Jae Kyung became anxious when Bo Mi didn’t respond. Was his confession too old-fashioned?

He had never confessed to any woman other than Bo Mi. Women had always approached him first, so he just went along, but he hadn’t really dated.

He didn’t need sophisticated and cool words to seduce women. Now he regretted not practicing.

“… I’m not sure if saying this ruins the mood.”

Jae Kyung tried to figure out why Bo Mi was hesitating.

“I won’t get engaged or married to Yeon Ga Young.”

What else should he say to make her less anxious?

Jae Kyung was desperate to hear Bo Mi’s answer.

“I too…”

Bo Mi finally opened her mouth. Even the brief moment waiting for her answer felt unbearably long to Jae Kyung.

“I’m not sure if this ruins the mood at a time like this…”

Bo Mi placed her palm on Jae Kyung’s stomach. She swallowed at the hard, firm feeling under her palm.

“Bo Mi?”

Jae Kyung flinched in surprise and looked down at Bo Mi’s hand.

“Can I lift it up a bit?”

Bo Mi looked up with a serious expression and tugged at the hem of Jae Kyung’s shirt. Bo Mi couldn’t tell him her feelings before confirming if Jae Kyung was Nakwon.

She didn’t want to keep looking for traces of Nakwon on Jae Kyung forever.

If there was no scar…

If there was a scar…

Either way, she could get rid of this uneasy feeling.

“Just show me for a moment.”

“This is too sudden…”

Jae Kyung stepped back, surprised by Bo Mi’s aggressive approach. Bo Mi staggered, clinging to the hem of Jae Kyung’s shirt. Her foot slipped in the unfamiliar high-heeled mules.

Jae Kyung tried to grab Bo Mi’s wrist to support her, but her body was already falling outwards. If he let go of Bo Mi, Jae Kyung wouldn’t get wet. The Jae Kyung from before knowing Han Bo Mi would have let go without hesitation.

Jae Kyung thought that even the moment of getting wet would be enjoyable if he was with Bo Mi.

It was time to test how much of a fool Do Jae Kyung could be.

Splash!

Jae Kyung fell into the pool water while holding Bo Mi.

His strong arms wrapped around her slender waist. Bo Mi’s flushed cheek, holding her breath, touched Jae Kyung’s chest. The cold temperature of the water wasn’t felt due to the heat rising from his chest.

It wasn’t difficult to regain balance and stand in the pool that was shallower than an adult’s height.

The two, completely soaked, faced each other.

“Ha…”

Bo Mi exhaled deeply, wiping her face with her palm.

“I’m sorry, Jae Kyung.”

“Ha.”

Jae Kyung brushed back his wet hair and started laughing loudly.

“Jae Kyung?”

Nothing ever went according to plan with this woman.

But every moment was enjoyable.

Just today, he missed first place for the first time in his life, and forcibly ate kimbap he didn’t like. Instead of the confession he was expecting, he ended up looking like a drowned rat because of a woman trying to undress him.

Ah… I really like Han Bo Mi.

Bo Mi stared in a daze at Jae Kyung’s brightly smiling face, wet with water.

The lights from the surrounding buildings blurred and reflected on the water, and Jae Kyung standing tall in between seemed unreal. Bo Mi’s emotions welled up at the image of Do Jae Kyung that was etched achingly in her heart.

Jae Kyung’s eyes narrowed as he noticed Bo Mi’s shoulders trembling slightly.

“I should ask for towels to be brought.”

Jae Kyung climbed up to the poolside and held out his hand to Bo Mi. Bo Mi took Jae Kyung’s hand and lifted herself out of the water.

Jae Kyung’s expression hardened and turned red.

Ha… She’s driving me crazy.

Her wet shirt and skirt clung to Bo Mi’s body, revealing even her skin color.

He pulled Bo Mi up, trying hard to avert his gaze.

He didn’t want anyone else to see her like this.

“Jae Kyung. You’re too close.”

Jae Kyung wrapped his arms around Bo Mi and sat her down on a sun lounger. The early autumn night air was quite chilly.

Bo Mi shrank her shoulders, feeling cold.

“Just bear with it for a moment.”

When the bartender brought towels, Jae Kyung shielded Bo Mi with his body.

“Shall I prepare a room?”

“Please. Contact Secretary Kim.”

“Yes, I’ll prepare it right away.”

Huh? A room…

Bo Mi tugged at Jae Kyung’s shirt, looking flustered. Jae Kyung naturally took Bo Mi’s hand.

“I can’t give you up.”

He draped a towel over Bo Mi’s shoulders.

“I’m sorry. I’m a bit… quite… like this.”

Bo Mi hung her head and covered her face.

“What do you mean?”

“When I focus on something, I can’t see anything else. I only do what I want to… Because I lack attention… I’m always causing accidents.”

Bo Mi was the type to focus solely on what was in front of her. It was an advantage as a developer, but a disadvantage as a manager. It was the same with things other than work.

Once, while taking care of Yeo Reum during a project, she got distracted thinking about an algorithm and nearly caused an accident. Because of that, she became passive in everything after becoming a mother.

Bo Mi’s focused personality was the worst for childcare.

Even now, she was so eager to check if Jae Kyung was Nakwon that she tried to lift his shirt without warning.

Han Bo Mi. Fool. You must have had high hopes for tonight… She felt self-loathing for seemingly ruining it herself.

“What’s wrong with that?”

