Embedded Files
Psst! We're moving!
With Eyes Closed
Si-eun sipped her coffee as she looked at her older brother, Kang-joo, sitting across from her. She had come to find him during her lunch break, near his office.
Although Kang-joo had turned her down by saying he had a lunch appointment, she didn’t give up and had barged into his office to drag him out. If she didn’t push, her older brother would never be the one to suggest meeting first.
Pushing the empty coffee cup away, Si-eun spoke.
“…So, Dad said he wants to have dinner together tonight.”
“I can’t go.”
Si-eun pouted. Again. He didn’t want to. No matter how kindly and gently he spoke, it was always “No.” “Can’t.” “Won’t.” She was his sister by blood, after all. Even if they couldn’t be close, shouldn’t they at least not be treated like strangers?
Si-eun leaned forward on the table toward her brother.
“You know, right? Dad’s been pretty firm lately. Since you haven’t been responding, he said he’ll come to the office himself.”
“I know. Giseok keeps coming to the office with pictures.”
Kang-joo chuckled as he answered.
It had been like this in the past, but lately, Mr. Cha’s persistence had become even more intense. He was putting a lot of effort into finding a suitable marriage partner for Kang-joo.
His eyes would widen, and through his bodyguards, he would send multiple photos. These were supposed match-making candidates, complete with detailed profile files. The photos, along with the files, were shoved deep into one of the office drawers. Of course, Kang-joo had never bothered to look at them.
He had repeatedly said that he wasn’t interested in match-making, that he wasn’t ready yet. But it was clear that it didn’t matter. Mr. Cha was the type of person who would push through anything he set his mind to, no matter what reasons he had to invent. What was driving him this time?
It seemed clear that he felt a sense of urgency now that his mother, Yeong-hyeon, was actively searching for a good match. Mr. Cha probably felt threatened and wanted to ensure Kang-joo married someone who would be easy to control and manage.
So, Kang-joo had decided to ignore it. Until the stock succession was sorted out, he planned to lay low and then eventually pull out of the Seongang Group when the time came.
“Mom was really persistent last time too. She probably got more pushy after attending Uncle Jeong’s wedding.”
“Yeah.”
“Now she even asks me if I’m seeing anyone. She seemed like she’d force me to break up if I said I was seeing someone.”
“Are you seeing anyone?”
Kang-joo asked briefly, trying to steer the conversation back to Si-eun. Si-eun cleared her throat and shook her head.
It seemed like there was someone, but it was an ambiguous situation that she couldn’t explain easily to their parents or her brother. Still, Kang-joo decided not to dig deeper and let it slide.
Si-eun took a sip of water and continued.
“Anyway... Dad is serious about it. He seems particularly fixated on one of them... Apparently, she’s the daughter of a former police commissioner, and I heard she’s really interested in you. But I’m sure there are many women who are interested in you.”
Kang-joo smiled without responding.
Faced with his calm, warm demeanor, Si-eun struggled to keep the conversation going. She was trying hard to bridge the gap that had developed between them.
Jae-hee sat at the terrace table, gazing at the Han River, which was dyed pitch black. Although spring had arrived, the wind was still cold. She wrapped her shawl tightly around her shoulders and simply sat there blankly.
Her mind was tangled and her heart was complicated, but the Han River flowed serenely and beautifully. She had been in this state ever since she saw Chairman Cha, who had come to visit her mother, a few days ago. It had become even worse after meeting Oh Eun-jin, who was said to be her mother’s friend.
It felt like an unresolved tangle of thread was knotted in her chest. A sense of unease surged within her, but the inability to find its cause made her feel even more suffocated.
As she rubbed her chilled nape and sighed, a familiar voice came from behind.
“You were here?”
Kang-joo’s calm voice wrapped around her.
He entered the terrace still wearing his neat suit. It seemed he had come to find Jae-hee as soon as he returned home from work, without even changing his clothes. He saw her sitting alone on the terrace connected to the large room.
“You’re here?”
Jae-hee awkwardly greeted him.
Kang-joo sat across from her and let out a long sigh. Only then did he casually toss the car keys he was holding onto the table.
“I was worried because I didn’t see the person who said they were going home first.”
“Where would I go? Your home is my home now.”
Jae-hee smiled faintly and tucked her legs up onto the chair, sitting in a crouched position. The air against her bare feet was cold.
“If you had taken my car, I wouldn’t have had to search for you like this.”
