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Chapter 1
by GideonMy mind was a storm.
My body had long since run out of energy, but my mind was sharper than ever. For Hyewan, who suffered from severe insomnia, rest was impossible tonight.
She had descended from her hotel room to the club bar, feeling she needed the strength of alcohol. Hyewan ordered another glass of whiskey on the rocks. She wondered if she could even afford a place like this, but today, she didn’t want to think about such things.
Why is it always this hard? As soon as one problem was solved, another seemed to spring up, as if it had been waiting.
The ordered whiskey on the rocks arrived.
“Thank you.”
Hyewan drank the alcohol poured into the new glass. Even diluted, it was still strong. Just as the essence of something doesn’t change even if you wrap it up.
It’s just like my life.
No matter how much she pretended to be okay, no matter how much she put on airs, her insides were a tangled mess of insecurities. And today, she felt even more pathetic and worthless than usual. She was like an earthworm, writhing under the scorching sun, only to wither and die in the end.
Just then, someone sat down beside her.
Hyewan glanced over and had to stifle her surprise. The man was breathtakingly handsome. His jawline was slightly squared, but his overall face was slender, with Western-style features.
His hair was slicked back in a pompadour, revealing a clean forehead. He had thick eyebrows, large eyes set deep in their sockets, a sharp, high bridge to his nose, and a well-defined philtrum. His unsmiling lips gave him a look that was both sexy and cold. He exuded an air of elegance in every movement, yet he also possessed an intimidating presence that could overwhelm anyone.
In short, he was a man who had it all—stunningly handsome and brilliant. And wealthy to boot.
Hyewan couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy.
Clad in a designer suit, he radiated opulence. Even the watch glimpsed beneath his shirt cuff looked like something an average office worker could never afford.
“Interested?”
Caught staring, Hyewan’s embarrassment flared into defensiveness. “Isn’t it rude to speak informally to someone you’ve just met?”
The man smiled as he set his glass on the table. “Isn’t it just as rude to stare at a stranger like that?”
God, I’m being so childish, she thought.
“…Yes, you’re right. I was rude. I apologize.”
Finally, Hyewan admitted her pettiness and offered him an apology.
“Apology accepted.”
He gestured to the bartender, pointing to her empty glass.
“Another round. I’ll have the same,” the man told the bartender.
“No, I’m fine,” Hyewan said.
“You spoke informally to me on our first meeting. You should treat me to a drink.”
As he spoke, his gaze slowly swept over her. Every inch of her skin tingled where his eyes passed.
Why am I reacting like this?
Hyewan was more flustered by her own response than by the man’s gaze. That was how lethal his pheromones were.
His eyes shone black as the night sky as he watched her.
Hyewan knew instinctively: this man was deeply interested in her. She wanted to sink into the sweet sensation of becoming the person he desired.
She had to gather all her remaining reason to shake off the thought.
I’m just not thinking straight because I’ve had such a long, hard day.
“Just drink it,” he said.
“No.”
After refusing the man’s offer, Hyewan stood up. If she stayed any longer, she felt she might actually go through with something reckless.
She gave him a curt nod and left the club bar.
Hyewan was usually calm and rational, but she was exceptionally emotional when it came to sex. If her heart didn’t stir, her body wouldn’t either.
And yet… no matter how rough her day had been, her reaction to that man had been completely different.
“I should have asked him to come to bed with me,” she muttered under her breath. Startled by her own words, she glanced around to see if anyone had heard. Fortunately, she was alone. The elevator arrived just in time. She stepped inside and quickly pressed the close button. When she reached the first floor, the hotel lobby was as bright as day, despite the night outside.
Time to go back to my own world.
She had just started walking when someone grabbed her wrist from behind.
It was him.
It was as if she were possessed.
By the time Hyewan snapped out of it, she was standing in a suite. A belated wariness filled her face as she scanned her surroundings.
How foolish. I’ve already walked straight into the tiger’s den…
The man set his key holder down on the living room table.
“If you’ve changed your mind, say so. Doing things without consent isn’t my style.”
“Do you live here?”
“What?”
Hyewan gestured to the living room. There was a lived-in feel to the space that no amount of housekeeping could hide.
“There’s no way a hotel room would have stacks of paperwork like that.”
Following her gaze, the man smiled faintly.
“To me, a home is an exhausting place.”
He was smiling, but a faint exhaustion clung to his words.
Hyewan realized that something must be weighing on him so heavily that he needed a place where no one could ever intrude.
She felt a sudden kinship with him. Sometimes, she too wanted to vanish to a place where no one could find her. On a day like today, for instance.
“I’d like to shower first,” she said.
He pointed to the door on the left. “Go in there. Open the left door, and you’ll find the bathroom.”
“Thank you.”
Hyewan opened the door he indicated. It seemed to be the master suite. The bathroom was just as opulent as the rest of the room. Taking a deep breath, she stripped off her clothes.
She felt like she was about to get into some serious trouble.
Hyewan stopped in her tracks as she emerged from the bathroom, her eyes landing on the man standing in the middle of the bedroom.
Seeing him shirtless, his lean, perfectly sculpted torso on full display above a pair of loose-fitting pants, the reality of the situation finally sank in.
“You look tense. Drink this.”
He held out a wine glass.
“Just so we’re clear—I didn’t spike it, so you can relax.”
As Hyewan cautiously took the glass, her fingers brushed against his. The briefest contact sent a jolt of electricity through her fingertips. Startled, she pulled her hand away. The man’s gaze deepened as he watched her.
The woman he was seeing for the first time had a pale, oval face of elegant beauty. Her long hair was pulled up in a high ponytail, revealing a clean forehead and a graceful nape. Her flawless skin was as smooth as porcelain. Beneath her arched brows, her long eyelashes fluttered with every blink, drawing his gaze. Though her face was slender, her large eyes were framed by thin, delicate double eyelids.
His straight, high bridge gave him a haughty air, yet the rounded tip of his nose was unexpectedly cute. Below his well-defined philtrum, his lips—neither too full nor too thin—were sharply outlined and a deep red. While his overall impression was cold, his soft brown hair and eyes tempered the chill.
Perhaps it was because he’d spent the last three months dealing only with Westerners whose features were deep and sharp, but seeing this woman made her seem even more beautiful. It was the first time his heart had ever stirred for a woman he’d just met.
Moreover, the woman, having just finished her shower, had a face and neck flushed red above the collar of her bathrobe. She looked utterly delicious.
“Cha Yundo.”
Hyewan looked at him.
“You should at least know the name of the man you’re going to fuck.”
Hyewan’s pale face turned crimson.
“…Do you always say things like that out loud?”
“I prefer clarity,” he said simply, his expression impassive. “If I’m mistaken, I’d rather correct it now. So? Am I wrong?”
Hyewan’s instincts screamed louder than her reason, confirming that he had seen her perfectly.
“I’m Ko Hyewan.”
Hyewan, Ko Hyewan…
As Yundo repeated her name as if savoring it, she warned him, “You have to use protection.”
The man smiled at her firm demand. “Don’t worry. I’m a gentleman about that.”
She nodded and took a sip of her wine. Just a tiny bit. Seeing her lips, stained a red deeper than the wine, a fierce thirst surged within him.
Her brown eyes, a mixture of fear for what was to come, unfamiliar excitement, and arousal, did not avoid his gaze. Yundo met her eyes directly as he pulled the tie of her robe.
Her pale, naked body was revealed.
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