DTL Ch 6 part 1

Click.

He heard the triple lock click behind him as the door closed. The motion sensor caught his movements, and the lights turned on in the foyer. SeonJae walked over to the long sofa that could seat eight and tiredly sat down. His hand automatically reached into his pocket and took out his cell phone.

[Where are you?]

After sending the curt message, he stared blankly at the black television screen as he waited for a reply. A minute hadn’t passed when his phone notified him that he had received a message.

[I’m out nearby eating dinner with my friends.]

[Finish it quickly and come over to the office apartment. I’m still at the hotel, so if I leave now, we’ll probably arrive around the same time.]

He had just come back from a pointless dinner with Kim Chaerin. There were still a few months left until the wedding, but whenever he gazed at the face of his bride-to-be, he felt as if he was slowly being suffocated. On days he met with her, SeonJae would always need Lee YeonJung afterward.

[I think I’ll be late today. We can just meet tomorrow.]

[Do you think I have a lot of free time? Tell me when you’re done. I’ll pick you up.]

[You don’t have to do that, so just go to sleep first.]

It was a firm dismissal. SeonJae scoffed. Then his fingers began to move across his cell phone screen once again. It was almost ten at night, and she was still out and about. He didn’t really like that either.

‘Do you know how many dirtbags are roaming around on a Friday night? Go back to the apartment right—’ 

SeonJae stopped writing and erased his message. According to what he knew about this woman’s personality, the probability of her completely ignoring this message was nearly 100%. SeonJae decided to change his strategy.

[Okay. We’ll meet tomorrow. I’ll just call my driver to pick you up instead, so just tell me where you are. Send me the address. It’ll be difficult to catch a cab this late at night.]

He did his best to suppress his anger when he sent that message. He didn’t even want to imagine her staggering on the street as she tried to hail a cab.

Ding.

SeonJae had been anxiously tapping his chin when he finally received the long-awaited message.

[Don’t worry. This place is right in front of your hotel, SeonJae-ssi, so there are a lot of cabs driving around. Seriously, good night!]

SeonJae glared at the yellow emoticon grinning back at him and let out a frustrated sigh. His attempts to figure out her location had failed. He yanked at his necktie and checked his watch.

[Make sure you’re back home or wherever by eleven o’clock and report back to me. I’m warning you.]

Seeing that she hadn’t sent back a reply, SeonJae was filled with rage. But there was nothing he could do other than wait. He walked into his study and sat at his desk. He began to read a business magazine to kill some time.

Twelve o’clock.

She didn’t contact him at all. Still in his work clothes, SeonJae ultimately called her. However, the phone kept on ringing, and no one answered the call.

He called again, but no one answered. As expected, no response. A curse burst out of his lips. Was it so hard to send him a text saying she safely made it home? SeonJae was boiling with anger. Even though she couldn’t hear, she was still and adult and mingled with other people. So why was he always thinking about her?

“You’re seriously… such a pain, Lee YeonJung.”

With his cell phone clenched in his hands, SeonJae left his penthouse suite. He had made up his mind to go out and look for her. He knew it would be a reckless endeavor, but he felt that taking a stroll outside while searching for her would be a lot better than sitting here worrying about that deaf woman’s safety.

Ding—.

The clear bell of the elevator rang as the doors opened. As he walked across the immaculate lobby, the night service employees and the security guards lowered their heads in greeting. He held back the urge to grab someone and ask if they’d seen the woman. He walked outside and got into his parked car.

Now that the rainy season had passed, the city was very hot. The weather almost felt tropical. For now, he decided to check out the bars near the subway station and turned his steering wheel. Down the hill from the hotel, five minutes by car and twenty minutes by foot, there was a large area filled with bars and restaurants. She was probably in one of them.

* * *

The streets were lively on a Friday night. Although it was past midnight, a number of drunkards walked around as if they were just getting started. Having parked his car in on a quiet street, SeonJae circled the block twice before he realized how ridiculous this was. Trying to find a woman in a place like this at this time of night in the middle of Seoul was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Cold sweat formed on the nape of his neck.

‘Damn it.’

Just as he was about to head back to his car, he heard a familiar name flow out of a dimly lit bar in the alleyway next to him.

“You’re amazing, YeonJung-ssi. You’re really good with liquor. What is your limit?”

SeonJae froze and whipped his head to the side. He saw the back of the woman he had been frantically searching for. She was facing a man he had never seen before. She had her back to him, so he couldn’t see her face, but he knew it was her. Sweat dripped down his furrowed brow. He never even imagined that the person she was meeting with was a man.

