Han Taemin's Princess

In the executive office of Seohwa Motors, Gong Juhee stood with a crisp, professional expression, her back ramrod straight and her hands neatly folded just above her navel.

Who was it that had said a man looked most attractive when he was working? These days, Juhee felt the truth of those words every single day.

In the luxurious office, light spilled abundantly beneath the half-drawn blinds. The man seated at the center of that light wore his hair neatly swept back with pomade and a perfectly tailored three-piece suit, his fountain pen gliding across the page with elegant strokes.

Simply watching him filled her with quiet pride.

Han Taemin. At just thirty-four, he had risen to become Executive Director and head of global marketing at Seohwa Motors. This remarkable man would soon be her husband. Almost no one knew it yet.

Taemin’s long fingers turned another page of the report before he broke the silence.

“What’s scheduled for six o’clock this afternoon?”

“Attendance at the Carbon Neutral Industry Forum in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.”

“Send a proxy.”

Who could possibly stand in for Executive Director Han Taemin? Juhee reached a swift conclusion and answered calmly.

“Then I’ll accompany Director Kang Jun-hyun.”

The fountain pen, which had been signing documents with fluid grace, paused. A low voice followed.

“Is Secretary Gong the only one left in the secretarial office?”

Reading his displeasure in an instant, Juhee smoothly revised her answer.

“I’ll send Kim Hanna.”

Only then did Juhee steal another glance at Taemin’s face as he returned to the report. To her eyes—eyes that had always read his moods with practiced skill—today’s Taemin looked exactly like any other day.

Maybe he sensed her steady gaze. Or perhaps he noticed the subtle shift in her demeanor.

Taemin looked up again.

“Anything else to report?”

His indifferent voice seemed to ripple through the air, and the gaze that met hers was equally detached.

Looking into those eyes, Juhee wanted to ask whether he knew today was her twenty-ninth birthday.

It was a question she would never have voiced on any ordinary day. She had never once hoped he would remember anniversaries during the time they had spent together.

But today was different.

It was because of the promise Taemin had made to propose on her twenty-ninth birthday.

For some time now, Juhee had been waiting for that day with quiet anticipation.

Yet no matter how carefully she searched the man before her, he looked exactly as he always did—indifferent, cold, the relentless workaholic who cared for nothing but his job. Executive Director Han Taemin.

For a moment, Juhee felt childish for having grown excited all on her own.

It was only a birthday. Oppa was incredibly busy; he might have simply forgotten. He could remember in a few days.

“There is nothing else.”

After answering a beat too late, Juhee turned to leave when Taemin spoke again.

“Is today the twenty-seventh?”

“...Yes.”

“Once all the staff have gone home, come to my office.”

“Understood.”

Her reply was calm, yet the heart that had settled moments ago began to flutter once more with cautious hope.

It seemed Taemin remembered that her twenty-ninth birthday held special meaning.

So Juhee found herself asking before she could stop.

“May I ask the reason?”

“It’s confidential.”

A clear warning not to pry further. As she watched him turn his attention back to the documents, Juhee’s eyes softened like warm spring sunlight.

“I’ll take my leave now.”

She barely managed to suppress the smile tugging at her lips as she left the office with a composed expression.

It was the beginning of yet another ordinary day, no different from the rest.

Yet why did she feel as though something special might happen today?

Juhee climbed to the outdoor lounge on the company rooftop and called her friend Yeji.

At her friend’s playful scolding, Juhee gave a small shrug. In truth, she was an even more extreme workaholic than Taemin. And ever since he had become her superior, she had thrown herself into her duties with even fiercer intensity.

The harder she worked, the brighter his future—and therefore their future—would become. Even burning her whole body might not feel like enough.

But today, she decided, would be an exception.

“Seo Yeji, what am I going to do? I think Taemin oppa is going to propose to me today.”

A faint tremor slipped into Juhee’s normally steady voice.

“Aren’t you just imagining things? The person who’s supposed to give you rice cakes isn’t even thinking about it, but here you are drinking the kimchi soup first.”

“The circumstances make it highly likely.”

Even though no one was around, Juhee lowered her voice and explained what had happened an hour earlier.

How Taemin had secretly ordered a proposal bouquet through another secretary, how he had canceled a schedule he normally kept with military precision, how he had summoned her to his office after everyone had left, and how even she—the chief secretary who knew everything about him—had never heard of this particular “confidential” matter.

“Well, that does sound like him, but proposing in the office? Isn’t that kind of lame?”

“What’s wrong with the office? I think it’s incredibly unique and romantic.”

“To me, both of you are completely abnormal. Ugh, what a pair of workaholics.”

At the sound of Yeji clicking her tongue in exasperation, Juhee let out a small laugh.

“Gong Juhee, don’t you dare accept that proposal with a stupid grin on your face. First, check what Taemin’s packing downstairs, got it? No matter how well you live with a guy who can’t perform in bed, you can’t live with one who can’t do his job down there.”

“My oppa is perfectly normal, thank you very much.”

“That’s hilarious. Let’s be real—if he hasn’t touched a beauty like you for five whole years, there’s definitely a problem. You said you tried once but stopped, right? Oh wait, you said he did start. So… five-second cut?”

“Seo Yeji!”

When Juhee cut her off, face burning scarlet, Yeji cackled.

“Let me say it again: it’s not that oppa and I haven’t done it. He loves and cherishes me so much that he’s patiently waiting.”

