A Madman in Love

Baek Ihyeon.

The guy who used to stick to Lee Suin like glue during high school.

The same guy who once made Suin the center of a scandal.

“Are Suin and Baek Ihyeon dating? They’re always together.”
“They’re close, even though he’s an executive. Maybe they’re secretly seeing each other.”

The guy who drove Jaehee mad with jealousy, leaving him fuming, "Why him and not me?"

And now, here he was again, standing with Suin.

“Suin!”

Calling her name without even attaching her title.

And worse, Suin greeted him with a warm smile as he approached her.

“Why…”

She never smiled at him like that.

Jaehee stood frozen, as though his very functions had been shut down.

His mind went blank, his lungs ceased to work, and he couldn’t even swallow his saliva.

A flood of emotions and thoughts surged through him all at once, overloading his system.

“Director?”

It was Kwon Jongin’s voice that brought him back to reality.

In the few seconds it took for him to snap out of it, Jaehee felt an intense heat wash over him, as if a power outage had been restored, surging electricity back into his veins.

His blood reversed course.

And as soon as his body came back to life, he moved.

“Director!”

Jongin called after him, startled by his sudden sprint.

Though he tried to follow, it was impossible to catch up to Jaehee, who was already accelerating with single-minded purpose.

“Director, wait…!”

But Jaehee didn’t stop.

Like a jaguar honing in on its prey, he ran with fierce determination.

His target?

Lee Suin.

Or rather…

"Baek Ihyeon."

As he whispered the name through gritted teeth, his molars ached.

In a few strides, Jaehee reached the lobby via the staircase, his polished shoes echoing against the marble floor.

The security staff, noticing him, bowed in unison, but he had no time to acknowledge them.

His jacket and tie flapped behind him as his hurried footsteps reverberated.

By the time he made it outside, Suin and Baek Ihyeon were nowhere to be seen.

His frustration didn’t matter.

He just kept running.

Driven by the relentless persistence born of jealousy, his mind was a blank slate, filtered of all but one thing:

“Lee Suin…”

He circled the outdoor parking lot before sprinting toward the subway station on the opposite side.

When he finally reached the turnstiles, he stopped, realization dawning.

He had lost them.

Both Suin and Baek Ihyeon.

“Ha…”

Breathing heavily, Jaehee ran a hand through his sweat-soaked hair, pushing it back.

His lungs burned, his capacity for air nearing its limit, but he didn’t allow himself a moment of rest.

Instead, he pulled out his phone.

[Director! Where are you?]

Jongin’s voice sounded tense when he answered.

“...Lee Suin.”

His throat felt like it had been scraped raw from the lack of oxygen.

Lips dry and cracked, he forced the words out in a hoarse, determined whisper.

“Find out her address.”

***

“Chief!”@@novelbin@@

As Suin finished preparations for the International Business Forum and headed out for the evening, Assistant Manager Lee Changho from the Management Support Office hurried after her.

“Yes, Assistant Manager?”

She paused, and he handed her a sandwich and a drink he had brought along.

“These just got delivered. The department head asked me to bring them to you since you probably haven’t had dinner yet.”

“I’ll take the sandwich, thank you. Please pass on my thanks to the department head as well.”

“Good work today. Get home safely!”

“You too, Assistant Manager. Good night.”

Suin tucked the sandwich into her bag and turned to leave. Suddenly, she felt eyes on her.

Her gaze lifted instinctively.

There was the security desk in a straight line of sight, and above it, the glass railing of the second floor.

But no one was there.

‘What’s this about?’

She tilted her head slightly as she adjusted her steps.

“Suin!”

Baek Ihyeon emerged from the elevator, almost jogging toward her. Suin greeted him with a warm smile.

“Just getting off work? I was about to call you.”

“It’s about that event we discussed, right? I asked my mom, and she loved the idea.”

“That’s great. Can I meet her now? I need to explain the required documents for the proposal.”

“She’s at a café right now. Let’s go together.”

“Let’s take my car. It’s parked at the back gate.”

“You parked at the back gate but came this way for me?”

“I saw you in the elevator. I was afraid I’d miss you.”

Laughing softly, Suin and Ihyeon walked out through the front doors.

Despite the gnawing sensation of someone watching her, Suin didn’t look back.

***

Ihyeon’s car was as neat and organized as his personality, and their conversation naturally shifted to work as they drove to Café Lime.

