Chapter 17

Previously, Leeyeon had received coffee and a sandwich from him, so she wondered if she should return the favor.

After finishing her deliberation, Leeyeon quickly sent a message.  

[Should I buy a sandwich for you, Director?]  

Thinking that he wouldn’t reply if he was busy, she waited.

A reply came faster than she expected.  

[No.]  

There was no other explanation.  

As she stared at the curt message, she couldn’t help but think about how coldly she had rejected his kindness in the past.  

‘Was this how he felt back then?’  

Maybe she should have just accepted the umbrella on that rainy day.  

Strangely, if it were something from someone else, she would thank them and accept it without hesitation, but with Dokyeom, she couldn’t.  

Why was I drawing such a clear line only with him?  

‘He’s an uncomfortable person.’  

Yes, that was the biggest reason.  

No matter how many times they met, it felt like the gap between them never narrowed.  

Sometimes, he seemed to exude a cold aura, and it really felt like he was treating her strictly in a business-like manner.  

Because of that, Leeyeon found it even harder to approach him.  

There was a warning ringing in her head, telling her not to unnecessarily close the distance.  

As she thought about quickly buying the sandwich and waiting for Dokyeom, she was walking down the hallway when—  

A figure suddenly stepped into her path.  

When she looked up, the person she met eyes with was not someone she was particularly happy to see.  

“Han Leeyeon.”  

It was Junho, a man she didn’t particularly want to talk to.  

“Did you change your phone number?”  

Leeyeon’s phone had stopped working after getting heavily rained on, so Secretary Choi had set up a new phone number for her.  

Since she didn’t have many people she regularly contacted anyway, she only informed those few about her number change.  

“At first, I thought you blocked me since you weren’t showing up on my messenger. But when I called, it said the number didn’t exist. Are you avoiding me on purpose?”  

“No, it’s not like that.”  

“Let’s talk for a bit, Leeyeon.”  

“Oppa, I have nothing to say.”  

“It’ll only take a moment, I promise.”  

Junho unilaterally grabbed Leeyeon’s wrist and yanked her hard.  

Then, he opened the door to a nearby emergency staircase and dragged her inside.  

With a loud thud, the heavy metal door closed behind them.  

“Let go of me if you want to talk!”  

The grip on her wrist was so strong that it hurt.  

“If I let go, you’re going to run away, aren’t you?”  

“Sigh. I said no.”  

Junho didn’t let go, as if he didn’t believe her.  

Still gripping her wrist, he continued speaking.  

“Was it because I’ve been neglecting you lately that you said we should break up in a fit of anger? Leeyeon, what I mean is…”  

“I told you. I don’t feel excited when I’m with you.”  

“What?”  

Junho frowned as if he had just heard something he couldn’t bear to hear.  

The one who should be angry and frustrated was Leeyeon, who had seen Junho fooling around with another woman at the gallery.  

“Hey, Han Leeyeon! After everything I’ve done for you, how could you come up with such an excuse?”  

Junho pointed his finger at her, veins bulging as he shouted.  

She thought to herself how long she had been deceived by such pretense.  

“I heard you’re dating Director Ji Dokyeom? Ha, were you two-timing me the whole time? Huh?”

His loud yelling made her ears ache.  

The emergency staircase was filled with Junho’s voice.  

It was truly baffling how he could blame her when he was the one who cheated first.  

At that moment, the phone in Leeyeon’s hand began to buzz.  

The vibration was long enough to indicate an incoming call.  

Leeyeon picked up her phone to check the screen, and Junho’s gaze followed.  

[Director Ji Dokyeom]  

Leeyeon quickly tried to hide the phone behind her back, but Junho was faster.  

He snatched the phone from her hand in an instant and stood there trembling with anger.  

“You know how much I hate Ji Dokyeom, so how could you do this to me, Leeyeon? Huh?”  

Unable to control his temper, he threw the phone with all his might.  

Ting- Ting-  

The sound of the phone hitting the stairs and tumbling down to the lower floor echoed clearly.  

A quick glance revealed that the screen of the brand-new phone was already cracked.  

