Chapter 2

“There’s nothing.”

The voice, barely uttered with firmness, trembled greatly.

Dokyeom stared intently at Leeyeon’s face, which was filled with bewilderment.

Was she so deeply confused because she had been caught secretly making a call?

Or was it because she was hiding something that must not be revealed to me?

Dokyeom let out a brief scoff as he looked at Leeyeon.

At some point, this woman began showing immense interest in him.

There were moments when he felt pleasure listening to her gentle voice, crying out that she liked him and throwing herself into his arms time and time again.

Moments that felt as if they could last forever.

Dokyeom’s arrogance, believing that as long as he held onto Leeyeon’s hand tightly, it could continue, was shattered into pieces.

He already knew that someone had approached Leeyeon, asking for his information—more precisely, information about the business he was in charge of.

If it had been the old Dokyeom, the day he found out about that fact, he would have followed legal procedures and removed Leeyeon from his sight.

But this time, he didn’t.

No, perhaps it’s a bit more accurate to say he couldn’t.

Dokyeom slowly reflected as he took in her clear face looking up at him.

Objectively speaking, she had such a striking appearance that any man passing by would stop in their tracks and look back at least once.

If their first encounter hadn’t been so impactful, he would have been able to avoid being so helplessly drawn to this woman.

He couldn’t easily come to a conclusion.

From the beginning, her actions and her scent had stimulated him, so the option of not reacting to her didn’t even exist.

No matter what he heard, no matter what he went through, she was a woman who remained unshaken and unaffected.

That’s why he was even more curious.

He wanted to see her break.

He wanted to see her cry out in pleasure beneath him.

Was she a woman capable of making such an expression?

The moment that thought crossed his mind, he found himself holding her.

As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he was utterly obsessed with her.

He had never before felt his emotions overpowering his reason, but this woman had made him feel that way for the first time.

The gaze Dokyeom directed at Leeyeon grew darker than it had been moments ago.

Dokyeom unfastened his belt buckle with a click.

“Director?”

Leeyeon called out to him in surprise, but Dokyeom didn’t stop.

Thud-

His pants fell to the floor, leaving only the tight-fitting drawers clinging to his body.

Leeyeon’s pupils trembled uncontrollably when she saw how much he had grown, ominously large.

“No way…”

“No way, what?”

“Are you planning to… with me?”

Even knowing that I was the woman who had betrayed him and tried to hand over his information, was he still going to embrace me?

As if he had read her thoughts, Dokyeom let out a faint chuckle and murmured in a low voice.

“Wasn’t that the reason you came to my house today, Han Leeyeon?”

“No. No, it’s not.”

Leeyeon stretched her arms forward, trying to block Dokyeom, who was approaching her.

“Director, wait a moment!”

Dokyeom reached out and skillfully pulled her toward him.

Leaning down slowly, he stopped just before her lips.

“Hurry up and take it off.”

“…”

“Didn’t you promise to only undress under me?”

The obsessive gaze filled with dangerous desire settled on Leeyeon’s face.

“I might seem like a madman, but I’m completely serious, even in this moment.”

“…”

“About you, Han Leeyeon.”

As Dokyeom leaned in closer, Leeyeon pushed him away with both arms.

Then, she quickly blurted out her words.

“I came here today because I have something to say.”

“Go ahead.”

Dokyeom looked down at her leisurely, his gaze unyielding.

Avoiding his eyes, Leeyeon bit her lip.

It was even harder to say than a moment ago, but it had to be said.

Because the child had to be protected.

“Director, let’s stop this here.”

Dokyeom let out a shallow breath, as if hearing something unexpected.

“Shouldn’t I be the one to say that, if it’s going to be said?”

“……”

“After I turned a blind eye to your attempt to betray me, Han Leeyeon, the price I get is just…”

Dokyeom’s voice, which had grown colder, trailed off as if asking whether the end of this relationship was all she could offer in return.

It seemed that Leeyeon’s decision to end this relationship had truly struck a nerve with him.

“Han Leeyeon, listen carefully.”

Dokyeom lifted Leeyeon’s face, which couldn’t meet his gaze.

Their wavering eyes intertwined deeply in the air.

“If you’re thinking of running away, drop it.”

“……”

“Because I have no intention of letting you go. Not even a little.”

It was the moment when his greedy obsession surfaced above the water.

***

One year ago, at Jicheol Gallery.

After leaving work, Leeyeon remembered that she had left her phone behind, so she returned to the gallery.

There, she noticed that the lights in the sales team’s office were faintly on.

“Is someone still here?”

Most of the employees at Jicheol Gallery left without looking back as soon as it was time to clock out.

That’s why it was rare for someone to stay this late working overtime.

Thinking that someone might have forgotten to turn off the lights, she walked slowly with the intention of turning them off herself.

The closer she got to the office, the more strange sounds began to emerge from within.

“Ah… Junho, ah. I feel like I’m going crazy because I love it so much.”

“Yerin, you’re squeezing so tight I feel like I’m about to come any second.”

Through the lewd moans, an all-too-familiar male voice pierced her ears, causing Leeyeon’s pupils to tremble violently.

‘Could it really be Junho oppa?’

The voice coming from inside was undoubtedly that of her boyfriend, Junho.

‘No way.’

Leeyeon froze in place because of the conversation she overheard from inside.

“Oppa, you’re going to break up with Han Leeyeon, right?”

“Of course. Tomorrow, I’ll definitely tell her that we should break up.”

“Why haven’t you been able to break up with her until now?”

“Don’t even get me started. Her dad made such an uncomfortable request before he died.”

Hearing her own name from the other woman was shocking enough, but then Junho even mentioned her father.

Yerin swallowed nervously.

“He asked me to take good care of his daughter. He said I was the only one, and then he died after saying something so burdensome.”

Burdensome?

The words were so completely opposite to the Junho who had smiled so kindly in front of her father, Manseok, while taking care of him during his illness.

Junho had been so attentive, even volunteering to look after Manseok himself.

To think he had acted that way in front of her father but thought like this behind his back…

“And her family is seriously pathetic. Her so-called mother is weak and hospitalized, and then she got remarried? Ha, seriously. But the stepdad is even worse.”

After that, the insults about Leeyeon and her family continued without end.

“And she doesn’t have a straightforward side like you do.”

“What do you mean?”

“She always seems like she’s hiding something inside, like she’s gloomy or something. You, on the other hand, say whatever you want, whether you should or not.”

“That’s a compliment for me, right?”

“Of course. Han Leeyeon is like a block of wood with no sense of charm or cuteness, so she wasn’t fun at all.”

As she listened to Junho tearing her apart, clear tears began to drip from Leeyeon’s eyes.

Even in this situation, Leeyeon covered her mouth with both hands, suppressing her sobs, worried that the two chaotic people in the office might hear her.

‘How could Junho oppa say such things…….’

“If I accidentally ended up getting a child with a woman like her, my life would be over.”

“Exactly. You made the right choice, oppa.”

“Ah, I feel so relieved now that I don’t have to deal with that disgusting household anymore.”

Hearing them insult her late father and sick mother was unbearable.

‘To think I considered opening my heart to him…’

The sounds inside grew more intense, and Leeyeon turned away.

At that moment, she bumped into the chest of a man standing behind her.

A man wearing a high-end suit.

‘What? Someone else is here?’

Leeyeon slowly raised her head to see who it was.

It was someone completely unexpected, someone who shouldn’t be here.