A rough sigh, sharpened with irritation, settled heavily against Yeon-ha’s chest.

“Ah… Minister Ji Kang-do.”

Her biological father was the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, and a ruthless man.

He was someone who would not hesitate to destroy others to get what he wanted.

If he found out about this…

She had to leave before he found out. But what if he saw her while she was trying to leave?

Yeon-ha’s vision darkened in an instant.

For a moment, she wondered if he had called for Tae-moo because he had seen her.

The thought made her feel as though her entire body were plunging into darkness.

No.

If he had seen her, he would have summoned her straight away with Tae-moo.

After all, Yeon-ha knew better than anyone what kind of man her father was.

He was the person who had pushed her into h*ll.

She had never wanted to acknowledge him as family. Yet, unless she could drain every drop of blood from her body, she could not escape the truth.

On Ji Kang-do’s family registry, only her name remained.

Running away had never been an option.

Once, someone else had been listed there too…

“Set up an appointment. Then he won’t come demanding to see me without warning.”

Sweeping back the hair falling over his forehead with one hand, Tae-moo’s eyes sharpened dangerously.

“President—”

Before Manager Kang could respond, Yeon-ha called out softly to the visibly irritated Tae-moo.

At once, that fierce gaze shifted toward her.

“Don’t be afraid.”

Of what?

This thought crossed Yeon-ha’s mind as she finally understood what he meant.

The predatory sharpness in his expression slowly eased.

Even the invisible pressure in the air eased slightly.

“That’s not—”

“If it’s not that.”

Seeing that Yeon-ha’s pale expression showed no sign of improving, he quietly interrupted her thoughts in a low voice.

By then, his face had already reverted to its usual calm, emotionless state.

He had completely misunderstood the situation.

For a moment, Yeon-ha wondered whether she should tell him the truth.

Part of her believed that it was not too late yet. If she spoke honestly now, he would turn away from her without hesitation.

But if that happened, she would never see the side of him that desired her again.

The mere thought of that future caused a sharp pain to spread through her chest.

“I don’t know what you’re so afraid of.”

Tae-moo’s gaze slowly dropped somewhere toward the center of her body.

Her upright br*asts trembled involuntarily beneath his stare.

“Even if you are afraid… what can you do now?”

The firm fingers wrapped around her waist slid lower.

At a time like this…

Flustered, Yeon-ha hurriedly covered her mouth with both hands.

“There’s no turning back time, is there?”

Before she could realize it, her body was lowered back down again.

The moment her feet touched the floor, Tae-moo carefully adjusted the fabric draped over her shoulders.

Every movement he made to cover the deep cleavage exposed on her chest was meticulously precise.

In the face of such consideration, Yeon-ha could not bring herself to say, ‘I’m sorry,’ or ‘Let’s pretend none of this happened.’

“You should go see the person waiting for you. Because of me…”

She only said it to buy him time.

“Don’t worry about me.”

In truth, she wanted to tell him not to go.

Her heart, wavering helplessly between opposite feelings, made her stomach churn.

“Who said I was worried?”

At Yeon-ha’s words, Tae-moo frowned deeply.

The handsome features that made her heart race twisted sharply, making her heart tremble for an entirely different reason.

“I’m sor—”

As his dark brows arched upward coldly, Yeon-ha hurriedly shut her mouth.

“So it’s a habit.”

Clearly displeased, Tae-moo slowly brushed his thumb across her lips.

“My body’s the one in a hurry.”

He was honest about his desires.

Watching Tae-moo openly refuse to hide his physical arousal made all of Yeon-ha’s worries suddenly feel insignificant.

“You should go take care of your business. Here is…”

Trying her best not to look toward the obvious bulge beneath him, Yeon-ha barely managed to speak.

As though stealing the thoughts from her mind, he answered immediately.

“I wasn’t planning to go all the way here anyway.”

Yeon-ha, who had briefly thought about pushing him away, felt her entire face burn at Tae-moo’s words.

The eyes observing every one of her reactions remained calm and unreadable.

“I was planning to move somewhere else.”

After thoroughly throwing Yeon-ha’s heart into chaos, Tae-moo slowly steadied his breathing.

Even the sight of him suppressing his arousal looked unbearably obscene, making Yeon-ha swallow unconsciously.

“Haa…”

The sound of his measured breathing seemed to brush heatedly against the shell of her ear.

Fidgeting with her damp hands, Yeon-ha waited for him to say something more.

“Wait for me.”

At the words that firmly defined the relationship between them as that of a man and woman, Yeon-ha could only nod.

“Yes…”

Their locked gazes finally broke apart.

