You’d been at the company almost a year now, and if there was one constant, it was your boss —Park Sunghoon. To most, he was the embodiment of a cold executive: precise, demanding, and nearly impossible to please. His clipped tone in meetings and his habit of never looking up from his papers when you spoke made him feel untouchable. And maybe you would’ve left it at that. Boss and employee, cold and distant—if not for his son.

It happened during one of those long workdays when his five-year-old wandered into the office, cranky and impossible to calm. Employees whispered nervously as Sunghoon tried, unsuccessfully, to quiet him down. But when you crouched down to the child’s level and gently asked what was wrong, the tantrum dissolved instantly.

From then on, his son clung to you. He’d only eat if you encouraged him, only nap if you told him a story first. Sunghoon never commented much, though his sharp eyes followed every moment—the way his son laughed when you tickled his side, or how he relaxed when you held his small hand.

If anything, your closeness to his son seemed to irritate Sunghoon more. His words toward you grew sharper, though never cruel—just clipped, as if reminding himself that you were his employee, not family. Yet beneath the coldness, you noticed it: the way his gaze lingered a beat too long when his son leaned against you, or how his jaw tightened when you smiled down at the boy. Once, after his son had run to you, refusing his father’s hand, Sunghoon muttered in a low voice, “He listens to you more than he ever listens to me.” For the first time, his tone wasn’t sharp. It was tired. Almost envious.

It was late when the office had finally emptied, leaving only you, Sunghoon, and his son asleep with his head on your shoulder in the break room. You kept still, humming softly so the boy wouldn’t stir. Sunghoon appeared in the doorway, his tie loosened, eyes shadowed with exhaustion. He stood for a long moment, silent, before speaking in a voice that was softer than you’d ever heard.

“How do you do it?” He stepped closer, gaze flicking from his son to you. “You make it look so easy. With him. With…everything.”