Side Story 1.14

Taegyeom squinted and glanced at his watch. The golden hour hand of his Patek Philippe was nearing the number ‘10.’  

If things had gone according to plan, this would have been the time for him to peacefully lounge around, holding his wife’s warm, soft body close, burying his nose into her fragrant, delicate skin. Instead, he had wasted precious moments dealing with an unexpected drunken rant.  

He was terrible at giving relationship advice, and to be honest, he didn’t care in the slightest. He wasn’t the kind of person to indulge in trivial matters like that. However, leaving someone drowning in misery with such a sorrowful look in their eyes wasn’t something he could bring himself to do.  

Watching someone who usually dismissed love as trivial now floundering, tangled in the very emotions they once mocked, filled him with an unpleasant sense of déjà vu and an irritating familiarity. Of course, Taegyeom himself had never stooped so low as to get drunk out of his mind, unable to stand, and repeat the same words like a broken record.  

“I shouldn’t have confessed… I should’ve just kept pretending it wasn’t true…”  

Jinwoo’s melancholic voice mumbled on and on, his words spilling into one ear and out the other as Taegyeom wet his tongue with whiskey.  

It had taken Yoo Jinwoo nearly two years to finally acknowledge his feelings for the secretary who had been by his side all that time. Yet, in the end, it had all led to rejection. It wasn’t hard to understand why he might wish he could turn back time.  

Even as he dripped with regret, Jinwoo still clung to the foolish desire to keep that secretary by his side. It seemed that love, in all its forms, had a way of making people utterly stupid.  

“Taegyeom… You lucky bastard!”  

Jinwoo, who had been sprawled limply across the table, suddenly shot up. His half-lidded eyes glared at Taegyeom for no reason, and then, without warning, he threw himself forward, wrapping his arms around Taegyeom’s shoulders and leaning his weight on him.  

“You’re such a blessed jerk… It’s so annoying, but at least you’re consistently annoying. That’s why I like you, you arrogant bastard…”  

Jinwoo’s drunken habits were nothing short of a headache. As Taegyeom tried to shake him off with an annoyed expression, he eventually let out a resigned sigh. What was the point of using force against someone who wasn’t even fully conscious?  

He eased Jinwoo onto the sofa, laying him down at an angle, and loosened the tie around his neck. Then, he made a call to check Jinwoo into a hotel room.  

While Jinwoo usually stayed at a specific hotel whenever he returned to Korea, Taegyeom had no intention of going out of his way to take him there. He planned to dump him in any available room and later make him pay dearly for wasting his time with such an embarrassing display of drunkenness.  

Not long after, there was a knock at the door.  

“Yes.”  

At his permission, the door slowly opened. Expecting it to be a concierge staff member with the room key, Taegyeom was surprised to see someone else walk in.  

“Hello, Chief. It’s been a while.”  

It was Han Miso, the personal secretary from SH Holdings and the very person who had driven Yoo Jinwoo into his drunken stupor. It had been nearly a year since Taegyeom last saw her.  

During last year’s shareholders’ meeting, she had accompanied Jinwoo as his aide, but for this particular business trip to Korea, Taegyeom had heard that another secretary had been assigned. He assumed it was because of some personal friction, leading Jinwoo to keep his distance for a while.  

Looking at her with a hint of surprise, Taegyeom spoke.  

“I heard Director Yoo was traveling with Secretary Kim this time. Did you also come along, Secretary Han?”  

“There were some overlapping schedules, but fortunately, I was able to make adjustments and take a different flight.”  

Even if it was a different flight, she must have arrived earlier today. Despite the fatigue from a long journey, let alone the fact that it was outside work hours, she had come to assist with her boss’s personal matters. Her dedication was impressive.  

“Do you usually handle your boss’s personal affairs like this? It sounds like workplace exploitation. I should have a word with Director Yoo later.”  

At Taegyeom’s words, Miso, who had been maintaining a composed smile, momentarily looked flustered.  

“No, not usually. I mostly just check his schedule…”  

Miso’s gaze briefly flickered toward Jinwoo. Even at the sight of her boss lying drunk and sprawled out, her expression remained calm.  

So this has been happening a lot lately. 

Taegyeom thought, quickly piecing the situation together.  

Shrugging, he stood up, buttoning the jacket he had left undone.  

“Your concern for your boss is touching, but you can leave now. As you can see, this isn’t something you can handle alone. I’ll take care of it.”  

