BTL Ch 1. Prologue

Stepping into the club, my eardrums were practically bursting from the pounding music. At the same time, a disgusting mix of food, urine, alcohol, and acrid cigarette smoke assaulted my nose.

It was a familiar smell, a familiar atmosphere, but for some reason, today, all of it was just unbearable.

“Ha.”

Amidst the raucous chatter that was impossible to distinguish from yelling, and the piercing laughter echoing throughout the club, Chaeheon’s mouth twisted into a fierce snarl. He watched with a chilling gaze as drunken men and women messily intertwined in every corner.

It had been an hour since he got the report: that audacious little brat who had been testing his patience for days had fearlessly stepped foot into his establishment. He’d even broken his dinner plans with a client to rush here, all because some clueless jerk had dared to grope the girl he cherished. Chaeheon shot a menacing glare at the dance floor where Hayeon had supposedly been, then turned around.

Two men in black suits swiftly followed him as he headed deeper inside.

***

Up the stairs to the third floor, the man who had been nervously trailing Chaeheon spoke up.

“I’m so sorry. This is a new guy who just started, and he didn’t recognize the young lady. It’s my fault for not training him properly.”

They were already on high alert after receiving a report that three men had just entered Hayeon’s room. And the fact that the rookie in charge of the rooms didn’t know those three had a terrible reputation even among the club staff was nothing short of a disaster.

Chaeheon gritted his teeth, a long, exasperated breath escaping his lips as he tried to suppress his anger.

The third floor. Only two rooms there. Chaeheon headed left, his hand yanking the door open without hesitation. As if waiting for the door to open, a pair of eyes met his. The drunken, hazy gaze quirked playfully.

“Hi.” She acted completely nonchalant, as if the man next to her, burying his face in her neck and panting like a dog in heat, wasn’t even there.

No, Chaeheon actually let out a sarcastic laugh as the woman practically pulled the man’s head closer, as if to show off.

Her head tilted slightly, her voice chilling as she spat out the name. “Lee Hayeon.”

“Yup, Chaeheon.”

Her languid, languid eyes looked wicked.

“That’s enough. Come here.”

“… …”

Hayeon stared at Chaeheon, who stood there, hands in his suit pants pockets, telling her to come here, then leisurely replied, “Why should I?”

With a heavy, sunken gaze, Chaeheon gestured with his chin towards the man beside her. At his signal, the two guards who came with Chaeheon moved quickly.

As the burly guards moved, those in the room flinched, shrinking back in fear.

“Didn’t you want me to come here, in front of you? So, isn’t that enough?”

Hayeon lightly glanced at the drunken man being dragged out by the guards, then propped up her chin. And then, she smiled.

Just as Chaeheon said, Hayeon had wanted him to come.

That’s why she was doing this, with a man she didn’t even want, in the club located in the hotel he owned. She knew Chaeheon, who doted on her like a younger sister, would obviously rush over if he heard she was out partying with guys.

And here he was. Kang Chaeheon, the man she was hopelessly in love with.

Hayeon blinked, her head spinning from the alcohol, and opened her mouth.

“Do you really think that’s enough?”

In a voice even more languid than usual, Hayeon added, almost singing, “You saw me with a guy, so you must know. Why I’m here doing this instead of at some other good club.”

Hayeon slowly stood up, her heels clicking as she walked towards Chaeheon. Her slender fingertips touched Chaeheon’s firm chest.

A fresh scent, mixed with the smell of alcohol, wafted towards him, and the back of Chaeheon’s neck stiffened. The female body, emanating the scent that had been testing his patience for months, leaned against him. Hayeon looked up at Chaeheon and smiled sweetly.

“I wanted to have sex, you know. It’s easier to just hang out at a hotel club like this than to bother finding a place and ruin the mood.”

“But you ruined everything, Oppa.”

Hayeon shot him a coy glare, then whispered as she kissed his jaw and pulled away, “So, you have to take responsibility, Chaeheon. Sleep with me.”

Chaeheon’s masculine, angular jaw tightened. He felt like he’d get drunk from the alcohol on her breath.

“Huff… Hayeon.”

Chaeheon familiarly wrapped his arms around the slender body that had flown into his embrace, running a hand down his face.

“I didn’t take care of you all these years just to hear you say that.”

Hayeon burst out laughing, as if she’d heard something funny. Her flushed cheek, pressed against his firm chest, trembled slightly.

“You should say it right. It wasn’t you who took care of me, it was Uncle Taegun.”

Hayeon stopped laughing and muttered with a sigh, “What’s such a big deal about a little age difference?”

