WWBU - Extra 7

Guk, who had caught Hyun-soo’s hand trying to push him away, immediately placed that hand around his neck. Then, he pulled her tightly into his arms, preventing her from escaping any further.

Even as his smooth tongue stirred inside her and wet her lips, Hyun-soo’s mind was filled only with thoughts related to Hyun-seo. The perceptive Guk quickly noticed that she was thinking about something else.

“What are you thinking about?”

He murmured quietly and kissed Hyun-soo’s neck. Hyun-soo moaned at the skinship of his lips rubbing and pressing against her neck.

“Upstairs... Auntie and Wan are upstairs...”

“I know.”

“Stop...”

At her voice, pleading as she clutched his back as if scratching it, Guk raised his head. His long, hot breath reached her chin and neck.

“Whatever’s in your head, you’d better get rid of any thoughts of avoiding or running away.”

It seemed the nearly two years she had left him before had left a trauma on Guk. Judging by how tightly he held Hyun-soo, as if he would break her, when he said those words.

“Promise me.”

“......”

“Promise me that won’t happen, that it will never happen. Promise me, Kim Hyun-soo.”

“......Okay.”

At Hyun-soo’s barely audible reply, Guk buried his face in her neck again. Hyun-soo bit her lip and tilted her head.

She could feel the heat and desperation of his lingering tongue more than anything else.

Having finished the call, Guk put down his phone. The screen, lying next to the payment documents, displayed the name ‘Yoon Han’.

“......”

After sitting and thinking for a moment, he got up and walked. His large strides led him to the floor-to-ceiling window of his office.

It was a day that felt wonderfully bright. The bright and warm sunlight pouring through the large window was proof of that.

Guk closed his eyes for a moment at the warmth of the sun that seemed to seep into his entire body.

‘Maybe I made a mistake. I’m sorry, Hyung.’

Han’s missed call alert had appeared that morning. He had intended to call back immediately, but it was delayed due to an early meeting.

Han, who had answered the phone, couldn’t speak for a while before finally opening up. He said that he had inadvertently confessed the arson because he still felt that Hyun-soo was being pointed at because of him. And he had confessed to none other than Kim Hyun-seo.

Putting aside how the two had met, it seemed he had replied that the key issue now was how that stubborn Kim Hyun-seo would react. Han hadn’t been able to say anything in response.

‘Come to think of it, yesterday...’

Then, suddenly, something flashed through his mind. It was a story the aunt had casually mentioned during breakfast. The content was simple. The day before, a strange woman had visited and caused a commotion.

If it had been the doing of a harmless solicitor, Hyun-soo wouldn’t have let it pass without a word. She would have told him about it, even as a joke. But there hadn’t been a single word? That meant there was something she was covering up.

Guk, having arrived at his office, immediately called his executive secretary.

“I need to check the CCTV footage of the front gate. Bring me all the recordings from the day before.”

Knock, knock.

While he was reviewing the morning’s events, a knock echoed in the spacious and quiet office. It came from the direction of the door.

“Come in.”

At his call to enter, the door soon opened and the executive secretary appeared. He approached Guk directly with neat steps.

“This is the CCTV footage from the day before, as you requested. I’ve compiled it for your convenience.”

Secretary Im, bowing his head first, handed Guk a USB drive. As he had said, the answer should be on this.

“Thank you for your hard work. You can go now.”

After dismissing his secretary, Guk quietly fiddled with the USB drive before approaching his desk. Then, he immediately connected it to his laptop and checked the contents.

“Ha.”

A dry laugh escaped Guk as he watched the video. The main figure, appearing from afar and approaching the front gate, was Kim Hyun-seo, as expected. Predictably, she caused the commotion he had anticipated. But.

“......”

When Hyun-soo opened the gate a little while later. And when Kim Hyun-seo slapped Hyun-soo’s cheek, Guk’s smile vanished. His expression hardened frighteningly at the sight of Hyun-soo collapsing on the street as if breaking.

“She finally laid a hand on her.”

A coldness ran through his quietly murmured voice. He paused the screen at the scene of Hyun-soo collapsing and quietly closed his laptop. Then, he lowered his eyes and looked at his desk for a moment. He seemed to be deep in thought.

His contemplation didn’t last long. Perhaps it was something that had been easy to decide from the start.

Picking up his phone again, Guk contacted someone. At the immediate connection after a couple of rings, he calmly continued what he had to say.

“From now on, cut off all support for Kim Hyun-seo. Bring me all the records of the cleanup we’ve done for her so far.”

Guk hung up without saying anything more. Even as he carelessly tossed his phone down, his mind was filled only with thoughts of Hyun-soo. Specifically, what kind of emotions and decisions might be swirling within her heart.

