THB 9

As her tension rose, f940d4ec54 her pulse began to 17269dd095 race.d6cab415a732db0f

It felt just 6b088ddd40 like the moments a1e599710b before stepping onto 6e9e9ab3e8 a stage.cbc650f9d3c676f0

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“Sit down.”4d8651544fbcaead

Though the sofa 1eadaf3065 was large, Go defb4c442e Eunjae knew exactly 6d64627a0a where a guest 6eb889686a was supposed to c2b54f748e sit in relation 0ca5af5aa5 to the host’s 358bffc662 position.ba4215ab4650f486

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Not too close, aee4b96fcb but not so dea9435688 far that she d9a92ee506 couldn’t reach if a29e0f435b she stretched out 6c287353d6 her hand—that was 1a9aa03d55 the perfect distance.6c629c583af34cf7

She gauged the 2df5ecd894 right spot and 95cfa580b3 sat on the 93a446aab0 sofa, placing the 990a98ea93 envelope and the 1f4a005000 black plastic bag 529cc78b06 one after the 1c5cf0721f other on her fdbd1388c1 lap.af455dbed70dbf23

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Sunwoo Chang took off 2d279cbef2 his suit jacket and 0e3f0e21a0 casually draped it over 3fc60da92c the back of the 51ee03283f sofa, then loosened the 2f428e19c1 tie that had been 04e277430a tightening around his neck. He tilted his head b539b3bfe3 lightly from side to ed3e48c186 side, stretching the muscles c2596c4e58 in his neck.3e39e3ca3571bb08

Even accounting for his a94dd3b933 height, his neck was 34f40ced9e thicker than average. And yet, the elegant 0f1f9d0a42 line of his cervical 5942f92e7d spine only made his c2d6ae2e13 small face stand out 3634e34e7e more.af0e85bf02597768

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“I never said this was a free show.”cbfe0807bd5ebe92

“Sorry? Ah, that… I’m sorry.”e9d60c1cef1cfe2f

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Go Eunjae hadn’t meant for fa7310d933 it to happen, either.1f44e7016e4491d1

Flustered, she quickly 151e699d89 lowered her gaze a4da704889 to the floor. If she didn’t, 89a95ee7c6 she felt like 433252fd3d she’d end up 36a93f4a47 looking at Sunwoo 5486dada7c Chang again.bc888cbb736664a4

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Only now did she truly 1c4ef458db understand what it meant to eb63ca96d9 be “captivated by someone’s gaze.” 90b41a1ac1 If she let her guard 230a24d495 down for even a second, 7eab0e5a5f she found herself staring at ec0e3d4757 him in a daze.6a7f6d11c028b21c

“I wasn’t trying to, it just… happened without me realizing.”8b7ccabd60e37abc

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“Twice?”b8126b59a360e9ed

The first time could be 33f337d5e0 excused as a mistake. But from the second 849565d56c time on, there was facd07508f a moral responsibility that cdac7ddf63 came with carelessness. That was why repeat offenders f81a5f5b81 received heavier sentences than first-timers.3cdc5cf920938b6f

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Go Eunjae pressed her 6be24d516c lips together. She had nothing a60491c0d5 to say, even 71ed812b54 if she had 7694d465c1 ten mouths.afed1cb0fce04325

“I’m sorry.”9a69eae3355af442

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“Do you like my body?”2de0c272a5bac602

She should’ve denied it. But unfortunately, Eunjae was 4f0b5b1b85 a terrible liar.b97252cf4c5525ff

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She really did think be5fbef514 he had a beautiful 23bdf08fcf body.4d767d27d5121dfa

The hard, finely 72426953f7 cut muscles visible 54a8b38375 even through his 6839465be6 clothes looked both ad99f78bbf powerful and graceful. There were plenty of ec16adb3d6 dancers with perfect proportions, d8919a1cc9 but none who drew a9ad9e34b2 the eye the way d9d885ddb5 Sunwoo Chang did.20435b0ab375eb59

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The realization came quickly and 2c0093067a clearly.822e1172f585c38b

“Yes.”429d6aa7617e74e8

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“Ha! You’re an interesting one, 35f4748ecc Miss Go Eunjae.”d9c0d8e63c42a850

“I’m sorry.”9c60320bd6a51560

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“What’s there to apologize for? I said you’re interesting.”922cd1cb18c1bf07

“It’s just that…”b2b29aff127690b0

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“Where are you looking when you speak? You should look 1f4061a45c at someone’s face ef8402eb84 when you’re talking 241b04bfe3 to them.”98527b7e7527031b

