormous.

Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city.

Dark furniture.

Minimal decoration.

Cold.

Just like its owner.

Noah sat behind his desk, reading a document.

Without looking up, he spoke.

"Close the door."

I obeyed.

The click echoed through the room.

Only then did Noah lift his eyes.

Those cold, unreadable eyes settled on me.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then he said something that made my blood run cold.

"You look just like him."

My body froze.

Him?

My brother?

Noah's gaze didn't leave my face.

As if he were comparing me to a memory.

"You knew my brother."

It wasn't a question.

For the first time, something flickered in his eyes.

Gone before I could identify it.

"Sit."

"I'll stand."

The corner of Noah's mouth twitched.

Almost a smile.

Almost.

"You don't follow orders very well."

"I learned from the best."

A dangerous silence filled the room.

Then, unexpectedly, Noah laughed.

A low, quiet laugh.

My eyes widened.

The terrifying CEO was laughing?

Apparently, I wasn't the only one surprised.

The secretary outside dropped something.

Noah's expression immediately returned to normal.

Cold.

Untouchable.

As if that moment had never happened.

"Why did you join this company?"

I met his gaze.

"Because I needed a job."

"Lie."

The answer came instantly.

No hesitation.

No doubt.

Lie.

My stomach tightened.

How much did he know?

Noah leaned back in his chair.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"You came here looking for answers."

The room became silent.

I felt my pulse pounding.

He knew.

Somehow, he knew.

Before I could respond, a sharp knock interrupted us.

The office door opened.

A handsome young man entered without permission.

"Hyung, are you free for lunch—"

The man stopped mid-sentence.

His eyes landed on me.

Then widened.

"Oh."

A grin slowly appeared on his face.

The kind of grin that immediately caused problems.

"Who's this?"

Noah's expression darkened.

"Leave."

The newcomer ignored him.

Instead, he walked straight toward me.

Far too close.

"New employee?"

I stepped back.

He stepped forward.

Still smiling.

"I'm Ethan."

Before I could answer, Noah's voice turned ice-cold.

"Ethan."

For the first time, the cheerful man paused.

Even he seemed wary of Noah's tone.

Then Noah looked directly at me.

"Stay away from him."

The office fell silent.

My eyes widened.

Ethan blinked.

Then burst out laughing.

"Too late."

And for the first time since entering the company...

I saw genuine irritation in Noah Kang's eyes.

I thought I hadn't.

"Too late."

Ethan's grin widened.

Noah's expression became even colder.

The atmosphere in the office instantly turned tense.

I glanced between the two brothers.

One looked amused.

The other looked like he was considering murder.

Interesting.

"You're scaring him," Ethan said.

Noah didn't even look at him.

"Leave."

"No."

"Now."

Ethan sighed dramatically.

"You've always been bad at sharing."

My eyebrows rose.

Sharing?

Was he talking about me?

Noah finally stood from his chair.

The room seemed smaller the moment he did.

Even Ethan's smile faded slightly.

"Out."

This time, Ethan raised his hands in surrender.

"Fine. Fine."

Before leaving, he leaned closer to me.

Much closer than necessary.

"If my brother bullies you, call me."

Then he slipped a business card into my pocket.

I barely had time to react.

The office door closed.

Silence.

A dangerous silence.

Noah stared at the pocket where Ethan had placed the card.

His jaw tightened.

"Throw it away."

"What?"

"The card."

I almost laughed.

Was he serious?

"Why?"

Noah's eyes narrowed.

"I don't repeat myself."

For some reason, that only made me want to keep it.

Maybe because he sounded annoyed.

Maybe because I enjoyed annoying him.

"I'm keeping it."

The temperature in the room dropped ten degrees.

Noah stared at me.

I stared back.

Several seconds passed.

Then unexpectedly...

He looked away first.

"You're troublesome."

I blinked.

That wasn't the reaction I expected.

"Most people are afraid of you."

"Are you?"

"No."

A faint smile touched his lips.

Gone almost immediately.

But I saw it.

And somehow, that tiny smile felt more dangerous than his cold stare.

Later that afternoon...

I was organizing files when a woman approached my desk.

"You're the new employee, right?"

She smiled warmly.

"Yes."

"I'm Minji."

For the next few minutes, she explained company procedures.

Normal.

Friendly.

Completely harmless.

Unfortunately...

Someone was watching.

Through the glass wall of the executive floor.

Noah Kang.

Our eyes met briefly.

His expression didn't change.

But something about the look felt sharp.

Evaluating.

Unhappy.

Strange.

Why would he care who I talked to?

That evening, I stayed late.

The office was nearly empty.

Exactly what I wanted.

It gave me time to investigate.

Three years ago, my brother had worked in the finance department.

If I could access old employee records, I might find something.

I quietly entered the archive room.

Rows of filing cabinets stretched across the room.

