Crazy, utterly crazy.
Rajin repeated the harshest words she could muster in her mind.
Though her heart fluttered, she feigned calmness and looked straight at Yoojoon. It must be bait to see how she’d react.
“If I wait here, I’ll distract you.”
“Not at all.”
“These days, the company is in turmoil. I don’t want to be a cause of trouble for you.”
He nodded for her to continue.
“I’ve known you for 8 years now.”
Yoojoon’s lips curled up slightly, as if pleased by the mention of those 8 years.
“Have I been paying attention to only you for those 8 years?”
Memories floated in Rajin’s mind.
What if she hadn’t followed her stepfather to Myungjin’s main house that day?
Then she wouldn’t have accidentally heard Kim Yoojoon’s secrets. She wouldn’t have brought up her parents’ divorce, crying her heart out. If only… perhaps she would have lived ordinarily, unrelated to him.
A meaningless hypothesis made a corner of Rajin’s heart ache.
Yet, she uttered her next line as if reading a script, a routine now familiar to her.
“I know how you feel, oppa.”
Yoojoon smiled brightly, as if she had given the right answer.
“Executive Director.”
His secretary, fiddling with his watch, approached.
“We can’t delay any further.”
“Get the car ready.”
His instruction to ready the car instead of going to the suite room momentarily relieved her. Was it finally over? Rajin’s cold fingertips curled into a fist as she lifted the corners of her mouth.
“I have to see Rajin off.”
At Yoojoon’s blunt decision, Rajin picked up her bag at a pace neither too fast nor too slow. Showing any haste might turn everything into nothing. But her feet inside the stilettos itched to dash out.
“Come here.”
At Yoojoon’s gesture, Rajin took small steps towards him.
Close enough to feel his breath.
The heavy scent emanating from his firm body was from a perfume specially made for him by a French perfumer. Despite its alluring fragrance, it made her stomach churn.
Rajin held her breath and subtly increased her stride, trying not to be obvious.
“Come closer.”
In the elevator, shielded by the guards’ backs, his right hand touched her back.
The firm touch, the warmth, his breath scattering on her forehead.
Every contact with him brought an unpleasant ache. Rajin fidgeted with her hair, tapped her tweed jacket, and moved away from Yoojoon’s hand.
As she sighed inwardly, his forehead dropped onto her nape, startling her.
“Why so startled?”
He chuckled and hummed, breathing in. Rajin felt dizzy as goosebumps covered her body.
“What will you do at home?”
“I’ll do some Pilates… and rest.”
She smiled slowly, watching the elevator’s sluggish floor numbers.
Ding―.
The clear bell sound seemed like a release signal to Rajin.
Anxiously, she stepped away from Yoojoon. He chuckled, but it didn’t matter to her.
Given Myungjin’s notoriety in the news for the slush fund, neither she nor Yoojoon would want to be the center of gossip. Rajin walked forward, keeping distance from him.
“Director Hyun.”
Yoojoon stopped abruptly.
“Dismiss the guards.”
At his signal, the surrounding men swiftly dispersed.
Just 20 meters from the exit, Rajin hid her impatience and looked up at him.
“I’ve been thoughtless.”
“……?”
“Like you said, it’s our 8th anniversary. It wouldn’t make sense to just let it pass. For both you and me.”
Rajin’s mind flashed warning signals at his unpredictable words.
“I want to spend today with you.”
“!”
“Huh? Rajin.”
In his endearingly persuasive voice, she wished he would stop calling her that. Rajin wanted to cover her ears and scream, but she hid her feelings, recalling a taboo word that Kim Yoojoon detested.
“…You know.”
Rajin lowered her gaze, her eyelashes fluttering.
“I don’t want to hear that I stole someone’s fiancé.”
“It’s just business. Once this succession process is done, I’ll sort things out with Jinae.”
His step closer brought a heavier waft of his signature woody scent.
“It’s been a whole 8 years. How much longer do I have to wait?”
It wasn’t his words that were unbearable, but his overwhelming scent. It permeated her clothes and hair, leaving a potent trace.
“People are glancing at us in the middle of this busy lobby.”
Rajin turned her head to escape his scent.
“Can’t you consider my public face?”
“Really, you…”
“I don’t like… being with someone who belongs to another.”
She barely swallowed the words, ‘I wouldn’t like you even if you were single.’ Being too honest could have unpredictable consequences.
“I don’t want to live as a hidden woman.”
“……”
“That’s why we can’t spend the night together.”
She spoke, but her legs trembled. The thought of spending even a meal with him was dreadful, let alone a night. His proposal was both unthinkable and unacceptable.
“I can’t help but protect my pride.”
Rajin explained, not really an excuse, but wary of attracting attention.
She stepped back as a few heads turned in the lobby, and as phones were drawn, she moved two steps away from him.
“My mom’s wish is for me to have a happy married life.”
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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