“The subway is faster during rush hour. See, I arrived much earlier.”
Jae-hee replied lightly with a smile.
Although they were living together, they commuted separately. Kang-joo had always suggested they commute together in his car, but how could she do that? No matter how discreet they were, if the same routine repeated, someone was bound to find out.
An employee commuting to and from work every day in the managing director’s car. It would probably become the talk of the town. She would be swept up in ridiculous rumors.
Moreover, since she had used Kang-joo once when she reported Manager Kim for sexual harassment, it was forbidden to involve him in anything scandalous. Then she would truly become someone who had “spread her legs” for Kang-joo.
‘But that’s true, though.’
The thought suddenly occurred to Jae-hee. Although she had denied it and felt ashamed when Manager Kim said that, it was actually similar. It was certain that she and Kang-joo were sleeping together. Of course, she wasn’t receiving anything in return for it.
Jae-hee stared blankly at the opposite side of the Han River. She could see apartments with their lights on.
‘How much did he say those were?’
Deputy Lim Seon-min, who had recently become interested in housing prices, had told her various things, but she had let it all go in one ear and out the other.
She remembered that they were prices she could never reach even if she worked her whole life. The space she was standing in was also something she couldn’t own. She was only staying there by a stroke of luck, but not even a single tile here could ever be hers.
So, even if she thought about leaving this place someday, she wouldn’t feel any regret. It was never hers in the first place.
‘But…’
Jae-hee stared intently at Kang-joo.
‘But I desperately desired him.’
She desired him, the one she couldn’t have.
She could embrace him right now. If she reached out, he would probably embrace her. If she snuggled into his large, warm embrace, he might even stroke her hair. The recent Kang-joo had been such a gentle man. As if they had become lovers in earnest.
So, she kept getting greedy. An absurd delusion surged within her that if she reached out to him, she would eventually be able to have him. Even though she knew very well that it wasn’t true.
“Have you ever desperately wanted something, Managing Director?”
She asked a natural question to a man who seemed to have been born with everything. ‘You wouldn’t know such a feeling, would you? Do you know the feeling of desperately wanting something you can’t have?’ she added inwardly.
Kang-joo stared intently at Jae-hee before replying as if to himself.
“I have.”
“…You have?”
He ran a hand over his face and smiled slowly.
“I have. Something I thought I could never have, but now that I think I might be able to have it, it’s driving me crazy.”
“Ah…”
Jae-hee quietly nodded.
Silence flowed between them. The sound of a car horn crossing the road drifted in from afar like a phantom.
Jae-hee wiggled her cold toes and sat there for a long while before lowering her feet from the chair. She straightened her back and shoulders proudly, like Kang-joo before her. Then, she brought up the question that had been festering inside her for days.
“Managing Director, you said you liked my mother. That’s why you went to see her occasionally.”
“That’s right.”
“Was that the only reason you went to see her?”
How much affection could a third-generation chaebol have given to a housekeeper?
Jae-hee quietly watched Kang-joo’s expression. Her head began to throb with pain again. Her mother, from an orphanage. Her mother, who had known Chairman Cha since she was young. Chairman Cha, who had visited her mother in the hospital a few days ago.
Just why?
After her mother’s accident, why had Chairman Cha, who had been furious, visited her mother and looked at her with such desperation?
And her mother’s sudden accident before Kang-joo’s departure. Cha Kang-joo, who had frequently visited her mother.
The intricately intertwined strands twisted and tangled, tightening her heart. Kang-joo, whom she desired and coveted. That man who treated her like a lover, that ambiguously kind man, suddenly felt very unfamiliar.
Does Managing Director perhaps know something about my mother’s accident?
No way.
Perhaps.
Kang-joo paused before answering, as if trying to grasp Jae-hee’s intentions. Then, he roughly swept back his hair, which had been ruffled by the wind, and opened his mouth heavily.
“There’s no special reason. However…”
He paused again. Jae-hee stared at him, waiting for his next words. But Kang-joo changed the subject and stood up.
“The wind is still cold.”
He didn’t add any further explanation. Jae-hee simply watched Kang-joo, who shoved his keys into his pocket. Kang-joo reached out his hand to her, who hadn’t gotten up.
“Let’s go in.”
Jae-hee didn’t take his hand.
“Go ahead. I’ll stay here a little longer. …And I’d like to sleep in my room tonight. Would that be alright?”
Kang-joo narrowed his eyes slightly and scanned Jae-hee’s expression before finally nodding.
