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Chapter 06
Biting down on the softest inner flesh of her mouth, she forced herself to stay conscious.
Had she looked that easy to him—like everything was just a toy in his hands?
So she was “worked up” over Jeong Jaehyun? Ha.
A wave of humiliation surged through her.
“Where did you pick up that habit?”
She met Seonu’s heated gaze directly.
She spoke as calmly and rationally as possible to the man who was nothing short of rude.
At her words, Seonu looked blank—uncertain whether he was surprised by her reaction or his own behavior. His lips only twitched slightly, as if searching for an excuse that didn’t come easily.
She could feel the strength leaving Seonu’s arm.
She seized the moment and took a step back.
What would be most effective against that arrogant Kim Seonu?
She couldn’t let him treat her like this today. Absolutely not.
“Seeing Jeong Jaehyun in front of you made you lose confidence in winning?”
“What…?”
“Or are you so out of your mind you can’t even control yourself around me?”
Seonu’s face twisted without even a hint of composure.
More effective than expected.
She tried to close the distance she’d just created, but Seonu grabbed her shoulder to stop her.
As if telling her not to come any closer.
Uncomfortable with her being so near, Seonu drew in a breath.
She casually straightened his loosened shirt collar, buttoning it up, then fixed the necktie hanging around his collarbone.
“Ha… There’s no way.”
With a rough motion, Seonu slapped her hand away from the tie.
The bones of his hand collided with hers with a dull thud.
He looked visibly offended.
Even his neck had turned red.
“Good. I almost regretted coming to find you.”
Seonu exhaled like he was releasing a blocked breath.
His sharp jawline twitched as if swallowing anger.
He wiped his dry lips once, then turned his head back to meet her eyes.
“Now I’m not sure who’s actually at a disadvantage here.”
His voice came out controlled through clenched teeth.
“Is this included in your legal fee? You look pretty drunk. If you need a woman to entertain your lawyer, should I give you a place to go? Looks like you’re into this kind of thing.”
He shoved a business card into her hand and pressed the elevator button.
The doors opened immediately, and she stepped inside without hesitation.
“What the… Yujin.”
It was the same illicit entertainment business card that had once been carelessly tucked into a car windshield wiper.
She had put it in her coat because she couldn’t throw it on the street, and now it was being used like this.
The card crumpled in Seonu’s fist as if it might be crushed.
Between his furious gaze and her composed stare, the elevator doors closed like a barrier.
“Ha…”
Kim Seonu’s drunken temper is disgusting.
It had been a long, exhausting day.
She felt like collapsing on the spot, but she didn’t let her guard down.
In the mirror, actress Lee Yujin looked perfectly composed and straight-backed.
Who would have thought she’d leave the house wearing Seonu’s coat and come back in it?
She shook her head, pushing thoughts of Seonu away.
She stepped out of the elevator and walked down the hallway.
With every step, the ceiling lights turned on one after another.
She knew no one was watching, but she kept her posture steady, forcing strength into her legs.
Life is not like a neatly structured drama with clear exposition, rising action, climax, and a clean happy ending after the ordeal.
Sometimes, one has to give up even their sense of self just to preserve a minimum sense of safety and daily life.
All she could do was move forward, believing her choices were right in the face of an uncertain future.
If she opened that door, she just wanted to fall into sleep without thinking.
Even just for tonight.
With a loud bang, the front door closed.
Thud.
Another heavy sound followed.
Seonu slammed his massive body into the closed door as if venting his anger.
Then, making an incomprehensible sound, he squeezed his eyes shut.
Bang, bang.
This time he hit the back of his head against it.
Seonu looked like he wanted to die as he recalled everything he had just said to Yujin.
His old, chaotic personality—one he thought had finally calmed down—had exploded in front of her of all people.
If only he had blacked out; at least then the shame wouldn’t have been this unbearable.
[If you want, say so. I can do that much.]
That much? You can do that?
What a damned libertine.
Seonu fought against his past self in silence.
He had never even dated, let alone kissed anyone, and yet he had almost swallowed Yujin’s lips whole.
Like a clueless boy overwhelmed by his first surge of desire.
The unbearable shame and sense of defeat felt like scars carved into his entire body.
He staggered a few steps, kicked off his shoes, and walked inside.
Biting his lower lip until it turned white, he entered the house.
He had shown excessive agitation in front of Yujin.
And because of that, unnecessary friction had followed.
He thought he had washed away all those stains.
But every time he met Yujin, sealed memories resurfaced.
The time when he had lived at the very bottom.
Seonu quickly stripped off his sweat-soaked shirt and threw it into the laundry basket near the utility room.
His straight back muscles rippled under his skin.
Across his neck, right shoulder blade, chest, and arm, a Polynesian tattoo formed a connected pattern over burn scars.
It had been a life-threatening accident.
If he had had money back then, would the scars have been less severe?
The untreated wounds had become part of him, embedded into his life.
Only after passing the bar exam had he been able to cover the scars with tattoos, though he couldn’t bring himself to tattoo his hands.
He removed the rest of his cumbersome clothes and went into the bathroom.
Cold air raised goosebumps across his skin.
Swoosh.
The high-pressure shower sprayed down on him.
Ice-cold water fell over his body.
It cooled his overheated skin.
Even in subzero weather, he never used hot water.
Whenever he accidentally did, he would suffer from unexplained itching all day.
Diagnosed as psychological trauma of unknown origin.
The cold made his jaw muscles clench involuntarily.
He ground his teeth and quickly dried off before putting on a robe.
As if it had been waiting for him, his phone rang on the small table.
<Heo Min-gi>
Not long since we last saw each other, and already calling.
“Yeah. What is it?”
—Sorry for the late hour.
“Get to the point.”
—The defendant just filed a counterclaim.
So Jeong Jaehyun was going to sit still and hand over his son?
Seonu’s posture tilted lazily.
He decided the irritation wasn’t because of Min-gi.
No, he decided to believe that.
“Let’s talk tomorrow. Prepare for an afternoon meeting.”
—Will you come into the office tomorrow?
“Yes. I’m planning to skip out a bit.”
—If you don’t have other plans, could we have a morning meeting…
“If you’re that upset, you can run the firm yourself. I’m hanging up.”
The counterclaim was expected.
What he hadn’t expected was Lee Yujin.
Yujin was supposed to be bait to catch Jeong Jaehyun—not a variable.
Was there a way to control Yujin?
[Seeing Jeong Jaehyun in front of you made you lose confidence in winning?]
Her face flashed like lightning in his mind.
Something inside him twisted violently.
Who? Me? Kim Seonu?
He let out a dry laugh and drank an entire bottle of water.
His throat bobbed loudly as he swallowed.
“Haah… ha…”
He wiped the water from his lips with his fist and exhaled heavily.
Yujin’s face came back again.
Her carefully constructed mask hadn’t hidden her trembling eyes and lips.
It had been arrogance to think she fully trusted him.
She was still looking at him with suspicion.
That gaze stuck to him like a stain on a white shirt.
This disgusting feeling would probably be gone by tomorrow.
[Don’t waste revenge on a world that has no interest in you—just take care of the grandmother who only has you.]
He stopped mid-step toward the bedroom.
Yes, that gaze.
The Yujin who had seen him as a delinquent in the past overlapped with the Yujin who had just shoved an illegal business card into his hand.
In her eyes, he was still nothing more than a troublemaker.
He lay down on the bed without changing out of his robe.
He still had to draw the next piece, but Yujin wouldn’t leave his mind.
If there were a switch, he would have turned her off like a light.
To think even his past memories of Yujin were being dragged out.
He should quit drinking.
Damn it.
