Jun Hwi parked the car where the magnolias were in full bloom.

Turning off the engine, he closed his tired eyes deeply, then opened them. Yeon Woo cautiously spoke up.

“But Attorney, didn’t you say you had a lot of work today?”

“I’ll finish it at home.”

“Next time, you don’t have to take me home. Go home early and rest.”

“…….”

Jun Hwi, resting his head on his left arm propped on the window frame, gazed at Yeon Woo as she smiled faintly.

“I can take a taxi or the subway! It’s not too late. Only come if I really ask you to. Okay? Got it?”

Wanting to take someone home who insists they don’t need it, while someone annoying stubbornly insists on riding along.

It seemed like a significant change, yet strangely unsettling. Instead of a pleasant fluttering, a displeasing ripple surged within him.

It was as if a sharp twig was poking deep inside, causing an unbearable stinging around his chest area.

Yeon Woo, unbuckling her seatbelt to leave, remained oblivious to his increasingly cold demeanor.

“I’m going in now. Finish up quickly and rest well, Attorney.”

Just as she was about to open the passenger door and leave, Jun Hwi reached out and grabbed her arm, leaning in closer.
The distance between them was closing. Simultaneously, Jun Hwi’s large hand gently enveloped Yeon Woo’s soft cheek.

His eyes, lowered enticingly, focused on her full lips, hinting at his intentions.

‘Ah, I’ve been drinking, it might smell!’

Yeon Woo quickly covered her mouth with both hands.

“Wait, wait. I’ve been drinking today, it’s a bit[Dash].”

Dismissing her protest as trivial, Jun Hwi lightly brushed her hands aside and pressed his lips onto hers. His subtle scent flowed through the slight gap in her slightly parted lips as she spoke.

Initially passive out of embarrassment, Yeon Woo eventually succumbed to Jun Hwi’s assertive lead, accepting him as he pressed in more forcefully.

As Jun Hwi turned his head the other way, their kiss deepened, turning breathless.

What started as a soft and tender kiss quickly turned sharp and intense, ravaging Yeon Woo.

Running out of breath, Yeon Woo lightly pushed against his solid chest, signaling him.

“Mmm, hmm…!”

It was unusual. Normally, Jun Hwi, considerate of Yeon Woo, would give her a moment to breathe, but today he was unrelenting, like a rock pressing down.

Instead, whenever Yeon Woo tried to pull away, he wrapped his hand around the back of her head, pulling her closer to him.

“Huh, why are you like this[Dash].”

She blatantly tried to turn her head to detach their lips, but even that was thwarted as Jun Hwi changed direction and pressed in again.

Startled, Yeon Woo struck his shoulder, but Jun Hwi didn’t stop. He bit her lower lip, then engulfed her breath completely in another deep kiss.

Yeon Woo fully understood what it meant to be devoured by a kiss.

“Ha, haah, stop! Stop, stop.”

On the third attempt, she finally freed herself from him, panting as she protested.

“Why are you like this today?”

“What do you mean?”

Today’s kiss was different in nature from the deep, intense ones they had shared before.

Somewhere… there was a hint of spite and anger.

“Why are you angry?”

A crack appeared in Jun Hwi’s brow. He sighed in frustration and retorted.

“And why doesn’t Kim Yeon Woo get angry?”

“Huh?”

Yeon Woo struggled to hide her confusion.

She vaguely understood, but couldn’t believe that Jun Hwi, who usually displayed pride and detachment, was discussing jealousy and pettiness like a child.

The dissatisfied kiss from earlier, and seeing him now with such a hardened expression, it didn’t seem like a joke.

“Do I have a reason to be angry?”

Moreover, Yeon Woo truly wasn’t angry. She was only concerned about Jun Hwi’s fatigue.

A knowing expression, one only Yeon Woo could decipher, flashed across his impassive face.

“Not even slightly upset or bothered when another person, especially a woman who likes me, is close to me.”

“Um.”

“Two interpretations are possible. First, Kim Yeon Woo doesn’t care who’s beside me, meaning I hold that much significance and place in her life. Second, she’s so accustomed to similar situations that nothing feels out of place or strange.”

“Huh.”

“Which is it?”
The absurdity of his argument seemed illogical at first, yet oddly convincing the more Yeon Woo listened to it. It even gave her a slight headache.

‘But why am I being interrogated?’

It was reminiscent of a scene often seen in dramas, where a sharp prosecutor relentlessly grills a suspect. Naturally, Jun Hwi was the prosecutor, and Yeon Woo, the defendant being thoroughly interrogated. Ah, so this is how criminals get coerced into confessing.

Still, it was a waste of talent to relentlessly push a partner with such determination!

Anyway, before things got more twisted, Yeon Woo felt she had to calm him down as he seemed to be seriously misunderstanding something. She cheerfully responded.

“Third option! Kim Yeon Woo trusts Kwon Jun Hwi unshakably. I know no one can sway me if they try to shake me beside you.”

She thought it was a wise response, but it seemed not to be the answer he wanted.

Jun Hwi looked dissatisfied, staring ahead and then crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“The trust in our relationship is a different matter. We are talking about the situation today specifically.”

“But isn’t that my answer? Trust encompasses everything, doesn’t it?”

“So, if Hong Yu Kyung or anyone else flirts with me, you wouldn’t get angry because you trust me?”

“Well, that’s… Hong Attorney is young… She might not fully understand that such actions are immature. Usually, younger people are more honest with their emotions.”

Besides, Hong Yu Kyung doesn’t even dream about our relationship. Would she have been so forward in Yeon Woo’s presence if she knew?

Maybe we’re also not perfect for keeping our relationship so secret.

However, she didn’t express these thoughts. The moment she brought that up, Jun Hwi, the kind of man who would impulsively announce their relationship on the Lo and Yul company bulletin board, might just do that.

“Hong Yu Kyung is an adult and has been working long enough to know better. Does being young excuse everything? If a young man confessed to you, Kim Yeon Woo, would you accept it just because he’s young and doesn’t know any better?”

His disbelief was evident as he muttered and ran his hand through his hair with a sigh.

The real frustration was with Yeon Woo, oblivious to the internal turmoil beside her.