Chapter 3 (Part 4)

As Seo-hye was about to leave the study, he called her back.

“Eat your meal and then go. Start painting from today so you won’t have time to be interested in anything else.”

It was at that moment when she was about to reply that she understood.

The phone in Seo-hye’s hand vibrated noisily.

Hwa-woong’s eyes narrowed.

The only people she communicated with were Hyo-young and Director Han.

Since she had informed Director Han that Seo-hye wouldn’t be available for a while due to circumstances, there shouldn’t be any reason for separate contact.

“Is it your mother?”

“Ah… no.”

“Then who is it? Surely, Seo-hye, you’re not in contact with that family’s grandson, are you?”

“No.”

Seo-hye was more resolute.

She then held out her phone in front of Hwa-woong.

It was an unregistered number.

Without hesitation, Hwa-woong pressed the call button.

Though Seo-hye was flustered, she quickly cleared her throat and answered the call.

“Yes, hello.”

“Hello. Is this Lee Seo-hye? This is Yoo Seok-young, Secretary to Managing Director Won Do-jin.”

It was someone she hadn’t anticipated, so Seo-hye responded slowly.

“…Ah, yes. Hello.”

“It’s nothing else, but I wanted to explain about the program starting on the 20th. Could we meet today? On behalf of Managing Director Won Do-jin, I, along with a director from the foundation, the director of the orphanage, and the TV program producer, would like to have a meeting. If possible, it would be the five of us, including you, Ms. Seo-hye.”

While listening to Seok-young’s explanation, Seo-hye sought Hwa-woong’s permission with her eyes.

Hwa-woong pursed his lips with a displeased expression, but eventually nodded his head.

“Yes. What time and where should I go?”

“I’ll come to pick you up at your house in an hour.”

“Okay, understood.”

The call ended.

There wasn’t even enough time to eat, let alone prepare, so she tried to quickly leave the study, but Hwa-woong stopped her.

“Don’t even think about doing anything foolish.”

“Where would I find the time for that? I have to hurry back home to paint. You said to paint three pieces.”

Seo-hye closed the door and left the study.

From inside the study, she could hear Hwa-woong grumbling about how she never listens to a single word he says.

Ignoring him, Seo-hye went straight upstairs.

After washing up, she opened her wardrobe, put on a white blouse with a black H-line skirt, took a trench coat, and left the house.

She was anxious that Hwa-woong might change his mind and prevent her from leaving again.

Unfortunately, Hwa-woong was not in the study but in the living room.

With his hands behind his back, he was pacing in front of the entrance, waiting for Seo-hye. With a stern face, he beckoned her to come closer.

“Since the secretary is coming, I can’t send Mr. Kim, so make sure to check in every 30 minutes.”

“Yes.”

“I’m saying this out of concern.”

Seo-hye paused while putting on her shoes and turned her head.

“Don’t even think about showing off your painting skills.”

“….”

“Are you not going to answer?”

“I have no desire to show off. I’ll be back.”

Seo-hye quickly opened the front door and went outside.

It had been five days since she was fully allowed to leave the house.

While waiting for Do-jin’s secretary, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the autumn air.

A smile kept forming on her face.

After breathing in the stale air of the room, tasting the fresh air seemed to ease her troubled mind a little.

Come to think of it, although it wasn’t initially created for her, participating in this program made her the biggest beneficiary.

Somehow, she felt grateful to Do-jin for giving her this opportunity and turned her gaze toward the end of the alley. Just then, a black luxury sedan was crossing the alley and approaching.

The car stopped right in front of Seo-hye.

The driver’s door opened, and a man who appeared to be around the same age as Do-jin got out.

Wearing a black suit and horn-rimmed glasses, he seemed like he would be quite handsome if he took off his glasses.

Thinking that the appearance of both the boss and the secretary was so outstanding that the gossip among employees working in the same space would never cease.

“Hello. Ms. Lee Seo-hye. I’m Secretary Yoo Seok-young.”

He greeted her directly.

“Hello. Nice to meet you.”

Seok-young gave a faint smile and immediately opened the back door, inviting her to get in.

It was the first time she felt treated this way, and she felt a faint discomfort as she cautiously placed one foot inside the car. Then, startled, she let out a loud breath.

“…What…?”

She hadn’t expected to see Do-jin in the back seat.

He was wearing an impeccably crisp white shirt, with his sleeves rolled up a few times, holding a tablet PC with his strong arms, looking at something.

