Chapter: 10
Seo-ah had no regrets about accepting Se-yeon’s plan.
However, she only hated herself for being unable to remain composed in this situation.
Seo-ah buried her face into her long, curled hair.
Watching her every action, which was awkward beyond belief, the man seemed dissatisfied as he rubbed his eyebrow.
“Hmm……”
After letting out a quiet sigh, he stared at Seo-ah.
Then, as if he had made up his mind, he casually spoke.
“Come in.”
At his voice breaking the silence, Seo-ah flinched and raised her head.
Unlike before, the door was now opened wide.
“Ah……”
Standing in front of the open door, she hesitated and could not bring herself to enter.
Then Tae-gyeong, who was leaning against the opened door with his back against it, added in an annoyed tone.
“Or do you want to just leave? That’s fine too.”
“Ah, no.”
“Your actions are very…… slow, aren’t they?”
Tae-gyeong deliberately dragged out his words.
It seemed like he was openly showing his dissatisfaction with Seo-ah’s inability to act quickly.
Realizing this, Seo-ah hurriedly spoke.
“I’m sorry. I’ll go in.”
She could not delay any longer.
Before he changed his mind, Seo-ah quickly stepped inside the room.
When she hurriedly entered and stood at the entrance, her eyes widened.
The suite room located exclusively on the 20th floor was an ultra-luxurious space where the living room, bedroom, and office area were separated, with even a swimming pool on the terrace.
She unconsciously swallowed.
A customer who stayed in a room like this for just one night……
Only now did she truly realize who she was dealing with.
“Sit down.”
Tae-gyeong walked past her, sat on the sofa first, and gestured for her to sit opposite him.
However, Seo-ah remained standing in front of the sofa table and looked over it.
A neatly arranged whiskey bottle, an ice bucket, and two crystal glasses that looked expensive at first glance were placed side by side.
“Is standing more comfortable? Well, I don’t really care.”
“What? Ah, no. It’s just that I thought if I’m here to serve drinks, I should sit beside the department head.”
Tae-gyeong let out a blatant scoff.
His sharp gaze pierced her.
“You’re quite proactive, but I don’t like drinking alcohol poured by someone else.”
Seo-ah stopped without saying anything.
She was surprised because the man who was supposedly obsessed with women had an unexpected preference.
She had not expected this reaction from him at all.
With an awkward expression, she stood in front of the sofa opposite him.
Then she carefully grabbed the edge of her short skirt and sat down.
During that moment, Tae-gyeong’s gaze fell on her fingers.
Seo-ah’s movements were cautious, and her eyes were filled with anxiety.
Her fingers nervously holding onto her short skirt showed exactly that.
Could it be that she was wearing clothes like this for the first time?
Even someone else looking at her would have thought the same.
“Who sent you?”
“Yes, yes?”
Seo-ah’s heart dropped.
Wasn’t sending an Edge hostess here the agreed plan?
“I asked who sent you. Rin’s boss wouldn’t have sent you here for no reason. Was it Director Seo? An executive from Dong-ha Motors?”
“……!”
Just hearing the company name caused a storm inside her heart.
From the moment Se-yeon gave her the photograph of her father-in-law with a Taeyu representative, they had become complete enemies in her mind.
Seo-ah calmly suppressed her rising anger and strengthened her gaze.
“Yes, it was Director Seo.”
“Ha.”
As if he had expected this, Tae-gyeong let out a hollow laugh.
He rubbed the deep wrinkles between his eyebrows several times before twisting his lips.
Damn it……
After swallowing a quiet curse, Tae-gyeong reached for the whiskey bottle in front of him as if he wanted to drink out of irritation.
That was when—
“I know it’s not your preference, but I’ll pour you a glass anyway.”
Seo-ah grabbed the bottle faster than Tae-gyeong and spoke.
Tae-gyeong stared at her with a stiff expression for a moment without saying anything.
Then, with an unreadable expression, he lifted his glass.
“Fine.”
Seo-ah held the whiskey bottle tightly with both hands and slowly filled his glass.
