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Chapter: 18
His gaze turned seductive in an instant.
Whatever he intended, he loosened the tie around his neck and undid the top two buttons of his shirt, as if deliberately exposing the neck that had turned red from drinking.
Her eyes widened. Conscious of the people around them, she kept turning her head nervously.
“What are you talking about?!”
Pretending not to care, he turned his head away. As he calmly grilled the meat, he placed perfectly cooked pieces onto her plate. Every now and then, he met her eyes and spoke in an even tone.
“Isn’t the reason you’re drinking because you want to sleep with me? I’m tired today, though.”
The corner of his lips twitched after he said it so casually.
“No, that’s not it!”
She wasn’t someone who got worked up easily. Yet every time she listened to Muhyeok—her friend’s younger brother and also her boss—she found herself flaring up with anger.
It had been like that even when they were children. More than once, he’d said something that sounded perfectly reasonable while completely turning her emotions upside down.
Clenching both fists tightly, she slammed the table.
The moment everyone’s attention shifted toward them, she hurriedly bowed several times in apology before pouring herself a glass of water and gulping it down.
“Then don’t drink.”
Just as she finished the water and set the glass down with a thud, he picked up the shot of soju she had poured for herself and swallowed it instead.
Then he raised his hand.
As soon as he did, a middle-aged woman with brown hair tied high into a ponytail and wearing a red apron hurried over.
“What can I get you?”
“One can of cider, please.”
“Right away!”
She quickly went to the restaurant refrigerator near the kitchen, brought back a cold can of lemon-lime soda, and placed it on the table.
Taking the icy can, Haeru glared at him.
He gently took it from her hands, popped it open for her, and gave it back. Then, smiling faintly, he picked up the tongs again, placed more meat onto her plate, and said kindly,
“Eat before the meat burns.”
“…Ha.”
This had been a day when she desperately wanted a drink.
It was the day she had finally realized that her desperate rationalization—that perhaps he had hidden the fact that he was married because he truly loved her—had been nothing but wishful thinking.
It was also the day she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had lived like a complete fool, deceived all this time.
That’s why she had wanted so badly to drink the clear liquid inside the green bottle.
But what could she do when he was stopping her this firmly?
Left with no choice, she stuffed herself with grilled meat and washed away the greasy taste with one gulp after another of soda.
When the can was finally empty, she set it down on the table with a light tap before curiosity suddenly surfaced.
“By the way… how did you know I was here?”
The only clue she had left behind had been a single yellow memo. She couldn’t figure out how he had managed to find her, so she turned toward him expectantly.
He had apparently drunk too quickly. After setting down his shot glass, he choked slightly, covered his mouth with his fist, coughed a few times, and cleared his throat.
After taking a sip of water, he looked back at her.
Their eyes met.
Holding up one finger, Muhyeok pointed across the street.
“There’s a café over there.”
“Oh… the really big one? What about it?”
She remembered it because of its impressive size, but she couldn’t understand what that café had to do with anything.
Her brows lifted in confusion.
“The owner is my friend, Han Yejun. I don’t know if you remember him.”
She vaguely remembered seeing him during childhood. He had been Muhyeok’s closest friend, so at least his name sounded familiar.
“Oh…”
“Yejun came to Cha Muyeon’s birthday party too. That’s where he saw Secretary Yoon.”
“Oh… but he recognized me?”
“He has a sharp eye. He called me after seeing you at the pork cutlet restaurant.”
The moment she heard “pork cutlet,” she was reminded of Taejun.
She barely managed to stop herself from blurting out a curse.
“I see…”
Silence settled between them.
As she quietly nodded, he continued staring at the clear soju. His lips parted as though he had something to say.
After hesitating for a while, he finally spoke.
“I’m sorry about earlier… for hugging you so suddenly.”
Whenever he saw her, impulse simply overwhelmed him.
What had worried him all day was the possibility that she might think of him as nothing more than some uncontrollable beast.
