I was the one who proposed this contract, and I was the one who set the one-month period. Even though I set it, an inexplicable anger erupted towards Jin So Yi, who was already seeing its end.

“I’m sorry, CEO.”

So Yi, who had been hanging her head low, slowly raised it. As if she had made some kind of decision, her lips were firmly closed.

“Actually…”

So Yi painfully parted her lips. The hair resting on her slender shoulders slid down smoothly.

Was it because of her flowing hair? The faint scent from her exposed white neckline brushed past my nose.

“I started to like you, that’s why.”

Cha Si Heon’s finely creased eyebrows twitched.

“That’s why I smiled more brightly. Afraid you’d find out I liked you. Afraid you’d realize my heart was aching.”

Si Heon’s eyes widened. His heart pounded wildly at her trembling voice. So Yi, as if resolving herself once more, looked into his eyes and spoke again.

“I liked you from the start.”

The words saying she liked me.

“From when we met in Venice.”

Had they always been this trembling?

“But I won’t cling on, saying I can’t break up.”

So Yi’s moist gaze touched Si Heon’s eyes. As if being sucked into some endless deep place, Si Heon’s head throbbed. His breath trembled dizzily.

“I thought I clearly told you to control your personal feelings on your own.”

“I know. But…”

“You’re the one who broke the contract first.”

Si Heon couldn’t hold back any longer. His head quickly tilted towards So Yi. His warm, soft lips gently overlapped So Yi’s plump ones.

The sound of a pounding pulse struck hard at her ears. So Yi blinked her eyelids, feeling his hot breath on her lips. Si Heon, who had been pressing his lips firmly for a moment, slowly pulled them away.

“…CEO.”

So Yi’s eyes, filled with bewilderment, lost their way. As she turned her head to avoid his gaze out of sheer shock, she saw Yeon Ri Na and Kang Yu Kyung watching them from far down the hallway.

Ah… So he wanted her to see…

In that brief moment, So Yi organized her thoughts. He suddenly kissed me to provoke her somehow.

Once again, her heart ached as if it would tear. So Yi turned her head back to meet Si Heon’s eyes.

Si Heon’s eyes wavered hotly as they met. His lips drew near again, almost touching, without her noticing when he had approached.

Si Heon gently cupped So Yi’s cheeks and tilted his head. Finally closing that precarious distance, he took her lips.

Si Heon’s faintly heavy wood scent instantly enveloped her entire body. So Yi didn’t avoid it. Instead, she slowly closed her eyes. For a moment, her breath stopped and time stood still.

The whole world fell silent. Only the sound of her pounding heart filled the world.

Si Heon’s fingertips, softly caressing her cheek, gently pulled open So Yi’s lips. So Yi’s heart shuddered at Si Heon’s scent penetrating the narrow gap.

Si Heon delved even more dizzily deeper without hesitation, while only her heart felt like it would burst.

Is this okay? At this rate, I’ll fall even deeper for the CEO. No… Maybe I already like him too much to escape.

Nevertheless, his gentle movements are impossible to refuse.

It seems I’ll have to not be myself for a while today.

So Yi’s hands, which had been clenched tightly, moved towards Si Heon’s waist. Her shoulders, which had been frozen stiff, twitched, and So Yi gripped Si Heon’s collar tightly.

At that small gesture, heat spread even more throughout Si Heon’s body.

At first, it was just impulsive. He lost his reason at So Yi’s moist eyes. Unable to hold back anymore, he overlapped his lips on hers.

So Yi’s lips, which had briefly brushed against his, were maddeningly moist.

At that warm and soft sensation, his blood boiled as if his veins were on fire, and his whole body instantly heated up.

What on earth did I do? Just for barely touching lips.

As he briefly pulled away his lips and lowered his heated gaze to So Yi, his eyes met her round eyes, full of tension.

He wanted to confirm if So Yi would avoid his lips this time too, as she gazed at him with clear eyes. He gently cupped So Yi’s cheeks and slowly lowered his head again.

So Yi’s lips, finally meeting his again, were soft like jelly and sweet like candy.

Si Heon bit So Yi’s lips as if savoring a delicious fruit. His large hands gently cupped her nape.

As if trying to soothe the still frozen and tense So Yi, he slowly moved his thumbs to caress her cheeks, then grabbed her chin and pulled it down.

He felt like he would lose his mind at the hot sensation rushing in between their parted lips.

Si Heon moved his thumbs again to gently stroke So Yi’s soft cheeks.

He felt like he would go crazy from the soft sensation brushing against his fingertips. He was on the verge of losing his mind.

Could he just embrace her and go straight up to the room?