“Alright.”
“Good night.”
“Don’t stay out here too long in the cold.”
With those last words, he turned around.
Jae-hee sat at the desolate table, staring at his empty seat. Her heart felt a sharp pang. His dry gaze as he looked at her lingered in her mind.
Because a fearful question had surged within her: perhaps he was involved in her mother’s accident.
What was the hidden truth between Chairman Cha and her mother? Did Managing Director perhaps know something? Why had Chairman Cha and Managing Director visited her mother in the first place?
If Chairman Cha was truly connected to her mother’s accident, then she…
Suspecting Chairman Cha and harboring unresolved doubts made Jae-hee’s attitude constantly stiff. She often spaced out in front of Kang-joo.
Her sick mother. Her poor mother, perhaps…
Her mother, who was branded a thief and left for the world of unconsciousness without a single word of explanation. Once the thought took hold, questions burst forth like a river breaking through a dam. They swept through her daily life. It was about her mother. It was perhaps natural that her daily life became difficult.
“…Jae-hee-ssi, are you listening to me?”
Kang-joo asked from across the table. It was the returning weekend. Jae-hee was having a late breakfast with Kang-joo. It had become a routine ever since she said she liked eating at home.
A side dish she had absentmindedly picked up fell from her chopsticks.
“Yes? What did you say?”
“I said I have a lunch appointment today.”
Jae-hee resumed her paused eating and replied as if in a dream.
“Ah, I see.”
“I’ll be back before dinner, so let’s eat together.”
“I have plans for dinner.”
Recently, she had been deliberately avoiding appointments and sleeping with him. In the evenings, she intentionally created work and came home late, and she always used fatigue as an excuse to avoid spending the night with him. Whenever she faced Kang-joo, Chairman Cha and her mother inevitably came to mind.
Was it because of her attitude? She had noticed that Kang-joo’s mood had been down lately, but she couldn’t help it. A storm was raging in her heart.
Thump. Kang-joo coldly placed the water glass he was drinking from on the table.
“Do you really have plans, or are you making them up?”
“……”
Jae-hee’s lips parted for a moment, as if she had been caught off guard. He seemed to have noticed the schedules she had always forced herself to create to avoid him. Since she had been so obvious, it was natural that he, with his sharp senses, would notice.
But today was different. Today’s appointment was not something she had made up. She was going to meet Oh Eun-jin, a friend of her late mother, Miryeong.
She planned to meet Eun-jin and ask her frankly. What was the relationship between her mother and Chairman Cha? She wanted to approach the truth by any means.
However, she couldn’t bring herself to mention the appointment. In case Kang-joo was somehow involved in the incident. Not even a small gap or mistake could be allowed. Although she didn’t think so, she couldn’t fully trust him.
Jae-hee shook her head with a determined face.
“I really have plans.”
Kang-joo stared at Jae-hee as if trying to see through her. Then, perhaps not finding any lies, he picked up his utensils and got up. As Kang-joo roughly placed the dishes in the sink, Jae-hee spoke with difficulty.
“I’m sorry for not fulfilling my role properly lately.”
“What is your role, Jae-hee-ssi?”
Kang-joo turned around, wiping his hands on a kitchen napkin. A surprisingly cold face was revealed. Jae-hee felt an inexplicable pang in her heart.
She had come here because she wanted to be with him, yet she was unilaterally and intentionally avoiding him. She was even afraid that she would be thrown away by him if she continued to act like this. She felt ridiculous for being anxious about losing him, whom she had never even possessed.
Such complicated emotions were not necessary between him and her. Jae-hee herself was merely his sex partner.
Towards his question of what her role was, Jae-hee bitterly whispered the truth.
“Your sex partner.”
“……”
He, who was holding the marble countertop, only stared intently at Jae-hee without answering. Thump. Thump. The hand holding the marble countertop slowly tapped it. Only that small noise and silence lingered between them.
Kang-joo soon detached himself from the kitchen marble and left the kitchen.
“I see you’re aware you haven’t been fulfilling that role. I’ll see you tonight.”
Only his cold voice remained behind.
________________________________________
“It’s even nicer to see you again, Jae-hee. How have you been?”
“Yes, how have you been?”
Jae-hee, who had risen from her chair, bowed to Oh Eun-jin. She had come to meet Eun-jin after her meal with Kang-joo.
