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Chapter – 17
Love That Will Die Anyway
The One I Cannot Dare To Reach For
Even though Young-hoon was sitting, he had no problem reaching out to grab Eun-hee’s small face.
“Ms. Sa Eun-hee.” He whispered softly, gripping her slender jaw.
“You’re the one who called for this, aren’t you? Hmm?”
Eun-hee let out a pained sound at the sudden use of informal speech. Staggered by the warning that hit a nerve, her legs wobbled.
The words Cha Young-hoon had spat out this afternoon echoed in her head.
_’Let’s play along with your plans. Let’s make it really exciting and fun.’_
The faint blush on Eun-hee’s face rapidly drained away, leaving her pale. To be honest, she hadn’t entirely failed to anticipate this reaction. Eun-hee, too, had accumulated some experience with men by now.
“I’ve done some thinking too,” he said. “Whatever the reason, if Park Mi-jeong told you to latch onto me and that’s why you’re doing this, then wouldn’t I be the only fool getting played if I just blindly fall for it?”
Young-hoon released the grip on her jaw. Instead, he took out a cigarette.
*Tap. Tap.* He tapped the end of the cigarette against the table. Simultaneously, the look he shot her was like a finely honed blade.
Fortunately, she had also prepared an answer in anticipation of a day like this. Now, all she had to do was act as calmly as possible.
“…I’m truly sorry, Prosecutor…” Eun-hee’s sorrowful voice blended into the quiet air.
Even at that moment, she hoped the guilt and anxiety she had deliberately painted on her face were clearly visible.
“In the end… it was a plan destined to fail.”
But, embarrassingly, a dry laugh escaped her.
Young-hoon bit the long cigarette, leaning back obliquely. At his subtle smile and the unspoken signal to continue, Eun-hee tensed up, a fearful shudder running through her whole body.
“…I was foolish to have been confident that I could deceive you, Prosecutor… Now that I think about it, you probably knew everything from the start. I was… acting presumptuously and without fear…”
A faint smile spread over Young-hoon’s face as he looked at Eun-hee, who had lowered her posture stiffly. Twisting one corner of his mouth slightly, he picked up the lighter.
The light reflected from the lighter drew fine cracks on the man’s face. An unpleasant expression spread over his handsome features.
“My superior was curious about how you, Prosecutor, would respond to someone else’s seduction… So, using an errand as a pretext, she told me to create an opportunity to build a connection with you…”
Young-hoon’s eyes narrowed like a snake’s. His pupils, filled with doubt and distrust, glinted as if they would not tolerate a single inch of falsehood.
But Eun-hee had already vowed several times not to be shaken by the man’s sharp reactions.
“She wanted to test you, Prosecutor—that is, whether you would succumb to my seduction. Because…”
*Clang.* A metallic sound came from the lighter. Young-hoon lowered his head without hesitation and brought the cigarette to the small flame.
“…Chairwoman Park Mi-jeong wanted to confirm your love…”
“This is insane.”
Young-hoon, who had been quietly listening to the childish confession, started shaking his shoulders and chuckling. He seemed so amused that he even forgot to light his cigarette.
She knew that laughter held no goodwill. But Eun-hee could intuitively sense that he was interested in her story.
…So. Therefore, Eun-hee decided not to stop the confession she had practiced so many times.
“The Chairwoman hoped this plan would fail. That way, she thought you would feel even deeper affection and trust for her… You would also prepare for the marriage with a joyful heart…”
“And the reason you’re confessing all this here now is?”
Young-hoon’s deep voice, now devoid of laughter, cut off Eun-hee’s words. One of his eyebrows was raised steeply.
“Is it because you, Ms. Sa Eun-hee, also want this childish plan to fail? So, is this some kind of request for me to help you? For your boss’s happiness? Asking me not to fall for the seduction?”
Young-hoon asked mockingly, wrinkles forming between his brows.
“…I, of course…”
Eun-hee caught her breath.
She felt trapped by the sharp gaze directed at her.
