Chapter 8 …
“……?!”
Startled, Jooyoung sprang up from her seat.
The world spun—whirr—because she had stood up too fast after drinking nearly to the point of blackout.
“Ugh…”
Her voice trembling faintly, Jooyoung clutched her head and slowly bent forward, perching herself on the edge of the bed.
Hearing her groan, Sunghoon asked,
—Is something wrong?
“Nothing’s wrong.”
There was no need to tell Sunghoon the truth, so Jooyoung brushed it off and gently massaged her temples.
It felt as though her brain were shaking along with the spinning world. Even now, as she opened her eyes that had been tightly shut, everything was still swaying ever so slightly.
Hoo. Jooyoung let out a deep breath.
At the same time, the smell of alcohol spread through the air. Even though she had showered and brushed her teeth twice, the scent of alcohol hadn’t disappeared.
This is bad.
“So anyway. You’re in front of my place right now, right?”
—That’s right.
“And you figured out my address while investigating me before.”
—That too.
Why is he so shameless?
Jooyoung was left speechless by Bae Sunghoon’s brazen attitude, as if he had never intended to hide it in the first place.
Then again, she herself had investigated him through Secretary Shin, so she had no room to talk.
“I’ll come down for now.”
—Are you sure? You’ll regret it.
“You came all the way here because you had something to say, didn’t you? Even if I’m not okay, I have to say I am, from my position.”
—……
“And I don’t regret the decisions I make. Ever.”
At that moment, Jooyoung’s happiness circuits were firing at full capacity.
After all, there was only one reason Bae Sunghoon would show up late at night, without any prior notice, to see Choi Jooyoung.
He—Bae Sunghoon—had made a decision.
Whether that decision was acceptance or rejection, she didn’t know yet.
—Fine. I’ll give you twenty minutes. Get ready and come down within that time.
The call ended.
After lowering her phone from her ear, Jooyoung stared at the darkened screen for a moment, then stood up from the bed.
Twenty minutes. He’d given her twenty minutes to prepare.
Was that why he’d asked if she’d washed up? Because he couldn’t meet her barefaced?
She had washed her hair, removed all her makeup, and gone to bed—yet now, to meet him, she had to put makeup back on and change her clothes.
It was definitely a hassle. If it were anyone else, she would’ve told him to go home.
For a man who’d gone on about being considerate and mindful of late-night visits…
This was exactly why she disliked Bae Sunghoon.
He was sharp, perceptive by nature, constantly analyzing people and showing unnecessary consideration. And that consideration wasn’t always comfortable.
“Let’s just go down.”
Jooyoung hurriedly finished the ion drink she’d been sipping and put on some makeup. At the very least, she evened out her skin tone and covered her dark circles.
Afterward, she took a hangover remedy and brushed her teeth once more. Even then, the smell of alcohol lingered in her mouth, so she popped a mint candy in.
[Coming down now.]
Dressed in neat outdoor clothes, Jooyoung texted Sunghoon as she stepped into the elevator.
Without waiting for a reply, she slipped her phone into her pants pocket, lifted her head, and stared at the bright red numbers rapidly descending.
The answer Bae Sunghoon had brought—would it be acceptance or rejection?
She was fairly confident it would be acceptance, but you never knew with people.
Tap, tap, tap.
Wiggling her toes to quell her anxiety, Jooyoung bit down on the mint candy the moment the elevator reached the first floor.
The candy, now half-melted, shattered into pieces and slid down her throat.
Checking whether her breath still smelled of alcohol, Jooyoung quickened her steps. Before she even exited the lobby, she spotted a tall silhouette.
Bae Sunghoon was standing in front of the building entrance, leaning against a parked car.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
Sunghoon, who had been looking at his phone, lifted his head.
“Not really. I found it entertaining in my own way.”
Momentarily stopping at the baffling response, Jooyoung soon resumed walking toward him.
“Entertaining?”
“It’s my first time waiting for someone. At this rate, a pretty believable article might come out.”
An article? What do you mean?
She was about to ask, but in an instant, Sunghoon swallowed every word before they could leave her lips.
