Chapter 9: The Price of Wanting Him

“Sit.”

At some point, Ju-han had pulled over a chair and sat down himself. He sat in an incredibly arrogant pose, one leg crossed over the other. Because he was wearing a silk bathrobe, his bare chest was once again far too visible.

In the middle of winter, had he really come dressed like that?

Yi-jae took off her gloves and shoved them into the pocket of her coat. The cold clung to her entire body, while that man looked as though he were spending a summer vacation at a resort.

She still couldn’t get used to it.

Cha Ju-han walking around half naked.

“You never considered that I might have picked the lock and broken in?”

“Oh.”

Well, Ju-han hadn’t exactly materialized out of thin air in the middle of the street. Of course he had come out of the shop.

At any rate, it was a relief that there hadn’t been a burglary.

The hand with which she set the scissors back on the workbench was damp. When she wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, she found that cold sweat had already formed there.

Maybe she should hang a noisy bell on the door. That way she’d know immediately when someone entered or left.

Then she wouldn’t have to go through this kind of pointless panic again.

“Do you actually have a lot of assets, unexpectedly?”

“What? No?”

“Then why are you so nervous?”

“You’re asking because you don’t know? Someone left a pile of cash here.”

That morning, a man she’d never seen before had shown up at the shop and thrown thirty million won in cash at her.

With a sour look on his face, he’d explained that it was from the club owner.

Ever since the famous Cha Ju-han had returned to the neighborhood, his private life had become a constant source of gossip.

After Ju-han had walked around naked using c*ndoms as an excuse, word had undoubtedly spread, one way or another, that Go Yi-jae had been his partner for the night.

And if someone were curious about where fifty million won might be hidden, the flower shop would probably be the first place they’d check.

All they’d have to do was jiggle the flimsy lock, and they could get their hands on a fortune.

Money sitting in plain sight behind a glass storefront, how tempting was that?

Driven by such catastrophic imaginings, she’d immediately taken the money back to the club.

“‘Ha, you again? You think this place is your house or something? Just coming and going whenever you want?'”

When Yi-jae had gone to the club, the person who opened the door was the woman in the halter top.

Her face had been swollen, as though she’d cried all night, and the moment she saw Yi-jae, she became hostile.

Maybe she felt as though Yi-jae had stolen Ju-han from her.

“Take it.”

“Hey, do I look like your errand girl?”

“It’s pointless money your boss sent.”

“..Fifty million?”

“Thirty.”

“Not fifty?”

Cherry had seemed more concerned about why it was thirty million instead of fifty.

Then she’d opened the envelope and swallowed hard.

She probably needed money badly enough to strip Ju-han’s pants off while he was sleeping.

“…Hey. Just in case, don’t get the wrong idea. I’d already gotten him hard. You just swooped in at the end and took the prize.”

“Then you keep the money. I don’t need it.”

“Hey! Hey!”

Cherry had shouted after her loud enough to burst her eardrums, but Yi-jae hadn’t turned around.

She hadn’t wanted the money anyway.

Even if it disappeared somewhere along the way, she wouldn’t have cared.

“Oh, right. That money. Why did you return it?”

Ju-han walked over to the workbench and sat on the edge of it.

Large flowers occupied much of the table, filling the air with a confusing mixture of floral scents.

Surrounded by soft, sweet fragrances, the large man looked down at her.

His gaze was dry.

But the desire simmering beneath it was unmistakable.

“I didn’t expect it. I thought your employee would pocket the money and you’d never find out.”

“I asked why you returned it.”

Yi-jae bit down hard on her lip.

Ju-han would never understand.

Even if she told him the truth, he wouldn’t comprehend it.

He’d only furrow his brow, unable to understand the story.

Yi-jae wanted to tell him about a man she’d met one winter six years ago.

She wanted to tell him that she’d dreamed of spending a night with him.

And before the trembling from that dream had even faded, she’d been handed a bundle of cash.

Did he have any idea how filthy that had made her feel?

“I had no reason to accept it.”

“It was the amount we’d agreed on.”

“I never agreed to anything.”

“Well.”

Ju-han snapped his fingers.

“I was thoughtless. The amount was too small.”

“What?”

The leap in logic was so absurd that she felt as though her eyes might pop out.

How exactly did this man’s brain work?

Why had he suddenly concluded that the amount wasn’t enough?

“From the start, I should have given you the promised thirty million and another fifty million separately.”

“Excuse me.”

“The compensation for the rumors and what happened between us are separate matters. Wait.”