“Two bottles of soju? Wow, daebak.”

The man shouted out as he laughed boisterously. Just how many shots of soju did she have with that guy? SeonJae’s lips twisted into a snarl.

I was sweating like a bull looking for you while you were chatting it up with that kind of guy? He put his hand in his pocket and began to walk over to them with glaring eyes. Step by step, he made his way slowly.

“Aah, I never expected Hyejin-ssi to get drunk like that. She made all that fuss about going for a third round at a nice wine bar, but in the end, only the two of us are left.”

SeonJae’s brow rose. All he could hear was ‘the two of us’. With just a glance, he could tell that the man was very interested in her.

The woman diligently moved her hands. For some reason, seeing her smile like that at another man caused an unpleasant feeling to rise from within him. And the man was even responding to her sign language very readily. Without realizing it, SeonJae’s footsteps quickened.

“Aah, it’s already gotten this late. I’m sorry. I better call you a driver and take you home. My car is parked at the Rael Hotel. Is it okay if we walk there together? We can use this as an opportunity to walk off all this liquor.”

Ha. Listen to that nonsense. It was way too obvious. After they walked over to the hotel parking garage, it wouldn’t be strange for them to keep going and make their way up to a hotel room. SeonJae’s brows twitched with rage. He wanted to give that guy a good kick.

In no time, he was standing behind the woman. The man gave him a questioning look. The woman saw the confusion in his face and turned around.

“Huh?!”

The woman cried out in shock when she saw him. SeonJae did his best to smooth out the twisted expression on his face as he took off his cardigan. He draped it across the smooth skin of her shoulders, and his musk enveloped her.

When his hands grasped her waist, she blinked up at him. He could smell the sweet fragrance of liquor on her breath. SeonJae lowered his head close to hers and murmured in a soft voice.

“Let’s go. I came to pick you up.”

Unlike his tender voice, the hand on her hips pressed down even harder. No matter how one looked at it, the two of them had something going on.

“…SeonJae-shi, how did you…?”

She called out his name in surprise. Her two front teeth appeared and disappeared behind her lips. SeonJae decided that no matter what happened, he needed to have sex with her today. He thought he was going to go crazy with rage, but when she looked at him, he felt all the blood rush down to his nether region.

“YeonJung-ssi, who is…”

The man’s eyes widened. The woman quickly began to move her hands, but SeonJae answered quicker.

“My name is Min SeonJae.”

He only gave the man his name. That was it. The man gave him a friendly smile and held out his hand.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Park DongHoon. I run an interior decorating company. How do you know YeonJung-ssi…”

“It’s late. Why don’t we exchange the formalities at another time if we have the good fortune of meeting again.”

SeonJae cut him off and ignored the man’s hand. He didn’t bother hiding the hostility oozing out of him.

SeonJae hated charming guys like him. They’d use their gentle personalities as a weapon to break down the walls that other people had raised. Behind the shell of a pushover, no one knew what kind of beast was groaning inside, waiting to come out. Additionally, this man’s shell was quite handsome, and SeonJae didn’t like that either. All SeonJae could think of doing was getting that man out of the way as soon as possible.

“I couldn’t help but hear earlier, but did you happen to park your car in the parking garage of my hotel? If you hand me your keys, I’ll have one of my employees bring your car to your place of residence.”

SeonJae deliberately said ‘my hotel’ as he looked the man up and down. Park DongHoon looked a bit bewildered. 

“Ah, Min SeonJae-ssi… Do you happen to be the CEO of the Rael Hotel…”

“Yes. Please hand me your car keys.”

Yes. This was it. The best way to humiliate someone was to use one’s status and money. Park DongHoon seemed to recognize the animosity in SeonJae’s eyes and took a step back.

“No, that’s fine. I’ll just take a taxi home tonight and get my car tomorrow. My office is around here, so it won’t be out of my way.”

“Aah, that’s good.”

SeonJae quickly took his eyes off the man and took out his car keys. He pressed a button, and the headlights of the foreign car he had parked on the street flashed. His eyes met hers.

“Then let’s head out.”

The woman nodded obediently and waved her hand at Park DongHoon. She signed something, and Park DongHoon’s shoulders shook as he laughed. SeonJae held back the urge to shout at him to get lost as he tightened his arm around her shoulder. He quickly pushed her inside his car and slammed the door shut. 

