Test.

The silence stretched between them.

Kim Tan had already returned to his paperwork, as if she were no longer worth his attention.

Yoon-ah sat stiffly, unsure if she should say something or wait for further instruction. Was she supposed to introduce herself again? That didn't seem right. He had heard her—she was sure of it. And that single, indifferent "Ah." had already dismissed the formality of it.

Still, she wasn't sure what to make of him.

Was he just cold? Unbothered? Or was there something deliberate in the way he withheld reactions?

"You're staring, Secretary Seol," Kim Tan murmured without looking up.

Heat crept up her neck. She straightened. "I apologize, sir."

A brief pause.

Then, without any change in expression, he asked, "Are you always this quiet?"

She blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You had a lot to say during your interview." His tone was smooth, unreadable. "Now, nothing."

Yoon-ah resisted the urge to groan. Ms.Oh of course! She told him about the interview!

She adjusted her posture. "I was under the impression you preferred efficiency over unnecessary chatter, sir." Acting unfazed and composed.

A flicker of something—was that amusement?

He finally set his pen down, fingers folding together as he leaned back slightly. "And yet, you're still talking."

Her lips parted.

Then snapped shut.

A heartbeat of silence. Then, slowly, his lips curved—just barely. If she hadn't been watching, she might've missed it.

Before she could process whether that was a good sign or not, the intercom buzzed.

"Sir," a voice crackled through the speaker, "Director Choi is here for your two o'clock."

Kim Tan exhaled through his nose, his moment of near-relaxation vanishing. "Send him in."

Then, with the same effortless authority as before, his gaze flicked to her. "You're dismissed."

Yoon-ah, unsure if she had somehow passed or failed some unspoken test, stood smoothly and bowed. "Yes, sir."

As she turned to leave, she could feel his eyes on her back—watching.

But when she glanced over her shoulder just before stepping out, his attention was already back on his work, as if she had never been there at all.

A week had passed.

Work wasn't easy.

Yoon-ah sat, poised in her chair, focused on the work on her desk.

The email came in at exactly 3:02 PM.

Yoon-ah barely had a second to settle at her desk before Daniel strolled past, tapping lightly on the surface as he passed. "Good luck."

She looked up, but he was already gone, disappearing toward the other end of the office.

Frowning, she clicked open the message.

A revised schedule from Kim Tan.

It was a disaster.

Meetings stacked too closely together, overlapping calls, and last-minute additions that made no logical sense. Some of these executives weren't even in the country right now. And yet, the expectation was clear—make it work.

Yoon-ah inhaled slowly, exhaled even slower.

It wasn't a mistake.

Kim Tan didn't make mistakes.

This was deliberate.

But Daniel is here, he could just giv–end that thought process! She slapped her cheeks in order to regain her bearings and her wandering thoughts. He was her boss she was just a subordinate. That 12 million won wasn't gonna enter her account without her putting effort. No use questioning his decisions. She snapped herself back to focus.

Her gaze flickered toward the glass-walled office. He wasn't looking at her—at least, not directly. He was reading a document, pen tapping idly against the desk. But there was something about the way he sat. Relaxed, but alert. The kind of stillness that wasn't disinterest but assessment.

A test.

She squared her shoulders. Fine.

Challenge accepted.

---

For the next hour, Yoon-ah worked.

She rearranged the schedule, moved meetings to different time zones, coordinated with assistants, and sent out quick, efficient emails—concise but authoritative. She didn't ask for permission, only acted with the expectation that her decisions would be followed.

By the time she was done, the once-impossible schedule had transformed into something seamless.

Her fingers hovered over the mouse.

A pause.

Then, with practiced confidence, she sent the revised schedule straight to Kim Tan.

---

The response came three minutes later.

"Not bad."

That was all.

A very short message.

Very brief, nothing else said.

No corrections. No further instructions.

Just two words.

She exhaled, half in relief, half in something else.

When she glanced toward his office again, Kim Tan was still looking at his screen. But this time, he wasn't reading.

He was watching her.

And when their eyes met—

That glint again.

That knowing look, like he had already known exactly what she would do.

