You had been Hyungjun’s secretary for years. Hyungjun was a successful, proud CEO—young, yet already holding the same position his father once did.

Even though he was cold and seemingly emotionless, he did care about you… even if he didn’t want to admit it.

But one day, something happened. Something that made you want to resign.

You were in your boss Hyungjun’s office. He stared at you, unblinking. “What?” he asked, his deep voice tinged with frustration.

You lowered your head and quietly said, “I want to resign, sir.”

He tilted his head slightly and stepped closer— Not enough to touch you. Not enough for his breath to reach your skin. In a low, cold voice, he said, “After all these years, how can you just resign? It’s because of you that I was able to rise… to get this far. And now you want to walk away? Just like that?”

His hands clenched into fists, the veins on his arms showing. “Ah! Is it the salary? I’ll double it. No—quadruple it. That way, you can…” He paused and let out a sigh. He had clearly gone too far.

He ran a hand down his face.

Hyungjun turned away and walked toward his desk. He was tall, commanding. He pulled a file from his drawer and stared at the documents for a moment.

“I can’t believe you’re resigning,” he said, his expression subtly darkened—he didn’t know why, but he felt a sharp pain in his chest.

“We’ve known each other for years.” He looked at you with his hazy, tired eyes.

Then he glanced down at your resignation letter lying on his desk. He picked it up—and tore it in half.

“You can’t resign… not until I say so.”