Chapter 1

When you reach a dead end in life, you stop caring about the consequences.

Even a mouse that has always been bullied by a cat will eventually bare its teeth. That was only natural.

And tonight, Yoon Haewon was doing exactly that.

A sharp pain shot through her heel, squeezed unwillingly into a pair of dangerously high heels.

Suppressing the throbbing ache, Haewon applied another layer of red lipstick to her lips.

The woman staring back at her from the mirror looked utterly unfamiliar.

Her tight-fitting black dress accentuated her voluptuous figure, while her smooth, lustrous hair cascaded down in soft waves.

“You wretched girl. Keep your head down and live quietly, as though you were dead.”

She had heard those words repeated like a mantra since childhood. As a result, she had never worn anything that might attract someone’s attention, nor had she ever taken the initiative in anything.

So, deciding to seduce a man was the first act of rebellion and mischief she had ever committed in her life.

Her heart was pounding so violently that it felt as though it might tumble right out of her chest.

Haewon clenched her fists tightly, barely managing to overcome the pressure bearing down on her.

“I can do this, Yoon Haewon.”

Click, click.

With every step she took, her shapely legs were revealed beneath the hem of her short minidress.

Secretive gazes followed the movement of her pale, slender legs. Haewon, however, was far too nervous to enjoy the attention—or even notice it.

A thick tension crept along her spine, making her body tremble.

Forcing herself to remain calm, Haewon surveyed the interior of the bar. She had deliberately stepped into this unfamiliar place after receiving information that that man would be coming here tonight.

Seo Junghoo, executive director of Gyeongseo Retail.

The sole heir to the Gyeongseo Group—and the man her half-sister, Chaeryeong, was desperately obsessed with.

“…!”

Her eyes widened as they settled on a particular spot while she scanned her surroundings.

Even in the dimly lit interior, one man’s presence stood out above everyone else’s.

She recognized him at a glance.

That man was Seo Junghoo.

Surrounded by people, he wore an expression of indifference, as though he were thoroughly bored. Sitting with his long legs folded, he exuded an innate air of ease even without doing anything.

He brought an on-the-rocks glass to his lips and swallowed the amber liquid. The movement of his Adam’s apple as he drank was etched into her mind as though she were watching it in slow motion.

He hasn’t changed at all.

He was still devastatingly handsome.

His long, narrow eyes, high nose, and perfectly proportioned lips all harmonized beautifully with one another.

He had shed the youthful innocence of his boyhood, replacing it with the unhurried composure of a grown man and his own distinctive, almost cold aura. He seemed utterly untouchable.

Can I really seduce a man that perfect…?

Her confidence began to evaporate.

It had been easy enough to march boldly into the bar, but now that she was actually standing before Junghoo, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was painfully insignificant beside him.

Still, she wanted to show her older sister, Chaeryeong, that she could do it.

I can take away the most precious thing you have, too.

Even if they shared only one parent, being betrayed by one’s own flesh and blood was a painful wound.

Haewon anxiously bit down on her red lips.

At that moment, her eyes met Junghoo’s across the room.

Apparently, she had been staring at him so openly that she had completely lost herself in the act.

The instant their gazes connected, her body stiffened with tension. She felt flustered, as though she had been caught doing something shameful.

Desperately pretending that nothing was wrong, she sat down on a barstool. Her already short dress rode even higher up her thighs.

“One glass of Ballantine’s, please.”

She needed something to calm her nerves. Alcohol would be the perfect source of courage.

Haewon’s entire romantic experience consisted of an awkward three-month relationship. There was no way someone like her could seduce a man while completely sober.

The ice cubes clinked inside the clear on-the-rocks glass the bartender handed her, slowly melting as she held it.

She swallowed the liquor on an empty stomach. It burned all the way down her throat before spreading through her body with a sharp, tingling warmth.

How am I supposed to seduce Seo Junghoo like this?

She slowly turned her head—and their eyes met once again.

It was almost as though he hadn’t taken his eyes off her even once.

Startled, Haewon immediately turned to face forward. Her heart felt as though it were being squeezed tightly, and she gripped the transparent crystal glass with all her strength.

Just then, she sensed someone approaching from right beside her.

At the same time, a rich musk fragrance swept over her.

“…!”

Haewon turned her head slightly. The moment she saw the face of the man sitting beside her, she nearly stopped breathing.

Seo Junghoo.

As though by some unbelievable miracle, he had approached her and taken the seat beside her.

His gaze lingered on her, deep and intense. His face was both seductive and sensual.

He didn’t seem to be in any hurry, yet there was something perilously captivating about him that she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

“Did you come alone?”

His low voice resonated through the space with unhurried ease.

The faint background noise seemed to recede all at once, leaving only his voice.

Her heart began racing like crazy. She was almost worried that the man sitting right beside her might hear it pounding.

When she was around twenty, she had once crossed paths with him briefly.

Apparently, Seo Junghoo didn’t remember her at all.

If he had recognized her, he wouldn’t have approached her so casually. Especially not while practically radiating seductive signals with his entire body.

She had never expected him to make the first move.

