II - 78

I-ryeong wrapped her legs around his shoulders and pulled him closer. As his knees bent, he came closer to her.

Seeing the desire in her husband’s eyes only heightened her excitement.

“When that bastard came to the store…”

Lee Jun lifted the hand that had been rubbing her below. His hand, drenched in clear fluid, was simply obscene.

I-ryeong couldn’t help but tremble.

“Why didn’t you call me? You should’ve called me right away.”

Lee Jun licked his own hand. As if savoring a sweet candy, he meticulously cleaned off the fluid with his tongue. Then, he gathered his fingers and thrust them into her.

“You’re such a… ah! You’re not someone who plays around.”

The intense stimulation made her hips jerk, but he pressed down on her lower abdomen with his other hand.

“The most important thing to me is Chae I-ryeong.”

“Honey… ah!”

His rapid movements stimulated her below. It felt as if his lower body was thrusting into her, and the trembling didn’t stop as he increased the pace.

“Thank you for telling me the truth, even if it was late.”

Thud. His belt fell to the floor with a sharp sound.

“Since I’m grateful, I should reward you, right?”

With one hand, he stimulated her, and with the other, he quickly removed his pants.

The blunt tip of his erection was fully exposed. Even the slightest touch seemed like it would make him ejaculate.

Lee Jun pulled his fingers out of her and immediately thrust his member inside.

“Ugh.”

His shaft slid in smoothly along the well-prepared path.

“Today, I’m just going to go all out.”

“Ah, ah…”

I-ryeong, completely overwhelmed, could only moan.

“Feel how hot I am.”

He lifted her legs onto his shoulders again and began thrusting rapidly.

He planned to finish what he had been holding back earlier and then move on to the main event.

On a weekend afternoon, I-ryeong ended up accompanying Lee Jun to a prior engagement.

He didn’t explain what the appointment was or where they were going.

“Curious?”

Taking his hand off the gear, he tapped her cheek playfully.

“Does it say ‘curious’ on my face?”

“Yes, I’m curious. Where are we going that you’re taking me along?”

“It’s a secret.”

Seeing him in a playful mood, she decided not to press further. If it were something bad, he wouldn’t have brought her along in the first place.

I-ryeong trusted him completely and took in the scenery outside.

When had the leaves fallen, and when had winter crept so close? She realized how quickly time had passed since they became a couple.

After driving for a while, the car slowed down in front of a building and soon came to a stop.

“Where is this?”

I-ryeong unbuckled her seatbelt and looked at the building.

“The place for today’s appointment. Shall we get out?”

“This is the appointment location?”

Before she could ask more, she was pulled out of the car by his hand. Without a chance to look around the high-rise building housing various clinics, they entered a café on the first floor.

Despite it being the weekend, the café was quiet.

She wondered if they were going on a café date and felt a surge of anticipation.

“Ah, Director!”

A well-dressed elderly man greeted Lee Jun warmly as he approached.

“It’s been half a year, hasn’t it? Long time no see.”

“I should’ve called to check in more often. I’m sorry.”

Who was this? If it had been half a year, it was during their marriage. And why was he calling her husband “Director”? I-ryeong stared at the elderly man, unable to shake her confusion.

The elderly man, with his graying hair, kept bowing.

What was going on? She looked at her husband, hoping for an explanation.

“This is my wife.”

Lee Jun introduced her.

“Ah, the madam? You’re beautiful.”

The elderly man bowed deeply and extended his hand for a handshake.

“Thank you.”

Thinking it was just a polite gesture, I-ryeong smiled lightly and shook his hand.

“Please, have a seat, Director Cho.”

“Ah, Director? I haven’t been a director in a long time. As I’ve said before, please just call me comfortably.”

Director and Director. What was their relationship? While she was still puzzled, the elderly man’s constant bowing to her husband made her uncomfortable.

What kind of relationship did they have that made him so subservient? She wondered if her husband had some kind of debt relationship with him and kept an eye on the situation.

“How long is our contract valid for?”

As soon as they sat down, Lee Jun got straight to the point. He didn’t forget to hold his anxious wife’s hand tightly.

“The contract is renewed every three months. Why do you ask, Director?”

The elderly man was so nervous that he began to fumble.

I-ryeong was scared, thinking there might be some lifelong contract between them.

She was dying to know what kind of dealings her husband had with this elderly man.

“I remember we added an additional clause. Did you bring the contract I mentioned on the way here?”

“Ah, yes, of course. I brought it on the way here.”

At the mention of a contract, I-ryeong’s eyes widened.

Thinking they might have actually entered into some sort of master-servant relationship, she turned her head to look at I-jun.

The couple’s hands, clasped together, tightened. It was because I-jun had signaled for her to relax, not to worry, and to trust him completely.

