It’s hot… I love it so much. I don’t want this feeling to end.

Fearing that it would disappear, Soo-min pulled his shoulders in and hugged him. The p*nis filling her became even hotter.

The man she loved, the man she could not forget even in death.

She should have apologised, but the searing heat surging through her body prevented her from opening her mouth.

“I’ve been waiting for you. I… But you left me…”

At that moment, his body suddenly stopped. Tears trickled down her face.

When Soo-min looked up at Junhwan, who was crying with a sad expression on his face, her heart ached.

‘My painful love, not a single day has gone by without me remembering you.’

She wanted to say it, but she couldn’t bring herself to open her mouth.

Instead, Soo-min gently stroked his tear-stained cheek. But at that moment, his gaze suddenly sharpened and his once gentle touch became rough.

“Who…? That man… Ah, ah!”

Beom Yuhyeon?!”

It was the same face, but his gaze and aura had changed abruptly. The thing that filled her underneath swelled even more.

And then Yuhyeon moved like a beast, shaking her body.

Soo-min gasped, but she couldn’t breathe. The pressure inside her was crushing, as if she were about to die.

As sparks flashed in front of her eyes, she instinctively looked past Yuhyeon.

Her body turned icy cold and froze.

There, standing behind him, was Junhwan, half burnt, staring at her sadly.

“Ahhh!!”

Soo-min’s eyes snapped open.

Gasping for air, she struggled to steady her ragged breathing. The tears that had soaked her pillow had come from her own eyes, but they felt as if they belonged to Junhwan.

She buried her face in her hands, sinking helplessly into a deep sense of remorse and self-loathing.

***

The rain seemed to be easing, but a drop of water fell from the damp window frame.

In front of the house, where construction was nearing completion, a luxury limousine came to a gentle stop.

Yuhyeon got out. At the unexpected arrival of the client, the construction manager rushed over and bowed deeply in greeting.

“Welcome. I was just about to call you.”

“How much longer will it take?”

“We’re in the final stages now.”

Yuhyeon nodded as he looked around the house.

The property had been put up for auction and Yuhyeon had won the bid. As soon as he had secured it, he had the entire interior gutted and rebuilt.

His steps took him across the garden to a small building.

Suddenly, his eyes went cold, a sharp light flashing in them.

The chief secretary, who was close behind him, finally spoke.

“I told you to leave the place as it is.”

“All right.”

“I’ve ordered the finest handmade furniture from European craftsmen. It should arrive next month.”

“This will be a magnificent cage.”

Yuhyeon ran a hand through his hair.

“If I may be so bold, sir, isn’t your goal to marry her?”

“That’s right.”

“Then why a contractual relationship? I don’t quite understand.”

“Because I can’t afford to give her any freedom.”

The chief secretary tilted his head in confusion.

“Everything she has must be placed under me. Only then will she never be able to escape me again.”

Yuhyeon looked at his watch. The meeting with the eldest son of the Jaewon Group was approaching. With unwavering composure, he walked confidently forward.

***

While preparing for the morning’s work, Eunhyuk came down to the office.

“Let’s have a company dinner today.”

“A company dinner?”

“I thought we should have one after a long time. Besides, we’ve finished a big thing.”

At the mention of a company dinner, smiles spread across the team members’ faces.

“Sounds good.”

“I’ve already made a reservation at the Niobe Club in Gangnam, so keep that in mind. Oh, and there’s a dress code, so you’ll have to dress nicely, Noona.”

“A… a dress code too…?”

Jung-ah replied quickly with a knowing smile.

“Don’t worry, CEO~ We’ll make sure the boss gets a complete makeover before we leave!”

“I’m counting on you, Jung-ah.”

“A makeover…?”

Her mind went blank.

“It’s a club. You can’t just wear a suit, right?”

“Is that so? It’s been so long I have no idea what to wear.”

“Just leave it to us.”

“Wow! It’s been ages since we let ourselves go. Tomorrow’s a day off, so I’m going to drink and party to my heart’s content!”

“Exciting! Yahoo!”

The team members cheered enthusiastically. Unlike them, however, Soo-min couldn’t shake the lingering thoughts of Yuhyeon.

‘Yuhyeon, what should I do?’

They hadn’t made any concrete plans, but if he called for her, she would have to go to his room.

[Mr Beom Yuhyeon, it’s me, Han Soo-min. We have a company dinner today, so I might be home late. Is that okay?]

After sending the message, Soo-min stared at her phone for a long time, but the unread indicator didn’t disappear.

Thinking he might be busy, she put the phone back in her pocket.

Then she threw herself into her morning tasks, not checking her phone again until lunchtime.

The message was still there. The 1 hadn’t disappeared.

‘What the hell? If he didn’t want to read my messages, why did he give me his number in the first place?’

Soo-min put her phone on vibrate and tossed it aside. When her teammates suggested they go for lunch, she followed them without complaining.

