Chapter 20
“Now that work’s taken care of, I’ll grab lunch at home and head back to the office this afternoon. Thanks for coming all this way.”
“Not at all. I was simply doing my job. But I was wondering…”
“Yes?”
“Is Hahyun not going to school?”
“Secretary Kim.”
Hajin’s voice dropped to a low hiss, each word dripping with barely contained rage. The temperature in the room seemed to plummet.
“Do you want to play father?”
“N-no, of course not. I was just concerned.”
“Are you worried I might hurt Hahyun—the Chairman’s biological son?”
Secretary Kim’s face flushed bright red.
“I understand how you’ve always seen me, but if you’re really that suspicious, why don’t you ask Hahyun yourself? Ask him whether I’m forcing him to stay with me, or if he’s choosing to live here of his own free will.”
“I’m well aware of your brotherly bond.”
Hajin cut him off, his voice rising.
“If you’re so aware of it, then you should know your place!”
“I apologize.”
Hajin let out a long sigh and softened his tone, almost soothing now.
“Look, I understand why you’re upset. But I’m confused too—suddenly inheriting the company like this. I’m asking for your understanding, at least until things settle down.”
“…Yes.”
After seeing Secretary Kim out, Hajin turned away, his back drenched in cold sweat.
***
Hahyun held me in such a tight embrace I could barely breathe. I squirmed, doing my best to create even a little distance between us.
“Um, could you please let me go? I can’t breathe.”
“Hyung, don’t lie. How can someone who can’t breathe still talk?”
My shoulders and back were stiff from being tense for so long. But worse than the physical discomfort was the fact that Hahyun kept sucking on my neck.
“Haah, you know what? You smell delicious, hyung.”
His words made my body tense up all over again. He’d been restraining himself pretty well since I told him I needed time to adjust to physical contact, but the unexpected visitor seemed to have set off his anxiety. I gradually shifted my body to the side, silently praying for Hajin to come back soon.
“Why do you keep looking away? I’m kissing you, and you’re not even focused on me. It hurts my feelings. Should I tie you—”
It was obvious he was about to ask if I wanted to be tied up, so I hurriedly silenced him with my lips. Hahyun took my passively pressed lips between his own and nibbled on them.
Just then, the door opened and Hajin walked in. Hahyun continued holding my lips captive, completely unconcerned about Hajin’s arrival. I struggled deliberately, making sure Hajin could see, and Hajin watched us quietly with a tired expression before speaking in a low voice.
“Hahyun, let’s talk.”
Hearing Hajin’s serious tone, Hahyun snapped out of it and pulled away from me.
“What—what happened? Did Secretary Kim say something?”
“No, I don’t think he knows anything specific. He just seemed to be checking up on us… Both of us are going to need to be on our best behavior for a while.”
“…Don’t tell me I have to go to work too?”
“Yeah.”
The brothers looked at me at the exact same moment, as if they’d rehearsed it. Until now, they’d taken turns watching me whenever they had business to attend to, but now they couldn’t—and they seemed worried about leaving me alone. Feeling the need to reassure them, I smiled brightly.
“Don’t worry. Where would I even go besides staying home? Haha… You know I have no intention of running away.”
“No, that’s not the problem. Someone could come while we’re gone, and the police still seem suspicious…”
The sudden mention of police made me guess they were investigating model Yoon Juwon’s disappearance.
“Couldn’t I just stay quiet as a mouse?”
Hahyun suddenly cut off my suggestion.
“Does that make any sense? You still tremble whenever we come near you. You might pretend otherwise, but I know you hate us deep down. If the police came and you confessed…”
Hahyun, who’d been pouring out words nonstop, suddenly covered his mouth as if he’d said something he shouldn’t have.
Confessed? Not asked for help?
It felt like being hit on the head with something blunt. The scattered pieces of information aligned with that word “confessed,” but I still couldn’t grasp the specific details.
Hahyun laughed awkwardly, as if he’d made a slip of the tongue.
“Huh? What was that word again? Not confess—report, right? Haha… I got confused for a second.”
I debated whether to push this further or pretend I hadn’t noticed, but decided it wouldn’t be smart to provoke these already anxious people any further, so I just laughed along with Hahyun.
“Anyway, you might report us, so we absolutely can’t leave you alone.”
