Runaway Secretary - Chapter 54

CHAPTER 54

Yeonseo whispered softly,

“I’m in trouble, too, because you’re a bad person.”

Taeheon poked Yeonseo’s cheek. The suddenly sunken cheek bothered him. Taeheon tightened his jaw to conceal his turbulent emotions. Whenever he was with Yeonseo, his mask came off.

He suddenly remembered the days when he was younger, when he had no choice but to build a stronger fortress against the cruel and cold accusations. Maybe it was because he had been suppressing his childishness since he was young. Even though Yeonseo made him feel younger, it was sweet.

Yeonseo’s warm body was like a cradle. Taeheon’s soul was at peace.

It was a sign that it was time for his troubles to come to an end.

He was going to… her…

“How should I handle you?”

Taeheon murmured to himself. His mind was still a messy mess. But it was clear that it flowed in the direction of Yeonseo.

“How can I abandon you?”

Yeonseo misunderstood the whisper, thinking it meant she would be abandoned. She was confused.

She wanted to ask if he wanted to abandon her, if he wanted to destroy her as Taeseon had said.

Instead of saying those words, she gently stroked Taeheon’s cheek.

“Kiss me, please.”

Their breaths intertwined, as did their gazes. The lips that had been close to each other gently touched each other. The tingling sensation reached the back of their heads and down their spines.

The tip of his tongue slid into the slick slit, nibbling at the soft flesh, and when he licked up a little, Taeheon tilted his jaw and deepened the kiss.

A moan came out like a whisper. Their tongues explored the narrow space like they were making love.

Just as the tears were reaching the corners of her eyes. Taeheon pulled away from the kiss. Yeonseo was panting heavily, and her heartbeat echoed loudly.

Releasing her grip on Taeheon’s collar, Yeonseo patted the seat beside her

“Come lie down here.”

“It’ll be cramped.”

“Can’t it be helped?”

Taeheon chuckled and took the space next to her, placing his arm under her neck as a pillow. It was the first time Taeheon had done this. Yeonseo smiled as if she wanted to cry and placed her hand on his chest.

A similar heartbeat could be felt from his muscles.

“My last date is tomorrow.”

“Do you have to bring that up now?”

Yeonseo raised her eyebrows, looking at him. It had been good for a while.

“It’ll all be over in just two hours tomorrow.”

Yeonseo held his arm that was directed towards her cheek.

“…Can’t you not go?”

“What’s the sudden change? Wasn’t this something you agreed to as well?”

“Having a meal and a drink with someone may not mean anything to you, but… it’s hard for me.”

Taeheon lifted his hand. He wiped away the tears that flowed from her eyes. But in the end, he didn’t say he wouldn’t go.

He couldn’t tell her what she wanted to hear forever. Like water and oil, like wood and fire, the two of them were different. So Yeonseo couldn’t understand him, and Taeheon couldn’t understand her.

In a relationship that only involves sleeping together, Yeonseo had become too fond of him to just comfort her heart like that.

She now realized that she had been gradually crumbling since the day she started to hold feelings for him.

She was worn down every day by his indifference.

It was unbearable to see him being so cruel even to someone he cherished.

In reality, she wasn’t okay.

Even her expectations had dried up, and the once-hopeful desert toward him had become desolate and barren.

Yeonseo closed her eyes and took a deep breath before speaking. The process of putting words together to form a sentence and delivering it was not as easy as she thought it would be.

Nevertheless, even though it was difficult, it was time to say what needed to be said.

“Sir.”

“Yeah.”

“Should we break up?”

“What do you mean?”

All at once, Taeheon’s eyes turned icy.

“I mean what I mean.”

“Look me in the eyes and say it again.”

A strong hand gripped Yeonseo’s chin, trapping her in his hazy gaze.

“I saw a man earlier.”

“A man?”

“I saw him, and he ran away… I think I’ve seen him before.”

“So?”

Taeheon asked as if he already knew the answer.

“He’s keeping an eye on me, that’s what you ordered, right?”

“And that becomes a reason to breakup?”

“Since when do you put people around me……. Without saying a word, it’s not right.”

“Then when you meet my mother or sister, should I be kept in the dark?”

“I thought you heard about it from Secretary Kim, I thought you knew about it through her, not through someone I don’t know!”

Her defiant voice ended with a thin tremor.

“Whoever I hear it from, the purpose is the same: to protect you.”

“No. This isn’t protection; it’s surveillance.”

“It’s natural to have someone tailing you. It’s the way this world works. You’re important to me, and you need to be protected.”

In the past, she might have tried to find a way to turn his words about being important into a source of happiness.

