Chapter 3
She thought it would be just a simple meal, but the place they arrived at was an upscale Western restaurant.
Even though she didn’t want to, Jian kept letting out low exclamations as she looked around.
Even back when her father, Junyeol, was doing well in business, she had never been to a restaurant this nice.
Overlooking downtown Seoul, the floor, ceiling, and walls—all made of high-quality materials—exuded an elegance that even Jian, who knew nothing about such things, could recognize at a glance.
The unique, eye-catching sculptures were extraordinary, and even the tableware set on the table was far from ordinary.
Nothing was lacking in uniqueness.
“Please, sit.”
“Yes.”
They sat facing each other, but neither spoke first.
Fortunately, before long, the table was filled with appetizing dishes.
“Ms. Seo Jian. Eat.”
“Please enjoy your meal too, Director.”
Though the conversation was ordinary, Jian’s mouth felt dry.
Every time Taejun called her name, it stayed this way.
As she lifted her fork and knife and began cutting the steak with a scraping sound, her thoughts spiraled endlessly.
Then, suddenly, Taejun’s hand reached over and grabbed her wrist.
“……!”
Startled by the sudden contact, Jian’s eyes widened like a frightened rabbit.
After staring at her wandering, unsettled gaze for a while, Taejun let go of her wrist.
“I don’t suppose you’re trying to slice the meat out of existence, so what are you doing?”
“Ah… It’s nothing.”
As he said, the piece of meat on her plate was a mess.
“If the food doesn’t suit your taste, I’ll order something else.”
“No, it’s not that. I think I’m just nervous since this is my first time having a meal like this with you, Director.”
At her last words, Taejun’s dark eyebrows furrowed.
He tilted his head slightly, his expression growing colder.
“Did you just say first time?”
“Yes? Ah… Yes.”
As if that wasn’t the answer he wanted, Taejun’s gaze turned chilly.
“How amusing, Ms. Seo Jian.”
Pushing through the thick tension, Taejun stood up.
Then, with slow steps, he approached Jian and stopped in front of her.
Naturally, Jian’s head tilted back, and an inexplicable smile appeared on Taejun’s lips.
“I think I know you more than necessary, but you don’t know me?”
“…….”
“Why no answer?”
“Could it be that you’re mistaking me for someone similar?”
As if in desperation, Jian tried her best to answer calmly, suppressing her emotions.
But that seemed to provoke Taejun, and his face twisted.
“A mistake, you say.”
His muttered words were sharp as thorns.
“You’re still good at lying, Seo Jian.”
“…….”
“Then I’ll help you remember what we were to each other.”
Taejun’s large hand cupped Jian’s chin.
“Close your eyes, Seo Jian.”
The distance between them closed in an instant.
As Taejun’s lips grew closer and closer, Jian couldn’t even breathe.
Frozen by Taejun’s sudden action, just as their lips were about to meet, Jian turned her head away.
“Hah.”
His hot breath, mixed with a hollow laugh, brushed against her cheek.
The hand holding her chin felt burning hot.
Taejun kept his eyes on Jian for a long while before returning to his seat.
Dizzy to the point of nausea, the situation became far more uncomfortable.
‘Why is he acting like that?’
Jian found it absurd that Taejun was still playing the victim, just as he had when they parted.
Seeing him like this made her think it was better to keep pretending she didn’t remember.
That way, work life would be less uncomfortable.
“If you’re going to lie, at least do it without getting caught.”
“Pardon?”
“You clearly remember who I am, or else you wouldn’t have turned your head.”
“……!”
She realized her mistake.
As he said, if a man she’d never met before suddenly moved to kiss her, the right thing to do would be to ask, “What are you doing?”
But foolishly, Jian had said nothing.
As if she already knew why Taejun was acting that way.
Her mind went blank.
“Or maybe this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.”
“I was just so surprised I couldn’t say anything. It’s not like that.”
Having been misunderstood by Mijin just a few days ago, Jian flinched and quickly answered.
“Fine. If you say so, Ms. Seo Jian, then I suppose that’s how it is. I’m sorry. Let’s eat.”
Jian couldn’t understand anything Taejun said or did.
His bewildering actions made her head throb so much that she desperately wanted a painkiller.
