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chapter 25
For a moment, she was startled and instinctively covered herself with the sheet.
She had thought he had gone home, yet he appeared nonchalantly.
Dohyeon looked at her and smiled brightly.
“Awake?”
He tossed the towel he had used to dry his hair into the laundry basket and casually approached her, as if he owned the place.
“Are you okay?”
Sitting on the edge of the bed, he checked her complexion.
“Now you act concerned… but who kept going even after I told you to stop?”
She gave him a sulky look. Dohyeon scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
“Sorry. I just… I couldn’t control myself because I liked it too much.”
She couldn’t really blame him. She had enjoyed it too. It was just that her body had found it a bit overwhelming.
“I thought you went home since I didn’t see you.”
“It’s our first day, so I didn’t want to leave.”
“…First day?”
Seeing her confused expression, Dohyeon’s face hardened.
“Weren’t you accepting me… as a partner?”
Ah.
She hadn’t intended for it to go that way.
In the instant her fear shifted to relief, he kissed her, and she had no strength to resist. Her body reacted first, and the sensation easily overpowered her reason.
She had succumbed to desire.
“Sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. Yesterday was just…”
“Don’t apologize. It feels like being used.”
Seeing his disappointed face made her feel guilty, but she also felt a bit unfair, thinking he had sparked it first.
“You said I could use you whenever I wanted.”
“I meant when you wanted to sleep with me, not as a pastime.”
“Pastime? I never thought of it that way.”
“Anyway, it was just one night.”
“Dohyeon.”
“You liked it too, didn’t you? Right?”
There was certainty in his eyes, as if lying would be impossible.
Yeonha could no longer deny it.
It was true. Unlike her previous messy relationships, the night with Dohyeon made her forget everything else. Now, thinking about it, she was scared.
If she left him, she felt she could never return to how things were.
“Yes. I liked it.”
When she admitted it calmly, a relieved smile spread across Dohyeon’s face.
“Then there’s no problem.”
Everything was a problem. The fact that he worked at the same company, was four years younger, lived next door, and had many women around him—everything was a potential obstacle.
What was maddening was that she was drawn to him despite all that. That was the biggest problem.
“If you’re worried about being seen by people at work… I’ll be careful. I won’t let it affect you.”
He spoke with calm, clear eyes, as if he could sense her concerns. There was a strong will in his gaze, a determination to see things through.
She had known from the start. She had known it was already a tilted fight.
Yet she had struggled because she didn’t want to repeat past mistakes.
But the wall she had built crumbled too easily before him.
“I have a question.”
“What is it?”
After hesitating for a long time, she finally spoke.
“The ‘Kayla’ you mentioned on the phone… who is she?”
“She’s my younger sister.”
He answered, slightly frowning as if embarrassed.
Only then did Yeonha realize she had completely misunderstood and looked at him with a hollow expression.
“Did you… let me misunderstand on purpose back then?”
“Sorry.”
Even with his apology, her frown didn’t fade easily. She remembered lying awake all night, jealous over nothing, and heat surged to the top of her head.
Dohyeon, sensing her unease, gently held her hand that was clutching the sheet.
“I got anxious because you were so indifferent to me… I won’t do anything that childish again.”
His words were tense. He looked nervous that she might turn away from him due to his mistake. That alone meant he wanted her.
Realizing that, her anger slowly subsided.
“…Can you promise me?”
“I swear on my name.”
He placed her hand on his chest. She could feel his heartbeat racing under his firm chest. Only then did her expression soften.
Seeing that she had given in, a gentle smile spread across Dohyeon’s lips.
“So… does today count as Day 1?”
“We’re not dating, so what does a date matter?”
She answered with a deliberately indifferent expression, thinking they weren’t the type to care about anniversaries.
But Dohyeon was adamant.
“It’s better to be certain about everything.”
His eyes darkened with determination.
Hearing this, Yeonha cautiously spoke a thought that had just come to her.
“…By the way… have you ever been stuck in an elevator before?”
Dohyeon’s eyes widened slightly.
“I was once trapped in an elevator during a blackout. Someone calmed me down then. It was too dark to see their face well, but their voice reminded me of yours.”
When she finished, Dohyeon smiled faintly.
“You only noticed now?”
His voice was playful, and Yeonha’s eyes widened.
“What? I thought I already knew?”
“Yes.”
“How did you know? It was dark, I couldn’t see well.”
“I’ve been watching you since you got in the elevator.”
Ah.
She hadn’t noticed who was in the elevator because she had been focused on the call.
“Why didn’t you say anything earlier? I wanted to thank you…”
“I waited. I wanted you to recognize me.”
He smiled faintly.
“What if I hadn’t recognized you in the end?”
“I had faith that someday you would. Because we’re fate.”
“Fate… Dohyeon, aren’t you seeing the world too rose-colored?”
Yeonha’s objection met his firm gaze.
“Just wait. I’ll prove to you that we are fate.”
Even after defining their relationship, not much changed.
Yeonha was busy preparing for evaluations, and Dohyeon was absorbed in creating a new proposal.
That’s how the hectic week passed until Friday arrived.
After finishing a department store market survey, they stepped outside, only to be caught in sudden rain.
“Whoa, Team Leader! It’s raining!”
“Rain all of a sudden?”
“Yeah, and it’s my first day leaving work early in a while.”
Jinyoung looked up at the sky, frustrated.
It seemed they weren’t the only ones caught off guard, as the department store entrance was crowded with people trapped by the sudden rain.
“I’ll drive you home.”
“But that’s the opposite direction from your place.”
“Think of it as a drive. Let’s go.”
As Yeonha headed toward the underground parking lot, Jinyoung grabbed her arm.
“Team Leader.”
“Hm?”
“Instead… how about some pancakes and makgeolli?”
Turning toward her, Jinyoung said in a cute voice.
“Suddenly?”
“Rainy days and pancakes with makgeolli are a must, right?”
“You want some?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, let’s do it.”
“Yay!”
Watching Jinyoung excited like a child, Yeonha laughed.
They opened an umbrella from the car and headed to a nearby street stall.
Though she suggested going to a pub with proper restrooms, Jinyoung insisted it’s better to enjoy it at a street stall with the sound of rain.
After ordering pancakes and makgeolli, Jinyoung added grilled sea eel, saying it’s a must when at a street stall. The earlier complaint about the rain was gone.
Although Yeonha usually didn’t like the thick taste of makgeolli, the weather and golden-brown pancakes made it surprisingly easy to drink.
“It’s so nice to come to a street stall with you, Team Leader!”
Since Yeonha wasn’t much of a drinker, Jinyoung rarely had a chance to drink with her outside work, so he was thrilled at this sudden opportunity.
Jinyoung quickly finished three bottles of makgeolli and ordered a fourth.
As Yeonha watched, her phone buzzed.
[Where are you?]
It was Nam Dohyeon.
[I’m having a drink with Jinyoung.]
Just as she tried to put her phone down, another message arrived.
[I thought you had no plans?]
