Every morning, Kyrah woke up feeling a little different.
Her stomach was getting bigger.
Her clothes were becoming tighter.
And Peppa seemed to have developed a personal schedule of his own, choosing the most inconvenient moments to remind her that he was there.
Kyrah placed one hand over her stomach as she stood in front of the mirror that morning.
"Good morning, Peppa."
A small movement answered her.
She smiled.
"You're becoming very active."
She picked up her bag and headed for work.
By now, she had become an expert at dressing in ways that made her pregnancy less obvious. Loose blouses, structured jackets, comfortable trousers. Nothing too tight.
But there was only so much clothing could hide.
Her body was changing.
And people were beginning to notice.
---
At the office, Flora was the first to notice that Kyrah had stopped drinking her usual morning coffee.
Instead, she now carried a bottle of water everywhere.
Flora looked at it one morning and smiled.
"Another day of water?"
Kyrah glanced at the bottle.
"Yes."
"You used to drink coffee like it was oxygen."
Kyrah laughed.
"People change."
"Apparently."
Flora returned to her desk.
She knew exactly why Kyrah's habits had changed.
But she wasn't going to say anything.
She had promised Kyrah that her secret was safe with her.
And Flora took promises seriously.
---
The HANEUL HOME team had a demonstration scheduled that afternoon.
Kyrah walked into the testing area with Youning and Xiumin.
"Let's run the full sequence again," she said.
Youning checked the system.
"Smart lighting?"
"Working."
"Thermostat?"
"Working."
"Security?"
"Fully integrated."
Kyrah nodded.
"Good. Let's test the emergency response."
The demonstration began.
Everything worked smoothly.
The lights adjusted automatically.
The blinds responded to the system.
The temperature changed according to the room's activity.
The security sensors recognized movement.
Kyrah watched everything carefully.
Then Youning noticed something.
Kyrah had stepped back instead of moving closer to inspect one of the units.
He smiled.
"Look at you."
Kyrah turned.
"What?"
"You finally learned how to delegate."
She laughed.
"What are you talking about?"
"You used to be the first person to touch everything."
"I still am."
"No."
Youning pointed toward Xiumin.
"You told him to check the sensor."
Then he pointed toward another technician.
"You asked her to handle the wiring."
He looked back at Kyrah.
"That's delegation."
Kyrah smiled.
"Maybe I'm becoming a better leader."
"Maybe."
Youning returned to the equipment.
Kyrah smiled to herself.
She didn't tell him the real reason she was being more careful.
But she appreciated that he hadn't questioned it.
---
During the afternoon meeting, Kyrah sat beside Flora while Xiumin presented the latest data.
Halfway through the discussion, Kyrah suddenly felt tired.
Not the ordinary kind.
It was the kind of exhaustion that seemed to settle deep inside her bones.
She leaned back slightly.
Flora noticed immediately.
Without saying anything, she pushed a packet of crackers toward her.
Kyrah looked at her.
Flora raised an eyebrow.
Eat.
Kyrah smiled and opened the packet.
Across the table, Seojun noticed.
He didn't say anything.
But his eyes remained on her for a moment before returning to the presentation.
The meeting continued.
---
Later that evening, Kyrah was still at her desk when Seojun walked past her office.
He stopped.
"You're still here."
Kyrah looked up.
"It's not late."
He checked his watch.
"It's almost eight."
She looked at the clock.
Her eyes widened.
"Already?"
Seojun nodded.
"You've been working for hours."
"I didn't notice."
"I did."
Kyrah smiled.
"You notice everything lately."
"Apparently."
She laughed.
"I just need to finish this."
Seojun stepped closer to her desk.
"What is it?"
"The revised HANEUL HOME projections."
"I can have someone finish them."
"No."
"Kyrah."
"I'll finish."
He looked at her for a moment.
Then he picked up the folder.
"I'll review the remaining sections."
She reached for it.
"I can—"
"You can go home."
She stopped.
He wasn't ordering her.
He was simply making it easier for her to say yes.
Kyrah sighed.
"You're becoming very difficult."
"I've been told."
She smiled.
"Fine. But I'm taking the folder with me."
"Deal."
She packed her things.
As they walked toward the elevator, Seojun noticed her slowing down slightly.
"You okay?"
"Yes."
"Sure?"
"Yes."
He didn't ask again.
Instead, he pressed the elevator button.
