“Today…… Official schedule. I’m counting on you.”
Kyle, who had difficulty averting his gaze from Se Hee’s dizzying appearance, spoke while barely suppressing his emotions.
“Yes? Yes.”
Ha, what had she been expecting?
Se Hee chided herself.
It was only natural to depart with an executive assistant for a business gathering.
What on earth had she been thinking?
Had she expected even a reluctant word of admiration from him?
She was appalled at the disappointed feeling seeping into a corner of her heart.
Because having such feelings made no sense in the first place.
Scolding herself, Se Hee composed her expression.
The air inside the car heading to the banquet hall was too uncomfortable.
Kyle’s stimulating scent that filled the enclosed space made even her mind hazy.
That arduous time only ended when the luxury sedan carrying Se Hee and Kyle arrived at the banquet hall.
As the car stopped, Kyle, who got out first, extended his hand to Se Hee for an escort.
Momentarily flustered, Se Hee looked up at Kyle.
But she soon thought it was foolish.
It’s just a formal courtesy.
Why does she keep having some kind of misunderstanding on her own?
“Aren’t you getting out?”
At Kyle’s utterly dry voice, Se Hee took his hand and stepped out with a heavy expression.
His hand was still warm.
Se Hee’s heart responded with an ache.
Se Hee maintained the coldest expression possible to avoid revealing her wavering emotions.
Today she decided to focus on her role as his executive assistant.
As Se Hee tried to let go of the hand she’d been holding after getting out, Kyle’s arm naturally wrapped around her waist.
Just like when she stood by his side in the past.
As if they were lovers.
“R-Representative.”
The startled Se Hee called out to Kyle, but he paid no heed and simply continued walking.
“W-Wait a moment. Today, I’m officially performing duties…”
However, before Se Hee could finish speaking, people who had been waiting for Kyle rushed forward to greet him.
As a result, Se Hee’s words were simply buried.
“You’re here. You don’t know how long we’ve been waiting. It’s truly a pleasure.”
Se Hee had no choice but to respond to them together by his side.
Whenever she had a chance, Se Hee tried her best to break away from Kyle.
But because of Kyle, who seemed determined to never let go, she couldn’t escape.
Se Hee, who could only stand by Kyle’s side with a forced smile, even felt extreme fatigue.
After one storm had passed, it finally showed signs of subsiding.
Sensing this was her chance, Se Hee protested more strongly than before.
“Are you really not going to let go?”
Se Hee spoke into Kyle’s ear as if warning him.
“Are you uncomfortable?”
Kyle asked as if teasing.
“Yes. Very, very uncomfortable.”
“I’m not sure. It feels like we’ve always been like this.”
“W-What? Let go right now. This posture absolutely doesn’t look like the relationship between an executive assistant and a representative, you know?”
Se Hee’s voice became agitated.
“Then how does it look?”
However, Kyle asked nonchalantly.
“Are you asking me because you don’t know? This just looks like lovers. Please let go quickly. What if some strange rumors spread…”
Seeing Kyle snicker at those words, Se Hee’s eyes suddenly widened.
N-No way, are you intentionally trying to spread rumors?
“Kyle!”
In the end, Se Hee exploded.
Good heavens.
The startled Se Hee belatedly covered her own mouth.
Calling him by his name.
This was truly a big mistake.
But the moment his name was called, a smile spread across Kyle’s lips.
It was his name coming from those red, lovely lips after so long.
“I-I’m sorry. Representative!”
Se Hee apologized with a disgruntled expression.
“There’s no need to be sorry. We’re already in a relationship where it’s allowed.”
Kyle looked at Se Hee with a meaningful gaze.
A relationship where it’s allowed.
It was a moment when those words sounded quite strange to Se Hee.
As if understanding the significant meaning, her heart began to pound.
At that moment, a secretary from the Prime Minister’s Office of Economic Affairs came looking for Kyle.
“They’re looking for the representative of Evans Group.”
Kyle made a briefly troubled expression before looking at Se Hee.
“Wait just a little. I’ll be back soon.”
Only then did Kyle’s arm loosen.
Watching Kyle’s retreating back, Se Hee let out a sigh.
Ha. I’ve really gone crazy.
How can I say my feelings are sorted out when it’s like this.
As the tension eased a bit, her legs started to hurt.
Even her face, which had been maintaining a forced smile all this time, seemed to be having spasms.
Se Hee, who moved towards the nearest wall, looked around for a place to rest.
Fortunately, there was a powder room diagonally across.
As she turned her body in that direction, cold liquid suddenly poured onto Se Hee’s dress.