* * *

“SeonJae-shi…”

“It’ll be in your best interest to keep your mouth shut right now.”

SeonJae kept his hands on the steering wheel and continued to look forward. Only his lips moved in reply.

“But where ah-re we…”

“We’re going to my hotel. I feel like I’m going to ram the car into something if we have to go all the way to the apartment.”

It didn’t even take them three minutes to arrive at the brightly lit hotel lobby.

“Get out.”

She remained seated in the passenger seat as she gazed up at him. SeonJae grabbed her arm and pulled her out. He could feel her skin through the thin fabric of her clothes. He felt himself growing warmer once again. SeonJae tightened his grasp on her hand.

“Please park my car.”

He tossed his car key to the valet and dragged her inside the hotel with staggering steps. His head was filled with anger, and he wasn’t in his right mind.

Ding—.

The elevator doors closed. SeonJae pulled out a keycard and slid it into the slot at the bottom. Then he pressed the button for the top-most floor. The elevator began to go up.

“SeonJae-shi.”

When he let go of her arm, she called out his name. SeonJae crossed his arms and turned his piercing gaze on the elevator doors. He was taking deep breaths as he tried to calm his anger.

“I thought… yoo were sleeping. Did yoo not… go too sleep?”

“Shut your mouth.”

He frowned as he murmured back at her, but YeonJung wasn’t looking at him. Instead, she stepped to the side and rested her head against the glass.

“Wow…”

The line of taxis in front of the hotel lobby was the size of her finger from up here. Seeing her look out at the city nightscape in awe, SeonJae felt the suppressed anger bubble out again.

“Lee YeonJung.”

He snatched her hand from behind. Her petite body whipped around. Her eyes widened in shock as he crashed his lips against hers. He could taste wine as he tangled his tongue with hers. As he licked the warmth of her mouth, her breaths began to quicken.

She raised her hand to push against his chest, but he snatched it away and entwined her fingers with his, effectively pinning them down. SeonJae nibbled on her lips as he began to suck. In an instant, the elevator grew warm. 

His hot breaths tickled her ear. She had applied perfume on the sensitive skin behind her ear, and when he smelled the sweet scent, his kiss grew even more fierce.

“Haa… Haa…”

“I’m only going to say this once, so listen well. No, watch me carefully.”

He barely managed to take his lips off of hers, and the woman panted for breath. When he saw the smeared lipstick on her lips, the image fueled the sadistic beast inside of him. The elevator let out a small sound when it reached the penthouse on the top floor and stopped. The doors did not open.

The cardigan loosely draped around her shoulders fell to the ground. SeonJae’s lips moved with perfect precision.

“If you don’t answer my calls one more time, I’m going to make you lose your business and anything else you hold dear. You have been warned.”

Her eyes filled with bewilderment and displeasure. As a woman who led a carefree life, it was vivid expression of her dissatisfaction. SeonJae’s lips twisted wickedly.

“If you don’t think I can do it, try me. I’ll have someone harass you twenty-four-seven, and once you’ve hit rock bottom, I’ll let all of your clients know. They’ll drop you just like that. This sort of thing isn’t difficult for me at all.”

When he saw her eyes widen even further, SeonJae felt a wicked sense of victory. His large hand began to squeeze her breast.

“My bah…tery died.”

“That’s just an excuse. You couldn’t have asked the guy who was drooling all over you to borrow his phone?”

“DongHoon-shi… is just… some-won… I used too work with…”

“Shut up. I don’t want to know, and he’s not even worth knowing.”

Her trembling body was in his hands. He slowly rubbed her nipple through the thin fabric of her bra. She flinched and tried to back away, but she bumped into the elevator wall.

“If you wear clothes like this to meet a guy, 100% of guys will only have one thought in mind.”

When SeonJae’s hand slipped underneath her skirt, she shook her head in shock. SeonJae had every intention of making her understand what he meant. He planned on warning her as if she were a small child who needed a lesson. He squeezed her bottom as he began to unbuckle his belt. His length rubbed against her thigh.

“They think about stuff like this. It doesn’t matter if the woman is deaf.”

He never expected her to grasp his standing erection.

“Ugh…”

At her unexpected attack, a husky groan burst out of his lips. Does this woman intend to kill me? He growled and pushed her back into the corner.

“Do you want me to take you here?”

“Were yoo… worried… about mee, SeonJae-shi?”

“Are you seriously asking me that?”