When the doors opened, Kyrah stepped inside.
Seojun followed.
Neither spoke for a few seconds.
Then Kyrah looked at him.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For noticing."
He looked at her.
"I notice because you're important to the project."
Kyrah smiled.
"Just the project?"
Seojun's expression changed for the briefest moment.
Then he smiled.
"Let's start with the project."
Kyrah laughed.
The elevator doors opened.
Neither of them mentioned the moment again.
---
The following morning, something unexpected happened.
Chairman Park visited the company.
Seojun's father rarely involved himself in the day-to-day operations of the division, but he had taken an increasing interest in HANEUL HOME.
He had been reviewing the project's progress.
And one name kept appearing in the reports.
Kyrah Kim.
Project Head.
Strategic Lead.
The person responsible for coordinating the technical and commercial teams.
He had seen the numbers.
He had read the reports.
But numbers could only tell him so much.
He wanted to meet the person behind them.
Seojun entered the conference room with his father.
Kyrah was already there with Xiumin, Youning, and several members of the team.
She stood immediately.
"Good morning, Chairman Park."
Chairman Park nodded.
"Good morning, Ms. Kim."
His eyes briefly moved toward the presentation screen.
"Please continue."
Kyrah began.
She didn't rush.
She didn't try to impress him with complicated words.
She explained HANEUL HOME clearly, focusing on what the technology could actually accomplish for customers.
When he asked a difficult question about long-term scalability, she answered without hesitation.
When he challenged one of the projected figures, she acknowledged the weakness rather than pretending the number was perfect.
"I think that estimate needs to be reviewed," Kyrah admitted. "I'd rather correct it now than defend a number we can't guarantee later."
Chairman Park looked at her.
Then he nodded.
"Good answer."
Seojun watched his father carefully.
Chairman Park asked another question.
Kyrah answered.
Another.
She answered that too.
By the end of the meeting, Chairman Park had stopped looking at her as simply another employee.
He was evaluating her as a professional.
And he liked what he saw.
When the presentation ended, he closed the folder in front of him.
"You understand your project."
Kyrah smiled.
"I try to."
"You don't just understand it."
He glanced at Seojun.
"You believe in it."
Kyrah looked at the screen.
"I do."
Chairman Park nodded.
"That is valuable."
As Kyrah gathered her documents, Chairman Park said,
"Continue working the way you are."
She looked at him.
"Thank you, Chairman."
He walked out with Seojun.
Once they were outside the room, Seojun's father looked at him.
"She is very capable."
Seojun smiled.
"I know."
"She doesn't seem intimidated easily."
"She isn't."
Chairman Park smiled faintly.
"Good."
He paused.
"And you seem to trust her."
Seojun didn't answer immediately.
"I do."
His father looked at him for another second.
Then he simply continued walking.
---
Back inside the conference room, Youning leaned toward Xiumin.
"Did you see that?"
Xiumin looked at him.
"See what?"
"Chairman Park actually liked her."
Xiumin smiled.
"Why wouldn't he?"
Youning nodded.
"True."
Flora looked at Kyrah.
"You handled that well."
Kyrah smiled.
"I was terrified."
"You didn't look terrified."
"I was."
Youning laughed.
"You hid it well."
Kyrah gathered her papers.
"That's because I have a reputation to maintain."
They laughed.
For a moment, Kyrah forgot about everything else.
The pregnancy.
The past.
Jinyoung.
The uncertainty about what her future would look like.
She was simply Kyrah.
A woman who had built something important with her own hands.
---
That evening, Seojun found her in the office again.
This time, he didn't say anything about the clock.
He simply placed something on her desk.
A small container.
Kyrah looked at it.
"What is this?"
"Fruit."
She opened it.
Mangoes.
She looked up at him.
"You really remembered."
"I remember."
She smiled.
"You really notice everything, don't you?"
Seojun looked at her.
His expression softened.
"Only the things that matter."
Kyrah's smile slowly grew.
She looked down at the mangoes.
Then back at him.
For some reason, those simple words stayed with her.
Only the things that matter.
She didn't know exactly what she meant to Seojun.
She wasn't sure she wanted to know yet.
But she knew one thing.
Somewhere between the meetings, the long workdays, the HANEUL HOME project, the small gestures, and the unexpected moments...
Seojun had slowly become part of her life so naturally that she didn't even realise it.