Yeo Reum turned the doorknob with a touch so gentle that not a sound could be heard.

“Sir…”

As she entered his room, he was leaning back on the sofa with his eyes closed. Perhaps due to some fatigue, he had even set aside the documents he had been reading, and his brow seemed permanently furrowed.

Yeo Reum was at a loss. She had to wake him, but he was sleeping so soundly that she couldn’t bring herself to forcibly disrupt his rest.

‘You mentioned you haven’t been getting enough sleep lately, right?’

“You need to wake up, but…”

Despite her words, Yeo Reum approached him as if under a spell. Seeing him asleep for the first time was extremely fascinating to her.

At that moment, he gently turned his head.

‘Are you uncomfortable?’

Startled, thinking he had awoken, Yeo Reum hesitated before lightly brushing aside the strands of hair that had fallen over his eyes so as not to tickle him. With that, he once again drifted into deep slumber.

‘Han Gi Tae.’

Despite being in his 30s, his translucent skin rivaled her own, stirring an impulse to reach out and touch it. His strong features, dominated by bold lines, drew the gaze even with his eyes closed.

However, with his eyes shut, he looked somewhat gentle, almost childlike. A small smile escaped Yeo Reum’s lips. Gentleness was indeed… not a word that suited him well.

Tap, Yeo Reum’s hand made contact with his sleeping face, confirming he was still asleep. It was quite an impulsive action.

Her heart, which had been racing, showed no signs of stopping and only pounded more fiercely.

Whenever he appeared, her gaze would frantically follow him. When they were in the same space, if they happened to be close, she would always feel excited and fluttery.

Unable to meet his eyes, she would focus her gaze elsewhere, only to hurriedly steal glances at him.

When he was too busy to show up in front of her, she felt incredibly disappointed.

As they became entangled through the gallery work, the distance between them narrowed. Before she knew it, the gap of 10 years felt insignificant as they rapidly grew closer. But ever since receiving her father’s painting, her heart had spiraled out of control.

‘Just once…’

Thump, thump…

Yeo Reum felt her heart violently pounding, rising up to her throat.

As if under a trance, she approached until they were a breath apart. Hesitating, Yeo Reum planted her lips on his.

Chu.

A light brush of contact, as fleeting as a graze, without any weight behind it.

Yeo Reum resolved to bury her feelings, shaking off the lingering desire.

‘I can’t be in love with you…’

This unplanned, impulsive behavior had to end with today’s kiss. However, this first and final kiss was so soft that Yeo Reum’s eyes drooped pitifully.

She tried to step back as if nothing had happened. She was about to compose herself and wake him, when suddenly, meeting his gaze, Yeo Reum could only cover her mouth with both hands.

“…!”

“…”

Her legs trembled weakly.

Without a word, his arm wrapped around her waist, supporting her unsteady frame. However, it only caused Yeo Reum’s face to turn even paler.

‘When did you wake up?’

Just now? Or…

When I kissed you?

Her heart began to race wildly in her ears. She was afraid of what he might say.

Unlike in the dining room where he had smiled at her, his keen gaze now felt sharp.

A cold, apathetic stare, just like when she first saw him.

Yeo Reum struggled to meet his eyes, trying to gauge his thoughts, but she couldn’t discern anything.

“I… well…”

Gi Tae swiftly pulled Yeo Reum towards him by the waist. The remaining distance between them was a mere handspan.

His lowered gaze held a look she had never seen before. His hoarse voice was laced with fury, causing her shoulders to instinctively shrink.

“You… what is the meaning of this?”

He must have been displeased. Yeo Reum’s eyes grew pitiful, as if she might cry at any moment. She parted her lips.

“That’s… I mean…”

“…”

“I’m truly sorry… eek!”

Her stammering lips were silenced.

Yeo Reum’s eyes widened as she suddenly found herself trapped in his broad embrace.

The face that abruptly drew near, the deeply hooded gaze, felt foreign to her. Her eyelids, which had been awkwardly darting about, soon fluttered shut.

Gi Tae enveloped her lips a bit more. Yeo Reum’s lashes trembled in response.

As he bit her lip and delved in, he began to muddle her senses. Her breath quickened and her mind went blank.

The increasingly ragged breaths clouded her mind. The hand on her waist felt scorching, as if it would melt her. Yeo Reum felt like the room was spinning before her eyes.

‘I can’t breathe…’

Yeo Reum lightly tapped on his chest, gasping for air as their lips parted. She exhaled deeply, finally catching her held breath.