He hissed through his teeth. The woman continued to speak.

“Were yoo… worried… I’d sleep… with ah-nother man?”

“What?”

He felt like he’d die if he didn’t enter this woman’s body immediately. She was currently holding his erection in her hand and was even stroking it. Almost as if she were teasing him.

“But… I only… sleep with… pee-ple I wah-nt… to sleep with.”

“Lee YeonJung, do you seriously want to die by my hand?”

“Doh-n’t yoo know… ‘dat even deaf people… have the ah-bility… to choose?”

Her gaze remained steady as she stared at him. When SeonJae heard her words, he began to grit his teeth and pushed her further inside the elevator. The jealousy he had been trying so hard to hide ultimately burst out.

“So what? Were you really planning on sleeping with that son of a bitch?”

The woman chuckled and shook her head.

“DongHoon-shi is… just… ah friend.”

“Then what about me? What am I to you?”

His staff twitched in her hand. SeonJae lifted her skirt and pushed his hand inside her underwear. She wasn’t wet, so he slowly began to stimulate her until she grew damp. He softly whispered into her ear.

“Do you want to sleep with me? Do you?”

She couldn’t hear him, and she flinched away as if his warm breath tickled her. SeonJae painfully bit into the nape of her neck and began to suck. As she whimpered and panted for breath, she never took her hand off of SeonJae.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll make you want to do it right this instant. Open your legs.”

He grasped her chin and gave her his command. The woman mischievously shook her head.

“Don’t wah-nt to…”

“Why not?”

SeonJae glared at her. From the elevator on the 36th floor, they were surrounded by darkness underneath. The woman smiled up at him and wound her arms around his neck. Her stuttering words brushed against his ear.

“If yoo contin-yoo in here… I’m go-wing too press the… emergency button.”

“Did you forget who owns this hotel?”

Rather than her teasing warning, he was more struck by her rejection. Just as SeonJae tried to force her underwear down her legs, YeonJung brought her lips to his ear and nibbled them.

“It’s nah-t that I… don’t wah-nt to doo it with yoo, SeonJae-shi…”

He drew in a ragged breath. She murmured into his red ears once again.

“I don’t wah-nt too do it here. I wah-nt to doo it at home. SeonJae-shi’s home.”

Damn it to hell. The moment he heard her whimpering voice, SeonJae’s hands froze. His heart thumped rapidly inside his chest. It was a different feeling from rage. The back of his neck grew hot.

“Come here.”

He took out his card key from the slot with a reddened face and quickly lifted her into his arms. The elevator doors opened too slowly for his liking so he squirmed through them and began walking down the corridor. 

Beep. As soon as the penthouse’s front door opened, SeonJae didn’t bother taking off his shoes and entered inside. He didn’t have the luxury of making it into the bedroom, nor did he have the time to take off his clothes. Instead, he placed her on top of a large oak dining table that he had never used before.

A tempting fragrance emanated off of her body. She was like junk food to him. After dragging her to the edge of the table, he frantically unzipped his pants and entered her in one breath. 

“Hnng!”

“Tell me you want me.”

With the hard wood underneath her back, she shook like a doll underneath his hands. However, she didn’t say the words he demanded to hear. SeonJae stood and pumped his hips like a crazy person. He bit, licked, and sucked her sensitive spots until she cried out. 

“You seriously drive me crazy… You’re doing on purpose, aren’t you?”

“Right ‘der… SeonJae-shi… Feels gud… Ah…”

The moment she called out his name, all thought flew out of SeonJae’s mind. He wanted to hear more cries burst out of those small lips. His desire for her grew stronger and stronger.

Their fierce round of sex was over. She struggled to get up from the table and adjusted her clothing. SeonJae reflexively grabbed her arm.

“Don’t leave.”

She blinked. After taking her so roughly, SeonJae finally felt a sharp pang of guilt. SeonJae massaged his forehead. The woman glanced at him. Her lipstick was smeared around her lips.

“Stay here for today.”

“I won’t leave.”

She answered in a clear voice as she shook her head. She merely stepped down from the table and picked up her purse that had been dropped to the ground. Then she asked a question.

“Do yoo want… some cup rah-men?”

“What?”

“I’m hun…gry.”

She held up the cup ramen she had bought at the convenience store earlier to enjoy back at home. She chuckled as she held it up to him. SeonJae sat at the dining table and settled his piercing gaze on her as she prepared it. She pulled the wooden chopsticks apart and handed them to him. He watched as she folded the cup ramen lid into a makeshift cone.

