ASDR 03

Chapter : 03

Through the large, firm hand, she could feel his hot body heat.

Startled by the searing warmth, Ju-hye’s frozen eyes wavered in confusion. As he met her pitch-black, clear eyes, the corners of Dae-hyun’s eyes curved softly.

“……!”

At the same moment Ju-hye pushed against his shoulders with both hands, their lips touched.

The slowly crushed flesh parted in an instant, spilling hot breath. Her lips, which had been dried tight, were quickly moistened.

The hands that had tried to push him away were caught again and slid downward. The breaths she couldn’t let out tangled together in dizzying confusion.

The hand gripping her waist didn’t budge, and their lower bodies pressed together. Something unwelcome asserted its presence below.

This is ridiculous.

She couldn’t believe what was happening before her eyes. That Dae-hyun was aroused by her felt like a lie, too. Didn’t he have another woman?

With eyes half open, Ju-hye examined Dae-hyun’s expression. Beyond his narrowed gaze, his sharply shining eyes pierced straight through her.

See? You still love me.

His eyes seemed to whisper exactly that.

“Hh—ng… stop… please stop!”

The moment she met that gaze, humiliation washed over her.

The shame of having her lingering love exposed against her will, the anger that she had needed to confirm it like this.

And yet, somewhere in her heart, there was also a desperate joy—at the thought that Dae-hyun might still love her a little, might still be attached to her.

“I told you to stop!”

Perhaps because she pushed him away with all her strength, Dae-hyun’s chest slowly moved back.

He wiped her lower lip—bitten until it bled—with his index finger and erased his smile. His face was expressionless, yet there was a hint of satisfaction about him.

“I… I was very clear.”

The sensation of her breath catching surged like a wave. Facing him and eating a meal in this state—she’d be lucky if she didn’t get indigestion.

But Dae-hyun’s response was frustratingly unchanged.

“It’s too late.”

Tilting his head slightly, he stared at Ju-hye’s face, then gently tidied her disheveled hair and whispered quietly.

“Go in first and sleep.”

That was all. Until the very end, Dae-hyun calmly brushed aside Ju-hye’s refusal and left.

Judging by the way he headed for the study, it seemed he still had unfinished work.

It’s this late and he’s not done? He must be tired…

The moment she realized she had unconsciously worried about him, Ju-hye ground her teeth.

Even so, she couldn’t take her eyes off him until he entered the study and closed the door.

This was why love really was a disease.

Otherwise, there was no way it could wreck one’s rational judgment so completely.

Just like that day she fell for Seo Dae-hyun at first sight.

March spring, when colorful flower buds bloomed on every roadside tree.

Ju-hye sat in the back row of a spacious lecture hall, attending the orientation for a general education class. At the top of the professor’s presentation slide was the course title.

[Understanding Forest Recreation Culture and Healing]

She had entered the business administration department at her father’s insistence, but her attention was focused solely on the elective class she’d chosen based on personal interest.

For the youngest daughter of Jinju Construction—a company devoted more than anyone to destroying the nation’s forests—it was a rather ironic preference. Ju-hye knew this herself, but she couldn’t help it.

She had loved mountains and forests since she was very young. So much so that she had secretly dreamed of running an arboretum behind her father’s back.

“Alright, I’ll call attendance.”

The bespectacled professor began calling names. As she listened to them being called one by one, Ju-hye raised her right hand high when her turn came.

There were fewer students than expected in the narrow lecture hall, and some of them looked completely uninterested in the class.

It wasn’t very popular even during course registration.

Come to think of it, the competition rate was quite low compared to other electives.

As she diligently scanned the room, wondering if she might see a familiar face, the professor’s voice suddenly stopped mid-roll call.

“Student Seo Dae-hyun?”

The professor’s irritable voice echoed again in the quiet hall, since there was no answer.

“Seo Dae-hyun, are you absent?”

Curious about who could be late on the very first day, Ju-hye turned her head—

“I’m here, Professor.”

As if he had fallen from the sky, she sensed someone suddenly sit down in the seat next to her.

“Seo Dae-hyun?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

The male student’s clear voice rang through the lecture hall as he sat down without warning.

When Ju-hye finally got a good look at his face, she swallowed an exclamation. Beneath the baseball cap pulled low, his looks couldn’t be hidden.

A well-defined face, flawless skin, a sharp nose bridge, and cool eyes without double eyelids.

Even dressed simply in jeans and a white T-shirt, his tall, lean build stood out immediately, like a model.

His slightly scowling expression gave off a sensitive air, yet it blended perfectly with his mature atmosphere.

Without exaggeration, Ju-hye had never seen someone this handsome before.

Perhaps the other students thought the same, as more and more gazes began drifting in his direction.

“Um…”

As if accustomed to such attention, the young man casually tilted his head toward Ju-hye. A soft scent of fabric softener drifted from over his shoulder.

“Is the professor still just taking attendance?”

That was the mysterious student’s first question to her. His jet-black eyes, like the night sky, stole her ability to think for a moment.

Ju-hye stared blankly into his eyes before snapping back to her senses a beat late.

“Yes, class hasn’t started yet.”

He dipped his head lightly in thanks, then immediately faced forward.

The professor, having finished attendance, was already explaining the course content.

Ju-hye tried desperately to focus on his words, but it was hard to stop her gaze from wandering sideways.

At least it was some comfort that she wasn’t the only one sneaking glances at the guy next to her.

He’s handsome like a celebrity…

Resting his chin on the back of his hand as he listened, his profile was striking. Each time he nodded slightly, his well-kept hair fluttered along.

“Therefore, the midterm and final exams for this course will be conducted as group projects.”

At the professor’s final remark, sighs of lament rose from all around the lecture hall.

Ah… there’s a group project.

Startled, Ju-hye looked around, but the students already seemed to be grouping up with friends. Regret crept in that she’d chosen a seat in the back.

“Do you have anyone to do the group project with?”

At that moment, the handsome guy next to her suddenly spoke.

Startled, Ju-hye turned to look at him. He, too, seemed not to have found a group yet.

At the same time, she felt several female students across the room watching them. Judging by their eager expressions, they’d probably been planning to ask Dae-hyun themselves.

“No, I’m taking this class alone… It would’ve been nice if there was at least someone from my year, but there isn’t.”

Ju-hye’s shoulders drooped dejectedly. She’d hoped maybe someone she knew was taking the class, but there really was no one.

Seeing her like that, the male student whispered calmly.

“Want to do it with me?”

“Huh?”

“I’m taking this class alone too. It’s a hassle to find someone from now on, and since we’re sitting together, it’s kind of fate.”

He pulled a pen out of his pencil case and wrote his name in the corner of his notebook.

The handwriting was neat and sharp—just like its owner.

Seo Dae-hyun.

Ju-hye softly repeated the name in her mind. As if he’d noticed, he naturally introduced himself.

“I’m Seo Dae-hyun, third-year in International Trade. And you?”

The conversation flowed so smoothly she had no chance to refuse.