“…Haa, ha.”

Yeo Reum’s body trembled weakly. Her hazy eyes looked up at him fearfully, and his irritated voice pierced through sharply.

“You started it first, Yoon Yeo Reum.”

Their lips met again directly, and the startled Yeo Reum’s eyes flew open wide before closing once more.

Amidst the unfamiliar sensations, her restless hands wandered before wrapping around his neck. Yeo Reum had no idea what she was doing.

Gi Tae paused momentarily at the sudden arms around his neck, furrowing his brow before delving deeper.

At some point, Yeo Reum felt the cool floor against her tilted back, but she couldn’t come to her senses. Just keeping up with his breaths was overwhelming.

‘Yoon Yeo Reum.’

Looking down at Yeo Reum, the veins in Gi Tae’s tensed arm bulged as his fist clenched. He couldn’t help but put strength into the arm propping him up on the floor.

While he had been resting his eyes for a bit, a warm touch had brushed against his lips before pulling away. Opening his eyes, he saw a deathly pale Yeo Reum trembling.

He could immediately tell that the contact had been from Yeo Reum’s lips.

He didn’t care how it had happened. All he could see were the soft lips that had touched his own.

Without realizing it, he pulled her in again and captured her lips. He couldn’t let go.

He had known his hands kept reaching for her.

He would find himself stroking her hair without meaning to. There were times he naturally embraced her waist.

But now, he felt a loss of control, his brows knitting together. The sight of her initiating contact, and now clinging to him with her arms around his neck, ultimately blurred his reason.

As Yeo Reum quietly accepted his touch, he applied more force. Shutting his own eyes, he gazed down at her with passion-filled eyes.

.

.

.

Is this what it feels like for your whole body to melt? After the deep kiss, Yeo Reum barely managed to lift her hazy eyes. The initially urgent kisses gradually slowed, as if considering her.

Opening her eyelids, she saw him with his eyes closed and brows furrowed.

Tap, tap, tap.

Then the sound of footsteps on the stairs reached Yeo Reum’s ears. Intoxicated by the sweet sensations, her thoughts had momentarily ceased, but hearing the footsteps stop at the door, she was startled back to her senses.

Yeo Reum tapped firmly on Gi Tae’s chest. Surprised by the footsteps, she tapped a bit too hard, but such details didn’t register to her at the moment.

‘They came to call for him! I’m crazy.’

The moment their gazes met, still lingering with desire, Yeo Reum shuddered and pushed him away. Simultaneously, as he easily pulled back, the door swung open. Her heart pounded wildly. It was such a close shave that she couldn’t tell if they had been seen or not.

The person who burst in was Mi Jeong. Fortunately, she seemed not to have witnessed anything, her face the picture of serenity.

Relieved, Yeo Reum bit her lower lip, finally coming to her senses and realizing what she had done.

In the meantime, evening out her rough breaths as much as possible, her breathing settled. Mi Jeong asked straightforwardly, not hiding her puzzlement.

“Yeo Reum, I told you to go call Gi Tae, so why aren’t you two coming down?”

“I’m sorry. That’s…”

‘The food will get cold,’ Mi Jeong muttered. Yeo Reum furtively glanced at Gi Tae. As Yeo Reum failed to finish her sentence, he intercepted, ruffling her hair.

“We had some things to discuss regarding the exhibition. I told her we’d be right down but ended up keeping her too long.”

“Oh, is that so? But you’re both sitting on the cold floor. There are chairs, you know.”

“We just ended up like this while talking.”

“You’ll catch a cold sitting on the chilly floor for so long?”

As Mi Jeong scolded them, Yeo Reum smiled awkwardly. She couldn’t even feel the cold with the lingering heat in her body. The flush on her cheeks had yet to fade. Yeo Reum grew uncomfortable facing Mi Jeong, realizing what she had done.

In the end, Yeo Reum abruptly stood up.

“Then I’ll get going, lady.”

“Yoon…”

Gi Tae urgently tried to call out to Yeo Reum.

However, Yeo Reum pretended not to hear the voice calling for her and quickened her steps.

* * *

“Han Gi Tae!”

“…What.”

“I called you several times, but you didn’t respond.”

Gi Tae snapped back to focus, curtly answering his brother Gi Jeong before surveying his surroundings. He had lost track of the conversation. From his grandfather to his sister-in-law Ji An, everyone was staring at him.

“What did you say?”

