Boiling Desire (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 5
“Because I didn’t want to stoop down.”
If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to just do it yourself? And weren’t you the one rushing me earlier, saying it was getting late?!
Seo Ah grew angry—at his leisurely smile and at her own helplessness in the face of it.
She rationalized that the reason her face flushed and her heart raced was solely because of that.
Though tying his tie had become easier now that they were at the same height, she grew even more restless knowing he was staring openly at her flushed face. She had no choice but to hurry and finish it quickly.
Watching her flustered, Ha Joon felt an urge to bite her cheeks, which looked like ripe peaches.
He could still vividly recall the sensation of her slender waist fitting snugly into his large hand just moments ago, and he felt the impulse to grab it again.
It hadn’t actually been late; he’d only pretended to hurry so she wouldn’t overthink things.
“Okay. Done.”
The moment she finished speaking, Ha Joon swiftly turned and walked toward the full-length mirror.
He looked quite satisfied—though whether it was because the tie was well-knotted or because he found her flustered state amusing, it was hard to tell.
Just then,
the display cabinet, adjusted to Ha Joon’s height, was too high for Seo Ah. As she stepped down, she wobbled again—and just as her knees were about to hit the floor, Ha Joon caught her.
“Don’t you have any coordination at all? You really need to strengthen your legs.”
Seo Ah couldn’t bring herself to look up.
Partly because she was embarrassed about nearly falling, but mostly because—whether he’d grabbed her in a hurry or on purpose—one of his hands had landed on a particularly sensitive spot.
“T-that’s right! Who even put this up here anyway?”
Afraid he’d hear her pounding heartbeat, Seo Ah quickly fled outside.
Ha Joon appeared completely unfazed.
If it hadn’t been intentional, he probably dismissed it as something familiar and inconsequential.
On his way to work, Ha Joon stared fixedly at his own palm.
He could still feel the lingering sensation—distinct from her delicate, narrow waist.
Though he’d nearly lost his composure in that moment, he’d deliberately acted calm.
But she couldn’t have missed it—had she pretended not to notice out of embarrassment?
“Chief, why is your face so red?”
Seok Hoon, noticing his expression while waiting at a traffic light, asked with concern. Ha Joon had mentioned yesterday he felt bloated—was he still unwell?
“M-my face? Must be from the hot soup I had earlier. Yeah.”
He was relieved she couldn’t look him straight in the eye.
“Is your indigestion better now?”
“Huh?”
Ha Joon’s mind raced. Had he really said something like that…? Oh—right!
“Yes, yes! I did some exercise, so I’m feeling better now.”
“Glad to hear it.”
That afternoon, after finishing her class, Seo Ah waited for Young Joo and ended up calling her mother, Hye Kyung.
– My dear~ Anywhere hurting? Is Mr. Kang treating you well?
“Yeah. Nothing hurts, and Oppa treats me well, so don’t worry.”
– Does the food suit your taste? Should I send you some side dishes?
“You never cook them yourself anyway.”
Seo Ah narrowed her eyes as she spoke—she’d never once seen her mother cook anything herself.
– That’s true. But I worried you might miss ajumma-style side dishes.
“It’s fine. Auntie’s food here suits me well. It’s delicious.”
– That’s good to hear.
“But Mom… do you ever help Dad get dressed when he leaves for work?”
– Of course! As you know, your dad has zero sense for clothes.
Oh—right! Just yesterday, she’d confidently told Ha Joon her dad handled it all on his own.
“What about when he comes home? Do you take his clothes when he takes them off?”
– Absolutely! Otherwise, he just tosses them everywhere! Does Mr. Kang do the same?!
So he takes off his clothes and hands them over too? Why didn’t I know that?! It’s something common among married couples—she’d completely overreacted, and her face burned with embarrassment.
“No way! Oppa has amazing taste! He’s tidy and organized too!”
Wait—why am I defending Ha Joon now?!
– Yeah, Mr. Kang seems that way. Still, tie his necktie for him in the mornings. That’s how you build affection. And don’t oversleep again!
“I don’t oversleep! I wake up just fine!”
Even though she’d overslept yesterday, she’d gotten up early today—though admittedly not earlier than Ha Joon.
– Alright, I’ll call again. If anything comes up, contact me right away~.
After hanging up, Seo Ah fell deep in thought.
She had a secret she couldn’t even tell her mother—a secret she hadn’t shared with any of her close friends. Only Young Joo and she knew.
It had happened during her study-abroad period in France.
“Do you really have to go through with this marriage? Are you still fond of Young Master Ha Joon? That cold-hearted man?”
“It’s my own fault for not being good enough. If I show him a better version of myself, he’ll come to like me. If he truly hated me, he would’ve just called off the marriage.”
“Sigh…”
Young Joo let out a deep sigh and handed her an envelope.
Inside were several photos—and when Seo Ah examined them closely, her whole body trembled in shock.
The photos showed Ha Joon freely engaging in physical intimacy with women. And each photo featured a different woman. Some even showed him surrounded by multiple women.
“They say he’s been visiting bars almost every night since his discharge.”
Him—the man who’d seemed utterly uninterested in women, caring only about studies and work?! She never imagined such behavior hidden behind the cold facade he showed her.
Part of why Seo Ah had liked Ha Joon was not just his exceptional looks and talent but also because the Tae Sung Group had never had a single scandal involving women—which made his betrayal all the more shocking.
The Tae Sung Group, firmly holding the top position in the business world, had no typical chaebol issues like abuse of power or tax evasion—and no divorces or scandals at all.
