Chapter 7
Joo-heon eyed Manager Kang, who stood rigidly like a totem pole despite his embarrassed expression. He let out a low "hmm," then flicked his chin toward the sign pointing to the showers.
"If you're going to soap me up, come along."
Manager Kang recoiled in horror, immediately putting distance between them. No words were exchanged, but his eyes were undoubtedly hurling a torrent of silent curses. He was a capable secretary and a subordinate perfectly suited in every way to be Joo-heon's right-hand man, but his occasional lack of flexibility could be downright frustrating.
After issuing some orders to the guards as well, Joo-heon gave a casual wave to his loyal subordinate, who was glaring back with all his might one last time, fulfilling his duties as a boss.
Only when the suffocating surveillance squad finally vanished from sight did he feel like he could truly breathe.
"Huu...."
Floating buoyantly on the water's surface, he gazed quietly up at the sky, mottled with chaotic patches from the scattered lights.
A few months earlier, he had claimed a seat at one of Las Vegas's most storied casino chains. It was perfect light entertainment to unwind and clear his mind, but...
"You have to let the other side save a bit of pride if there's going to be a next round."
Joo-heon's thoughts naturally drifted to one woman.
Cat-like eyes curving slightly upward at the corners, unrealistically large. Deep crimson lipstick on her lips that looked anything but cheap, and a high-end designer jacket that she wore as perfectly as her own skin. Sensing she was Korean, he spoke to her in Korean instead of English, and her crisp, unyielding responses were impressively sharp. He was hooked instantly.
In the five rounds of Texas Hold'em, Joo-heon had beaten her only once. In the final hand, she had toyed with him completely, folding without even flipping her cards.
Who the hell was she?
The women who occasionally entered his room all had obvious intentions. They played by the rules like amateurs, didn't seem to mind losing money hand over fist, and just waited for the game to end before smoothly inviting him to a private drink.
But that woman. Her focus was solely on the game. There wasn't even a hint of deliberate seduction, no unnecessary coquetry or bids for attention—not the slightest.
She clearly came just to enjoy the game, and she beat him soundly. When he chased after her as she left first, she had already vanished without a trace.
Just a bored woman out for a casual game. He could have dismissed it like that, but that single encounter was so intense it refused to fade from his mind. After those five grueling hands, the thrill he felt was like the electric afterglow of mind-blowing sex.
In the extension of that euphoria, he hadn't turned away any women who threw themselves at him...
Splash.
At the light splash of water, he turned his head lazily to see a slender woman standing on the deck.
"Joo-heon..."
"......"
"I thought you'd left."
A faint irritation rose at the subtle nasal whine in her voice. He'd finally shaken off his clingy subordinates, and now this stranger was acting like she owned the place.
Joo-heon slowly turned to look at her.
His gaze flicked to the bold "Private Event in Progress" sign, then shifted past her to the city lights as he said indifferently,
"I seem to remember telling you that before you took off the bra."
"Pardon?"
"Was it the panties?"
"What..."
He could feel her flustered reaction without even looking.
"Don't cross the line. Let's keep bedroom stuff in the bedroom."
As he murmured quietly, Joo-heon thought of that casino woman, feeling a growing heaviness below, and slowly ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek.
He sensed the woman standing there at a loss for a while before hurrying away. He hadn't meant to shame her, but he despised interruptions to his personal time. Even if she'd been the one rolling in the sheets with him moments ago, there were no exceptions.
The lukewarm water enveloped his body at a comfortable temperature, and Joo-heon could only wait for his thoughts of the woman—who made his loins heavy with mere imagination—to subside.
It was a thirst he hadn't felt in ages, one that refused to be quenched.
***
Hosung Group VP Baek Tae-ju and Nobcore Korea Branch President Yoo Soo-hee's Niece Spark Romance Rumors
Hosung Group Baek VP Confirms 'Dating with Marriage in Mind' with Nobcore Princess...
Baek Tae-ju VP: 'I Knew She Was the One from the Moment I Saw Her'
"Hah, good grief."
The expensive mahogany desk was littered with press releases from every major outlet. Chairman Baek, puffing heavily on a thick cigar in one hand, picked up a newspaper and checked the massive headline again.
He burst into incredulous laughter, shaking his head in disbelief, and lightly flicked the hand holding the cigar. Secretary Yoon swiftly took it from him.
"I can't even..."
Secretary Yoon smiled faintly as she placed the chairman's prized cigar at an angle on the tray, bowing her head slightly.
"Secretary Yoon."
"Yes, Chairman."
Gazing at her as she bowed politely, Chairman Baek tapped the newspaper on the desk with his fingertips.
"My son is the one who leaks to the press about a marriage prospect before telling his own parents."
"......"
"What am I supposed to do with this boy."
It didn't seem like he was seeking an actual answer. Secretary Yoon gave a slightly troubled smile, lowering her gaze. Her family had served this house for generations, but even she couldn't easily respond to that.
Indeed, why had he done something so out of character? And from the eldest young master, no less.
There was even a running joke that the Hosung family members put so much control into their cries at birth. Someone once quipped darkly that if you sliced one of them in half, all their veins would run ice-blue—that was how rigidly controlled and aristocratically creepy they all were.
Of Chairman Baek's two sons, the one who embodied that trait most intensely—perhaps inheriting it outright—was the eldest, Baek Tae-ju. His appearance was strikingly similar to the chairman in his youth, his work ethic razor-sharp, always moving a beat slower than others with an air of aloof elegance, never rushed.
Of the two sons, the one prone to impulsive or unpredictable behavior was always the second, Joo-heon. He was subtly different from the Hosung family members, born with control woven into their very DNA.
Until just recently, anyway...
"I'm heading out to clear my head."
Without any prior notice, he'd abruptly announced it and booked a flight to Las Vegas. Sure, a rich heir jetting off abroad on a whim wasn't a big deal, but after dealing with the eldest—who followed his schedule like clockwork—everyone was disoriented facing the second son.
And now, the second young master hadn't even done anything that wild, yet the eldest had. No wonder everyone at Wolsongwon was stunned.
"Nobcore, huh."
Behind his rimless glasses, Chairman Baek's eyes still burned sharp and vital despite having two grown sons. He lifted his gaze to the picturesque view beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.
"At a time like this, of all times, that woman's..."
Yoo Soo-hee. An ambitious woman. If she wanted something, she seized it by any means necessary, without hesitation even if it was ruthless. In some ways, she was cut from the same cloth as him. They'd once shared a connection and exchanged words briefly, but now they were complete strangers.
"Do you feel even a shred of remorse?"
A sharp voice from an old memory echoed in his ears.
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