Chapter 15

Jaeman asked with a puzzled expression.

“Forget about the dog for a second. But who exactly is this woman…?”

It was the first time the CEO had ever come to the company with an unfamiliar woman.

Despite his large build, Park Jaeman had remarkably sharp eyes, and his radar immediately picked up on the snow-white wrist Junhyuk was holding.

His eyes widened.

“None of your business.”

Park Jaeman craned his neck forward like a turtle, but Junhyuk shoved his head away in annoyance before turning to Seoha.

“Does Dodam get nervous around strangers?”

“He’s a little wary of men. But he usually gets friendly with people pretty quickly.”

“That’s good.”

Junhyuk naturally took Dodam’s harness from Seoha’s hand and gave an order to Team Leader Park, whose ears had perked up.

“You heard her, right? He doesn’t like men, so be careful not to get bitten. Since you’re here anyway, do me a favor and help out a little more. Take off his harness and give him a light walk. Please.”

“No, wait. You’re asking me to walk a dog that might bite me, so why does this sound more like an order than a request—”

Before Park Jaeman could finish grumbling, Junhyuk cut him off.

“Ah, my mistake. Not a request. An order.”

Jaeman exhaled sharply through his nose, thoroughly displeased by his shameless boss.

Well, if Junhyuk were the kind of boss who worried about such things, he wouldn’t have spoken so coldly in the first place.

Jaeman watched suspiciously as his boss left without a second thought, followed cautiously by the woman.

“This is weird. Something about that atmosphere feels familiar.”

He hadn’t been able to get a proper look because Junhyuk had guarded her like a fortress, but he was certain he had seen her somewhere before.

Sniffling once, Park Jaeman looked down at the harness that had somehow ended up in his hand without him even realizing it.

“Huh… Come to think of it, you’re a guide dog for the visually impaired, aren’t you? A guide dog that bites?”

Jaeman looked once more in the direction the two had disappeared and remembered the question Junhyuk had asked him a while ago.

‘Did you notice anything like… her not being able to see?’

Aha.

There was definitely something going on. Something, for sure.

Park Jaeman’s instincts were rarely wrong.

The moment Seoha followed Junhyuk inside, the atmosphere changed.

It was an eerie space filled with such oppressive silence that even the sound of breathing seemed like noise.

Seoha had grown sensitive to sound after her eyesight deteriorated and usually preferred quiet places, but she had never encountered somewhere this silent.

She could physically feel that every sound was being completely controlled.

“…Dodam doesn’t bite.”

“I know. Even if he did, you’re not exactly someone who’d get bitten easily.”

Junhyuk answered casually.

Not long after, Seoha unconsciously slowed her steps.

“But where are we…?”

“My private office.”

Junhyuk’s low voice cut through the stillness.

The office was so spacious and stark that it felt less like a workplace and more like an exhibition hall—almost cold enough to preserve anything that shouldn’t be damaged.

A faint chill prickled along Seoha’s arms, and she rubbed the pale skin with her hand.

Guided by Junhyuk, she carefully sat down on the cold leather sofa. The chilly sensation seeped through her thin dress, making her shoulders tremble slightly.

“Why?”

“Oh, it’s just a little cold.”

Only then did Junhyuk seem to adjust the temperature, and the chill inside the office gradually faded.

Seoha turned her head, trying to take in her surroundings, but all she could make out were blurry outlines. Even so, she could clearly picture the atmosphere of the room in her mind.

This place was completely cut off from the outside world.

It was practically a fortress.

“It really feels like an impregnable fortress.”

Seoha murmured softly, feeling as though she had been locked inside.

Junhyuk gave a low chuckle.

“Sometimes you can be pretty dense, but at times like this, you seem surprisingly perceptive.”

She heard the sound of a drawer opening and closing. Then Junhyuk’s footsteps approached.

He was standing directly in front of her.

He was close enough that his scent brushed against the tip of her nose, so there was no way she could mistake his presence.

Seoha instinctively focused on every subtle movement he made.

“Just like you said, even if you screamed your lungs out in here, no one outside would hear you.”

Instead of sitting in the chair, Junhyuk sat on the table in front of her.

Is sitting wherever he feels like sitting a habit of his?

While Seoha was briefly lost in thought, he continued.

“The door is reinforced with double-layer bulletproof steel. No one can get in without my permission.”

Seoha fidgeted with her fingertips on her knees.

A strange tension seemed to crawl beneath her skin.

