Jaen lowered her eyes to avoid Dohyuk’s intense gaze.
Her mouth felt dry, as if it were parched from the heat of her rising emotions.
She clenched her molars tightly to suppress the surging impulses.
However, despite her efforts, various thoughts began to race through Jaen’s mind.
“I want to touch him one more time, pretending I can’t resist.”
“Are you crazy? He’s your team leader.”
“So what? Just follow your heart without thinking.”
“Snap out of it! It’s Cha Dohyuk, the eccentric and unpredictable guy!”
“You dreamed of kissing a handsome man, didn’t you? The opportunity is here, don’t hesitate.”
“This time, it definitely won’t end with just a touch, right?”
“Right, it will be as intense as in the movies or dramas. Can you handle it?”
In that moment, Jaen’s mind snapped to attention, as if she had been shocked by an electric current.
And one thought crossed her mind.
“Oh, I didn’t brush my teeth after dinner!”
She hadn’t had a chance to wash up amidst the chaos with Dohyuk, so it was only natural.
The dinner menu had been Minwoo and Seoyeon’s favorite spicy catfish stew, with plenty of minced garlic.
Of all things.
Yesterday’s unexpected first kiss had happened, but to be honest, it had been an accident.
Jaen still had dreams of a romantic and perfect first kiss.
But at this moment, when she might actually have a proper first kiss, she had to worry about things like garlic breath.
“This can’t be happening! It’s going to be a lifelong embarrassment!”
Jaen felt like crying.
In the meantime, Dohyuk had approached right in front of Jaen’s nose.
Dohyuk’s rough breath brushed against her face.
‘Kyaaaah!’
Jaen, now deep in thought, urgently used her hand to block Dohyuk’s lips and exclaimed, “Team leader! Just a moment!”
Huh?
Dohyuk’s eyes, half-lidded, suddenly opened wide.
As he was pushed back, he raised one eyebrow with a displeased expression.
Jaen stammered with a trembling voice, “Um, it seems like you’ve had quite a bit to drink.”
“Not at all.”
Dohyuk gently pulled down Jaen’s wrist.
Then, without paying any further attention, he lowered his head again, heading toward their destination.
“Team leader, you can’t!”
Ignoring everything else, he bowed his head towards their destination.
“Team leader, you can’t!”
This time, Jaen used both her arms to block his chest.
Dohyuk twitched, furrowing his brows.
Even with that insanely sexy, handsome face, there were dark circles under his eyes.
“Ahhhh!”
Shivering with embarrassment, Jaen tightly closed her eyes and thought.
‘As expected… Is there no other way?’
Pretending not to know.
Jaen swallowed her regret and began a meaningless chatter.
“Team leader, if you keep this up, you’ll ruin your hard-earned sobriety! You’ve worked so hard to quit because you thought you couldn’t control yourself after drinking.”
“Sobriety? Drinking?”
Dohyuk looked at Jaen with a bewildered expression.
“Team leader, could it be that you drank to the point of not being able to control yourself due to stress? Well, you do work so hard…”
“Um… Seo Jae In…?”
Jaen had already decided to push him towards drinking.
Without giving Dohyuk a chance to speak, she blurted out nonsense.
“Even so, you should have drunk in moderation, thinking about your health. Do you know how much the risk of dementia increases when you drink a lot?”
Dohyuk’s gaze, facing her, shook as if he had gone mad.
“It’s okay. Team leader is also human and can be shaken for a moment. Please stop now.”
While Dohyuk was taken aback, Jaen quickly bent her body and slipped under his arm.
Then, she stood up from her seat, looked at the clock, and said,
“Oh my, it’s already past 12 o’clock? Team leader, don’t drink again after I leave. Understand?”
“I believe you’ll endure it well. Remember that excessive drinking is an enemy of your health. Well then, you must be tired, so please go to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
With those words, Jae In darted out like an arrow.
Bang.
Even when the door closed, Dohyuk didn’t flinch.
He just stared blankly at the spot where she had been sitting moments ago.
How much time had passed?
Dohyuk, who had been as still as a rock for a long time, muttered with a simmering voice,
“Seo Jae In, treating a perfectly fine person like an alcoholic?”
What the hell are you thinking!
Dohyuk’s forehead crumpled wildly.
He had used being a spy as an excuse just because he wanted to spend a little more time with Jae In.
Even if he put aside yesterday’s kiss, Jae In’s attitude toward him these days was drastically different from before.
Especially today, she kept glancing at him,
Her face turned red,
They couldn’t even meet each other’s eyes,
And eventually, she sneaked into the bathroom in the middle of the night.
They had a drink, set the mood,
Dohyuk considered today the perfect opportunity to reveal their true feelings and get closer to each other.
But it ended like this, unexpectedly?
“Dementia risk? Ha!”
The more he thought about it, the more dumbfounded he became.
How could one’s thoughts drift in that direction in that atmosphere?
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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