Chapter 6 (Part 4)

After Yoo Seok-young left, Do-jin finished his remaining work and stood up from his seat.

He grabbed the jacket hanging on the chair, slipped his arms into it, and hurriedly left the office.

The secretaries were startled to see Do-jin rushing out and quickly stood up.

“Ex-Executive Director!”

“Thank you for your hard work today. See you tomorrow.”

Do-jin headed towards the corridor connecting to the main building of Seonghan Hotel, going to the elevator.

He pressed the button and waited for the floor number to change.

His face reflected in the elevator doors looked quite anxious.

It was because of Seo-hye, who was staying alone in the room.

All day, he had been curious about her, and just before leaving work, he suddenly had a thought.

Was she still in the room? Or had she changed her mind and left the hotel on her own?

Why did I leave her in the room without any surveillance?

He reproached himself as he quickly moved his steps.

The closer he got to the room, the more the greetings from the hotel staff he encountered became quite bothersome.

At the end of his anxious steps, he finally reached the room.

He placed his hand on the fingerprint scanner, and as soon as the door opened, he swiftly moved from the entrance to the reception room.

The reception room that appeared shortly after was quiet and tidy.

There should have been some sign of use by someone.

In other words, there should have been traces and warmth left by Seo-hye wandering through the reception room.

Why was there nothing?

Why was it so quiet?

His eyes, staring blankly into space, began to turn chillingly cold like a snake.

If anyone happened to cross him at the wrong moment, his fierce demeanor suggested they’d be tightly coiled and pierced in the neck.

He took out his phone. He immediately called Seo-hye, but her phone was turned off.

Come to think of it, they had been together from yesterday until this morning.

Even while getting ready for work in the morning, Seo-hye’s phone kept ringing annoyingly, so Do-jin had told her to turn it off himself.

Why did I do that?

A sigh filled with self-reproach escaped him.

“Ha.”

He loosened his tie left and right as if his throat was constricted and headed towards the kitchen before leaving the room.

He thought of drinking some cold water because the tightness was severe.

Even as he walked to the kitchen, he was sharply calculating in his mind.

If she had left the hotel, where would she have gone?

Could it be that she softened again and went to Cheongun-dong to persuade her grandfather?

He hoped she hadn’t gone to Cheongun-dong at least.

The worry that she might get hurt again parched his throat.

As he reached the kitchen entrance, he roughly untied his tie completely.

Even though nothing was physically restraining him, the anxiety of not seeing Seo-hye seemed to tighten around his neck like a noose.

It was the moment when the long tie fell powerlessly to the floor.

There was a sound from the direction of the bedroom.

As he hastily turned his gaze towards the bedroom and took a step back, he met Seo-hye’s eyes directly as she came out of the bedroom.

“……”

Her eyes were more unfocused than usual, as if she had just woken up. Then, upon seeing Do-jin, she was startled and forced her eyelids to stay open.

However, the sleepiness that hadn’t fully worn off made her expression look quite cute.

Moreover, her face, already pale, was as white and smooth as freshly made porcelain, as if she had slept deeply.

To the point where he wanted to bury his lips into her soft flesh and sink his teeth in.

“……Oh… Have you already finished work?”

As Do-jin persistently stared at Seo-hye, Seo-hye eventually greeted him first.

However, Do-jin, with his lips tightly sealed, did not return the greeting.

Feeling awkward, she turned her head to look at the large window in the reception room.

The day had already grown dark.

Surprised, she raised her voice slightly as if talking to herself.

“Wow, it’s already dark. I didn’t realize I slept this long.”

Embarrassed for having slept all day, Seo-hye fiddled with her right forearm with her opposite hand and avoided his gaze.

Do-jin quietly closed the distance between them.

The closer he got, the more he could smell the floral scent unique to her.

A captivating scent that, just by recalling it, excited him.

Thud, the tip of Do-jin’s shoe touched the ground near her feet.

Seo-hye flinched and looked up at him.

Do-jin, gazing into her clear eyes, gradually lowered his gaze and lifted her left hand, which was touching her forearm.

The bandage was still there, just as it had been dressed at the hospital.

“How’s your hand?”

Startled by his rough voice, Seo-hye softly replied.

“It’s just a little throbbing, but it’s okay.”

“You should change it to a new one.”

Seo-hye tried to pull her hand away, insisting she was fine.