“Why! Did Ji Dokyeom give you that phone too? Is that why you’re treating it so preciously?”  

Junho had completely lost his sense of reason.  

From the moment he decided that Leeyeon had compared him with Dokyeom and chosen to abandon him, he had gone mad.

It was utterly laughable.  

After all, it was Junho who had cheated on Leeyeon with Yerin.  

“You’ve heard the rumors, haven’t you? That bastard has tons of women and is a complete sleazebag. How could someone like you, who’s too shy even to hold hands, be with someone like that?”

Who knows what kind of scenarios Junho was imagining, but he was throwing a tantrum all on his own.  

“Leeyeon, don’t tell me… Did you sleep with that guy?”  

“Oppa, we’ve already broken up and become strangers, so why are you even curious about that?”  

She hadn’t slept with Dokyeom.  

Leeyeon could tell the truth, but she knew better than anyone that Junho wouldn’t hear it, especially when he was rampaging like a mad horse.  

Junho became even more hysterical because Leeyeon didn’t vehemently deny it.  

“Wow. Han Leeyeon, you’re just as shallow as everyone else. You never opened your legs for me because you were saving yourself, but for Ji Dokyeom, since he looks like he has a lot, you were willing to give it up easily, huh?”  

“Oppa, don’t say things like that.”  

“But it’s true, isn’t it! What, are you embarrassed to hear it out loud? How are you any different from a pr*stitute?”

Leeyeon slightly frowned at Junho’s words, which had crossed the line.  

“Apologize for what you just said.”  

“Did that bastard pay you after sleeping with you? How much did he give you? If you’re that easy, you should’ve told me. I could’ve given you what you needed too.”  

“I told you to stop saying nonsense.”  

As soon as Leeyeon coldly spoke, the tightly closed emergency staircase door opened, and a familiar woody scent tickled her nose.  

She couldn’t see who had entered since her back was to the door, but she could tell just by the scent.  

The crisp sound of leather shoes cutting across the emergency staircase floor stopped right next to Leeyeon.  

Seeing Leeyeon’s wrist still held by Junho, Dokyeom’s voice turned icy enough to freeze the air.  

“Let go of her hand. Right now.”  

“W-why should I…”  

Junho, perhaps out of pride, didn’t comply with Dokyeom’s demand.  

However, his resistance didn’t last long.  

“Ahhh! Hey, wait a second!”  

With a sharp scream, Leeyeon’s hand, which had been held by Junho, was suddenly freed.  

“Look, I let go! So, you should let go of this too!”  

Dokyeom, effortlessly restraining Junho’s arm with one hand, looked completely calm.  

He held Junho’s wrist as if crumpling a piece of paper, while Junho, apparently in pain, jumped up and down, desperately trying to free his hand.  

“I said let me go!”  

In response to Junho’s plea, Dokyeom flung him aside without a care.  

Junho collapsed pathetically in a corner, but Dokyeom didn’t spare him even a glance as he turned his attention elsewhere.  

“When… when did you get here?”  

Leeyeon bit her lips tightly as she looked up at Dokyeom.  

‘He couldn’t have heard everything Junho said, could he?’

Most of it was slander about Leeyeon, but occasionally, there were insults aimed at Dokyeom mixed in.  

Things like, “All he has is money,” “He’s a sleazebag who seduces any woman with his looks,” and “He must be terrible in bed.”

For Leeyeon, it was slander so vile that she couldn’t even bring herself to repeat it.  

“How did you know to come here….”  

“We were supposed to have lunch together, but you weren’t at your seat, Han Leeyeon.”  

His gaze, slightly warmer than when he looked at Junho, shifted to Leeyeon’s reddened wrist.  

The moment she tried to hide it behind her back, Dokyeom reached out his arm.  

Unlike Junho, he gently ran his thumb slowly over her wrist.  

“That must’ve hurt.”  

“No. I’m fine.”  

“I think I clearly asked you not to lie to me.”  

“Ah… does this count as well?”

“Yes, it does.”

Dokyeom stared at Leeyeon’s wrist as if he were genuinely concerned.