The Piece That Was Cut Off
Min Tae-yeon swallowed hard and lifted her head, staring at Hyun-seo with unwavering eyes. She knew that turning her head away here was never an option. She wanted to hear him say it. Even if he rejected her, it would not be wrong.
They could date, break up, and get rejected. Confessing and being turned down could happen in a million ways. This was a contract marriage, separate from their personal relationship.
For a moment Hyun-seo kept his mouth shut, then finally spoke.
“That would be a problem.”
It was a problem. From the time she was a child, she had thought about it. That woman, Oh Jin-hee, had lived desperately, wanting to hand over the entire Miwoo Group to her. Because of her, Hyun-seo’s older brother Choi Myung-seo had been exiled to America at only ten years old, never once touching a single share of the inheritance.
So she studied even harder, worked even harder, convinced herself that she would recover the group exactly as it had been. She thought this was atonement for the evil deeds of the woman who only knew her and her son.
She had worked to return everything to her brother. But her brother died in a car accident. He never set foot on Korean soil and fell from the sky in a foreign land.
Love, they said. His parents loved each other. The price of that love was that Choi Myung-seo ended up this way. It was impossible to say that the chairman’s first wife’s death from cancer at such a young age had nothing to do with Oh Jin-hee.
Choi Myung-seo’s birth was a well-dressed political marriage, but it was still love for someone. And his own birth was also the result of the chairman and Oh Jin-hee’s love—an extremely selfish emotion. Ironically, the heir to the Miwoo Group was also the result of Oh Jin-hee’s love.
So she did not believe in love. She could not believe in that vicious selfishness. If she loved, where would she find a rule that she should not become like her mother?
The chairman and Oh Jin-hee were both infinitely selfish. She could easily imagine what kind of devilish love the son of that sin would show.
But… she did not know what to do with this woman who confessed love.
“You could just not say anything.”
The single word Hyun-seo let out in a low voice sent Tae-yeon’s soaring hope crashing down in an instant. Her heart tore apart, and a terrifying cold wind rushed through the gap. The wall cracked, and jagged shards of ice stabbed into her chest like they were piercing her body.
Tae-yeon’s lips quivered, but she forced herself to speak more brightly.
“That’s right. It’s a problem, isn’t it? So you’re saying no.”
Tae-yeon turned to leave, but Hyun-seo caught her wrist.
“But… even if I can’t answer right now, I can give you time, right? It’s not just pleasure, is it?”
If he had just said he was sorry and stayed silent, it would have been better. Instead he pushed her into the abyss. This was the man’s twisted taste.
Tae-yeon tried to pull her wrist free from his grip. Hyun-seo yanked her closer and kissed her, lips covering hers, the kiss plunging deep. Her heels lifted, and her waist arched back.
“Slap!”
Tae-yeon slapped Hyun-seo’s cheek hard. The sound echoed as his face moved slightly. Then he let go of her waist. Tae-yeon immediately took a step back.
“No. Not like this. I already told you. I meant it. You’re not playing with someone’s heart.”
Hyun-seo had nothing to say.
“I, Choi Hyun-seo… no. I don’t want to say anything anymore. Let’s go home.”
As Tae-yeon walked toward the parking lot, Hyun-seo let out a sigh behind her. A confession? This was foul play. It was not allowed like this. He did not want to let her go. Maybe time would change everything.
The moment Hyun-seo got into the car, it started moving. The driver felt awkward in this tense atmosphere and kept glancing at the couple in the back seat through the rearview mirror. But he could not let on that he knew anything, so the best thing was to stay silent.
Hyun-seo closed his eyes. Tae-yeon stared outside, clenching her fists tightly to hold back the urge to cry. This was not okay. It simply was not.
Tae-yeon tried to calm her heart. A reaction like this from this man was perfectly possible. From the beginning he had not been someone she could look at. Just telling him how she felt was already a miracle. But it could not go any further. Business was business, and feelings were feelings.
