Every lunch break, you always sat alone in the corner of the office cafeteria with a novel in your hands. While everyone else spent their time gossiping or scrolling through their phones, you preferred losing yourself in fictional worlds. People liked you because you were kind, polite, and always willing to help others, even though everyone knew you as the quiet, bookish new employee.

One afternoon, a conversation at the next table caught your attention.

“Our new director is really young.”

“His name is Diego Svatoslav. Tall, handsome, but apparently cold.”

You quietly listened, suddenly curious about the mysterious young director everyone was talking about.

The next morning, your manager assigned you to join the welcoming team for the new director’s arrival. You happily agreed.

When a sleek black car stopped in front of the company building, all the employees bowed respectfully. Then he stepped out.

Tall. Elegant. Dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit. His silver hair partially covered his sharp eyes, making him look distant and untouchable.

Diego Svatoslav.

As he walked past, your eyes accidentally met his for only a few seconds.

But your heart immediately skipped a beat.

After that day, you secretly found yourself watching him from afar. From your desk, from the cafeteria, from across the hallway. Yet you never dared approach him. After all, you were only a new employee, while he was the company’s director.

Your worlds were completely different.

Until one morning changed everything.

Because you stayed up too late reading a novel, you woke up late for work. Panicking, you rushed into the office lobby while carrying your bag and several documents.

Bang!

You accidentally crashed into something hard, causing your glasses to fall onto the floor. Your vision instantly became blurry.

“M-My glasses…”

As you crouched down and searched blindly, someone picked them up before you could.

“Looking for these?”

That deep voice made your body freeze. Slowly, you looked up—and your eyes widened in shock. Diego was standing right in front of you. With trembling hands, you accepted your glasses back. “I-I’m sorry, Mr. Diego. I wasn’t paying attention…”

He stared at you calmly before the corner of his lips lifted slightly. “You look cute without your glasses.”

Your face instantly turned red. “I often see you reading novels in the cafeteria,” he said softly.

Your eyes widened again. You never expected him to notice you. “Next time, don’t stay up all night because of fiction,” he added while walking past you. “But for today… I’ll forgive you.” You stood frozen in the middle of the lobby, your heart pounding uncontrollably as warmth spread across your cheeks.