Her pulse raced so quickly that she felt dizzy.

“Yes.”

“May I sit here?”

“Sure.”

At her barely audible reply, the corners of his eyes curved slightly.

She had never imagined that a man like him could smile that way.

Haewon blinked and lowered her gaze.

What kind of expression would other women wear in a moment like this? What would they say?

Her mind seemed to have gone completely blank.

Perhaps it was because of the overwhelming presence of the man sitting before her, his lips lazily curved into a smile.

“I’m Seo Junghoo.”

She knew the weight carried by those three syllables: Seo Junghoo.

He was the kind of man whose name alone served as his business card.

Haewon hesitated for a moment, wondering how she should introduce herself.

Fortunately, Seo Junghoo hadn’t realized that they had met before.

But the moment she uttered the name Yoon Haewon, he might automatically think of Yoon Chaeryeong.

For an intelligent man who had been praised as a prodigy countless times since childhood, it was certainly possible.

She pressed her lips together briefly before parting them again in a faint smile.

“Do people introduce themselves even in places like this?”

“Whatever you prefer.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, he brought his on-the-rocks glass to his lips.

She was growing increasingly anxious that he might get up and leave at any moment, but she made sure not to let her feelings show.

Her mouth had gone dry with nervousness.

Haewon took a small sip of the liquor in her glass.

They exchanged hardly any conversation, yet a rich, sensual atmosphere flowed between them.

“Why did you come here?”

“Because I didn’t want to be alone.”

She had heard Seo Junghoo’s reputation so many times that his traits were practically engraved in her mind. Even when she hadn’t wanted to hear about him, she had been forced to listen.

Her older sister, Chaeryeong, talked about him constantly.

He had an unmistakable presence that naturally drew people’s attention, and he was undeniably captivating. He possessed the relaxed, polished demeanor of a well-mannered, mature man.

But Seo Junghoo was also cold and straightforward. He disliked wasting time and had a direct personality.

She had only exchanged a few words with him, yet she could already tell.

Everything Chaeryeong had said about him was true.

Rather than dragging things out, getting straight to the point would give her a better chance of succeeding.

“Would you like to leave with me?”

It was a clumsy attempt at seduction, but there was no mistaking her intentions.

Inside, her heart was pounding so violently that she felt it might burst out of her chest.

Their gazes intertwined, lingering heavily in the air between them.

At that moment, a captivating smile spread across Junghoo’s handsome face.

Thump.

The brief moment before he parted his lips felt impossibly long.

“Sounds good.”

His low voice fell casually between them, cutting through the dry air.

For a moment, she forgot how to breathe.

He had accepted her invitation far too easily.

Almost as though he had been waiting for her to ask.

Thud.

A sharp, stinging pain spread across her back as it struck the wall.

But before she could even register the pain, Junghoo captured her lips with his own.

An intense tidal wave swept over her entire body.

“Mm!”

Was a one-night stand with a stranger always this intense?

The image of the courteous man she had encountered at the bar moments ago seemed almost unbelievable compared to the roughness he displayed now.

She was utterly bewildered by how he had gone straight to an unabashed kiss after exchanging only a few words with her.

And yet, Haewon found herself helplessly drawn along by him.

He sucked provocatively on her lower lip before slipping his tongue between her parted lips.

The warm, slick muscle delved deep into her mouth, exploring her tender inner flesh until he had seemingly stolen every last trace of moisture from her.

She had no idea how she was supposed to catch her breath.

Her mind simply throbbed with a strange, tingling sensation.

If she hadn’t been leaning against the wall, her legs would undoubtedly have given way beneath her.

She had never even imagined a kiss so raw and uninhibited.

After allowing her a brief moment to breathe, he entangled his tongue with hers again, more forcefully this time.

She couldn’t think about anything.

All she could do was lose herself in the intensity of the man before her.

She could feel an intimate warmth spreading through her body, leaving her suddenly and unexpectedly aroused.

All from a single kiss.

She didn’t even have the chance to wonder whether something was going wrong.

“Ah!”

For a brief moment, her body felt weightless.

Then she felt the softness of sheets against her back.

Haewon opened her eyes wide and looked at Junghoo, who had trapped her beneath his strong arms.

When she met his dark, gleaming eyes, filled with desire, she felt her breath catch.

It was an instinctive reaction.

“You were the one who tried to seduce me. So why are you making such an innocent face?”

His voice was low, his tone subtly dropping as his words sent a dizzying sensation straight through her ears.

The man smiling so leisurely was irresistibly alluring—and dangerously captivating.

He was the sort of man she couldn’t take her eyes off for even a second.

“If you’re thinking of running away… give up on that idea now.”

Riiip.

With a mischievous smile, he immediately grabbed her tight-fitting dress and roughly pushed it up over her thighs, tearing at the fabric.

The sound of the seams ripping echoed ominously in her ears.

Seo Junghoo lowered his face toward the intimate part of her body, where only a tiny scrap of underwear remained.

He touched a place no one had ever been allowed to touch before, his movements rough, as though driven by an unbearable thirst.