Chapter: 11
His already irritable voice rose sharply at the end.
He sniffed slightly, looking uncomfortable. His brow creased deeply.
Muyeon answered slowly, as if retracing her memory.
— Last time… who was it you mentioned? Kim Taejun? … You said there was a guy, didn’t you? I heard you broke up—are you seeing him again?
Muyeon hadn’t known that a single strange eraser had erased an entire bond, so she still remembered the things Haeru had said, unaware that the connection had been severed.
“Hah.”
He lowered his head and let out a deep, heavy sigh, as if the ground might cave in.
— Ah, but no, that can’t be it. There’s no way she’d be dating some guy I don’t know.
Waving one hand, Muyeon shook her head slightly.
He sighed again and bit down hard on his lower lip. When Muhyeok remained silent for a while, Muyeon spoke first.
— But why are you sighing like that just because Haeru said she’s moving out?
Worry was already written all over her face.
Muhyeok didn’t seem inclined to answer her question. He replied in a voice lowered to the extreme.
“Hah… hang up.”
— Hey!
In the middle of the conversation, he irritably ended the call and placed his phone down on the oval table in front of him. Then he stood up, put his hands on his waist, and paced restlessly from side to side.
“Hah—.”
A deep, anxious sigh escaped him.
Just imagining her standing next to another man made the heat inside him rise until it felt like it might burst out of his mouth.
Feeling suffocated, Muhyeok shouted at the ceiling.
“Damn it!!”
Ever since she was young, she’d had terrible judgment when it came to men. Despite her sharp, decisive personality, whenever a man claimed to like her, she would let him get close without even knowing whether he was a good guy or a bad one.
Yet she pushed Muhyeok away for the simple reason that he was her friend’s younger brother.
It had taken him an absurdly long time just to be allowed near her—not even by her side, just near her. And even now, she continued to push him away. The thought that some random guy had so easily claimed a place beside her made his teeth grind.
* * *
When she arrived at the house parking lot, she weakly made her way toward the stairs.
Because they were made of stone, the sharp click-clack of her heels echoed loudly.
Climbing the steps, she walked along the stone path winding through the garden, illuminated by warm yellow lights between the trees.
She hadn’t walked far when, just as she passed a large tree, someone grabbed her wrist from behind.
Startled, she turned around.
“Oh!”
“…Did you find a place?”
Standing there was Muhyeok, his face full of dissatisfaction. He had been sitting on a bench beneath the tree’s shadow, which was why she hadn’t noticed him.
She quickly shook his arm off and stepped back slightly.
“Not yet.”
To her, Cha Muhyeok was still her boss. Even at home, she maintained a clear distance from him.
Deep wrinkles formed on Muhyeok’s forehead.
“Still acting like we’re at work?”
“I think this way avoids rumors and is better for both of us.”
“Hah—again with the rumors.”
“If anything starts circulating at the company, it would be troublesome.”
Her words stung. Even if rumors spread, it wouldn’t trouble him at all. What truly troubled him was her not being by his side.
He had spent years trying to get closer to her, yet the moment they met, she drew a line. Every time he tried to cross it, she would recoil and push him away. The disappointment welled up inside him.
“You’re really too much to me.”
“What do you mean, sir?”
For some reason, his eyes looked sad.
“Do you really have to always—absolutely—be just my secretary?”
“I believe I’ve said this before, but if you want confirmation, then yes. That’s correct.”
At her firm reply, Muhyeok seemed to think for a moment, then nodded.
“Fine. If that’s what you want, I’ll do it—your boss. Then let’s talk. Follow me.”
He had thought that even if she was strict at work, they could still talk comfortably at home like before. Apparently, that had been his mistake.
Clenching his teeth, he replied to her like a boss. If that was what she wanted, he would give her exactly that.
Then he walked ahead.
The two of them entered Muhyeok’s guest house. The living room was almost oppressively quiet and pristine.
Once inside, he turned to face her. When he stopped, she halted as well.
As Muhyeok stared at her in silence, Haeru spoke first.
“Is there something you need me to do?”
At her distant tone, Muhyeok’s expression hardened even more.
Swallowing his words, he suppressed his anger and asked calmly.
“…Do you have a man?”
That was why he had waited. He wanted to know the reason she planned to leave, but earlier his temper had derailed the conversation.
