The Executive Director's Cold Calculation

Dohyun picked up the file and opened it.

Written across the front was the Replay Project.

"Executive Director of IP Planning Strategy at Kangseong Media. That's your new title now. Make this project a success. Then, and only then, will I consider taking you back."

"Understood. I will never give you cause to be disappointed again."

"Now get out. I can't stand the sight of you."

Dohyun gave a shallow bow and stepped outside.

Loosening the tie that choked his neck, he glanced across the living room. Miyeon was beaming as she popped a cherry tomato into Jinhan's mouth.

"That's my son. I'm so proud of you. I always knew you'd turn out like this."

"Aw, come on. It's all thanks to Mom believing in me. I'll make it big and give you the life of luxury, I promise."

"Yes, yes. I have no wishes left in this world. As long as you do well, that's enough for me."

Dohyun watched the scene for a moment with an indifferent eye, then pulled out his phone. Two rings later, Jihoon picked up.

"Have the car ready. I'm going to Kangseong Media."

"...Understood."

With that clipped exchange, Dohyun hung up. He straightened his tie again and headed out.

A black luxury sedan glided to a stop in front of him, and Jihoon held the door open with practiced courtesy as Dohyun settled in leisurely.

He put on his glasses and opened the file Chairman Kang had handed him. Jihoon stole a glance at him through the rearview mirror.

"What brings you to Kangseong Media, sir?"

"I've been appointed Executive Director of IP Planning Strategy. I'll be working there from now on."

"An appointment, you say. More like a demoti—"

Jihoon caught himself and shut his mouth the moment he caught Dohyun's expression in the mirror.

Isn't he being a little too calm about getting demoted?

Dohyun was reading through the project file with perfect composure, after all.

By the time they were nearly at Kangseong Media, he had finished the entire file. He removed his glasses and pressed a hand to his tired eyes.

Troublesome. This field is completely new to me.

If he wanted to return as CEO of Kangseong Electronics, simply making the project "a success" wouldn't cut it. He would need results that far exceeded success—nothing less would earn him his way back. But Dohyun had spent his entire career at Kangseong Electronics, and he was ignorant of this industry.

Once I'm back, I'll recruit talent from this field first. And I'll clean house among Kangseong Media's current staff, too.

That eel-slippery bastard could not be allowed to sabotage this project.

"How on earth do I escape this company?"

Sojin paced back and forth across her room, racking her brain. Persuading Chairman Lee had failed, which meant she needed a different way out.

"What if I just... don't show up to work?"

Yes! If I skip work without leave, I'd get fired outright, wouldn't I?

But she quickly concluded the idea wouldn't fly. Not showing up meant defying Chairman Lee outright, and with nowhere else to go, Sojin couldn't afford to fall out of his favor.

"Or maybe... what if I become an utterly useless employee?"

Be so bad at the job that they'd have no choice but to fire her. Shred all the important documents, play dumb about every piece of industry jargon.

"Oh my god, that's literally Son Yeji."

Her face scrunched up on its own. A parachute hire who couldn't do her job to save her life—the exact description made her skin crawl.

"God, that's the absolute worst."

Even if this was inside a drama, could she really go that far...?

"No, wait. I've got three feet of rope around my own neck—why am I worrying about anyone else?"

Imitating Son Yeji was, in fact, the surest path available. Make herself so aggravatingly incompetent that word spread through the office. Then a natural environment would form, one where firing Sojin became inevitable—an environment so organic even the original plot couldn't object.

"And then I submit my resignation."

She might be Shinya Group's only daughter, but if an incompetent employee resigned of her own accord, who would refuse to accept it?

Jihoon entered the executive office. Dohyun glanced up at him briefly before returning his eyes to the report. Tucked under Jihoon's arm was a single résumé.

"Executive Director... there is something you must know."

"Go ahead. I'll take my time reading it. Have you spoken with HR? About the person we're scouting for Team Leader of Planning Team 2?"

"Well... apparently someone has already been designated for that position. Someone you know, sir."

"What?"

Jihoon sighed and handed over the résumé. Dohyun took it, skimmed it once, and his brows knitted sharply together.

"Lee Sojin? Don't tell me it's the Lee Sojin I know."

"...Yes, sir. The Lee Sojin of Shinya Group, I'm afraid."

Dohyun let out an incredulous laugh.

A woman who'd done nothing but shop and squander her days in idle pleasure, joining Kangseong Media? As Team Leader of Planning Team 2, no less?

This was, without question, the product of some dirty connection. And it was surely no coincidence that the company she'd wormed into was the very place of his exile.

A cold smile spread across Dohyun's face.

She's getting under my skin.

His fiancée had a way of quietly obstructing his path at every turn. A woman who was nothing but an obstacle—never any help. An impurity he intended to sweep away completely, right before his eyes, one day.

Chairman Kang's words flickered through Dohyun's mind.

She'd claimed to have fallen for him out of nowhere and railroaded the engagement through. Dohyun, too, had always planned to leverage his marriage when the time came. To him, marriage was nothing more than a means of holding onto his position.

And yet that woman had forced even that opportunity out of his hands. He had no intention whatsoever of marrying such a foolish woman. The engagement was only hard to break because Chairman Kang was so thoroughly delighted by the union of the two families.

The ideal scenario, from Dohyun's standpoint, was for Sojin herself to declare the engagement over. The lowest-risk path—the one requiring him to shoulder no blame at all.

Dohyun pulled his tie loose with one finger.

I don't have to break the engagement right now, but I'll be damned if I let her waltz into the company and make a circus of it.

Kangseong Media was Dohyun's last chance. If Sojin wrecked it, the one who'd suffer for it was ultimately him.

He began reading the résumé slowly.

Graduated from a prestigious American university with a 4.2 GPA. Not a single certification. No work experience whatsoever.

A 4.2 from a top university? Dohyun sneered. She'd probably bought the grades. Paid a ghostwriter for her thesis, too, no doubt.

"Who recommended her?"

"CEO Jeong, reportedly."

"Looks like he's gotten something out of the Shinya Group chairman. Contact CEO Jeong. Tell him I want to see him now."

Dohyun rose from his seat, shrugged on the suit jacket hanging from the coat rack, and strode out. His expression was colder than it had been in a long, long time.

"E-Executive Director!"

Jeong Jongcheol, CEO of Kangseong Media, shot up from his chair in a panic. On paper, Jongcheol was the CEO—but the real power in the building was Dohyun, and Jongcheol did not hesitate to bow his head accordingly.

He hastily gestured to the seat of honor.

"P-please, sit here. What can I get you to drink—"

Dohyun settled into the seat of honor and crossed his legs with easy composure, Jihoon standing at his side. His tone was light as he addressed Jongcheol.

"Let's keep it simple. Just a cup of coffee."

"Of course! Secretary Kim, bring us coffee."

Secretary Kim hurried out to prepare it. Jongcheol scrambled into the seat beside Dohyun, fidgeting restlessly.

"So, what brings you here today...?"

"I've become your Executive Director, and I realized it's been far too long since I paid CEO Jeong a proper greeting."

Jongcheol and Dohyun were by no means close, but they were acquainted. Twice a year, Chairman Kang gathered the CEOs of affiliates and partners closely entwined with Kangseong Group for a party—part networking event, part stage for displaying his own stature. The two men had crossed paths at those gatherings now and then, exchanging polite pleasantries.

Jongcheol was quietly breaking into a sweat. Dohyun would not have come all this way for a "brief greeting." There had to be a real reason behind this visit.