Am I… the one being drawn to you in this process?… A vague fear suddenly washed over her—a strange feeling.
“Yes, I sincerely congratulate you both on your marriage… I wish for your happiness more than anyone else.”
“Is that so?” Young-hoon’s eyes relaxed. *Pfft*, the laughter he let out was sharp as a needle.
“What remarkable sincerity. You’ve only been employed for a few days. Anyone would think Park Mi-jeong saved your life or something.”
It wasn’t a wrong statement. Mi-jeong’s proposal had been Eun-hee’s last hope when she was on the verge of death.
Even if it couldn’t ultimately save her life.
“I’d like to shed a tear over such great loyalty, but I’m a guy whose emotions have dried up, you see.”
Young-hoon smiled bitterly. He picked up the whiskey glass that was set on one side of the table.
“Enough, you should go.”
Then, without any lingering attachment, he dropped ice into the glass. *Clink, clatter.* The ice cubes collided, producing a clear, friction-filled sound, followed by the brown liquor pouring into the glass.
*Thud.* The now-emptied transparent glass was placed back on the table.
Eun-hee, who had been biting her lip, spoke with difficulty.
“Prosecutor, I…” Eun-hee took a deep breath and called out to the man.
“…But I.”
Their gazes silently tangled.
“Since things have come to this, I’ve also had the desire… to make you mine, just once… Prosecutor Cha Young-hoon. Like this… even if only for a few hours… Because you, Prosecutor…”
“……”
“…are a man I cannot dare to reach for… It would be a lie to say I didn’t have the desire to make someone like that… want me…”
For a moment, a strong, intense light flashed in the man’s eyes.
“Stop.”
But Young-hoon, who had stopped Eun-hee, lowered his gaze like a shutter hastily slammed down. The desire that had been lingering in his eyes also vanished without a trace, like mist.
In contrast, Eun-hee had nothing left to lose. If the man was stepping back, disappointed in her, then she would just have to approach him.
“Prosecutor…” Eun-hee slowly approached Young-hoon and cautiously met his eyes. She seemed a little frightened, but there was no sense of incongruity.
“I am not as loyal as you think, Prosecutor…”
Young-hoon slowly raised his gaze to such an Eun-hee.
“…nor am I moral…”
Her slender body, which had entered the space between the man’s thick thighs, gradually moved closer. The strange thing was his reaction. He didn’t stop her, merely watched.
*Ha.* But then he laughed as if finding it absurd. Eun-hee stood calmly in front of the man.
Seeing that she still couldn’t erase her troubled expression, Young-hoon quietly pressed her.
“What are you doing.”
Eun-hee couldn’t tell if that was criticizing her actions so far or urging her next move. Not that it mattered anymore.
“…Prosecutor.”
Eun-hee replied, putting on a layer of a nonchalant mask. She carefully leaned her upper body forward and lowered her face.
The man let out a low laugh. He frowned, seeming to ponder for a moment, then quietly met her eyes. He grabbed her by her finely shaped jaw, stopping her.
“What is this, you.”
Simultaneously, his thick-jointed fingertips gently rubbed the tip of her chin. Then, moving up along her slender jaw, he caressed the shell of her ear.
As he fiddled with her earlobe, Eun-hee twisted her shoulders and let out a moan. The heat transmitted from the man’s fingertips spread throughout her entire body.
His Adam’s apple bobbed heavily. Young-hoon let out a long breath.
In the intense heat, Eun-hee felt as if her heart had been sliced apart, her breath growing short.
It was then that the man’s tongue smothered her lips.
Simultaneously, Eun-hee’s knees buckled, and she crumbled onto his solid thighs.
*Hueuk.* A moan escaped from between her swallowed lips. His tongue mercilessly crushed and mashed, saliva overflowing.
*Huh, hueup.* Eun-hee sobbed, surprised and afraid. But only after he had sucked away all her mucous saliva did he finally release her lips.
Young-hoon gently raised Eun-hee’s upper body and spoke.
“Then, shall I take you? Even if just for today.”
