MIS 1

“Is my younger brother better than me?”

Sharp teeth sank into her snow-white neck. Tae-jun’s hand groped under her skirt with brutal force.

“I think I’m a cut above him.”

“Hngh…“

“Tell me. How does that b*stard satisfy you?”

Tae-jun’s voice was rough as he grabbed her delicate wrist and placed it on his thigh.

“Do it like you used to.”

Despite the harsh words, there was a pleading look in his eyes. The man who had always been the dominator was crumbling because of Seo-hee’s escape.

Seo-hee was flustered and bit her lip.

“Beautiful.”

Tae-jun chuckled as if he understood her thoughts. His breath mingled with the laughter and licked her ear. His fingers dug into her soft, sensitive fl*sh, biting her with his lips, making Seo-hee whimper.

“Here… Aah, stop it.”

Ignoring her plea, he grabbed her soft fl*sh, causing a slight throbbing pain.

“Speak clearly. It seems things are different down there.”

The shame of being caught enjoying his touch was fleeting. Seo-hee summoned the last shred of her sanity and lied.

“I’m carrying your younger brother’s child. Is that okay with you?”

She shouldn’t be in his arms. This relationship would only lead to ruin the further it went.

“Don’t… do this anymore.”

Tae-jun’s arrogant eyes finally looked down. He saw her swollen belly, which she had desperately tried to hide.

“It doesn’t matter. My blood is mixed in there anyway, isn’t it?”

Tae-jun sneered coldly, as if mocking her words. Betrayal was in his eyes.

“Han Seo-hee, one transgression is enough.”

The heated passion surrounding them vanished in an instant. Now Tae-jun radiated an icy atmosphere that chilled her to the bone.

“I am the only man who can have you.”

He looked directly into her frightened eyes and delivered a chilling warning.

“Your child will be mine, too.”

* * *

Chairman Kang and the executives were gathered in the lobby of Jeya Construction with somewhat stiff faces.

It was a special day.

Managing Director Kang Tae-jun had returned to Korea after securing a major infrastructure construction project in Vietnam.

Originally, it wasn’t Tae-jun’s responsibility. It was a project pushed by the executives who were wary of Tae-jun’s growing influence within Jeya Construction.

But when the executives struggled to win the construction rights, Tae-jun went to Vietnam himself.

In the end, Managing Director Kang Tae-jun grabbed the credit for the multi-trillion won construction project.

If it hadn’t been for Tae-jun, they would have lost the construction rights, so the executives had nothing to say.

“Managing Director Kang has arrived.”

“Tell him to come in quickly. How long does he want to keep this old man standing?”

As Chairman Kang grumbled, a luxury sedan pulled up in front of the main entrance.

The driver got out first and opened the back door, revealing long legs stepping out.

Tae-jun entered the entrance with his entourage. The secretaries all bowed their heads in unison.

“I heard you were too busy to even call, but you look well rested.”

Chairman Kang grumbled at his grandson whom he hadn’t seen in a while.

Seo-hee, who was standing at the edge of the crowd, raised her head cautiously. A group of men in neat suits entered the lobby.

Kang Tae-jun stood in the middle.

He was 188 cm tall, his broad shoulders filling out the expensive suit like armor. But even the finest tailoring couldn’t hide the powerful physique underneath.

His long, narrow eyes were captivating. But the coldness in them made him seem sharp.

His strong nose matched his strong personality, and his lips seemed to curl into a sneer, making him seem even more arrogant.

The men standing behind Tae-jun seemed to be mere background figures, there to enhance his power.

Then her eyes met with Tae-jun’s. Seo-hee quickly lowered her head.

It was a brief eye contact, but the overwhelming pressure she could never get used to made her whole body stiffen.

“Did Managing Director Kang come late on purpose to make us old men wait?”

“How could that be?”

Tae-jun’s deep voice echoed, dominating the place. It was a familiar voice, but Seo-hee instinctively straightened her posture.

“Managing Director Kang must have been working hard to suddenly fly to Vietnam.”

Chairman Kang asked the vice president.

“Managing Director Kang has achieved something great, hasn’t he?”

“It’s really remarkable.”

Tae-jun scoffed at the flattering remark. This assembly was no different from the official announcement that he would be the next successor.

Never before in the company’s history had the executives come to the lobby to greet a managing director returning from a business trip.

“Does he really look like someone who hasn’t slept for a month and has only been working?”

Yoon-jung whispered to Seo-hee, looking at Tae-jun.

“He seems to have incredible stamina. I heard he only slept for four hours at the hotel today and went to an early morning breakfast meeting.”

Seo-hee’s eyes flickered slightly at the word “hotel”.

Tae-jun, who arrived in Korea on a night flight, went to see Seo-hee first. To be precise, he needed someone to relieve the s*xual frustration that had built up during his business trip.

Four hours of sleep were allotted to the busy managing director. Seo-hee was the one who shared that time with him in the same bed.  Of course, he didn’t sleep. He spent the whole four hours holding her.

“Let’s go upstairs and talk.”

Chairman Kang went to the chairman’s exclusive elevator and the executives followed.

