It was still early, around 6 o’clock in the morning, to go to work.
The door at the end of the left corridor of the penthouse opened quietly.
Through that gap, a woman cautiously emerged, adjusting her coat collar.
It was Jae In, who had quietly finished getting ready for work, fearing she might wake up Do Hyuk.
The dimly lit living room was only faintly illuminated by the moonlight coming in through the window.
Jae In quietly tiptoed towards her destination, the entrance.
She was tense, fearing that Do Hyuk’s door at the end of the opposite corridor might unexpectedly open.
“Team Leader must be sleeping soundly, and here I am in this situation.”
Last night,
Jae In ended up staying up all night with bloodshot eyes, thanks to Do Hyuk.
Lack of sleep had left her eyes bloodshot, her head pounding, and her legs aching.
She had kicked her blanket a million times throughout the night.
Since she couldn’t sleep anyway, she thought she should get to work or something.
In reality, she didn’t want to run into Do Hyuk.
Jae In wasn’t brave enough to sit down and have breakfast with Do Hyuk as if nothing happened.
Thinking about yesterday, when she had carelessly ruined their first kiss, made her face burn, and she wished she could just disappear.
It’s so, so unfair, but it’s the situation I’ve created, so I can’t blame Do Hyuk.
Jae In had decided to avoid Do Hyuk for a while.
Step by step, cautiously, she arrived at the entrance, and even more cautiously, she pushed the inner door to the side.
Thud.
Suddenly, bright light flooded the corridor.
Eek!
What entered Jae In’s eyes, causing her heart to race, was none other than Do Hyuk, who had been popping up like a whack-a-mole game, making sure she couldn’t sleep all night.
“T-Team Leader?”
Startled by Do Hyuk’s abrupt appearance, Jae In’s legs almost gave way, and Do Hyuk, who was standing a little apart, also widened his eyes in surprise.
Even Do Hyuk, who was standing a bit away, squinted his eyes.
Jae In placed her hand on her heaving chest and exclaimed, “What if you suddenly turn on the lights like that! I almost had a heart attack!”
Do Hyuk raised one eyebrow in response.
“Do people announce and then turn on their home light switches?”
“Well, that’s true, but… huh?”
Only then did Jae In properly examine Do Hyuk and was taken aback. Do Hyuk, too, was dressed neatly in a coat, with his bangs combed neatly, looking as if he had completed his preparations for work. Anyone could see that.
Do Hyuk’s usual wake-up time was 7 o’clock.
Do Hyuk, too, appeared composed, wearing his coat and neatly combing his hair. He looked fully prepared for work, as anyone could see.
Do Hyuk’s usual wake-up time was 7 o’clock. Unless there was anything special, he would leave home precisely at 8 o’clock.
“Team leader, why are you coming to work so early?”
“Well… I have a meeting with Director Kim.”
“This early?”
When Jae In widened her eyes and asked, Do Hyuk cleared his throat.
“Hmm… What about you, Seo Jae In? Barely making it on time every day, what’s going on?”
“That’s…”
In the face of Do Hyuk’s penetrating question, Jae In was at a loss for words. They could both instantly tell why each other was trying to come to work from the early morning, even without explicitly stating the reasons.
Their gazes involuntarily drifted towards each other’s lips.
Their gazes involuntarily drifted towards each other’s lips.
Without anyone being the first to say it, both Jae In and Do Hyuk’s faces turned red. They hastily averted their eyes and simultaneously spoke.
“Team leader, please go ahead.”
“Seo Jae In, you go first.”
For a moment, the two hesitated and then responded simultaneously again.
“Then I’ll go first.”
“I’ll go first.”
At that moment, Jae In quick-wittedly stepped aside, and Do Hyuk, as if pushed, went out.
After Do Hyuk left, Jae In, who suddenly felt drained of energy, returned to the living room and sat down on the sofa as if collapsing into it.
In her mind, a myriad of thoughts about Do Hyuk began to race.
“I can’t focus with him around… I’m going crazy.”