At Hahyun’s words, Hajin pointed out the real problem.
“So what are you suggesting? Secretary Kim has people watching us—should we just leave things as they are?”
“We should take care of Secretary Kim… No, fuck…”
Anxious, Hahyun bit his nails, then ran his hands through his hair, completely messing it up.
“Then let’s tie him up when we go out. There’s no other way.”
Terrified that Hajin might actually agree to this suggestion, I rolled my eyes toward him. Hajin met my gaze with a suspicious expression.
It was already maddening enough not being able to go outside, but if I had to be tied up on top of that, I might actually lose my mind.
What was I thinking? Getting myself worked up just because I couldn’t go outside…
Determined to avoid being tied up at all costs, I clung to Hahyun’s arm and looked at him desperately.
“Hahyun-ssi, you’ve got it wrong. I don’t dislike you two. No—I like you.”
Hahyun turned his head away sharply, as if he couldn’t believe me. I forced him to make eye contact.
“It’s true. It was difficult at first, but I’ve gotten used to it now. I’m fine.”
“Hmm… No. I still can’t trust you. You may have lost your memory, but considering everything you’ve done up until now, how can I believe you? We should still tie you—oof!”
Faced with Hahyun’s determination to tie me up, I grabbed the back of his head and roughly pressed my lips against his. Since Hahyun seemed deaf to whatever I was saying, I had no choice but to show him through action. The brothers had been complaining about the lack of physical contact anyway—maybe my actions would make them trust me again. Just pressing our lips together wouldn’t be enough. I needed to be more aggressive.
I kissed all over his lips and consumed every breath that escaped between them. I gripped him firmly to keep him from moving and pressed down with all my strength. I heard Hajin cursing quietly beside us, but I deliberately ignored it.
After what felt like a sufficient amount of time, I opened my eyes slightly to find Hahyun docilely letting me have my way with his lips, a blissful expression on his face. I slowly pulled away.
“Haah, what the hell—you’re so good at this. If you were this good, why did you make us suffer until now? That just makes me even more angry.”
“…I told you. I needed time.”
Hahyun pouted in dissatisfaction but then grinned as if to say he’d let it slide since I’d kissed him.
Ah, one hurdle cleared.
My sigh of relief was short-lived as Hajin suddenly picked a fight.
“So you’ve had enough time with Hahyun, but not with me?”
I needed to sort out this relationship anyway, if only for Hahyun’s sake. Considering his possessiveness, it seemed better to establish separate one-on-one relationships with each brother.
“Tonight.”
“You’re saying you’ll do it with me tonight?”
The croissant I’d eaten for breakfast threatened to come back up. I put on the most seductive smile I could manage and tried to placate Hahyun first.
“No—Hahyun-ssi gets tonight. Hajin-ssi gets tomorrow night.”
“O-oh, tonight.”
Hahyun, who’d been glaring at me thinking I was leaving him out, now grinned like an idiot hearing that tonight was his turn. That seemed settled. Now for Hajin.
When I looked at Hajin, he approached me slowly with a strange smile. Whenever Hajin acted like this, time seemed to slow down, and strangely, I couldn’t take my eyes off him. As he got closer, he ran his hand through his hair. It fell smoothly through his fingers, settling calmly in a way that didn’t match the tension in the room.
“You really hate being tied up, don’t you?”
Since he asked honestly, I answered honestly.
“Of course. Who likes being tied up? Besides, I have no intention of running away.”
“Well, whether you’re reluctantly accepting us just to avoid being tied up—which I doubt—or you’ve genuinely opened your heart to us, the result’s the same, isn’t it?”
Even in this situation, Hajin made it crystal clear he wasn’t fooled by me. Since the conclusion was the same—that I wouldn’t be tied up—I nodded in agreement.
Hajin said, “I’ll look forward to tomorrow night,” and lightly kissed my cheek.
“Hahyun, come out for a second. Let’s talk.”
“Okay!”
As soon as the two of them left, I collapsed where I stood. My legs had lost all strength—I couldn’t stand anymore.
I was a fool to have dreamed of going outside just because things had been peaceful for a while. In a situation where I should be grateful just to have survived, here I was self-indulgently falling into depression…
I stroked my chest, trying to calm myself. My racing heart was gradually returning to its normal pace.
