Chapter 142:
Seo Jae-yi was a bit surprised by his indifferent response.
“Don’t you mind being misunderstood?”
Kim Yoo-sung and Seo Won-yeong had been giving him a hard time because of it.
“Why would I mind?”
But Kwon Yi-soo answered calmly, as if he truly didn’t care.
“Let them be. I don’t care what those insignificant people think of me. And it’s better this way.”
“Why?”
“Because then people won’t think the Center and the Association are helping you, even if they are.”
“…”
Seo Jae-yi was speechless.
Haeil Guild was already the top Guild in Korea. And with Taesan Guild’s downfall, their position was even more secure.
If the Center and the Association openly supported Haeil, too much power would be concentrated in one place. And people tended to resent such concentrations of power.
“So don’t tell Kim Yoo-sung or Seo Won-yeong anything either.”
Kwon Yi-soo finished, saying he didn’t mind.
Seo Jae-yi stared at him.
She realized anew how much he had helped her. He was still helping her, wasn’t he?
If Baek Joo-won was the savior who pulled her from the brink of death, Kwon Yi-soo was the one who had kept her alive all this time.
“Pretty Oppa.”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.”
So Seo Jae-yi expressed her sincere gratitude.
“For helping me when I was at the Center, after I left, and even now. Thank you so much.”
Kwon Yi-soo’s eyes widened at her unexpected words.
It was the first time she had seen him so surprised.
Ah, she should have thanked him sooner. It was too late now.
“Even if others forget, I won’t forget your kindness, Pretty Oppa. Thank you, really.”
She took his hand and squeezed it tightly, smiling brightly. It was the beautiful smile she reserved for those she cherished.
Kwon Yi-soo couldn’t take his eyes off her.
“…You should go now.”
He covered his face with his other hand, his expression almost… pained. But he didn’t pull his hand away from hers.
Seo Jae-yi smiled again and waved goodbye before getting out of the car.
Click. The door closed, and Kwon Yi-soo was left alone in the car.
He had been stubbornly looking away, but his gaze, as if drawn by a magnet, shifted towards the window, watching her retreating figure.
“…She never gives me a chance to linger.”
Baek Joo-won, who seemed to have been waiting nearby, pulled Seo Jae-yi into an embrace.
His heart, which had been pounding, calmed down, leaving only a hollow ache and a wistful smile.
He chuckled dryly as Baek Joo-won, his arm around Seo Jae-yi, looked back at him.
He recognized that look. It was a possessive glare, a warning not to touch what was his.
How could he not recognize it? It was the same look he had once craved.
But Seo Jae-yi wasn’t his, and she never would be.
“…Hah.”
Kwon Yi-soo tore his gaze away and looked down at his hand, the hand she had held.
The warmth of her touch still lingered, but it would soon fade. He hadn’t known that the ephemeral nature of warmth could be so painful.
If it were an object, he could have kept it forever, a memento of this moment. But even that wasn’t allowed.
“You truly… hurt me.”
Kwon Yi-soo, his face contorted in pain, pressed his lips against his still-warm hand. His heart ached, and his eyes stung.
But what could he do? He couldn’t save her, couldn’t lower her overload level to 2%.
So he could only endure this pain, silently supporting her from afar.
That was the only thing he could do for her.
“…Sigh.”
After a long moment, Kwon Yi-soo straightened up and composed himself.
Seo Jae-yi and Baek Joo-won were kissing outside. But there was no longer any longing in his eyes as he watched them.
“Let’s go.”
He rolled down the window and spoke to Han Sung-woo, his secretary, who had been waiting outside.
The car started moving as Han Sung-woo got into the driver’s seat.
Kwon Yi-soo didn’t look back, not even once, until they were out of sight.
It was time for him to let go of this painful longing.
Though he knew he would never forget Seo Jae-yi.
“Is it over?”
Seo Jae-yi, getting out of the car and walking towards Baek Joo-won and Kim Yoo-sung, was surprised to see Baek Joo-won waiting for her.
“You said you didn’t want to be in front of the cameras. Why are you here?”
“There are no cameras here. They all left after the trial ended.”
He was right; the surroundings were deserted.
“So. What did you talk about with that other man, alone in the car?”
Seo Jae-yi, who had been looking around, looked at him, dumbfounded by his question.
“What’s with that question? You sound like a jealous boyfriend.”
“I am jealous, and I am your boyfriend, aren’t I? So it’s a valid question.”
Baek Joo-won, pouting, stepped towards her.
