Seo Ha sat down next to him and called out softly. Kyung Joon then halfopened his eyes and looked at Seo Ha.
“I must have dozed off.”
His voice was slightly muffled. It was a bit more hoarse and lower than usual.
“You should have been inside if you were going to sleep.”
“I wanted to get some fresh air since the CEO went to bed early.”
Yawning, Kyung Joon seemed to be trying to get up, but instead, he just adjusted his position and lay down with his arm as a pillow.
“You left work earlier than I expected. I thought you’d come after midnight.”
“Do you want me to work until midnight?”
“No, I just thought I should stay here until after midnight.”
Seo Ha wondered what to say in response, but eventually, she just lay down next to Kyung Joon. The night sky in Seoul was too dark and bright, devoid of stars. A few artificial satellites pretended to be stars and twinkled artificially.
“Thanks to you, Secretary Ryu, I was able to work with peace of mind. Thank you.”
“I just looked after my CEO, and Jo Seo Ha just did her job. There’s no one to thank, and there’s nothing to be grateful for.”
“Can’t you just say ‘yes’ when someone says thank you?”
“Fine.”
“……”
“Did you visit the CEO’s office today?”
Kyung Joon changed the subject. He must have preferred to have a more practical conversation than discussing gratitude.
“Yes.”
“What did you talk about?”
“I made a promise with Lee Ji Soo. If none of my works get selected at the review meeting, I’ll be fired.”
“That’s not very surprising. What was the reason Lee Seung Oh said that specifically to Jo Seo Ha?”
“Lee Ji Soo said she wouldn’t be able to interfere. My work will be selected at the review meeting. At least one.”
“Did Lee Seung Oh say that himself? Why?”
“He said he was interested in me.”
Suddenly, her face turned hot. Seo Ha casually looked at Kyung Joon and flinched at his crumpled expression.
“Why are you making that face?”
“So, what did you decide to do?”
“What do you mean?”
“With Lee Seung Oh, who is interested in you. What did you decide to do?”
There was nothing to gain by telling the truth. Kyung Joon would not understand why Seo Ha had to seduce Lee Seung Oh and bring him down.
“Nothing. I just agreed when he asked if the CEO and Team Leader Lee Ji Soo were a couple. We didn’t talk about anything else.”
Kyung Joon muttered something like ‘that jerk’ under his breath.
Her back felt cool and refreshing. Glancing at Kyung Joon, she saw him looking at the artificial satellites with a displeased frown. Seo Ha thought that now was the time to use that ridiculous method.
“Secretary Ryu.”
“Yes.”
“Do you have someone you like?”
Until then, Kyung Joon had been lying still, but he suddenly turned his head.
Was she lying too close? She could see his ‘are you crazy?’ expression very clearly.
“Why are you prying into my personal life?”
“I was just curious. I know you don’t have a girlfriend. I was just wondering if there’s someone you like.”
“I do.”
Kyung Joon answered firmly and added a moment later.
“Just to be clear, it’s definitely not Jo Seo Ha. Absolutely not. Even if the sky breaks into eight pieces and someone takes one away.”
“That’s too bad. I like Secretary Ryu.”
Kyung Joon sat up abruptly. His expression was even more serious and asking if she was crazy than before.
“What is this? A penalty? Or is it a confession followed by scolding or something?”
“Why do you say that?”
Seo Ha also frowned and sat up.
“I just said I like Secretary Ryu. That I like him. I just talked about my feelings.”
As she said something she didn’t mean, her heart raced, and her face turned red. She could only hope that the darkness would hide her expression.
Between Kyung Joon, who looked at Seo Ha with a baffled expression, and Seo Ha, who didn’t avoid his gaze, a chilly breeze blew for a moment. Was it just her imagination? Kyung Joon’s face also seemed a little red.
“…Sigh.”
Soon, Kyung Joon covered his face with both hands and rubbed it up and down.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear what you just said.”
“Please acknowledge that you heard it. It took courage for me to say it, and if you pretend you didn’t hear it, I’ll be sad.”
“I told you, I have someone else I like, not Jo Seo Ha.”
Kyung Joon put extra emphasis on ‘not Jo Seo Ha.’ It wasn’t a particularly hurtful remark, but it strangely stung one side of her chest.
“Who is it?”
“You don’t need to know.”
Kyung Joon cut her off, stood up, and dusted off his jacket.
“Where are you going?”
“Home. See you tomorrow.”
She hadn’t even wanted to confess her feelings.
Seo Ha grumbled to herself as she watched him quickly descend the stairs without looking back.
She had only said something she didn’t mean to make the deal with Lee Seung Oh work, but lying seemed to make her heart pound, and her face kept heating up.
“Ugh, it’s hot.”
Seo Ha fanned herself vigorously as she entered the entrance hall. The thermostat must have been turned up too high, as the warmth enveloped her body, making her face even redder.
Neither Seo Ha nor Kyung Joon knew that Jae Wook had been listening to their conversation from under the stairs.
lu lu lo la ▪️ net (lululola.net)
My Step-brother Is Obsessed With Me (Female-dominant)
A gentle female protagonist vs pitiful in the early stage, and a sick male protagonist in the later stage
Cheng Songer transmigrated into the body of a vicious cannon fodder female supporting character with the same name as her in a female-dominant novel.
In the original story, the cannon fodder female supporting character was inhumane, committing domestic violence, gambling excessively, being lustful, and even wanting to sell her stepbrother to a brothel for money.
As luck would have it, she just happened to transmigrate at this time.
Seeing Cheng Qingzhi biting his lip, enduring the tears in his eyes, looking pitiful, her heart softened.
She stuffed the money back into the Madam’s hand and reached out to him.
“Brother, come home with me.”
