CHAPTER 39

Even though s*x wasn’t going to happen tonight, having even the underwear well-coordinated made her confidence soar from hidden places. Perhaps that’s why her reflection in the mirror looked a bit beautiful.

But the anxiety in the back of her mind was still there. After all, traumas don’t just disappear overnight.

‘Is there such a foolish man who would be tempted by a woman like me who doesn’t even look like a woman?’

However, the word ‘practice’ somewhat offset the uneasiness.

‘Even if I fail… It’s just ‘practice.’

Minhee’s goal today was to ask Taejun out on a date, share a glass of wine with him, and seduce him into kissing her in a romantic setting. A real kiss where she wouldn’t have to make excuses about it being a mistake or an accident. The thought of actually kissing him made her heart skip a beat and then race as if it would burst.

‘Ha… What should I do? I’m so nervous!’

Minhee shuffled her feet and brought her hands to her heated cheeks when she heard a soft ‘click.’

‘I have to go out now!’

‘No, I can’t do this!’

‘If I don’t go out now, I’ll be haunted by my complexes forever, and I’ll never have a proper relationship or even experience s*x properly, and I’ll grow old and die!’

With a determined expression, Minhee clenched her fist and stormed out. Taejun, with his wide strides, was walking towards his study. Once he entered the study and closed the door, she didn’t feel confident enough to knock on the door and drag him out.

Just before he opened the door to his study, Minhee caught up with brisk steps. In her desperation, she reached out to him. Taejun turned his head quickly to look back.

Minhee tried to reach his hand, but what she grabbed were just two of his fingers. His hand was too big to fit into her small palm.

His eyebrows raised in surprise, and his gaze slowly dropped to the fingers that Minhee held. Her slender fingers were desperately clutching at his long, thick fingers.

The back of Minhee’s hand was smooth and pale, almost translucent, revealing the faint traces of blue veins underneath.

His gaze traveled up her arm, bare beneath the short ruffled sleeves, and the hairs on her arm stood up in response.

Taejun’s gaze, dark as the night sky, slid lazily up her shoulder. His gaze drifted dizzily over Minhee’s lightly made-up face and lingered for a moment on her lips. When her lips twitched, he lowered his gaze.

As his gaze descended further, Taejun’s Adam’s apple trembled. Minhee let go of his fingers, feeling like she was struggling between the instinct to turn around and run away and the fierce desire to stay put.

“What’s the matter?”

Taejun’s voice was low and rough.

‘If not now, I can never do it again.’

Minhee squeezed her eyes shut and opened them.

“Mr. Taejun, would you like to see my room?”

“……”

“Uh…, it’s not anything special, but since you’ve never been there before—uh, so….”

‘Ah! The guest room is not a tourist spot, and why am I asking him to see my room?! It’s not even my house; it’s this guy’s house?!’

She should have thought about how to ask him out in advance, but she had been too focused on studying, neglecting the important things.

‘Oh, no! Is it too late to escape now?’

“Sure.”

Taejun’s cool answer settled heavily over Minhee’s frantically pounding heart.

‘Huh? Did the room tour work? What should I do next?’

Miho had said something… Desperately, she recalled her conversation with Miho.

‘First, make eye contact, then smile, and what else was there? Oh, men think with their d*ck—oh no!’

Before Taejun’s feelings, or rather, her feelings could change, Minhee firmly grasped his fingers. Then she looked directly into his eyes and gave him a smile. Her eyes wavered, and the muscles of her cheeks tightened.

‘This isn’t as easy as I thought.’

Minhee staggered back a couple of steps, the corners of her mouth beginning to quiver before she whirled around and tugged at him.

Thinking Taejun would be dragged heavily, but Minhee didn’t need to pull him hard; he just stood right behind her, matching her steps. As soon as the doorway was slightly ajar, Minhee let go of his fingers.

He walked confidently into her room, stopping in the middle. Slowly looking around, his gaze settled on the table in front of the window.

With a click, as the door closed, he quickly turned around. Minhee, her cheeks flushed like someone who had just done something bad, leaned against the door, her arms behind her back, avoiding his gaze.

‘Is it finally starting…’

A creepy sense of anticipation spread from Taejun’s back like concentric circles. From his thighs to his abdominal muscles, his body tensed and tightened. His heartbeat seemed to accelerate, and he could feel it pulsating through his body.

