RB - 9

A golden Saturday morning.

Waking up reluctantly from a long sleep due to Biryu’s nagging, eating breakfast—this was Seoyeon’s typical weekend. Originally.

But with the damn “Shin Junghyeok” interfering in her life, Seoyeon found herself sacrificing even her precious weekends.

“Seriously, this is too much...”

While she muttered in frustration, the elevator in the luxury villa opened with a tack.

Seoyeon stared at the takeout bag from the porridge shop in her hand, reflecting on the text Shin Junghyeok had sent her the previous night.

—Assistant Manager Han Seoyeon, let’s meet at my place tomorrow. Just come to the address I gave you last time. Please bring me abalone porridge when you come, as I expect to be feeling a bit unwell.

Tack, the elevator doors opened again. Letting out a small sigh, Seoyeon stood before Junghyeok’s front door.

“Is this really necessary?”

She muttered quietly to herself, and noticing a few buttons undone on her blouse, she hastily buttoned it up all the way to her neck. Wearing a fluttery chiffon blouse, high heels, and painstakingly done makeup, Seoyeon felt pitiful about her own situation.

It was clear as day that she was losing this battle of wills. She raised her hand as if to knock, but suddenly kicked the front door forcefully.

Her toes hurt from wearing heels, but her sudden outburst was driven by her frustration at being controlled by Junghyeok.

“What the hell? You invite me over and don’t even open the door?”

Inside, there was complete silence, not even a sound. Seoyeon, frustrated, put the porridge shop’s takeout bag down on the floor and crossed her arms.

She considered ringing the doorbell but instead knocked hard on the door with her fists, her movements harsh, more like pounding on the door than knocking.

At that moment, the door creaked open, and Junghyeok appeared, his hair still damp from a shower, his lower body covered by a towel.

“You’re here?”

His sculpted chest muscles, still glistening with water, were visible. As he opened the door wide and straightened his back, his muscles seemed to come alive, moving as though they had a will of their own.

Seoyeon took a step back unconsciously, glaring at him.

“Hey, this is sexual harassment. You’re not at all attractive, and you look like some exhibitionist. Muscles made from hard labor are impressive, but do you think women like muscles built at the gym?”

As she spoke longer than she intended, Seoyeon suddenly bit her lip, realizing she had said too much. When you speak too much, your true intentions can slip out.

Normally, Seoyeon was calm and articulate, a skilled PR manager. Yet, in front of Shin Junghyeok, she had let herself ramble, revealing her discomfort.

She decided that she wouldn’t show weakness any longer. Pushing the takeout bag into Junghyeok’s chest, she walked into his house without waiting for an invitation.

While Junghyeok went back into the bathroom to dry his hair, Seoyeon sat heavily on the living room sofa, talking to herself.

“…Did he just move in to live here temporarily?”

The spacious apartment was furnished minimally, to the point of being empty. Through the half-open bedroom door, she could see his bed, neatly made with white linens that looked like they belonged in a hotel.

Thinking about it, the cleanliness seemed more like the work of a housekeeper than Junghyeok himself. Seoyeon, irritated by the rich landlord Junghyeok, sank deeper into the sofa.

The darkened living room, with its low lighting, made Seoyeon naturally drift off to sleep.

When Junghyeok emerged from the bathroom, he saw Seoyeon asleep. Without hesitation, his steps led him to her.

He could feel the soft rhythm of her breathing as she slept. Junghyeok looked at her delicate features, lost in thought.

He, who was dull to emotions like sadness, a flawed human being who should fade away...

Why, then, did he feel such intense sadness in front of Seoyeon?

During his time abroad, his psychiatrist friend had given him this advice:

“Maybe it’s because you want her so badly, but you know you can’t have her, so you feel sad in advance.”

As his breath hovered over Seoyeon’s nose, she quickly awoke.

Seeing Junghyeok’s face right in front of her, Seoyeon gasped and pushed his chest away with both hands. An unfamiliar scent of skin washed over her like a tidal wave.

“Han Seoyeon. Do you know what happens when someone like me gets cheated on in my own house?”

Just as Seoyeon was about to retort, asking what he was talking about, Junghyeok’s hand roughly pulled her by the back of her neck. Before she could refuse, his tongue forced its way into Seoyeon’s lips. The musk scent mixed with the smell of cigarettes dominated the space, and her red lips swelled from the violent kiss.

Then, Junghyeok rolled up her H-line skirt, stroking the inside of her smooth thigh. Seoyeon’s head tilted back at the ticklish, unfamiliar sensation. As if satisfied with her reaction, Junghyeok’s hand delved even deeper, and his fingers slid over her embarrassingly damp, thin panties.

“Hiss!”

A suppressed groan escaped Seoyeon’s lips in shock. The moment she realized that the hard object pressing against her knee was undoubtedly Junghyeok’s “that,” Seoyeon felt a strong sense of crisis.

As Seoyeon twisted her body and struggled, the lewd nightmare from a few days ago filled her mind.

Junghyeok slowly let her go. A cold voice flowed from his cruelly curved lips.

“This is what happens when you cheat. Be careful.”

Her resolve not to be flustered again today had already been broken. Seoyeon said in a resentful voice.

“I clearly said I have no intention of playing around with you in bed. I also said I’m not taking payment from you.”

Junghyeok desired Seoyeon to the point of feeling preemptive sadness, and that greed was as purely one-sided as it could be.

Sadness for someone lacking emotions? At the ridiculous unpleasantness, Junghyeok spat sharp words at Seoyeon.

If he couldn’t have her, he could at least remain a man who had influence over her.

