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Chapter 15
Taejun, who had stayed up all night watching over Jian as she slept, headed to the hotel fitness club as soon as dawn broke.
“Haa… haa…”
Even as he increased the treadmill speed and moved his body, other thoughts kept filling his mind.
He had tried multiple times to make Jian feel humiliated, embracing her and deliberately choosing words meant to wound her.
“Feels like I’ve gone crazy.”
In the end, the one getting hurt was himself.
The more that unpleasant sensation of his heart stinging spread, the more roughly he pushed Jian again on purpose.
And the more whatever she felt was transmitted to him, the more it felt like his own essence was becoming blurred.
“This isn’t what you wanted, is it?”
Just like Jian had once done.
After completely taking her, he had intended to discard her as if nothing had happened.
Then he planned to keep Jian as his secretary by his side and watch her wither away.
But from the very beginning, he had been engulfed by a filthy feeling that something was going wrong.
“Damn it.”
At the thought that nothing went the way he wanted whenever Seo Jian was involved, Taejun muttered a curse under his breath.
He pressed the button to increase the treadmill speed even more.
Jian opened her eyes, and the space beside the bed was empty.
“Ugh.”
As she tried to move her body, she frowned at the pain left behind from the intense night.
It seemed it hadn’t ended just once—Taejun had taken her about four times.
The last time, she had blacked out and fallen asleep, leaving her memory hazy.
Whatever the case, she thought it would be best to leave, so Jian covered her naked body with the blanket and looked around.
Something was placed under the light of the bedside drawer.
“Right. My blouse got torn yesterday.”
Thinking it was the only clothes she had, she walked toward the drawer, wondering how she would go to work like this.
But something strange was placed on top of the clothes.
It was money.
The moment she saw it, her stomach churned.
“How could he do something like this…”
Her hands trembled violently as she wondered what Taejun thought of her.
Just as darker thoughts began to rise, her phone on the side vibrated.
“Executive Director”
The moment his name appeared on the screen, Jian’s jaw tightened.
If it was the kind of money she thought it was, she wanted nothing more than to throw it straight at him.
After forcing those emotions down her throat, she reluctantly tapped the call button.
“Yes, Executive Director.”
She hadn’t meant to, but her voice trembled slightly at the end.
Regret from the previous night, from not running away when she still had the chance, returned like dark clouds and soaked through her completely.
“Are you awake?”
“Yes.”
“I left a blouse next to the bed.”
“I’ll check it. Thank you.”
“You haven’t checked yet, I see. Did you just wake up?”
“…Yes.”
Even though it wasn’t that late, Taejun spoke as if she had overslept.
Despite having spent the entire night with her, he sounded completely unaffected, which was astonishing.
“If you don’t like it, buy something you prefer.”
“…Ah.”
Jian’s eyes drifted toward the money that had felt so offensive.
“Did he leave it with that meaning?”
But she couldn’t ask Taejun directly.
Afraid he might say something else.
She had already been hurt enough by him and didn’t want to add anything more, so she stayed silent.
“If you’re having a hard time, you don’t have to come to work today.”
“No, I’ll finish the report you asked for by today.”
“Do as you wish. See you at the company.”
“Yes, Executive Director.”
Taejun hung up without another word.
After the call ended, Jian found herself worrying about how she would face him at work.
The morning after something she should never have done was filled only with regret.
After showering, Jian put on the clothes Taejun had prepared and stood in front of the mirror.
The perfectly tailored two-piece suit fit her body as if it had been made for her, matching her atmosphere well.
But that wasn’t all.
“How does he know my underwear size so well?”
Of course, he had touched her with his hands and lips the night before, but that alone shouldn’t have been enough to judge her size.
Unless… he had been with many women before.
As that thought surfaced, her expression darkened.
Then she shook her head, annoyed at herself for even thinking about Taejun like that.
“We’re done now. Don’t start having strange feelings over just one night.”
There would never be anything between them again, so she just needed to sort out her feelings toward him on her own.
Even if it hadn’t worked for nearly ten years, she would have to erase him somehow from now on.