Seo-hee was also about to go up to the managing director’s office when…

Tae-jun turned around and spotted Seo-hee. Their eyes met again, his gaze fixed intensely on hers.

It was a cold look, considering that he was looking at the woman he had been intimate with just this morning.

He almost seemed angry.

Seo-hee froze under his gaze.

Her mind raced with a thousand thoughts, fearing that he would acknowledge her.

‘Please, just go without saying anything.’

Ding.

The elevator chimed.

Tae-jun tore away his icy gaze. Cold enough to freeze her heart in an instant and stepped into the elevator next to Chairman Kang.

Only after the elevator doors closed did Seo-hee release the breath she had been holding.

* * *

Late in the afternoon, Yoon-jung came out of the managing director’s office with a sullen expression on her face. “Managing Director Kang seems to be in a bad mood today.”

Seo-hee asked worriedly while she was organizing the documents. “He doesn’t like the project proposals?”

“He told me to tell them to redo the proposals. How many times has this happened? I feel so sorry for Team Leader Kim.”

“There is nothing we can do. If it’s really that bad, I’ll talk to Team Leader Kim myself.”

“He’s not just like that with me, is he? He’s just as cold to Secretary Han, right?”

At Yoon-jung’s words, Seo-hee briefly remembered Tae-jun’s look at her.

Always monotonous. No different from the way he looked at others. Sadly so.

Come to think of it, it was different in the lobby earlier. He seemed to be more irritated than usual.

“Oh right, Managing Director Kang wants to see Secretary Han.”

“… Me?“

“He said that he would like to hear about the progress of the work and the time schedule from Secretary Han.”

Tae-jun preferred clear reports. That was probably why he looked for Seo-hee among the secretaries.

‘Why does it feel like he’s calling me for a different reason today?’

Seo-hee’s heart began to race.

After taking a deep breath to calm down, she knocked on the door of the managing director’s office.

“Come in.”

A cold voice came from inside and Seo-hee opened the door.

The air changed oppressively just by walking through a single door. It felt as if her shoulders were weighed down and her ankles were held back. Tae-jun was looking down at some documents on his desk. Seo-hee waited at the door for his instructions.

Ironically, this was the time she liked the best. Because she could look at Tae-jun to her heart’s content.

A man who was born between the eldest son of the Jeya Group and the only daughter of a former prime minister.

A man who had been in the spotlight since his birth and would live his whole life in the public eye.

Seo-hee also had a ridiculous thought when she saw Tae-jun for the first time.

The illusion that everything in the world seemed to exist just for him.

“What are you doing there?”

“Oh, yes.”

Maybe that was the reason. Seo-hee felt like an extra in Kang Tae-jun’s world.

She could never be the leading lady. That was something predetermined from the beginning.

Just like Cha Ye-rin, who was supposed to be engaged to him.

“Cha Ye-rin-ssi will be visiting soon. Since her birthday coincides with the family dinner tonight, she said she would come to receive the gift in person. The birthday gift is a jewel made from the one you won at the auction last time…”

“Something else. There’s no need to report such trivial things.”

Tae-jun cut her off coldly.

“I’ve taken care of most of your Korean schedule that you missed while you were in Vietnam. The approval for the resort complex is at the end of this month…”

“Something else.”

When Seo-hee couldn’t go on, he raised his eyes.

“Why did you go back first?”

The heavy words he uttered hung in the air, weighing it down.

The air trembled with his voice.

A strange tension filled the room. After a moment of silence, Seo-hee spoke.

“I thought I was the best person to coordinate the schedule.”

“You departed for Korea without my permission?”

Seo-hee had also gone to Vietnam with Tae-jun, but returned to Korea two weeks ago.

It was a sudden, unplanned business trip. They needed a secretary to return to Korea first and coordinate the schedule.

They could have sent another secretary, but Seo-hee volunteered.

Because there was something she had to do secretly while Tae-jun wasn’t in Korea.

“You still don’t want to admit that you were wrong.”

His sharp look pierced through her.

Tae-jun rose from his seat and approached Seo-hee as if he wanted to punish her.

Seo-hee held her breath as his broad shoulders filled her vision. In one swift movement, he pulled her waist towards him.

“Cha Ye-rin-ssi will arrive in 3… 30 minutes.”

“30 minutes is a little early.”

Tae-jun buried his face in Seo-hee’s neck. His lips ran down her slender neck.

He paused for a moment, breathing in her scent as his ch*st expanded.

“If it were Cha Ye-rin-ssi, she would have come earlier… Hngh.”

Tae-jun wrapped his arms around Seo-hee from behind. He licked her ear with his tongue as he caressed her body through her clothes.

“Tell her to wait until we’re done.”

Tae-jun was a cruel man, even to the woman who would become his fiancée.

“You only apologize in bed.”

“Stop…”

“Cry and beg like you did last night. Hmm?“

Tae-jun pressed his lips to hers. Her mind clouded amidst his rough breathing.

“See, crying beautifully is your specialty.”

He whispered in her ear with an arrogant voice.