“What? Am I not your boyfriend?”
“I… I don’t know… Are we not…?”
Seo Jae-yi was confused.
She liked Baek Joo-won. And he liked her too, enough to declare that she belonged to him.
And they kissed, and they had been intimate, though it had been for Guiding.
So… could they be considered a couple?
“Were you planning on having another boyfriend besides me?”
Baek Joo-won asked, his face hardening as he saw her hesitation. Seo Jae-yi quickly shook her head.
“No, that’s not it.”
“Then I’m your boyfriend.”
Baek Joo-won pulled her into an embrace.
Something felt strange, but she couldn’t deny it, so Seo Jae-yi remained silent.
“But I’m not happy that my girlfriend is covered in another man’s scent.”
He rubbed both her hands – her left wrist, which Kwon Yi-soo had held, and her right palm, which had held his hand.
“You have a dog’s nose?”
“So you did touch him.”
Baek Joo-won grimaced at her implicit confirmation and glared at Kwon Yi-soo’s car.
“What’s wrong with holding hands and wrists? We do more than that. And I only do those things with you.”
“…You’re playing with my heart. You’re so oblivious, yet you’re also strangely… flirty.”
Seo Jae-yi was shocked by his words.
But she didn’t have time to retort.
Baek Joo-won kissed her the moment she opened her mouth. It wasn’t Guiding, but the emotions that flooded her were even more intense.
Completely tamed by him now, she couldn’t resist, only chasing the sensations he gave her.
Baek Joo-won’s expression softened slightly, seeing her reaction.
“Do you feel better now?”
He whispered, nibbling on her lip. Seo Jae-yi gasped and nodded.
“Yes. Now we just have to go with the Center Head when he meets Jang Woo-seok. We’ll find Park Jung-soo and then reveal the information about the experiments.”
“…I can’t tell you not to go. But take me with you. I can find Park Jung-soo by his scent if he’s near Jang Woo-seok.”
“Yes, yes.”
She nodded instinctively, but she could barely hear his words.
Seo Jae-yi wrapped her arms around his neck, wanting more.
Baek Joo-won smiled, satisfied, and kissed her deeply, as she desired.
“Then let’s go somewhere we can be alone.”
He whispered, his voice a seductive caress.
Seo Jae-yi’s apartment, overlooking the Han River.
Slam!
The moment the door closed, Seo Jae-yi and Baek Joo-won clung to each other.
Seo Jae-yi tilted her head back to kiss him, and Baek Joo-won bent down to reach her.
“It’s a shame to take this off.”
Seo Jae-yi was wearing a suit, as she had been a witness at Park Hyung-woo’s trial.
Baek Joo-won had a particular fondness for her in suits, so he was reluctant to remove it.
“Want to try it with the suit on?”
He whispered, loosening her tie and unbuttoning a few buttons of her shirt. He stopped there, as if he didn’t intend to go any further.
“Hah… It’s hard to keep up with a perverted monster’s preferences…”
Seo Jae-yi clicked her tongue, seeing his gaze roam over her body, appreciating her suit-clad form.
But then he said,
“I won’t take mine off either.”
“…”
Seo Jae-yi’s lips pursed into a thin line.
He was wearing the suit she had bought him.
It had been tailored to her preferences, so she always felt a thrill whenever he wore it. And he was suggesting they do this with the suit on?
She would get to see him, his face flushed with desire, in that suit?
“…You have an even more perverted look in your eyes. Wipe the drool off your chin.”
“Tsk.”
His chin was a bit wet. She had thought it was from their kiss, but it seemed she was wrong.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
Baek Joo-won grabbed her hand, which had been reaching up to wipe his chin, and licked her fingers clean. Her lips looked even glossier now, but neither of them cared.
He kissed her deeply again, lifted her into his arms, carried her to the sofa in the living room, and sat down.
“What? Why not the bedroom?”
“It’s too far. Having a large apartment is inconvenient.”
“So you want to do it here?”
“Why not? The sofa is as large and comfortable as the bed.”
He nuzzled her neck, kissing the exposed skin between the open buttons of her shirt, and then glanced at the large window next to the sofa.
“Or is it too bright for you?”
The blue sky stretched beyond the window.
It was a familiar view to Seo Jae-yi, who had lived here for over four years, but it felt strangely different, seeing it with Baek Joo-won.
It felt like they were the only two people left in this vast world.
“…No, it’s… not bad.”
“Right?”
Baek Joo-won smiled, satisfied with her answer.
His hot, firm hand slipped inside her shirt.