Her brow furrowed at his rude question.
“Why are you asking that? My personal life has nothing to do with you, sir.”
He clenched his teeth, then stepped closer and grabbed the back of her neck as she tried to retreat.
Her eyes wavered as his face came close.
“Even so—does it still have nothing to do with me?”
She swallowed hard.
It was unbearable to be shaken like this by someone three years younger—her friend’s little brother. Afraid her feelings might show, she clenched her fists tightly.
“No. I don’t.”
Their faces were so close that her breath brushed his cheek. The sensation made him frown slightly.
As if restraining his desire, he bit the inside of his lip before speaking in a low, deep voice.
“It matters to me.”
She frowned and pressed her lips together. Suddenly, he leaned in even closer. Frozen by his sudden movement, she heard his whisper at her ear.
“I want my secretary to focus only on me.”
A rush of heat flooded her face as her ear tingled.
After erasing her bond with Kim Taejun, her past connections had changed strangely. A clear line had been drawn between her and Muhyeok. Maybe that was why—her heart began to pound.
The trembling that started in her chest traveled all the way to her fingertips, and she clenched her fists tightly.
Afraid that if she stayed any longer he’d hear her wildly racing heartbeat, she forced herself to move. Bracing herself, she placed both hands on his chest and shoved him back hard, stepping away.
“Uh—um… I-I work very well, regardless of my private life.”
She blurted out an excuse as he looked at her from a slight distance.
Watching her make such a clumsy excuse made a strong urge surge through him—to pinch her cheek. Very few people ever got to see this side of her.
Overwhelmed by his pounding heart at her cuteness, Muhyeok let out a deep sigh and casually perched against the back of the sofa behind him.
“I don’t believe you.”
“Then what should I do for you to believe me?”
“Don’t move out.”
That was what he had wanted to say all night. The only thing he wanted right now was for her not to leave this house.
He wanted her close—within his sight. They had been separated by an unbearable distance for far too long, and now he didn’t want even the smallest distance between them.
Hearing his words, she let out a deep sigh.
“Hah… what are you talking about?”
Her eyes narrowed.
“If you’re going to do your job well as my secretary, you need to focus entirely on me. So I think the best option is for you not to leave this house.”
“I’ll decide that myself.”
“Don’t. This is an order.”
“What kind of order is that? And I can’t live in this house forever. I’ll have to leave someday anyway—wouldn’t it be better to leave sooner?”
Her reasoning was sound. No matter how big a friend’s house was, that friend would eventually get married. Even if they didn’t, there were limits to staying as a freeloader.
She had been making perfectly logical points—until his single sentence cut her off.
“Then live here forever.”
He answered calmly and stared straight at her.
Rendered speechless by his absurd reply, she closed her mouth, exhaled sharply through her nose, and raised both palms upward, waving them as if weighing an argument.
“How could I live here forever? We’re not family.”
Irritated, wondering if he was joking, Haeru protested.
He lowered his head, staring at the floor. After a moment, he lifted it again.
Meeting her dissatisfied gaze, he looked at her with deep, intense eyes and spoke meaningfully.
“Then we’ll become family.”
“What are you—?”
She couldn’t finish her sentence, her eyebrows lifting in confusion.
But Muhyeok’s face was full of composure.
“You’re smart. Think about what I mean.”
As time passed, the smile at the corner of his lips grew deeper.
She rolled her eyes upward, thinking.
Family, huh… No matter how much Muyeon’s parents like me, adoption at this age is—no way. Then… the only way to become family is…
A single thought suddenly flashed through her mind.
She snapped her head up, her eyes widening instantly. At the same time, Muhyeok straightened from where he had been leaning against the sofa.
He slowly approached her. Perhaps because of his long legs, the distance between them closed in an instant.
Locking eyes with him, she slowly backed away. Even as she retreated, he didn’t stop.
Eventually, she reached the wall. Just as her back was about to hit it, his hand shot out and pressed against the wall behind her.
Thanks to his hand, her back was spared—but his hand was trapped between her back and the wall, bringing them dangerously close.
He furrowed his brow slightly.
Soon relaxing his expression, he leaned forward, met her gaze, and extended his other hand to brace against the wall.
She was trapped within his arms.
Tension flooded her body. She couldn’t say a word, her lips tightly pressed together. Then he gave her a hint.
“How about using me?”