“Seriously…”

At the company, he addressed his brother respectfully with titles, but outside, they conversed casually.

Half-listening to catch the gist of what was said, Gi Jeong was going on about Director Seo again.

“That weasel-like bastard, trying to swindle someone.”

“Our Gi Jeong has it rough.”

“Not at all, Mother. The young master must have it even harder, right?”

Mi Jeong chimed in and Ji An tossed in a comment. However, Gi Tae’s attention was entirely fixated on the area beyond the kitchen.

Eating in a daze, his gaze kept drifting in that direction.

She seemed to be helping with the cooking earlier. Is she still there?

The white arms wrapping around his neck, the soft sensation brushing his lips, made him lose his mind. They made him want to keep pushing forward. The stimulation from touching Yoon Yeo Reum blocked out all thought.

Well, what did you expect, disturbing someone who was sleeping?

These days, his hands kept reaching for her, but he could retract them at will with composure. Suddenly, he was engulfed by an uncontrollable impulse. Unable to make excuses for his outstretched hands and lips, he spurted some strange nonsense.

– You started it first, Yoon Yeo Reum.

Yeo Reum had stolen the kiss first, but he had reciprocated and pounced. And after that, the only thing he could irresponsibly say was to shift the blame onto her?

“Haa…”

With a sigh, Gi Tae furrowed his brow, his nerves on edge over Yeo Reum, who had shaken him to the core and vanished.

As Gi Tae sighed, the two women exchanged glances and Gi Jeong muttered.

“Did I push too much work on him…?”

* * *

Ignoring Gi Tae’s call, Yeo Reum fled to the annex. Normally, she would be in the studio at this hour. Even if she was late after helping with meal preparations, she would have headed to the studio.

But she ran to the annex as if escaping, afraid he might come looking for her at any moment.

Before she knew it, Yeo Reum had rushed into her room in the annex. Locking the door behind her, she sank to the floor.

“Why did I do that…?”

It was too late for regrets now.

She couldn’t tell if her uncontrollably pounding heart was racing from being caught by him, from running here, or from the lingering sensations of the kiss.

Yeo Reum touched her lips and thought of Gi Tae.

He had his eyes closed, focused on the kiss, not even hearing the approaching footsteps, just like her.

‘Putting me aside, why did you do that?’

When he opened his eyes, she thought he would scold her right then and there, asking what she thought she was doing.

Thump, thump… As the sensations resurfaced, Yeo Reum’s face flushed red. Far from making excuses, when he pressed his lips to hers, she had closed her eyes again.

What should I do? If he asks me why I did it… What should I say?

Unlike earlier, when she had been too dazed to think, all sorts of thoughts now swarmed her mind, refusing to let go.

This is all because of the painting.

Separate from being touched by it, I should have sorted out my feelings properly on my own… Why did I act so impulsively?

“Haa…”

Yeo Reum buried her head in her knees.

* * *

As the mood shifted and people began to get up after finishing the meal, Gi Tae was the first to abruptly rise from his seat.

Entering the kitchen, he only saw the housekeeper Ahn washing dishes.

“Gi Tae, weren’t you in a hurry? Are you planning to stay longer at the main house today?”

At Mi Jeong’s kind inquiry from behind, Gi Tae turned around, urgently asking while scanning for any sign of Yeo Reum with his eyes.

“Mother, what about Yoon Yeo Reum?”

“Yeo Reum? She left as soon as she finished helping with the meal preparations.”

“Where to?”

“How would I know that?”

Biting his lip, Gi Tae approached Hee Sun, who was cleaning up the dining room, without fully responding to Mi Jeong.

“Ma’am.”

“…Yes?”

“Do you know where Yeo Reum went?”

Hee Sun, wearing the same puzzled expression as last time, hesitated before answering.

“She’s probably in the studio at this hour.”

“Thank you.”

Forgetting to even bid farewell to his mother, Gi Tae swiftly exited the main house and crossed the garden with hurried steps. Even from a distance, he could see that the studio lights were off. Furrowing his brow, Gi Tae flung the door open.

As expected, the person he was seeking was not inside.

“Yoon Yeo Reum…”

He hadn’t tried calling, but… she was clearly avoiding him.

The one who had secretly stolen a kiss had been the first to disappear. Gi Tae let out a sigh and plopped down on a haphazardly placed chair, leaning back as he ran his fingers through his hair in agitation.

“This is driving me crazy…”

He couldn’t get the image of Yeo Reum pressing her body against his out of his mind.