The two people facing each other at the front of the long dining table continued their dinner, occasionally exchanging light questions and answers.

“I saw it while coming downstairs, is the portrait hanging in the middle of the stairs of you and your family?”

“It’s a painting from when I was very young, but you recognized my face well?”

“Your face looks the same now as it did then, it would be strange not to recognize it.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

So Yeon nodded her head once and replied briefly.

She was surprised to see how much Tae Seo Jun’s younger self resembled her son. But she couldn’t say that out loud.

“You’re eating well. It seems to suit your taste?”

Seo Jun, who had neatly placed his cutlery on the edge of the plate, picked up a crystal glass with red liquid swirling inside.

“There’s no real like or dislike for beef steak. Moreover, I’m always grateful to eat meat.”

She pretended it wasn’t a big deal in words, but it was especially delicious today. As if to prove it, her plate was already completely empty.

But it was understandable. She had taken a nap while traveling long distance and even eating wasn’t very satisfying. Because of that, sleep and appetite, the so-called basic human survival instincts, had kicked in.

However, So Yeon’s ears turned red when she heard from the white butler she encountered in front of the dining room that dinner time had been delayed somewhat because the young master had instructed not to wake her while she was sleeping soundly.

It felt like Seo Jun had caught her being both a sleepyhead and a big eater in quick succession.

So Yeon washed away her embarrassment by taking a sip of red wine, and redirected the focus on her to a different direction.

“You’ve been speaking informally for a while now. Even in front of others.”

“I prefer it to be comfortable. Why, does my way of speaking bother you?”

Every time he spoke, Seo Jun’s Adam’s apple moved sexily. So Yeon slightly furrowed her brow as if scolding her gaze that had unconsciously stopped there, and gulped down more wine.

However, contrary to her will, So Yeon’s gaze flowed further down and stopped at his broad and firm chest that was undeniably masculine.

Seo Jun was perfect in his stylish white silk shirt and black slacks ensemble, with a relaxed demeanor to match. Moreover, the well-sculpted chest slightly revealed between the three unbuttoned buttons of his shirt was incredibly tempting.

Did this man know?

What he was doing to me right now.

How much he was captivating me even though he wasn’t doing anything.

How much his alluring gaze was pulling me towards a dangerously precarious place.

This was what endless human desire was like. After satisfying insufficient sleep, she had been hungry. Now that that hunger was resolved, another desire was dominating all her thoughts.

With difficulty, So Yeon tore her gaze away from his chest and shook her head as she said,

“It’s not bothersome. I was just curious so I asked.”

Actually, she liked it. The low voice that penetrated her ears. So Yeon liked everything madly, from his elegant way of speaking to the mysterious smile playing on his clear lips.

“It doesn’t sound bad……”

You must have been thinking of me while being curious.

Seo Jun tilted his glass and slowly swallowed the red wine with his red lips.

The white butler and two servants entered the dining room.

Seo Jun, who stood up from the table along with So Yeon, greeted the servants saying the meal was delicious and thanked them for working until late, instructing them to go home now.

His Spanish was as fluent as a native speaker. Well, what couldn’t someone with both brains and wealth do? Doesn’t environment shape a person? There was no need to be surprised anew.

Seo Jun grabbed So Yeon’s hand boldly as if not caring about others’ eyes and left the dining room.

Led by Seo Jun, So Yeon moved to a quiet study on the first floor.

It seemed they would practice the script here.

Seo Jun seated So Yeon in an armchair near the fireplace where someone had cozily lit a fire, and sat down next to her. The gap between the two sitting side by side was so close that their bodies would have touched if not for the armrests of the chairs.

After a while, Seo Jun, with his elbow resting on his crossed leg, held the script in his hand, and So Yeon, in the same position, did not take her eyes off the script. A period of silence continued as they each looked over their roles.

The osmanthus fragrans that blooms profusely in the garden of the main house in Gahoe-dong in autumn.

The scent of Eom So Yeon, resembling that flower, tickled Seo Jun’s sense of smell.

He knew it was originally a sweet scent, but today it felt even sweeter, making Seo Jun feel irritated. But it was not a scent he wanted to distance himself from at all, rather one he wanted to greedily inhale completely until it disappeared.

“Does Ms. Eom So Yeon swim well?”

Seo Jun’s first question after entering the study was about underwater filming. So Yeon, who had naturally been keeping that part in mind, smiled brightly and answered.

“I’m not bad. But that scene was quite long, I’m not sure how to endure in the water.”

