TUW | CHAPTER 41

Chapter 41

Keeps Getting in the Way

“Lee Yeon. Why did you come running like that?”

Do-hyun turned her around in his arms to face him.

Then he gently smoothed down her dishevelled bangs one strand at a time.

He even slipped her crooked glasses off her face for a moment.

Lee Yeon simply closed her eyes and let his touch guide her.

“Did you miss me that much?”

Her lips stayed sealed, but she pressed them tight and slowly nodded.

She didn’t need to open her eyes to sense the smile tugging at Do-hyun’s mouth.

His thumb brushed across her neat eyebrows.

Then his hand slid lower, tenderly tracing the mark left by her glasses on the bridge of her nose.

For a while, Lee Yeon surrendered her face to him, then finally tugged at his hand.

“So this is where you were hiding.”

“Not easy to find, is it?”

Leaving his half-proud remark behind, the two of them climbed into the car.

Click.

The moment Lee Yeon fastened her seatbelt, Do-hyun reached over and unlatched it.

She turned to him with a puzzled look, silently asking what on earth he was doing.

Do-hyun only stared at her without a word.

Inside the car, where no one else could see, the jealousy and possessiveness he’d kept hidden broke loose.

His eyes burned with emotion as they locked onto Lee Yeon’s.

In the sealed-off space, no sound could intrude.

Only their gazes collided.

“Lee Yeon.”

His low voice pierced her ears, cool and sharp.

His arm slid around her waist.

Startled by the tight hold, Lee Yeon flinched, but his grip only grew firmer.

“Yes.”

As she lifted her head, Do-hyun’s body and face drew closer.

His arm stretched past her thigh, boxing her in.

His body came down, caging her between his arms.

The hand that reached sideways groped for something.

A moment later, he found it—the lever to recline her seat.

The backrest collapsed in an instant, laying flat against the rear seat.

Her unguarded body fell with it.

The moment her back hit the seat, warmth pressed against her lips.

At first, the kiss lingered softly, as if it might end quickly.

But the warmth soon consumed her mouth.

Lee Yeon clutched at his forearm as he devoured her.

“Mm—”

His hand caressed her cheek with a gentleness that clashed against the fierce invasion of his tongue.

When she moved, his other hand pressed firmly on her crown, holding her still.

There could only be one reason Do-hyun was pushing her this hard.

Ji-hoo.

His desire to claim her was written in every breath.

When Lee Yeon tried to pull back, unable to keep up with his urgent pace, he dragged her back into the kiss with relentless insistence.

In the cramped car, there was nowhere to run.

The hand that held her head in place slid down her face.

At his touch, a shiver raced through her body.

His palm skimmed her waist with slow care before moving upward, making her twitch.

And then he stopped.

It was as if he knew she wasn’t ready for more.

She realised then—he was holding back, showing restraint for her sake.

There had been times when another man’s touch brushed her by chance.

Even when it was meaningless contact, the memories of the past rushed back, leaving her cold with disgust.

She would wonder what the other person had meant by it, doubting them unfairly.

Even disguised, she knew men rarely paid her attention, yet every accidental touch made her stiffen with fear and break into a cold sweat.

But with Do-hyun, there was no such resistance.

Instead, she wanted to cling to him.

She wanted him to hold her tighter, to never let her go.

If we became one like this, I wouldn’t mind.

Every touch of his hand carried his heart, his sincerity.

His warmth seared her, igniting a fire in her body.

So this is the feeling… wanting every part of someone.

Do-hyun must have felt the same.

She wanted all of him.

And she wanted him to take all of her in return.

But not here.

Not in the car.

Even so, while he didn’t cross the line, he pressed harder, deeper, until she thought he might swallow her whole.

When she couldn’t breathe anymore, she tapped urgently at his forearm.

Feeling the faint vibration, Do-hyun finally lifted his head.

“Haa.”

Lee Yeon gasped for air, her breath ragged.

“That bastard keeps getting in the way.”

His hand cupped her cheek.

“Ji-hoo?”

