“The water bottles were originally filled, but the prince asked me to take care of it, so I paid attention.”
“Oh my, for my sake?”
“If you need anything else, please let me know. Well then, I’ll take my leave. Rest well.”
“Yes, Manager Kim, thank you so much.”
He even had the sense to disappear promptly at the right timing.
Jae In felt a sense of familiarity with Sung Joon, whom she had only met a couple of hours ago, as if he were an older brother.
As Sung Joon bid farewell to Jae In and stepped out of the entrance, a calm ringing sound, as serene as the image on his mobile phone, spread through the air.
The caller was Do Hyuk.
“Yes, Your Highness. I have safely escorted Miss Seo Jae In. Oh, just a moment.”
Sung Joon, who was answering the phone as if it were routine, suddenly handed the mobile phone to Jae In.
“The prince has something to say to you.”
“To me?”
Jae In received the phone with confusion, holding it in her hands.
“Yes, I switched the call to Seo Jae In.”
Instinctively, a phrase for answering calls at the office came out, as if it were a reflex.
As she wondered if she could hear the sound of laughter from the other end of the receiver, Do Hyuk’s trademark dry voice flowed through.
―Have you arrived safely?
“Yes.”
―I’ll be quite late today.
“Yes.”
―Wait for me, don’t sleep.
“Yes?”
Click.
Do Hyuk only spoke his part and hung up the phone as he pleased.
Jae In was bewildered and even doubted her own ears, thinking she might have misheard.
In a situation like this, isn’t it more common for someone to say, “Since I’ll be very late, don’t wait and go to sleep”?
Ah.
The other person is none other than “Cha Do Hyuk,” who is far from being “common.”
What was she expecting?
“What did the prince say?”
Seeing Jae In’s expression stiffen, Sung Joon cautiously asked.
“He said he’ll be very late and not to sleep, but wait for him.”
“The prince? He has never said anything like that to me before. It’s strange.”
“He does it to me, especially at work. He has various ways of tormenting people.”
“Hmm, he’s not the type to do that….”
Sung Joon smirked as he watched Jae In explode with anger.
Although he seemed to have a somewhat independent personality, giving sudden orders and pushing people, Do Hyuk was a person with a righteous character who never crossed the line.
Once again, Do Hyuk gave sudden instructions and saw Sung Joon’s surprised reaction, but he didn’t forget to apologize and express his gratitude, knowing it was an unreasonable request.
He didn’t explain the underlying reason, but it was obvious to anyone with common sense that Do Hyuk had a favorable impression of Jae In.
But Jae In, who was the person in question, thought she was being tormented.
Sung Joon’s intellectual gaze slightly wrinkled with the unresolved question.
Realizing that, Jae In thought, “Ah.”
She had forgotten that Sung Joon felt so familiar because he was Do Hyuk’s closest confidant.
“Oh, I’m sorry! Um, please keep it a secret from the team leader that I said that.”
“Don’t worry. You can speak freely in front of me. But, I have a question,”
Sung Joon said with a face full of suspicion.
“You need to go to your hometown tonight, and you’ll be back after 11 p.m. What on earth does the prince intend to do during that time?”
Sung Joon’s face showed curiosity, and Jae In’s expression turned pale as their eyes met.
Her pupils began to tremble uneasily.
That’s right.
What could it be?
“Hey, wake up.”
Late at night, someone shook Jae In’s shoulder as she slept crouched on the sofa.
Her tightly closed eyelids gently opened. In her halfopened sight, she saw Do Hyuk’s face.
“Oh, Team Leader….”
How did he manage to look handsome even when blurry like this?
In her hazy consciousness, Jae In couldn’t take her eyes off Do Hyuk.
Do Hyuk’s tired appearance exerted a force as he gazed down at Jae In.
“I told you not to sleep and wait, didn’t I?”
Jae In, who regained her senses at the chilly voice, quickly sat up.
Looking at the living room clock, it was already past 11 o’clock.
When she last checked, it was half past nine.
It was supposed to be her first day of moving, and due to the unfamiliar environment and high tension, fatigue had overwhelmed her after dinner.
She wanted to dive into bed right away, but she exerted all her strength to keep her eyelids from drooping because of Do Hyuk’s command to wait.
The cold coffee on the table was the only evidence of Jae In’s struggle.
But in the end, all that awaited her was a reproach, which felt a little unfair.
“I must have dozed off while waiting. You said you’d be late, and it turned out to be true.”
“That’s how it turned out.”
His voice, abruptly spoken, lacked strength.
Do Hyuk sat down heavily next to Jae In, leaned his head back, and closed his eyes.
Do Hyuk, who seemed frustrated, roughly loosened his tie, and apparently unsatisfied, he unbuttoned his shirt as well.
Jae In, who absentmindedly watched his actions, quickly averted her gaze when she caught a glimpse of his sturdy chest through the gap in his shirt.
“……”
“……”
In the chilling atmosphere that could freeze the Pacific, a long silence lingered.
Jae In felt her jaw tighten and her breath caught due to the unbearable tension.
Only now did she truly realize what it meant to spend time alone with Do Hyuk.
To put it simply, even breathing felt uncomfortable.
What should she do in a situation like this?
Since Do Hyuk told her to wait, it wasn’t appropriate to say goodbye and go to her room.
Jae In pressed her dry mouth with the coffee, feeling helpless.
It won’t work.
She had to say something, anything.
“Well, you must have had a tough time.”
“Yeah.”
Do Hyuk briefly replied while still keeping his eyes closed.
“What happened?”
“A very tiring day.”
With those words, silence fell once again.
In the tranquil atmosphere, the rhythmic sound of Do Hyuk’s breathing tickled her ears.
In an instant, Jae In’s head jerked up, and she sprang from her seat like a spring.
“Uh, ththen, I’ll go in first. See you tomorrow.”
Jae In left behind words that could be mistaken for a farewell greeting by anyone listening and turned away.
That’s when it happened.
Do Hyuk firmly grabbed her wrist as she tried to move away.
As a result, Jae In stumbled back to her seat in a fluster.
Startled, Jae In instinctively turned her head towards Do Hyuk and quickly retreated.
Do Hyuk’s face was so close that she could feel his breath.
In that moment of confusion, unsure of what to do.
A deep voice penetrated Jae In’s heart.
“Don’t go.”
Thump, thump.
The Villainous Demon Lord Laid an Egg for Her (Female-Dominated)
Several months after transmigrating into a book, Yu Wu found herself facing the demon lord Li You, who could no longer conceal his dragon horns. With one hand on her aching waist and the other gripping a sharp sword, she stared at him.
The demon lord’s eyes were red with fury:
“This is all your doing! Today, I won’t rest until I kill you!”
Yu Wu rubbed her temples. Putting aside the taboo against bloodshed during pregnancy, wasn’t it this very man who willingly walked into her trap that day?!
Warnings:
- Male pregnancy.
- Height ratios are set to mirror typical male-female height proportions.
- Characters include a foot-loving demon lord and an eldest daughter from an immortal family’s concubine lineage.
