Tae Seo Jun did not make any threatening moves.

He was simply sitting in a relaxed posture with his back against the sofa. The aura emanating from his elegant and robust physique was the very essence of composure.

However, his gaze fixed on So Yeon was as cold and intense as if it could freeze and devour anything.

It wasn’t even the dead of winter but spring, and moreover, weren’t they indoors? So it was clear. This chill wrapping around her senses was because of this man.

Is this how a young beast feels when caught in a trap and about to be devoured? Overwhelmed by his gaze, So Yeon felt paralyzed all over and couldn’t even properly exhale the breath that had risen to her throat.

But love blooms even in war, and flowers blossom even in the mud. So Yeon’s complex emotions were just like that. Her chest was pounding as if it would tear, and what made her heart race even more was an intense flutter.

Get a hold of yourself, Eom So Yeon!

After being confused for a while, So Yeon abruptly stood up and straightened her legs.

“I’ll think about it. I’ll be going now.”

So Yeon, barely holding onto her reason, stretched her foot towards the suite’s entrance as soon as she finished speaking.

She must get out of here quickly.

She must run as far away as possible from Tae Seo Jun.

Because I’m more dangerous, being irresistibly drawn to the seducing Tae Seo Jun.

With only that thought in mind, So Yeon’s heart was more urgent than her hastily moving legs. And then it happened in an instant.

Thud!

“Ah!”

So Yeon’s body suddenly tumbled to the floor after just a few steps. The slightly long hem of her dress had been catching on her feet, and of all times, disaster struck at this urgent moment.

“Oh my!”

Seo Jun approached So Yeon, expressing concern at the unexpected turn of events.

“……”

Huff, this is really driving me crazy!

So Yeon couldn’t even lift her head, let alone stand up abruptly.

Thanks to the carpet she wasn’t hurt, but the impact of the fall had caused the back of her dress to tear open with a rip. As a bonus, one of her shoes had flown off towards the sofa when she fell. Having made such a scene all by herself, her embarrassment was beyond words.

Seo Jun’s gaze, having somehow picked up the shoe that had fallen to the floor, was fixed on her back.

“You should be more careful. Who’s trying to eat you?”

So Yeon was easily lifted up by Seo Jun’s hand.

Whoosh…

“Give it back, quickly!”

So Yeon, clutching the neckline of her dress with one hand, quickly tried to snatch the shoe from his hand with her other hand.

But Seo Jun’s movement, raising his long arm upwards, was much faster. This was clearly a case of demanding one’s belongings back from someone who had just rescued them from drowning.

Tilting his head slightly with a crooked smile, Seo Jun whispered softly into her ear.

“Why don’t you try to take it if you can? Don’t just throw a tantrum like a child.”

“…!”

To jest in such a serious situation!

The delicate hand firmly gripping the chest of the dress that would fall if let go trembled violently. She was thoroughly provoked.

“G-Give it here! Hurry!”

She tried to grab the shoe by raising her hand high, but the considerable height difference was still an obstacle. Like the reality where he was in a high place and she was in a low place. Because of this, her center of gravity suddenly shifted forward as she strained to jump and stand on her tiptoes.

“…!”

In that instant, Seo Jun’s arm moved swiftly, wrapping tightly around So Yeon’s slim waist and pulling her in.

“I didn’t intend for this, but it’s not bad.”

He had simply caught her without any ulterior motives as she was about to fall again. He hadn’t had any impure thoughts at all. But Seo Jun’s hand touching her frail body was very hot.

A man’s instinct that the body knows without needing to use the brain.

It was his body temperature rising rapidly with the desire to hold this woman more deeply.

So Yeon, feeling the heat from his large palm seeping directly into her waist, felt needlessly scared. That bottomless fear was voiced with a tone of resentment.

“Why are you really doing this? Do you hate me that much?”

“I told you. That I like you.”

“You expect me to believe that? You, who torment me like this? What on earth did I do so wrong for you to…”

Why wouldn’t there be anything wrong?

So Yeon closed her mouth in an instant.

She’s hiding the fact that it’s Tae Seo Jun’s child. She even said the child’s father was dead. To her parents and everyone who knows about the child. In fact, she herself was a tremendous liar.

However, there was room for excuse. It was all done for the better. Because it was a white lie that had to be told with tears held back, she decided to bury any feelings of guilt in the past.

“Even if I did something wrong long ago that made you angry, what could have remained after all this time? It was just one night! It’s already been years! There’s nothing between you and me!”

“……”

While So Yeon was pouring out her frustrations in detail, Seo Jun, kneeling on one knee on the floor, lowered his body and put the shoe on her small foot.

“…!”

So Yeon’s body suddenly stiffened at Seo Jun’s unexpected action.

“……”

Is there really nothing between us? Am I doing this to Eom So Yeon for no reason?

‘How do you walk with these feet?’

‘You’ve seen me walking well. Hehe, stop it!’

Your clear voice laughing brightly… That night, we were clearly lovers. At least in that moment when you and I laughed together.

Seo Jun gently caressed So Yeon’s ankle as he recalled that time.

“Ah, no, why…”

It was a gentle touch unlike the person who had been coldly pressing her just moments ago.

So Yeon, feeling strange from his warm gesture, could only stand still, rooted to the spot.

Seo Jun, slowly straightening his long legs to stand up, looked intently at So Yeon’s face and said:

“Shall I tell you honestly?”

“Tell me what?”

As So Yeon tilted her head slightly, Seo Jun spoke, intertwining his calm gaze with her wavering eyes.

“Because you’re pretty. Eom So Yeon looks really pretty.”

Whatever kind of woman you are, whatever you do… I’ll accept anything if it’s you…

“As much as I hate other men looking at you, that’s how much I like you.”