“Don’t call him that.”

The tenderness in his eyes hardened at her words.

“I don’t like his eyes. They’re dull.”

“They say he has clear eyes.”

“Are you trying me?”

His raised brows refused to settle, quivering with irritation.

Seeing that, Lee Yeon smiled softly and reached up, stroking them down.

“So, what shall we do now?”

A gentle curve lifted her lips.

She smoothed his brows back into place.

“I like this face better.”

Her smile drew one from Do-hyun too.

He pressed a kiss to her small, rounded forehead.

“Watching you sit across from him, I couldn’t help myself.”

So that was it.

Seeing her at the same table as Ji-hoo had riled him up.

“I thought so.”

“Looking at these lips, chattering with him all day… how could I resist?”

“Even one minute of yours feels like a whole day stolen from me.”

When did he become so honest about his feelings?

His jealous words made her heart race.

“I hate that you even share your real self with him.”

“I told him I had a boyfriend.”

At that, Do-hyun lifted his face from her forehead and looked at her.

This time, his smile was deeper.

“When did you pull something so pretty?”

“When you were glaring at me in your office?”

He laughed, low and warm.

The curve of his eyes as he smiled filled her with happiness.

He was a man who found joy in the smallest of words.

“But I’m a little hurt.”

“Why?”

His lifted lips fell.

What was hurting him now?

Lee Yeon widened her round eyes, curious.

“You call him so familiarly, but me… I’m still just ‘Vice President.’”

“Ah…”

She’d been using that title so long, it had never occurred to her to change it.

It just came naturally, but clearly, it had been bothering him.

He had already dropped ‘Secretary Yoo’ a long time ago.

But for her, breaking the habit suddenly felt impossible.

“Then… what should I call you? Honey?”

Her mouth dropped open.

She’d never imagined hearing that word from him.

The way he said it in his deep voice made her cheeks burn instantly.

“I… I can’t! Not yet!”

“Then darling?”

“T-that’s even worse!”

“Oppa?”

No way.

No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t say any of them.

Yet Do-hyun spoke them without the faintest embarrassment.

“That’s… that’s impossibly hard! I need time.”

She shook her head frantically, and he chuckled.

“Well, we are married, so ‘darling’ fits.”

“Y-you still call me ‘Lee Yeon’ though!”

“That’s my pet name for you.”

“No one else would think that’s a pet name.”

Do-hyun confidently held out his phone.

Her name was saved as My Lee Yeon.

So to him, just adding “my” made it an endearment.

“It’s a pet name. I’ve never saved anyone like this before. Only you.”

His shy sincerity left her speechless.

He meant it.

“I’m touched. I didn’t expect you to even change that.”

“What about me?”

“…”

Uh-oh.

“What am I saved as?”

Her eyes darted nervously.

Because…

It was simply Vice President.

She couldn’t possibly show him that.

“But what if someone sees it? ‘My Lee Yeon’?”

“Then I’ll just drop the name.”

“No.”

His refusal was firm.

If this conversation went on, she would only lose.

Neither pet names nor contact names were things she was ready for yet.

“By the way… why did you pretend not to notice earlier? You didn’t say you’d be at the dinner.”

“I was going to spy on you.”

He grinned mischievously.

“But I didn’t expect you to be that close.”

Close?

She had only been sitting across from Ji-hoo.

It was the only open seat.

Unfair as it was, she pressed her lips together instead of arguing.

“That’s why I had to vent my flipped-over mood on your lips.”

His face lowered again, hovering just above hers.

This time, he stopped just shy of kissing her.

“We’re in the car.”

She gestured toward the window.

Now that she looked, even though they were parked deep inside, people still walked past from time to time.

“No one

can see.”

“And if they do?”

“I don’t care.”

Sensing his lips about to claim hers again, Lee Yeon closed her eyes.

But instead of the kiss she braced for, his lips pressed a quick peck to her brow.

Then he pulled back.

It was nothing like the wild man who had devoured her minutes ago.

“Enough. Let’s go home.”

“And once we’re there?”