In just a few seconds, his lost reason disappeared somewhere, and only instinct boiling up from deep in his belly filled him.

It was sweet indeed.

So Yi’s small, plump lips were maddeningly sweet, like biting into a peach bursting with sweet juice. Even the small fingers clutching his collar were enough to drive him crazy.

Before she knew it, So Yi’s back touched the wall as she stepped back, pushed by Si Heon’s weight.

Only then did Si Heon pull away his lips and gently wipe So Yi’s lips with his thumb.

So Yi turned her head to look far down the hallway, her cheeks flushed red.

Ri Na was nowhere to be seen, having left at some point.

“…She’s gone.”

“What?”

Si Heon asked with still unabated heated eyes at So Yi’s sudden words. His eyes scanned So Yi’s eyes in turn, as if not understanding what she was talking about.

So Yi bit her lip, about to ask if he had kissed her earlier because she was watching.

Does he want to pretend not to know? Did he think I didn’t see?

“Who’s gone?”

Si Heon slightly furrowed his brow as So Yi hesitated to answer.

Could he be sorry? Is he pretending not to know because he feels bad for using me again before my confession that I like him was even finished?

So Yi awkwardly smiled and opened her mouth.

“Don’t worry about what I said about liking you, CEO. I won’t make you uncomfortable.”

So Yi smiled brightly, pulling up the corners of her mouth. Si Heon’s eyebrows gradually twisted more fiercely.

“I’ll forget about the kiss just now too. I’ll think of it as just acting. Like a kiss scene in a drama or movie. We’ve even spent a night together, so I won’t cling pathetically over just a kiss.”

Just a kiss?

My heart feels like it’s going to burst and my whole body is burning up from that one kiss. And you’re saying it’s nothing to you? That you’ll forget it right away?

“Are you usually the type to easily like just anyone like that?”

“Ah… Yes. I’m kind of like that. That’s why I give up easily too.”

“Then it would have been possible with someone else too? The kiss.”

A chill ran down So Yi’s spine at Si Heon’s coldly lowered gaze. So Yi tried not to be flustered and answered calmly.

“Well… If I had made this kind of contract and been in this situation with someone else, I might have. It’s just acting, you know. What’s the big deal.”

“You’re saying you would have done it with someone else too? The kiss?”

His suddenly transformed eyes were chilling. I don’t understand why he’s so incredulous.

He kissed me without any emotion just to show his ex-girlfriend.

So Yi awkwardly smiled and tidied her disheveled hair.

“Even actors do that much acting, you know.”

The veins on Si Heon’s neck bulged. As he glared fiercely, gritting his teeth as if holding back some words, a vibration sounded from the inside pocket of Si Heon’s jacket.

Grateful to the caller for creating a gap in the bleak conversation, So Yi glanced at the screen. It was Choi Ji Wook.

“Why… aren’t you answering?”

So Yi asked with a welcoming expression. Anger surged once again.

In fact, he had been avoiding Ji Wook’s calls for days since that day. He was avoiding him in case he might say he wanted to meet So Yi after her contract relationship with Jin So Yi ended.

But So Yi’s expression noticeably brightened at the sight of Ji Wook’s name.

“Let’s go home. I’ll take you.”

Si Heon coldly turned his body and headed for the elevator.

Does he think there’s nothing more to see now that the acting is over?

He walked briskly forward without even looking back. In the end, Si Heon took So Yi home without saying a single word.

Tap tap, So Yi patted her still red cheeks with both hands. Even after lowering the water temperature and washing her face three times after finishing her shower, her face was still red.

“I’m crazy, I’m crazy.”

The kiss with Si Heon from earlier won’t leave her mind. Her heart has long since broken down.

“A kiss…”

His sudden kiss came to mind. Like in Venice, she couldn’t come to her senses. If Si Heon had gotten a room right then, she probably would have followed him as if enchanted.

So Yi slowly stroked her lips with her fingertips. Her heart pounded as she felt like that sensation still lingered on the tips of her lips.

After kissing so naturally, he turned cold again.

Thanks to the vibration that thankfully rang out in the awkward atmosphere, she had simply asked why he wasn’t answering without any particular meaning.

‘Let’s go home. I’ll take you.’

His voice had been chilly.

Was he embarrassed about using me even after receiving my confession? Or was he trying to keep his distance in case I became more attached to him because of the kiss?

Whatever the reason, my heart aches. Is this what unrequited love is like?

Only 2 weeks have passed. How am I supposed to endure the remaining 2 weeks?

So Yi blankly stared at the four-leaf clover pendant hanging around her neck in the mirror and let out a deep sigh.