“Han Seoyeon, who loves money, if you bet a little harder, I with you...”

Stopping mid-sentence, Junghyeok smiled arrogantly, gesturing towards the bedroom with his chin.

“I think it’s only a matter of time before you go in there, right?”

Seoyeon trembled with anger, her shoulders shaking. At the same time, she repeated to herself that she wouldn’t cry. If tears flowed here, nothing could be more miserable than that.

This appearance of Seoyeon instantly scattered the unpleasant feeling of “sadness” that Junghyeok had felt. Only then did he give a satisfied smile and walk towards the kitchen.

Junghyeok began to set the table, pouring the porridge that Seoyeon had bought into a glass bowl.

Clink, clink. The sound of marble and glass colliding created a clear, sharp sound.

A neat table setting was completed in an instant, and Junghyeok called to Seoyeon, who was beyond his gaze, in a friendly tone. It was an attitude no different from that of a warm lover.

“Seoyeon, let’s eat porridge. You have a cold. If you don’t come, you’ll have to see my face up close again, because I’ll come get you.”

Seoyeon sat down at the table with an expression as if nothing had happened. The single serving of porridge was for Seoyeon, and in front of Junghyeok, who sat opposite her, was a warm Americano.

In reality, if Seoyeon was a woman who valued her pride, she wouldn’t have made a deal with Junghyeok in the first place.

Therefore, there was no reason not to eat this porridge that Junghyeok had set out as if doing her a favor. Considering she had to cater to that bastard’s whims today, it was right to fill her stomach.

At the sight of Seoyeon eating the porridge heartily without a single refusal, Junghyeok chuckled.

Seoyeon stopped eating and stared at his face at the sound of his laughter.

From the center of his thick eyebrows to his well-defined nose, sliding down his philtrum to his arrogant lips. A little further down, it connected to his masculine Adam’s apple.

He clearly had an objectively attractive appearance, but Seoyeon was grateful that she wasn’t a dizzying, looks-obsessed person.

She asked Junghyeok in a dry voice.

“You called me because of the arranged dates, right? To have me ruin them.”

“As expected of JB Company’s ace, Deputy Han Seoyeon. You’re very quick on the uptake.”

“What kind of scenario do you want me to play out? Should I suddenly barge in and grab onto your pants leg? Or should I lie and say I have a child?”

“Just, sit next to me once.”

“Is that all you think it takes? In dramas, they make a huge fuss, fighting and shouting about being the father of the child…”

Junghyeok lifted one side of his mouth into a smirk, his voice calm.

“Just looking at your face would make those women’s hearts crumble.”

Seoyeon, feeling embarrassed, quickly wiped her mouth with her hand, and Junghyeok added:

“I’ve always wondered. Why do people bother buying fresh flowers, only to put them in a vase where they wilt so quickly? It’s like this... But looking at you, I think I understand. It’s impossible to buy a whole rose garden, so they cut a few and want to own them for just a short while.”

“…So, you want to cut me, make me yours, even if I wilt soon? You’re saying this nonsense in front of me while I’m eating?”

“If I could.”

Seoyeon was left dumbfounded and let out a loud sigh, stretching her neck from side to side to loosen up. Her neck was stiff from dealing with Junghyeok.

“Listen well, Shin Junghyeok. First, I’m definitely beautiful, but I’m not a flower. Comparing women to flowers is a outdated way of thinking, so keep that in mind. Second, even if I were a flower, you can’t cut me. I want to take root in quality soil and live for many years, not just wither away. So forget it.”

“Ha, that’s funny. Is that all?”

Seoyeon decided to threaten Junghyeok. The first strike is crucial.

“Third, let’s just talk about what we need to. Talking to you is practically a mental labor for me. If you keep blabbering nonsense, I’ll just leave, and you’ll end up alone, standing in the spot you wanted.”

Junghyeok, who had been smirking arrogantly, now showed a hint of disdain as he spoke.

“You know, Kim Biryu... Should I enroll her as a scholarship student in our foundation? We have a private educational foundation under the group. Seoyeon, you asked me to support her for both medical school and pre-med, right? Why wait? I found out she’s quite notorious for not even receiving proper tutoring... Kim Biryu.”

Seoyeon’s first strike didn’t win.

She looked at Junghyeok with hopeful eyes. Once again, if Seoyeon had placed her pride as the highest priority, she would never have started a deal with Junghyeok.

“Really? You’re actually going to do that? Will the foundation also cover her tutoring fees? Biryu is really good at studying, you know. I was thinking about getting her a tutor, but the fees were as much as my monthly salary. Are you really going to cover all of that?”

“Let’s see what happens today.”

Seoyeon decided to change her resolve.

“Not getting flustered” was already out the window, so now it was “Making Biryu a scholarship student in the foundation.”

At the same time, at Jinhyeok’s house.

Sitting at his desk in his study, Jinhyeok sifted through piles of documents, absentmindedly stroking his chin. He hadn’t shaved for a day, so his stubble felt rough.

Ignoring his father’s objections, he had joined JB Company. In return, his father, Chairman Shin Tae-myeong, had assigned Jinhyeok to review the final M&A proposals for the group.

A conservative family. After all, the successor would be his older brother, Shin Junghyeok, the eldest son.

Jinhyeok didn’t particularly mind that. But damn it, “Cafe’ L’Amant” and “Daniel Shin” were messing with his plans.

A murderous glint flashed across Jinhyeok’s eyes, and he rummaged through a drawer, taking out a few pills, which he swallowed with a glass of water.

The intense tension he radiated filled the quiet study, and the surge of resentment crushed his heart painfully.