Instinct or Desire
Was it instinct? Or desire?
Juhee neatly folded the jacket she had removed and placed it on the bedside table. Her fingers toyed with the buttons of her blouse, fastened primly all the way to her neck, before she pressed her palm gently against the swell of her chest.
With a demure grace that would be hard to match anywhere in the world, she slowly climbed onto the bed.
From the look of things, he had expected her to embrace him at once. Instead, Juhee knelt there, deliberately wasting time.
Was she really going to do it? Or was she hoping he would tell her it was fine and send her away? Shrugging off the question he wasn’t particularly curious about, Jeha remained silent and motionless.
He simply watched.
After some time, as if steeling herself, Juhee lowered her body. A faint sigh brushed past his ear like a breeze, and the sheets rustled softly.
The bedroom, thick with tension, was quiet and dark. The light slipping through the narrow gap in the curtains carried a bluish tint.
Perhaps that was why.
The woman who resembled moonlight glowed with an almost painful clarity in the faint darkness.
She hadn’t dressed up or done anything provocative. Yet merely looking at her made his vision burn.
When Jeha slowly closed and opened his eyes, Gong Juhee lay on her side against his outstretched left arm as if placed there by magic.
Their gazes tangled at such close range. Seeing her clear eyes behind those glasses filled entirely with him, Jeha felt something twist strangely inside his chest. It was as if his breath had caught and his heart was sinking without end.
If she would look at him like this, he thought he might grant her any wish she desired.
Juhee quietly reached out. She brushed the hair from his forehead with gentle fingers, then stroked down his cheek and jaw in a tender caress. Everywhere her slender, pale hand touched, a hot, ticklish heat bloomed.
“Representative, it’s time to wake up.”
Her neat, pleasant voice came in a whisper. There was no chance the half-dazed Jeha could have heard it.
It had been a naughty suggestion, but it wasn’t bad. No—honestly, it was so good it nearly made his eyes roll back.
Unlike him, fresh from sleep, Juhee smelled impossibly wonderful, as if she had just bathed. The scent—like soap, like flowers—was entirely natural.
Even their light contact let him feel the soft, yielding texture of her body with vivid clarity. Her clear eyes, her scent, her warmth, even the shallow sound of her breathing—everything pleased him.
When he saw the lower lip she had bitten hard in an attempt to endure the situation, the sweet taste of her mouth lingered on his tongue. His sharpened senses being satisfied so thoroughly became another form of stimulation. The scattered embers inside him gathered and roared into open flame. Simply holding her made his arousal swell fiercely, hardening at an alarming rate.
Jeha closed his eyes tightly and reminded himself.
Unless he was crazy, he shouldn’t touch his friend’s woman. He had to pull himself together.
As he struggled to rein in his desire, a shy, suppressed whisper slipped through.
“Should I lick your lips as well?”
She delivered such a lewd line in the most wholesome way imaginable. Swallowing a breath that felt like a sigh, Jeha slowly lifted his eyelids. Juhee’s gaze as she looked up at his dark, desire-heated eyes remained pure and brilliantly clear.
The moment he met that gaze, Jeha admitted the truth.
I really am crazy.
I’ve completely fallen for those eyes.
In a swift motion, he rose and pulled her beneath him—an entirely impulsive act. The slender, soft body and the hard, larger one locked together without a single gap.
Jeha lowered his half-lidded gaze. Those moonlight eyes wavered, but that was all. She neither avoided him nor asked him to move. The way she lay there so obediently, as if awaiting his decision, nearly drove him out of his mind.
Trapping her beneath his lowered stare, Jeha spoke in a blunt tone.
“Let’s see how well the capable Secretary Gong can match me.”
At this point, he was genuinely curious. Did Gong Juhee truly feel not even a speck of interest in him as a man? Jeha lowered his face further, easing the tension in his supporting arm. His weighted lower body pressed down on her with deliberate pressure.
“Is this instinct? Or desire?”
Juhee’s lips parted like flower petals. The sight of those soft, sweet lips flooded him with wicked thoughts.
