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Psst! We're moving!
By the time Tae-ha’s car entered the narrow alley leading to Ji-soo’s house, she was still sound asleep. His desire to wake her and meet her eyes clashed with his wish to let her rest a little longer. In the end, the victor was always the choice that favored Ji-soo.
When even the faint hum of the engine disappeared, the car felt like it had been enveloped in silence. The only sound was Ji-soo’s rhythmic breathing, filling the space between them.
At the edge of that distant, peaceful expanse, Ji-soo opened her eyes. She blinked slowly, then turned her gaze toward Tae-ha. Looking at his face always made her feel as though the jagged, chaotic pieces inside her were settling back into place.
“Do you have some secret nighttime activity you’re hiding from me?”
Even as Tae-ha scolded her, Ji-soo yawned lazily, unfazed. Though she usually disagreed with his nagging, it was true that she’d been sleeping more lately, dozing off anywhere and everywhere.
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Ji-soo looked around at the darkened surroundings and tilted her head in confusion. Her expression silently asked why they had come to her house instead of her office apartment.
“I may be shameless, but I’m not heartless. I couldn’t carry someone who fell asleep in the car the moment they got in.”
By now, they had reached a point where they could read each other’s thoughts just by exchanging glances. Ji-soo suppressed her tender feelings and slung her bag over her shoulder.
“I feel better after that nap. I’m fine now. Are you still upset?”
“What?”
“It’s a studio apartment, so it’s small… but, well, my old room was tiny too, and we managed to do everything there. Want to come in?”
Her teasing eyes extended an invitation to him. She wasn’t angry or giving up like she usually did when she pushed him away. Tae-ha mulled over this sudden shift in Ji-soo’s demeanor.
Unable to endure the charged atmosphere and the exchange of sultry gazes, Ji-soo leaned toward the driver’s seat. Passing by his bulging center with deliberate intensity, she placed her hand on his thigh and brought her lips close to his ear.
“If you don’t like my place, we can do it here too.”
The soft whisper sent a surge through Tae-ha, making him feel as though he might burst.
“What’s wrong? Not feeling it today?”
As Ji-soo reached for the hardened proof of his arousal, Tae-ha quickly grabbed her wrist. There was definitely something else going on with her. He knew it, and though he understood he shouldn’t fall for her sweet temptation, his body refused to obey. If it was something he could handle himself, then maybe it didn’t matter.
When Tae-ha let go of her wrist, Ji-soo’s heated gaze lingered on his lips, chest, and lower abdomen before disappearing.
“Is this your first time seeing a place like this? This is how I live—in a dirty, cramped, bug-infested dump…”
Before Ji-soo could finish her strange introduction after stepping inside, Tae-ha pulled her waist closer and crushed his lips against hers. As he kissed her deeply, tasting her sweetness, his eyes darted around the small space, searching for somewhere to lay her down. Thanks to the compact size of the room, spotting the bed wasn’t difficult.
Tae-ha carried Ji-soo to the bed, kissing her while undressing her. But Ji-soo suddenly pushed against his chest with both hands.
“Haah, wait a moment.”
Something was clearly different about her tonight. Her pale complexion didn’t look good. Hadn’t she had a fever earlier? Was she really unwell? Concerned, Tae-ha reached out to stroke her face.
“I’m… fine now.”
Ji-soo brushed aside his affectionate touch with a defiant tone.
“Ji-soo, if you’re not feeling well…”
“Hurry, let’s do it now. I want to.”
Ji-soo lay back on the bed, spreading her legs and wrapping them around Tae-ha’s waist. At the weight of his presence, a soft moan escaped her lips without her realizing it. She turned her head to avoid his intense, lust-filled gaze, scanning the laptop, books, and desk calendar one by one.
Calendar, numbers, dates, cycles… Suddenly, the realization that she had skipped last month flashed through Ji-soo’s mind.
It couldn’t be. Tae-ha was meticulous about contraception, and she had been taking birth control pills too…
Wait, no—she had only taken them in the early stages of their relationship. After Tae-ha insisted he was being extra careful and told her to stop taking them, she had relied solely on condoms. How could this have happened?
Come to think of it, they hadn’t used protection every single time, but it had always been during what she thought were safe days. Still, she reminded herself that her cycle tended to be irregular when she was tired, and she’d been under a lot of stress recently…
But how could she explain the nausea and sudden increase in drowsiness? She was appalled at how late she was noticing these changes in her own body.
Tae-ha, who had been positioned between Ji-soo’s legs, sat up and grabbed the pajamas she had tossed at the foot of the bed. He helped her put them on.
“Not doing it?”
“That’s what I should be asking you. I don’t want to hold a woman who’s distracted by other thoughts.”
“No, I really want to do it.”
Tae-ha pressed firmly on Ji-soo’s shoulders as she tried to sit up abruptly, then lay down beside her.