Having always seen him in a perfectly dressed state, even with his jacket on, seeing him absorbed in work in a slightly more relaxed outfit highlighted his mature charm.

Seo-hye’s heart began to flutter inexplicably at the sight of his upright appearance, which was devoid of the mischievousness he usually displayed.

Startled by these emotions, she quickly turned her head to look at Yoo Seok-young.

Her eyes seemed to ask why this person was here, but Seok-young simply gestured for her to get in, wearing a bright expression without offering any explanation.

However, as Seo-hye hesitated and didn’t get in immediately, Do-jin briefly glanced up at her.

In the somewhat dim interior of the car, compared to the bright outside, his eyes shone intensely.

Feeling as if she couldn’t breathe, she pressed her lips together and forced herself into the car.

As the door closed, the air that had been circulating outside was trapped inside, intensifying his scent.

The unforgettable fragrance she had become familiar with while being close to him pushed its way into her chest, which was filled with the crisp autumn air.

Her heart, now warm, began to race almost unbearably fast.

“If you see someone, shouldn’t you at least look at their face and greet them?”

At his low, steady voice, Seo-hye took a small deep breath and then cautiously lifted her head.

Her pupils momentarily wavered at the sight of the man.

The man, who always seemed cold as if he absorbed the chill of the night streets, had a very different aura under the daylight.

His deep, unfathomable black eyes, the slightly red flesh beneath them, and his vivid crimson lips were more pronounced than usual.

Perhaps because they held a bit more vibrant color than at night, they even seemed sensuous.

She felt an urge to paint his face amidst a canvas densely filled with peach blossoms.

She dared to think that it would create a color more beautiful than any peach blossom in the world.

“Not that I meant for you to look at me so seductively.”

He uncrossed his legs and turned his upper body slightly more towards her.

“If you look at me like that, it seems like you’re suggesting we do it here. Shall we?”

Only then did Seo-hye close her slightly parted lips and glanced at Yoo Seok-young in the driver’s seat.

As her eyes met his briefly through the rearview mirror, her face flushed as if it had been burned.

“You say the most outrageous things.”

Seo-hye scolded Do-jin and turned her gaze out the window.

“Ms. Seo-hye, you speak to me quite impudently, don’t you?”

Seo-hye’s head creaked as she turned back toward him.

He lazily furrowed his brow.

“That’s why I like it.”

Her heart began to pound violently.

She didn’t want to react, but the man kept stirring her heart.

“But, Ms. Seo-hye, do you know how old the man you slept with is?”

Her lips, which had barely closed, parted again.

Seo-hye’s gaze once more turned to the rearview mirror.

“Why do you keep looking ahead? I’m the one talking to you.”

Seo-hye let out a heavy sigh, as if troubled, and locked eyes with him.

Seeing the displeasure clouding her eyes, he smiled as if satisfied.

“Do you know how old I am?”

“I don’t know. I don’t want to know.”

“I’m thirty-two, so keep that in mind.”

Seo-hye was quite surprised. The man’s age was older than she had thought.

She had guessed he was at most thirty.

Is that why he was so experienced?

Oh, no. What am I thinking?

She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.

“Do you know where the man you slept with lives?”

…That damned ‘slept with’. ‘Slept with’. ‘Slept with’.

This is driving me crazy.

“I’m in Hannam-dong, so come there when you pick up the painting.”

Seo-hye didn’t respond and lowered her head deeply.

“Do you know where the man you slept with works and what he does?”

“……”

“I’m the Managing Director in charge of Strategy and Planning at the Seonghan Hotel headquarters.”

“……”

“Running cultural programs for children’s welfare in connection with the Seonghan Foundation at the hotel. It means that’s not something I should be involved in.”

Seo-hye’s gaze, which had been fixed on her thigh, slowly lifted.

“Why did I bother to remove another artist who was supposed to participate in that program and put you in?”

Know the reason.

His voice was so imposing that she felt as if she had become one of his subordinates.

He looked at her blatantly, demanding an answer.

So she deliberately retorted strongly.

“Well, maybe it’s because my labor cost is cheap?”

As a deep furrow appeared on Do-jin’s forehead, the atmosphere inside the car became unbearably cold.

Even without the air conditioning turned on, it felt as if a cold wind was blowing from somewhere, maintaining a chilling silence.

And what broke that silence was Do-jin’s hollow laughter.

“It was so absurd that it made me laugh.”

“……”