"Everyone, this is Hyouka," Foca said, deciding it was the perfect moment for an introduction. "She's my personal assistant and secretary. I just hired her not too long ago, so please take it easy on her."
Hearing that, Hyouka gasped dramatically.
"Oh… he cares about me. For real, for real…" she whispered, eyes sparkling with exaggerated admiration.
But the moment Vincent began walking toward her, she immediately straightened up and put on her professional face.
She had to make a perfect first impression. Her employment depended on it.
"Hyouka Icecream, sir. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said, extending her hand.
"I assume that is not your real name," Vincent said.
His firm tone made Hyouka tremble slightly in her boots—but she powered through.
"Yes, sir," she nodded. "You have truly raised such a wonderful man in Sir Foca that I aspire to be like him. And so, I decided to hide my government name."
She smiled politely.
"But a powerful man such as yourself likely already knows such information. So I would like to thank you for indulging my otherwise trivial whim."
Vincent studied her for a moment.
"Hm. You have quite the mouth on you."
"I'm grateful for such kind words from an outstanding person such as yourself," Hyouka replied smoothly. "I do pride myself on my eloquence—something my parents paid quite dearly for at university."
She shot Dew a smug side-eye.
The jab was very intentional.
"Very good," Vincent nodded in approval.
He rather liked the balance she had—perfect etiquette paired with an unmistakable no-bullshit attitude.
The ability to observe proper decorum while also standing her ground…
That was admirable.
And Vincent approved.
Next, Jonathan stepped forward.
"So you're the new secretary, huh?" he said, studying Hyouka curiously. "When I heard my brother hired someone on the spot, I wondered what was so special about them."
He grinned.
"But the moment you put Dew in his place, I immediately knew my brother made the right decision."
Jonathan crossed his arms thoughtfully.
"It's almost making me want to steal you away from Little Bread."
He tilted his head.
"I wonder if I should."
"Get in line, buster. I want her first," Pearl said with a mischievous smirk.
"No!" Foca immediately protested.
"No one is taking my secretary!"
****
"I highly appreciate the thought," Hyouka said politely, "but as Sir Foca already mentioned, I won't be going anywhere."
She smiled.
"Besides, you already have an excellent secretary by your side."
Her eyes flicked toward Dew in a very pointed way.
"Oh, this guy?" Jonathan said, casually pointing at Dew. "He's not my secretary."
Hyouka blinked.
"He's the person trying to take my spot," Jonathan continued calmly. "He's just disguised as my secretary."
"Uh-huh…" Hyouka said slowly, raising a skeptical brow toward Dew.
"Jonathan and Dew have had a heated rivalry—" Pearl began.
She paused and glanced at Hyouka.
"—and no, not that kind of heated rivalry. Get your mind out of the gutter."
Pearl smirked before continuing.
"They've been like this since they were itty-bitty kids. It got to the point where Dew here wants to bring Jonathan down and take over his company."
"And you're okay with knowing that?" Hyouka asked Jonathan.
"He welcomes it," Pearl answered for him.
"Because this cocky bastard knows exactly what he's capable of."
"Oh…" Hyouka nodded slowly, sounding impressed.
"Confident, aren't we?"
"It's called a healthy ego," Jonathan shrugged.
Hyouka then turned toward Dew.
"And you haven't given up yet because…?"
"Oh, that's easy," Jonathan answered again before Dew could speak.
"He says he's a man with pride. So he's going to see it through."
Hyouka sighed dramatically and shook her head.
"Oh, the species that is men…"
"Hey, what's wrong with us?" Luca protested. "You do realize Foca is a guy too, right?"
"Of course," Hyouka said solemnly.
"In everything, there is always an exception."
She placed a hand over her chest like she was delivering sacred truth.
"And in this case, Sir Foca is that exception."
"He is the only man devoid of such imperfections."
Luca leaned toward Foca and whispered,
"You know, it's becoming more and more obvious that there's a cult forming under your name."
"Don't joke about that!" Foca scolded immediately.
Hyouka suddenly clapped her hands together as if remembering something.
"Oh! By the way, I did some research."
She pulled out a thick stack of folders and handed them to Jonathan.
"Here's a proposal with suggestions on how to improve the lives and working conditions of economy passengers."