“If it’s just you and me in a place like this, what do you think?”

Forcing herself to remain calm, Seoha lifted the corners of her lips.

“…I’m honored that you personally brought me somewhere like this.”

At her answer, Junhyuk let out an incredulous laugh.

“As expected, you really aren’t afraid of anything.”

His voice was low, carrying a hint of exhaustion, perhaps because of everything that had happened earlier with the dog.

“When you’re alone with a man in a place like this, try being a little nervous. Don’t make yourself look so careless.”

His continued teasing actually made Seoha feel some of the pressure inside her ease.

Relieved that Junhyuk hadn’t noticed how awkwardly nervous she was, Seoha lightly retorted.

“You were the one who suggested coming here to sign the contract first. Did you perhaps have something else in mind, bringing me into an office with perfect soundproofing and reinforced double doors?”

She had meant it as a joke.

Unfortunately, Junhyuk didn’t immediately respond.

That was what left Seoha flustered instead.

“I mean… you’ve always treated me like a child. It would be ridiculous for you to try something with someone you think is just a little kid…”

As Seoha rambled awkwardly, saying whatever came to mind, Junhyuk silenced her with a single syllable.

“Yes.”

“…Excuse me?”

“I came here intending to do exactly that. Is there a problem?”

His calm agreement sounded as though he had simply stated an obvious fact.

Seoha instinctively bit down on her lower lip.

Immediately, Junhyuk’s thumb slipped between her damp lips, forcing them apart.

“I’ve told you several times that this is a really bad habit of yours. It’ll be troublesome if you do this in front of other men, too.”

Startled by Junhyuk’s sudden action, Seoha grabbed his wrist where his hand had intruded between her lips.

She tried to push him away, but his solid wrist didn’t budge beneath her strength.

“Don’t.”

“Then you should stop doing it yourself.”

Her heart pounded harder, and her breathing gradually grew shorter.

“You don’t know this, do you?”

His voice was even deeper than usual, the low vibration weighing heavily against Seoha’s heart.

“The more you try to climb on top of me, the more I want to drag you back down.”

Junhyuk’s firm thigh pressed between Seoha’s legs.

Even when she tried to close her legs, it was already a losing battle before she had even begun.

“If possible, I think it’d be even more fun if I had you pinned beneath me.”

A strange sensation tightened in her lower abdomen, and Seoha’s nose wrinkled slightly.

The unfamiliar feeling, something she had never experienced before, made her shiver faintly.

“You’re the one who keeps trying so damn hard to act like an adult every day. Maybe I should just pretend I don’t know any better and play along.”

Contrary to his words, his fingers that had been caressing her lips soon pulled away.

In the restrained air, Seoha consciously drew in a long breath.

But at that very moment, a small gasp escaped her lips.

Junhyuk’s hand had slipped beneath the edge of her dress.

When his fingers touched the sensitive area of her thigh that she had never allowed anyone else to touch, Seoha trembled violently.

“Wait. Just a moment.”

“What now?”

“I made a mistake. I didn’t mean to offend you…”

“People call repeated mistakes like that ‘willful negligence.’”

At that moment, Seoha’s body was suddenly lifted.

A little dizzy, she lowered her head, only for her forehead to touch Junhyuk’s shoulder.

He shifted his position and sat down on the sofa, easily lifting Seoha onto his lap.

With her legs spread as she sat astride his thighs, Seoha was so startled that she hurriedly pulled her skirt down with both hands.

“Isn’t it a little too late to be embarrassed now?”

“I told you it was a mistake.”

Having thrown out a few careless words and now feeling as though she had gained nothing from it, Seoha spoke hurriedly.

She wasn’t against taking things all the way with him.

But at the very least, she hadn’t wanted it to happen here, in his office.

Junhyuk, however, paid no attention to her concerns and spoke mockingly.

“You followed me here obediently because you thought you were going to stamp a contract. Why don’t you try stamping something else while you’re at it?”

Seoha chose instead to close her eyes.

The moment a curtain of complete darkness descended before her, her mind calmed somewhat.

Slowly, she placed both hands against his firm chest.

Beneath her palms, Han Junhyuk’s heart was pounding.

Realizing that she wasn’t the only one trembling brought Seoha a small measure of comfort.

Even if it was nothing more than her own wishful thinking.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Only their breathing traveled quietly through the office.

Then Junhyuk’s hand, which had been still, moved to the small of her back.