Tap, tap, tap. Guk tapped his desk with his index finger and let out a long breath. He felt that he had put this off for far too long. It was something that could have happened at any time, just like this time.

-It’s time for your external meeting.

Suddenly, a beep sounded and his secretary’s voice was heard. Guk, gathering his stray thoughts, acknowledged with a word and picked up his jacket.

His footsteps as he walked out were without any hesitation, wavering, or worry.

“Aaaaaah! You fucking son of a bitch!”

Hyun-seo, who was eating ramen for her morning hangover cure, threw down her chopsticks.

“......No way. It can’t be, surely not. After I said all that.”

Hyun-seo’s voice trembled as she denied reality. The hand holding her phone also shook violently. After swallowing hard, Hyun-seo looked at the post displayed on her phone screen once more.

“......Huh.”

But no matter how many times she looked, the result didn’t change. Her name was nowhere to be found on the list of successful applicants.

Hyun-seo had been conspicuously eliminated in the first round of the large joint project hosted by HK Foods of HK Group and Kyungil Company. It had been a great opportunity where, if she passed, her design works would be featured on various food products, and she could receive a large sum of prize money and additional support, but it had all gone down the drain.

“That damn Kim Hyun-soo, that bitch.”

For Hyun-seo, who had naturally assumed she would pass the final round with flying colors thanks to her connections, this result was like a bolt from the blue. Thanks to it, her mind, which had been soaked in alcohol all night, felt like it was finally waking up.

Her appetite for ramen and everything else vanished, and Hyun-seo, with trembling hands, searched for Hyun-soo’s number. If anyone was responsible for this result, it would definitely be Kim Hyun-soo, that bitch. However.

[This is Bluebird Realty. We have someone who wants to see the house. When would be a good time for you?]

The text message that arrived just as she was about to press the call button completely stunned her.

“What the hell is this nonsense?”

Hyun-seo, her temper reaching its boiling point, immediately called the real estate agency. She furiously demanded if they had sent the wrong message and what this sudden nonsense was all about. The landlady, who also had quite a temper, retorted nonchalantly.

-Miss, why are you shouting like this?

“How can you expect me not to shout right now?”

-So why are you taking out your temper on us? If you want to talk, talk to the landlord. What have you been doing that you didn’t even know the owner put the house on the market? Honestly.

The phone was abruptly hung up. Hyun-seo’s face, as she stared at the turned-off screen, began to turn bright red.

“That bastard Yoon Guk, seriously. Has he gone crazy?”

Kim Hyun-seo, who had almost started roaring, called Hyun-soo and Yoon Guk alternately. But neither of them answered.

“Aaaaaaaah!”

Unable to control her temper, Hyun-seo threw her phone down. Just then, the doorbell rang.

She, who had been venting her anger, finally opened the door after the bell had rung for a while.

“What is it?”

She asked what it was, but she knew the face that appeared through the opened door. It was Yoon Guk’s secretary, whom she had seen several times before.

“Perfect timing. I have something to talk to Yoon Guk about. Can you pass it on? Or call him and put him through?”

But the other person was expressionless and unresponsive. He simply said what he had to say to her.

“He said it’s only polite to deliver this in person.”

“What is it? What are you delivering?”

“The Managing Director has decided to cut off all support he has provided to Kim Hyun-seo from today onwards.”

“What?”

Hyun-seo asked back, flustered.

“All the bank accounts and cards you’ve been using have already been suspended.”

“What are you talking about...!”

“You’ve also been expelled from the program supported by HK Group. As for the house, he said to find a place to stay and vacate it as soon as possible. Even if you don’t have a place, you have to leave within this week.”

Hyun-seo, who had frozen solid, could only open and close her mouth without saying a word. She was completely overwhelmed by the sudden events.

“So, you’re saying you won’t give me any of the money you used to give?”

“However, he said you can use the money that was deposited into the bank account under your name a while ago as you see fit. He said it’s his last consideration.”

“Consideration my ass, are you kidding me? Hey, who are you? Get Yoon Guk. Get Yoon Guk here!”

Hyun-seo, who had almost lost her mind, started pushing the secretary’s shoulder. But the secretary didn’t budge and just looked down at her. His unchanging, statue-like attitude only fueled Hyun-seo’s impatience. At this rate, she would end up in a dog-eat-dog hell with no way out.

“I’ve delivered all the messages, so I’ll be going now.”

“Hey, where are you going? Where are you going! Call Yoon Guk, right now!”

Hyun-seo, thinking she couldn’t let this happen, lunged at the secretary. She tried to grab, shake, and even scratch him. But all of this was just in her mind; the rather large secretary subdued her with one hand and even forced her to sit down. Hyun-seo, who had collapsed in front of the shoe rack in the entryway, looked up with reddened eyes.

“Then.”

That was all. With that short word, he wrapped up the entire situation, and the secretary left.