The location was a Korean traditional cuisine restaurant near her house. Eun-jin had suggested meeting in the community room inside the mansion, but Jae-hee had shaken her head. What would she do if she happened to be seen by Kang-joo while meeting near the house?
Kang-joo would clearly not care much about who she met, but there was always the possibility. Because it was related to her mother, she became cautious about everything.
After ordering food, the two began to chat.
“…So, one day, I saw your mother. She was so beautiful that I fell for her at first sight,” Eun-jin said.
Jae-hee had planned to ask about her mother’s past when she met Eun-jin. But she didn’t need to ask. Eun-jin had been readily recounting things without being asked since a while ago.
“My mother first went to the orphanage when she was nine?”
“That’s right. She lived with her grandmother, but after her grandmother passed away, she ended up there.”
“Ah…”
Jae-hee nodded with a blank face.
Why hadn’t she ever been curious about her mother’s past? Her mother also had a childhood and her own circumstances. She had only ever thought of her mother as someone who protected her and Hyojeong, and she had never even considered her mother’s life.
“She was even adopted once, but she came back because the daughter of that family bullied her. Her eyes were red from crying, and she looked so pitiful.”
“……”
Jae-hee’s expression also became clouded, as if she could picture her young mother’s drooping shoulders.
“Is it a bit much to talk about this? I’m sorry, I’m just being nosy.”
“No, it’s fine. Please continue. I want to know about my mother.”
Jae-hee looked at Eun-jin desperately. Chairman Cha’s story hadn’t even come up yet, and she worried about what would happen if the conversation stopped here.
Eun-jin nodded and continued. After that, it was everyday stories. That her mother played the recorder well. That she used to wear her hair in neat pigtails.
Her mother’s life unfolded like a panorama. Jae-hee listened to Eun-jin’s stories for a long time before finally speaking with difficulty when the food came.
“Um, Auntie.”
“Yes?”
“You said before that Chairman Cha and my mother had a connection. What was that about?”
“Ah, that.”
Eun-jin swallowed the ginkgo nut she was chewing and her eyes sparkled. It seemed to be a very interesting topic of conversation for her.
“There was a company that came to our orphanage every month to volunteer. It was a company that imported and distributed food from overseas, and it grew rapidly by selling feed. That company was run by Cha Byung-joon’s father. Byung-joon also used to come along since he was young. That’s how they met.”
“I see…”
Jae-hee nodded with a thoughtful expression.
The orphanage where her mother had been. Cha Byung-joon, the son of the chairman of the company that volunteered at that orphanage. What kind of connection could there be between an orphan and the son of a wealthy family? For some reason, her heart began to beat anxiously.
“Did my mother and Chairman Cha happen to be seeing each other?”
“Huh? No, no. What would young children know? …It wasn’t like that.”
Eun-jin, looking around the empty room, leaned slightly towards Jae-hee.
“Byung-joon liked Miryeong on his own. Your mother was quite pretty, you see? But Miryeong didn’t react much. That young boy just paced back and forth on his own.”
“Ah, I see.”
Jae-hee replied as if in a dream. Eun-jin stirred the japchae and clicked her tongue.
“Anyway, even after Miryeong left the orphanage and started working at the factory, I contacted her a few times. I heard that Cha Byung-joon was still showing interest.”
“Then perhaps they dated as adults…”
“I don’t think so, probably.”
Eun-jin put down her chopsticks and blinked as if recalling something. Then, she began to murmur to herself.
“Miryeong was really upright. If a rich man’s son followed her around, she could have pretended not to notice and easily accepted him. Why did she refuse him her whole life and end up marrying another man?”
Jae-hee quietly listened to Eun-jin’s story. Another man. That was probably her father. Someone she had never seen. Her father, who had supposedly died in a car accident when she was young.
“No matter how great the other person is, if your heart doesn’t go to them, you can’t date them.”
As she replied, she suddenly thought of Min-cheol. His handsome appearance. His brilliant family. His unwavering devotion to only Jae-hee for several years, until he revealed his true colors.
In terms of ability and background, he was honestly a very excessive match. She wanted to like him and give him her heart. But she ultimately couldn’t accept Min-cheol.
It must have been the same for her mother. No matter how brilliant Chairman Cha’s background was, could she have given him her heart? It would have been impossible. In that respect, she was very similar to her mother.
“Well, it’s understandable that Miryeong couldn’t open her heart. Byung-joon liked your mother so much that he sometimes expressed it aggressively.”