Since she wouldn’t be able to refuse anything he did, should he simply take her? If he unleashed his desire and held her as greedily as he wanted, would this maddening thirst finally be quenched? Or perhaps he should do everything Han Taemin asked of her and claim this woman in his arms for himself.
At the same time, a part of him desperately hoped those moonlight eyes would never fill with hatred toward him.
This was exactly why he hadn’t wanted to keep her close.
“……”
“……”
The moment Jeha sprang up and headed for the bathroom, Juhee shot upright like a spring.
“Whew…”
Pressing her palm against her chest did nothing to calm it. Her heart had never raced this violently before, and the intensity left her bewildered.
Aah.
When Jeha emerged into the living room, Juhee swallowed a silent groan. Yesterday he had worn a robe; today he was in nothing but underwear.
He really is determined to make me quit.
Since he was a man, it might simply be habit. But given the circumstances, Juhee could only interpret it that way. Within that twisted misunderstanding, she also realized something: a magnificent body looked even more impressive when undressed.
The proportions were excellent, but his innate bone structure was beautiful. Juhee, staring as if spellbound, quickly lowered her trembling lashes.
Yoon Jeha was already standing right in front of her.
“Your clothes…”
Juhee’s voice trailed off. Unable to look at him directly, she hid her eyes beneath her fluttering lashes.
“I have no intention of making you uncomfortable in my own house. Either adapt, Secretary Gong, or quit.”
“I will adapt.”
Jeha had already walked past her toward the dressing room. Juhee stared blankly for a moment at his impressive back, then hurried after him.
“I’ll take care of it for you.”
Take care of what? Jeha half-turned, his eyes asking the question.
“From outfit selection to full dressing—anything and everything.”
She had expected refusal, but Jeha crossed his arms as if to say suit herself and took a step back. When she handed him the clothes she had already prepared, he accepted them with a sullen expression. Since she couldn’t help with the pants, she waited until he fastened his belt, then quickly moved behind him.
When she held up the dress shirt, Jeha silently slid his arms into it. Juhee came around to the front again and fastened the buttons with smooth, efficient fingers.
“Could you lower your head just a little?”
At her request, Jeha tucked his shirt into his pants and obediently perched on the accessory table. Seeing him spread his legs wide enough for her to stand between them, Juhee secretly swallowed a sigh. Why not just lower his head like a normal person?
Standing between Jeha’s legs, Juhee did her utmost to avoid touching his body, just as he had warned. As she tied his necktie, her face felt like it was on fire.
Afraid their eyes would meet if she looked up, she kept her gaze firmly lowered while fastening his cufflinks. Jeha grumbled.
“Are you trying to be my secretary or my maid?”
“Since I already play the part of a cat, why couldn’t I play a maid?”
When Juhee lifted her eyes after answering calmly, Jeha looked as if he had been slapped.
“I will do anything the Representative wants.”
Juhee wanted to live well. She wanted to rise to the very highest place. She wanted to show them all.
Joo Haena, who showed no remorse for her past sins and had reappeared to drag Juhee’s life back into hell.
Han Taemin, who had chosen Joo Haena of all people and dug his fingers into wounds that had never fully healed.
Hye-sun, who had treated her worse than dirt the moment she decided to make a wealthy daughter-in-law of someone else.
If she could achieve the sweetest revenge against them, nothing else mattered.
If Yoon Jeha told her to prostrate herself, she would. If he told her to crawl, she would crawl.
Actually, there was a faint thread of trust in Yoon Jeha.
He always said irritating things and seemed desperate to torment her, yet in truth he could never truly be cruel to her. Perhaps it was that single belief that made her cling so desperately, digging into every gap. In the end, though their intentions differed, Juhee was using Jeha just as Taemin had used her.
Swallowing a quiet sigh as she finished adjusting Jeha’s clothes, Juhee’s eyes widened. He had removed her glasses.
When she looked up in surprise, she found him rolling the glasses between his fingers.
“I absolutely despise that outdated style.”
“……”
“These glasses are terrible. Those stuffy bangs, and those sack-like clothes too.”