But now, she seemed tired. If being his s*xual partner meant being monitored in every detail, she wanted to stop it.

“…You brought that person here, didn’t you?”

Taeheon’s temples tightened. He let out a sigh.

“Who? Haesin?”

“Why did you do that?”

“Because it didn’t sit well with you.”

“How can you trample on a person’s heart so casually……. I’m scared of you, because you keep hurting me.”

Taeheon suddenly stood up from his seat. His back felt distant as he sat on the bed. After a moment of silence, he looked at Yeonseo.

“Clear your head. Let’s talk about it tomorrow.”

“I want to talk about it now.”

“Rest.”

And with that, Taeheon left the room.

He couldn’t bear to agree to the breakup, even though he knew he wouldn’t listen to a single word telling him not to go.

*

Taeheon couldn’t sleep a wink until the daybreak. He tried drowning his thoughts with strong whiskey, but it offered little help for sleep.

The voice of Yeonseo, telling him they should break up. Her expression at that moment hit him harder than any storm.

He spent over an hour sweating it out at the gym. After showering, he found himself at the hospital instead of the office.

8 AM. It was already the time when Yeonseo would have woken up. The advantage of the VIP ward was the quiet surroundings. A place where he could be somewhat free from unnecessary fuss and attention.

He didn’t care how Yeonseo’s existence appeared to the world. But he didn’t want people talking casually about her.

It wasn’t that he found it uncomfortable for people to gossip about his possession. What disgusted him was the way they arbitrarily judged her.

He pushed back his schedule and came to her. He had thought all night, but unfortunately, he couldn’t find a way to convince the stubborn woman who had spoken of a breakup so annoyingly.

But he couldn’t give in to Yeonseo’s wishes. His desire was still too strong to say goodbye.

Taeheon’s footsteps echoed regularly on the hardwood floor. Outside Yeonseo’s hospital room, he glanced down at his increasingly frustrated heart.

Feeling like his heart was being suffocated and his daily life was being threatened by someone felt as uncomfortable as swallowing spoiled food. But when he opened the door to the hospital room and saw Yeonseo standing by the window, he couldn’t help but realize.

Han Yeonseo, you won.

Taeheon forced out his subdued voice.

“Have you had your meal?”

And I can never let go of you.

“…You didn’t come to work?”

Yeonseo had washed her face, and the tips of her bangs were slightly damp. The scent of shampoo wafted from her long, flowing hair.

Her puffiness had completely disappeared, and her face was as flawless as before.

“You didn’t even contact me. What’s going on?”

The woman who had disrupted Taeheon’s early morning greeted him with indifference. She was looking at him curiously for coming to the hospital at this hour.

Because of you.

“Let’s finish what we were talking about. Have you cleared your head?”

“…….”

“I’m the one who ends it, I thought that was the deal.”

I’ve lost interest. I can’t force myself to meet you.”

Lost interest. Force myself?

“What are you doing?”

“I’m telling you the truth.”

Her calm tone started to irk him.

“Are you really bothered by the blind date? You know it’s meaningless. That’s why I left it to you.”

“Don’t you think that’s the problem? Why did you bring me there? Was it really out of consideration?”

Taeheon looked at her, his anger fading for a moment. Yeonseo knew about his immature and vile nature that wanted to torment her.

But what was the big deal? It was his honest feeling towards her.

He wanted to possess her in that way. But if Yeonseo hated it enough to mention breaking up, there was room for reconsideration.

“If it bothered you, fine, it’s my mistake. I admit it. There won’t be such incidents in the future.”

“You make it sound so easy, Sir.”

“You’re just being complicated. Should I just cancel the blind date today?”

Yeonseo’s big eyes flicked open, a little surprised

“Can you do that?”

“It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“…You could have done that?”

She laughed as if she found it amusing. She looked even more vulnerable than before.

Not the look Taeheon had hoped for, but the way she smiled with her eyes narrowed made his chest tighten even more.

“You didn’t even listen when I told you not to go.”

To be honest, Taeheon didn’t consider the blind date issue as something significant enough for Yeonseo to want to break up.

But if it was a serious matter for Yeonseo to the point where she wanted to cut off their relationship, he could do something about it, even if it was a little annoying.

“So you’re trying to please me now.”

“No, there’s no need for that.”

The blind dates issue had hurt Yeonseo more deeply than Taeheon had anticipated. He had some part to play in this mistake.

Admitting it, Taeheon took a deep breath.

“I apologize.”

“…We should stop seeing each other.”

Yeonseo’s tone was firmer than yesterday, as if she had already made up her mind.