Chapter 28: Chapter 28

Jaehee’s lips pressed briefly against Suin’s, like a stamp sealing its mark.

“Hmm.”

The contact was fleeting, barely a moment, yet it felt like a lightning strike. Her vision flashed, and her heart pounded erratically from the shock.

“What are you doing? Are you out of your mind?” Suin pulled back, her lips trembling.

His lips lingered mere inches from hers, glistening with a crimson sheen, even in the dim light of the alley.

“Do you think I’d be in my right mind? The reins I’ve been holding back all this time have finally snapped.”

His lips curled into a sly smile, rich with mischief.

“You’re the one who loosened them yesterday,” he added, winking with infuriating ease.

“……”

Even without him moving closer, Suin felt as though his lips were already grazing hers. The memory of yesterday’s kiss rushed back to her in vivid detail—the electrifying sensation of their tongues entwining.

“Doesn’t it excite you?” His voice dropped to a whisper, warm breaths teasing her lips. “A runaway horse, free of its reins, ready to run wild.”

She wanted to argue but stopped herself. There’s no reasoning with this insufferable man. At least he knew how reckless he was—it was a small consolation.

“Just leave,” she said firmly, turning her head away to signal her refusal to engage. Her face might have worn a mask of calm, but her heart was pounding furiously.

This is just the aftermath of the kiss, she reassured herself. That’s all.

“The Chairwoman is inside,” she pointed out, glancing anxiously toward the café. Behind the wall she leaned against was Woo Ilhwa, and the thought made her nerves spike.

“And so?” Jaehee’s deep voice spilled over like a low rumble, completely unbothered.

Her irritation was just beginning to show when the sound of the café’s doorbell rang, shattering her composure.

Ding-ding.

Her heart, already racing, sank like a stone. Voices followed, sharp and clear.

“Why isn’t Suin here yet?”

“She’s just around the corner. Please wait inside, Chairwoman,” Jin Sookyung said, trying to hold the Chairwoman back.

Suin tensed, instinctively shrinking into Jaehee’s chest for cover. Her breath hitched as anxiety clawed at her, fearful of being discovered. She was so tense that she didn’t immediately notice the smirk forming on his lips.

Then, with no regard for the situation, Jaehee tilted his head and placed another kiss at the corner of her mouth.

‘You…!’

Her eyes widened in silent protest, but before she could voice her anger, his large hand cupped the back of her neck, pulling her in close.

Smack.

This time, it wasn’t a simple kiss. His teeth caught her lower lip, and his tongue followed, sliding across her lips with a deliberate, tantalizing motion.

A sharp shiver raced through her, like the sting of a needle piercing her skin. Her eyes squeezed shut as her body trembled involuntarily.

She raised a fist in defiance, intending to push him away, but before she could make contact, his hot breath filled her mouth, and his tongue slipped in.

He chased her retreating tongue relentlessly, capturing it and holding it hostage.

“Go back inside,” Jin Sookyung’s voice rang out, clear despite the pounding in her ears.

“I’ll go meet her. Suin,” the Chairwoman’s voice followed, sending Suin’s nerves spiraling further.

Despite the voices drawing closer, Jaehee didn’t let her go. If anything, he deepened the kiss, tilting his head and pulling her closer by the neck.

The kiss was nothing like the one from yesterday.

It was raw, desperate, consuming. He sucked on her tongue with such force that it felt like he was trying to pull her entire soul into him, his lips and tongue claiming every corner of her mouth.

This man is insane! Completely out of his mind!

Suin pounded her fists against his chest, but the weak effort only seemed to embolden him. Fear of making noise held her back, leaving her resistance half-hearted at best.

To Jaehee, it felt more like a playful push than a genuine attempt to break free. Smirking against her lips, he wrapped his strong arm around her waist and pressed her body against his.

The heat of his restrained desire was unmistakable in the way his body clung to hers and the unmistakable hardness pressing against her abdomen. It was impossible to ignore the size and presence of it, and her mind raced in disbelief.

Is he even human? What is he hiding in there?

His earlier warning rang in her ears. The reins are off.

This is dangerous.

So dangerous.

Buzz.

The vibration of her phone in her pocket was her salvation.

It had to be Chairwoman Woo Ilhwa, though Jaehee showed no sign of stopping.

Desperation gave Suin strength as she pushed against his chest with all her might, finally pulling her tongue away with a sharp tug that left her lips stinging.

“Yes, Chairwoman,” she answered the phone, doing her best to steady her breathing and conceal her flustered state.

