You hadn’t planned to fall for your boss. It wasn’t part of your five-year life plan, or any plan at all, really.

You were just a recent graduate when you applied for the job at Jeon Enterprises—a little desperate, a little hopeful, and clinging to a resume you had triple-checked for typos. The world was loud and fast, and you just wanted a place to breathe. A desk, maybe. A chance to start over.

What you didn’t expect was him.

Jeon Jungkook. The CEO.

He was young—for someone who ran one of the country’s biggest tech firms—but he carried himself like a man who had lived a hundred lives. Sharp eyes. Always in black. Distant in a way that made you wonder what kind of past weighed on him.

You remembered the first time you met him.

He didn’t even look up. Just spoke as if you were part of the furniture.

"YN, right?" he said, fingers dancing across his laptop keyboard. "Schedule a meeting with Mr. Han for Friday. And don’t bother bringing coffee—I only drink what I make."

You blinked, thrown off. “Yes, sir.”

He didn’t say anything else.

The days that followed were filled with tension and silence. He never raised his voice, but he didn’t smile either. Your tasks were simple—keep his schedule tight, manage communication, keep things running. And you did it well. That was all he seemed to want: efficiency and distance.

But everything changed the day you met her.

Eunji.

Six years old, full of sunshine, and absolutely nothing like her father.

She skipped into the office one afternoon, clutching a worn-out plush bunny, and stopped right in front of your desk.

“Are you YN?” she asked, peeking up at you through thick lashes.

You smiled. “I am. And who are you, little lady?”

“I’m Eunji! My daddy says you’re really smart and you fix all the things he forgets.”

You laughed. “Well, I try.”

She grinned and took your hand like she’d known you forever.

From that moment, your days were no longer just meetings and memos. Eunji brought color into your world—and Jungkook’s. She began visiting after school, drawing pictures that you pinned to your cubicle, telling you about her friends, her bunny, her favorite cartoons.

She called you her "office bestie."

And through her, you started to see him.

Jeon Jungkook.

Not just the CEO, but the father.

The man who carried two lunchboxes every morning. The man who kept a photo of a woman—beautiful and smiling—in the drawer he thought no one noticed. The man who rubbed his eyes late at night but never asked for help, even when he was clearly drowning in work and loneliness.

And then, there was the night everything shifted.

You had stayed late—again—after helping Jungkook finish a report for a last-minute investor pitch. Eunji had fallen asleep on the couch, her head resting in your lap as you gently stroked her hair.

“She really likes you,” Jungkook had said, voice softer than you’d ever heard it.

You looked up from the sleeping child. “I like her too.”

He hesitated. “She hasn’t… smiled like this in a long time.”

You saw it then—the tired in his eyes. The guilt. The fear.

“She misses her mother,” he said. “Every day. But she’s started drawing you into her family pictures now.”

Your breath caught.

“I’m sorry,” he added quickly. “I don’t want that to scare you away. I just… thought you should know.”

“It doesn’t scare me,” you whispered.

And in that quiet moment, the two of you just sat—no job titles, no office walls. Just two people trying to piece something fragile together.

Then came the kiss.

Tentative. Slow. Full of hesitation and longing.

It wasn’t heated. It wasn’t desperate.

It was scared.

And that made it real.

After that, things changed. Not publicly—never in the office—but in little ways.

He brought you coffee the way you liked it. Eunji started leaving notes in your desk drawer. Jungkook began smiling more. You had dinner with them. Helped with bedtime stories. Slowly, quietly, you became part of their world.

But not everyone liked that.

Jungkook’s mother came into the picture like a storm wrapped in pearls.

She visited the office one cold afternoon, expression unreadable.

“You think you can take her place?” she asked, staring at you like you were dirt on her shoe.

You stood tall. “I’m not trying to take anyone’s place.”

“She was my daughter-in-law. Eunji’s mother. You are just… an employee. A temporary fix.”

You clenched your jaw. “I love them. That’s not temporary.”

She narrowed her eyes. “We’ll see.”

The doubt started eating at you after that. Even though Jungkook never said anything cruel—even though Eunji hugged you tighter than ever—you couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe you didn’t belong.

The gala was the breaking point.

Jeon Enterprises’ annual charity ball. Your first real event at Jungkook’s side. You wore a dress that made you feel like someone new. He looked at you when you walked in… but then he disappeared into the crowd.

Clients. Investors. A woman in red—beautiful, poised, someone who clearly knew him well.

You saw them together on the balcony. Laughing. Leaning in close.

Your chest felt heavy.

You didn’t say goodbye. You didn’t cause a scene.

You just walked away.

And he didn’t follow.

That night, you went home and cried like someone had torn something out of you. The next morning, your resignation was on his desk.

You didn’t wait for a reply.

You left.

Weeks passed. No texts. No calls.

You missed Eunji’s laugh. Missed his voice. Missed the life that had slipped through your fingers like sand.

You tried to move on. You really did.

Until one rainy night, there was a knock on your door.

You opened it… and there he stood.

Jungkook. Soaked to the bone, breathing hard, and holding a sleeping Eunji in his arms.

“Please,” he said. “Don’t shut me out.”

You stepped aside without a word.

He placed Eunji gently on your couch, covering her with the blanket you kept nearby. Then he turned to you, soaked hair dripping, eyes haunted.

“She’s been asking for you every night. Drawing pictures of you. Waiting.”

You swallowed the lump in your throat.

“I thought you didn’t care,” you whispered.

“I did,” he said. “That night at the gala—she was just a friend. Someone who worked with my wife. I was trying to ask about something she remembered from before Eunji was born.”

You looked down. “And your mother?”

“She thinks she’s protecting me. But she doesn’t know what I’ve lost. And she doesn’t know what I found in you.”

He took a shaky breath.

“I was scared,” he said. “Because you weren’t part of the plan. Because you made me feel things I told myself I’d never feel again. But I want you. All of you. If you still want me.”

Your eyes filled with tears.

“I do,” you whispered.

He stepped closer, reaching for your hand like it was the only anchor he had.

“I love you,” he said. “Not because you replaced anyone. But because you’re you. Because you’re the one who made me believe again.”

You threw your arms around him, burying your face in his chest as the rain fell outside.

And that night, for the first time in years… you felt whole.

Weeks later, Eunji ran into your arms at a school play, shouting,

“Mommy YN!”

Jungkook grinned from the sidelines, mouthing our girl.

And you knew then…

You weren’t just his secretary.

You were his second chance.

You were their home.

Thank you for reading 📚 ❤️

From —

Author Mrinal 🌸 🎀 ✨️