“Oh, I’m terribly sorry.”
Se Hee heard sophisticated English spoken to her bewildered expression.
“I’m afraid I wasn’t looking properly and made a mistake. Are you alright? Such a beautiful dress has gotten wet.”
The man holding the spilled wine glass stood there with an apologetic expression.
Se Hee was startled when she saw him.
The man’s dark blue eyes were exactly the same color as Kyle’s eyes.
* * *
The tall man with broad shoulders had a completely Western appearance, but perhaps because of his unusual eye color, he felt very similar to Kyle.
Yet somehow, he exuded a distinctly different aura from Kyle.
“I’ll have my secretary prepare a new dress for you right away. Would you like to come to my private room together?”
As the man gestured, someone who appeared to be his secretary quickly rushed over.
“No, it’s alright. Because it’s a red dress, it doesn’t show that much. I think I can just go to the powder room and wipe it off a little.”
Se Hee naturally replied in English that it was fine while waving her hands.
“I’m the one who’s not alright. Are you perhaps uncomfortable with a private room? I’m Raymond William Weilance. The CEO of Weilance Group. Is this enough to trust me?”
The man took out an expensive business card holder from his chest and handed Se Hee one of his business cards.
“CEO Weilance?”
She didn’t expect to meet the CEO of Weilance among the foreign group representatives visiting Korea who were said to have been invited.
Se Hee, who received the business card, checked the man’s name once again.
“Please, will you allow me to help you? My lady?”
Raymond asked even more politely.
“I appreciate your kindness, but I’m really fine.”
However, Se Hee felt burdened about going to his private room.
“I understand. If you insist that much. Then if you give me your contact information, I’ll make sure to provide sufficient compensation.”
“Compensation isn’t necessary.”
Se Hee made a troubled expression this time as well.
“If you refuse this too, I’m afraid I’ll feel quite heavy-hearted.”
Raymond spoke with a desperate voice.
“If you insist, then alright.”
As if she had no choice, Se Hee took out her own business card that she had brought just in case from the clutch bag she was holding and handed it to Raymond.
“I’m Lee Se Hee. I’m the executive assistant to the CEO of Evans Korea.”
Se Hee politely introduced herself.
“Evans Korea? So you’re Kyle’s executive assistant.”
Raymond made a friendly expression.
“Yes, that’s right. You seem to know our CEO well.”
Se Hee spoke as if it was unexpected.
If he called him by name, it must mean they’re quite close.
She didn’t know Kyle was on friendly terms with the CEO of Weilance.
Se Hee had heard that the Evans Group and Weilance Group were not on good terms.
“Of course. Actually, we’re brothers.”
Raymond said secretively.
“Brothers…?”
Surprised by those words, Se Hee’s eyes widened.
“Yes, we’re cousins. Although we’re cousins, he’s my only brother who shares blood. You know that Kyle’s original surname is Weilance, right?”
Raymond’s gaze didn’t miss a single moment of Se Hee’s expression.
Raymond, who had been watching Se Hee’s reaction, threw out bait at the right moment.
“Oh, no.”
Se Hee was hearing this fact for the first time.
“Oh my. It seems I’ve said something unnecessary. Such personal stories should be heard directly from the person. It would be terrible if Kyle gets angry.”
Raymond made a troubled expression as if he had made a big mistake.
As expected, Se Hee’s expression, which reacted sensitively to Kyle’s story, was clearly read by Raymond.
“It should be fine since you’re his executive assistant, right?”
“Huh? Ah. Yes.”
“By the way, it’s really unexpected. It’s the first time my brother has attended a banquet accompanied by a woman.”
Raymond deliberately used the word ‘brother’ to subtly show that he was close to Kyle in order to lower Se Hee’s guard.
Raymond keenly observed Se Hee, who showed an alert response to that word.
“Ah… Are you surprised because the word ‘brother’ is in Korean? It’s a word that Kyle’s mother, that is, my aunt, taught me. She was such a warm person. I’ve called him that ever since.”
Raymond gazed into empty space for a moment with a melancholic look in his eyes, as if recalling a distant memory.
“Dave used to always be by my brother’s side like his arms and legs, but today seems to be a special case?”
Se Hee flinched, startled by Raymond’s meaningful words.
“As you may know, my brother never had women among his secretarial staff. So I wonder if this is a special relationship.”
Raymond spoke with a strange expression while slightly tilting his head.
“T-That can’t be. I’m just attending as an executive assistant.”
Se Hee hurriedly answered.
