Heading down the corridor, she turned the opposite way from him without checking.
“Manager, you’ve worked hard today. I’ll see you early tomorrow morning.”
She intended to finish the day here and rest in bed. As she bowed and started to walk away, Taehong gestured to her.
“Do you have any work-related instructions at this late hour?”
She emphasized ‘late’, hoping there was nothing more. She put on a social mask, hiding her true feelings.
Taehong responded with a teasing smile and sarcasm.
“This way.”
Leaving only those words, he walked in the opposite direction from Haegin. Confused, she looked at the room numbers and realized they were heading the same way.
Not right next to each other, hopefully. She wished for some distance between their rooms, but wishes are just wishes.
Haegin’s room was right across from Taehong’s.
“Then, Assistant Manager Jeong. I understand if you can’t see the numbers clearly due to fatigue.”
He looked straight at her confused face, shrugging slightly. He had made the reservations, but did he do this intentionally?
“Rest well tonight.”
Still bewildered, she watched him, as he gave his final instruction.
“Knock on my door at 6 AM tomorrow.”
The last instruction for today and the first task for tomorrow. 6 AM? Even her usual commutes in Seoul didn’t start that early.
“6 AM?”
“Is there a problem?”
“How can a business trip require an earlier start than a regular workday?”
“That’s how it is on a trip.”
Unbelievable. She forcibly closed her gaping mouth, feeling like wringing her head in frustration.
“Dress in workout clothes for 6 AM. Rest well now.”
Ha-jin looked at the door of Tae-hong’s room as it clicked shut, then bowed her head deeply.
Is this Seoul, or is this a business trip destination?
The alarm rang relentlessly at 5:30 AM. Buried in the cozy bedding, only Ha-jin’s slender arm emerged, reaching out desperately for her phone on the nightstand.
“Sigh.”
She only opened her eyes with a deep sigh. She thought she would fall asleep as soon as she entered the room. But she couldn’t sleep a wink.
Lying there, whether she closed her eyes or opened them, whether her hands were on her chest or her stomach, her mind was filled with Moon Tae-hong, and she kept feeling the sensations from their contact.
What is this?
Regardless of her posture, her mind was occupied with Tae-hong, and the sensations of their interactions persisted.
She became irritable due to the continuous tension of each day, where a mistake could be seen as a lack of ability, and her mood fluctuated dozens of times a day based on a single word from her boss.
He probably acted without any thought, unconsciously, and she was the only one being overly sensitive.
It was more comfortable to think this way. She just scolded herself for being too sensitive.
The deeper she thought, the more it interfered with her work and focus on future projects. So she consoled herself, attributing it to her desire to be needed by him.
That was the tentative conclusion she reached last night, but even that conclusion was undecided, fluctuating back and forth.
At 5:45 AM, fully prepared, she stood in front of his room.
Knock knock.
“Manager Moon. It’s Jeong Ha-jin.”
The door opened, and there he stood, with neatly combed hair and dressed in sportswear.
“You woke up early.”
It was 6 AM, but his voice was clear, and his skin was glowing. What time did he wake up?
“You woke up early too, Manager Moon.”
Compared to his perfect appearance, why were her eyes so swollen from lack of proper sleep? She quickly scanned him from head to toe.
“Is there a problem?”
Problem? Yes, of course. Your perfection is the problem. It’s too unreal.
“May I come in for a moment?”
“What?”
“I’m not fully ready yet. Would you like to wait inside or out here?”
It seemed like he was ready, but she should have said, “I’ll wait in my room, then.”
She couldn’t utter the perfect response. The sensation from last night’s contact with his hand by her pants was still vivid.
This was unfair. Even though her room was right behind her, her eyes and heart were drawn to the room in front of her.
Her previous firm boundary of not letting him into her house was easily breached by the hotel room environment.
“I’ll wait inside then. Haha.”
What was that awkward laugh for, Ha-jin? Tae-hong stepped aside lightly, inviting her in.
Bang, the door closed behind her.
An Indifferent Woman is the One Men Desire the Most
One-line summary: The female lead is actually cold-hearted and extremely rational. She has stage-by-stage relationships and won’t two-time, but there will always be someone who secretly likes her.
This novel has the following triggers, so if you’re sensitive to these, please don’t read:
1. The female lead has had many relationships, but she treated each one seriously and broke up properly.
It’s just that the men unilaterally pestered her incessantly. For the female lead, when she doesn’t like someone anymore, she simply doesn’t like them.
(This applies to her relationships with Male Lead 1, 2, 3, and 4 as well, but she’s loyal in each 1-on-1 relationship!)
2. In this novel, Male Lead 2 and the female lead kiss in a car, and Male Lead 1 sees it and beats up Male Lead 2.
The female lead calls the police and sends both Male Lead 1 and 2 to the police station! Male Lead 1 begs the female lead not to break up with him.
3. Male Lead 1 has a gentle appearance but an obsessive personality.
Male Lead 2 has a delicate and soft appearance, slightly green tea-like (two-faced).
Male Lead 3 is a youthful college student and a smart person who has secretly liked the female lead for a long time.
Male Lead 4 is the female lead’s father’s special assistant, a business elite with deep, hidden thoughts.
4. At the beginning of this novel, the female lead has already broken up with Male Lead 1 (Chapter 4) and gotten back together with Male Lead 2 (ex-boyfriend).
5. Enter with caution if you have triggers!!!
