The challenge they started as a joke reached a new milestone as it hit its ninth-week mark since they had their first lunch prompted by his secretary. The agreements that started as a competition to find the best restaurant have slowly transformed into something other than the friendship they agreed to work on. The phone conversations, the late-night texts, stopping by for a quick coffee break on top of the dinner dates ... what was going on with the two was only questioned by the people on Jae’s side. Hyeon, who has always been busy, was trusted and never interviewed by either Jessica or Mrs. Park. Her excuse was always accepted as accurate. Even if they needed a justification, they assumed she was working late in the office, meeting with work-related people. Unlike hyeon, Jae’s every move is observed and questioned by all. First was his secretary, who has been the only one to notice the weird calls he has been getting that always seem to leave him smiling and laughing. She didn’t deem it suspicious until she started noticing that he never takes those calls in the presence of Joon; he always leaves his office and takes them in the conference room. She had assumed it was the girlfriend since the phone calls got almost similar reactions as the texts that immediately grabbed his attention no matter what meeting he was in. Her place was always sitting behind him; once or twice she had noticed the texts he got, which came with an accompanying picture that she couldn’t see thoroughly as he adjusted his seating before responding. Her eyes from the phone she couldn’t see travel up to Joon, who always notices when his boss’s attention is pulled away. The look she exchanges with Joon is an acknowledgment as both know whoever was on the other line had to be somebody important for the man whose phone is always silent and never responds to things on time to be smiling and responding instantly. Both agreed to assume it was his girlfriend. It could only be his girlfriend, and they chose not to worry about it.

The phone calls and texts would have been enough, but the secretary tasked with keeping his schedule was now starting to worry as the work he finishes early on Wednesdays & Fridays and disappears too has become a norm. She would even be OK with just those nights as she had guessed maybe he was working with his therapist, and it was his schedule. But that wasn’t enough; the random instances where he asked her to clear his schedule and disparate to nowhere were becoming a habit. Unsure of who she should prioritize, she had chosen to keep it to herself and give him the privacy he wanted. Reporting it to joon didn’t seem like it would change anything but cause more fighting between her two bosses. Unlike her, Joon didn’t need a lot of proof to question what was going on with Jae. Everything the man was doing was suspicious. His health seems to be in his best condition, his glowing face, his more casual looks; Joon had attributed that all too may be his girlfriend and therapist working with him, but the Jae he has been noticing in the last couple of weeks was something else.

Showing up to work on time, fully awake and ready to work, and sincerely greeting the people required to bow whenever he was in their presence were all red flags. Joon had questioned jae many times to see if the changes resulted from some new medication he had started. The works he treated as ghosts, it was a significant shift to see Jae talking to the women who clean his office, the door attendants that now he seems to enjoy chatting with; it was all beyond shocking to a point joon didn’t even know how to process it the first time he noticed it. About a month ago, they rushed in front of the car to the door, where jae greeted the doorman and even asked.

“how are the kids?”

“ They are fine,” the doorman smiling ea to ear, responded as he carried the umbrella higher and started matching Jae's steps.

“ Did you get them the bikes?” jae asked with a soft smile which had been the last straw and left joon and sungi frozen, unable even to process what was happening in front of them.

“ Yes, I did.”

“ They loved the pink ones with the three wheels” The conversation happing in front of him faded out as Joon focused all his confused attention on the small smiles jae was extending to the uniformed man next to him. The conversation ended when they entered the building; it took some minutes for Joon to come back to reality and ask about it when they finally entered the elevator.

“ What was that about?”

“ how do you know him?” he asked, sending his eyes to jae, who, thanks to his new habit, was smiling thanks to the text he had just received.

“ He helped me fix the car a couple of weeks ago and told me about his family” Jae’s full attention was on his phone; he was quickly typing in response. The urge to snap the phone out of his hands just to get his attention away from this girlfriend was reaching a new high as joon contemplated it for a fraction of a second. This girl was becoming a bit distracting to Joon himself, but he immediately acknowledged that whatever she had been doing had made his boss a better boss, and the issue was that he just didn't like her. It wasn’t so much about how she had replaced Hyeon’s place but that he couldn’t just seem to see what jae saw in her. Joon, who had seen how his boss acted whenever hyeon was present, how he looked at her, talked about her; he had seen it all and knew there was not even a pinch of that with this one. Something just seemed very off. Just because this girl was okay with all the wild nights he was having and, to Joon’s shock, was willing to participate was enough for him never to be OK with her.

“ Are you sure you're not on new medication” not ready to give the girlfriend credit, Joon asked for the hundredth time?

“ or illegal drugs” this one got a reaction as jae placed his phone down and looked up.

“ You’re asking the doorman about his kids, the office cleaners got a birthday gift from you, and you excused the management team for coming late” Joon listed some things that have raised red flags.

“ You always wanted me to be nicer to them, and now you’re mad that I am?” Jae knew exactly what joon was curious and worried about but choosing to keep his newfound friendship a secret chose to misdirect.

“ Why are you nice all of a sudden”

“ you didn’t even know these people existed,” Joon had answered his question but was too blind even to connect the dots, which the smirk on Jae's face should have helped him realize. It was going to take weeks, months from the first red flag, for Joon to notice that all of it might be a result of the friendship between the two people, which he had been the first to witness.

“ maybe I am preparing for a coup de ta when Lay finally takes over, and I need everybody on my side” Knowing this will redirect his attention jae brought his brother's name into question.

