Chapter 2 (Part 5)

Staring at the empty space where he had left so coldly, she quickly opened the door and went out.  

“…I can’t leave here freely. So the painting… send it to where I tell you.”  

He, just about to descend the stairs, paused briefly.  

“I’m not that generous.”  

He resumed his steps, descending the stairs.  

Seo-hye, watching his figure shrink from her view with a sense of helplessness, hurriedly chased after him without even gathering her thoughts.  

He was already in the center of the living room, facing Mr. Kim.  

“Contact Artist Lee. Tell him I came here.”

Mr. Kim, looking slightly relieved, quickly took out his phone and stepped briefly outside the entrance.  

Since he had been told not to inform Hwa-woong, he must have been incredibly anxious, but now that he could report Do-jin’s presence, Mr. Kim’s worries would have completely disappeared.  

“Seo-hye.”  

Do-jin called Seo-hye, who was standing awkwardly, as he sat on the sofa.  

“Can you get me some tea? I think I was too intense. My throat is dry.”

Seo-hye opened her mouth as if to argue, then clenched her teeth shut loudly, almost angrily, and quickly went to the kitchen.  

She pressed the button on the electric kettle, and as the water boiled, she leaned against the side of the island bar, sighing deeply.  

Even though Seo-hye knew she shouldn’t clash with Do-jin anymore, her resolve always seemed to hide whenever she stood in front of him, leaving her utterly speechless.  

Clack—  

As the kettle finished boiling, Seo-hye quickly took out a tea set from the cupboard.  

She grabbed a random tea packet from the tea pot, pouring the dried tea leaves without much thought.  

Judging by the color, it looked like green tea, but she hastily poured the water without thinking too much.  

As she poured, she thought there might be too many tea leaves, but she didn’t have time to remove the strainer from the pot.  

She needed to serve the tea quickly and then ask why on earth he wasn’t leaving.  

She closed the lid.  

Her leg trembled nervously in an erratic rhythm.  

After about 3 minutes had passed, she quickly placed the tea on a tray and went to the living room.  

Mr. Kim, who had finished his call and returned earlier, was watching Do-jin’s back from a distance with an uncomfortable expression, sitting far from the sofa.  

Sensing Seo-hye’s presence, he briefly turned his head but immediately looked away.  

It seemed he wanted to pretend he didn’t know anything about her and Do-jin being together until the very end.  

Well, that would be less troublesome for him, too.  

Seo-hye exhaled sharply through her nose, quickly approaching the sofa and setting the tray on the table.  

Do-jin asked quite cheerfully,  

“Did you make it taste good?”  

“……Tea doesn’t really have a taste, does it?”

“With sincerity, it might have a more fragrant aroma.”

He chuckled softly, lifting the pot and pouring into the empty cup.  

Seo-hye flinched at the color of the tea. It was usually a light yellow or reddish hue, but this time, it was a very dark brown.  

Just as she thought it must be incredibly bitter and astringent, he brought the cup to his lips.  

When he took a sip, his gaze slowly lifted. It was sharp enough to pierce through her face.

“You seem to paint well, but you don’t seem to have a knack for household chores.”

She was so overwhelmed with embarrassment and apology that she didn’t even realize he mentioned her painting skills.

“…I thought adding more tea leaves would make it taste better…”

“If that’s the reason, I have no choice but to forgive you.”

“Is it… bitter?”

“Yes. Very bitter. Very astringent.”

Even as he gave the worst review, he drank the tea to the last drop.

Seo-hye, lost in thought without realizing the time passing, mustered the courage to ask.

“Should I add some water?”

“I’ve already finished it, so what for?”

As he scolded her with eyes that seemed to say she asked too late, Seo-hye felt even more suffocated.

Then, recalling Mr. Kim’s presence and feeling stuck on the sofa like a restless puppy, Do-jin spoke up again.

“Just stay put for a while.”

“If you’ve finished, it might be best to… leave now.”

He delayed his response, rubbing his chin suggestively with his hand.

Seo-hye slumped her shoulders and added a reason in a weak voice.

“It must look suspicious.”

“I only drank tea, so what’s suspicious about that?”

At his lowered question, Seo-hye quickly wetted her dry lips with her tongue. Her anxiety made her throat dry, her lips dry, and it felt like her soul was drying up.

“Phew. Alright. Then stay. And just one request, please. When my grandfather comes, don’t say anything about marrying the second granddaughter . I have my reasons.”

“Understood.”

