Chapter 5 (Part 2)

His eyes turned sharp in an instant.

He told Seo-hye to wait for a moment and stepped outside the shop entirely.

Looking at the quiet roadside, he told Seok-young to continue.

“I tried talking to the hospital staff about transferring Ms. Seo-hye’s mother. In the meantime, um…”

Seok-young hesitated to continue.

“What is it?”

“…She’s gone.”

“What do you mean, Ms. Seo-hye’s mother is gone? From the hospital?”

“Yes. It seems like something Paintor Lee Hwa-woong orchestrated… The attending professor wouldn’t meet with anyone, as if he had been told something by Paintor Lee. It’s quite frustrating.”

“Let’s focus on finding her first. Deploy people from the agency to search hospitals throughout the Seoul area. Also, Secretary Yoo, inform Director Jo about Ms. Seo-hye’s mother’s condition on my behalf, and as soon as she’s found, check if the hospital can admit her.”

“Yes, understood.”

After ending the call, Do-jin’s darkened gaze turned toward Seo-hye, who was quietly sitting inside the shop, waiting for him to return.

They had visited the hospital around 3 PM. It was now 5:30 PM.

Even if they moved her, she couldn’t have left Seoul.

They just needed to find her by today.

But why did he suddenly hide her mother?

Soon, a cold sneer appeared on his lips as he found the answer.

It seemed Paintor Lee intended to threaten Seo-hye, to choke her, so she wouldn’t get close to Do-jin.

A futile attempt. The more they tried, the more Do-jin would hold her close and show them.

No matter what they did, Won Do-jin would take Seo-hye. Only Seo-hye.

***

Since receiving the call at the restaurant, Do-jin’s expression hadn’t been good.

He never used to check his phone when he was with her, but now he was doing it more often.

She couldn’t hold back and asked.

“Is something wrong?”

There was no answer from Do-jin.

She wondered if there was a problem at his company. But not knowing how to offer comfort, she chose to remain silent.

If he was troubled, anything she said might not even register with him.

She decided to just quietly wait and ask once his mood improved, turning her gaze forward.

The sun had already set, and the road to the secluded house was very dark.

It was a quiet place, as if they were the only two people left in the world.

After hearing the navigation announce their arrival, they reached Seo-hye’s childhood home.

It was a modest single-story detached house.

Behind it was a mountain whose name she still hadn’t learned, and all around were fields of reeds.

The house, which hadn’t been lived in for a while, hid its form in the darkness once the car’s headlights were turned off.

Seo-hye quickly took out her phone and turned on the flashlight.

“Please wait here for a moment.”

Seo-hye approached the rusty black gate and pulled on the string connected to the inside handle that protruded outside.

With a clack, the gate opened.

Seo-hye stepped up the two steps leading to the front door and fiddled with a flowerpot that contained only soil. From there, she took out a key.

After opening the front door and turning on the living room lights, she spoke to Do-jin, who was standing in the yard.

“I was worried the electricity might not work on the way here. Thankfully, the lights are on.”

Relieved, she smiled without realizing it.

Do-jin, watching her intently, went to the car, took out the painting, and brought it inside the house.

As he hesitated at the entrance, Seo-hye immediately noticed and said,

“You can just come in with your shoes on. The house is quite dirty since it’s been empty for a while.”

He stepped into the living room, looking for a place to put the painting.

Seo-hye said it was fine to just lean it against any wall.

“Is it okay to just leave it on the floor? It might get dirty.”

“Yes. There’s really no place to hang it.”

“I’ll do it for you. Why don’t you check if there are any nails or tools?”

“Oh… no, it’s okay.”

Seo-hye forced a smile and moved closer to him, gently pushing him outward.

Anyway, she didn’t know when Hyo-young might come to this house. They might not be able to visit at all in the future.

Perhaps this painting would be burned with Hyo-young after her funeral.

So there was no need to hammer nails into the house and hang it up grandly.

Seo-hye, unaware that he hadn’t moved back, turned her gaze back to the painting.

Watching her, Do-jin quietly spoke.

“You cried so bitterly at the hotel that day because it was a gift for your sick mother.”

Seo-hye turned her head slightly to look at him, then smiled awkwardly.

“…Yes. I’ve never thought it was a waste to give a painting to my grandfather. But that one… was different.”

As Seo-hye’s gaze returned to the painting, Do-jin’s gaze followed hers.

“I preferred painting Oriental paintings with clear ink over thick oil paintings. I have painted a lot of them since I was young. But when my mom was about to pass away…”

“…….”

“She said she wanted to see the kind of paintings I used to draw as a child, so I secretly painted it to keep it from my grandfather.”

It wasn’t a story to be shared like a childish complaint with someone.

Nevertheless, her mouth opened completely against her will, escaping her control.

“But somehow, I heard it was given as a gift to the family of the person my sister was going to marry. That was so heartbreaking. Now, looking back, it wasn’t such a big deal.”

Listening quietly to her story, Do-jin slowly opened his lips.

“Why isn’t it a big deal? I’ve heard that artists have parts they become obsessed with, whether it’s their strengths or weaknesses. It’s natural to struggle when something you’re good at is taken from you.”

Seo-hye looked at him intently. Quite openly, for a long time.

Do-jin, receiving that gaze, raised one of his eyebrows crookedly.

“…For a moment, you seemed like someone else.”

After offering comfort, being told he seemed like someone else, Do-jin laughed softly.

“…Still, you’re the first person to say that, Won Do-jin.”

“…….”

“Thank you.”

Seo-hye gently closed her clear eyes.

It was so pretty, like a flower blooming amidst white snow.

Do-jin, unconsciously cupping her cheek, made her look at him and then placed his lips on her pink lips.

As soon as he pulled back, she opened her eyes wide in surprise, not knowing what to do.

Seeing her face quickly turn red, he couldn’t resist and kissed her lips more deeply.

He trapped her lips between his, rubbing them intensely, biting and releasing repeatedly.

“Ah… stop…”

Her attempts to stop him came out intermittently as their lips parted.

Her voice, sounding like a whining child, made him pause and meet her gaze steadily.

She parted her lips to warn him.

“Stop it.”

“I don’t want to. You’re not even avoiding it.”

A kiss much more passionate than before ensued.

His tongue, entering her mouth in an instant, eagerly drank in her sweetness and quickly stirred her.

In truth, having met her after a few days, he had wanted to devour her ever since he saw her at the hotel.

To the point where he felt he had to take her entirely into his mouth and make her completely his own.

He pushed her so aggressively that Seo-hye’s body kept moving backward.

She gripped his arm tightly, stepping back repeatedly, until her calf bumped against the sofa in the living room.

Seo-hye quickly pulled away and glanced back.

The sofa was sparsely covered with dust.

Just as she was about to say they couldn’t do it there,

He pulled her lips back into a kiss, taking off his jacket.

Wrapping her back with his jacket, he swiftly pushed her onto the sofa.

The shadow of a man, eager and urgent, loomed over Seo-hye.

Their lips tangled together as if they were one from the beginning.

The sticky sound of saliva echoed vividly in their ears, heightening the excitement.

“Ha, we can’t… do this here…. at this house…”

“What’s different from the hotel?”

“…”

While she didn’t answer, his wet lips settled on Seo-hye’s white neck.

“Hmm!”

As he rolled his tongue over each spot he touched, soft moans escaped from between her tender lips.