Chapter : 05
Yoon Seol was drawn to that powerful message and decided to return to Korea. She had to find out who had sent it, and therefore uncover the truth.
She also had to find out who had pushed both her father’s life and her own into the abyss—and why.
So right now, this was what she needed to focus on.
No matter how Han Do-geon had suddenly appeared again, she had her own path to follow.
Especially since she hadn’t even found a single solid clue yet.
[The X of mine you opened can’t even be returned now, Seol-ah.]
[Be my lover, and keep using it.]
Thinking about whether she and he could become lovers, or about their push-and-pull emotions, was a luxury she couldn’t afford.
“…….”
She had packed far too many thoughts into a single cup of coffee.
“But why isn’t he coming out?”
The rush of employees leaving work was almost over, yet Assistant Manager Kwak was nowhere to be seen.
“I really wanted to talk to Assistant Manager Kwak today.”
As evening approached and the sun went down, the temperature gradually began to drop.
Yoon Seol rubbed her cold fingertips against the hand warmer Hyunshin Construction had given her and blew warm breath over them.
On her first day, she had run away, but starting the next day, she had become shameless enough to grit her teeth and walk past without acknowledging the picket sign.
“Did he go out to the parking lot? Hmm. No. Assistant Manager Kwak’s car hasn’t come out. Then did he leave work early?”
Thinking through the various possibilities, Yoon Seol let out a small sigh.
“He should at least file a defamation suit. I’ve been waiting.”
Her client was already facing a countersuit for stalking, so approaching him directly would put her at a disadvantage.
Even so, the reason she was holding a silent protest was because she wanted to create an opportunity to meet him face-to-face—whether he sued her again or suggested a settlement.
Her client was that desperate, and for someone in such dire circumstances, Yoon Seol wanted to do her very best.
“…….”
After working hours passed, the number of people leaving through the main entrance noticeably dwindled. Assistant Manager Kwak was still nowhere to be seen.
I guess it’s not happening today.
With a hollow feeling, she lowered the picket sign she had been holding and began folding the parasol.
“Seol-ah.”
A languid, low voice struck her from behind.
Her rounded shoulders flinched upward.
“Were you about to go in?”
How long had he been standing behind her?
The man approached leisurely, his hands tucked into his trouser pockets, like a satiated beast.
One by one, the streetlights came on behind his towering frame, illuminating the handsome man like a halo.
Do-geon, whose default expression was a chilly blankness, seemed unusually cheerful today.
The fact that she had noticed it herself startled her a little.
“……Hello, Executive Director.”
Yoon Seol greeted him as casually as she could. She would have to keep running into him anyway.
Just as her friend had said, he was a man she couldn’t afford to anger, if only for the sake of the friend’s café that had helped her.
“I thought you were busy. It’s nice to see you have some free time.”
Do-geon came closer, giving off a dangerous air.
“If you’re doing well enough to live, why don’t you pay me back for my virginity?”
“……!”
“Is being my lover really that difficult?”
The moment they met, his “virginity attack” started again.
Her empty fist clenched tightly.
She had decided that she needed to reject him. But when she actually faced a man with such an overwhelming presence, fear suddenly gripped her.
This man is a gangster, after all…… If I reject him, will he retaliate? What should I do?
Even in that brief moment, Yoon Seol’s mind raced furiously. Carefully, she parted her lips.
“Executive Director, I’m only asking because I’m curious. When you keep telling me to pay you back for your virginity, does that…… mean you want to sleep with me repeatedly? Often, many times……?”
She had calculated that if he wanted nothing more than a physical relationship, she would have a clear reason to reject him.
But—
“Oh. Is that what you mean? I meant that you should take responsibility for eating mine and running away. I hadn’t thought about a specific number of times.”
Do-geon seemed to interpret it somewhat differently.
“Gasp, I—I meant, could you please watch your wording……!”
Without realizing it, Yoon Seol glanced around at the empty surroundings.
He bent down and came right up to her. Her flustered face was reflected fully in his pitch-black eyes.
Thump, thump.
Her oblivious heart kept pounding violently, completely ignoring its owner’s predicament.
“You were drawing up quite a big picture with that tiny little head of yours, Seol-ah.”
A big, filthy picture I haven’t even drawn yet.
A peculiar glint appeared in his eyes as he added the thought.
A shiver ran down her spine.
“Of course, I wouldn’t mind, but it’d be dangerous for you.”
“……!”
“Would you be okay with that?”
No. She would absolutely not be okay with it.
She had never expected the conversation to head in this direction.
Yoon Seol instinctively shook her head, regretting having provoked him in the first place.
“Um, about what I just said…… please pretend you didn’t hear it.”
“That sounds like an appropriate and proper solution. You were the one who suggested it first, too.”
“No! I wasn’t suggesting it……!”
This was bad.
