Hidden Motives || Chae Hyungwon

[ thirty-two ]

Baek Ha Rim

i looked at chae hyungwon, trying to figure out what was going on in his mind. he seemed to be unfazed that i was giving him a certain look; a look that was questioning why he suddenly had interest in how my date went.

"how was it? was yoo kihyun nice to you?" he asked again.

i thought about ceo yoo and i. rather, the kiss that almost happened between the two of us immediately came to mind. his lip lightly brushing against mine and that intimate moment i abruptly stopped, i thought about it along with the image of him storming off this floor appearing dismayed.

"it was lovely and he was an absolute gentleman just as i had expected. ceo yoo was raised very well, and i could see that so were you, sir."

"are you sincerely praising us or is that another textbook answer? miss baek, you don't have to lie. i'm very much aware that i'm not the nicest person one would come across in the company." he spoke with a smirk, slightly rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

no matter how much he demanded authenticity, i couldn't get myself to put my guard down and be genuine in front of him. who knows? it might actually cost me my position in the company and every interaction i get is a test that requires setting my best foot forward.

"don't you have any questions for me?" he tilted his head a bit to the side, expecting me to at least come up with something entertaining or interesting.

was he perhaps trying to get a conversation going between us?

"why do you ask about my dinner date, sir?" i shot my chance.

ceo chae appeared to be thinking of an answer. i guess, he was taking a moment to put his thoughts in order.

"yoo kihyun dates a lot, but it's unusual for him to date someone from my company. i don't really know if he's serious about you so don't get your hopes up either. my cousin tends to experience a lot of fleeting emotions and lots of girls have already come right after him expecting him to commit."

now was he warning me about it for my own sake or was he trying to put me down?

"i don't expect anything, sir. ceo yoo particularly asked for a dinner date as a way for me to pay him back after he helped me recover from fainting. it's nothing less or more than that to me."

"well, that's refreshing." he shrugged and let out a small laugh.

"you've probably also dated a lot of those types for you to say that, sir."

"sure, that's not entirely wrong." he was quick to admit.

i shook my head and released a quiet sigh trying to make my reaction go as unnoticeable as possible.

"i did my part in helping you that night you fainted, too. don't you think i should also earn some sort of favor?" he brought up.

"i saved you that one day from the photoshoot and picked up onions you bought when they fell the first time we met, sir. on top of that, i already work for you and your company in general." i reasoned out.

"well.. fair point. but like you said, you work for me. i guess i'll take that as a chance to save any special requests from now on."

i straightened my back as i sat and averted my gaze towards the wide pools surrounding us. the night view was beautiful, and it was just me and ceo chae together. the workers were far away, and the thought that i was missing another opportunity to advance my motives crossed my mind.

i could already envision my stepfather's disappointment the moment i come back home at this point.

"how long are you gonna stay in the water, sir? it's a bit chilly tonight and don't you wanna... swim around?"