ITBF 10

CHAPTER 10

When Haesom’s eyes reddened with tears, Jaehyeon looked down at her intently.

Feeling his gaze, Haesom tried to compose herself, telling herself not to cry.

Even so, once her emotions had swelled up, she couldn’t immediately calm them.

Just as she was becoming flustered because she felt as though she might start crying again, a warm sensation touched her hand.

Startled, she looked up. Jaehyeon was wearing a faint smile as he said,

“Let’s go already. We’ll be spending the whole night standing by the shoe cabinet.”

He had deliberately made a joke so that she wouldn’t feel embarrassed. Finally swallowing her tears completely, Haesom followed him into the living room.

He placed the workbook he had brought on the low table in front of the sofa.

“Come on, sit down. Let’s try a ten-minute lesson.”

He opened the workbook and began explaining things in a gentle voice.

His voice brushing against her ears was soft and light, making her ears tingle.

Haesom absentmindedly admired his face.

My brothers are handsome too, but… what kind of family does he come from to be this good-looking?

“For elementary-school material, you probably won’t need me to teach you much. If you read the theory at the beginning of each chapter, you should be able to solve the problems.”

Haesom didn’t really see the part of the workbook he was pointing to with his long, firm fingers.

Her gaze had fallen instead on his lips as he explained things to her.

How can a man’s lips be that pretty? They look almost like cherries carved into the shape of lips…

Her thoughts made her increasingly flustered.

Then the lips she had been staring at slowly parted.

Haesom’s lips parted as well before she realized what she was doing.

“Who told you to look at me like that during class?”

His low voice made her heart race.

She quickly pulled herself together and looked up, only to become even more nervous under his intense gaze.

“Ah… am I not allowed to?”

“No. If you keep acting like this, starting from the next lesson I’ll grade your work, and every mistake will earn you a punishment.”

“I-I’m okay with that.”

“What?”

Jaehyeon frowned slightly as he looked at her.

“This is really going to become a problem.”

His deep voice sounded again.

Haesom was so nervous that she couldn’t think of what to say. Jaehyeon tapped his index finger lightly against the table.

“Hey, kid.”

As though waking from a trance, Haesom flinched and looked at him.

“Y-Yes?”

“If someone saw you, they might think that your innocent behavior on the island was all an act. Why are you saying things like that and looking at me so strangely?”

Caught off guard by his question, Haesom bit the inside of her lip.

She didn’t know exactly what her expression had looked like, but judging by his words, it must certainly have been rather inappropriate.

After all, she had been thinking about how much she wanted to taste the cherry-like lips she was looking at.

“N-No, I wasn’t…!”

But she couldn’t admit it.

“Why are you making me sound like some strange person?!”

Haesom, shamelessly turning the blame around, placed her hand firmly on the open workbook.

Jaehyeon seemed dumbfounded by her reaction and let out a small laugh.

From the outside, it looked like nothing more than a handsome smile, but there was something rather cold behind it.

That was when Haesom vaguely realized that he probably didn’t like being lied to.

“Our Haesom.”

“……”

“I have an excellent memory. I could describe in great detail exactly what kind of face you made, what your eyes looked like, and even how you were breathing when you looked at me.”

Haesom’s palms began to sweat.

“If your brothers hear that you weren’t paying attention to your lessons and were looking at me like that… what do you think they’ll think?”

Haesom nearly screamed.

That absolutely could not happen.

If her brothers heard that, immediately after leaving the island, she had looked at an unfamiliar man in such a suggestive way, she would die of embarrassment.

Even though she didn’t want to, she was so indignant that her lips naturally formed a pout.

“I… I’m innocent. I just thought your lips looked like cherries, and that made me think about wanting to taste them.”

Silence followed.

Haesom, puzzled by the silence, lifted her lowered gaze.

When their eyes met, Jaehyeon cleared his throat awkwardly and looked away.

Haesom continued speaking to the side of his head without looking away.

“I guess the pizza I ate earlier already digested, so maybe I was just hungry. I’m sorry for thinking about tasting your lips.”

He cleared his throat again.

She wondered whether she had said something wrong, but she still wanted to explain her honest thoughts and clear up the misunderstanding.

Her brothers had gone to the trouble of finding her a private tutor because they cared about her. She didn’t want them to hear that she hadn’t even paid attention during the lesson.

Just then—

Bzzzt—

Jaehyeon’s phone, lying on the table, vibrated.