Jae Kyung bent down and gently grasped both of Bo Mi’s wrists.

“I got you involved too.”

“Look at me.”

Bo Mi slowly raised her head to meet Jae Kyung’s eyes.

“You’ll catch a cold.”

He gently wiped the moisture from Bo Mi’s hair with a towel.

“If you can’t see your surroundings and cause accidents, I’ll clean up after you.”

“Jae Kyung.”

Jae Kyung found even these aspects of Bo Mi lovable. If she were perfect, wouldn’t there be no room for him to get close? Her unpredictable reactions made him more drawn to her.

“This time, please allow me.”

Jae Kyung smiled as he wrapped Bo Mi in a towel.

“To be by your side and do that for you.”

He wanted to be someone she could rely on, someone strong for her even when she was vulnerable.

“Jae Kyung… It’s too much for me.”

She couldn’t understand why such a perfect man liked her. A pathetic woman still wandering because of memories of an old love…

Moreover, even if she accepted him, she couldn’t show him everything.

Bo Mi pursed her lips, thinking of her mother Han Ga Eul.

Would he still look at her the same way if he knew the truth that Bo Mi’s mother was the woman rumored to be the mistress who fell off a cliff with Do Jae Kyung’s father, Do Won Il?

Bo Mi feared the moment when Jae Kyung’s unwavering love would change.

“You’re too good for me too.”

Jae Kyung felt anxious that the Han Bo Mi in front of him might melt away into the night at any moment. He wanted to hold onto her somehow.

“You asked me to take it off earlier, right?”

“What? No, that was…”

Should she ask him to forget about it now?

“I didn’t get my reward earlier…”

“That timing was…”

“Okay.”

Bo Mi cupped her flushed cheeks in embarrassment.

“I’ll take it off as you want, so give me my reward.”

“Wait…”

Before Bo Mi could finish speaking, Jae Kyung unbuttoned his wet shirt one by one and threw it off.

His wet skin glistened in the soft light reflected on the terrace.

Bo Mi’s gaze followed down below his seemingly firm chest muscles. Her heartbeat loudly and her breath caught.

“Do you like it?”

Jae Kyung asked teasingly as he pulled Bo Mi’s hand to stand her up.

“You can look closely if you want.”

“Ah… no. I mean…”

Bo Mi couldn’t find the words, but she couldn’t take her eyes off Jae Kyung’s body.

The scar of Nakwon above the pubic bone. There was no way she wouldn’t recognize the scar on the body of the person she loved and had been intimate with many times.

Moving her gaze a little lower, below the pubic bone, was just embarrassing.

“Just a moment.”

Her fingers carefully touched near Jae Kyung’s stomach and pulled away.

Every time they brushed over his skin, Jae Kyung felt a hot sensation inside his body.

Asking me to endure this?

It was as if his body was telling him to embrace her right away.

Jae Kyung took a deep breath. The muscles on his stomach rippled, touching Bo Mi’s fingers and then pulling away.

“Ha…”

Bo Mi exhaled a hot breath.

“Thank you, Jae Kyung.”

“So, do I pass?”

He grasped her fingertips as they pulled away from his skin. Their heated gazes met.

“As promised, don’t run away and don’t deceive yourself.”

Jae Kyung whispered in her ear as he pulled her fingertips closer.

“Tell me your honest feelings.”

Bo Mi leaned her forehead against him, shivering slightly.

“Jae Kyung.”

He… Bo Mi’s voice trembled.

He wasn’t Nakwon. There wasn’t even a trace of a scar above his pubic bone. Only a hot sensation remained like an afterimage on the smooth skin that touched her fingertips.

The man before her eyes was Do Jae Kyung, and Bo Mi didn’t love him because he was Nakwon.

She liked Jae Kyung, not Nakwon.

Along with a deep inhale, she swallowed all the emotions that had been confusing her heart.

“I like you too.”

Jae Kyung couldn’t contain the smile spreading across his face with joy. The dimple that Bo Mi loved appeared prettily at the corner of his mouth.

“If you’re serious about our relationship.”

Bo Mi gazed at Jae Kyung with trembling eyes.

“Let’s give it a try.”

“Bo Mi.”

Jae Kyung embraced her in his arms as if he couldn’t wait any longer.

“Ah…”

Bo Mi’s cheek touched Jae Kyung’s skin. Her heart raced at the breathtakingly familiar scent.

“Let me hold you like this for a bit.”

Her permission made him happier than anything. The feelings for Bo Mi that he couldn’t give up on despite being rejected several times had finally come to fruition.

My woman, my wife. The words he had used to avoid the situation now seemed like they would really come true.

“Jae Kyung…”

Bo Mi was still cautious, but she decided to focus on her present emotions rather than future concerns.

She felt sorry for Nakwon, but she could no longer hide these feelings for Jae Kyung.

Just as she had let go of her feelings for Nakwon, which had been such a great love for Bo Mi, in time…

These feelings for Jae Kyung would also fade away naturally as time passed.

Bo Mi comforted herself, feeling guilty towards Jae Kyung, thinking she could end this love too without revealing her mother’s existence.

“Bo Mi.”

Jae Kyung smiled and tightened Bo Mi’s towel securely.

“Shall we go to the room?”

“What? The room?”

Although this wasn’t her first experience, wasn’t it moving too fast?

“I undressed, so now it’s your turn.”

Jae Kyung gently wrapped his arm around Bo Mi’s shoulders, smiling playfully.