Chapter 14. I’ll Bite

Glance.

She nervously looked around, worried the securely locked door might somehow open.

He said he needed help. Was he thinking of kissing her again, like before?

“Help with what?”

She reached out cautiously to keep her voice from leaking outside. The cold, solid feel of the metal touched her fingertips.

It was a flashlight she had bought for its bright beam, but with its weight and the way it fit comfortably in her grip, it seemed like it could double as a self-defense weapon.

“What are you thinking?”
“Huh?”

The sound of someone clearing their throat and chuckling nearby got on her nerves. Lee Jun was shaking with laughter, trying to hold it in, which made Yua furrow her brows.

“You’re laughing? Is this funny to you?”

She couldn’t see his face, but she could imagine the expression he must be wearing. They had lived together long enough.

“Of course it’s funny. Isn’t it? You’re acting like a pufferfish all puffed up with poison. What’s the matter? Afraid I might kiss you again?”

He was the one poking at her.

Yua stepped out, unzipping the tent in a semicircle and standing in front of Lee Jun. With both hands on her hips, she looked quite intimidating.

Just like she had done earlier, he gave her a sidelong glance and then smirked faintly.

“Since it came up, let’s make something clear.”
“What?”

Even as she looked down at him, Lee Jun met her gaze without flinching.

“Please refrain from unnecessary physical contact. It’s uncomfortable and unpleasant.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”

Yua clenched her fists under his cold, sweeping gaze, which scanned her from head to toe. Maybe it was old habits—his look, once familiar, made her cheeks flush.

“But… isn’t something off here?”
“What is?”

He rubbed his sharp jawline with a large hand, looking amused.

“You’re the one who started it, remember?”

That night, back there.

On the night when the tent nearly flew away, it was she who leaned in and kissed him under cover of darkness, he said with a dry laugh. When Yua opened her mouth to explain it was an unavoidable situation, Lee Jun held up his hand to stop her.

“So I thought maybe you enjoyed it. That it was mutual, unspoken.”
“It wasn’t.”
“Well, if you say so, I’ll take your word for it.”

His low, resonant voice made Yua bristle. She bit her lip as Lee Jun stood up. When she instinctively stepped back, he narrowed his eyes.

“Today, I really did come to ask for help. Since we’ve already reviewed what to improve with the tent, now I wanted to ask about the camper.”
“The camper?”

Lee Jun said the Taegyeom Group had imported camper vans from a Swiss outdoor company and asked her to test them. Three units would be arriving soon at Incheon Port, and they needed someone to try them out and compare their pros and cons.

“The PR team wanted to go with YouTubers or influencers, but I had a different idea.”

Since the end users were actual campers, he wanted someone who would really live in it and provide genuine feedback. It would help perfect the version they were developing in Korea.

Yua’s heart thudded.

Yes, this was the man she once loved.

The way he dove into something and pushed forward until he achieved satisfying results.

“So, you want me to test it myself?”

But the Yua who once loved Kang Lee Jun, who only ever loved his work, was no more. Now that she had returned to her former self, she had no reason to be swayed by him.

In the past, she might have eagerly done whatever he asked just for a bit of attention—but not anymore.

“What do I get in return?”

She now had the presence of mind to negotiate.

“What do you want? You said you don’t want money. So what do I have to give you, Yoon Yua, to make you move?”

His mocking tone—like, what could possibly be so great that she’d give up even marriage to him—made her eyes waver.

“Well? Tell me. What should I do?”

In the end, she said she’d think about it and that he shouldn’t back out when the time came.

He needed her, and now she had a way to make him owe her. The rest could be figured out later. Lee Jun was someone who kept his promises.

The camper van arrived at the clearing. Once the sleek white vehicle was parked, it felt far more secure and stylish than a tent.

“They say camping begins with tents and ends with caravans.”

After taking promotional photos with scenic backdrops, the staff who had set it up quickly disappeared in perfect order.

Even Yua, who had been considering building a house, started to think maybe living like this for a while wouldn’t be so bad.

“Try it out for two weeks and write down what you feel.”
“Like a report?”
“Yeah. Everything you say will be shared with the development team.”

It was his way of saying, take it seriously and do your best.

Yua brushed off his concerns, saying she would always do her best when given a task—and he could see for himself in the report she’d submit in two weeks. Then, as she stepped into the shade of the camper’s awning, she added:

“And I’ve thought of what I want.”

Lee Jun raised one eyebrow. Knowing that meant “go on,” she continued.

“Let me keep living here.”

To Lee Jun, who had granted a one-month grace period, the request made no sense.

Why did she keep surprising him like this?

Asking for money would’ve been simpler. But once again, Yua firmly said money was not a tool that could move her.

“That’s not happening.”

Yua knew he’d refuse. But having lived with him, she also knew how to handle him.

After being refused, she offered a compromise—along with words she knew he wanted to hear.

“Then let me stay for just one more year. I’ll leave after that.”

When she mentioned eventually leaving the clearing, Lee Jun reflexively asked:

“Where are you going to go?”

It was exactly what he had wanted to know—but hearing her say it so easily made him anxious.

His voice trembled slightly. But Yua didn’t notice and responded bluntly.

“Do I have to tell you that too?”

She had originally said she wanted to stay to remember Sejin, but now there were too many complications. Lee Jun visited nearly every day, and Chairman Kang often dropped by to drink coffee under the stars.

With things like this, there wasn’t much reason to insist on staying. She hadn’t wanted to get involved with the Kang family in this life—but ironically, she felt more entangled than ever.

“Don’t want to tell me? Why? Afraid I might follow you?”

Lee Jun scoffed, as if to say that would never happen. Yua met his eyes and answered.

“Yes. I’m afraid you might follow me.”

The thought of her leaving stirred a faint sense of disappointment in him. Had he really come by like it was a convenience store for that many days?

No. Letting this become a habit would be a problem.

“Are you overconfident? Or…”
“Do you like me, Executive Director?”

Lee Jun was speechless.

No one had ever asked him that so directly before.

He had heard the rumors about himself. That he was a capable, handsome man—who was also completely uninterested in women.

Ironically, the fact that no woman was ever seen around him had worsened his reputation and sabotaged matchmaking attempts. He had never tried to correct those rumors because they suited him just fine.

But now, faced with Yua’s question—“Do you like me?”—he found himself unable to respond like some awkward teenage boy.

Maybe he’d waited too long. Thought too hard.

“…There’s no way I would.”

He could feel his neck turning red like a child’s. At his barely-uttered denial, Yua smiled brightly, as if relieved.

“Then please step back, so I don’t get the wrong idea. Otherwise, I’ll bite, Executive Director.”