“Don’t worry about it. I don’t mind mistakes like that.”
“…It wasn’t a mistake.”
Thinking he was apologizing because he considered it an accident, she leaned forward.
“What?”
“The reason I’m apologizing is because I acted without asking how you felt. I’m not apologizing because what I did was a mistake.”
His eyes remained unwavering as he looked straight at her.
His firm declaration that it hadn’t been a mistake made her heart tremble violently.
Speechless, she quickly looked away and stuffed another piece of meat into her mouth, chewing even though it refused to go down.
Feeling his face growing hot, he suddenly wanted another drink. He raised his hand to order another bottle.
Startled, she grabbed his forearm.
“Stop drinking.”
Their roles had completely reversed.
“I’m fine. I don’t think I’ll get drunk… not today…”
Despite saying that, he ordered two more bottles of soju while she finished eating.
Soon his eyelids grew heavy, and he sat there blinking slowly.
In the end, she had to support him all the way to the passenger seat of the car.
After helping him inside, she wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand before closing the door.
Unlike her, completely exhausted and drained of strength, he had already fallen asleep against the passenger seat.
For some reason, the sight made her chuckle.
“…Ha.”
Letting out a helpless laugh, she gently shut the passenger door, walked around to the driver’s side, and got into the car.
Looking over at him from behind the steering wheel, she sighed.
“I came here because I wanted to drink, and you’re the one who ended up passed out.”
This wasn’t how tonight was supposed to go.
Everything had fallen apart.
She shot the deeply sleeping Muhyeok a resentful glance before struggling with the seat belt, which for some reason refused to come out smoothly.
When it finally released, she pulled it across him and clicked it into place.
Even fastening a single seat belt for him had exhausted her.
A weary sigh escaped her lips.
Not long after they started driving, they arrived at the parking garage of the apartment.
Turning off the engine, she looked over at Cha Muhyeok sleeping peacefully in the passenger seat.
Her vision nearly went dark.
How was she supposed to carry him all the way to the bedroom?
Earlier, at least he had still been conscious enough to lean on her.
Now he seemed to be sleeping so deeply that he’d be nothing more than dead weight.
Forcing the corners of her lips upward, she tried encouraging herself.
You can do this.
She clenched her fists, silently psyching herself up.
As she stared at Muhyeok’s sleeping face, however, she noticed something strange.
His brows were tightly furrowed, as though he were trapped in a nightmare.
He looked genuinely distressed.
Quietly, she unfastened his seat belt.
Even afterward, his painful expression didn’t ease, and Haeru couldn’t bring herself to look away.
Then, suddenly, he murmured in his sleep, calling desperately for someone.
“…Yoon Haeru.”
Without realizing it, she reached toward the crease between his brows.
Her index finger gently touched his forehead.
As though smoothing wrinkles with an iron, she slowly pressed against the deep furrow.
Surprisingly, it worked.
The tight wrinkle gradually relaxed.
But his lips continued searching for the same person.
Curious, she leaned closer until her ear was near his mouth and listened carefully.
“…Yoon… Ru…”
Getting closer, she began to realize who he was calling for.
The more she listened, the clearer it became.
“…Yoon Haeru…”
It was unmistakably her name.
She leaned back slightly and looked at him.
Even then, they were still very close.
“…Was I in your dream?”
As she studied his face in curiosity, she suddenly became aware of his warm breath brushing against her.
Only then did she realize just how close she had gotten.
Startled, she quickly withdrew her hand from his forehead and tried to pull away.
But she couldn’t move.
In that instant, he grabbed her wrist.
Her body lurched forward, colliding against his.
One of her hands landed squarely on his chest.
She could feel just how warm his body was.
Then he slowly opened his eyes.
Meeting his moist, half-awake gaze made her heart pound uncontrollably.
“…Why do you keep tempting me?”
His voice was low and hazy with sleep.
“W-Who’s tempting you?”
“Look at you… You’re still tempting me now.”