“The staff will take care of that on set, but it’s a scene that could become dangerous, so Ms. Eom So Yeon should also be fully prepared. Let’s practice tomorrow.”

“Can we really? I was worried because it’s been a long time since I’ve been in the water.”

“Something that’s ingrained in the body doesn’t easily disappear. It’s imprinted on instinct the moment you acquire it.”

The yacht dock was right in front of the mansion. So Yeon had caught a glimpse of the magnificent yacht docked there through the window. It was much larger than a regular yacht.

Although she hadn’t come to enjoy herself, So Yeon was excited by Seo Jun’s suggestion. Just imagining the white yacht floating on the blue sea made her heart flutter like a child waiting for a field trip day.

However, as So Yeon was skimming through the underwater scene, she suddenly couldn’t continue speaking as she read the stage directions on the next page.

It was about So Yeohwa slowly dying as she sank into the water, but in fact, more than dying, having to express all the deep emotions while sharing a tender kiss with Ki Cheonyul before dying seemed like no ordinary task even just imagining it.

It wasn’t that she didn’t know, but seeing that scene in front of Tae Seo Jun made So Yeon’s face flush hot as she fidgeted with the script and mumbled softly.

“Th-there was a line somewhere here……”

But no matter where she looked, most of it was intense love scenes, making So Yeon’s face turn even redder in various ways of embarrassment.

Thus, Eom So Yeon’s main role in was to show intense melodrama.

There were even several intimate scenes of being in bed with Ki Cheonyul. In other words, it was up to the rookie actress Eom So Yeon, not Oh Min Jung, to navigate risky levels for the sake of romance in the drama.

Seo Jun, who had been quietly watching So Yeon fumbling alone trying to find the section to practice with him today, chuckled.

“Why, not confident?”

“Wh-what?”

“Kissing me.”

Seo Jun’s intense gaze stuck to the small, plump lips pretending to be nonchalant. Not just stuck, but like a magnet.

“The kiss scene, well, can’t we just leave it to my future self……”

Seo Jun brought his face very close to So Yeon, who was trying to gloss over the rest of her words, and laughed softly.

“Just?”

“Ah, no, why are you nitpicking? I’m saying that practice is less important than the actual performance.”

“The actual performance is important. But you’re already looking for a mouse hole to hide in. Someone who should have kissed quite a bit is so shy they don’t know what to do.”

“……!”

What is this man saying! But she couldn’t refute. It’s not something to brag about that her first and last kiss was 4 years ago.

So Yeon’s stiff expression, having been caught off guard, didn’t easily relax.

“Someone like that talks about actual performance? Are you saying you’ll just make the staff suffer throughout filming while pretending and getting through it carelessly? Is that the attitude of an actor who says they’ll work hard? Who will take responsibility for the low-quality unfit for a drama with hundreds of billions invested?”

“……”

Who else. It would be me who couldn’t properly act out the assigned role. And there would absolutely be no next chance for such a me.

His words were a hundred percent right. So Yeon, whose mind had been sharply focused by Seo Jun’s rebuke, pressed her lips together.

“There is no real me in acting. Isn’t that the mindset of a professional actor? Who was it that said they would use me? It’s acting. You should use it properly at times like this.”

“……”

It’s all correct, but doesn’t this man also know that her hesitation isn’t just because of acting? Her small hands clenched into fists, not wanting to be mocked anymore.

“I’ll do it! I just have to do it, right?!”

As So Yeon raised her voice as if shouting, Seo Jun uncrossed his legs with a relaxed smile and leaned back, crossing his arms solemnly as if saying he’d watch and see.

“Then, let’s see you do it.”

Closing his eyes was a sign that he would stay still, so do it with conviction. At least as much as her current determination. If she wanted to become a professional actor, then according to that will.

“I’ll do it, but……”

So Yeon approached Seo Jun and bent her waist as she spoke.

“I’ll do it, but… don’t open your eyes, okay?”

So Yeon was trembling finely from the sound of her soft exhales to her eyelashes.

“If that’s what you want.”

However, Seo Jun’s expression, with just a slight nod of his chin, remained as calm as a still water surface. His smooth voice was the same.

But why only me. He’s not affected at all, so why am I the only one stupidly trembling? It’s just a kiss. It’s not like my lips will melt away. Moreover, it’s just practice.

“I’ll do it.”

So Yeon took a deep breath with a “hoo” and lightly pressed her lips, which she had brought close to Seo Jun’s lips. And just as she pressed gently, that’s when it happened.

“!”

“!”

