It was just one word.

With that one word, it felt like the wretched situation was neatly resolved.

Son Gyu Won’s violent actions and words were no longer frightening.

There was an illusion that she would be saved just by getting into Cha Do Ha’s car.

And she disliked herself a little for having such an illusion.

That’s why she couldn’t readily get into the car.

Cha Do Ha opened his mouth again.

“How long are you going to keep me waiting?”

A crack appeared in his relaxed expression.

At that irritated face, somewhere in her chest became turbulent.

“Should I get out and open the door for you?”

At that peevish voice, a hot feeling welled up inside her.

“I’ll get in.”

Yeo Eun, who had completely erased Son Gyu Won from her mind, approached the passenger seat.

Then Cha Do Ha spoke once more.

“Get in the back.”

His gaze indicated the seat beside him.

After a moment’s hesitation, Yeo Eun followed his order with a tense face.

As Yeo Eun got in the car, Cha Do Ha rolled up the window.

For a very brief moment, his cold gaze sharply swept over Son Gyu Won’s shocked, frozen face.

* * *

This is the third time riding in Cha Do Ha’s car.

The first was from HJ Department Store to the udon shop in Euljiro.

The second was a few hours ago, from Han Joo Group headquarters to a nearby sushi restaurant.

And now.

Amusingly, all three times have been quite burdensome for Yeo Eun.

It’s because Cha Do Ha’s scent, which feels even more intense in the confined space, strangely intoxicates people.

This man had a good fragrance.

At first, she thought it was just because he used nice cologne.

But soon she realized that wasn’t it.

No matter what cologne he used, his own scent permeated it.

That makes the cologne’s fragrance even more sensual.

And extremely dangerous.

So whenever she got in his car, she always had to hold her breath.

But now she can’t just hold her breath.

Yeo Eun, clutching her hands on her knees, chewed her lower lip as she chose her words.

Should she say thank you for giving her a ride?

Or should she say thank you for saving her?

No matter what she says, the situation is awkward.

Or should she ask what brings him here?

While she was contemplating this.

It was Cha Do Ha who broke the suffocating silence.

“Let’s make this the third time.”

“Pardon?”

Yeo Eun turned her head to look at him at the sudden words.

“Let’s make this the third ax-wielding.”

Cha Do Ha’s black eyes held a strange light as they captured her.

It was bewildering.

Third ax-wielding?

It felt like an electric current ran through her mind, which had been hazy from intoxication by Cha Do Ha’s scent.

But the following question tangled up even that electrified mind.

“Where’s your home?”

“Pardon?”

“I need to know where your home is to take you there.”

So now.

Is he saying to do the third ax-wielding while driving the 20 minutes from here to her house?

In just 20 minutes?

To throw away this precious opportunity like this?

“……”

Yeo Eun pressed her lips shut and remained silent.

Cha Do Ha’s eyes looking at her held a sardonic smile.

“Or do you want to get out here now that you’ve escaped the crisis?”

“Ah, no?”

This is when quick wit is needed, but amusingly, she couldn’t display such ability in front of Cha Do Ha.

It felt like her mind had turned completely white, becoming a blank slate.

Hesitantly, the words she barely managed to squeeze out flowed awkwardly from her lips.

“Director. ……Would you like to have a cup of coffee?”

“…?”

Cha Do Ha’s neat expression wrinkled slightly.

As if asking what nonsense she was spouting.

Yeo Eun swallowed dryly and revealed her honest feelings.

“You said it’s the third ax-wielding.”

“You can’t just go?”

“No.”

As she answered earnestly, even nodding her head, Cha Do Ha tilted his head slightly and chuckled.

Then, wiping the laughter from his face, he quietly examined her face.

It shouldn’t be, but his gaze feels somewhat provocative.

She thought the alcohol had worn off because of Son Gyu Won, but it seems she’s still drunk.

Seeing how she’s so brazenly meeting his gaze without avoiding it.

No, far from avoiding it, she’s even staring straight back, quietly gazing at his eyes where her image is clearly engraved.

Cha Do Ha is beautiful.

Large, clear eyes despite not having double eyelids. And the black pupils set deeply within them.

Those pupils contain a lonely night sky.

Bleak, empty, and lonely like a meteor drifting through the vast black universe.

Yet there’s a brilliant light lurking there, making it impossible to look away.

Probably the blackest and most beautiful eyes she’s ever seen in a human.

Beautiful, but extremely lonely.

Suddenly, Yeo Eun’s eyes turned red.

It’s because her heart felt gloomy, as if infected by his loneliness.

Sobering up her ass. Seeing how even the tip of her nose was stinging, it seems she was completely drunk with her reason paralyzed.

It was Cha Do Ha who brought her back to reality.

“You seem very drunk?”

Cha Do Ha slightly furrowed his brow as he looked her over.

Her face instantly flushed hot.