In the space where conversation had died, only the clinking of cutlery echoed.
After chewing a piece of meat, Taejun placed his fork and knife down on the table with a clatter.
“Aren’t you curious why I tried to kiss you, Ms. Seo Jian?”
At that question, Jian’s heart began to race.
She tried to calm herself by drinking some cold water and wiping her mouth with a napkin.
“If I asked, would you answer?”
“Even if you didn’t get an answer, isn’t it natural to ask?”
Taejun folded his arms, his expression suggesting he found Jian’s attitude incomprehensible, and continued.
“Ms. Seo Jian, don’t you understand the situation? You were almost sexually harassed by a boss you just met.”
At his words, Jian gave a bitter smile.
“You didn’t actually kiss me, and you even apologized.”
“So?”
“As just an ordinary employee, most of the time I have to endure unfair treatment and move on. You’ve apologized, so I think it’s best not to make an issue of it.”
Taejun’s eyes narrowed at Jian’s calm tone.
“So you’re saying you’d go along with any request your boss makes?”
“Yes. Within reason.”
“Ms. Seo Jian.”
“Yes?”
“Then how about sleeping with me?”
“What are you—”
She almost shouted.
As Jian stared at Taejun blankly, he spoke in an even more deliberate tone.
“Let’s be partners, I said.”
At his blunt implication, Jian froze with her mouth agape.
Barely restraining her urge to flee, she swallowed dryly.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
“Because it seems like you might say yes if I push.”
“……!”
“Geez. It’s not like you’re a well-trained dog.”
At his low mutter mixed with a curse, Jian’s cheeks burned hot.
Although things had ended badly, the kind Taejun she once knew was nowhere to be seen.
The man sitting across from her felt like a complete stranger.
“You asked why you, Ms. Seo Jian.”
“Yes.”
“Because you look exactly like a woman I used to know, and you even have the same name. That’s why I almost kissed you earlier.”
“……You must have…… loved her.”
Even though she knew full well that woman was herself, asking this felt shameless, but she had no choice.
She was afraid that if Taejun caught her words, he’d realize she was lying.
She felt pitiful, desperately trying to deceive Taejun when she wasn’t even good at lying.
“Love? She was the worst woman of my life. So much so that if I ever meet her again, I want to suck her dry and spit her out.”
Thump.
Her heart plummeted, and Jian’s pupils trembled aimlessly.
He had rambled on with incomprehensible words and then looked at her with contemptuous eyes.
‘Disgusting, you.’
With just that one phrase, he had made her live in hell for ten years.
She wanted to ask why he kept looking like the more wounded one, the words rising to her throat, but she forced them down.
Even though she felt like she would die from the injustice, she had been pretending not to know Taejun all this time, so she couldn’t bring it up.
‘Seo Jian, you’re truly pathetic.’
A painful smile touched the corners of Jian’s lips.
Even after being treated like that.
Even now, being treated as worthless, she still didn’t dislike Taejun in front of her.
To borrow his words…
…She felt like she wouldn’t mind being sucked dry and thrown away.
“Director. I think I should go now. Lunchtime is almost over.”
Jian checked her wristwatch and spoke.
She felt that being around Taejun was making her have strange thoughts, so she wanted to end this as quickly as possible.
Taejun let out a scoffing laugh, as if finding it absurd.
“You can’t bring yourself to ask why I tried to kiss you, but you’re good at saying things like that? Fine. Let’s go.”
Scrape.
Taejun pushed back his chair and stood up.
His sharp, cold gaze seemed to bite into her skin, clinging everywhere as if to tear at it.
“But Ms. Seo Jian.”
“Yes?”
“Just because you keep pretending not to know, it doesn’t mean it never happened.”
He might have given up by now, but Taejun brought the matter up again.
“Director, as I said earlier, it’s not me.”
“Why don’t you stop pretending?”
“Director, it’s not pretending…”
“Do I have no choice but to confirm it myself?”
Cutting her off, Taejun used his index finger to tap the spot between her left collarbone and the center of her chest.
“Here. I have a feeling there might be something left.”
Taejun looked at Jian, who stood frozen and speechless, and let out a small laugh.
It was the look of a beast that had found a very good prey.