Perhaps she had underestimated the kiss too much. The moment their lips overlapped, So Yeon was startled. Because what was meant to be just a little touch ended up being too deep. Because her heart sank with a thud at the feeling of being sucked in as if being absorbed.

The moment the moist sensation touched his lips, Seo Jun’s brow twitched.

Unlike thinking a kiss is just a kiss, his closed eyes flashed open for an instant.

It felt like the pit of his stomach had dropped.

There had been several opportunities to kiss before, but it had never led to a real kiss.

Therefore, it was their first kiss since meeting again.

So how could he be insensitive, how could he be indifferent?

But Seo Jun quickly regained his composure and tilted his head slightly as he slowly opened his closed eyes. True to his reputation as a master of kissing, he didn’t forget to give advice about the kiss scene.

“If you think about the angle the camera comes in, you should tilt this much to make it look good.”

“I-I told you not to open your eyes… hup!”

So Yeon’s mouth, which had let out a rough breath, was blocked again before she could even spit out a few words.

The hot heat that spread from Seo Jun’s skin was transmitted to So Yeon. Her body temperature also rose at a terrifying speed, to the point where it was indistinguishable whose heat had ignited first. No matter how much it was acting practice, this was a real kiss.

Nevertheless, So Yeon wrapped her arms around Seo Jun’s neck without backing down. It was partly because her spine was tingling from maintaining an awkward posture, but also because once his lips touched hers, she felt even more greedy.

“I-is this okay?”

“……”

Why ask after already doing it? Instead of answering, Seo Jun gently wrapped his large hand around So Yeon’s waist. And that’s when it happened.

“…Uh, oops!”

Collapsing happened in an instant. So Yeon’s weakened legs landed on Seo Jun’s thighs. She had completely sat down.

Finding herself in an ambiguous situation where she could neither stand up nor continue sitting, So Yeon carefully looked at Seo Jun’s expression and said,

“Shall we stop here for today?”

“……”

He raised his eyebrows as if to say do as you wish, but thick veins were already clearly protruding on the back of Seo Jun’s hand. Unlike his reason, his instinct at this moment did not want to miss this chance, this opportunity.

“This position is good, why. How about trying again?”

“Again…?”

“It’s the first time I’ve become someone’s practice partner.”

Seo Jun slowly rubbed So Yeon’s lips, which were glistening with moisture, with his thumb.

“So you should work hard……”

So Yeon’s heart pounded like a giant stomping with all his might, unable to dare refuse Seo Jun’s blatant temptation. Because he was her first man she could never forget, the father of her child whom she wouldn’t mind giving everything to, and her last love.

Their gazes intertwined intensely in midair.

Seo Jun’s vision and mind were filled with only one person, Eom So Yeon.

“Eom So Yeon……”

Had he reached the end of the patience he had been enduring until now? Strong desire swirled in his deep black eyes.

“I feel like I’m going crazy. Because of you. So……”

Today you’ll have to take care of me.

He embraced her slender waist tightly. Seo Jun, who cupped So Yeon’s nape and the back of her head with one hand, was about to devour her small, parted lips in one bite.

“W-wait……”

“……?”

What stopped the beastly desire was, ridiculously, one weak finger. So Yeon, who had gently placed her finger on Seo Jun’s lips, said,

“From tomorrow. How can we do this while practicing? No matter how urgent, it’s cheating to waver from the first day of arriving here.”

Tae Seo Jun, who said he liked her. So Yeon, who had been so excited by his confession, felt that if she didn’t stop here, she would be the one who couldn’t be controlled. Nevertheless, leaving the possibility of “tomorrow” was her true feelings that would inevitably show through no matter how much she pretended otherwise.

As if trying to wedge into that gap, Seo Jun blew hot breath between her lips and said,

“Actually, I haven’t kissed in a long time either, so I need practice.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“Doubt is a disease too. It’s clearly in the script, so there’s nothing not to believe. If you really think I’m swaying you, you can stop me.”

“……”

What kind of nerve is this…….

He really speaks in a confusing way.

So Yeon couldn’t respond at all, as it was unreasonable to resist the temptation of a man for whom everything was foul play. Her heart desperately wanted him, while her head told her to stop him unconditionally as he approached with plausible excuses. It was while So Yeon’s head and heart were fighting like this.

Seo Jun lifted So Yeon up and sat her on the mahogany desk. Then he boldly showered her with kisses. Helplessly falling for the man who was pressing in without pause, So Yeon tightly grasped Seo Jun’s shirt.

As if she would truly die if she let go.