She was intoxicated.

Whether drunk on alcohol or drunk on this man.

Though she didn’t know exactly what she was drunk on, she couldn’t take her eyes off Cha Do Ha, as if in admiration, as if entranced.

From Cha Do Ha’s perspective, it must have been unpleasant.

Yeo Eun turned her head to straighten her posture and answered, trying to suppress her flustered voice.

“I just sobered up. So… I think a cup of coffee would be fine.”

She clasped her hands on her knees tightly as she waited for Cha Do Ha’s answer.

A brief moment passed, and Cha Do Ha’s voice seeped through the tautly stretched air.

“Hmm.”

Though he seemed to be pondering seriously, it was clearly a playful exclamation.

And the words that followed were a clear rejection.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t like it.”

Yeo Eun’s head turned towards Cha Do Ha.

She was about to gauge whether his words just now were a joke or sincere.

But she couldn’t.

Because the gaze capturing her was too sensual, so hot it made her skin tingle, forcing her to hold her breath.

“I don’t drink coffee with women late at night.”

His black eyes, which seemed to have swallowed flickering flames, rested gently on her lips.

Then he savored them as if licking them.

For a moment, the leisurely feasting of a satiated predator came to mind.

It seemed as if he would lick her lips with a rough tongue, gnaw at her neck, and then slowly bite into the soft flesh where the pulse beats, gradually taking away her breath.

Instinctive tension tightly squeezed her heart.

“Then……”

But she couldn’t back down like this either.

Because she was drunk.

Because she was out of her mind, drunk on alcohol and intoxicated by his scent.

Attributing it to that, Yeo Eun carefully uttered words that even she thought were unprecedentedly bold.

“How about a drink?”

Perhaps because she wasn’t breathing properly, her voice cracked at the end.

Her lips, of course, but also her mouth, tongue, throat.

It felt like her internal organs were burning up.

“Since it’s late at night, wouldn’t alcohol suit better than coffee?”

Yeo Eun, who had barely squeezed out her voice by drawing up the little courage left from the bottom of her soul, stared intently at Cha Do Ha.

Cha Do Ha, who had detached his gaze that had been stubbornly clinging to her lips, met her eyes.

Just making eye contact makes her heart beat violently.

It shouldn’t be possible, but it seemed as if the sound of her heartbeat was echoing loudly in the quiet car.

At that moment, the corners of Cha Do Ha’s mouth twisted sardonically.

“A drink, huh.”

Cha Do Ha, who had spoken slowly, lowered his gaze once more.

“Business? Or a date?”

His gaze, which had licked her nose bridge densely, rests on her lips again.

She swallowed dryly involuntarily.

“Which… would make you willing to give me your time, Director?”

Looking at the black pupils set beyond his slightly lowered eyelids, Yeo Eun tensed her shoulders tightly.

Cha Do Ha’s gaze had already left her lips and was now directed lower.

Her whole body tingles as if on fire.

As she tightly grasped the hem of her skirt with the hands resting on her knees, the fabric rustled.

Cha Do Ha, who had been staring blankly at her hands, opened his mouth again.

“At this hour, you’d even go on a date for the sake of business?”

Even the back of her hand stings.

“I’m just… desperate.”

Kuk.

Cha Do Ha laughed at her answer.

Though it was absolutely not a laughing situation, he laughed quietly and raised his gaze to stare intently at her face.

“How desperate are you?”

“……”

Cha Do Ha’s eyes changed instantly.

“Desperate enough to take off your clothes?”

A cruel energy seemed to overlay the sensuously sticky gaze.

The leisurely feasting seemed to transform into that of a starving beast in an instant.

Yeo Eun flinched and unconsciously pulled back.

But before she could create distance, Cha Do Ha’s upper body leaned sharply towards her.

Her frozen lips just quiver without being able to utter a single word.

Why are you doing this, it’s uncomfortable.

She should say something, but she simply can’t.

Cha Do Ha’s body scent, that intoxicating sensual fragrance.

It seemed to be paralyzing her reason.

Seeing how she couldn’t take her eyes off Cha Do Ha’s beautifully drawn red lips.

The predator, looking somewhat satisfied at her, slowly opened those beautiful lips.

“To me……”

The distance closed even more, to the point where his exhaled breath touched her cheek.

Her shoulders trembled at just one word, and the corners of Cha Do Ha’s lips curved obliquely.

Then his long fingers reached out and lightly touched her hair.

As his index finger gently brushed her ear, her whole body was enveloped in a tingling sensation.

“A date at this hour.”

Cha Do Ha, who had now grasped the ends of her hair, spoke in a somewhat sticky voice.

“Is enjoyed with the body.”

Then he gently caressed her hair as if savoring it.

It’s just hair, but it feels as if he’s caressing her bare skin, making all the nerves in her body stand on edge sensitively.

“……Fearlessly.”