The drops of alcohol fell slowly, as if expressing her heavy heart.
When she finally placed the bottle down, unable to control her trembling hands, it hit the glass table with a loud clattering sound.
Perhaps the noise irritated Tae-gyeong.
His brow slightly twisted as he held the half-filled glass.
“As expected, you’re not my type.”
He tilted his head and placed the glass back down on the table.
“……!”
Seo-ah’s face turned pale.
What if he did not like her and kicked her out?
What if he realized she was fake?
Those anxieties quickly consumed her.
“I don’t know what Director Seo said, but I don’t like drinking with women beside me.”
That couldn’t be true.
Seo-ah, who completely trusted Se-yeon, could not believe his words.
“Do you…… not like me?”
Either he was making an excuse to throw away someone suspicious, or he truly was not interested.
Wasn’t it one of those two possibilities?
“If that’s what you think, can you leave?”
Seo-ah was confused.
It was not because she was confident in her appearance.
It was because she believed in the image of Kang Tae-gyeong that existed in Se-yeon’s story.
But when she thought about the man she met at the funeral, she could not believe these two were the same person.
Rather, none of Se-yeon’s descriptions matched him.
What should she do?
Seo-ah desperately tried to hold onto her shaken heart.
Regardless, Kang Tae-gyeong was one person.
The trash from Se-yeon’s story and the person who saved her at the funeral were both this same man.
Thinking about it, everyone had different sides to themselves.
She convinced herself that she had simply seen two different sides of the same person.
At that moment, because of her nervousness, Seo-ah’s dry lips parted and a cracked voice escaped.
“What do I need to do to make you like me, Department Head?”
She did not care if she looked desperate or shameless.
If she could gain his favor, she had to do anything.
However, contrary to Seo-ah’s expectations, Kang Tae-gyeong’s expression, which had been faintly amused, only hardened further.
His deep eyes, which felt cold, seemed to pierce through her entire body.
What should she do?
His eyes were telling her that she was not the one he wanted.
How could she seduce someone like this?
For someone who had never even experienced a proper relationship, it was an impossible problem.
Besides, her heavy makeup that looked almost like a disguise and her outfit that barely covered only the important parts made her look exactly like what people called an “escort girl.”
Even if he was obsessed with women, he would hate this appearance…… right?
Just as Seo-ah began sinking into self-disgust while trying to do anything she could—
The man, who had silently watched her for a while, finally spoke in a cold voice.
“What are you supposed to do? Can someone’s feelings change just because you try? And who are you that I need to explain something like that to you?”
“……”
She could not say anything.
However, rather than breaking her spirit, the man’s attitude, from his tone to his icy gaze, made her heart grow stronger.
Accepting a plan that required her to sleep with a man who might be her enemy was never easy.
Accepting Se-yeon’s dangerous and shocking plan had been her only choice.
Because this was the only way to uncover the truth.
Seo-ah gathered her resolve again and decided to cling to him one more time.
“I’m nothing, of course. But…… I want to be someone you like, Department Head.”
Perhaps those words irritated him again.
Tae-gyeong let out a hollow laugh, and his voice became even lower.
It seemed he disliked how someone who was obviously a beginner was desperately clinging to him.
“Do you need money?”
“……What?”
“Why do you keep asking again? It’s tiring. I asked if you need money.”
Money?
For a moment, Seo-ah’s mind went blank.
Unable to understand his intention, she only moved her confused eyes.
“Is my question really that difficult? Should I ask again after setting an amount?”
Tae-gyeong’s attitude was completely different from when they stood in front of the hotel room door.
The playful teasing, the sly curiosity, and the joking manner he had shown before had all disappeared.
“No, that’s not it. This is my first time doing something like this, so I was awkward and a little surprised. I’m sorry. And yes, I need money.”
At Seo-ah’s answer, Tae-gyeong nodded and picked up the jacket he had thrown over the armrest of the sofa.
“For someone inexperienced, you’re pretty persistent. So I guess you have some kind of killer move. Try it. Right now.”