“Get a grip, Seo Jian.”
It was absurd to want anything more from Taejun after deceiving him and hiding her circumstances.
Not to mention, she had even said she liked Yoo Hyun.
More than anything, for reasons she didn’t understand, Taejun always looked at her as if she were his enemy, grinding his teeth whenever he saw her.
Liking someone like that would be no different from asking to get hurt.
“Stop thinking and just go to work.”
Being in the same space where she had been with Taejun only hours ago kept bringing up all sorts of unnecessary thoughts.
Jian quickly grabbed her things and hurried out.
But the moment she opened the door, she ran into Taejun.
“Executive Director.”
“You’re still here?”
Startled by his appearance when she had assumed he had already gone to work, Jian instinctively stepped back.
“I was just about to leave.”
“I see.”
“Then I’ll see you at the company.”
Jian bowed politely and tried to pass him, but in that moment, he grabbed her slender wrist.
A thirst spread through Jian’s throat.
“We need to talk, don’t we?”
“….”
It was clear he meant what happened between them.
But Jian simply stood there, lips pressed together.
“No matter how I think about it, what we did yesterday isn’t something we should be talking about at the company, don’t you think?”
As expected, Taejun once again used blunt wording that flustered her.
“So how about we settle this here before we go?”
It felt like a swamp that wouldn’t let her escape no matter how hard she tried.
Shortly after, room service that Taejun had ordered arrived.
Neatly arranged side dishes and sea urchin seaweed soup looked delicious, but they didn’t stir Jian’s appetite.
“Eat.”
“Yes. Please enjoy your meal as well, Executive Director.”
She picked up her spoon, but her lack of appetite made her movements awkward and slow.
Simply being in a closed space alone with him made her uncomfortable.
Taejun took only a couple of spoonfuls before frowning and putting his spoon down.
He cleared his throat and broke the heavy silence.
“Secretary Seo.”
“Yes, Executive Director.”
“How was it yesterday? I think we matched quite well.”
His gaze locked onto Jian.
She couldn’t deny it—she had reached climax several times in his arms.
And saying otherwise would be ridiculous, so Jian took a breath before speaking.
“I… also thought it was good. I thought we were compatible.”
Embarrassed, she fidgeted with her hands resting on her thighs.
Taejun smiled with satisfaction.
“It’s the first time, I think, that Secretary Seo has spoken honestly in front of me instead of lying.”
“It’s not like I enjoyed it, Executive Director… and there’s something I’d like to say in advance…”
As her words trailed off, Taejun raised his eyebrows, signaling her to continue.
Jian lifted the glass in front of her and took a sip of water before speaking calmly.
“It was a rather impulsive night, but I think it’s something that can commonly happen between consenting adults.”
“….”
“I have absolutely no intention of holding you responsible for what happened. So you don’t need to worry about it. Let’s just treat it as… a heated incident and leave it at that.”
She spoke smoothly, without hesitation.
She hadn’t expected to bring it up this quickly.
Taejun picked up his glass and drank water.
His prominent Adam’s apple moved up and down as he swallowed.
He studied Jian with an unreadable gaze for a moment.
“I like that you’re not saying something cliché like ‘take responsibility.’ It’s fresh. Though I do feel a bit reluctant because it was such an intense night, I also hate relationships tied to responsibility.”
“I’m glad you feel the same way, Executive Director.”
“And from now on, I won’t bring up my past relationships in front of Secretary Seo.”
What was he even saying, after confirming her wounds and kissing them the night before?
Taejun placed his clasped hands on the table and leaned slightly toward her.
“Instead, I’d like to propose something.”
“W-what…”
A bad feeling crept in, and Jian’s voice trailed off.
Then Taejun’s lips curved into a long, relaxed smile.
“Let’s be partners.”
“W-what? Executive Director!”
Jian’s voice rose in shock.
“Compared to rumors that I’m switching between Director Yoo Hyun and you in an inappropriate relationship, this might actually be cleaner.”
But Taejun’s expression remained disturbingly calm and composed.
