Although it was clearly meant to be a reprimand, his voice was seductive.

Perhaps because of the slight crack and moisture at the end, my ear felt as if it would melt from the tickling sensation.

Goosebumps rose along my nape, and a languid feeling seemed to claw down my spine.

But I didn’t want to crumble before Cha Do Ha again.

“I’m informing you that you should be selective about your coffee as well. As an image trainer.”

Yeo Eun murmured in a low but rather firm voice as she carefully turned around.

With her back to the sink, she was still in Cha Do Ha’s embrace.

Her heart was pounding wildly, but she didn’t show any agitation.

Rather, she calmed herself down and continued what she had to say.

“The same goes for women.”

Cha Do Ha, still leaning on the sink, stared down at her without moving.

“When you’re working, it’s good to be strong with the strong and gentle with the weak. Strong with those above, gentle with the powerless.”

Looking at his slightly curved red lips, Yeo Eun continued.

“Show an unapproachable charisma and strength to the executives, and be down-to-earth with those of lower rank. A cup of instant coffee then is perfectly fine.”

“And then?”

Cha Do Ha tilted his head, urging her to continue.

His face bore an expression as if saying, let’s see how far you’ll go.

Arrogant and cold.

“But you should be selective about women.”

This is what she wanted to say.

“Women of your caliber.”

What Cha Hyun desires. What Chairman Cha Ji Seop dreams of.

For Cha Do Ha to remove all women not of his caliber, including Kim Hae Ri, marry Jin Yu Hee, and step onto the trillion-won chessboard.

Yeo Eun was also included among those women not of his caliber.

No, she probably wouldn’t even be included in that category.

Because she was just a toy.

“Is Seo Yeo Eun a woman to me?”

And Cha Do Ha ruthlessly confirmed that.

“Even as a toy, it’s the same.”

To him, she wasn’t even a woman.

“We’re in different places from the start.”

Saying that, Yeo Eun glanced at her own home.

“Find better toys in expensive places, Director. Don’t covet a tarnished toy from such a shabby place. You might get into trouble.”

“I don’t want to.”

Cha Do Ha, who hadn’t moved until now, slowly moved one hand to wrap around her waist.

“If Ms. Seo Yeo Eun dislikes it, push me away.”

His elegantly curved red lips approached with a cold smile.

“Saying that while looking at me with those eyes, it’s not very convincing.”

Their lips gently overlapped.

Yeo Eun quietly lowered her eyelids and calmly accepted Cha Do Ha as he pressed against her.

She just hated herself for crumbling so pathetically.

* * *

It was hot.

At first, he thought this woman was just feverish because the lips he engulfed were intensely hot.

But that wasn’t it.

The inside of her mouth was even hotter, and her exhaled breath was hot too.

The slender waist felt by his left hand, and even his right hand buried in her nape, clearly sensed the heat.

Do Ha, biting her lip, asked.

“Since when have you been sick?”

It wasn’t this bad in the hotel elevator.

He had only thought her body temperature was higher than others.

“You have a high fever?”

Do Ha frowned as he placed his hand on Yeo Eun’s forehead.

Yeo Eun, with drowsy eyes, pushed his hand away.

“I’m fine. Just a bit of a cold… A little.”

She slipped out of his embrace and wiped her lips with the back of her hand.

“So just go. If this cheap toy breaks down more here, I won’t be able to entertain you.”

Her back turned to him looked infinitely small.

The thin knit clearly revealed the curves of her slender and beautiful body.

Her round shoulders and protruding shoulder blades reminded him of a ballerina’s.

Do Ha stared at that narrow back and took out his phone.

After a few finger taps, it started ringing.

Perhaps hearing the faint sound, Yeo Eun turned to look at him.

Seeing her red-rimmed eyes and pretty flush on her cheeks, he had thought she wanted him too, but that wasn’t it.

It wasn’t desire for him, just a fever.

She was just running a temperature.

Damn it.

“Manager Kim Jung Joo.”

Manager Kim Jung Joo answered the phone with a tense voice.

“Bring the car into the villa. We need to go to the hospital.”

Even while on the phone, Do Ha’s gaze remained fixed on Yeo Eun.

It was pleasing to see her chestnut eyes gradually fill with bewilderment as she heard the conversation.

It was also nice to see her approach him, shaking her head as he ended the call.

“I’m fine. I’ll just take some medicine…”

“It’s not a fever that will break with medicine.”

The peach-colored flush that prettily colored Yeo Eun’s cheeks.

Do Ha stared at that flush and reached out his hand.

“I need to have you do some work, and if your condition is like this, it’ll be more troublesome for me.”

Do Ha grasped Yeo Eun’s wrist and applied gentle pressure.

“Is this answer enough?”

Along with the intense heat, her delicate wrist seemed to crumple in his hand.

As he released the pressure, pretty red marks were left on her white wrist.

In that moment, the desire to leave pretty marks on this woman’s body reared its head.

