Chapter 7 (Part 5)

The kidnapping incident orchestrated by Hwa-woong was resolved within half a day thanks to Do-jin’s quick judgment.

After revealing his identity, Do-jin requested the police to ensure that information about the mastermind behind the kidnapping did not leak externally for a while.

The victim’s statement was to be taken once Seo-hye’s mind and body had stabilized.

Then, the two headed to Seonghan Hospital in Seoul.

Throughout the journey to the hospital, a heavy silence lingered between the two.

Seo-hye glanced at him briefly, then gave up and closed her eyes.

There were so many things she wanted to ask Do-jin, but she didn’t even know where to start.

Moreover, recalling that the person who orchestrated her kidnapping was her own grandfather was utterly horrific and shameful.

“I’m sorry.”

An unexpected word mixed into the air.

Seo-hye lifted her eyelids and slowly turned her head to look at Do-jin.

“……Are you saying that to me?”

Do-jin paused for about a second and then smiled slightly.

“Who else is there besides you here, Seo-hye?”

Seo-hye narrowed her eyes, as if she didn’t understand, and asked.

“……I mean, what are you sorry for? Won Do-jin… you should hear a thousand thank-yous from me.”

“Then try saying them.”

“No.”

At Seo-hye’s sharp refusal, Do-jin frowned.

Seo-hye whispered timidly.

“……It was a joke, ah.”

But speaking so much at once caused the injured membrane inside her mouth to rub against her teeth, making her uncomfortable.

While she paused her speech for a moment, Do-jin filled the silence.

“When I found out you were kidnapped from the hotel, I immediately guessed where you might be.”

Seo-hye’s eyes widened like a rabbit’s.

“You predicted where I was? How…?”

“This was the only place Lee Hwa-woong could hide you without being noticed by others.”

Even if Do-jin had investigated Hwa-woong’s past and discovered the studio he used, how many people could immediately think of the studio in Hwaseong as soon as they learned she was kidnapped?

Her heart, which had been simmering, began to grow hotter.

Feeling as if the heat might rise to her face, she opened her mouth again.

“You guessed it early on but were too busy to come sooner… is that what you’re saying?”

“No.”

As the green light turned on, Do-jin stopped the car and gazed at Seo-hye.

In the darkness, his eyes were so intense that it felt as if her breath might stop.

However, she didn’t dislike that gaze. She was just glad to see him again.

“Before coming here, I found your mother first.”

Seo-hye’s eyes and mouth grew twice their usual size.

“Y-you found my mom?”

“She is at Seonghan Hospital now, so you don’t have to worry about her anymore.”

It felt as if a painful tooth had been pulled, bringing relief. Her vision even seemed to brighten.

It was a problem she had tried hard to ignore, as thinking about it would quickly plunge her into a whirlpool of despair.

Her mother’s whereabouts were unknown, and the longer it took to find her, the less certain her mother’s life would be.

Outwardly, she seemed fine, but inside, she was severely rotting.

But Do-jin had resolved that issue.

“……You’re not just saying this to reassure me, right……?”

“Do I look like the kind of scoundrel who would use your mother to reassure you?”

At his sincere voice, tears suddenly burst from Seo-hye’s eyes.

Do-jin seemed taken aback, as if he hadn’t expected her to cry suddenly.

Honk-!

The horn blared from behind, signaling the change of lights.

Do-jin, who had been about to reach out to Seo-hye, instead gripped the steering wheel and pressed the accelerator.

“Just somewhere for a moment….”

As Seo-hye mumbled, Do-jin asked,

“What? I didn’t hear you well.”

“If there’s a place nearby to park, please stop.”

Without answering, Do-jin furrowed his brow and focused on driving.

And a few minutes later, they stopped on a quiet main road.

And he looked at Seo-hye with a rather stern face.

“Why are you suddenly acting like this, reminding me of the day we went to Okcheon—”

As Seo-hye unbuckled her seatbelt, she suddenly reached out and cupped Do-jin’s cheeks.

“Okcheon… you say?”

Seo-hye exchanged glances with Do-jin and then let out a small laugh.

She remembered how, on the day they returned from Okcheon, she had thrown a fit, demanding to stop the car because she was upset about being told late that Hyo-young had disappeared.

“So, Won Do-jin….”

Do-jin quietly looked into her eyes, waiting for her to continue.

Seo-hye kept him in suspense, taking in the sight of the man.