“Doo you want some?”

Ramen hadn’t touched his lips since he had come back from studying abroad. SeonJae quietly chewed on the salty noodles.

“Is it tasty?”

“No.”

“Do yoo want some more?”

“No.”

She ignored him and brought the wooden chopsticks up to his lips. Slurp. Despite his words, SeonJae parted his lips and the noodles disappeared into his mouth. The woman looked at him as if he were a toddler who had just learned to walk. Seeing her laugh, a strange feeling began to rise in his gut once again.

“Listen, I don’t care what kinds of friends you see, but don’t hang out with a guy alone.”

Just the thought of seeing her smile at a guy like this made him squirm.

“Why?”

“Men are animals. They won’t care about you want and continue to pursue you. Even if you tell them you don’t want to, what are you going to do if they force themselves on you? Do you know any martial arts for self-defense?”

The woman bit down on the wooden chopsticks and shook her head. SeonJae pulled the chopsticks out of her mouth and tried to soften his expression.

“Being careful can’t hurt.”

“Oh-kay.”

YeonJung obediently nodded her head. Seeing that she had grown quiet, SeonJae took this opportunity to add something else.

“And from now on, I won’t tolerate you ignoring my calls and texts. I’ll let it go this time, but unless you take sick pleasure in watching a man turn into a worried pervert, reply to me when I contact you.”

“SeonJae-shi.”

“What.”

The woman thought for a moment before opening her mouth.

“SeonJae-shi, you’re getting mah-rried soon. Aren’t yoo suh-posed too stop seeing me?”

SeonJae’s expression stiffened when he heard her question. Slurp. She continued to enjoy her noodles as she stared back at him.

“Ah-fter you’re mah-rried, shouldn’t we st-ahp…”

“Does it bother you? That I’m getting married?”

“SeonJae-shi’s bride-too-be will get uhp-set.”

“Do you know that woman?”

YeonJung shook her head.

“Then don’t worry about it.”

Even though Kim Chaerin didn’t know, if she found out that a deaf woman was taking pity on her, she’d hate that even more. SeonJae covered both of her palms with his hands.

“We both aren’t going into this marriage because we want to. There’s no need for you to worry about it. It’s just how it is in our world. We’re both going to stay out of each other’s private lives.”

The woman chewed on her lips as if she couldn’t understand. Without finishing the cup ramen in the penthouse lounge, SeonJae brought his lips to hers. He could taste the saltiness on her lips. After barely pulling himself away from their deep kiss, SeonJae looked at her with a fierce gleam in his eyes. 

“Whether I end things with you or not, I’ll be the one to decide that. So don’t bring this topic up again.”

“……”

“I’m saying that I don’t have any plans of breaking up with you. My business dealings won’t interfere with my decision.”

His marriage was merely a tactical tool. He’d make sure to separate his work and his personal life.

“Answer me, Lee YeonJung.”

“Why… cah-n’t we st-ahp?”

YeonJung blinked her eyes as she asked again. Why was it? SeonJae couldn’t find the answer himself. All he knew was that he wouldn’t be able to stand it if the woman ever escaped his grasp. 

“Because I want to keep sleeping with you.”

“……”

“Is that not the same for you?”

She stared at him in silence before letting out a chuckle. Although she was the one who had been drinking, he felt like he was the one who was drunk. SeonJae threaded his fingers through her disheveled hair.

“You’re like a drug. I’m definitely addicted to your body.”

He murmured as if talking to himself. He began to take off her clothes one by one until she was completely naked. The woman merely stared at him in silence. After he threw off his own clothes, SeonJae lifted the woman into his arms.

His heart had been strangely pounding inside his chest since the beginning. The thoughts he had never had when he slept with other women began to bother him when he was with her. In his life, he had had many sex partners, but he had never been afraid of the thought of them leaving him. 

‘SeonJae-ssi, you’re getting married soon. Aren’t you supposed to stop seeing me?’

Her unconcerned face as she asked this question bothered him. After carrying her into his bedroom, SeonJae laid her down on his large bed. He had been set on enjoying her as much as he wanted until he got married, but when he heard her imply that it would end with his wedding, that thought disappeared. 

‘I can never let this woman go.’

SeonJae breathed in her heady fragrance as the thought floated in his mind. Everything was his.

Honor, money, wealth, and even her.

He couldn’t give up on any one of them.