Episode 2
“Mmgh…!”
Haejoo’s body was pushed up against a wall adorned with an expensive painting. It was because Seungjo had pulled her tightly into his arms and pressed his lips to hers.
This place, where she had followed Seungjo to, was his private residence—specifically, the bedroom within it.
The shopping bag that had been in Haejoo’s hand had long disappeared into Seungjo’s grasp the moment Na-ae was out of sight. Even though it was likely an expensive piece, Seungjo had carelessly tossed it onto the bedroom sofa. Now, he was hungrily devouring Haejoo’s lips.
“Mm… Executive Director.”
As the kiss deepened, Haejoo shut her eyes tightly. The scent that enveloped her from Seungjo was overwhelmingly seductive.
“You’ve gotten even sweeter since I last saw you.”
Suck.
Seungjo’s tongue coiled and pulled her in expertly. It was almost too skillful and incredibly sexy. Haejoo twisted her head away, trying to calm her pounding heart.
“E-Executive Director… wait, please! Hff!”
“You seem just as desperate.”
With Haejoo’s saliva clinging to his lips, Seungjo slowly licked them, then, as if annoyed, hiked up her skirt without hesitation.
Caught beneath his smoldering gaze, Haejoo panted. His body pressing against hers was already fully aroused.
“I told you before. Sun Haejoo only needs to be loyal to me.”
Seungjo’s arrogant hands quickly stripped off her now-stained skirt.
“My grandfather’s health has declined. I couldn’t not go see him. Besides, the Chairman will be calling on you soon…”
“You think I don’t know it’s a lie? Yet I always let you off. And who do you think is feeding and sheltering whom?”
“Hff…”
Seungjo slowly licked from Haejoo’s delicate jawline to her lips.
“It’s not the Taehwa Group that’s been feeding and housing you—it’s me.”
With a smug laugh, Seungjo moved again. Despite his calm and haughty gaze, his actions were vulgar and explicit—a reminder of all their nights together.
“That’s why I’m the only one who should see this side of you. Did you forget our agreement?”
Seungjo grabbed Haejoo’s chin, forcing her to meet his eyes—his touch heavy with possessiveness.
“Executive Director…”
Haejoo looked up at him, trembling. His sharp features and fair skin made him appear even colder, but her heart beat pathetically fast.
Tae Seungjo—grandson of Hong Na-ae, Executive Director of the Taehwa Group.
He had been the object of Haejoo’s long-time crush.
Now, he was the man she shared a bed with nearly every night.
Haejoo remembered what happened a year ago.
It had been a warm spring evening.
She had stayed late at the office, volunteering to work overtime. As she left late at night, she unexpectedly ran into her uncle, Mancheol, in the lobby.
“Raising a brat like you is pointless! I just asked for a little pocket money, and you blocked my calls?!”
“You promised me you’d stop gambling! I don’t have any money for you!”
“Ungrateful little wench! You get your paycheck every month like clockwork and can’t spare a cent for me?!”
Slap!
As soon as he saw her, Mancheol charged over and slapped her across the face. He reeked of alcohol.
This was yet another episode in a long string of incidents where her uncle, always with some excuse like wanting to start a business, tried to force money out of her.
“You think you’ll live well alone after throwing away your family? Do people at your company know the real you?!”
It was late, and aside from security staff, the lobby was empty. Still, it was enough to leave Haejoo hurt and humiliated.
“I’ve done enough! I’m not a kid who needs your help anymore!”
With no time to hold her stinging cheek, Haejoo pushed Mancheol away with all her strength and ran back out the way she had come.
“Sun Haejoo, get back here! I’m going to leech off you for life, you damn…!”
Mancheol, restrained by security staff, glared at her with bloodshot eyes.
Running blindly, Haejoo didn’t realize she had stepped into the executive-only elevator. As soon as the doors closed, she collapsed and burst into tears.
“Huff… sniff…”
It was a day of sorrow and loneliness. As she touched her throbbing neck from her scuffle with Mancheol, her eyes welled up again.
“Mom’s necklace…”
More than the pain, what devastated her was the realization that she had lost her deceased mother’s necklace.
She couldn’t even think of going back to look for it—she sat, hunched over, crying her heart out.
“Still more tears to shed?”
By the time her eyes were swollen and her nose red—
“Mind if I smoke while I wait? Looks like it’s going to be a while.”
“E-Executive Director…!”
Haejoo finally noticed the gaze fixed on her and looked up. There stood Seungjo, dressed in just a white shirt with his suit jacket in hand. He looked tired, his brows slightly furrowed, and the undone buttons gave him a subtly disheveled, seductive air.
She paled when she realized the elevator was for executives and had stopped at the basement parking lot.
“Ah… I got confused and took the wrong elevator. I’m sorry.”
“So what, you’re going to get off like that?”
“I really apologize. I didn’t mean to be disrespectful, sir.”
“Your face is covered in handprints and tears. Don’t you think it’s easy to misunderstand?”
Haejoo stopped in her tracks, shoulders trembling. Seungjo, hands in his pockets, scanned her wrecked appearance with a sharp, quiet gaze.
“Who was it?”
“It’s… nothing serious.”
“My employee got slapped and is crying in my building, and you say it’s not serious?”
“That’s not what I meant…”
“So are you ignoring your superior’s concern? Or should I assume you think the Taehwa Group is incompetent?”
His words made her want to cry all over again.
In the elevator’s reflection, Seungjo looked pristine, while she looked a mess. If she ran out like this and the remaining staff saw her, it would only cause more unnecessary gossip.
I can’t cause trouble for him.
As she quickly raised a hand to wipe her tears, Seungjo held out a handkerchief.
“Let’s go to my car.”
“What?”
“What, are you going to walk home looking like that?”
“H-How did you know I walk…? The handkerchief is fine, really—”
“Call it courtesy for a crying employee. Or maybe you’re just annoying to look at.”
The handkerchief had a soft, masculine musk—Seungjo’s signature scent. Trembling, Haejoo clutched it and followed him to his car.
That was the day it all began.
That handkerchief gave her both butterflies and an odd sense of comfort.
She especially didn’t want to go home that night. Her uncle, detained earlier, might now be waiting at her doorstep.
A storm surged in Haejoo’s heart.
“Executive Director…”
Her chest tightened.
“Would you sleep with me…?”
“What did you just say?”
“I just… I don’t want to go home tonight.”
Seungjo raised an eyebrow and gave her a half-smile.
“Sun Haejoo… I thought you were innocent, but I guess you know how to have fun.”
“No, I’m…”
“Or did I seem easy to you?”
“N-No! That’s not it at all! How could I think that of you, sir…”
“Then tell me why. Why are you asking me to sleep with you?”
Closing and opening her eyes tightly, Haejoo finally revealed what she’d kept hidden.
“I’ve liked you for a long time.”
Seungjo’s eyes flickered.
“I’m not trying to cause you trouble. But if you’re asking for a reason—it’s because I like you. That’s all.”
As Seungjo silently listened, Haejoo’s heart felt like it might explode.
She knew it sounded crazy. He was a man she shouldn’t have dared want—someone she had admired from afar without ever letting it show.
“One night. That’s enough?”
She thought he’d sneer and dismiss her coldly.
But her eyes trembled violently.
“…Yes. Just one night is enough.”
Even though her heart ached, she nodded. And the car headed to Seungjo’s residence.
It was the beginning of the night.
From the moment she entered, he had pushed her against the wall and devoured her lips. A mature and commanding man—Seungjo kissed with skill, aroused her, and caressed her body with provocative expertise that was overwhelming to a woman like her, new to such intimacy.
“W-Wait, sir…! Hff!”