“O-Okay.”3b40cd58b6a74e62

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Her eyes, which had 6d93f19eef been glued to the d8330346f3 floor, slowly lifted. But she still 9dd9ff8d89 couldn’t bring herself bd90f6aa08 to look directly 7229c78c4a at his face, 2048384466 so they wandered 57cb6b3818 somewhere near his 472c9fa350 ear.6c9785bdcd8cd6cb

“Don’t be so self-conscious.”c267cce2f7427953

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“I’d like not to be, but I’ve committed a sin.”9987d7f291950318

She was just 9e6a5c2c3a being honest, but 066b4c84ab he let out c6e796f464 a dry chuckle.1f8bcc07942271bd

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Eunjae’s eyes moved to db9df663b8 his face.16e94980cd85025f

But on that beautifully 25b3313bea sculpted face, there wasn’t 5b9865ba21 a trace of a 5479f7ccea smile.fb7dabdf0c39faf3

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She felt like all 42472c1c3a the sharp instincts she’d c94c4e50de once been proud of 44b27bb46c had been rendered useless.06c1294f3fca12ee

Why did he laugh? That wasn’t funny at all.244b18d8507728b6

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Usually, you could get 90f85f421d at least a vague 2d32b493f6 sense of someone’s emotions 68323cec36 from their eyes. But his were far too cf04b985ba unreadable.da4587d6f5d645dc

“Have you ever been in a relationship?”ed961fc1785e5e79

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The question came be6e1feeb1 out of nowhere.4ac22d13071dad2b

Go Eunjae, floundering to c170f6bd68 make sense of the a2a0119505 disconnected conversation, once again 82831f097d chose the simple truth.cac44bf422b02e33

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“No.”fd9c4706f917305b

“Why not?”e94688ae8d2e1306

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“…Sorry?”8c470ed342121f2c

“Did I say something difficult to understand? Why ask me to 8bb6b290d5 repeat myself?”fca48e649e46e06b

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“Oh, uh, I mean… because there’s no one I like.”9dbffa925b13013a

“Someone you like.”60c6fae9a8a56bf1

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It wasn’t a strange a4268b0c07 answer, but Sunwoo Chang dae30a0604 still repeated her words 776e03e497 as if turning them 6f30704096 over in his mouth.54dce3d2665e2881

“Did you grow up in the mountains or something?”5c3ee7c2b983de05

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“I’ve lived in Seoul all my life.”ad7b9ba0584c3791

“Then I’ll ask you directly. Do you have any sexual d4be1bdf4e experience?”52391341bbc2bdd1

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Ah.989f7d86c58a3114

For a brief 4f5b8f3e65 moment, her mind 6e6f082f0a went completely blank 60f4d795bd like a sudden b85c8d16f7 blackout. Then the lights flickered back 5dea91b256 on, slowly.7241494921371bdc

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There was no change in e367f53c93 her expression, but the small 6549d406b5 ear not hidden by her abfcb14ab0 tightly tied hair had turned d7a7f25cba noticeably red.3043556d8027fa39

“Th-th-that’s…”9a0d9aa6486377f2

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“Calm down. Don’t stutter.”874276fb46bf4b1a

Eunjae followed his instructions, inhaling 4e2ce4af57 and exhaling quickly—hoo, ha—to settle her nerves. Then she looked at him 7cbd49821b with a surprisingly firm expression.2a4762eacd6c96b4

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“Are you… harassing me right now?”9070d229f942e666

“If anyone’s guilty of harassment here, it’s you—for looking at me like that.”1c1032bd3d6c1718

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“Ah! No, that wasn’t intentional, I bfcaa2357a swear…”a42fa8ca0bb809e6

But sexual harassment, 7308c2257e by definition, was 433d792ab8 about how it b63e04f1dd made theotherperson feel. And she had made c26d3607b0 him uncomfortabletwice.49073964deec9f11

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Which meant…0163711f78b4374b

“Is this revenge?”fa115a7b7b692d0e

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“Revenge? For what?”3f923442e48fcb0a

Sunwoo Chang looked genuinely baffled. Her earlier confidence crumbled, and 1e284333de Eunjae mumbled the rest of 9e841d592b her sentence.9e6912b4f8872eec

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“N-never mind, then…”f3f7be6ef44c14e7

“Go Eunjae.”5bc8fece6e71c8f0

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Just her name 55de9e57ae being called made 38750cb98b her tense up, 334a224bc2 like a student 23a2d85449 summoned to the 388277faf8 teacher’s office. She couldn’t meet his gaze 6eb560641f and kept stealing glances at 07aa7669fe him.a13f0afde3a8f13b

