Hyena, who regained her senses first, soothed Gunwoo. Whether it worked or not, the things restraining her body retreated. Even the p*nis that had been rubbing relentlessly below.

Gunwoo whispered while arranging his swollen lips with his fingertips.

“Then at home?”

He was so typical, persistently asking even though he’d do it anyway without permission.

“If it’s at home…”

“Then I better work hard from now on. Since I need to leave work early.”

“…”

“See you tonight.”

You better brace yourself.

Hyena, who caught the hidden meaning, groaned silently. It seemed she wouldn’t be getting much sleep tonight either.

Hyena left the team leader’s office and walked to her seat, cooling her flushed cheeks with her hands. Manager Lee, who’d been watching her intently, called out to stop her.

“Assistant Manager Yoon, I heard you rejected Deputy Manager Park’s confession?”

The unfiltered question was flustering. Hyena glanced at Deputy Manager Park’s seat. Fortunately, he wasn’t there. 

After confirming their feelings for each other with Gunwoo, she’d clearly expressed her rejection to Deputy Manager Park. If Deputy Manager Park had asked specifically why she was rejecting him, she’d planned to tell him the truth that she was dating Gunwoo. 

But he withdrew more simply than expected. Since then, they’d been maintaining a slightly awkward relationship.

“I had drinks with him a few days ago and he mentioned it.”

“You’re very interested in employees’ private lives.”

“Of course I’m interested. We’re bound by contract, aren’t we?”

“…”

“But these days, Assistant Manager Yoon seems to have something good going on. Your face is blooming more and more.”

Manager Lee said while staring at Hyena with narrowed eyes. For a moment, she felt a pang of guilt.

“If you have nothing more to say, I’ll return to my seat.”

“Of course I have more to say.”

Manager Lee suddenly leaned in.

“Assistant Manager Yoon’s been going in and out of the team leader’s office a lot lately.”

“What? Me?”

Cold sweat ran down her back. Could he have noticed…?

Just as she thought that, Manager Lee raised the corners of his mouth and said.

“Some people don’t even know they’re getting chewed out the most.”

A sigh of relief escaped involuntarily. Fortunately, the smokescreen seemed to have worked.

“By any chance, did you notice if the team leader has a woman?”

“…”

“No matter how I look at it, he seems to be dating someone.”

His slit eyes turned toward the team leader’s office.

“My gut says it’s definitely an office romance.”

“I really don’t know.”

“Yeah, well. I can find out slowly.”

Manager Lee muttered and waved his hand dismissively. It was a gesture telling her to disappear. Walking back to her seat, Hyena picked up her phone.

<As of this moment, don’t look for me at the company. Team Leader Do>

It was an emergency situation.

***

As always, tense tension filled the conference room.

“Let’s conclude the meeting here.”

At Gunwoo’s words, the employees who’d been tense relaxed considerably.

“I heard a new employee is coming to our department next week, is that true?”

Heejin, the company’s information hub, asked directly.

“That’s correct.”

When the affirmative answer came, Heejin and Hyena exchanged glances. The day to escape being the team’s youngest was approaching fast.

“Send all today’s work reports by email.”

“What? Team leader, you have to go to the workshop right now…”

“I’ll have enough time to check them.”

Gunwoo left those words and exited the conference room. The remaining people all shook their heads. They thought he was a terrible workaholic for wanting to receive reports even at the workshop.

Of course, Manager Lee had provided the cause for this. Every time the team leader was away, he caused trouble, so this was probably a method thought up as a last resort.

Manager Lee, who couldn’t not know this, coughed unnecessarily.

“Ahem. It’s comfortable and nice. Yeah.”

It was a moment when Manager Lee, who’d been completely deflated lately, looked a bit pitiful.

During lunch, while eating in the cafeteria with the female employees, buzz—her phone vibrated. Hyena quickly picked it up. There was a message from Gunwoo, who’d gone to the team leader workshop.

<Lunch?>

<Eating now.>

Tap tap tap, Hyena, who’d been typing, took a picture of her meal tray with her phone. Soon the photo was sent to Gunwoo. It was a private message with Gunwoo after a long time.

To avoid Manager Lee’s radar, she’d been restraining herself as much as possible from being alone with Gunwoo at the company. Gunwoo complained about why they had to go this far. While using that as an excuse to push her every night.

<You won’t be able to handle it eating that. If you’re going to take my c*ck.>

Hyena’s face colored with embarrassment at the raw reply. Gunwoo, who became a complete beast during s*x, was the same when talking about related matters. 

When she’d asked him to restrain himself because she couldn’t get used to the embarrassing expressions, he’d whispered.

‘s*x is inherently dirty. Because it’s a union of g*nitals. I don’t have the ability to express dirty things cleanly, but what about you?’

And after that…

Her cheeks flushed red at the memory of that day that suddenly surfaced. But she pretended otherwise and sent a message.

<I’m sleeping alone tonight so it’s fine.>

The workshop location was far and there was even an after-party planned, so he probably wouldn’t be able to come home today.

‘Since I can’t do it tomorrow, I’ll have to do it twice as much.’

