One day, the company held its annual secretary competition. Winning this contest was an honor for the boss as well as an honor for the secretary. Many top executives who had won this competition had high hopes of getting promoted, and their secretaries would be highly valued too. The executives all pushed hard to encourage their secretaries to join, wanting to show off in front of everyone.
Yuni, who was always proud of her skills, wanted to join too. Too bad she couldn't make the call herself. Chiwan had to be the one to apply for it, and Chiwan absolutely did not want to be part of this boring contest.
Yuni tried every trick in the book, but still couldn't change his mind. Noticing that Chiwan's birthday was coming up, she suddenly got an idea. She planned to use a carefully prepared birthday surprise to touch his heart and convince him to sign up for the secretary competition.
However, what Yuni didn't expect was that when she carefully plotted with all their co-workers, turned off the lights, and slowly walked toward Chiwan holding a cake full of candles to surprise him, Chiwan wasn't happy at all. He was absolutely terrified.
It turned out Chiwan had been in a fire before, and his uncle, who had raised him, died in the flames trying to save him. Ever since then, any sign of fire would make his whole body tense up, bringing back those horrific memories from the past.
The flames burning on the birthday candles made Chiwan break down, losing control of his emotions. He knocked over the cake and angrily yelled at Yuni, saying that as a secretary, she only knew how to do useless things.
Yuni never expected her good intentions to be trampled on like that. Feeling incredibly wronged and upset, she burst into tears. Chiwan, having calmed down a bit, noticed the tears on her face and felt bad for yelling at her in front of everyone.
Back home, seeing Yuni walk through the gate looking miserable, Chiwan waited quietly at the door, wanting to talk to her, but when he tried to speak, he didn't know where to start. With a helpless look on her face, Yuni softly asked Chiwan if he wanted to apologize. Chiwan instantly nodded like a good kid.
But in Yuni's eyes, Chiwan casually crushing her good intentions was proof that he hated her. Yuni wanted to ask for a department transfer. But in a rare move, Chiwan spoke up to stop her, hoping to keep working with her.
Even though she had been super sad just a second ago, she immediately thought of terms for peace, demanding that Chiwan sign up for the secretary competition. Chiwan thought Yuni really knew how to strike while the iron was hot.
Knowing Chiwan didn't hate her, Yuni was overjoyed and specially cooked up a big birthday dinner for him. However, her cooking skills were really nothing to brag about. Full of excitement, Chiwan took a sip of the soup and his face instantly scrunched up. But remembering how he had embarrassed Yuni at work that day, he didn't dare say a word about the food and forced himself to finish those super salty dishes. Yuni was still feeling pretty smug that Chiwan ate everything she cooked, completely unaware that he had to chug tons of water all night and couldn't even sleep well.
The next day, Chiwan's attitude toward Yuni changed a bit. He handed his schedule to her, letting her organize it for him. Yuni was thrilled that her job had just gotten a little easier. But Chiwan felt embarrassed about the words he had used to make Yuni stay the day before. He couldn't figure out why he had tried so hard to keep her around.
However, Yuni totally missed Chiwan's little emotional crisis, because her ex-boyfriend, named Chang Su, was suddenly transferred to Chiwan's department. The two of them were working together again. Yuni completely rejected him, but Chang Su kept getting touchy-feely, wanting to get back together with her.
That evening, the department co-workers went out for dinner and drinks. Yuni purposely took away Chiwan's house keys. When Chiwan got home and stood at the gate, he tried everything but couldn't get the door open. Left with no choice, he had to call Yuni for help. Looking all smug, Yuni used her landlord status to demand that Chiwan stay with the group and finish the first round of the party before she'd give him the keys.
The sudden appearance of Chiwan left the co-workers totally shocked and thrilled, with everyone asking him to pour them a drink. Chiwan, who had social anxiety, finally survived the first round and held his hand out, asking Yuni for the keys. Looking mischievous, Yuni demanded that he stay and sing to finish the second round of the party. Chiwan was so annoyed he gritted his teeth, but his body betrayed him as he went along to sing with Yuni.
Chang Su used the karaoke session to keep hitting on Yuni and confessing his feelings. Yuni acted like she didn't even notice and just kept happily chatting with Chiwan. Chang Su couldn't take it anymore. When Yuni went to the restroom, he pulled her aside and interrogated her, asking if she had feelings for Chiwan. Yuni thought Chang Su was being totally unreasonable and didn't want to argue with him. But Chang Su grabbed her wrist tightly and refused to let go.
Right then, Chiwan suddenly showed up, grabbed Chang Su, and ordered him to let Yuni go. Not backing down, Chang Su warned Chiwan to stay out of it if he didn't even like Yuni. Chiwan flat out said he didn't like Yuni. However, as her boss, he absolutely hated it when people used physical force, and he added that he had a bad habit of fighting fire with fire. Realizing he was no match for Chiwan, Chang Su had no choice but to back off for now.
On their way home, Yuni thanked Chiwan for stepping in to help. Chiwan casually handed her a necklace. Yuni was so surprised she wanted to turn it down, but to her surprise, Chiwan, being his usual blunt self, said it was just a corporate freebie given to top executives. Yuni was feeling touched at first, but her excitement instantly vanished.
As they talked, Chiwan mentioned that he felt Chang Su kept bothering her because she had given him the wrong idea. Yuni's good mood was totally ruined. Feeling salty, she stomped off to a convenience store for round three of drinking.
Chiwan had no clue why Yuni had changed her attitude so fast. He went home alone, only to find a sketchy young guy hanging around the front door. When confronted, the guy actually claimed he was living with Yuni. A wave of jealousy hit him, and Chiwan quickly called her to check if it was true. To his surprise, as soon as Yuni heard the guy's name, she openly admitted it. Furious, Chiwan hung up the phone right then and there.
He brought the young guy inside, but the more he looked at him, the madder he got, and he couldn't help but look him up and down. Suddenly, he spotted a red mark on the guy's neck. He remembered clashing with the intruder in the basement two days ago, and that person had an injury in the exact same spot.
He was instantly on high alert. The young guy noticed Chiwan's glaring eyes, sensed danger, and turned around to make a run for it. But Chiwan was quick. He grabbed the guy and pinned him to the ground.