Miso hesitated for a moment, glancing between Jinwoo and Taegyeom.  

“Ah… I appreciate the thought, Chief, but I’ll handle it.”  

After bowing deeply, Miso calmly approached the sofa. Then, without hesitation, she reached out and hoisted Jinwoo onto her back.  

Taegyeom, who had been watching leisurely to see how she intended to “handle” the situation, raised his eyebrows in surprise.  

It was hard to believe—she was easily half Jinwoo’s size, yet she lifted his drunken, limp body without breaking a sweat. Considering that unconscious bodies tend to feel even heavier, it was astonishing to see where she found the strength.  

At first glance, it looked as though Jinwoo had collapsed onto her from behind, making for a precarious sight. Worried that she might topple over, Taegyeom instinctively reached out, grabbing Jinwoo’s arm to help support his weight.  

“What are you doing, Secretary Han? You’re going to fall.”  

“It’s fine, Chief. I’ve done this a few times before.”  

“…”  

“I’ll be taking Director Yoo now. See you at the office.”  

With a composed expression, Miso carried Jinwoo out of the room with steady steps. Watching her disappear, Taegyeom shook his head in disbelief before following after them. He couldn’t help but wonder if he had been unwittingly dragged into their love drama.  

***

“Mmnh…!”  

A heated moan escaped through tightly clenched teeth. Leeseo bit her lips hard, twisting her waist. However, the firm hands gripping both sides of her hips showed no mercy. Like a bird caught in a trap, she couldn’t move an inch, her breath coming out in ragged gasps.  

Perhaps the problem was that she had been too complacent with his seemingly gentle behavior until now.  

How had things escalated to this point? 

Leeseo bit her lip to suppress her moans as she reflected on the events of the day.  

Just as Jinwoo had warned during their recent phone call, he had burst in noisily on Saturday morning. Flashing his usual sly grin, he offered his congratulations on her pregnancy while nervously glancing at Taegyeom. Taegyeom, for his part, exuded a colder air than usual.  

Leeseo wondered if something had happened between the two men during their drinking session. But before she could even speculate, Jinwoo distracted her by handing her an armful of gifts, completely stealing her attention.  

When she opened them, she found everything from baby items to body care products for pregnant women—practical and thoughtful items, all of them. It was hard to believe that a single man, who wasn’t even married, had chosen such meticulously prepared and tasteful gifts. Surely, he hadn’t done it alone. The image of his kind and smiling secretary suddenly came to mind. She made a mental note to thank her if they ever met.  

‘Did you think about what you want to eat, Leeseo? I’m already thrilled at the thought of spending a lot of money today.’  

True to his boast about overspending, Jinwoo had come fully prepared. The restaurant he had reserved was located about an hour’s drive away in the countryside. During the drive, he cracked so many silly yet amusing jokes that Leeseo was exhausted from laughing by the time they arrived. Thanks to him, she felt an unusually strong hunger settle in by the time they reached their destination.  

The restaurant was a traditional hanok-style building with a view of a central courtyard, and the meal was served as a two-hour-long course. As the beautifully presented dishes were served one by one, the room was filled with laughter. It was such an enjoyable meal that time seemed to fly by unnoticed, all thanks to Jinwoo, who seemed determined to liven up the atmosphere.  

Leeseo, her belly now noticeably rounded, laughed so much that she had to clutch it several times. By the end of the meal, her cheeks and even her stomach ached from laughing so hard.  

Perhaps that was the problem.  

“Taegyeom… Please, stop…”  

Leeseo, her eyes brimming with tears, looked up at her husband with a pleading expression. Her thin hands gripped the bed sheets so tightly that her knuckles protruded, trembling slightly. Despite her desperate pleas, Taegyeom’s relentless movements showed no sign of stopping. If anything, the pressure of his tongue against her sensitive inner walls only intensified.  

“Ahh! It’s too much… Please…”  

Half-sitting up, Leeseo grabbed his head, trying frantically to push him away. Finally, Taegyeom sucked gently on her swollen cl*toris, drawing out a high-pitched moan before he pulled back.  

The suction that had been pulling at her entrance released with a wet sound. His head, which had been buried between her thighs all this time, lifted, and the warm breath he exhaled settled softly over her heated flesh.  

Leeseo’s belly, now five months pregnant, was gently rounded. Beyond that curve, her gaze met Taegyeom’s, who was looking up at her with a languid smile.