“Mm!”
The moment his large hand wrapped around her shoulder, her body was yanked forward. She crashed into his chest, and as she stopped short, her neck was forced back.
Her lips were seized.
What—what is this…?
Frozen by the sudden turn of events, Jooyoung tried belatedly to pull away from his embrace.
But then his thick arm wrapped around her waist as well, leaving her unable to move.
Whether it was his strength or the lingering alcohol, she couldn’t even properly resist. Her lips were pried open, and his tongue slipped between her teeth, tracing along her neat row of teeth.
His tongue swept the deeper parts of her mouth. Each time, the back of her neck was stimulated, making it impossible to breathe properly.
“Hah… hah…”
Only after her breathing grew ragged did Sunghoon release her.
Jooyoung clutched at her chest, gasping for air. The aftereffects of the alcohol made her vision waver, and tears welled in her eyes.
“Bae Sunghoon, this—hah—”
She couldn’t even get her words out properly through her panting. In the end, Jooyoung shut her mouth and glared at him.
Sunghoon lifted one corner of his mouth in a smug smile.
“I told you you’d regret it.”
“I didn’t think you meant this!”
“Shh.”
Just as she was about to raise her voice, Sunghoon pulled her waist in again and pressed his index finger against her lips.
“We’re on camera right now. Yelling and getting angry won’t make for a good picture, will it?”
He glanced diagonally behind himself, as if deliberately telling her to check.
Following his gaze, Jooyoung turned her eyes and spotted a camera jutting out from between the bushes.
They were being filmed. No—had already been filmed.
Filmed at the very moment she and Bae Sunghoon were kissing, tongues entwined.
“Now that you understand the situation, instead of getting angry, how about smiling brightly while looking at me?”
“……”
“If a woman who’s just been kissed by the man she loves glares at him like she wants to kill him, no one’s going to believe they’re a loving couple, right?”
What on earth was going on? How did Bae Sunghoon know there was a camera?
“So, Ms. Choi Jooyoung. Smile for me now.”
Sunghoon twisted his body slightly so his smile would be visible even from behind, flashing a radiant grin.
Just like he said—
“Like someone truly in love.”
At that moment, a chilling hypothesis crossed Jooyoung’s mind.
While smiling brightly for the camera, she hid behind an angle where her mouth was obscured and spoke quietly.
“Bae Sunghoon… you didn’t—did you know there was a camera and kiss me on purpose just now?”
“That’s why I told you—you’d regret it.”
Sunghoon wiped away the tears clinging to the corners of her eyes, then licked the moisture from his fingertips. Even as he did, his pitch-black pupils stayed fixed on her.
Honestly, his so-called consideration was enough to make her want to cry.
“Twenty minutes isn’t much time—looks like you got ready well.”
Releasing her waist, Sunghoon swept his gaze over her from head to toe. Then he muttered, “Not bad,” and nodded to himself.
“At this rate, instead of the smell of alcohol, the photos will capture a natural-looking Choi Jooyoung. Just who did you drink with, and how much?”
“Ha!”
Jooyoung was so dumbfounded she couldn’t even speak properly.
There was so much she wanted to confront him about, yet she didn’t know where to begin.
Every time her fighting spirit flared at his shameless scolding about her smelling like alcohol, it immediately fizzled out.
Hoo.
Taking a deep breath, Jooyoung brushed her hair back and stepped closer to Sunghoon.
The already too-close distance narrowed even further until the tips of their shoes touched.
Jooyoung lifted her chin. His face wavered right in front of hers—close enough that their lips brushing by accident wouldn’t have been strange at all.
“At this point, it really does look like…”
Unlike before, when she’d been conscious of the camera, Jooyoung smiled properly this time.
She slightly narrowed her eyes, relaxing her expression, while putting all her strength into lifting the corners of her mouth as high as possible.
Then, Jooyoung wrapped both arms around Sunghoon’s waist and placed her hands on his backside.
“Do I look like a woman in love?”
It was Choi Jooyoung’s counterattack.