Do-jin’s skin was subtly cool.

Yet, somehow, being close to this man made the surroundings feel warm.

Even now, the tension in her body, which had been tightly wound from being kidnapped by thugs, was easing from Do-jin’s warmth.

“Seo-hye.”

A deep voice scratched her ear.

“What are you trying to do, keeping eye contact like this?”

His voice, subtly splitting at the end, was excessively suggestive.

Feeling a tickle in her abdomen, Seo-hye glanced diagonally downward, trying to recall what she intended to say.

But perhaps his intense breath melted her reason, as no thoughts came to mind.

“What.”

“……So…….”

As Seo-hye hesitated, Do-jin laughed dryly.

“Did you forget what you were going to say? Seems like it, then.”

“…….”

“Why not kiss me, then.”

Seo-hye’s gaze shot up quickly.

“……What did you say?”

“Why are you asking back with such an innocent face, as if you’ve never kissed me before?”

Seo-hye’s face quickly turned a plum shade.

“No, it’s just….”

“What is it?”

Seo-hye bit her lower lip.

The hot upper lip touched the wounded area of the lower lip, causing it to sting. Thanks to that, she became fully alert.

“So what I want to say is, thank you.”

“…….”

“If my grandfather found out that the plan to hide me went awry, he would have harmed my mom… Won Do-jin, you foresaw all this, didn’t you?”

Seo-hye persistently gazed into Do-jin’s eyes.

Eyes that held no deceit, not even a slight tremor.

Seeing him, Seo-hye suddenly lifted her upper body like a car making a sudden start, pressed her lips against his, and then pulled away.

She noticed Do-jin’s eyes narrow slightly, but she pretended not to see and continued speaking.

“It’s a token of gratitude… If you had come to save me first without finding my mom…”

“…….”

“Even though you might not have been the one to blame, I would have resented you, Won Do-jin.”

She felt like she really would have, and her throat tightened with a sudden ache.

“……It’s my way of saying thank you for making sure that didn’t happen.”

“Isn’t it more sincere to show it through actions rather than saying it a hundred times?”

“……What?”

“Give me your lips.”

At the deep voice that murmured, Seo-hye’s breath caught.

After suggesting it, he eventually wrapped his hand around Seo-hye’s chin and passionately pressed his lips against hers.

“Ugh, ah…!”

With her mouth in disarray, Seo-hye let out a faint groan and pulled away from him.

Do-jin looked at her with slightly irritated eyes.

“My mouth… it’s all torn up….”

“I know, I’ll be gentle.”

“It’ll feel… weird. If the flesh is dangling and you suddenly lose affection for me….”

He laughed as if he found her adorable.

“As if that would happen.”

“……It might taste like blood. Just don’t do it. My lips are in the worst condition right now.”

“Did you forget that I’ve even tasted lips smeared with paint? Stop stalling and just open your lips.”

He held her chin with a bit more force, making her open them forcibly.

He swallowed her lips in one go, gently inserting his tongue.

Perhaps because the flesh was so tender, even when he rubbed it with his tongue, it didn’t hurt that much.

Maybe her brain registered that it wouldn’t hurt anymore, as she opened her jaw a little wider to make way for him.

Realizing that the gap had widened, he embraced her head even more boldly, mixing their breaths.

In the excitement, her chest kept tingling, and she let out heavier breaths than usual.

The article about Do-jin and Hae-mi. And the kidnapping. The emotional wounds caused by those events were already beginning to heal, as if new flesh was growing.

With a soft, wet sound, their lips parted.

Watching her with an even more dangerous gaze, he opened his lips to speak.

“When do you think you can start sleeping?”

At the sudden question, Seo-hye rubbed her glistening lips with the back of her hand, giving him a puzzled look.

“Not sleep, s*x. When do you think it will be possible, Ms. Seo-hye?”

Seo-hye’s hand stopped moving altogether.

……What is he asking so blatantly?

Moreover, it was a question she never thought she’d hear in her life, so no answer came to mind.

“You’re not sleep-talking with your eyes open, are you?”

“……What?”

“When I ask a question, answer quickly. My lower half is about to burst because of you.”

Seo-hye replied with a bewildered face.

“Please don’t rush me. It’s my first time being this injured, and also the first time someone has asked to sleep with me after getting hurt, so I don’t really know… what to say.”

Seo-hye, surprisingly not backing down, responded clearly, causing Do-jin to close his lips as if he was about to say something.