Jonathan owned a very well-known airline company, so her words immediately caught his attention.
"Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions," Hyouka added politely.
Jonathan accepted the folders, clearly intrigued.
"Thank you," he said, sounding slightly surprised.
Curious, he opened one folder.
He only intended to skim it quickly.
But somehow…
He became completely absorbed in it.
"Oops. He's gone," Pearl said with a giggle.
"That only means one thing—he likes your proposal."
"I appreciate that," Hyouka replied modestly.
"But honestly… that was just some light work."
****
Then Hyouka walked straight toward Dew.
Dew's eyes widened slightly when he saw her approaching him like a predator closing in on prey.
"Phone," Hyouka said, holding out her open palm.
"Huh?" Dew blinked in confusion.
"Your phone. Please," Hyouka repeated slowly.
Dew didn't know why—but somehow, he ended up handing it to her.
The moment the phone landed in her hands, Hyouka started typing.
A few seconds later, she returned it.
"As I can see that you are truly apologetic for your actions earlier, I have decided to graciously accept your apology," Hyouka announced.
"But… why would I apologize?" Dew asked.
Hyouka continued as if he hadn't spoken.
"I've already inputted my number. The least you can do is take me on a date and treat me to good food. Don't you agree?"
"Wait—" Dew started.
But Hyouka steamrolled right over him.
"I clock off at 6 PM, so you can pick me up around 6:30. That should give me enough time to freshen up."
She clasped her hands together sweetly.
"Don't forget to call me, okay?"
"Why would I take you on a date?! I still have work to do!" Dew protested.
Hyouka slowly turned her head.
"Sir Jonathan…"
"Oh, don't worry," Jonathan said casually, not even looking up from Hyouka's proposal folders.
"Dew can and will clock off at five."
Jonathan flipped another page.
"That guy's been breathing down my neck nonstop. It'll be great if he leaves me alone for a while."
"Jonathan, I still have a lot of wor—"
Dew immediately stopped talking.
Jonathan had finally lifted his eyes from the folders.
The shift was instant.
The playful big-brother aura vanished.
In its place was something cold. Ruthless.
Chilling.
It felt like the room temperature had dropped ten degrees.
It was true what people said—the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
To outsiders, it looked like another Vincent had appeared.
But within the family, everyone knew this level was only Vincent's ankles. Jonathan still had a long way to go.
At least, that's what Vincent and Sebastian always said.
"Dew," Jonathan said calmly.
"What am I to you right now?"
"My boss," Dew answered immediately.
"Then why are you going against my orders?"
Dew had no answer.
"You got yourself into this," Jonathan continued coolly. "So clock off at five. Take the nice lady on a date and loosen the hell up."
"Understood?"
"…Understood," Dew sighed in defeat.
Then he turned to Hyouka.
"I'll pick you up around 6:30."
It was painfully obvious he was saying it against his will.
But at this point, what choice did he have?
Dew had dug this hole himself.
And now he was standing at the bottom of it.
"It's a date then," Hyouka said with a sweet smile.
Pearl watched the entire exchange with fascination.
"You're quite scary," she said, clearly impressed. "The way you used every weapon in your arsenal to get what you wanted…"
She smirked wickedly.
"It makes me want you even more."
This time, Hyouka actually felt a chill run down her spine.
"Alright, that's enough, babe," Cole said calmly. "You're scaring her."
He turned apologetically toward Hyouka.
"Don't take what she says too seriously. She doesn't mean it."
But Hyouka thought to herself:
She absolutely looked like she meant every word though…
And just like that—
Hyouka had made a stellar first impression on Vincent and Jonathan.
Pearl was becoming increasingly terrifying with her threats to steal Hyouka away from Foca.
And most importantly…
Hyouka had successfully secured a date with the brooding, dark-romance-smut-novel male-lead wannabe himself—
Dew.
Everyone rejoice.
Because we finally have our dark romance couple.
Hyouka's thoughts were simple:
I can definitely fix him.
But the real question was—
Will she succeed?
Will Hyouka finally star in her very own dark-romance, enemies-to-lovers story with a touch of yearning?
Will she tame the brooding zaddy in the end?
Stay tuned to find out. 🤭