"That ain't it at all Seol Yoon-ah.." right? she muttered in English. She frowned and focused on her work.

~sometime later~

The office was quiet, save for the soft rustle of papers and the faint ticking of an expensive clock.

Yoon-ah sat at her desk, posture straight, fingers poised over the keyboard as she processed the overwhelming list of tasks Kim Tan had given to her again. On the surface, they seemed like standard secretarial duties—scheduling meetings, organizing files, handling calls. But the sheer volume was unnatural. The deadlines, impossible.

"This man is out for my blood." She rasped, a grave expression on her face.

"This is a test from that man, one which I won't fail." She gritted out, determination pooling in her brown eyes.

She knew it.

And she refused to fail.

She wanted to see the look on his face when she won. She smirked. This was what made her endure this unending flow of work.

So she worked, meticulously and efficiently, moving through the tasks with precision. There was no room for mistakes. No room to second-guess herself.

She could feel his presence even without looking.

Kim Tan was seated at his desk, appearing engrossed in his own work, his pen gliding smoothly over documents. But she felt it—that occasional shift in the air, the quiet weight of his gaze.

He was watching her.

It wasn't obvious, but she noticed it anyway. The way he would glance up between signing papers, the way his sharp eyes lingered a fraction too long when she reached for a file.

It wasn't the casual observation of a boss assessing a new employee.

It was something else.

When she finally caught him—really caught him—his gaze was steady. Dark. Unwavering.

Most people would look away, pretend they hadn't been staring. But Kim Tan wasn't most people. He didn't flinch. Didn't shift uncomfortably like someone caught in the act.

Instead, he simply held her gaze.

It was slow, deliberate. A silent, unreadable moment stretched between them.

Then—infuriatingly—one brow arched. Just slightly.

Not in surprise. Not in embarrassment.

In amusement.

As if she were the one intruding. As if she had interrupted him.

Yoon-ah refused to look away first.

She squared her shoulders, tilting her chin up just enough to meet his stare head-on. A challenge of her own.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

Then—without a word—Kim Tan shifted his attention back to his papers. As if nothing had happened. As if she wasn't even worth acknowledging.

A single tap of his pen against the desk, slow and measured.

Then silence.

Yoon-ah exhaled softly, pulse steady. She turned back to her work, forcing herself to focus.

But one thought lingered in the back of her mind.

That look in his eyes.

It hadn't been ordinary.

It wasn't just curiosity. It wasn't just scrutiny.

It was like he had expected her to hold her ground.

Like he wasn't testing her to see if she could handle the pressure—

…but confirming something he had already known.

"What a weird man. Could it be he actually fell for me..?" She muttered offhandedly before pausing, then she cringed at the thought. "That's unlikely, Seol Yoonah my dear~" she told herself before stretching her fingers in order to focus on her job again. She won't lie though, the man was gradually grating on her nerves.

And he was nailing it wonderfully.

The sounds of footsteps resounded but Seol Yoon-ah was too caught up in her thoughts to realize.

This man is impossible. If he keeps this up, I'll be the one grading his performance.

I hope he's just being like for the trial perio–

"I love how you think" the abrupt presence of Daniel spooked her and she almost fell off her chair, luckily for her she was quick to regain her bearings. He laughed at her flustered visage before smiling at her.

He heard me huh..

"...Hahaha.." She didn't know how to reply to that at all. Her laughter nervous and hesitant. She was embarrassed, her superior had overhead one of her idiotic soliloquies. Daniel still looked carefree, he smiled at her before patting her shoulders. "You should get back to work." he jerked his head toward the glass walls of the CEO's office.

Yoon-ah blinked, confused at first until she followed his cue. Her eyes trailed up—and locked onto Kim Tan, who was watching her from behind his desk, fingers steepled together. His sharp gaze was unreadable, but the slight raise of his brow sent a clear message.

She straightened immediately, refocusing on her screen.

Beside her, Daniel smirked, shaking his head. "At least pretend to be working," he muttered under his breath.

Yoon-ah shot him a look before typing furiously on her keyboard—never mind that she had no idea what she was typing.

I was working!

Soon Daniel left her and went straight for the Ceo's office.