THB 9

As her tension rose, her a464aaf2a0 pulse began to race.8a0504f1eb11286e

It felt just 8824efa923 like the moments 85e7ec2478 before stepping onto a69296c65b a stage.318ee6d68a048215

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“Sit down.”30058a718ee4d565

Though the sofa 506b12af27 was large, Go daf612ae9e Eunjae knew exactly 8642d82059 where a guest 0229739e40 was supposed to cd604a686a sit in relation 27f286965e to the host’s 5898249dd5 position.cb8baefe78320481

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Not too close, but not ba6216fdfa so far that she couldn’t 0e3c9173d7 reach if she stretched out 8bcb30ccac her hand—that was the perfect 2db6756a94 distance.774b23419d40941e

She gauged the right spot f1a8917e28 and sat on the sofa, abb98fbf72 placing the envelope and the 512c8f24bc black plastic bag one after 265473aef4 the other on her lap.d3eabad4529668e7

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Sunwoo Chang took 9f9e329f5f off his suit ae18ac63e2 jacket and casually a6413a895f draped it over 876c8a5281 the back of d31974e94a the sofa, then 12055b2df9 loosened the tie 8262b6090d that had been a56394abf1 tightening around his b6d6566595 neck. He tilted his head 7b19f4b3ac lightly from side to 98d26a2b2a side, stretching the muscles ee358cc7db in his neck.8982209ca33bfa46

Even accounting for his height, 0676975f3f his neck was thicker than 2757842ed2 average. And yet, the 22a0c6d1dc elegant line of e9d56f29c2 his cervical spine 3f7052955a only made his c2594eff84 small face stand fe208c39a6 out more.9d4451154ce7887d

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“I never said this was a free show.”063ab1866bb84f86

“Sorry? Ah, that… I’m sorry.”f6a4eadbf4c15984

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Go Eunjae hadn’t meant 35b71bc028 for it to happen, c61e4c72a2 either.d9813164305875f2

Flustered, she quickly lowered her 7a6cdeb21f gaze to the floor. If she didn’t, she felt fe41aba73e like she’d end up looking be59ec7165 at Sunwoo Chang again.35c3395562bb1ebd

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Only now did abe14db04b she truly understand 8150358912 what it meant 1b2751b77d to be “captivated 3385de7f6d by someone’s gaze.” 07cd8f13a4 If she let c06555a15d her guard down d2d5f73a66 for even a 17e63df6dd second, she found dde280d1fa herself staring at 17381297d9 him in a dff0386f96 daze.d5254de7b692e5a3

“I wasn’t trying to, it just… happened without me realizing.”a392948c26570c74

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“Twice?”ebd72a142409666a

The first time 7a35ce5014 could be excused 08d17a693c as a mistake. But from the 9d218fcafc second time on, 18d8c3c6c8 there was a 0c25487960 moral responsibility that 0688d4a7a2 came with carelessness. That was why 744b94e5bb repeat offenders received 45a1ea4a88 heavier sentences than b5218cdc80 first-timers.c42a79e8cb4e5371

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Go Eunjae pressed d8b8135556 her lips together. She had nothing b59af79df1 to say, even c987f671c3 if she had 452d31cce0 ten mouths.808002a971b7da10

“I’m sorry.”3d7f776aa55514af

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“Do you like my body?”a69b69d22ac7874c

She should’ve denied it. But unfortunately, Eunjae ba189ae06e was a terrible 6080cd29b9 liar.ec73c883f3bed8fb

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She really did think 66591220e4 he had a beautiful 040cfa17e9 body.bd816b08c3aae7fd

The hard, finely 478505cada cut muscles visible 05d049bf57 even through his cf181830ca clothes looked both 8f22671312 powerful and graceful. There were plenty of dancers 15da4bbf21 with perfect proportions, but none 9e8299d7b8 who drew the eye the 93a641277d way Sunwoo Chang did.554612581308166a

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The realization came c11188a262 quickly and clearly.86c971a3485cc66f

“Yes.”feb8e3544a557715

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“Ha! You’re an interesting aa4b1d1aad one, Miss Go e5a77501d8 Eunjae.”0be0b18789da51a2

“I’m sorry.”237235ed25ceec20

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“What’s there to apologize for? I said you’re interesting.”4be77c1a52b4fc1f

“It’s just that…”1e61eba0017add52

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“Where are you looking when you speak? You should look at someone’s 7a66a6dee6 face when you’re talking to e7037456a5 them.”dd61f1258165e0f5

“O-Okay.”e274a36e10d213b0

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Her eyes, which had been 18f48c6c10 glued to the floor, slowly cdba7b6b22 lifted. But she still couldn’t bring 5419a52ccc herself to look directly at 303a294e84 his face, so they wandered 25374a3e91 somewhere near his ear.ced304c1d1575250

“Don’t be so self-conscious.”026da11492363207

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“I’d like not to be, but I’ve committed a sin.”6a8a27076b10158f