Whispering that, Gunwoo had dug into Hyena until dawn. Thanks to that, she still felt uncomfortable, like something was lodged inside her. Heejin, who misinterpreted Hyena’s behavior, asked.

“Why? Stomach bothering you again?”

“Yeah. A bit.”

“Then go rest in the break room first. We’ll come soon after eating.”

There was no reason to decline.

<Can you talk?>

She sent Gunwoo a message and approached the break room when a familiar voice came through the open door.

“Who the h*ll was that woman back then?”

Judging by how her body showed rejection first, it was Manager Lee.

“Are you still thinking about the outing? I told you, you saw wrong.”

“It was definitely the team leader’s car. I saw with my own two eyes a woman rolling around in there.”

Hyena stopped breathing. Outing, car, woman. Just those three words were enough to know that Manager Lee had witnessed what happened that day.

‘Exactly how much?’

Her body moved forward without realizing it.

“If only the photo had come out well, I’d shove it right in front of him. I couldn’t use the flash so only the team leader’s back barely showed.”

Fortunately, there seemed to be no solid evidence.

“That day, it was definitely one of the female employees from our team there. I’ll definitely find out and properly humiliate…”

The voice got closer. Hyena, completely flustered, moved her steps when—

“Assistant Manager Yoon?”

The grim reaper’s voice came from behind. Startled, Hyena dropped her phone. With bad timing, the phone that fell to the floor vibrated. Manager Lee spat out the caller ID that appeared on it.

“Do?”

Hyena hurriedly picked up her phone.

“Same surname as our team leader?”

“It’s not a surname, it’s a first name.”

She smiled forcedly and lied.

“Really?”

The rising corners of his mouth felt unpleasant somehow, but fortunately nothing else happened after that.

After work, she barely ate the dinner Gunwoo had prepared in advance and sat blankly on the sofa. After the last call saying he’d return tomorrow afternoon, there’d been no contact from Gunwoo. How long had she been like that when her phone rang.

Disappointment appeared on Hyena’s face as she picked it up in anticipation. It was a call from her mom, not Gunwoo.

“Yeah. Mom.”

She suppressed her disappointment and forced out the brightest voice possible.

—I told you to pack your winter clothes, why didn’t you take them? I was going to send them with Gunwoo if he came, but neither of you have come once.

“Ah, I’ve been a bit busy lately.”

At the company suffering from intense work day after day, at home taking in Do Gunwoo.

Her cheeks reddened at the thought that surfaced in her mind.

“Can’t you just send it by delivery?”

—How can I send something so bulky by delivery? I’ll just bring it to you.

Hyena giggled.

“I’d be grateful if you did that.”

—Is 11 o’clock tomorrow okay? I have a reunion lunch over there with Eunju, so we have to go together.

It was welcome news. She’d been needing thick clothes anyway since it had gotten much colder lately.

—I wonder if Gunwoo will be uncomfortable.

Jeongseon’s muttering came through the phone. It wasn’t unreasonable to worry about that since Do Gunwoo hated having his territory invaded. 

How else would even his parents, Aunt Eunju and Uncle Sangjin, be so careful around him?

‘But I’m an exception.’

Hyena’s lips curved at the sudden thought.

“Gunwoo oppa’s not here. He went to a team leader workshop and won’t be back until afternoon.”

—Really?

“Yeah. So don’t worry and come.”

Hyena, who’d said that much, added more words out of caution.

“The password hasn’t changed, so if I’m sleeping, just open the door and come in.”

Her mom knew the password but had never opened the door without permission. Same with Aunt Eunju. So she had to tell her in advance.

—You’re planning to sleep until noon again, aren’t you?

“You caught me. See you tomorrow.”

Hyena, who answered playfully, put down her phone. The house felt empty with just one person gone. After flipping through TV channels, she got up from her seat. She thought it would be better to just sleep.

She tried to sleep in her own room’s bed for the first time in a while, but as time passed, her mind became clearer. Eventually, Hyena, who bolted up from bed, headed to Gunwoo’s room.

As soon as she entered the room, Gunwoo’s scent enveloped her. Only then did her sharp nerves relax.

“This is serious. I can’t even sleep without Do Gunwoo.”

She grumbled unnecessarily and lay down on Gunwoo’s bed. She fell asleep in less than ten minutes. Until someone disturbed her sleep.

“Hngh.”

A wet moan brushed past her ear. The sensation blooming softly below her lower abdomen slowly woke her. Hyena opened her tightly closed eyelids.

A large hand was gripping her braless br*ast through her pajamas. Every time the thick thumb stimulated the peak, moans leaked from her mouth.

“Ngh.”

That’s right. The moan that brushed past her ear earlier had come from her own mouth.

“Awake?”

Gunwoo whispered in a sweet voice.

“You said you couldn’t come today…”

“I couldn’t sleep without Yoon Hyena next to me.”

So I caught a taxi and came right away. Like a madman.

Her heart tingled at the added words.

“I was just going to hold you and sleep today, but seeing you lying in my bed.”

Hyena rolled her eyes following Gunwoo’s gaze dropping downward. Gunwoo’s body wearing nothing, and below it his fully er*ect p*nis twitched. 

The tip glistened, pouring out prec*m like he’d already ej*culated. Just seeing that made her below get soaking wet.