As they entered the hotel cafeteria, some of her colleagues kept glancing towards a nearby café. Soo-min’s steps faltered.

“There! That’s Beom Yuhyeon! Wow, this is crazy. I should buy a lottery ticket today!”

“Seriously, he’s glowing. Is he even human?”

“From head to toe, he just oozes luxury.”

“Who’s that woman with him?”

“Did he get a girlfriend while we weren’t looking?”

“It doesn’t make sense for such a handsome man to be single. Ah, I’m so jealous… Imagine sitting across from him, drinking coffee together.”

Yuhyeon sat across from a woman, drinking tea together.

‘So the reason he didn’t check my message… was because of her?’

She had assumed he was busy with work, but apparently that ‘work’ included meeting a woman.

At that moment, their eyes met through the window. Yuhyeon looked at Soo-min with an unreadable, distant expression before turning away. Her stomach twisted.

‘Why should I care who he dated?’

But her mood had already sunk.

Lifting her chin, Soo-min continued inside.

As the last team member entered the cafeteria, they leaned over and whispered,

“I couldn’t resist – I was passing by and heard a bit. Get this. He’s on a matchmaking date!”

Soo-min’s hand, which had been lifting a spoonful of soup, froze in mid-air.

“A m-matchmaking date?”

“It looks like he’s planning to get married in Korea. I thought the woman looked familiar, and it turns out she’s the granddaughter of the chairman of the International Group.”

“Oh wow! So it’s an arranged marriage?”

“Seems like it. Well, the social scene wouldn’t leave a man of his calibre single for long.”

“A groom with both wealth and good looks? Families must be competing to find him a match.”

It seemed he had officially started looking for a bride.

‘Marriage. Right. He had always intended to marry…’

It wasn’t really surprising – she’d known all along.

And yet the rice in her mouth suddenly felt like a lump of stone.

In the end, Soo-min ate barely a few bites before putting her spoon down on the table.

“I’ll go back first.”

“But Chief, you hardly ate anything.”

“I just don’t have any appetite. Take your time and finish your meal.”

“All right, then. See you at the office.”

Soo-min deliberately took the longer route to the office, avoiding the café altogether.

The office, filled with the scent of fresh flowers, was usually her favourite place, but today she couldn’t shake her bad mood.

‘Why did he have to look like Junhwan?’

Seeing a man who looked like Junhwan with another woman made her feel insecure.

‘What a horrible woman I am… I was the one who threw him away, yet here I am, wavering over a man who resembles him…’

At the same time, the crushing self-recrimination that had tormented her for the past five years came rushing in.

“I’ll wait. Until you come back…”

“I’ll keep on waiting…”

“I won’t leave here… Han Soo-min!”

Junhwan’s voice echoed in her head like a phantom. The guilt of abandoning him had haunted her for five long years.

Soo-min bit her lip hard and clutched the flowers in her hands.

When she heard someone enter the office, she instinctively looked up – only to freeze in shock.

Her eyes widened.

Yuhyeon, the man she had just met on a dating site, had entered her office.

“Wh-why are you here?”

“Am I somewhere I shouldn’t be?”

“The staff will be back soon. You need to leave. Now.”

“I’ll be leaving soon, no need to throw me out. I just needed some flowers in a hurry.”

“F-flowers?”

Soo-min immediately thought of the woman he had met.

“I suddenly remembered someone who deserves flowers. I’d appreciate it if you could do a little extra service.”

‘You want to give flowers to the woman from your matchmaking meeting? And you ask me – your so-called s*x partner – for a favour?’

“…….”

“There’s no time to order, so just make me a bouquet.”

“All right. It’s not difficult.”

He’s even worse than she thought.

“Does it bother you?”

“Why should I mind? Not at all.”

He’s not Junhwan. No – even if he were, being upset would drive her mad.

She was a woman married to another man. She had no right to be jealous.

Her wrist felt heavy. Without realising it, her fingers kept tightening around the stems.

Yuhyeon’s gaze swept slowly over her, sending a strange sensation through her body.

“You’ll end up breaking the flowers.”

“Oh.”

“Treat them gently. Like this…”

Yuhyeon suddenly came close and wrapped his arms around her from behind.

Before she could react, his big hand reached forward and grabbed her br*ast without warning.

Soo-min jumped in shock and nearly jumped out of her skin.

She couldn’t concentrate on making the bouquet. As he ran his hands over her br*asts and pressed his lower body against hers, she felt the warmth of his flesh against her.

“You concentrate on making the bouquet and I’ll concentrate on touching you.”

“Mm…”

“Your n*pples are hard… fully *rect.”

“Ah…”

Yuhyeon teased her n*pple with his right hand while his other toyed with the hem of her skirt. Her thighs tensed instinctively, the muscles clenching. She could feel the faint brush of his breath against her ear, accompanied by a subtle smile.