Perfect.

After twenty minutes of searching, I found it.

My brother's employee file.

My hands trembled slightly.

I opened it.

Most of the contents were ordinary.

Performance reviews.

Payroll records.

Work reports.

Then something caught my eye.

A page had been removed.

Not torn.

Carefully removed.

Someone had taken it.

Why?

I flipped through the file again.

Nothing.

But as I was about to leave...

A shadow appeared behind me.

My heart nearly stopped.

A hand suddenly reached past my shoulder.

The archive drawer slammed shut.

I turned sharply.

Noah stood behind me.

Much too close.

Close enough to smell his cologne.

Close enough to feel my pulse quicken.

His eyes dropped to the file in my hands.

Then back to me.

Cold.

Unreadable.

"You never listen."

My throat felt dry.

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough."

My grip tightened around the file.

Noah's gaze softened for the briefest moment.

Not affection.

Not quite.

Concern.

Real concern.

Then he said quietly—

"If you keep digging..."

His voice was low.

Dangerously low.

"Someone will notice."

The words hit me like a punch.

Someone.

Not me.

Not Noah.

Someone else.

Which meant...

There really was something to find.

And Noah knew it.

Noah's words echoed in my mind.

Someone will notice.

Not I will notice.

Not You'll get in trouble.

Someone.

As if there was another person watching.

Someone dangerous.

I stared at him.

"What was on the missing page?"

Noah's expression remained unreadable.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're lying."

The moment the words left my mouth, the room became silent.

Nobody spoke to Noah Kang that way.

Not employees.

Not executives.

Maybe not even his own family.

Yet here I was.

Calling him a liar.

To my surprise, Noah didn't look angry.

Instead, he stepped closer.

One step.

Then another.

Until there was barely any space between us.

My back hit the filing cabinet.

I swallowed.

This close, he was intimidating.

His gaze dropped briefly to my lips.

Then returned to my eyes.

The movement lasted less than a second.

But I noticed.

And somehow, that felt more dangerous than anything else.

"You should learn when to stop asking questions."

His voice was low.

I forced myself not to look away.

"Then answer them."

For a moment, neither of us moved.

The tension was unbearable.

Then Noah suddenly stepped back.

As if he'd caught himself.

"Go home, Minjun."

My eyes widened.

I had never told him my name.

Noah realized it too.

A faint shadow crossed his face.

Too late.

I'd noticed.

"How do you know my name?"

Silence.

A long silence.

Then Noah turned away.

"Leave."

That wasn't an answer.

And we both knew it.

The next morning, I arrived at work exhausted.

I barely slept.

Every time I closed my eyes, I remembered Noah saying my name.

How long had he known me?

And why?

As I sat down at my desk, a coffee cup suddenly appeared beside my keyboard.

I blinked.

Then looked up.

Ethan grinned.

"Morning."

I stared at the coffee.

"What's this?"

"A peace offering."

"For what?"

"Being related to Noah."

I laughed before I could stop myself.

Ethan immediately pointed at me.

"There."

"What?"

"You smiled."

"So?"

"So now I know you're capable of smiling."

I rolled my eyes.

Ethan sat on the edge of my desk.

Ignoring several employees who were openly staring.

"Want to have lunch together?"

"No."

"Dinner?"

"No."

"Coffee after work?"

"No."

Ethan sighed dramatically.

"You're breaking my heart."

"Good."

"You're cruel."

Before I could respond, the atmosphere around us changed.

Employees suddenly looked away.

Some lowered their heads.

Others quietly returned to work.

The reaction was immediate.

And familiar.

I didn't need to turn around.

I already knew who was standing behind me.

Noah.

Ethan smiled.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

As if he enjoyed causing problems.

"Good morning, brother."

Noah's gaze moved from Ethan...

To the coffee...

To me.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Meeting. Five minutes."

Ethan groaned.

Noah ignored him.

Then his gaze settled on me.

Only me.

"Bring the quarterly reports."

"Why me?"

Noah held my gaze.

For a second.

Two seconds.

Three.

Then he answered.

"Because I asked you."

And walked away.

The entire office remained silent until he disappeared.

Ethan whistled.

"Oh."

"What?"

"He likes you."

I nearly choked.

"Are you insane?"

"Maybe."

Ethan grinned.

"But I've known Noah my entire life."

His smile slowly faded.

"And he never notices anyone."

For the first time...

The joke didn't sound like a joke.

That night, while reviewing documents in the meeting room, I discovered something strange.

A file had been left behind.

No label.

No company logo.

Nothing.

Curious, I opened it.

Inside was a photograph.

The blood drained from my face.

It was my brother.

Standing beside Noah.

Both of them looking directly at the camera.

On the back of the photo, someone had written a date.

Three days before my brother died.

And underneath it...

A message.

If anything happens to me, don't trust the Kang family.