Elsewhere that evening, Professor Minjun attended a meeting with the representative of the architect Jay. The woman's name was Anna. The moment she greeted him, she addressed him as Jay.
That was right. Professor Bae Minjun was none other than the world-famous architect Jay.
Anna and Minjun had known each other for many years. Their friendship had begun long ago. The first time they met, Anna had been visiting the grave of her late partner, whom she had met in Korea a year earlier. There she noticed a young Minjun standing before his mother's grave. Instead of carrying flowers, he held an envelope. Inside it was an acceptance letter, proving that he had finally achieved his lifelong dream of becoming an architecture professor.
Later, while talking at a café, Anna was astonished by Minjun's extraordinary talent and by the architectural designs he had created at such a young age. Minjun simply smiled. "I probably inherited it from my father."
But his true goal was not merely to match his father. He intended to surpass him, and to take everything from him. Realising the determination in his eyes, Anna decided to help him. By working together, she believed, they could fulfil the dream she had once shared with her late partner.
Now, in the present, Minjun explained that several shareholders secretly supported him. Together, they planned to pressure Dogyun until Minjun finally became the president of Baecha Construction. He sincerely thanked Anna. Without her help, he never would have come this far. Now there was only one thing left to do — see their plan through to the very end.
Later that night, Minjun returned home wondering whether Hansol had enjoyed his dinner. Instead, he stepped into a completely empty apartment. The only thing waiting for him was a single button lying near the entrance.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city, Hansol had fled after rejecting Dogyun's proposal. Just then, Minjun called him. Trying to hide the truth, Hansol lied, saying that his parents had suddenly come to visit and that he would be staying with them for a few days. The professor happily asked if he could greet them. Hansol immediately refused.
Meanwhile, Dogyun burned with rage. He could not understand why Hansol would kneel and beg for the sake of that bastard Bae Minjun. But he swore he would not allow Minjun to have either Baecha Construction or Lee Hansol. No matter how much debt he accumulated, he would continue pushing the project with Jay. Besides, he already had a special gift prepared for Minjun.
The following day, Hansol received an urgent call. Someone had posted an article about Professor Bae on the university forum. He desperately hoped it was not what he feared.
Unfortunately, his fears were correct. The article claimed that an architecture professor was secretly dating one of his students. Within hours, thousands of comments flooded the forum.
At the same time, Anna angrily contacted Minjun. Dogyun had accepted her proposal, and they were finally close to achieving everything they had worked towards. She urged Minjun to remain silent while she handled the crisis herself, but Minjun refused. The article was not false. Their relationship was real. He planned to speak directly with the shareholders and clear up the rumours himself. Even if it took time, he refused to protect his own reputation by sacrificing Hansol.
He also suspected that Joyun had informed Dogyun because of the internship issue. It was only a matter of time before everyone discovered Hansol's identity.
Back at home, Hansol could not stop crying. He blamed himself for everything. He was certain Dogyun had published the article. At first he wanted to run to the university and tell everyone the rumours were false, but he knew that would only make things worse.
Unable to sit still, he decided to go and see Minjun instead. When he arrived on campus, students everywhere were talking about the scandal. Hansol tried to remain calm. He had endured rumours like these before — but this time, he could not bear the thought of the professor suffering because of him.
The moment they met inside Minjun's office, Hansol burst into tears and threw himself into his boyfriend's arms, apologising over and over while blaming himself for everything.
To Minjun, however, Hansol mattered far more than the article. He had no intention of denying their relationship. Hansol worried that the situation would only get worse. The professor simply held him close.
"Just stay by my side, no matter what happens," he said. "That's all I need."
Without hesitation, Hansol promised that he would.
Soon afterwards, the university announced that Professor Bae had cancelled his classes for the first time ever. Now that everyone believed he was dating a student, the campus buzzed with speculation over the student's identity.
Meanwhile, Hansol tried to calm himself. He had made a promise to Minjun.
Then he came face to face with Joyun. Joyun looked at Hansol with disgust, unable to believe he still had the nerve to show up at the university after causing such a scandal.
Hansol knew Joyun was the one who had informed Dogyun. Joyun insisted he was not trying to steal the internship for himself. He simply believed that because Hansol was dating the professor, he could easily ask Minjun to hand him the internship. How could anyone know whether the professor would refuse such a request from the man he loved? To prevent any possibility of favouritism, Joyun believed the problem should be eliminated at its source. If Hansol simply left the architecture department, everything would be solved.
He warned Hansol to decide quickly. If his identity became public, the professor's future would be ruined.
Later, Anna met with Hansol. She explained the difficult position Minjun was in. In only a few days, he was supposed to become the next president of Baecha Construction. But Hansol's existence now stood directly in the way of everything they had worked so hard to achieve. Anna could not bear to watch all those years of effort collapse because of one person.
"If you truly love Minjun," she told him, "you need to make a choice."
And it seemed Hansol had already made his decision.
Just as he had promised, Minjun met with the shareholders and tried to resolve the crisis. Although the situation had become incredibly complicated, he knew he only needed more time. He was determined to protect both his future and the person he loved.
That evening, when Minjun returned home, Hansol greeted him warmly. He confessed that he had missed every moment they had spent apart. The professor suggested going out for dinner. Instead, Hansol wanted something much simpler. He wanted to take a walk somewhere the two of them could be alone.
Standing together beside the ocean beneath the night sky, Minjun finally opened up. Becoming president of Baecha Construction was no longer going to be easy, especially now that Dogyun had returned. Even so, he believed he could overcome every obstacle. The only reason he still had the strength to keep fighting was because Hansol was by his side. Without him, everything would be much harder.
Hansol silently realised something. As long as he remained beside Minjun, he would only bring him more pain. Anna had been right. The professor would never abandon him.
So Hansol made up his mind. No matter what it cost, he would stop Dogyun from taking control of Baecha Construction — even if it meant sacrificing his own happiness.
After spending one final night together, Hansol prepared to risk everything for the man he loved. But first, he would have to break Minjun's heart.
The next morning, Minjun woke up and immediately searched for Hansol. Instead, he found a letter waiting for him.