“Aggressively?”
“One day, your mother called me crying. Byung-joon had called her out at night and hugged her, asking her to marry him… Well, that’s what happened. Since she had no one to tell, she even contacted me.”
“Ah…”
“I comforted her and hung up, but I didn’t get a proper explanation, so I don’t know the details. Well, that’s how it is.”
“……”
Eun-jin waved her hand, seeing Jae-hee’s stiff expression.
“It probably wasn’t a big deal. Would he have done anything that would harm her? If that were the case, she wouldn’t have gone to Byung-joon’s house after your father died. Miryeong had so much pride and integrity.”
Jae-hee’s face turned pale. Her mother’s past, which she had heard in a jumbled manner, was swirling in her head.
‘He hugged her, asking her to marry him.’
‘He liked your mother so much that he sometimes expressed it aggressively.’
Eun-jin’s voice was like a hook, digging into her. It was digging into the faint doubts that were rising within her.
That day. The day her mother had the accident. Chairman Cha was there in the place she had entered, thinking no one was there. But thinking about it again… Her mother always entered the mansion when no one was there. Because she was a housekeeper. It wasn’t particularly strange.
Why would her mother, who was always so upright, try to steal something on that particular day? The situation was also strange. How would her mother know where the valuables were?
In the first place, her mother’s guilt was determined by Chairman Cha’s testimony.
Only by Chairman Cha’s testimony.
His testimony…
Thump. Thump. Thump. Her heart beat heavily. Still unable to grasp anything concrete, she only traced the patterns on the table with her eyes, when she heard Eun-jin clicking her tongue.
“Anyway, it’s also pitiful. With that beautiful face, it’s hard to have such a twisted life.”
Jae-hee’s gaze vaguely rose. She saw Eun-jin shaking her head and clicking her tongue again.
“Who would have known she would become unable to move like that? It’s true that a wretched fate never leaves you.”
Listening to Eun-jin’s words, Jae-hee suddenly recalled the many times she had heard similar things.
Your father is dead, your mother is sick, and you have a younger sibling to support? You’re so pitiful. People had looked at her with pity, layering their sympathy over her, saying how twisted her life was.
They probably had something else they wanted to say.
‘There are unfortunate kids like you, so I’m happy.’
Finding their happiness in the misfortune of others. The misfortune they found was entirely her share, and the happiness they felt in life was nothing more than a derivative of her misfortune.
Jae-hee spoke firmly to Eun-jin.
“My mother is not pitiful.”
“Huh?”
“She said she was happy meeting my father, and she was so happy to have beautiful daughters like me and Hyojeong. My mother is not that unhappy. She will definitely wake up someday, and then I will take care of her for the rest of her life.”
“……”
“I have that much ability. Because my mother raised me so well.”
Of course, she didn’t have anything yet. But she had confidence. She planned to stay at the company and be recognized for her abilities. She was determined to succeed no matter what, and to make her mother happy somehow when she woke up.
She meant that her mother didn’t need any pity from others.
Eun-jin fiddled with her expensive bracelet and smiled awkwardly.
“Miryeong is lucky to have such a strong daughter. My daughter is still immature. I raised her too preciously, so she doesn’t know how scary the world is.”
________________________________________
Jae-hee walked down the marble-lined hallway. The sun had set. Jae-hee staggered back home. Seeing that all the indoor lights were on, Kang-joo seemed to have arrived first.
After hanging her clothes in the dressing room, she sat alone on the sofa. She could hear the sound of water from the bathroom in the dressing room. Kang-joo seemed to be showering.
“…Cha Kang-joo.”
A secretive and ambiguous man.
What was he hiding? Why had he left like that and then kissed her first? His heart, his actions, everything about him was full of things she couldn’t understand. Did he know something about her mother’s accident? Perhaps he had other intentions.
After her mother’s accident. Cha Kang-joo, who had suddenly moved his departure date forward by a month. Why was that?
Her breathing quickened. She felt suffocated. It felt like someone was squeezing her heart. Jae-hee breathed heavily and entered the bathroom like a ghost. She intended to wash away her complicated thoughts with the water.
But while showering, she thought of Chairman Cha this time.
“There’s definitely something.”
There was definitely something. She didn’t have any evidence yet, but her heart was telling her so.
‘What should I do to find out?’
She felt lost. What if a secret no one knew was hidden in her mother’s accident? What if Chairman Cha had concealed something?