Ju-han pulled his phone out of his bathrobe pocket.

The other person answered immediately.

“Bring fifty million over here. Right now. Hm? Where? The flower shop.”

“Wait.”

“Yeah, it won’t take long. How far is the flower shop?”

“Excuse me!”

Yi-jae waved her hands frantically, trying to stop him from speaking.

If she let this man continue, someone really would show up carrying a sack of cash.

And then the rumors would spread in an instant.

The subordinates scrambling to gather fifty million won on short notice would gossip about it.

Then the yogurt delivery person, the health-drink delivery person, and the courier who visited the club every day would spread the story even further.

There wasn’t much entertainment in this neighborhood.

And Cha Ju-han, handsome enough to be recognized from a distance, was a particularly entertaining topic.

Regardless of the lingering feelings she still had for him, she didn’t want to become known as the club owner’s woman.

She was a business owner herself.

“No, forget the money. Don’t bring it.”

“…Is it still not enough? How much do you want?”

“No, why do you keep assuming the amount isn’t enough?”

“Well, that’s because…”

Ju-han silently looked around the flower shop.

He wore an expression that suggested he couldn’t believe she managed to run a business in a place like this.

Apparently thinking she still didn’t understand, he gestured around the shop with his finger.

“This place needs a lot of repairs.”

She had bought the flower shop cheaply from the previous owner and kept it exactly as it had been, tiny back room and all.

All of Yi-jae’s modest savings had gone into purchasing the shop.

She had started with nothing.

The flower shop had already borne the marks of many years when she’d first entered it.

And she had loved that.

It had felt like a place where she could finally settle her heart.

A place that would remain here for a long time.

That’s exactly what Yi-jae needed.

She was exhausted from living without anywhere to return to.

She wanted to settle down somewhere.

“Tell me how much you want. I was quite satisfied, so I should pay you properly.”

“I don’t need money.”

“No such person exists.”

“Ah, I don’t need compensation.”

“After what happened between us, how can I not pay?”

“You really don’t understand anything.”

“I feel the same way.”

Ju-han crossed his arms with an expression of dissatisfaction.

His broad chest became even more pronounced.

Clearing her throat awkwardly, Yi-jae pulled an envelope out of the inner pocket of her coat and held it out to him.

“Then let me explain my side first. Please take this.”

Ju-han accepted the envelope with obvious reluctance and looked inside.

“What is this? Money?”

“Twenty thousand won.”

“Haha. What’s this adorable amount? My allowance?”

“…You’ve misunderstood.”

“Wait. Am I only worth twenty thousand won?”

Ju-han’s voice suddenly became urgent.

Wasn’t this the same man who’d looked sleepy and relaxed while telling her to name her price?

Before she knew it, he’d pulled over a chair, sat her down, and dragged her closer as though interrogating her.

He remained perched on the workbench while her chair ended up directly in front of him.

The closeness was overwhelming.

She tried to push the chair back with her feet, but one of its legs was pinned under his foot.

The chair didn’t move at all.

Ju-han stared at her with a grave expression.

“This is a serious problem. My rate is way too low. Think again.”

“Please stop interrupting me. You’ve misunderstood.”

“What misunderstanding?”

“I’ll explain everything, so if you’d just let me finish-”

“What misunderstanding?”

Now he was actively pressing her for an answer.

He was so persistent that she nearly got a headache.

Still, Yi-jae managed to quiet him down and continued calmly.

“This money is instead of the twenty million won in damages you mentioned yesterday. It’s a consolation payment. Twenty thousand won should be enough to buy bandages and ointment, right?”

When she’d gone home and taken a shower, the back of her neck had stung.

The woman in the halter top had hit her with a bouquet, and apparently some thorns had still been attached.

“I’d like to consider yesterday’s incident settled with this consolation payment.”

“…Ah. That broken girl.”

Ju-han sighed a beat too late.

Judging by how completely he’d forgotten the incident, yesterday had indeed just been an excuse.

He didn’t even seem to know the woman’s name.

Then again, he hadn’t even asked Yi-jae for hers.

He probably still didn’t know her name.

“So this isn’t money because you liked my body?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Why?”

“What?”

“You liked it. You cried while coming apart under me.”

“…No.”

Her face burned hot.

That wasn’t what she’d meant.

But the man, whose eyes were already half clouded over, had heard only what he wanted to hear and was now angry.

His chest rose and fell with agitation.

“You were writhing under me, and until the moment you walked out of my office this morning, the whole place smelled obscene. Don’t lie and say you weren’t satisfied with last night.”

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