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chapter 50
However, Brand would have to endure at least three to four years of hardship before settling in.
[I’m not asking for an answer right now. Take your time to think about it and contact me by next week.]
When she couldn’t answer immediately, Director Hwang seemed to sense her hesitation and took a step back.
Yeon-ha briefly said, “Understood,” and quietly hung up the phone.
If she changed jobs, the pressure of having an office romance with him would ease, and she wouldn’t have to care about others’ eyes anymore. She felt somewhat relieved at the thought of being able to meet him freely.
But if she transferred to Sale Mofik, commuting from her current officetel would take three hours round trip.
Ultimately, moving was an unavoidable choice. If that happened, she would naturally drift away from him. They wouldn’t see each other often, and communication would gradually decrease. As the saying goes, out of sight, out of mind.
In the past, she would have chosen the transfer without hesitation.
But now, having acknowledged her feelings for him, she couldn’t make the decision easily.
What would he say if she changed jobs? Would he hold her back, or would he calmly let her go, pretending not to care?
Lost in these thoughts, she suddenly heard a familiar voice.
“Why are you out here?”
Startled, she turned her head and saw him standing there.
“Oh, just… the air felt a bit stifling,” she replied, trying to act casual.
Without a word, Do-hyun quietly plopped down next to her.
Normally, she would have worried about someone seeing them, but strangely, she didn’t feel that now. Even if someone did, it didn’t matter; after all, people already assumed he was dating Kim Su-ji.
“You haven’t looked happy since earlier. Are you feeling unwell?”
“No, it’s just… noisy, so I was a bit distracted.”
Since when had he been watching her expression? She felt embarrassed, thinking he had caught her mood, and not wanting to appear jealous, she forced herself to act nonchalant.
“I thought maybe…”
“What?”
His disappointed tone made Yeon-ha frown in confusion.
“I thought you were jealous,” he said.
“What…?”
Seeing her bewildered look, he continued.
“I got jealous when I saw you doing a three-legged race with Assistant Manager Lee Jae-seok.”
“Which part exactly?”
“You were laughing while looking at Jae-seok.”
“No. I was just happy because I won,” she replied incredulously.
Then, a thought suddenly crossed her mind, and she squinted her eyes.
“Could it be… you were being extra nice to Kim Su-ji because of that?”
Normally, Do-hyun spoke minimally with female employees, but today, he had unusually warm interactions with Kim Su-ji, which flashed vividly in her mind.
“So you finally realized?”
He immediately admitted it.
Recalling her own earlier feelings of hurt, jealousy, and gloom, Yeon-ha felt a surge of anger. She berated herself for getting drunk over pointless jealousy.
“Let’s go in,” she said, standing abruptly toward her dorm.
Do-hyun quickly followed and grabbed her arm.
“Are you angry?”
“No. I’m just sobered up and heading in,” she said.
“I’m sorry. I was thoughtless,” he said, immediately apologizing when he sensed her mood had soured. But when she refused to meet his gaze, he sighed softly and added:
“I know this relationship started because I like you, but seeing you act indifferent makes me anxious. Seeing you with another guy made me jealous, and I acted childish.”
She had never ignored him, not once. Wherever he went, whoever he talked to, her gaze inevitably followed, her mind completely focused on him.
“I won’t do it again. So please, calm down. Okay?”
Before she could respond, he seemed to think she was too angry to speak.
Yeon-ha was about to explain that it was all a misunderstanding and that she had been very conscious of him from the start, when Do-hyun suddenly pulled her between the buildings.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Shh.”
He placed his index finger on her lips and whispered softly.
As she looked at him, confused, the voices of Kim Mi-seon, head of the design team, and assistant manager Ahn Eun-young came from nearby.
“Team leader, are you really going in to sleep?”
“I’m tired, just taking a rest. Don’t worry about me, Eun-young, keep drinking.”
Her pupils widened at the familiar voices. Only then did she realize why he had suddenly hidden between the buildings and held her breath quietly.
Soon, the two passed by the building where they had hidden.
“Now that the team leader and Nam Do-hyun are gone, what’s the point of drinking? I’ll just go in and sleep,” Eun-young said.
“Suit yourself,” Kim Mi-seon shrugged.
“But just now, seeing Nam Do-hyun with Kim Su-ji, it felt… strange. Don’t you think they might start dating soon?”
“No way, they’re just joking around.”
“People can get carried away by the mood, you know?”
“Not Nam Do-hyun, at least.”
“Why not?”
Kim Mi-seon’s firm tone made Eun-young curious.
“Nam Do-hyun has no interest in Kim Su-ji.”
“How do you know that?”
“His eyes were smiling, but they were bored to death. That’s all.”
“Really? Phew, that’s a relief,” Eun-young said, exhaling.
Once the two went inside, Yeon-ha felt the tension drain from her shoulders.
Yet even though there was no longer a risk of being caught, his finger remained on her lips.
Just as she was about to say it was okay, Do-hyun’s finger slowly traced her lower lip.
In the dark, their eyes met. Her eyelids trembled at his dark, flickering gaze.
Then, his lips consumed hers—biting, sucking, licking—pressing her against the wall. Their bodies pressed tightly together.
A hot, firm pressure between her thighs made her pupils widen. He held her gaze and explored her mouth with abandon.
Their breaths mingled, tongues tangled, and the kiss deepened. His hand, which had been on her face, slid down her neck to her collarbone, moving lower.
Just as his fingertips reached her soft mound, her phone vibrated.
Startled by the shaking in her pocket, Yeon-ha quickly pulled away. Realizing where they were kissing, she regained her senses and avoided his approaching lips.
As she pulled out her phone, Do-hyun, seemingly relentless, bit her earlobe and teased her with his tongue. She instinctively shrank her shoulders at the wet sound.
“Huh… Do-hyun, wait. The phone…”
“We’ll answer it later,” he whispered breathlessly, nibbling her earlobe.
The constant vibration made Yeon-ha anxious, and she tried to push him away, but he was immovable.
“What if it’s an urgent call?”
“They’ll call again.”
“But…”
“Just a little longer. I’ve been dying to do this since morning.”
Pressing her hands against the wall, he could no longer resist and kissed her neck, tracing her racing pulse with his tongue, nibbling her tender skin. Then, thud—a dull sound.
Startled, she turned to see Jin-young standing frozen.
Seeing her phone on the floor made his heart sink.
“Jin-young, I’ll explain what happened,” she said, frozen. Do-hyun stepped forward.
“Nam Do-hyun!”
As she tried to calmly explain, they heard the voice of Department Head Jeong Seong-tae calling for him. He probably went looking for Do-hyun after waiting and finding him absent.
“He said he was going to the bathroom, so where did he actually go?”