Tae-yeon made up her mind. But without a word, Hyun-seo’s hand reached over and took hers. The hot fingers slipped between hers. The moment his fingers tangled with hers, it felt as if their bodies were merging.
Even sitting still made her breathing quicken. Hyun-seo lifted her hand and pressed his lips to the back of her hand.
Smack.
His hot tongue tickled the back of her hand, then the red tip licked the soft skin between her fingers. Just like how his desire burned her own skin, her chest tightened.
As if her words of refusal were all lies, Tae-yeon’s body responded to Hyun-seo. He kept his eyes locked on hers, sticking out his tongue to lick between her fingers. His handsome face, the gaze that seemed to devour her, and the sight of that red tip buried between her fingers made Tae-yeon’s lips part and a hot breath escape.
It was unreasonably sexy. No other thought came to her mind. His eyes were like those of a vampire, ready to suck everything in.
Choi Hyun-seo.
Tae-yeon closed her eyes.
The car arrived in front of the house. As they climbed the stairs and stepped on the front lawn, Hyun-seo stood right beside her and said,
“I can’t say what I want right now. But that confession… I will never take it lightly. I want Min Tae-yeon by my side.”
When Tae-yeon turned to look at him, Hyun-seo said with a sincere face,
“The contract period is still there anyway. And I want to try. I want to try hard.”
“Trying? What? Why? Is liking or disliking something that can be done through effort?”
“Yes. I’ll try. That thing called love. After my first love in kindergarten, all women seemed the same to me. So give me time. Time to know if this is love. Time to see if I can do what you call love.”
Tae-yeon’s heart raced so fast she closed her eyes for a second, then opened them.
“Then… am I not your wife?”
“No. And I’ll give you a chance to test it. If you still dislike me after time, we can divorce. Before that, I will never push you away.”
“Really?”
Tae-yeon felt the hope that had sunk to the bottom of her heart rise again, swelling with renewed strength. Hope that had been tortured and repeatedly crushed and revived, yet still growing stronger.
She did not know how they had reached the front door, but the moment they stepped inside, they went straight to the second floor and entangled at the bedroom window. Hyun-seo whispered hotly into her ear,
“By the way, Director Min, you would never push me away and lock the door if I asked, right?”
“No.”
“You’re so firm about it.”
Hyun-seo’s lips overlapped hers again. The blouse buttons flew off one by one, and he became completely naked in an instant, right there in her arms. The heat radiating from his body was intense. Warmth poured off Hyun-seo’s skin.
She knew this was the scorching breath of lust. He bit her earlobe, and Hyun-seo groaned,
“Min Tae-yeon…”
The moment her scent rushed in at once, her whole body seemed ready to scream. While she had locked the door, she had dreamed every day of holding Min Tae-yeon in her arms again. She had wondered if she was addicted this deeply.
His throbbing desire reached the end of her soaked body. Their bodies heated up so much that friction at the entrance became almost painful, and their desire thickened even more. As if he wanted to devour her soul, he drooled with red lips nibbling at her. This woman was driving Hyun-seo crazy.
Knowing how hotly she was sucking him in, his mouth went dry with urgency. Entering her was an indescribable pleasure. Just as his hard desire was about to plunge deep into her soft body, Tae-yeon let out a voice,
“Wait a minute.”
“No.”
“So…”
“Don’t say anything.”
She did not want to hear any more words. A moment, then a little later. She did not want him to push her away or hesitate. Hyun-seo firmly gripped her slender waist from behind. His fingers dug into her body as he bit and chewed her soft nape. Tae-yeon twisted her waist and let out a scream. Hot breaths burst out between the screams and cut through Hyun-seo’s reason like a piece of pie. As he moved his lips lower, Tae-yeon tried to close her legs.
There was a slight misalignment, but their firmly connected bodies would surely bring their hearts together. Both Tae-yeon and Hyun-seo had the same thought at that moment.