[Suin, you said you were just outside. Why aren’t you here yet?]@@novelbin@@

“I’m almost there. I’ll be right in,” she replied, her tone forcibly calm despite the frantic beating of her heart.

As she hung up, she caught sight of Jaehee wiping his lips with his thumb, his smirk only widening.

Her anger flared as she stepped back, glaring at him.

“Go,” she hissed, her voice low and laced with fury. “Before I bury you right here.”

***

Jaehee didn’t take his eyes off Suin, who glared at him with a venomous intensity.

Even her hostility was so endearing it drove him mad.

“Alright,” Jaehee said, deciding to let her go for now.

Though his body burned with suppressed desire, he reminded himself that today wasn’t the end of the world. Reluctantly, he stepped back, but not before brushing his hand over the top of her head in an affectionate stroke.

“Don’t run away tomorrow,” he said.

“…”

“Promise me.”

“...Fine.”

Suin reluctantly gave the answer he persistently demanded, just to make him leave. Only then did Jaehee turn and walk away, his retreat taking her mounting anxiety with him.

It wasn’t until she saw him head toward his car parked on the opposite side of the café that her tension began to ease.

Inside the car, however, Jaehee was far from comfortable.

He exhaled deeply as he started the engine, but the relief he sought didn’t come.

Even as he drove down the quiet road, he shifted his seat repeatedly, trying to alleviate the tension in his body. The discomfort wasn’t just physical—it was the unrelenting heat coursing through him, refusing to subside.

***

“Let her sleep. She must be tired.”

Only after seeing Jaehee’s car disappear from view did Suin enter the café, where Chairwoman Woo Ilhwa had dozed off on the sofa, leaning against the backrest.

Suin quickly called in Oh Daehwi, the chairwoman’s trusted aide, to assist her.

“Take good care of her,” she instructed.

“Yes, Chief. Have a good evening,” Daehwi replied as he helped the chairwoman to the car waiting outside.

Watching the sedan pull away, Suin reentered the café, where her mother, Jin Sookyung, handed her a warm cup of tea.

“The Chairwoman said she felt a bit lonely without you around,” her mother said.

“Did she?”

The sweetness of the tea touched Suin’s lips and tongue, and she winced. It stung more than she had expected.

How intense was it?

Her lips were tender, her tongue still sore, and the sensation lingered in every sip of tea she took.

“So, you’ve become Jaehee’s secretary? Why didn’t you tell me?” her mother asked, breaking the silence.

Suin, ignoring the sting of her lips, smiled calmly.

“Would it have changed anything if I had?”

“Of course it would.”

“What are you worried about? That Seo Jaehee might take advantage of me?”

“Not exactly. But…”

“But what?”

Her mother hesitated, her expression troubled. When Suin pressed her for an answer, she finally spoke.

“Once, a long time ago, Jaehee liked you.”

“You knew?”

“Who in the Hyesung family didn’t? It was obvious. Even so, I don’t think he still has those feelings now, but I worry that something might cause unnecessary misunderstandings.”

Why shouldn’t misunderstandings happen?

“It’s just my motherly concern. We wouldn’t want to cause trouble for the Chairwoman, would we?”

Her mother’s gratitude to Woo Ilhwa and guilt over her husband’s actions ran deep, making her cautious to a fault. She lived in constant fear of being a burden to the chairwoman, and Suin wasn’t excluded from that concern.

“Don’t worry about it. That won’t happen,” Suin assured her.

Yet even as she spoke, a sharp pain flared in her tongue, and her lips tingled with renewed discomfort.

“I’ll head upstairs.”

Placing the empty teacup on the counter, Suin left the café.

As she walked, she pressed her lips together and tried to calm her racing thoughts.

She resolved to put an end to situations like today’s.

She needed to keep Seo Jaehee in check.

And herself, too.

***

Restless from the turmoil of the day, Suin barely slept that night.

She woke up earlier than usual, her eyes snapping open at 5 a.m. Unable to fall back asleep, she decided to head to work. By 7:20 a.m., she had already reviewed both her chief secretary and executive secretary schedules.

“Coffee sounds good,” she murmured, grabbing her tablet and heading to the second floor.

She glanced at the screen, checking the intranet as she made her way to the cafeteria, when a familiar figure caught her eye.

Baek Ihyeon was at the counter, ordering coffee.

Lowering her tablet, Suin was about to walk over to him when—

Swoosh.

A large shadow loomed beside her.

“Don’t take another step.”

Startled, she looked up to find Seo Jaehee glaring down at her, his expression commanding and intense.

“If you don’t want me to lose my mind completely,” he added in a low, menacing voice.

What the hell?

You’ve always been crazy, she thought bitterly.