Chapter 38: Desire and Fear

He parted the small gap and greedily sucked in the sweet moisture.

He bit and chewed the soft, tender flesh of her lips.

“Haa……”

The lips that were forced open, the small tongue that had no choice but to shrink back, and the deeply pooled saliva were never enough, no matter how much he consumed.

His desire was so acute it felt like it was sticking to her as he robbed her of her ragged, shallow breaths.

He swallowed even the soft sobs that occasionally leaked out as if they were his own.

At this moment, Siheon was in a state where he would have greedily devoured anything Kangeun gave him.

Every sense he possessed was racing toward her.

His long-suppressed animal instincts urged him on—to invade, to steal, and to carve himself deeply into her so that everyone would know she belonged to him.

He had told her to say so if she hated it.

That he would stop.

Stop? Like hell he would.

He had been spouting nonsense.

He had only acted composed because he lacked real experience, not knowing he would act as ravenously as a starving beast.

The kiss alone made him lose his mind.

His throbbing, swollen desire pulled at his nerves until they were taut.
The small body panting beneath him was both pitiful and something he craved intensely.

Yes, he was burning with lust.

Nothing he grasped felt satisfying enough, so he lowered his head.

He licked her slender neck and, unable to contain himself, sank his teeth into her skin.

“Huu……gh.”

He was so delighted by the moan that spilled out—as if welcoming him—that he proceeded to suck firmly at the spot.

His insatiable hand slid from her shoulder down her arm.

As he caught her twitching hand and massaged it, her delicate body, which had been stiff with tension, slowly grew limp as if finding relief.

“Ugh…… nnh.”

It’s okay, it’s okay.

As if soothing her, he lightly kissed her collarbone while lifting her T-shirt.

Hoping to firmly grasp her sweet-smelling flesh, he pushed his fingertips in rudely, only to touch something infinitely soft.

“f*ck……”

The sheer feel of her against his hand caused an expletive to slip out involuntarily.

He caressed the bare skin near her waist, stroking the indentation along her spine, as he lowered his head further.

“Hmp, wait, wait a second……”

The hands that had been clutching his shoulders now seemed to be pushing him away.
Displeased by this, his brow had just begun to twist in a scowl when:

“The phone, the phone……”

At Kangeun’s barely uttered complaint, Siheon furrowed his brow and straightened his upper body.

He looked down at Kangeun, who had quickly raised her hands to cover her face, before turning his head toward the sound.
The faint noise coming from Kangeun’s shopper bag on the floor next to the sofa was definitely the vibration of a mobile phone.

“You heard that?”

“…….”

“You need to focus.”

Siheon blamed Kangeun’s lack of focus as his gaze drifted to her flat stomach revealed beneath the lifted T-shirt.
The soft skin shining there was ivory white.
He closed his wet lips as he recalled the warm texture of her skin that had been touching his just moments ago.

“Huu, it keeps, it keeps ringing.”

It seemed the vibration had been going on for a long while.
Siheon let out a hollow laugh and looked at Kangeun.
He wanted to stay connected with her even if only through their gazes, he wanted to be entangled like that, but Kangeun was avoiding his eyes.

“Right now, I’m in such a state that I wouldn’t even notice if someone swung a knife at my back.”

“…….”

“Who would be calling at this hour?”

“Headquarters, headquarters……”

“You have to take it?”

“Y-yes……”

It might not be an urgent call.
He could just ignore it.
However, Siheon found it cute how Kangeun looked like she was about to cry while watching his reaction.
So, he felt like going along with her obvious trick to buy time.
He reached out, handed her the entire bag, and Kangeun hurriedly scrambled into a sitting position.

“I’m upset.”

“…….”

Kangeun remained silent, rummaging through the bag by the faint moonlight.
The movie had already ended.

“Oh……”

As she finally found her phone, the vibration stopped.
Before she could even check the number of missed calls on the screen, the vibration started again, and Kangeun bit her lip.

“What is it with this bastard?”

“……It’s the Branch Director.”

“I know. But why is a Branch Director calling at this hour?”

Siheon, who had already pulled Kangeun into his embrace from behind, meddled as he kissed the back of her neck.
He enjoyed how Kangeun flinched and trembled as he slowly licked the mark he had clearly left behind from sucking.

The look in his eyes as he glared at the screen displaying the three syllables of the name he wanted to tear apart right now was icy, but Kangeun didn’t notice.
That must be why she was gripping her phone so tightly.

“In Korea, a boss who contacts you on a holiday is called a kkondae. Do you know that?”

“Yes. I’ve heard.”

“Then why is that Italian guy acting like a kkondae?”

“…….”

“Should I answer for you?”

“No.”

The moment Kangeun turned around to look at him, Siheon swallowed a curse.
He had thought he’d completely driven her mind out of it, but in the meantime, her gaze had found its reason again as she looked up at him with sparkling eyes.

“I need to take this.”

“…….”

“It might be a business call.”

Business call, my ass.
As Siheon raised a cynical eyebrow and stared at her, the dejected Kangeun hung her head.
He found even that strangely cute, and his mouth softened.