Jin Sukyung, Suin’s mother, had received her daughter’s message and came out to greet them warmly, almost tripping over herself in excitement.

“Please, sit down. I wasn’t sure about your preferences, so I prepared a little bit of everything.”

Bustling about, she seated Suin and Ihyeon at a table, then nervously placed macaroons and house-made fruit ades before them.

“Thank you, Mother.”

“Oh, I’m the one who should be thanking you.”

At her sincere gratitude, Ihyeon gave her an easygoing smile.

“There’s some variation between sites, but generally, there are about 170 employees per site. Across the active construction projects, there are approximately 3,900 employees total.”

“3,900?”

The number, far beyond her expectations, left Jin Sukyung gaping. Ihyeon chuckled.

“We’ll be grateful if you could take on even a portion of the work, but since this is for the anniversary event, it’ll need to happen simultaneously across all sites. We’ll select multiple vendors to make it manageable. Just let us know how much you can handle.”

“I was being too ambitious…”

Her sheepish expression made Suin glance at her teasingly.

Her mother caught the look and narrowed her eyes in mock reprimand.

Suin playfully raised a fist and whispered, “Fighting!”

Sukyung responded with a scrunched nose and a light grin.

The gentle hum of conversation was interrupted by the vibration of Suin’s phone on the table.

She fished it out of her bag and glanced at the caller ID.

Seo Jaehee, Executive Director.

It wasn’t a terrifying monster, yet just seeing his name made her heart plummet.

How could a person’s name alone have such power?

“Excuse me for a moment,” she said, placing her bag on the chair and stepping outside to take the call.

The phone buzzed again, persistent.

Finally, she answered.

“Yes, Executive Director?”

[Where are you?]

His voice was sharp and piercing, like the tip of an arrow.

Her heart jolted, and she swallowed nervously. She was about to respond when—

[Never mind.]

He hung up abruptly.

A black sedan pulled into the alley, its tires screeching slightly as it came to a halt.

“Ah.”

Suin immediately recognized it.

It was one of the vehicles assigned to the Hyesung Group’s executives, specifically for Seo Jaehee.

The rear door opened, and Jaehee stepped out.

There was nothing overtly threatening about his movements, but his presence alone was enough to make her feel cornered.

“Lee Suin.”

His deep voice carried a menacing growl.

‘Why my house…? How does he even know where I live?’

His strides were purposeful, exuding the aura of someone ready for a confrontation.

Suin’s nerves flared, but her expression remained neutral.

She planted her feet firmly on the concrete.

If it came to it, she would hold her ground.

“Executive Director, what brings you here so late at night?”

“Is the rumor true?”

As soon as he reached her, he shot his question at her, his tone accusatory.

The absurdity of his inquiry left her momentarily speechless.

“You came all this way for that?”

“Answer me. Is it true?”

His sharp retort brought them closer, his gaze heavy with obsession.

‘Wait.’

A sudden thought struck her.

‘He got out of the back seat. Then who’s driving?’

In the morning, Hyesung Group’s driver usually handled transport, and in the afternoon, his secretary, Kwon Jongin, would accompany him.

Surely not…

Her eyes darted past Jaehee’s arm toward the driver’s seat, where a familiar face was peeking nervously through the window.

Her gaze met Jongin’s.

“Ugh.”

Caught, Jongin ducked back inside the car like a clam retreating into the sand.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Suin let out an exasperated sigh.

Throwing a sharp glare at the man towering over her, she hissed under her breath.

“Why would you bring Jongin here? What kind of wild ideas do you think he’ll get now?”

“Who is it?”

Jaehee ignored her protest, relentless in his pursuit of answers.

Then, he dropped a name out of nowhere.

“Baek Ihyeon. Is it him?”

“What?”

Suin nearly turned to glance back at the café but caught herself just in time.

Though she managed to avoid an immediate crisis, she couldn’t escape the intense glare from the man in front of her.

“Is Baek Ihyeon the one you’re involved with?”

His eyes burned with unchecked jealousy.

Without saying a word, Suin subtly shifted her position to block Jaehee’s view of the café’s glass window, where Baek Ihyeon’s reflection could still be seen.

Her intention wasn’t to protect Ihyeon but rather to prevent Jaehee from doing something rash that might make him a murderer.