‘But even if that’s the case, what can I do to uncover it?’
First of all, even approaching Chairman Cha was difficult. Chairman Cha was the chairman of a large corporation. She was an employee of that company. She had once lived in a part of his house, but now she was just a stranger with no connection to him.
Jae-hee, who had been standing under the pouring water for a long time, suddenly bit her lip.
That’s right. There was a connection.
Cha Kang-joo.
“……”
The man she shared her body with. The man she would continue to spend her nights with.
A man who might be involved in her mother’s incident. And the son of Chairman Cha, the center of all the events.
She turned off the water and stood there blankly. Drip, drip. The water droplets flowing down her hair coldly tapped her face.
Enveloped in steam, Jae-hee made a decision. Cha Kang-joo. Since he had come here because he desired her body, she would use this body to get closer to the truth by any means.
For her mother’s honor, no matter what it took. Even if she had to throw her own body.
After drying her hair, she came out and saw Kang-joo. He was sitting on the sofa, looking at documents. Jae-hee cautiously approached and sat beside him like air.
She was wearing a deeply cut silk slip, not the usual T-shirt and pajama pants. Under the fabric, her full breasts and soft waist curve were fully revealed. The peaks of her breasts were subtly visible through the fabric that smoothly draped her body.
Kang-joo, still looking at the documents, simply raised his arm and pulled Jae-hee into an embrace.
“When did you come?”
His voice, asking as he belatedly turned his head, sounded sweeter than usual today. Jae-hee avoided his gaze and looked at her knees as she replied.
“When you were showering earlier.”
“Why are you sitting next to me?”
He asked, kissing her ear. The documents he was holding had already been tossed onto the table. His lips, touching her moistly, were soft.
“Why am I…what do you mean?”
“You’ve been avoiding me for a while.”
His lips, sucking at her ear, seemed to gently chide her. Jae-hee shivered at the sensation. Perhaps because the slip she had intentionally put on was thin, a chill ran through her body.
His cool palm secretly slipped under the slip. He gently caressed her tense thighs, slowly stroking the soft inner flesh. A strange shiver ran down her spine every time his large hand brushed against her skin.
Jae-hee moaned and slightly tilted her chin back. He had only lightly touched her, but her body, heating up as if a spark had been ignited, felt wanton.
He kissed Jae-hee’s pale neck.
“Since you’re deliberately seducing me, I’ll play along…”
His large hand grasped her breast.
“Ah!”
An exclamation escaped from Jae-hee, startled. As if he had never roughly grabbed her breast, Kang-joo began to gently knead the round, protruding flesh. With his touch, the silk fabric lightly brushed over her bare breasts. Her breath quickened with the strange sensation.
“When you act like this, Jae-hee-ssi, I can’t ask anything anymore. Why you’re doing this, what you’re thinking.”
“Mmm…”
“I can’t figure you out at all.”
He muttered as if chewing on the words.
The kisses that touched her neck like flower petals slowly moved down, tracing her shoulder. He bit her smooth, round shoulder and licked it with his tongue.
“Jae-hee-ssi knows, right? That when you approach me like this, I can never refuse.”
Kang-joo, who was kneading her breast, pressed his thumb firmly on her nipple under the silk fabric.
“Ugh!”
Jae-hee bit her lip. A faint pain and a strange pleasure arose. As the nipple he had pressed firmly rose again, he began to slowly rub it.
“Ah…”
A ticklish pleasure spread around her areola. Every time he twisted and stimulated her nipple, an undisguised, excited moan escaped her. Her waist twitched, and heat gathered in her lower abdomen.
She laughed at herself for becoming weak in his arms. She had tried to seduce him with her provocative attire, but it seemed like she was the one being swayed by him. With just one touch of his hand, with just one word whispered in her ear, she crumbled and moaned.
‘Even if it’s for uncovering the truth, selling my body is still the same.’
It wasn’t a matter of their hearts connecting and sharing a body. She was selling her body to fulfill his desires. She was merely indulging her own greed to stay by his side, even for a short while, by taking advantage of his desires.
Only a physical relationship. Therefore, she could use him without further guilt.
Kang-joo, who had been kissing Jae-hee’s shoulder, lifted her arm and wrapped it around his neck. Then, he embraced her body, which was hugging him, and slowly laid her down on the sofa. He parted her shyly closed legs and moved between them.