“H-How… How can you say such things so casually?”

“Then, should I say it while crying?”

“Ha… That’s not what I meant…”

What am I supposed to do? I already want to get closer to you, want to lean on you, what am I supposed to do! What about my heart that’s pounding so hard it hurts right now, my chest that feels like it’s about to burst!

As she poured out those words with sad eyes, Seo Jun cupped So Yeon’s cheek with one hand.

“Why. Are you finally remembering the old times a bit?”

“It must be a memory no bigger than a speck of dust.”

“You’re denying it again.”

“……”

So, why… Why do you keep shaking me?

How much time have you and I let slip by…

Her eyelashes trembled, but she didn’t have the emotional capacity to care about that. The texture of her brown eyes, scrutinizing Seo Jun’s face, revealed a deep yearning. As if desperately wishing for something from him that she could only keep deep in her heart.

His large eyes, seeming to contain the stars of the universe, were rose-colored.

Her long hair, disheveled from the fall, covered her white neckline and shoulders. So Yeon’s face, feeling unexpectedly tender at Seo Jun’s fingertips tucking her hair behind her ear, unconsciously tilted towards him.

Cold, mischievous, warm, she couldn’t tell which of his ever-changing faces was real.

However, even if she knew this man’s true feelings, it would be meaningless to So Yeon.

Although she desperately wanted to approach him, she couldn’t take a single step forward in the face of a past that couldn’t be unrelated to the present, and things that shouldn’t be said or heard.

“I’m going.”

Just as So Yeon was about to take a weak step after breaking free from Seo Jun’s arms.

“Don’t go.”

“!”

Seo Jun suddenly embraced So Yeon’s back as she turned away.

So Yeon, who still had to leave, shook off Seo Jun’s arms wrapped around her body. However, the man’s strength firmly binding her chest area was not easily loosened.

“…Don’t go, I said.”

“……”

Tears suddenly welled up and rolled down both of So Yeon’s cheeks as she turned her back.

Seo Jun spoke in an even deeper voice.

“Stay the night. Let’s be together.”

“I haven’t answered yet, are you already trying to sway me?”

“Maybe.”

“Not today. You said to answer your proposal by tomorrow. You should give me time to think.”

As So Yeon cut him off sharply, Seo Jun chuckled.

Because the shape of her speaking lips was cute. Because it was quite cunning how her eyes, full of melancholy, shook her head left and right as if that wasn’t the case. Because even though he couldn’t be harsh to this woman, it wasn’t so bad that he wasn’t like himself.

“You don’t seem to realize, but if you leave here looking like this…”

Seo Jun’s gaze swept So Yeon from head to toe and then back up again.

“It would be troublesome for you, Eom So Yeon, but what would it be for me?”

“If it bothers you that much, just lend me a coat.”

So Yeon knew too. That if people saw her torn dress and disheveled appearance, they would likely assume she had been through something terrible.

“Don’t say that and just stay. I promise. I absolutely won’t touch you.”

“Why don’t you also say we’ll just hold hands while sleeping?”

“Then I’ll say it again. I think I’d like to hug you at least.”

“……”

Ha, I can’t live like this…

Is this what the devil’s temptation is like? As he whispered in a low voice with a playful tone, So Yeon unconsciously tensed her plump lips, trying to hold back the laughter that was about to escape helplessly. Interpreting that expression as anger, Seo Jun corrected himself again.

“I’ll really just hold your hand while sleeping.”

“As if that would make me feel good? I’m a woman too, it’s like being disregarded by a man…!”

Oops, I’ve finally gone crazy!

Her honest feelings had burst out unconsciously. But once words are spoken, they can’t be taken back. So Yeon, quickly biting her lips that had moved on their own, blushed.

“It’s not disregard, it’s restraint.”

Seo Jun said with a smile playing on his lips, and So Yeon questioned him as if to make up for her mistake.

“Tae Seo Jun! Who are you? Where has the person I knew gone?”

“You’ve been calling me Director all this time, and now you’re finally using the proper form of address.”

“You didn’t think I called you by name because I was upset?”

“If that’s the case, I should keep making you upset. Thanks. For teaching me a good method.”

“Ah, really…!”

The conversation between the two, like a war of words, continued endlessly for a while. Their gazes, biting and being bitten, didn’t back down an inch.

So Yeon burst into laughter, unable to help herself, with the corners of her eyes crinkling.

Even young Hyun Woo has never been this unreasonable. But with the adult Tae Seo Jun constantly picking at her words, the images of the father and son oddly overlapped in So Yeon’s mind, making her think that if the gentle Hyun Woo were to act like his father, she really wouldn’t be able to handle it.

And that’s when it happened.

Beep…

At the cheerful bell sound ringing through the room, So Yeon’s eyes quickly turned towards the room door.

“Who… Was someone supposed to come?”

“Not that I know of.”

Seo Jun, raising one eyebrow in a round arc, immediately checked the intercom screen.

“It’s Mother.”

“Y-Your m-mother?”

“Aunt came with her too.”

It was overwhelming enough with Tae Seo Jun, but now she was about to face his mother and aunt as well.

In front of Seo Jun and his mother, wasn’t she an inevitable sinner?

So Yeon’s heart, which had sunk to the basement with a jolt, was seized by sudden embarrassment and frantically searched for a place to hide.

“W-What should I do?”

“Wait a moment.”

Seo Jun first covered So Yeon’s body with his own outer garment from the dressing room, hiding her damaged dress. The coat was far too big for her, like a child wearing her father’s clothes. However, the corners of Seo Jun’s mouth curled up in a wide smile.

“Not bad, in its own way.”

Regardless of her appearance, Eom So Yeon wearing his clothes was the most pleasing sight he had seen so far.