Chapter 9 …
“…You could be an actress, Choi Jooyoung-ssi.”
For a split second, Seonghun frowned, but mindful of the camera, he quickly smoothed his expression and maintained a smile.
Click, click!
Even now, a reporter hidden behind the bushes was diligently pressing the camera shutter.
“Thank you for the compliment.”
Jooyoung lowered her gaze as if nodding, then lifted it again while lightly moving her fingers.
Her hand resting on his hip didn’t move—only her fingers wriggled back and forth as if teasing. Seonghun clamped his mouth shut and inhaled sharply.
She hadn’t noticed before, but when Bae Seonghun pressed his lips together, dimples popped out on both cheeks.
Those dimples— the only curves on his sharply defined face—felt oddly out of place, yet suited Bae Seonghun perfectly.
“How long are you planning to keep touching me?”
Seonghun twisted his body so his face wouldn’t be caught on camera.
A shadow fell across his face, and the man who had just been acting like a devoted lover vanished.
His expression was blank, but the excitement in his eyes—provoked by Jooyoung—was unmistakable.
So he does react to this kind of stimulation.
Feeling like she’d figured out a bit of how to handle Bae Seonghun, Jooyoung made a mental note and shrugged casually, deliberately acting shameless.
“Well, who told you to kiss me out of nowhere?”
“I was catering to your tastes. You didn’t like it?”
“What are you talking about? What tastes of mine?”
“Wasn’t surprising people your preference, and making them flustered your hobby?”
At his words, Jooyoung reflected on her past actions.
From their very first blind date, to the black lingerie in the hotel room, to the sudden marriage proposal—
To Bae Seonghun, everything she did had been one surprise after another, all utterly absurd.
“…I’ll try to be more careful from now on.”
Turning her gaze away, Jooyoung released the arms wrapped around Seonghun’s waist.
They separated naturally, putting some distance between them—neither too far nor too close.
Jooyoung spoke first.
“I understand your position now, Bae Seonghun-ssi. For today, why don’t we head back, and talk about the rest tomorrow?”
“I’ll text you the time and place tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you.”
Jooyoung glanced sideways to check where the reporter was hiding. The reporter was still taking photos.
The kissing scene—and even her touching Seonghun’s butt—had all been captured. A dating scandal was guaranteed.
She didn’t know why he wanted the scandal, but Bae Seonghun clearly had his own reasons.
“I’ll walk you out.”
“No need. I’m not a kid.”
“Wouldn’t a giant kid like you be kind of creepy? And I’m only doing this for the photos, so don’t misunderstand—just play along.”
“Hah.”
Seonghun let out a breath through his teeth.
“Do as you like, Choi Jooyoung-ssi.”
Then he turned and walked toward his car.
Mindful of the camera, Jooyoung walked alongside him. They didn’t talk—there wasn’t enough distance between them for that.
Thud.
The driver’s door closed. The engine started, and the window rolled down.
Seonghun met her eyes.
Was there something else he wanted to say? Jooyoung bent at the waist to lower herself to his eye level.
“Yes?”
“Next time you lie, practice first.”
“What does tha—!”
Before she could finish asking what he meant, a thick arm stretched out through the lowered window.
Seonghun brushed his thumb across Jooyoung’s lips.
Her full lips were pressed down, and the lip gloss smeared from their kiss transferred onto his finger.
“You said you were better than me.”
His words brought back their first meeting.
Storming out of the blind date, provoked by his taunts, she’d blurted out that she was better than him.
When in truth—she’d never even been with a man.
“You said I didn’t need to teach you.”
With the same thumb that wiped her lips, Seonghun brushed his own.
The lip gloss transferred cleanly onto his lips.
The gloss smudged at the corner of his mouth drew her gaze.
It was obscene.
It wasn’t lipstick, so the color wasn’t vivid—but glistening under the streetlight, it looked almost like saliva.
“But what if you’re this bad at kissing?”
Realizing her eyes were fixed on his lips, Seonghun chuckled softly and turned away.
He changed gears, placed one hand on the steering wheel, then looked back at her and murmured,
“If you need it, contact me. I’ll be your practice partner—for kissing.”
The heavily tinted window rolled back up.
As Seonghun slowly disappeared from view, a low voice called out to her.
“Baby.”
Just that one word made her body burn.
The Next Day
Jooyoung headed to CS Group headquarters at Chairman Choi Kwon-yong’s summons. The reason he’d called her was obvious.
[Chaebol Third-Generation Heirs Fall in Love?]
The tablet PC in Jooyoung’s hand held the answer.
A dating scandal article.
And, unsurprisingly, the main characters were Choi Jooyoung and Bae Seonghun.
“The photos came out nicely.”
Judging by the photos alone, they looked like a passionately in-love couple at the height of romance.
Kissing casually on the street, touching each other openly, seeing each other off with regret.
After the first article broke, countless copy-paste articles flooded the internet.
SNS was full of posts about the chaebol heirs’ romance, even uploading ID photos of Bae Seonghun and Choi Jooyoung.
On one platform, Jooyoung, Seonghun, Seongun Group, and CS Group all climbed the real-time trending charts.
“The response is hot, too.”
Swiping through screenshots prepared by Secretary Shin, Jooyoung checked online and SNS reactions.
Some said they looked good together; others criticized them for being shameless in public.
In a country that embraced capitalism so thoroughly, people gave chaebol families as much attention as celebrities or politicians.
“If we use this well, department store profits will soar.”
Jooyoung zoomed in on her own photo from the article, checking the clothes and accessories she’d worn the night before.
Everything was from brands stocked at CS Department Store—affordable and accessible.
Especially the earrings shaped like thin branches with multiple leaves; they were from an overseas brand that had recently launched exclusively at CS.
“Secretary Shin, what about securing inventory in advance—especially these earrings?”
“As instructed, I contacted the brand and secured plenty of stock for the items you wore, CEO. We’re already being flooded with purchase inquiries.”
“Really? That’s great.”
Jooyoung stared absently at the photo of herself seeing Seonghun off, then unconsciously zoomed in.
Despite being taken from far away, the camera quality was so good she could clearly see the gloss glistening at the corner of Seonghun’s lips.
At that moment, his voice echoed in her ears.
“Baby.”
Bae Seonghun—who, with his usual blank expression, had offered to help her practice kissing.
That absurd proposal kept Jooyoung awake all night.
She’d always suffered from severe insomnia, but last night her nerves felt even more painfully on edge.
“…I must be insane.”
“Yes?”
“It’s nothing. How much longer until we arrive?”
“We’ll be there within five minutes, CEO.”
At the mention of arrival, Jooyoung sighed, set the tablet down, and changed into her high heels.
* * *
“Hahaha!”
Chairman Choi Kwon-yong’s hearty laughter echoed beyond the office and into the hallway.
“Good. Very good! Do it that way!”
“Yes. I need to get back to the office now, so I’ll take my leave.”
Jooyoung bowed and exited the chairman’s office.
The strong diffuser scent filling the room made her head spin. Her stomach churned.
How did anyone tolerate that smell…? Maybe only someone as ruthless as him could.
She glanced back at the office door briefly, exchanged greetings with the chairman’s secretaries, and headed off.
Planning to return straight to work, she stopped in front of the elevator.
Ding!
The elevator stopped at the top floor of CS Group headquarters. The doors opened—
“Oh my, fancy seeing you here.”
She came face to face with someone she really didn’t want to see.
