Eun-soo returned to the Gleam Tower, the quiet hum of the elevator feeling far too loud against the rapid beating of her heart.
Once inside her penthouse, she moved like a ghost through the darkened rooms, her mind a chaotic blur of the day's events.
She went directly to the shower, letting the warm water cascade over her shoulders, but even the steam couldn't wash away the image of Jin-woo's face.
She realized with a start that her thoughts weren't on Kang Min-ho at all, despite his perfect manners and their pleasant evening together.
Her mind was anchored on Jin-woo—why had they been celebrating so intensely, and why had he walked straight to the elevator without a word to her?
After drying off, she slipped into a delicate white short night dress that felt soft against her skin and climbed into her oversized bed.
But sleep was an impossible stranger; every time she closed her eyes, she saw him standing there in his signature black suit.
Frustrated by her own curiosity, she sat up, grabbed her laptop, and pulled up the A2 company website.
She navigated to the latest blog post and felt a strange surge of pride as she read about the completion of the "Heart" GPU cluster—the "heart" of his company.
She scrolled through the team page, recognizing the faces of the engineers she had seen laughing and cheering at the restaurant earlier.
Closing the laptop, she lay back down, her gaze fixed on the ceiling as she pictured him—tall, handsome, and effortlessly composed.
"What am I even doing?" she whispered into the dark, shaking her head just like Hajun does when he's being stubborn.
She rolled onto her side, the silk sheets bunching around her legs as she tossed and turned, her body unable to find a comfortable position.
In the dim light of the penthouse, she looked breathtaking; her hair was fanned out across the white pillows like dark silk, and the short night dress revealed the graceful lines of her silhouette.
She pulled the duvet up to cover her face, feeling her cheeks burn with a heat that had nothing to do with the room's temperature.
She had met thousands of handsome, successful men in her life, but none of them possessed that rare balance of gentleness and grounded strength that Jin-woo carried.
Knowing he was a self-made man who raised his son alone after losing his wife made her heart ache with a depth of respect she hadn't felt before.
She remembered how he had naturally taken care of everything during their breakfast the day before, from opening doors to anticipating her needs without being asked.
Even though she was a woman who could handle anything herself, there was a seductive comfort in having someone show up for her so selflessly.
She sat up once more, glancing at the clock and sighing at the late hour; it was clear that tonight would be a battle between her mind and her heart.
Her heart was winning, racing with a rhythm that made sleep feel like a distant, forgotten dream.