Perhaps because they rarely lay side by side like this even in her office apartment, Ji-soo’s bed felt unusually small. But the closer proximity of skin and breaths made it quite an advantage.
“What’s going on?”
His tone sounded more like an interrogation rooted in certainty than curiosity. It was a warning wrapped in concern, as if to say, I already know everything about you, so spill your thoughts.
Ji-soo was frantic with anxiety, desperate to confirm what was happening to her body. What if she was pregnant? She didn’t want to trap Tae-ha this way. Maybe she could erase him from her life entirely, as if he had never existed, and vanish quietly.
“If something’s wrong… will you let me go?”
Tae-ha grabbed a strand of Ji-soo’s hair that flutteringly rested on her shoulder, then released it as he spoke.
“I already said it. That kind of thing won’t happen. Unless I die, maybe?”
He gently grasped her hair again and tugged lightly. Ji-soo winced slightly at the mild pain and was pulled closer to him. Nestled in his arms, she gazed up at him with tender eyes.
“Since I can’t die, let’s stop this.”
Tae-ha silenced her words by capturing her trembling lips with his own. He bit down on her soft flesh, savoring it before pulling away.
“Let’s break up.”
“No, on second thought, keeping you with me until death might be better than letting you go.”
As Ji-soo lowered her head, Tae-ha wasted no time in tilting her chin upward.
“I’ll do better. I’ll make sure you never think about breaking up again.”
Through Tae-ha’s heated breath, his world seeped into hers.
If the person who hurt your family was because of me, would you still reach out to me so desperately? Ji-soo smiled faintly and shook her head as she looked at him.
“No, I want to stop.”
Ji-soo slipped out of Tae-ha’s embrace and perched on the edge of the bed. Turning her back to him, she scanned the scattered clothes on the floor.
“I’m tired of Vice President Tae-ha’s predictable routines and positions. Maybe I’ll try dating a younger guy next time…”
A strong arm wrapped around her from behind. Tae-ha’s fervent lips descended onto her neck and shoulders.
“I’ll work on that too.”
Ji-soo tried to pry his arms off, but they wouldn’t budge. Her hollow gaze swept across the shabby room. The weight of all the ordinary days they had shared together hit her fully.
She wanted to bear the scars and pain alone, but to prevent dragging him into a deeper pit, she knew she had to cut things off here.
Turning to face him, Ji-soo met Tae-ha’s eyes. The reflection of herself in his gaze filled her with self-loathing. Clenching her trembling lips tightly, she finally spoke.
“My mom knows Chairman Cha. They’ve had a special relationship since long before I was born.”
Summoning the courage to say those words, Ji-soo braced herself for his reaction. Her pitiful gaze dropped to their intertwined hands.
He should have been shocked, angry, or dismissive—something. Instead, an unbearable silence stretched between them.
When Ji-soo looked up, Tae-ha, who had been gazing down at her, cupped her cheek and kissed her deeply. It was fast, intense, and full of passion—a kiss that suited him perfectly.
“Did I… hear you wrong just now?”
Tae-ha bit her lower lip playfully, then released it with a smirk. Ji-soo stared at him, bewildered by the meaning of that smile in this situation.
“I almost thought some random kid crawled out of nowhere…”
Muttering with gleaming eyes, Tae-ha resumed what he had been doing earlier. Ji-soo’s heated breath, freed from his kiss, trailed down her neck and chest.
“The reason Madam divorced Chairman Cha…”
“I know, I know.”
“What?”
Ji-soo looked at him blankly, stunned.
“You knew? Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“Maybe because I was afraid you’d react like this?”
Tae-ha gently lifted Ji-soo’s waist and laid her back on the bed.
“And yet you’re acting like nothing’s wrong?”
“How am I supposed to act? Even the people directly involved barely remember each other’s names. Why should we, as third parties, care?”
“But I… I can’t pretend everything’s fine like you do.”
As Ji-soo squirmed, the last thin layer of clothing was stripped away by Tae-ha’s hands.
“Then are you going to keep clinging to something that happened over 30 years ago? Let it go.”
“It’s not just idle talk or a joke. I’m serious.”
Tae-ha ran his palm over her flat stomach, smirking mischievously.
“If there’s a man in the universe more serious than me right now, tell him to step forward.”
Lowering his head, Tae-ha pressed his lips to Ji-soo’s belly. Overanalyzing the meaning of the kiss, Ji-soo bit her lip. If Tae-ha was overly sensitive, perhaps he had already sensed what was happening inside her.
“My secretary doesn’t want me, you refuse to date me openly, cohabitation is out of the question, and marriage isn’t even on the table. The only thing left is…”
Tae-ha traced circles with his fingers on her stomach, then moved lower.
“To keep you, I guess I’ll have to start by making a baby.”
With the determination of a woodsman, he lowered his heated lips.
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