“Are you going to pretend not to know until the end?”

In Jeho’s eyes as he looked at Yuri, there was a deep darkness.

He seemed upset about something, and somehow looked sad too. Yuri took a startled step back. But soon she felt the cold wall behind her back. In a situation where she could no longer retreat, as he approached, Yuri swallowed hard.

At that moment, with a ding sound, the elevator doors slowly closed.

In the small elevator of just a few square meters, there were only the two of them. Along with a strange excitement, a heavy tension crept up from below. The citrus scent mixed with musk emanating from Jeho enveloped her body.

“Are you going to keep ignoring it until the end?”

Ignore? Is he talking about yesterday?

She had thought it was just a momentary misunderstanding since he acted normal all day.

But did their lips really touch?

Yuri was so confused.

“Do you really not know what I want?”

A sigh-like whisper flowed from his lips. Yuri turned her head to the side, avoiding his intense gaze.

To be honest, she was afraid because she seemed to know what he wanted. Because it didn’t seem like a joke, because it felt like he was approaching sincerely…

Like a heartbeat, the lights that had been blinking slowly started to flicker rapidly. He raised his hand and gently cupped her cheek.

Ah, the warmth transmitted to her cheek made her heart pound and her breath catch.

Her lips parted slightly as she tried to breathe a little easier. He then gently brushed her parted lips with his thumb. Under the subtle pressure, Yuri was unable to say anything, as if her tongue had frozen.

The flickering lights went out and darkness fell around them. But his gaze, deepened with desire, reached her clearly without wavering.

“Yuri.”

Just calling her name, for some reason it made her heart ache and tears well up. Yuri unknowingly closed her eyes.

She should have pushed him away and gone outside, but she couldn’t. She didn’t want to. She must not be in her right mind. Otherwise, how could his low breathing make her shiver?

“Did you already forget? I clearly told you not to close your eyes…”

She hadn’t forgotten. She clearly remembered. But Yuri couldn’t open her eyes.

“If you keep your eyes closed like that… I told you I’ll misunderstand.”

The end of his lowered voice was hoarsely cracked. Even with her eyes closed, she could clearly see him staring at her, and her ears were deafened by the sound of her heart growing louder and louder.

Finally, after silently staring, he slowly lowered his head and overlapped their lips.

“Ah.”

A sigh escaped her lips at the soft sensation. Yuri unknowingly grasped his collar.

The sweetness that filled her mouth was brief, soon followed by a hot flame that felt like burning.

He gripped her waist with his hands and pushed her against the wall as if to crush her. An electrifying thrill ran through her at the unfamiliar sensation strongly pushing inward. Not just her lips, but her whole body felt like it was burning up, and Yuri unknowingly stood on her tiptoes as if clinging to him.

As the hand that had been on her waist moved up seeking smooth curves, and the lips that had been roughly covering hers gradually moved downward, Yuri had to forcibly swallow the moans that escaped.

At some point her shirt buttons came undone, and hot lips descended on the white skin exposed to the cold air.

It felt like she couldn’t breathe from the heat spreading throughout her body.

In the pitch darkness, raw instincts filled each other unhesitatingly.

Whirr―

At that moment, as if her head was ringing, a loud tinnitus spread in her ears. The tinnitus gradually changed into someone’s mumbling voice.

“Unnie, …unnie?”

As the sound became clear, a cold touch pressed on her shoulder. In an instant, the heat disappeared and a cool silence settled.

“…Mmm.”

As she painfully lifted her eyelids, Yuri’s face came into her blurry vision.

“Unnie, what’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?”

Yuri blinked with a blank expression.

What happened?

As she slowly sat up looking around, an unfamiliar scene came into view. Where she was now was not the elevator, but her bedroom.

“…Ah.”

Yuri covered her face with both hands, wearing a dejected expression. She must have dozed off for a moment after coming home and lying down on the bed.

“Oh wow, unnie, look at your cold sweat.”

Yuri brushed back Yuri’s messy hair with a worried face. As she said, beads of sweat had formed on her forehead.

So, was all that just a dream?

The sensation on her lips still felt so vivid, it was hard to believe it was all just a dream. Although it was a dream, the intense act had reached quite a dangerous level. As the hot scene that made her face flush came to mind, Yuri frowned.

It’s not like she was sexually frustrated, so why did she have such a dream… It was terribly embarrassing.

“Dad’s home.”

At Yuri’s words, Yuri silently checked the time on the wall clock. She had slept for less than 30 minutes. For a dream dreamt in such a short time, it was quite dramatic.

Yesterday there had been unintended skin contact, and she had also been losing sleep for several nights in a row, weakening her body. Maybe that’s why she had such a strange dream.

Yeah, it’s nothing.

Her heart was still beating wildly, but she calmed herself with long deep breaths. After a moment, Yuri slowly got up from the bed.

“Where is Father now?”

“He’s in the study.”

Last night, Assemblyman Chae couldn’t return home due to National Assembly work and spent the night at the parliament building. Because of that, she couldn’t ask the question she wanted to ask.

Yuri left the bedroom and headed straight for the study. After knocking and entering, she saw Assemblyman Chae on the phone with his aide. Waiting for the call to end, Yuri immediately asked her question when it was over.

“Why didn’t you tell me who was designing the newlywed home?”

“Did I not tell you?”

Assemblyman Chae made a puzzled expression.

“But why? Is that a problem?”

“Kwon Jeho was my former fiancé. How can it not be an issue?”