His lips, which had been lingering only on Jae-hee’s neck, began to move down like a stream. His hand grasped the loosened shoulder strap and gently pulled it down. Following Jae-hee’s body line, the silk slip began to slide down smoothly.
However, just as the edge of the slip, which was slowly sliding down along the curve of her full breasts, touched her nipple…
Tap. Tap. Tap.
An unfamiliar noise intruded from beyond the living room. Someone had come.
Knowing that he had muted the doorbell, they seemed to have deliberately knocked on the door.
Jae-hee was startled and raised her upper body. Kang-joo pressed her chest and kissed her forehead.
“Managing Director, I think someone’s here.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Still, ah.”
Holding Jae-hee’s waist tightly, Kang-joo buried his face in her chest.
At that moment, the sound of knocking on the door rang out again.
-Managing Director, I have something to deliver.
It was the voice of Kwon Ki-seok, Chairman Cha’s loyal right-hand man and bodyguard.
This time, Kang-joo also stopped his actions. Since Ki-seok had come all the way here, he couldn’t simply ignore him. All of Ki-seok’s movements were connected to Chairman Cha’s will. Ki-seok saying “I have something to deliver” to the silent interior meant that he already knew Kang-joo was there.
A look of annoyance spread across Kang-joo’s face.
“Hoo…”
He raised his upper body, which had been buried in Jae-hee, and let out a rough breath. Then, he strode towards the entrance with nervous steps.
When he flung the door open, Kwon Ki-seok was standing there as expected. Ki-seok, bowing deeply, handed over a document envelope.
“I apologize for the late hour. The Chairman asked me to deliver this.”
Kang-joo received the envelope and leaned loosely against the entrance. Soon, a belated greeting was thrown at Ki-seok.
“It’s been a while.”
“Yes, Managing Director. How have you been?”
“You could have delivered this at the company. It’s unpleasant to be visited so unexpectedly.”
Kang-joo said indifferently, looking at the neat brown envelope. Ki-seok bowed his head once more with a smiling face.
“I apologize, Managing Director.”
How many times had Ki-seok visited Kang-joo’s main office? Knowing the purpose of his visit, he only stood in front of the office where he wasn’t allowed in, only handing the documents to the secretary. Of course, the secretary couldn’t deliver the documents to Kang-joo. As soon as she heard that the documents were from Ki-seok, Kang-joo ordered her to throw them away.
Knowing this, he had come all the way to his house at this late hour.
“Then I’ll be on my way.”
Ki-seok bowed his head and turned around without adding any other words.
When Kang-joo returned, the sofa was empty.
“Jae-hee-ssi.”
Kang-joo tossed the document envelope carelessly and looked for Jae-hee. Only then did the door connected to the living room open slightly.
“Did Ki-seok leave?”
“He left. Why are you in there?”
“In case Ki-seok came in. It would be troublesome if there was a misunderstanding.”
Jae-hee tried to explain herself.
A woman in a man’s house at this hour. Wasn’t it obvious? Even if they didn’t expect them to be living together, it was clear they would be suspicious of their relationship. Knowing that Ki-seok was a close aide to Chairman Cha, she knew that Kang-joo’s position could become difficult if this casual relationship was revealed.
That’s why she had discreetly hidden herself. She even changed into her usual pajamas, fearing what might happen.
Sitting on the sofa opposite him, Jae-hee asked about this and that for no reason. Kang-joo seemed subtly uncomfortable.
“Coming at this hour, it seems like there was something urgent.”
“Do you know Kwon Chief? You only heard his voice.”
A question returned instead of an answer.
“Yes, I know him. I used to meet him often.”
Jae-hee nodded. Chief Kwon was someone who had come around the time Kang-joo went overseas. Those who were not members of the chaebol family but were employed by them knew each other to some extent.
When she first met Ki-seok, he was just a cheerful young man, but as time passed, he became a man full of composure. He became the chief of security a few years ago, but because she had called him Ki-seok since he was young, that title hadn’t quite stuck to Jae-hee’s tongue yet.
Kang-joo rested his chin on his hand and stared at Jae-hee. A thin T-shirt and pajama pants neatly dressed her. The heat from earlier was nowhere to be found, leaving only her cheeks shining purely.
“Why would Jae-hee-ssi be in trouble? Is there something that would be troublesome if Chief Kwon misunderstood?”
“Pardon?”
“Why is it Ki-seok? He has a wonderful title of Chief.”
“…Ah…”
“Jae-hee-ssi likes calling people by their titles, doesn’t she? Managing Director, things like that.”