“Lee Hayeon.”

At the blunt voice from above, Hayeon looked up at Chaeheon with a sorrowful expression.

“You’re attracted to me too, aren’t you? You think of me as a woman, not a sister, right?”

Despite her rather desperate question, he remained silent. Her moist eyes hardened as she looked at him.

And then…

As a soft sensation touched his lips, Chaeheon’s pupils widened, and his Adam’s apple bobbed.

His forearms bulged as he tightened his grip around Hayeon’s waist.

Hayeon’s tightly closed eyelids, damp and fluttering, filled his vision.

It was a provocation barely even worthy of being called a kiss; it was just their lips touching.

But this trivial kiss was more stimulating than any other skinship, making Chaeheon clench his teeth.

If he didn’t, he felt like he’d lose control and savagely push his thick flesh into that tiny mouth, greedily exploring it.

Yet, his efforts were in vain. Hayeon pressed her warm body closer, and Chaeheon swallowed. Each big inhale made his chest expand and contract.

Then, for a moment, he felt the woman in his arms stiffen. She had been so fearless, but now she seemed tense from the object pressing against her. Perhaps it had been hard ever since he’d first smelled her.

He reflexively ran a hand down her back, and Hayeon, who had paused, now began to rub her wet flesh against his lips.

The wet lapping sounds were louder than anything else in his ears. As her tongue parted his lips and snaked inside, Chaeheon unconsciously pressed his aroused lower body against her.

‘Damn it.’

His patience was quickly wearing thin, as if his vision was turning red.

His breathing grew ragged.

“Mm-hmm.”

At her urging moans and the way her teeth tapped his, Chaeheon’s firmly shut lips parted as if mesmerized.

Her plump flesh invaded his mouth as if sucked in, and just as he felt a sweet taste on the tip of his tongue.

Trapping her lithe body, now pressed impossibly close, within his arms, Chaeheon twisted his head a little more.

As he pressed hard, their overlapping lips parted a little further.

“Hoo!”

When he strongly entwined and sucked her tongue, a groan escaped from their intertwined lips. As he heard the wet sounds of their tongues and lips locking together, Chaeheon pushed his tongue deeper into her mouth. As his mouth filled, Hayeon’s moans became muffled, and her breaths escaping through her nose grew rapid.

When he scraped his tongue against the roof of her mouth, he could feel her panting, completely at a loss.

She was sensitive.

Chaeheon’s mouth curved in satisfaction at every reaction. But that was only for a moment. As if he had been struck on the back of the head, Chaeheon’s movements stopped abruptly, clarity washing over him.

***

Gasping for breath, Chaeheon pushed Hayeon away from him, his pupils shaking uncontrollably.

Looking at her hazy, alcohol-dazed eyes and swollen, plump lips, he finally realized what he had done.

His tightly clenched jaw was prominent. Chaeheon ran a hand over his face. Swallowing Hayeon’s scent that filled his mouth, he barely managed to speak.

“Be satisfied with this and go back.”

Avoiding her wide eyes, which looked disbelieving, Chaeheon took a step back.

“Now I know very well that you’re a woman, thanks to this.”

“Oppa.”

“Lee Hayeon. That’s enough.”

Hayeon bit her lip at his cold voice, which was unbelievable for a man who had just passionately desired her. The hand she had reached out to Chaeheon dropped limply.

The heated air instantly turned cold, and goosebumps prickled her exposed skin.

Hayeon quietly watched his eyes, clouded with guilt, then muttered, “Coward.”

Hayeon glared resentfully at Chaeheon, who had finally chosen to distance himself, then turned away. She no longer wanted to be in the same room as Kang Chaeheon. No, she couldn’t. She felt like she would desperately cling to him, casting aside all her pride, even in this situation.

Please just look at me once. Please love me a little. Did you never see me as a woman, even for a moment?

Then why did you do that?

Why do you make people misunderstand? Why do you keep making me hope?

Am I… am I really…

Just a younger sister to you?

Swallowing all those sorrowful emotions, Hayeon parted her lips towards Chaeheon, who was blocking the door.

“…Move.”

“Where are you going?”

“You told me to go back, so why do you care?”

Despite her efforts to hold back, Hayeon smiled with a tearful face. Then, before Chaeheon could say anything, she sharply turned her head, reached out, and opened the door.

“I’m sorry. I know you’re busy, and I made a scene.”

The music coming from beyond the open door was loud. She hoped Chaeheon wouldn’t realize that her voice, muffled by the noise, held back tears.

Thud!

Hayeon closed the door and quickly made her way to the lower floor. Even then, no shadow followed her.