“Why do you always pull away when I touch you, even though you like it?”

“Wh-who said I liked it…”

Do-jin calmly laughed.

Then, using the hand not holding hers, he lifted her hair away from her neck and shoulders.

Her delicate neckline and ears, exposed, were blushing like a red apple.

Seeing this, Do-jin’s eyes filled with intense desire.

He pressed down firmly on her collarbone with his fingertips, then gradually moved upward.

Even as he lightly brushed past, marks like nail imprints followed clearly on her skin.

Her skin was that delicate. It made him want to rub, dig, and knead it.

A strange sensation, almost painful, kept rising in his lower abdomen.

Concealing his excitement, he moved further up. Following the line of her neck to her ear, he gently fiddled with her earlobe.

“……”

“Everywhere I touch, it seems like it feels good. Look how red it gets.”

Sensuality was carried in the smile that followed. Seo-hye, flustered, quickly averted her gaze.

She stepped back, pulling her hair forward to hide her reddened embarrassment.

“……It’s just red because I’m flustered.”

“Then I’ll let you know in advance so you won’t be flustered when I touch you. How about that?”

Seo-hye widened her eyes and shouted.

“W-what are you going to touch!”

“Just. Anything. Anywhere on your body?”

Seo-hye refused to continue the conversation with him.

She quickly fled back to the bedroom.

However, being much shorter than Do-jin, she was quickly caught after he took just a few steps.

He swiftly grabbed her delicate shoulders, turned her around, and embraced her.

At the same time, they both toppled onto the bed as she lost her balance.

“Ah!”

A short scream escaped from Seo-hye’s lips under the weight of Do-jin.

Do-jin whispered an apology, meeting her gaze tenderly. Seo-hye’s pupils shook wildly.

She thought of escaping, but being so closely held by him, there was no way to break free.

“Mr. Won Do-jin, you’re acting a bit strange…”

“What’s strange about me?”

“You seem like someone who’s crazy about me…”

“I think it’s true that I’m crazy about you, Seo-hye. That’s why I made such a fuss about marrying you instead of Hae-mi.”

“……”

“I’ve accepted all your anger and even offered to find your mother.”

Seo-hye pressed her lips tightly together. Do-jin placed his lips over hers.

It was quite a gentle kiss.

Then, as he pulled away, he spoke to Seo-hye, who couldn’t meet his gaze.

“I thought you ran away.”

“……”

“But you’re here, looking very pretty.”

“The only ones I could rely on…were you or grandfather.”

“……”

“But after causing such a scene at home yesterday, how could I go to grandfather? In the end—”

Before she could finish speaking, Do-jin captured her lips again and then released them.

A groan escaped through her startled teeth, but Do-jin continued the conversation a beat later.

“Even if it was an unavoidable choice, I’m glad you chose me.”

Seo-hye closed her eyes tightly at Do-jin’s languid smile.

At this rate, she would spend a hot time with him, not knowing when it would end.

There was so much to say. She also needed to ask about her mother.

She quickly racked her brain to escape this situation.

“Did you… arrange to meet Mr. Kim? When are you meeting him? You said you were finding out where my mother is.”

“I’m meeting Mr. Kim tomorrow. So, put your worries aside, Ms. Seo-hye.”

Her heart pounded as if it would explode at his calm voice.

The voice that penetrated her ears became a deadly poison, spreading strange sensations throughout her body.

“Shall we have a round and then go to the hospital?”

Seo-hye, as if exasperated, closed her eyes tightly and asked back.

“W-what round…?”

Finding Seo-hye’s feigned ignorance adorable, Do-jin didn’t answer and let the moment linger.

After a while, Seo-hye opened her eyes and pushed against his chest.

“Please, step aside.”

“Let’s finish in 30 minutes.”

Their two bodies pressed closely together.

Do-jin began to explore Seo-hye with an intensity as if something had happened at the company.

“Do-jin, Mr. Do-jin. Just a moment.”

“Unless it’s important, let’s talk later.”

“Then just a little, ah, s-slowly…”

“How can you always ask me to go slowly? I can’t do that when I lose my mind.”

Hot breaths mingled between their lips.

In his impatient kiss, more urgent than ever, Seo-hye quickly scanned the empty space with her eyes.

Even after experiencing such an event yesterday, a sense of guilt surged for doing this with this man.