In an instant, that signal erased her anxiety as if it were a lie. Feeling comforted by his stability, she decided to quietly listen to her husband’s words and actions.

“President Cho.”

I-jun’s voice was icy cold, reminiscent of the sharp and chilling tone she’d heard from him in the past.

“No, sir. President? Please, don’t call me that.”

“Is that so? Then I’ll address you comfortably. Elder Cho Taepal.”

The old man was the manager of I-jun’s building. Since I-jun had personally bought it without going through a corporation, the manager had always referred to him as “President.”

“The reason I entrusted the building management to you, Elder, was because I believed that as the original owner, you would handle it well on your own.”

He had purchased five buildings in total. Their original owner was Cho Taepal.

When he first bought one building, it hadn’t been difficult. But as greed took over, he continued to buy more buildings at bargain prices, one after another, until his bank debt snowballed out of control.

He established a corporation and issued promissory notes, but the debt only grew larger.

With no other choice, he decided to sell all the buildings and put the five structures up on the market. However, no buyer appeared who could purchase all the buildings at once, as they were located in different cities.

After waiting for months, a savior appeared six months ago and bought all the buildings.

“I’m still managing them just as if they were my own.”

To Cho Taepal, Seojun Lee was like a savior.

Though he had lost all his assets, I-jun had provided relief when he needed it most, even giving him a salary and entrusting him with building management.

“Did something go wrong? I checked everything today, and there weren’t any issues.”

“You’ve done well, President Cho. But I found a rat.”

I-ryeong, having inferred their relationship to some extent from their conversation, cast her gaze into the air. She was flustered because she hadn’t expected it to be such a clear-cut hierarchical relationship.

“Would you care to take a look at this?”

“Huh? What is it?”

I-jun pulled a business card from the inner pocket of his jacket and placed it on the table. He slid it toward Cho Taepal, telling him to take a good look.

“T-this is!”

“Did you entrust your son with the building management?”

“No, President! I didn’t give it to my son! I swear!”

As the atmosphere grew tense, I-ryeong’s gaze shifted toward Cho Taepal, where she noticed the business card in his hand. It was unmistakably the same card that Jo Dongha had given her a few days ago.

“Do you see the address on the card? It seems the owner of this card has been using my building as if it were his own.”

“W-where did you get this card?”

Cho Taepal trembled with barely contained anger.

“Does it matter where I got it? What matters more is why this was made. Ah, look who’s here now.”

Following I-jun’s words, both I-ryeong and Cho Taepal turned their attention toward the café entrance.

“Hey, I told you not to come! Why did you follow me?”

“That thing—your husband called me here, didn’t he? I wanted to see what your new husband looks like. Since we’re over, I figured I should ask about something else.”

Despite claiming they had broken up, the two clung to each other like cockroaches as they entered the café.

It was Dongha and Ari.

“That friend gave it to my wife, I hear. Did he ask her to become his lover?”

“W-what nonsense is this!”

Finally, Cho Taepal shot up from his seat and hurried over.

“Dad? What are you doing here?”

“Am I even your father, you wretched brat!”

“What are you talking about!”

Dongha shouted loudly, drawing the attention of the few customers present.

“Why are you still carrying around that thing?”

“Mister! Don’t talk like that! What do you mean ‘thing’? You’re making me uncomfortable!”

Cho Taepal unleashed his fury, heedless of the customers’ stares.

“Uncomfortable? Listen here, kid. If you want respect, pay back my money right now! The 500 million won you took for marrying her!”

“Ahh, I said I’d pay you back when I can! How am I supposed to pay you back if I don’t have the money? Should I sell an organ or something?”

“I gave you that money for marriage, not gambling!”

So he had extorted money from Dongha’s father under the pretense of marriage? As the three of them argued, I-ryeong felt a headache coming on.

“And you, you little punk. Get over here right now!”

“Ahh, it hurts! Stop, it hurts!”

Cho Taepal grabbed his son’s head tightly and dragged him over to the couple.

“Get down on your knees!”

“Dad!”

Only then did Dongha realize I-ryeong was also present, and he shouted loudly.

“You can’t kneel? Then I’ll help you kneel. Beg properly, right now!”

Cho Taepal kicked his son hard in the shin, causing Dongha to collapse onto the floor with a thud.

“Apologizing won’t do any good.”

“President, please show mercy just this once. I beg of you.”

Next to Dongha, Cho Taepal also knelt down, pleading desperately.

“I’m replacing the building manager.”

“P-President! Then how am I supposed to make a living?”

“By next week, the building owner will change from me to my wife.”

The person most shocked by her husband’s bombshell announcement was I-ryeong.