Monday morning, the time for the weekly team meeting.
Due to not having slept a wink last night, sleepiness overwhelmed Jae In right from the start.
To make matters worse, today of all days, the reports from the team members seemed unusually boring and long.
Jae In’s heavy eyelids kept trying to close, and she had to pinch her thigh to stay awake.
How much time had passed?
Suddenly, a large hand gently nudged Jae In’s shoulder as she dozed off.
In response, Jae In’s head, which had been drooping, snapped up.
Still half-awake and in a dazed state, Jae In blinked her eyes as Do Hyuk looked down at her and spoke.
“Team leader, did you manage to get some sleep?”
“What? Oh…!”
It was only then that Jae In’s eyes widened, and she fully regained her senses.
Do Hyuk returned to his seat across from her and said,
“Seo Jae In, it looks like you’re quite tired. You fell asleep soundly during the meeting.”
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t sleep last night.”
“…!”
At that moment, Jae In noticed a twitch in Do Hyuk’s eyebrow and realized with a start.
It must be because of the unexpected kiss they shared yesterday, which had kept her awake all night.
“Oh, well, it’s not that…”
Her face turned even redder, and she stumbled over her words in embarrassment.
Right then, Kyumin, who was sitting next to her, extended a cup of coffee she had left for herself and whispered reassuringly, “Jae In, are you okay? Since you didn’t drink this, have it.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Observing this, Do Hyuk narrowed his gaze and spoke bluntly.
“Team Leader, there’s no need for such excuses. It’s not like you’re the only one who didn’t sleep well last night.”
Huh?
Jae In widened her eyes and looked at Do Hyuk.
Do Hyuk, in the meantime, continued to gaze at his documents with an indifferent expression.
‘What’s going on? Could it be that even the team leader couldn’t sleep because of that incident?’
Jae In’s face turned a fiery red, and she found herself unconsciously focusing on Do Hyuk’s delicate features and tightly closed lips.
As the sensation of his moist and soft lips came to mind, her heart began to beat uncontrollably.
Thump-thump.
At that moment, as Jae In’s heart surged relentlessly, Park, the section chief who couldn’t grasp the mood, intervened.
“Team Leader’s words are spot on. Team Leader Seo, even these days, you’ve been nodding off while working. What’s the matter, not sleeping at night? Staying up all night playing games, huh?”
“Uh, yeah. Games!”
“I knew it. How old are you, staying up all night playing games? You’re addicted, seriously!”
“I’m sorry.”
At this moment, Jae In was thankful to Park, even though he treated her as a game addict.
At least it seemed like she smoothly transitioned without getting caught by Do Hyuk.
“Alright, let’s focus on the meeting. Concentrate!”
However.
The more she tried not to look, the more her gaze kept drifting towards Do Hyuk’s lips as if they were equipped with some kind of magnetic attraction.
“Jae In, is this the first time you’ve seen someone’s lips? Why do you keep doing this?”
If someone saw her, they might think she had some unfulfilled desires.
Jae In tried to regain her composure by gently turning her shoulders without making it obvious.
Yet, a yawn escaped involuntarily.
Just when she covered her mouth to hide the yawn.
Jae In and Do Hyuk, both with widened eyes, locked gazes as if they had made some unspoken agreement, and then simultaneously shifted their gaze into thin air.
My Step-brother Is Obsessed With Me (Female-dominant)
A gentle female protagonist vs pitiful in the early stage, and a sick male protagonist in the later stage
Cheng Songer transmigrated into the body of a vicious cannon fodder female supporting character with the same name as her in a female-dominant novel.
In the original story, the cannon fodder female supporting character was inhumane, committing domestic violence, gambling excessively, being lustful, and even wanting to sell her stepbrother to a brothel for money.
As luck would have it, she just happened to transmigrate at this time.
Seeing Cheng Qingzhi biting his lip, enduring the tears in his eyes, looking pitiful, her heart softened.
She stuffed the money back into the Madam’s hand and reached out to him.
“Brother, come home with me.”