Tae-moo stepped away from the balcony, and Yeon-ha could hear him exchanging a few quiet words with Manager Kang in the distance.

Once their voices had faded completely, Yeon-ha slowly made her way back inside.

She returned to the dining area, only to find that Nashal and the businessman had left.

Judging by the untouched table, they could not have left very long ago.

Just as she was about to sit down, the phone in the bag hanging from the chair began to vibrate loudly.

Even though she knew she was alone, she instinctively glanced around.

In the silent private room, the buzzing sounded unbearably loud.

She did not want to answer it, but she knew she had no choice.

The moment she pulled the phone from her bag and checked the screen, it was exactly as she had expected. It was a call from Madam Kim Mi-hyang.

Her throat tightened painfully.

Struggling to steady her breathing, Yeon-ha finally answered the call.

— “Do you know what time it is? Why aren’t you home yet?!”

The harsh tone completely clashed against the elegant voice stabbing into Yeon-ha’s ear.

“I’m sorry. There was a company dinner…”

— “You never mentioned that before.”

“It came up suddenly. I’ll head home now.”

— “…You’re not with a man right now, are you?”

It felt as though hundreds of eyes were watching her.

Biting the inside of her delicate lips, Yeon-ha forcibly suppressed the ragged breath threatening to escape.

Madam Kim Mi-hyang was the type to notice even the slightest change in her breathing.

“You told me not to behave carelessly with my body…”

She hated herself for saying such things.

— “I knew there was no escaping the filthy blood of your cheap mother. At least my discipline wasn’t wasted.”

The woman’s cackling laughter sounded like a witch offering a poisoned apple.

‘When will I ever escape those people?’

Words meant to crush the tiny spark of will she had barely managed to kindle continued without mercy.

— “Take good care of that body of yours. If you even think about running away, your mother won’t stay safe.”

As always, Yeon-ha had no choice but to surrender and obey.

The woman who had raised her until the age of twelve fell into a coma after being involved in a car accident and never regained consciousness.

Those monstrous people used her mother’s life as leverage to control Yeon-ha completely.

— “I’ll send someone for you, so stay where you are and behave.”

To Madam Kim Mi-hyang and Minister Ji Kang-do, Yeon-ha was nothing more than a tool.

Determined to trade her for greater power and prestige, they feared above all else that she would use her beauty to marry into an influential family.

If he came from a family beneath their standards but powerful enough to be difficult to disown, all their efforts in raising her would be wasted.

This is why they controlled her through violence, constant surveillance, and relentless brainwashing.

So that she would never dare to dream of rebellion or escape.

“Yes…”

If she insisted on going back alone, it would only fuel her stepmother’s barely suppressed suspicions.

The moment the call ended, urgency took over completely.

If one of her stepmother’s servants saw her dressed like this, she wouldn’t get away with just a slap or two.

Then she remembered the clothes she had left behind in the royal suite.

Panicking, Yeon-ha hurried into the lift and pressed the button for the 99th floor.

***

After leaving the private room, Tae-moo roughly swept a hand through his hair.

“How long has it been?”

“Thirty minutes.”

Upon hearing this, Tae-moo’s eyebrows drew together sharply.

Thirty minutes wasted on meaningless business.

After enduring an excruciatingly tedious conversation, Tae-moo arrived at the place where she was supposed to be waiting.

“…Where did she go?”

She was gone.

Tae-moo opened the balcony door.

There wasn’t a trace of her left behind.

The corner of his lips twisted upwards into a crooked smile.

He stood there for exactly ten minutes before speaking in a cold tone.

“Chief of Security.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Pull the CCTV footage using my authority. And once you find Ji Yeon-ha, bring her to me.”

“Yes, sir.”

Tae-moo returned to the royal suite where he was staying.

Driven by a lingering attachment, he opened the smallest room in the suite.

Seeing the neatly folded clothes and the card she had left behind, he let out a cold laugh.

[I’m sorry. An urgent matter came up.]

That damned I’m sorry again.

If she was truly sorry, then perhaps he should make her pay for it properly.

“If you’re sorry, there should be a price to pay.”

He was willing to hear why she abandoned him and ran off.

But if her explanation displeased him, he had no intention of letting it slide.

“President.”

The chief of security opened a laptop and replayed the original CCTV footage that had been recovered.

Yeon-ha could be seen on the screen hurriedly changing back into her original clothes before rushing out of the hotel, as though she were fleeing from someone.

Yet no one was chasing her.

The corner of Tae-moo’s lips slowly curled upwards.

His mood was foul.

Terribly foul.