Jaehyeon slowly stood up.

“I’m going outside for a moment. Try to get a feel for how the theory is presented. You’ll concentrate better if you look at it now. If you’re alone, you might lose focus.”

When Haesom obediently answered, Jaehyeon was about to leave when he reached an arm toward her.

“Could you hand me my jacket for a moment?”

Haesom picked up the jacket she had been wearing all day and had taken off earlier, then handed it to him.

“You’re already wearing a long-sleeved shirt. Are you going to put the jacket on too? Aren’t you hot?”

“No. I suddenly feel a little cold.”

He discreetly used the jacket to cover the front of his trousers as he stood.

When he noticed Haesom looking at him, Jaehyeon hurriedly turned around and left through the entrance.

His walk looked somewhat awkward.

“The air conditioner at the pizza place was really strong earlier. I hope he isn’t coming down with a cold already.”

Haesom worried about him for a moment, then decided that he looked healthy and sturdy enough before turning her attention back to the workbook.

After leaving through the front door, Jaehyeon moved the jacket aside as soon as he heard the door close behind him.

When he cautiously looked down, he realized that his clothing was visibly affected.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, Cha Jaehyeon.”

He was even more flustered because this had never happened to him while he was outside before.

He slowly ran his tongue over his dry lips and sighed, unable to understand his own reaction.

No matter how women had approached him in the past, he had never felt attracted to them; if anything, he had simply frowned.

So how could a single innocent remark from Haesom have affected him so strongly?

“I… I’m innocent. I just thought your lips looked like cherries, and that made me think about wanting to taste them.”

He remembered Haesom from moments earlier, her cheeks flushed as she had earnestly said everything that was on her mind.

That memory only made him more flustered.

“I’m really going crazy.”

Could it be that he was unusually attracted to someone with Haesom’s soft, delicate appearance?

He rubbed his eyes with one dry hand.

“……Executive Director.”

At that moment, Secretary Kim’s voice came from outside the gate.

When he looked up, he could vaguely see her silhouette through the bars.

Ah, right.

He had come outside because he had heard that Secretary Kim was waiting for him in front of the house.

Come to think of it, she had unintentionally saved him from an embarrassing situation.

He took a deep breath and tied the jacket around his waist.

He had been trying to conceal his discomfort, but fortunately, thinking about Secretary Kim seemed to help him regain his composure.

So this reaction really is only happening around Haesom.

Suppressing his confused thoughts, he crossed the yard and walked toward the gate.

Creak—

When he opened the gate, Secretary Kim greeted him warmly.

“Executive Director, I brought everything you asked for!”

Five or six large shopping bags were lined up beside her.

“I bought only trendy clothes. I researched what women in their early twenties are wearing these days before purchasing everything, which is why it took a while. Still, I think the recipient will really like them.”

“Good work.”

Jaehyeon had already regained his composure, as though his earlier awkwardness in front of Haesom had never happened.

“Shall I carry them inside?”

“I’ll do it.”

Jaehyeon divided the shopping bags between both hands. Judging from their considerable weight, he figured they must have been difficult for Secretary Kim to carry by herself.

“You’ve worked hard today. If there’s nothing urgent left at the office, go home directly. I’ll tell Manager Hyun.”

“Oh, thank you. Then I’ll gratefully head home. And, Executive Director, here is the additional 2G phone you asked for. I couldn’t find a new one on such short notice, so I brought a used one that was in relatively good condition.”

Jaehyeon acknowledged it and put the phone into his pocket.

He turned around to go back inside the gate, but Secretary Kim called out to him.

“Excuse me, Executive Director.”

Jaehyeon answered quietly.

“Go ahead.”

“……May I ask once again what your relationship is with the person receiving the gift?”

“My best friend’s younger sister.”

“Do you really have feelings for her…?”

Jaehyeon turned completely around to look at Secretary Kim.

At his suddenly cold expression, she flinched and lowered her gaze.

“Since when did you become so interested in my personal affairs?”

“I’m sorry, Executive Director. I only asked because… this is the first time I’ve ever seen you behave this way, so I was personally curious. I crossed the line. I’m sorry.”

“Go.”

Jaehyeon spoke coldly before entering through the gate.

Secretary Kim got into her car, started the engine, and rolled down the window.

When she heard the front door of the house Jaehyeon had entered opening and closing, she rolled the window back up and called someone.

“It’s me.”

—Are you sure she’s Cha Jaehyeon’s girlfriend?