Even if it were a work call, it wouldn’t matter if she didn’t take it.
But because of Kangeun, who looked like a squirrel gathering acorns under the watchful eye of a predator, Siheon backed away.

He shouldn’t have.

****

“What is the Director doing here at this hour……”

“Where have you been?”

“…….”

“Do you know how many times I’ve called? I couldn’t reach you!”

Kangeun, who had taken Hyunwoo’s call, bit her lip at his statement that he was currently in front of her front door.
Her lips, which had been thoroughly bitten and sucked by Siheon, were swollen, stinging, and numb.

She didn’t even have time to dwell on what had happened at Siheon’s house.
At Hyunwoo’s call looking for her, she had hurriedly changed her clothes and grabbed her bag.
The look in Siheon’s eyes as he stood by the door watching her leave was dark and sunken.
She left him with the ambiguous words, “Next time, next time,” as he looked down at her with folded arms, and she turned away quickly.

And when she arrived on the 9th floor and stepped out of the elevator, she found Hyunwoo leaning against the wall next to her front door.
The moment Hyunwoo saw her, he straightened up and strode toward her.
Looking at his face as he approached, he seemed deeply furious.

“Director, more than that, you said there was an urgent matter……”

She only realized she had been shoved against the wall when her head snapped up, startled by the loud bang.
She only belatedly felt the pain spreading across the back of her head and her spine.
Hyunwoo had pushed her arm as if to slam her into the wall.

Due to the impact, the bag hanging on her shoulder fell.
Her belongings, including her laptop pouch and phone, spilled out onto the floor from the bag that landed with a thud.

“Right now, what is this……”

“If you don’t stop calling me that damn Branch Director……”

Kangeun’s eyes went wide with shock at Hyunwoo’s first display of rudeness.
The only people who had ever treated her like this were the loan sharks who had used her debts to threaten her back then.

Hyunwoo had always been kind and gentle to her.
When she first went to Italy and didn’t know what to do in that strange land, he had taken her around, introduced her to a language school, and even helped her with her studies personally.
He had sent her postcards from his travels and bought small gifts every time he returned.
Whenever he stayed home between his travels, he was the one who enjoyed taking Kangeun for drives, as she usually preferred staying in her room.

At one time, she had even called him Oppa.
Grateful for how he cared for her like a younger sister, she had written him cards every birthday.

When she first started helping out at <Café Tenuto> and earned some money, she had bought gifts for Jaeseon-ajusshi, Anna, and Hyunwoo.
Hyunwoo had really loved the fountain pen Kangeun gave him.
He had even winked at her during meetings, saying he still cherished it and used it carefully.

So, she couldn’t believe the violence Hyunwoo was now inflicting upon her.
As Kangeun exhaled a sharp breath and looked at him with disbelief, Hyunwoo clutched his head as if in agony.
Yet, he kept his hand braced against the wall near the elevator to ensure Kangeun couldn’t escape.

“You…… you really test my patience until the end.”

“…….”

The smell of alcohol clung heavily to Hyunwoo.
Hadn’t he said he had another business meeting today?
He had mentioned that after finishing the field work—setting up equipment as the construction was finalizing—he had a drinking engagement with the Hyungyeong Commerce Sales Director.

“When was it that I asked to talk?”

“……You were busy.”

“You didn’t answer every time I called.”

“It was dawn every single time.”

Kangeun answered through gritted teeth.
She had turned her head away from him toward the opposite side of the elevator, unwilling to make eye contact with him as he loomed close.

“Fine, then let’s talk now.”

“You’re drunk.”

“I’m getting a divorce.”

“…….”

Kangeun squeezed her eyes shut.

“I’ve already given Soo-ah notice of the divorce when I organized my life in Milan and moved to Verona. It’s just that Yoo Soo-ah is holding out and refusing to stamp the papers. Even that will be over soon. I’ve hired a lawyer.”

“……That’s unfortunate. I have nothing to say to that.”

“……Unfortunate?”

The anger radiating against her cheek felt like a stab, but Kangeun stared down the end of the hallway without wavering.
She didn’t want to face the messy state of a man who had once been kind.

No. In truth, it was because she was afraid.
This tension was different from the one she had felt in Siheon’s house moments ago.
Though the desire of a man wanting a woman was probably present in both, if Siheon made her feel like she were being submerged in warm water, Hyunwoo made her feel like she were being plunged into freezing ice water.

Her hands, braced against the wall behind her back, were damp with cold sweat.
While Kangeun struggled not to let her fear show, Hyunwoo’s clammy voice reached her ears.
For Kangeun, it was a repulsion that reminded her of the alleyways from winters long ago.

“Kangeun-ah.”

“…….”

“Go Kangeun.”

“……I don’t know why you’re doing this to me.”

“You know.”

“No, I don’t know.”

Kangeun finally turned her head and looked straight at Hyunwoo.
There was no way his divorce could be her fault.
Kangeun’s conscience was clear beyond anyone’s.

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