“What do you mean it’s not an issue? Then and now, it’s not like you’re marrying for love…”

Assemblyman Chae turned his gaze back to the documents he was reviewing, as if it was no big deal.

Perhaps his words were right. It was just a formal marriage with no personal feelings involved. The marriage partner naturally changed as conditions and circumstances changed. Maybe Yuri too would have calmly accepted it without opposition. But the other party was Kwon Jeho. He had just suddenly appeared in her dream and flustered her.

“I don’t want to.”

Yuri clenched her fists and put strength in her voice.

“It’s the house I’ll be living in. If I have to live in a house he designed, it’s obvious I’ll be uncomfortable. If you allow it, I’d like to visit Chairman Kwon myself and decline.”

“Fine, if you really don’t want to, there’s nothing we can do.”

Assemblyman Chae replied gruffly, without taking his eyes off the documents. He didn’t seem to have much interest in this marriage. When he received the proposal for a political marriage from Minwoo, and Yuri said she wanted to do it, all Assemblyman Chae asked was “Why him?”

“…But you know.”

As Yuri was about to leave the study, Assemblyman Chae called out to her, lifting his gaze from the documents.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t upset Chairman Kwon over unnecessary matters.”

Yuri stopped and turned around.

“Think carefully about who can truly be on your side in your in-laws’ family.”

It was indeed a word befitting a seasoned politician. Instead of replying, Yuri silently listened to Assemblyman Chae’s words.

“Don’t make trouble over nothing, and if you really don’t like it, have Minwoo refuse on your behalf. It doesn’t look good for you to step in between.”

Yuri remained silent for a moment before slowly nodding.

“I’ll do that.”

There was no need to object since Assemblyman Chae was right. After leaving the study, Yuri stood in place looking down at her phone.

After hesitating for a moment, Yuri decided to call Minwoo. It seemed easier to just refuse without thinking too deeply about it. However, no matter how many times she called, for some reason Minwoo didn’t answer.

It was nearing 9 o’clock, but she didn’t want to postpone the call until tomorrow. Perhaps the strange dream was also due to the burden of having to live in a house designed by Jeho.

Since he probably wouldn’t leave work before 10 anyway, Yuri borrowed her sister Yuri’s car and drove to KG Group headquarters, hoping to meet him at the company. As she entered the company building, the security guard who recognized Yuri greeted her cheerfully.

“Director Kwon, you’re here to see him? Please wait a moment.”

The security guard notified of Yuri’s visit on the intercom and kindly opened the gate.

“The director seems to have stepped out for a moment. Please go up first. I’ll try contacting him again.”

As the security guard said, the office door was locked. As she was about to sit on the sofa to wait, her phone in her bag rang.

[Yuri? Where are you now? Are you in the lobby?]

When she pressed the call button, Minwoo’s voice flowed out. He must have been contacted by the security guard.

“No, I came up. I’m in front of your office now.”

[What? In front of the office?]

Why was that?

Minwoo’s voice went up an octave, sounding very flustered. This was the first time she’d heard such a reaction. Whenever she came to visit the company before, he would be overjoyed as if he had the whole world.

That wasn’t all.

Though Minwoo’s voice was clearly coming from the phone, she had the illusion that she could also hear it from beyond the office. With the phone in her hand, Yuri turned her head towards the tightly closed office door.

“Yes, in front of the office. Are you inside now?”

[Huh? No, no… I’m in the meeting room downstairs now.]

At her words that she was in front of the office, Minwoo’s voice became as small as a whisper.

[Wait a moment. I’ll wrap things up here and come right up.]

The call abruptly ended. Yuri put her phone in her bag and went out to the hallway to greet him. He said he’d come right up, but Minwoo only appeared 20 minutes later, panting heavily.

“Huff, huff, what brings you here so suddenly without notice?”

Having rushed over, Minwoo caught his breath in front of her.

“I had something I really wanted to say… But you kept not answering when I called?”

“Ah, is that so? I had it turned off for the meeting.”

“I see. I thought I might be able to see you if I came to the company.”

“Oh, right. Good thing you came. Let’s go in.”

Having caught his breath, Minwoo finally smiled brightly and put one arm around Yuri’s shoulder.

For a moment, a fresh lemon scent tickled her nose. It wasn’t a strong scent like perfume, but a faint scent you might smell right after taking a shower.

Naturally, Yuri’s gaze fell on Minwoo’s hair. As if he had dried it in a hurry, the ends of his hair were slightly damp.

He said he was coming from finishing a meeting, but he showered?

As Yuri gently furrowed her brow, the click-clack sound of high heels echoed from the far end of the hallway. As she turned her head towards the sound, she saw a long-haired woman approaching.

The woman was wearing ordinary office attire, but her appearance was clearly glamorous at a glance. Especially eye-catching were her plump lips painted with bright red lipstick.

Spotting Minwoo, the woman smiled sweetly.

“Director, the meeting’s over, aren’t you going home?”

“Oh, Assistant Manager Shin. I should head home soon too.”

“Yes, don’t overwork yourself and go home now.”

After finishing her words, Assistant Manager Shin glanced at Yuri. Was it just her imagination? The way Assistant Manager Shin looked at her seemed somewhat meaningful.

“Then I’ll be going in first.”

Assistant Manager Shin bowed her head deeply in a polite greeting and brushed past Yuri. For a moment, Yuri gently furrowed her brow at the familiar scent that tickled her nose.

This scent…?

The exact same scent she had just noticed on Minwoo.

It was the lemon scent.