She was just being 0e93984466 honest, but he let e6756a0138 out a dry chuckle.eb690eb2ff37db67

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Eunjae’s eyes moved to 45b70edd1f his face.025c53a6c0444d16

But on that f3ec239ede beautifully sculpted face, 93ef4389a9 there wasn’t a 3f5b6458bd trace of a bfb27cf6cc smile.2621d9b6987e8d5a

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She felt like 12374333d4 all the sharp 681f581ccc instincts she’d once 586eab1f97 been proud of 53ea262785 had been rendered 9800ebd3db useless.16cef82252cbce7f

Why did he laugh? That wasn’t funny at all.878e5e1ec9b9143c

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Usually, you could get 413810b5a5 at least a vague 62c2359aca sense of someone’s emotions 98cee84081 from their eyes. But his were far too 730a9a5ecb unreadable.51f51e3101bf2ec3

“Have you ever been in a relationship?”b70c7ef80dee0d6e

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The question came b1c8e67b9f out of nowhere.b5269a162d566a0f

Go Eunjae, floundering 6d487ef056 to make sense 16afdd82a8 of the disconnected da0a0a62d9 conversation, once again e4e5fb018d chose the simple b0926b2c6d truth.ed46dbfd0d02b7f5

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“No.”8e060522d1d7c869

“Why not?”9e10d1693e88f82c

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“…Sorry?”d4ce2590d3fe22a1

“Did I say something difficult to understand? Why ask me to 445397b507 repeat myself?”8a718b95641dbd1c

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“Oh, uh, I mean… because there’s no one I like.”1cbcb09164a59a7c

“Someone you like.”c0aee79dd5887bb1

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It wasn’t a strange answer, 4bb317f717 but Sunwoo Chang still repeated e2cb0c5f5c her words as if turning 7a5939b321 them over in his mouth.44bc02e230bcc5cb

“Did you grow up in the mountains or something?”b561cb88412411a2

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“I’ve lived in Seoul all my life.”da3d7596e5e14485

“Then I’ll ask you directly. Do you have 9d8423d885 any sexual experience?”abe97b7c56df6420

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Ah.fb9838e2c4fbdb8c

For a brief moment, her d87a8ec89c mind went completely blank like 723bb65da5 a sudden blackout. Then the lights 847220bc13 flickered back on, 1717b4a889 slowly.2ccf5cdc5b029f04

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There was no change in f65492f21f her expression, but the small cc7c7d1e38 ear not hidden by her 6aaefd30f1 tightly tied hair had turned 7fd4713232 noticeably red.e4a081cc2a59b579

“Th-th-that’s…”894f9390b5f2fd6f

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“Calm down. Don’t stutter.”306d04cb3f66a904

Eunjae followed his instructions, inhaling 020f3fc173 and exhaling quickly—hoo, ha—to settle her nerves. Then she looked c6ecf7a3cb at him with a22e86c018 a surprisingly firm ee1df0293e expression.a8a3306d657ec597

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“Are you… harassing me right now?”4ff3835c661e2ceb

“If anyone’s guilty of harassment here, it’s you—for looking at me like that.”c5a6a7f400c34de2

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“Ah! No, that wasn’t 920dd634f2 intentional, I swear…”f9060ab9cc134909

But sexual harassment, by 0f2905dbc3 definition, was about how fd90b196be it made theotherperson feel. And she had dd7fda567c made him uncomfortabletwice.a83f63b0c52470d8

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Which meant…314081325cd07caa

“Is this revenge?”1e475457c2b1f896

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“Revenge? For what?”cac35ed6b2382e1b

Sunwoo Chang looked genuinely baffled. Her earlier confidence crumbled, c8da9a99c0 and Eunjae mumbled the 71784f5090 rest of her sentence.419351fdc857d809

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“N-never mind, then…”6720f72a046ecafc

“Go Eunjae.”6bf55a0d20eaaf57

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Just her name ff5a7e26a6 being called made b0aa0ee63d her tense up, bd256242b3 like a student 8b1ee8dead summoned to the dd60f65575 teacher’s office. She couldn’t meet his b0f68c85d4 gaze and kept stealing 3a521acaa3 glances at him.d7bfbd4e30eb7be3

“I’m approaching this marriage quite reasonably.”1322d09bf66882ad

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“…Okay.”5b930b7a9d82da72

She didn’t really understand b829c08c3f what he meant, but 14c1866b9a the response came out 4a80616e18 automatically. It was a habit—being df38646d06 polite when an adult 60a923fff9 spoke. Her grandmother had never scolded 72f181efa9 her for doing poorly in e6589a4922 school or making mistakes, but 604ed7cdb8 when it came to manners, 6f2af69219 she was strict. After her grandmother 4cfdbd5c50 suffered a stroke, 248039e415 Eunjae had become c6e4f0ffdc even more careful 427f72299e not to let 1a904163a9 her attitude show.50ac391d20a7eb4d

