ASE 25

Chapter 25

In the blink of an eye, Juyoung found herself with her wrist grabbed, pulled into Seonghun’s arms.

Gulp. Juyoung swallowed dryly.

Beneath his bent arm she could feel his firm thigh, and the hand wrapped around her shoulder felt conspicuously large.

“W-What do you think you’re doing right now…?”

“Figured I’d explain, since you don’t seem to know.”

Seonghun stared intently at Juyoung’s lips, then lifted his gaze to meet her eyes.

Her face was reflected in his clouded pupils.

“Exactly where Choi Juyoung stands.”

Seonghun swept his hand along Juyoung’s leg.

Slowly—deliberately.

His touch moved shamelessly toward the inside of her thigh, toward an intimate place.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

Juyoung grabbed his hand as it slid up her thigh and shoved it away. Contrary to his aggressive posture, Seonghun let himself be pushed off easily.

“Who do you think you are, Bae Seonghun, deciding my position? Where I stand is something I decide—ugh.”

Juyoung struggled to break free from his arms, but soon she was immobilized by his coercive strength.

“For someone forcing herself into a marriage she doesn’t even want?”

“Hah.” Seonghun let out a short scoff.

“Choi Juyoung, you don’t have the freedom, the right, or the power to make that kind of choice. Unless you’re just pretending you do.”

“……”

“Wake up, Choi Juyoung. It’d be troublesome if you mistook us for standing on the same level.”

“…!!”

Whoosh—her field of vision spun again.

Once more, everything happened in the blink of an eye, and when she came to, her back was pressed against the seat.

Above her, Seonghun looked down.

He tossed her around like a doll, effortlessly. It was all because of the overwhelming difference in their physiques.

“I’m someone who can casually overturn whatever plans you’re scheming behind the scenes.”

His calloused palm covered Juyoung’s cheek, long fingers brushing her earlobe.

At the same time, the hand wrapped around her waist tightened, keeping her from sliding down the seat.

Juyoung’s pelvis pressed against Seonghun’s thigh.

“So what about you, Choi Juyoung? Can you overturn what I overturn? Even if you try, it won’t end cleanly, you know.”

His cold tone stabbed into her again and again, yet Juyoung couldn’t say a word—she only bit her lower lip.

Annoyingly enough, everything he said was true.

“An attack only counts as an attack when it’s exchanged between people on the same level. When someone who doesn’t even match the level tries to attack, that’s just—”

Seonghun’s gaze fixed on her lips.

Was her whole body fragile? Blood had already risen to her lower lip, turning it a vivid red.

Noticing his stare, Juyoung slowly released her lip. But at that moment—

“Flailing.”

He murmured the word and leaned down to kiss her. As if disinfecting a wound, he sucked at her lips, smearing them with saliva.

The lips that pulled at her lower lip were hot and soft.

It was hard to believe this was the same man who had just been hurling verbal daggers meant to wound her—his gentle kiss licked up her breath.

Juyoung struggled desperately to push him away. She even struck his shoulder with her clenched fist.

But Seonghun didn’t retreat easily.

Between the thigh pressed against her pelvis, something heavy began to swell. Anyone with half a brain would know what it was.

Finally—

“Ugh.”

Only after Juyoung bit down on Seonghun’s lower lip did he groan and pull back.

She must have bitten hard; his lip was injured. Blood quickly welled up through the split.

But Juyoung didn’t stop there—she kicked him.

Seonghun staggered, his body tipping to the side, and seizing the opening, Juyoung got out of the car.

“Crazy bastard.”

Bang!

She slammed the car door shut with all her strength. The harsh sound echoed through the parking lot—someone might have thought a gun had gone off.

Tsk. Seonghun sucked in a breath, straightened up, and wiped his lower lip with his finger.

Seeing the blood on his hand, he let out a low laugh.

“See? That’s flailing.”

That night, Juyoung went to the Oido summer house.

Whether anyone came or not, she had it cleaned twice a week, so there wasn’t a speck of dust anywhere.

Pssht, click—!

She opened a beer she’d bought on the way. As for snacks, all she had were some gummies from the convenience store.

Juyoung gulped down the beer. The carbonation and refreshing chill flowing down her throat jolted her senses awake.

But the thirst she’d felt the entire way here wasn’t quenched.

Something heavy pressed down on her chest from the inside.

It felt like she’d dived deep into the sea—her chest tight, her breath catching, as if she’d forgotten how to breathe.

“Unless you’re just pretending you do.”

Pretending not to be hurt.

Pretending to be strong.

Ever since losing her mother, she’d lived that way every single day.

Every day had been survival, every day a fight with herself.

Even knowing that the moment she lost that fight everything would become easier, Juyoung had stubbornly endured, fought, and kept winning, surviving up to now.

And yet—

Bae Seonghun saw right through it.

She’d built a wall to protect herself by puffing herself up, showing off what little she had—but Bae Seonghun shattered that wall as if it were nothing.

It pissed her off.

Of all people, to be exposed by a man like that.

“Mom…”

Juyoung looked up from the floor at the photo album on the bedside table, at her mother’s face inside.

“Mom, I’m tired.”

Tears she didn’t even know had formed slid down Juyoung’s cheeks.

Buzz, bzzzt—

Like a bolt from the blue, her phone suddenly rang.

Juyoung shot upright. She must have fallen asleep on the floor while drinking beer—when she woke up, that’s where she was.

“Yes, Secretary Shin.”

Still half-asleep, she answered the call first.

Only Secretary Shin knew she was at the summer house, so at this hour, there was no one else who would be calling.

—We’ll arrive at the villa in forty minutes, ma’am.

“I’ll be ready to head out on time. Please call me again ten minutes before you arrive.”

—Yes, understood.

After hanging up, Juyoung hurried to prepare to return to Seoul.

She hadn’t drunk that much beer, so there was no hangover, but chugging beer on an empty stomach had left her insides a mess.

Even so, she didn’t look for anything to soothe her stomach.

She had no appetite, and having lived like this for so long, she was used to heartburn from stomach acid.

So instead of soothing her stomach—she showered.

After the shower came makeup and hair.

Once again today, Juyoung puffed herself up to protect herself.

She was at the office, working, when the intercom rang. When she answered, it was Secretary Shin.

—A courier delivery has arrived.

“Who’s the sender?”

—It’s from CEO Bae Seonghun.

Bae Seonghun sent a courier?

After what had happened yesterday, her unease only grew, but she told Secretary Shin to bring it in anyway.

—Yes, understood.

Soon, knock knock—the door opened, and Secretary Shin entered her office holding a padded envelope.

“Here it is.”

“Thank you. I’ll check the contents later, so you can go now.”

That’s what she said, but the moment Secretary Shin left the office, Juyoung grabbed the envelope.

It was smaller than she’d expected.

She couldn’t even guess what might be inside—was it even big enough to hold anything?

It seemed too small to contain documents…

Tilting her head in confusion, Juyoung tore it open. The moment she saw what was inside—

“Hah.”

A hollow laugh escaped her.

Inside the envelope Bae Seonghun had sent were a tube of ointment and a single yellow memo.

[Apply a thin layer only. Don’t accidentally swallow it.]

She flipped the note over, and another line was written in Bae Seonghun’s neat handwriting.

[And don’t go hurting those innocent lips again.]