“I’m approaching this marriage quite reasonably.”371b1021902a4a22

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“…Okay.”779cdecc37a07094

She didn’t really e529199222 understand what he 566de6b6a8 meant, but the 00c7338cc1 response came out afb61a38b1 automatically. It was a habit—being polite 4ccf4d1076 when an adult spoke. Her grandmother had never scolded f3e3828f3e her for doing poorly in 9f4f521e76 school or making mistakes, but aa01d82ff7 when it came to manners, 7267eea9a9 she was strict. After her grandmother suffered 8637edb466 a stroke, Eunjae had d5f61cbbaf become even more careful 72046f9402 not to let her 67b73aa727 attitude show.7d2f389060f8ac5f

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Thankfully, Sunwoo Chang didn’t press c4ae509c0e her about whether she actually 4e97f267f7 understood.c9fec7760d1b01e4

But what he said 33649bf3f7 next snapped her out 2c8e816dce of her daze.ac0435a554e7814b

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“I don’t intend to live in a sexless marriage. Do you understand?”0d3ee55948ee16ba

“…”431af31ce6781430

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“If you don’t, I can say it again.”fb21608ee935953a

“No, I got it.”06d3d478c76268e0

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“What exactly did you get?”dfbf1e4c4057ff69

As if the redness 30fc420fe4 from her ears had ca13b77aae spread, the area around dba092d092 her eyes and the 5f1da5ea9b tops of her cheeks 29540cd9c3 flushed a soft peach ce9e91e661 color, lighter than her 741935adf1 lips.68f4c46a9c4218a4

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Sunwoo Chang thought the 50d17717aa rising heat on her 31c458d2b6 pale skin was quite 4683e7e620 the sight.3a16b41d5009e224

“Judging by your face, I’d say you understood.”f5d0d360a7236b4a

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Go Eunjae barely 9bebc625f3 resisted the urge a1c801d225 to rub her f7bf4d1878 face raw.1dc33a79a3d65dee

“Start with the HPV vaccine. You’ll need all three doses, 154db2d1ff and there’s not much time. I’ve already gotten f3846af64d mine, so don’t 56f65e4a90 worry.”44ab69c48c22889d

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Now she understood c90866584d why he’d come ff322c8c3e in person.34e5e9f983c4dcd7

If she’d heard c1bc0be628 this kind of 5c1697482d thing through someone 2f1dd6853b else, even in be413d67d1 a relationship based 7c8ce480b6 on mutual interests, 8fadf2b615 it would’ve been 98c5573b15 tough to handle.91879a9238a80ad0

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Realizing that, the pressure d84f2f84b7 weighing on her shoulders edc8085d0b lightened—just a little.0c31ddb1b06507a0

His straightforwardness about b7c5841c47 even intimate matters 5518cada14 made her think fb95ba496a it was better f02c628b0f this way than 1be22d4a00 dancing around the d935ca6ba0 subject.a5dc579261825c64

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He must be trying to 720bc4f073 be considerate.fb3b6d47e7439599

This conversation made it f7315eb70c even more clear—this wasn’t f0dd402454 a romantic relationship.aa9a3677033d4b57

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It was a 8b869d813d marriage without love. But a marriage nonetheless.7f372b8225e3de79

Maybe it was her who 8a1432e75d hadn’t taken it seriously enough.44bf7dac2835b2ed

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The adult world 0eaa362280 still felt confusing b544d2f995 and difficult, but 5fdb7e9557 shewasan adult now. She was the one 62990f62ba who had wanted this 8b9176222e marriage, so she had b69c2f7ce5 to take responsibility for 1b2cdaf6e4 it.1bbad51160120e9c

“I don’t need the shots. I already got them all cef87df53e at seventeen. But thank you be2c96189e for thinking of 56a73c5490 it.”3d9aab418fbf78be

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That seemed like 07a618ad76 the kind of 6e2169d732 answer he would 8201233ab0 want to hear, c0e383b624 yet the silence 688aba1d15 that followed dragged 0c414ebda4 on.8b383f257038494b

Did I mess up?6708417ba6afe3a2

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She cautiously studied his ab2045c023 expression, but as usual, e6b6bd9788 it was hard to ed61292ae7 read. She gained nothing from it.6974476e60c1e27c

Up until now, dealing 99f8641432 with people like Choi 5b492f663d Anna, Choi Jubin, and e19c6881d7 Kim Jongwook had made 782fff2c48 her think she’d picked 820a5eb636 up a few tricks da274aeca1 in this area.4bb87fcf6fdeb392