“ They know the inside and out of this company,” he added with a smile that highlighted the excellent rest he had been getting and his special diet that had contributed to how good his skin looked, the colors on his face, the absence of dark circles, the dimples highlight his cheeks that seem to have gained some weight and look healthier than ever... Joon latched on to the crazy thought that crossed his mind that maybe, just maybe, jae might be preparing to make a nice exit when his bother finally gets the CEO position. Jae, who had always claimed he didn’t like his work, might be preparing to leave nicely and just live a quiet life somewhere. Enjoying whatever he has been eating, living the crazy life that has made him like this. Joon couldn’t help but accept it as a possibility that his boss might be preparing to make such a significant change. Suddenly, the crazy theory he proposed to this girl seemed like a reality.

That was the scariest of thoughts. He could picture this jae, whose life is changing because of that ridiculous girl, and his therapist could choose to marry her and disappear with her to wherever he has been running off to with her. The change he had seen were crazy enough to make him believe even that crazy theory could be true. But just like the secretary, he had chosen to keep it to himself. What’s the use is telling others anyway. It doesn’t seem like any of them impact him compared to the therapist and the girl that has changed him this much in such a short time. His friendship was ruined, and Joon knew nothing he could do. Worst case scenario, he thought evolving Hyeon would be how he would try to pursue this man, but he knew getting hyeon to listen to him by himself was impossible. The girl that has claimed to close the past and is focused on her work and the fake friendship with them, he knew there was no way she was going to use the power she still had over jae to make him do anything for joon’s sake.

It took another month or so for some to stop questioning what Jae was up to and accept it as a change in his personality. Only Joon and the secretary kept their curiosity even months after noticing the first change. For the secretary, that hint came on Wednesday evening. The report she was tasked to place on his desk was held in her hands. She quietly walked into his office to notice jae lying on the floor. His new habit of meditating by laying on the floor she had seen quite a lot now; she wasn’t surprised by his body lying on the floor. His rolled-up sleeves exposed his arm lying by his side; she caught his phone on his right. His closed eyes were her next target, and she decided just to place the document and leave without disturbing his meditation. After the crazy long day he had had with five back-to-back meetings, she knew he deserved the rest the floor provided him. Glancing at the clock to notice 7:45 pm, she quickly shifted her focus on the dinner she wanted to make after she grabbed her already packed bags and left the office. The moment she heard his voice had been what changed her plans; she swiftly changed her focus to the man on the other side, who was not even remotely aware that she was in his office.

“ So you're choosing to meet with some people you don’t even like instead of me” the emotion in his voice was going to be her first focus as the first thing that grabbed her attention was his smile which her eyes zoomed in. His eyes were still closed; she rested assured he wasn’t talking to her or was even aware she was here. His mind was somewhere else.

“ I can’t believe you are doing this; I am disappointed’ the playfulness in his voice was something new.

“ I waited for days, and all of a sudden, you canceled; I am hurt,” his smile getting more significant; the secretary knew whoever was on the other side was responsible for his sudden dinner and lunch disappearances. The girlfriend, she assumed as she went on her quit steps to his desk. She just needs to place the documents and leave.

“ yes, I am hurt. Really hurt” the secretary couldn’t help but smile as her attention was pulled back to the man on the other side. With the puppy-like voice he was using and his smiles, she was getting a hint at how he seemed to pull all these beautiful women

“ I might need to call my therapist just to deal with this rejection,” his exaggeration even got a smile out of her.

“ Yes, I am being a baby”

“I need a lot of attention and can’t handle not getting what I want” her head couldn't help but shake; the secretary wasn't even that shocked to see this side of him. She still has vivid memories of how different he was whenever he was with hyeon, let alone this one.

“ I have an abandonment issue, and I can't believe you’re doing this to me” the small laugh of his that followed his admission to his issues was too cute.

“ yes, I am trying to make you feel guilty,”

“ I don’t care if we're meeting on the weekend”

“ I want to meet tonight as we said we would” her hands that placed the document on the desk were returned to her side as her eyes went to the man on the other side of the room. His hands left his side and came to press his head; he still hadn’t received the relief of the painkiller he took; the secretary sitting with him through the meeting today knew why he was acting like a baby and pushing to get what he wanted. After the day he has had, it is no wonder he is mad about not being able to spend it with her and being annoyed about it.

“ you don’t even like these people” he was such a big baby, the secretary concluded as she couldn't understand why he wouldn’t want just tell her he had a busy and challenging day and wants to see her. She was his girlfriend anyway. She should want to make him feel better was her last assumption as the secretary left the office and headed to her desk. She needed to bag her stuff and leave for the day but a few minutes later, it was her boss who left before her as she was busy wrapping her work shoes and switching to her rain boots.

“ Can you call Joon and tell him am stopping by somewhere so they should just go home” his voice forced her eyes up. From the smile on his face went to the coat he was putting on.

“ I might not come home but I will see him in the morning for the conference at 8” he added as he quicked his steps to the elevator doors. Her startled eyes focused on him she gave him a small bow as she agreed to his request.

“ the conference is at 9” she corrected as she gave him a smile back. His hands brushed his hair back, and his bright eyes turned her way as he gave her a big smile.

“ thank you” his hands were busy adjusting his hair back as she scanned his face quickly. She knew exactly where he was going. This was no therapist that got him this happy. Whether it is drugs or wild parties this so-called girlfriend has this man wrapped in her hands, which immediately started fading the smile away from the secretary as she was reminded of what this means. Has he really replaced hyeon?

“ where should I say, if he asks?” she asked as she noticed the elevator doors opening up.

“ doesn’t matter” was the only answer and before she got to ask any other question j