Seeing him readily agree, Seo-hye couldn’t close her parted lips.

As he raised his eyebrows as if wondering what the problem was, Seo-hye shook her head and expressed her gratitude. She then quickly stood up.

As she walked around the sofa, patting her hip as if it might cramp, a low voice stopped her.

“Apply some compress. Your forehead is still quite swollen.”

Seo-hye nodded, rubbing her forehead with the back of her hand, and went to stand beside Mr. Kim.

Mr. Kim continued to avoid looking at Seo-hye, staring into space. It was the desperate act of a servant trying to shut his ears and close his eyes.

Seo-hye sighed quietly enough for only herself to hear and pressed her sweaty hands together tightly.

That uncomfortable silence lasted for quite a long time.

The intercom buzzed. Mr. Kim quickly pressed the intercom button and went out to open the front door.

Soon, the sound of footsteps quickly climbing the stairs echoed, and Hae-mi entered through the front door.

“Huff, huff!”

Panting heavily, she kicked off her shoes carelessly and entered the living room. She staggered upon seeing Do-jin.

“You really are here, Do-jin…?”

Her expression was quite poignant, as if meeting a lover after ten years. Following her, Hwa-woong and Chae-seon also approached him with surprised faces.

Hwa-woong and Chae-seon greeted him with bright faces, bowing politely.

Do-jin, without bowing his head even slightly, replaced his greeting with a straight smile.

“How was your meal? I had more urgent matters, so I committed a discourtesy.”

Pretending to be polite, yet impolite words.

If he had more urgent matters, he shouldn’t have invited them to the meal in the first place.

Of course, Do-jin did it on purpose, which makes it worse.

However, in this relationship where the roles of superior and subordinate were clear, Hwa-woong forced a smile, saying it was fine, and patted his arm.

Watching that scene, Seo-hye was engulfed in a strange feeling, both relieved and frustrated.

“When you’re dealing with company matters, you can be busy, can’t you?”

“Oh, of course! Who doesn’t know how important Do-jin is? He’s the Director at Seonghan Hotel. Is there anyone here who doesn’t know how amazing he is?”

Hae-mi interjected in front of Hwa-woong, subtly nudging Do-jin towards the sofa, pressing close to his chest area.

“Do-jin, have you eaten?”

Do-jin’s gaze lazily fell on her.

“Yes. Thanks to you, I ate well.”

The smile hanging at the end of his words was quite seductive, causing Hae-mi’s pupils to tremble mercilessly.

“Oh… When did you eat… Haha, then at least have some tea at home…”

“I’ve already had tea as well.”

Hae-mi’s eyes briefly flicked to the table. Seeing the empty teacup, she let out a regretful sigh.

“I wanted to offer you something, but you’ve already had everything. Oh dear, won’t you give me a chance to get closer?” 

Hae-mi smiled with her eyes, subtly sitting closer to Do-jin.

As Hwa-woong sat at the head of the table in the diagonal direction, Chae-seon quietly sat across from Do-jin and Hae-mi.

At first glance, it looked like a harmonious family treating a prospective son-in-law.

Seo-hye’s pupils, capturing that scene, quickly lost their light, becoming dull.

She felt uneasy watching him sit next to Hae-mi as if he were her prospective groom, looking at Hwa-woong with an unknown intention.

It felt like her chest was hardening into stone.

It wasn’t a desire for the man. It was just the harsh reality that she had longed for the warmth of an unknown man’s embrace for a week, and that man could be her sister’s future husband.

She whispered to Mr. Kim, “I’ll go upstairs,” and turned to head to the second floor.

Hae-mi, who had been waiting for Seo-hye to leave, scooted even closer to Do-jin.

As her firm thigh touched his, a strange sensation brushed Hae-mi’s abdomen. She was convinced that if she could wrap herself around those solid legs, she would taste a pleasure she had never experienced before.

She wanted to get closer to this man quickly. She wanted to have him. She wanted to hasten the marriage.

Initially, she had lightly thought, “Oh, she met a good grandfather and is easily marrying into a rich family.”

She didn’t even expect his appearance. When she occasionally attended yacht parties with her dance troupe colleagues, the appearances of the quasi-chaebol men she met weren’t that impressive, so she had lowered her expectations.

That’s why she hadn’t even asked to see a photo of him.

If she had known it was someone like this, she would have gone to the United States earlier to pursue the meeting.

She almost lost him to that fox-like Seo-hye by being lukewarm.