Se Hee, who found Raymond’s gaze very burdensome, didn’t know what to do with the awkwardness.
“Hahaha. Why are you so flustered? Your reaction makes me really suspicious?”
Raymond spoke as if teasing.
Raymond’s lips curved up coldly as he saw Se Hee’s reaction following his plan.
“When he was young, my brother was really warm and bright. But after that incident, his personality changed. Too coldly. Is he like that with you too?”
Raymond, who had adequately gauged Se Hee’s mood, slowly began to bring up the topic.
“Huh? The CEO is a very cold and rational person.”
Although curious about ‘that incident’ Raymond mentioned, Se Hee answered appropriately without asking further.
“Can I call you Se Hee? It seems that term of address is commonly used in Korea.”
Raymond asked with a faint smile.
To increase familiarity in order to succeed with his plan, Raymond started by adjusting the form of address.
“Huh? Yes.”
Se Hee, who found it difficult to refuse, reluctantly answered.
“Se Hee…”
Raymond hesitated for a moment as if it was difficult to speak.
“I hope Se Hee can help my brother a lot.”
Raymond finally launched into his main strategy.
By throwing out a pitiful story that could shake Se Hee’s heart.
“…Help him?”
Se Hee couldn’t hide her bewilderment at the sudden words.
Is there something a perfect man like Kyle needs help with?
It was hard to imagine such a thing.
“Well… That is.”
Raymond vaguely trailed off as if he had something to say but deliberately didn’t reveal it.
Such behavior filled Se Hee with suspicion.
“This may be surprising to hear. But if my feeling isn’t wrong, it seems Se Hee is a special person to my brother. So I want to make a request.”
“No. You seem to be misunderstanding something. The CEO and I are not that kind of relationship.”
“Really?”
Raymond asked again with an expression of disbelief.
“Yes. I’m… just his secretary, a mere employee.”
Se Hee answered firmly.
Instead of answering, Raymond quietly smiled and nodded, his gaze stopping on Se Hee’s wet dress.
“Your dress got too wet.”
Raymond, who had been staring blankly, took out his handkerchief and unhesitatingly reached his hand towards Se Hee’s dress top.
Startled by his sudden action, Se Hee was about to step back when.
An even faster movement roughly knocked away Raymond’s arm.
At the same time, Raymond, whose collar was grabbed, was thrown against the wall.
The cracking sound that came from Raymond’s back as he was pushed hard against the wall was vicious enough to gauge the pain.
The person pinning Raymond to the wall and gripping his throat was Kyle, filled with rage like a volcano about to erupt.
“What are you up to.”
__________
My Clingy Little Husband (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The male lead is initially an arrogant, noble, love-deprived brat, later a cute, clingy, scheming little jealous one.
Introduction:
One day, Lu Yuner’s soul transmigrates into a female-dominant world. She enters the Imperial Academy and takes up the position of a doctoral instructor, teaching classes and grading schoolwork.
One day, she encounters the young prince Su Qingwan secretly skipping class from the male academy.
As a result, Su Qingwan is punished.
From then on, Su Qingwan sees Lu Yuner as a “thorn in his side”.
But before long, this “thorn” becomes the person he cherishes most, and he goes to great lengths to win Lu Yuner’s affection.
Mini scene 1:
One day, the sun is high in the sky but Su Qingwan still hasn’t gotten up for class.
Servant Xiaoyuan: “Young prince, it’s time for class. You’ll be late otherwise.”
Su Qingwan says arrogantly: “I’m not going. I am the esteemed prince, my status is so noble, why should I suffer this hardship? Besides, isn’t learning all this just to please women? Hmph, they’re not worthy!”
Mini scene 2:
After Su Qingwan falls for someone, he completely changes. He no longer skips class and diligently learns how to be a good husband and father. But he discovers that Sister Yuner is always surrounded by admirers.
Drunk and overcome with jealousy one day, he clings to Lu Yuner, crying beautifully like a pear blossom in the rain.
Su Qingwan: “Qingwan likes Sister Yuner.”
Lu Yuner: “Young prince, you’re drunk.”
Su Qingwan: “Qingwan isn’t drunk. Qingwan likes Sister Yuner, likes you so much, likes you to bits…” Before he can finish, Lu Yuner’s eyes flash with emotion and she leans in closer.
[Reading Guide]
1. The female lead is gentle, gracious, humble and polite but not weak. The male lead is initially an arrogant, noble, love-deprived brat, later a cute, clingy, scheming little jealous one.
2. 1v1, a bit torturous in the beginning but definitely sweet later on.