Jeha leaned forward in a languid drawl, picking fault after fault. The moment his warm breath brushed her forehead like a caress, Juhee squeezed her eyes shut.
“Capable Secretary Gong, can’t you even match your superior’s TPO?”
There was a faint hint of playfulness beneath the reprimand. Still, a secretary had to listen attentively whether her boss was serious or joking.
Juhee slowly opened her eyes, stepped back, and answered calmly.
“I will correct it immediately, starting tomorrow.”
Jeha raised one eyebrow and rose slowly to his feet.
“Now tell me. Why did you come to wake me on a Sunday morning?”
“You need to arrive at the main house by seven. Tomorrow is the inauguration ceremony, so I haven’t scheduled anything afterward.”
Jeha frowned deeply and turned away.
“You’re telling me to go there again?”
“You must go every day.”
“Who decided that?”
Jeha closed the distance in an instant, practically growling, but Juhee didn’t flinch.
“Setting and coordinating the superior’s schedule is one of a secretary’s core responsibilities.”
“……”
“And the Representative entrusted that authority to me for the next three months.”
When Jeha’s expression turned incredulous, Juhee quickly added, “If going every day is too difficult, shall I schedule it for only three times a week?”
Jeha, who had been about to refuse, found himself speechless. The way Juhee blinked her long lashes with that slightly coy expression looked almost like she was acting cute for him.
What does she take me for? As if I’d fall for such clumsy charm.
He tried to dismiss it, but his reason had already been betrayed.
“…Schedule it once.”
Of course, driving was Jeha’s responsibility today as well. They had a brief scuffle before getting into the car, but he had no intention of handing over the keys for the next three months.
Driving as slow as a turtle was one thing, but the constant announcements were another.
‘Representative, I will be turning right.’
‘The light is red. I will stop.’
‘I will proceed.’
His lips trembled as he fought the urge to ask where on earth she had learned to drive like that. It was obvious she was a complete novice, and remembering how she had boasted about being the best driver made him more than a little irritated.
Of course, he didn’t entirely dislike it.
A touch of clumsiness in the perfectionist princess. Honestly, her far-from-professional driving skills seemed rather adorable.
When he parked the car, Juhee unfastened her seatbelt and spoke in a small, timid voice.
“I could drive instead…”
“Keep dreaming while you’re my secretary.”
Jeha suppressed a laugh at her obviously disgruntled pout and strode forward with long steps.
Visiting the main house two days in a row was a first since he had grown hair. The only saving grace was that instead of the faces he hated seeing, there was only one welcome face waiting.
In the dining room, large enough to seat at least twenty, only Chairman Yang and Hyang-ja were present.
“Has my puppy arrived?”
Hyang-ja rose from her chair and warmly embraced Jeha.
“Where would you find a puppy as big as me?”
“You’ll always be Grandma’s puppy.”
Even as he grumbled, Jeha didn’t push away Hyang-ja’s hand as it patted his backside.
“Are you eating properly? Why is your face so thin? That terrible old man didn’t even prepare any tonic for his grandson who suffered so much abroad?”
While shooting a fierce glare at Hak-rae, Hyang-ja’s concern remained solely for Jeha.
“And why are your hands so cold again? I knew this would happen, so I had them prepare abalone ginseng porridge this morning. Jeha is here—please prepare breakfast.”
The staff moved efficiently, clearly accustomed to Hyang-ja issuing orders like the lady of the house. Even Chairman Yang showed no sign of minding.
“You haven’t visited your mother yet?”
At Hyang-ja’s question, Jeha shrugged as he took his seat.
“Even if your mother can’t call, you should reach out and visit first as her son. She may not be able to speak, but she must miss you terribly.”
Who was this woman acting like such an affectionate grandmother? Juhee quickly suppressed the curiosity that rose within her.
See nothing. Hear nothing. That was how one survived in a chaebol family.
She quietly tried to slip away, but the moment she turned—
“Sit down, Secretary Gong.”
The cool, low voice resonated against Juhee’s eardrums.