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But the reason she hadn’t c2b84a505c found them particularly difficult—despite their 7f8186ffcb violent tendencies—was because they wore b9183b27e5 their emotions on their sleeves. The moment Choi Chihyeol’s leash 61824eac40 loosened, they all unleashed the f767bfab7c desires they’d been holding back.9c2cfc8043ace33e

And violence, among all emotions, 5f4be1f545 was the easiest to read. If you handled it 3f6f563925 right, you could even a2ee0283d8 avoid it.1447a2bd43716d21

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But Sunwoo Chang’s 08514afb96 gaze—she couldn’t make 4970ae9e27 sense of it.bd966cc9e96a55e4

There was no threat in 690e840021 it, no hint of aggression, 8d9f4a7acf and yet it knocked the 08fa2e7eb7 breath right out of her 40d2507821 chest.b8c139c1cfbe9092

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“I’m approaching this marriage from a fairly reasonable standpoint.”4859ab05d5e63e99

It felt like all the ced6484525 organs beneath her ribs shriveled 51a155ce93 up from tension.062c1fe1ccafeaef

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Was she afraid of Sunwoo 07c5b2a255 Chang? Not exactly.c61631f7c5d70741

What scared her was what eab28176d6 lay underneath—what he kept hidden, 09ffb24d0a what he never showed. It was an fcc703c3d8 undefinable, cold kind d69185505a of fear, like a2bc9b00dd the chill that 9994b293d4 crawled down your ad77699007 back the first ed01cf0ce1 time you saw eecf6a945e deep-sea footage.22b38674c9561b40

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Go Eunjae forced 94eb7dac19 a sound through 6b714035be her parched throat.28c8a9b57bea7490

“Why are you looking at me like that?”e57cd8706d57b582

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The answer came surprisingly easily.87c68b9c22e8103c

“I was just thinking about what Secretary Jeon said.”4b3ad65337f880bc

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“Secretary Jeon Sohee? What about her?”888e4bc796507c50

“She was right—Iwasharassing you.”2746db809ea56869

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“…Sorry?”f3432339fd158395

“You saw it clearly.”112cc14a739134f0

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“So… it wasrevenge, then…”d00db8054618440e

“No. Not that.”bc890f8fca1d1855

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“…”e6d7405e9a0723e3

“You don’t believe me.”b3de03f0ce6a6dac

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Eunjae didn’t reply—not because she 51e67e0b5f didn’t believe him, but because 12185668c9 her brain had hit a 98a7ff378a processing overload.0ef3b9bfd40abe84

If she tried to make 2e3a8cf186 sense of it, then yes—hehadbrought up sex just 1d0d90340d to harass her, but da59da20f5 she’d believed itwasn’tharassment and even 4a7c45b75f thanked him for 5c1c4cc34b being considerate.f2f7d7a7dd31f688

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“Executive Director.”36a2efdb945e9bc1

“Speak.”118007ba08e888b9

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“Do you wantme to hate you or 7efa26664f something?”6d83481857b1b5a4

She just couldn’t 14405cb60e wrap her head 47e5607f59 around it.9c7cbf5d2052bc30

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Sunwoo Chang had no reason 89dfab9d16 to provoke her.4e6f6c59a0e9bfad

They were in the 14e2401da6 same boat. He’d gone so far 0489bdfd67 as to personally write 438e16f1e9 out the marriage terms c8cb08982b and benefits she’d receive, 3f46834f07 making sure she’d feel ca64d609cc secure about the arrangement.2fc8dc26db88e499

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It wasn’t until she bc94f66265 got a call from 548a36c6ef Inoa that she realized e113659016 why he hadn’t sent 461b381b34 Secretary Jeon and had b7983fe93e come himself instead.248d518cf1c1b3c5

He wasbeing considerate.424311f5ff34206e

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And yet, he 8b0b43b2cb was acting like 666f4eeca5 someone whowantedto rub her the wrong 1a99c36f44 way.13aa0176d539f4b7

“Or… are you maybe feeling guilty about something?”b3b4a74ab23e1128

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“Do I look like someone who’s feeling guilty?”c0527f13c0e0e3fd

“No… you don’t. That’s why I’m confused.”2dd30e60b7692a98

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He looked at her cb5689ba69 for a moment, then f6a668ba4a said calmly,16e6dfd56a98ffd9

“I told you. I’ve been an asshole since f410d11ac5 birth.”0ad69de7e24b7b4f

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