On the contrary, they were known solely for their charitable work, and despite being bound by strategic marriages, their family overflowed with genuine love.
Moreover, unlike most chaebol heirs who avoided military service, Ha Joon had voluntarily enlisted right after turning twenty.
She’d always believed that such an upright, honest man would focus solely on her—and that his coldness must have a reason. She’d tried so hard to become the kind of woman worthy of him!
“This can’t be… Is that really Oppa?”
“Apparently, even Chairman and Vice Chairman of Tae Sung Group have complicated relationships with women. They seem to cover it up with money. It looks like ‘like father, like son’—he’s been trained thoroughly. They say he’ll spend the night with a woman he’s just met as easily as anything…”
“…”
“Young Master is just using a naive young lady. It’s not too late—you should back out now. People who don’t stand out are far more dangerous than those who do.”
Seo Ah wanted to give back exactly what she’d received. She wanted to trap him, to make him restless.
If he caused trouble with women even after marriage, she planned to expose his true nature to the world and claim generous alimony before divorcing him.
For that, she had to remain the pure victim—which was why she kept her distance from other men and strove to demonstrate perfect wifely devotion.
A man obsessed with image control would surely restrain himself for a while after marriage. Once media attention faded, he’d likely return to his old ways—and that’s when she’d gather evidence from close range.
Who could have imagined that beneath his refined, intelligent exterior, he lived such a double life?
Exposing his true self, piece by piece—that was the very purpose of this marriage.
On the way home after meeting Young Joo, Seo Ah recounted in detail what had happened the previous night.
“Avoiding intimacy means your wifely care isn’t perfect. It could even become grounds for divorce.”
Seo Ah’s eyes widened in shock. She’d assumed Ha Joon naturally wouldn’t want intimacy with her—after all, he was clear about his likes and dislikes, and he disliked her.
“I thought he wouldn’t touch a woman he disliked. That was my mistake. I’m sorry.”
– Let me know when you’re mentally ready. Until then, don’t expect my cooperation—just so you know.
Seo Ah recalled Ha Joon’s words from the night before.
“Apparently, your own feelings don’t matter to him. As long as a woman obeys him completely, that’s all he wants.”
“Haa… Since you’re married now, if he makes a misstep, the consequences are worse than when single—so it’s probably either he wants to satisfy his urges with you, or he’s driven by a strong desire to conquer you. Likely one of the two…”
Young Joo fell into deep thought while waiting at a red light. Given how hastily Ha Joon had rushed into marriage, she suspected it was the latter. Either way, the important thing was clear: Ha Joon currently wanted intimacy with Seo Ah.
“There are two possible approaches: either keep rejecting him until he seeks someone else, or… let him ‘conquer’ you so he loses interest.”
Seo Ah had only considered the first option. She hadn’t realized refusal itself could become grounds for divorce—she’d thought she could simply enjoy watching him squirm helplessly.
“For now, I’ll try to learn as much as possible about Chief’s schedule. He’ll probably be late tonight, and leave early again tomorrow morning.”
“But he said he’d come home early today! And that he’d go to work at the usual time tomorrow!”
She distinctly remembered him saying over breakfast that he’d come home early. Since they’d been in an open space where the housekeeper might overhear, she’d assumed he couldn’t lie.
“I checked about an hour ago, and it seemed that way.”
“Haa… I guess you really don’t intend to cooperate.”
Ha Joon truly came home late—only arriving at 9 p.m.
“You’re late. You said you’d come home early.”
“Where’s Auntie?”
Though other housekeepers left by 8 at the latest, Yeon Suk always waited to see Ha Joon before leaving if he came home late—hence the question.
“I told her to go in already.”
Ha Joon passed by her side as usual, his tone flat and indifferent, and headed upstairs.
Once again, Seo Ah unconsciously held her breath—the brief encounter had carried the scent of him.
“Whew… How long will this go on? I need to get used to it!”
Immediately after, she followed him into the dressing room and naturally took his jacket from him.
Since this was something common among married couples, she resolved to keep caring for him—part of her perfect wifely devotion.
She’d even bought heeled slippers so she wouldn’t feel intimidated standing before him. She felt satisfied inside, thinking the height would be just right when she tied his tie tomorrow morning.
As usual, his watch, tie pin, and tie began piling one by one onto her outstretched hands.
“Do you normally wear slippers like that?”
Did she really need heels indoors? Ha Joon asked, looking puzzled.
His comment made Seo Ah glance down at her slippers. She’d thought they wouldn’t be noticeable—or that he wouldn’t care—but when had he even looked all the way down to her toes?
Just then, Ha Joon placed his cufflinks in her hand—but Seo Ah, caught off guard, let them slip and drop to the floor.
“Huh?”
Flustered, she quickly bent down to catch them before they rolled away—
“Oof!”
Her legs betrayed her again. The heeled slippers threw off her balance, and she smacked her forehead against his waist before falling backward, landing hard on her rear.
Ha Joon knelt on one knee, meeting her eyes directly.
“Are you trying to seduce me right now?”
Seo Ah’s face burned fiercely, her pupils trembling violently.
“W-what are you…”
“You know exactly where you just bumped into, don’t you?”
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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Girl…. lol. How? She’s so comfortable. Haha. In a deep sleeper too but this? I’m giving the crown to her. Haha 🤣
I’m cackling…. Hahaha 😂 He better be pretending to sleep. Hahaha… I can’t imagine this. Lmfao.
I’m feeling giddy imagining all of this too. lol. Who wouldn’t?