The forceful pumping of blood from the heart gathered at his center in an instant, making his lower body stiff. Taejun, suppressing the instinctive urge to seize, bite, tear, and dominate her like a beast, calmly chose to breathe.

“Would you like a glass of wine?”

‘Ah! Get a hold of yourself.’

Minhee mumbled, brushing past Taejun. Her sweet scent caught the tip of his nose. He clenched his fists to keep himself from reaching for her. Standing in front of the table, Minhee awkwardly gestured towards the chair for Taejun.

“Uh…, please sit here. I’ll get you some wine.”

Taejun closed the distance in a low, quick step, and Minhee took a step back. He glanced back, liking the tightly closed door.

‘Running away from me won’t help; this room is where it’s going to happen.’

He sat down and looked around once again.

‘Is this what the guest room was like?’

The room he’d seen when he’d helped Minhee move her luggage the first day she’d moved into the house had been as colorless as a business hotel room. It was still the same room, but it felt completely different.

Mismatched, colorful paintings were stuck on the wall in front of the desk. Strange items like a mauve cushion, a fluffy white blanket, and a vase of flowers caught the eye.

The air in the room felt warmer than the rest of the penthouse, even though it shouldn’t, since the entire penthouse is automatically kept at the same temperature.

‘Since I’m here on the pretext of checking out the room, I should probably say something.’

After carefully choosing his words, Taejun turned to Minhee in the chair across from him.

“It looks beautiful.”

“…… Huh? Ah! Thank you.”

“The room looks cozier than before.”

“Ah…! Yes, that’s right. The room is, uh, pretty.”

Minhee’s ears flushed red, she pulled out a small knife attached to the wine opener and pulled out a bottle of wine. At that moment, Taejun’s chest tightened sharply.

The image of a soft, white finger being cut by a dull blade and bleeding bright red stuck in his mind. He wasn’t sure why, but he didn’t want to see Minhee holding anything sharp.

He reached out and caught the jagged blade in his palm, then carefully pulled the wine opener out of Minhee’s hand, which had frozen in surprise.

As Minhee fumbled with the wine opener, Taejun casually grabbed the wine bottle and pulled the cork with an effortless motion. He poured the wine and held out the glass to Minhee.

“…Thank you.”

Minhee reached out and politely accepted the glass. Taejun poured the rest of the wine into another glass and turned to face her.

He usually didn’t pay much attention to women’s clothes, but the dress Minhee was wearing now was something else……. It seemed to have the effect of stimulating a sadistic side of him that he didn’t even know existed.

He wanted to tear apart the flimsy fluttering fabric Minhee was wearing to shreds. The thought of other men being able to see her like this caused him intense discomfort. At the same time, there was a rebellious desire within him that wanted to see this sight again.

Recently, Taejun often found himself making contradictory judgments that couldn’t be explained by reason or intellect alone. And impulsive actions usually followed those judgments.

Most of these occurrences were related to Minhee. Faint sirens and red warnings flashed in his mind.

“Cheers!”

Minhee shyly smiled and held out her wine glass. He tilted his glass in response, lightly clinking it against her glass. The crisp clinking of the glasses pushed his thoughts out of his head as if it were a signal.

Silence flowed between them as they each brought the wine glasses to their lips. Luckily, light jazz music from Minhee’s laptop filled the awkward silence. After sipping about halfway through her wine, Minhee spoke with a trembling voice.

“Uh…, even though it’s just practice, I’m so nervous right now. Taejun, am I doing well? Did I succeed in asking you out? How is a girl who initiates a date perceived? Does it make me unattractive because I seem too desperate?”

Faced with a barrage of questions, Taejun carefully chose his response.

Normally, women who approached first and initiated dates were a turn-off for him. Honestly, he had never bothered dealing with them properly because it was just annoying. 

‘And is this even considered a date? But, if Minhee wants to call it a date… I guess it is.’

“You’re doing well. It was a success. I like it. You’re charming.”

“Ha. My heart is fluttering. Taejun, why are you leaving out the subject? Please make sure to include the subject next time so that there’s no misunderstanding!”

Minhee glanced at him, lightly touching her left chest with her hand.

‘Her heart is fluttering?’

‘Oh… fluttering.’

Taejun tightened his jaw, trying hard to suppress the laughter that was about to burst out.