There was a subtle edge to his voice. Jae-hee awkwardly touched her cheeks at his sudden words. Was he in a bad mood because their earlier sex was interrupted? His tone had been subtly prickly since earlier.
Kang-joo roughly swept back his hair and leaned back on the sofa. He let out a small sigh as if he was feeling pathetic.
Jae-hee kept her gaze on the table. The atmosphere was strangely awkward.
She saw the scattered document envelope on the table. Because Kang-joo had just tossed it, the contents were sticking out of the brown envelope. Jae-hee began to gather the documents. As if saying anything in an uncomfortable situation, she intended to fill this uncomfortable space with unnecessary actions.
Leaning the back of his head against the back of the sofa, Kang-joo said languidly, wiping his face.
“Don’t touch it.”
“…I’m sorry.”
Jae-hee quickly pulled her hand away, feeling like a criminal. Her head naturally lowered. Her heart tightened with embarrassment and an inexplicable feeling of disappointment.
It’s not like I’m in a position to touch his personal documents, but I touched them because the atmosphere was awkward…
It was just like that time.
‘Jae-hee, we’re not that close.’
Kang-joo oppa from that time, who pushed her away and coldly drew a line, returned. Cold water flowed through her heart. Just because we’ve become people who share a body, don’t get carried away. I already knew I would be pushed away if I tried to get closer like this. Why am I getting hurt again?
As she hurriedly put down the papers, a photo fluttered out from the gap.
It was a photo of a short-haired woman smiling brightly.
Jae-hee’s wavering gaze fell on the white paper. Name, age, education, etc., were written like a resume.
‘…Ah.’
Without any further explanation, she immediately understood what it was. Wasn’t this common in dramas? The marriage prospects that flooded the heirs of chaebol families. Detailed profiles that were submitted like document screenings before meeting them.
A hollow laugh escaped her. Yes, this was reality. A very cold and obvious reality. One she had been turning away from and ignoring.
Why be surprised now?
Yes, this was a perfect exchange. On the first day she entered his house, hadn’t he said:
‘I think of it as an exchange where we give and receive what each other wants.’
Those words were exactly right. He wanted her body, and she wanted to uncover the secrets entangled between Chairman Cha and her mother. Because Cha Kang-joo was the only link she had to Chairman Cha.
A perfect exchange. The only purpose that existed between Kang-joo and herself. Jae-hee smiled bitterly and dropped her hand from the envelope.
Kang-joo, finding the photo of his prospective marriage partner sticking out, frowned and got up from his seat. Soon, Kang-joo, who had thrown the documents into the trash can, sat next to Jae-hee.
“Don’t misunderstand. This is…”
He paused between his words, as if it was difficult to explain. He chose his words for a moment and then opened his mouth again. But Jae-hee’s action of suddenly hugging him came first.
“Ki-seok is gone, so please hold me again.”
“……”
“I’m sorry for touching the documents. I won’t do it again.”
She clung to him and rubbed her cheek against his stiffly. Right now, she didn’t want to allow any words to come out of his mouth.
A blind date.
A fiancée arranged by the family.
An arranged marriage.
She wasn’t ready to face such sharp words yet.
She hadn’t even uncovered her mother’s situation yet. She rationalized to herself and leaned against him as if collapsing. She wasn’t wearing anything to protect herself from being hurt yet. She hated being thrown into the cruel reality, completely naked, more than death.
Kang-joo, who had been stiff at Jae-hee’s sudden approach, slowly embraced her in return as she sobbed and whispered for him to hold her. He held her small body tightly, as if locking her in.
“I really can’t figure you out, Jae-hee-ssi.”
His whisper mingled with a kiss that touched her eyes.
Jae-hee tried hard to suppress her emotions. Just as he didn’t know her, Jae-hee couldn’t understand herself either. What were these feelings? What exactly was her heart towards him? She was packaging her heart by saying it was for uncovering the truth, but what exactly was he that made her cling to him so desperately?
Her body slowly fell back under his strength. Their touching lips were warm, and the hand that came under her waist was hot.
She looked up at Kang-joo, who had climbed on top of her as if covering her with his weight, and closed her eyes. She couldn’t bear to face him. She was afraid that her true feelings would be revealed if she showed her fluctuating expression. She hid her emotions by burying her face in his chest.
Now was the time to close her eyes. To turn her gaze away from everything.
Google Sites
Report abuse