She had only brought it up for no reason, ended up provoking him, and now everything had become ambiguously tangled.
“Anyway, that’s just a little too—”
“Too what?”
“No, I was being thoughtless!”
“Why blow up my expectations if you’re not going to follow through?”
“Th-that’s not what I meant—”
“Now you’ve got me worked up again. Because of the expectations you gave me.”
Following his gaze downward, Yoon Seol silently stared in horror.
Oh, no……!
It was an awkward situation that vividly brought back memories of that hot, dizzying night in Italy.
“Seol-ah.”
His voice was unexpectedly gentle, completely different from what was happening below.
As if spellbound, she raised her head, and her gaze met his immaculate face.
“Before you bare your thorns and charge at someone, look at who you’re dealing with and make your judgment.”
Yoon Seol had to admit he was right.
She seemed to have chosen the wrong person to pick a fight with.
“…….”
“That doesn’t mean you have to look so dejected, though. It’s not like I’m going to eat you.”
Not yet.
Do-geon left the latter part unsaid and casually reached out to pull down Yoon Seol’s mask.
Truthfully, he had wanted to do this for a while.
He wanted to freely enjoy all the different expressions that would cross Yoon Seol’s face when she was flustered and surprised.
But instead of a variety of expressions, her small, slightly stiffened face was filled with gloomy worry.
Even her soft, plump cheeks, which had once seemed so wonderfully touchable, looked a little thinner.
More than anything, he didn’t like the way Seo Yoon Seol had become as stiff as Seoul’s bleak forest of skyscrapers.
Why was the girl who had been hopelessly soft and pliable from the moment they first met losing more and more of her vitality every time he saw her, looking more like a stone?
He had even laid everything out for her so she could work comfortably and do well, considering she was going to be working right in front of his company.
Tsk.
Clicking his tongue, he pulled her mask back up.
The tiny face that had peeked out disappeared again.
With the mask back on, Yoon Seol’s large, clear eyes stood out even more.
Enough to naturally make him curious about the rest of her face.
Fuck. No wonder all those shady bastards keep hovering around her, curious to see what’s underneath.
“Ha.”
Do-geon gave a hollow laugh and roughly ran a hand through his hair.
What he had occasionally observed from above had been ridiculous.
The smoking area in front of the main entrance, which was usually never particularly crowded, had been packed even during working hours, leaving barely enough room to stand.
It was obvious even from a distance that it was all because of the men loitering around Seo Yoon Seol.
He had moved the smoking area for the time being, but that alone wasn’t enough.
The problem was Seo Yoon Seol herself—the kind of woman who looked as though she made people want to take off her mask even when she was wearing it.
“No matter what happens, never take off your mask. Don’t lower it even for a moment.”
Even so, keeping half her face covered was the more rational choice.
Unless he physically locked the girl inside his own room, that was.
“……Why do I have to do that?”
“There’s no reason. Just think of it as some crazy bastard throwing his weight around.”
Yoon Seol, unaware that this was his way of showing consideration, had a brief flicker of suspicion in her eyes.
Good.
Feeling something like that was better than having her turn into the stone-faced Seo Yoon Seol she had become.
Do-geon let out a few hollow chuckles, like a genuinely crazy man, realizing just how severe his condition had become.
“But why are you doing a job like this, standing around where everyone can see you?”
“Because I need to make a living.”
Yoon Seol narrowed her eyes as if wondering why he was asking something so obvious.
“You come to Hyunshin Construction often, don’t you, Executive Director? Are you a client or something?”
Not knowing that he was actually affiliated with Hyunshin, Yoon Seol looked back and forth between the enormous building and him.
“Something like that.”
He didn’t bother correcting her and added,
“I’ll be coming every day for the next two weeks.”
It was exactly the same period as the protest schedule he had already found out about.
“Ah…… yes…….”
A hint of embarrassment crossed her small face.
The more embarrassed she became, the more twisted satisfaction Do-geon felt.
Seo Yoon Seol trembled and reacted immediately whenever he merely prodded her with a forepaw.
The impact was surprisingly satisfying.
For the first time, he understood the childish notion of why predators played with their prey before devouring them.
“Right. Looks like I’ll be seeing you quite often from now on, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Having interpreted her reaction entirely according to his own whims, Do-geon reached out to take the eco-bag Yoon Seol was carrying.
“No, it’s okay. I’ll carry it.”
Yoon Seol hugged the eco-bag tightly against herself as though it were a precious treasure and refused.
“Want me to walk you home?”
“No.”
“I’ll drive you.”
“No.”
“As you know, I’m as soft-hearted as a feather. I can’t stand watching you struggle.”
Her past, when she had fearlessly provoked him, came rushing back to her.
“……No.”
A tiny crack appeared in her iron wall.
Do-geon didn’t miss the opening and threw a straight pitch.
“Then how about I make sure you eat well and live well, right by my side?”