With a firm voice, Juhee recalled that night five years ago.

The night Taemin returned from his studies abroad, the boy from next door had come to her as a man.

That night he had tried to hold her. But the sudden shift from neighbor to lover felt strange, and Juhee—terrified of her first time—had frozen. In the end, they hadn’t gone all the way.

Even though his pride must have been hurt, Taemin had comforted her instead.

His clumsy apology for frightening her, the passionate confession that she was the only woman in his life, his burning ambition to succeed so he could make her happy despite having nothing now, and his promise to propose on her twenty-ninth birthday and marry her on her thirtieth.

Juhee had accepted his sincerity when he said he would wait as long as it took until her twenty-ninth birthday if only she would stay by his side.

After that, Taemin had proven his words through action. He focused solely on work and never once glanced at the countless women who threw themselves at him.

To Juhee, Taemin was an absolute presence.

He alone had refused to ignore the neglected child next door. He had thrown himself in front of terrible adults to protect her. And even now, as he raced down the path of undeniable success, the only woman he saw was her.

The only man in the world she could trust and rely on—a steadfast pine tree of a man who had promised her a future despite her fear of her first time and had waited all these years without laying a single finger on her.

Because of the faith he had shown her over such a long time, both her body and heart were finally ready. And today was finally the day. Her twenty-ninth birthday—the day she would become Han Taemin’s woman.

“Taemin oppa is different from those men who change once they succeed. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be who I am today, and I wouldn’t have become friends with you either. Can’t you at least acknowledge that much?”

“Okay, okay, I acknowledge it! He’s not my type, but a guy with that level of ability and looks who treats a woman like a precious treasure isn’t exactly common.”

Only after her best friend’s reluctant approval did Juhee finally allow herself a proud little smile.

“But Gong Juhee, does that mean you’re finally going to sleep with Taemin today?”

“Mm… maybe?”

“You’re not scared anymore?”

“I’m not scared, but I am a little nervous.”

Five years ago, her fear of her first time had outweighed her fear of accepting him as a man. But now it was different. Rather than terror, what she felt was a pleasant, heart-fluttering tension.

“Gong Juhee, it’s no big deal. Of course a man’s skill and the size of his dick are incredibly—!”

Having married early, Yeji had developed a habit of teasing Juhee with dirty jokes.

So Juhee had hung up abruptly.

Juhee burst out laughing at the persistent text, utterly dumbfounded.

She really couldn’t win with that woman.

Because her outside schedule had run long, it was already six-twenty when she arrived back at the company. After quickly checking her appearance in the restroom, Juhee walked past the empty secretarial office and headed for the executive suite.

“Executive Director, I’m coming in.”

After knocking politely, Juhee opened the door and froze.

Inside the office bathed in red sunset light the color of autumn leaves, the boss who had summoned her was nowhere to be found. Instead, someone else was there.

A strange yet intense masculine scent threaded through the heavy woody fragrance in the air, tickling the tip of her nose. Juhee’s lowered gaze fixed sharply on the long legs stretched out beside the sofa armrest.

“Who are you?”

To the coldly sharp yet polite question, the reply that came back was informal.

“Who are you?”

Juhee kept her thumb hovering over the call button on her phone, ready to contact security if necessary, and approached slowly.

A young man with a sleek, well-built frame in a neat suit lay sprawled across the sofa, the back of his hand covering his eyes.

His hair was pitch-black and curly, making his skin appear almost unnaturally pale. He had a high nose bridge, a sharp jawline, and lips that were plush, soft, and sensual. The powerful body extending beneath his long neck was sculpted to an almost impossibly perfect degree.

Juhee, staring at the man as if spellbound, was seized by an odd sensation.

It felt as though she had experienced this exact situation before. The unfamiliar man did not feel entirely unfamiliar.

Remaining on guard, Juhee spoke again.

“I am Gong Juhee, secretary to Executive Director Han Taemin.”

“Can’t hear you. Come closer.”

If you can’t hear me, then get up yourself. Suppressing her irritation, Juhee took one more step—just as the man lowered the leg he had stretched out.

Directly beneath where she was about to step.

“...Ah!”

Her foot caught on his leg. As her body pitched forward, the man—rising with astonishing reflexes—reached out and caught her against his chest.

It was an unfair situation, but the apology still fell to her.

“I’m sorry.”

As she lifted her face from where it had buried itself in his chest, Juhee squeezed her eyes shut.

Not only had she fallen on top of him as though embracing him, but her body had landed squarely between his legs.

Through their thin clothing, she could feel the man’s body with shocking clarity. She thought she could even sense something hard beneath his lower abdomen. Her mind felt as if it had been set on fire.

What do I do? What now? As she floundered, a low chuckle drifted down from above her head.

No way.

Juhee cracked her eyes open just enough to meet the man’s gaze. He was clearly struggling not to burst out laughing, thoroughly entertained. His eyes were impossibly deep and black. Those eyes plucked at a faint, long-buried memory deep inside her chest.

It was that man. The one she had encountered again and again through strange coincidences, the one she had occasionally wondered about but had desperately hoped never to see again.

His shamelessly direct stare dredged up yet another memory.

This man had a peculiar talent for provoking her until she lost her temper.

Just like right now.

“It’s you. Han Taemin’s princess.”

His black eyes sparkled as his smooth lips curved upward in a half-smile that was annoyingly captivating.