Do Ha grasped her wrist again, applying pressure, and lightly pulled Yeo Eun.

“Let’s go.”

Do Ha retraced the path he had taken to bring Yeo Eun in.

In all his life, he had never been in such a shabby villa.

The cramped parking lot didn’t even have a properly functioning street lamp.

The front door didn’t align properly, and the living room floor was sunken.

The floor was cold with every step, and wind blew through the windows.

It was laughable that such a villa existed in the heart of Seoul, but even more laughable was the circumstances of a woman who had nowhere else to go but here.

You can’t judge by appearances, but it felt like the toy he coveted was placed in a completely unexpected showroom.

But there were surprises too.

Despite how run-down it was, the inside of the house was spotlessly clean and shiny, as if it had been scrubbed thoroughly.

It was also curious how Seo Yeo Eun, with her eyes full of untold stories, smiled so brightly in the photographs.

The row of ceramic thimbles on the shelf was impressive too.

And her glasses placed next to the thimbles were a welcome sight.

He felt this way, but Yeo Eun was busy pushing him away.

And with laughable reasons at that.

The reason he ended up attempting a kiss, despite originally intending to just have a cup of coffee and leave, was because he was a bit annoyed at Seo Yeo Eun’s behavior.

“Director, it’s past midnight.”

Yeo Eun, who had been trying to pull her hand away since earlier, as if reluctant to go, finally spoke up.

“How can we go to the hospital at this hour? I’ll go tomorrow.”

They were halfway down the stairs.

“I’ll go to the hospital on my own…”

“Shall I carry you?”

Do Ha stopped and turned to look at Yeo Eun.

He grasped her wrist more tightly as she kept trying to escape, and pulled her close.

“If that’s what you want, I can do that too.”

Yeo Eun’s eyes trembled slightly at his irritated voice.

As if about to burst into tears, her large eyes welled up.

She bit her trembling lips hard, then lowered her head.

“No, sir.”

Her voice was calm, as if resigned.

“I’ll go.”

This is what bothers him.

The fact that even though she dislikes it, wants to push him away, and feels uncomfortable, she ultimately accepts it silently.

The attitude of reluctantly accepting him after finishing the calculations in her head in that short moment.

Even that kiss earlier was like that.

After pushing him away so much, she didn’t resist the moment their lips met.

She probably couldn’t resist.

Because her miserable life hangs by a thread in his hands.

Do Ha stared at Yeo Eun, who was looking down at her feet with her head bowed, as if grinding his teeth, then started walking again.

* * *

The place Cha Do Ha brought her to was the emergency room of a nearby university hospital.

While Cha Do Ha was talking with someone who appeared to be a hospital staff, Manager Kim Jung Joo supported her.

That was quite embarrassing.

“I don’t need support to this extent. It’s not like I injured my leg.”

But perhaps taking after his superior, Manager Kim Jung Joo’s stubbornness was not to be underestimated.

“You have a high fever. You must be very dizzy.”

She was dizzy.

It wasn’t this bad when they left Itaewon, but by the time they left Seocho Police Station, she had to grit her teeth.

After meeting her mother like that, and seeing In Tae off.

When she got into the taxi, she could feel the heat even in her nostrils where her breath touched.

So what?

What’s the big deal about that?

She had been much sicker before.

If she had succumbed to a cold that would heal with a day’s sick leave and good rest, she wouldn’t have made it this far.

She was Seo Yeo Eun, tough and tenacious after all.

She felt somewhat embarrassed by Manager Kim Jung Joo and the medical staff treating her as if she had a serious illness.

Lying down in a small room inside the emergency room, they immediately inserted an IV into her arm.

Then they hung a bottle of cloudy liquid and injected two syringes of medication.

“What is this?”

Yeo Eun grabbed the nurse, saying she needed to know what she was being given.

“The clear one is glucose, and the cloudy one is a vitamin supplement. The injections you just received are antipyretics and sedatives.”

“Sedatives?”

“It’s much better if you sleep a bit. The IV will drip slowly, so rest.”

The nurse smiled brightly, closed the curtain, and went out.

“Seo Yeo Eun, you’re living the high life.”

Such luxury doesn’t suit her.

A bitter smile escaped between her teeth.

From what she overheard, her fever had risen to 39 degrees Celsius.

No wonder her mind felt unusually bright, it seems the fever had even dulled her usual sharpness.

Yeo Eun raised her hand that didn’t have the IV and placed it on her eyelids, closing her eyes tightly.

Then she heard the soft sound of the curtain being drawn back.

She didn’t need to open her eyes to know.

The scent that made her heart race cut through the hospital’s disinfectant smell and tickled her nose, making Cha Do Ha’s movements seem visible.

He approached silently and placed his hand on her forehead.

Was it because of the outside air, or because her fever was so high?

His hand, which was always warm, felt particularly cold.

That coldness seemed to pierce through to the inside of her heart.

Yeo Eun quietly called out to him.

“Director.”