CEO Tae

A year Later,

YOSAN HQ – 21st Floor

The elevator doors opened with a soft chime.

Kwon stepped out, adjusting the strap of his bag on his shoulder and trying to steady his nerves. He wore his best blazer — a muted navy one that made him look more confident than he felt — and clutched a folder with all his documents like it might fly away if he loosened his grip.

First day.

New job. New life.

No baggage, no ghosts. Just forward.

That's what he told himself.

The company, Yosan international , had been his dream placement for years — a global name in tech and design, sleek buildings, even sleeker innovation. Getting accepted had felt surreal. Too good to be true.

Maybe it was.

The receptionist gave him a warm smile. "Mr. Kwon, right? You're scheduled to meet your division manager on the 21st floor. Just take this visitor badge for now."

He bowed politely. "Thank you."

The elevator ride was smooth and silent. But with every floor ticking up, a strange tension coiled in his stomach — like static in the air before a storm.

He chalked it up to nerves.

He had no idea that twelve floors above him, someone was watching his name on a screen.

33rd Floor – CEO's Office

Tae adjusted the cuff of his black dress shirt and studied his reflection in the tinted glass.

He didn't know what he was expecting to feel. Regret? Excitement? Panic?

Instead, all he felt was movement. Like a current beneath the surface that had been still for too long.

He'd known Kwon had been hired the moment the final approval forms crossed his desk two weeks ago. He'd hovered over the name for hours.

Kwon Seokmin.

New hire, UX division. Start date: Monday.

He hadn't changed the decision.

Hadn't intervened.

Hadn't deleted the file, though he'd been tempted.

Instead, he let it happen.

And now… now he had to decide what came next.

A knock sounded at the door.

His assistant stepped in. "Sir, your 10:30 meeting with the UX team is confirmed. Should I reschedule your lunch with the investors if it runs long?"

Tae gave a brief nod. "Move it to two. And prep the conference room on the 21st floor. I'll be attending this one personally."

The assistant blinked. "You're… going down there?"

Tae's gaze didn't waver. "Yes. It's time."

21st Floor – Conference Lounge

Kwon sat among ten other fresh hires, nodding politely as a sleek woman in a sharp cream blazer explained company values, structure, and team expectations. He tried to focus, but his thoughts kept drifting — not to Tae, but to the strange sense that something big was waiting on the other side of this day.

He couldn't explain it. It was just a feeling. A tension in his ribs. A whisper of the past he thought he'd finally buried.

The door to the lounge opened.

And someone stepped in.

The air shifted.

Kwon didn't turn immediately — not until he heard a quiet hush ripple through the room.

He turned, slowly, his heart thudding loud in his ears.

And there he was.

Tae.

Hair a little shorter than he remembered. Taller. Dressed in tailored black from head to toe — all sharp edges and authority. He moved like someone who was used to being watched, used to being obeyed.

Used to being in charge.

Kwon's breath caught.

Their eyes met.

And for a split second, it was like the world froze around them.

Tae held his gaze — steady, unreadable, but unmistakably intense.

Kwon stared back, his mind fumbling for reality.

He didn't speak.

Tae didn't smile.

But something passed between them — old, electric, unfinished.

Then Tae finally looked away, addressing the room with calm authority. "Welcome to Yosan. I'm Tae Joon, the CEO."

Kwon's world tilted.

CEO.

Tae.

Here.

Tae continued, voice smooth, practiced. "We don't hire based on luck. If you're here, it's because you earned it. I don't interfere with recruitment. But this time…" — his gaze flicked to Kwon again, just briefly — "I made an exception. Because talent should never go unnoticed."

Kwon blinked.

Had he heard that right?

His throat tightened. His heart thundered.

Tae knew.

He'd known. All along.

And now here he was — standing just feet away, no longer a memory, no longer a teenage dream.

But a man. A CEO. A storm wrapped in silence.

And suddenly, the past didn't feel so far away anymore.

It felt like it had just arrived.

Waiting to be answered.

Kwon kept his expression blank.

As if nothing was wrong.

As if the man who had just walked in and introduced himself as Tae Joon, CEO of Yosan, wasn't the same boy whose name had once lived quietly in the corners of his heart.

He didn't flinch.

Didn't blink.

Didn't speak.

He simply bowed politely with the rest of the new hires, face unreadable, heart pounding like a warning bell.

Tae's eyes landed on him again.

Kwon felt the weight of it.

Like a hand pressed to his chest — not rough, not cruel, but steady. Searching.

But he refused to meet Tae's gaze.

He wouldn't look up.

Wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

Whatever this was… it was years too late.

Tae stood at the back of the room, watching.

He recognized the stiff set of Kwon's shoulders. The way his hands were perfectly still in his lap. Too still.

He knows.

Tae could tell.

Kwon recognized him. But he was pretending not to.

A part of Tae wanted to smile — not out of arrogance, but because it was so very Kwon. Always calm on the outside. Always quiet strength.

But another part of him…

That part ached.

He hadn't expected warm hugs or joyful reunions. But he hadn't expected this either — this cold, deliberate distance.

When the orientation wrapped up, the HR manager gestured for the new hires to line up and receive their welcome packets.

Kwon stood third in line.

Tae waited at the end, exchanging small words with the manager, but his eyes never left Kwon.

As Kwon approached, he bowed formally. "Thank you, sir."

Tae's breath hitched at that.

"Sir?"

So formal. So neutral.

Not even a flicker in his eyes. Not a trace of the boy Tae once knew.

But Tae saw the way his hand trembled slightly when he took the packet.

"Kwon Seokmin," Tae said softly, as if tasting the name again after too long.

Kwon paused.

His heart slammed against his ribs — but he didn't show it.

He offered a polite, shallow smile. "Yes. It's a pleasure, CEO Tae."

Then turned and walked away without waiting for a response.

33rd Floor – Later That Day

Tae stood in his office, arms crossed, staring at nothing.

"He pretended not to know me," he murmured.

His assistant looked up, confused. "Sir?"

Tae didn't answer.

Instead, he pulled out the same file again — Kwon's application. The resume. The picture.

He ran his thumb along the page's edge, frowning.

Why?

Why act like strangers?

Had Kwon forgotten? No — Tae saw the flicker in his eyes. The hesitation. The way he gripped the packet too tightly.

He hadn't forgotten.

He was avoiding.

21st Floor – Break Room

Kwon splashed cold water on his face and stared at his reflection in the mirror.

His pulse still hadn't slowed.

He gripped the sink's edge and whispered to himself, "Don't be stupid. He's the CEO. He doesn't remember. Don't start anything."

But even as he said it, he knew it was a lie.

Tae remembered.

The way he said his name — that voice, too calm, too aware.

And still, Kwon had turned his back.

Because some wounds didn't need reopening.

Some stories were better left unfinished.