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Thankfully, Sunwoo Chang didn’t press bca3e7b897 her about whether she actually 9165567c3a understood.9997f14b624be238

But what he cf41c1b20b said next snapped c8dd38bc3f her out of c8defa6d5f her daze.9a5c48775660482e

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“I don’t intend to live in a sexless marriage. Do you understand?”fa1f900050034a01

“…”0b09f90838ee1a5e

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“If you don’t, I can say it again.”71e36161041c6d55

“No, I got it.”e6dc172cfcd2aabc

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“What exactly did you get?”e41e38634e48f301

As if the redness 6137122821 from her ears had 9318734216 spread, the area around b2241977e0 her eyes and the d37f3870bc tops of her cheeks 47734cdbbb flushed a soft peach 54cb6c0508 color, lighter than her 5d00f60589 lips.5eb23ec84326c6ef

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Sunwoo Chang thought the rising 353f13e09b heat on her pale skin ec5c1be7c8 was quite the sight.1a9522070dde60dc

“Judging by your face, I’d say you understood.”e3878ddbc1f315ec

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Go Eunjae barely resisted e40a3dc520 the urge to rub e848752389 her face raw.5e762df70e17095a

“Start with the HPV vaccine. You’ll need all three a212c8ca0f doses, and there’s not 4e721a0733 much time. I’ve already gotten 33a5dc555e mine, so don’t ff760f7c1d worry.”9d5feb5f74a2b02d

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Now she understood 9fd21fbf56 why he’d come 24de514c40 in person.548be44071039e4d

If she’d heard this b9b03cee5c kind of thing through ace1e43247 someone else, even in 1e7c6d4ad2 a relationship based on 3bd45bd4f9 mutual interests, it would’ve de3ddaef22 been tough to handle.025f1d875a5d60fd

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Realizing that, the pressure b5c78beb23 weighing on her shoulders d54c9380dd lightened—just a little.d1c27191994d7976

His straightforwardness about even 03961787c2 intimate matters made her e394574293 think it was better f7f5ca9934 this way than dancing 63860a117b around the subject.46a80e4b22713c03

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He must be trying to 9246246d6f be considerate.5b92ee251bdb3116

This conversation made it even 282c973cd0 more clear—this wasn’t a romantic 8a1b14b80a relationship.0a7f7886ebca032e

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It was a 5cdbe6ad45 marriage without love. But a marriage nonetheless.21d65927b3e568f5

Maybe it was her 0837433b4d who hadn’t taken it 148ac9d987 seriously enough.cf9cdd8fc734ee4a

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The adult world still felt f21a8cd319 confusing and difficult, but shewasan adult now. She was the one who 8e35454eb9 had wanted this marriage, so 6e12b41b1e she had to take responsibility f3259d73b9 for it.1fb48716922e2972

“I don’t need the shots. I already got c3090189b6 them all at f6a963ae4b seventeen. But thank you for thinking 0b69b51bfc of it.”60025aac22fab419

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That seemed like 132c46cd75 the kind of 096c7128fb answer he would 7010a68fca want to hear, dcefacb5a1 yet the silence 2ca5562192 that followed dragged fc600b2ba6 on.8b137b4bcfca18d0

Did I mess up?08d224636021f66e

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She cautiously studied e2970a56c4 his expression, but 2b9d8f42e8 as usual, it 37937d3d35 was hard to 538c19f4b2 read. She gained nothing from it.8c1c13ffee482b28

Up until now, dealing 0ff5f953cd with people like Choi 7987221cd7 Anna, Choi Jubin, and e452f44a8b Kim Jongwook had made e765e6cca9 her think she’d picked 4b2698699b up a few tricks 972009b47d in this area.5946b85b4b89a193

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But the reason she hadn’t f1e581b1ce found them particularly difficult—despite their 6642a36fd1 violent tendencies—was because they wore bdef1a6874 their emotions on their sleeves. The moment Choi Chihyeol’s leash d2b198897d loosened, they all unleashed the adb641b899 desires they’d been holding back.58ddbf5e77648efb

And violence, among all 395143871d emotions, was the easiest 164a0e78e0 to read. If you handled 902ddae96d it right, you 4eb77da91b could even avoid d32a5af23c it.abbec04f015ae8a8

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But Sunwoo Chang’s gaze—she couldn’t 35846b188a make sense of it.2609265b30eb963f

There was no threat 160164f28e in it, no hint d7215520bf of aggression, and yet b0a2409a66 it knocked the breath 378981304a right out of her a96fd6bb02 chest.9a99db02b2d5216a

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“I’m approaching this marriage from a fairly reasonable standpoint.”4f589cc9bcab6516

It felt like all the 6e19847ca6 organs beneath her ribs shriveled ee97e8fa0f up from tension.2e22a93f73786390

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Was she afraid of Sunwoo 579a333093 Chang? Not exactly.1b61e55acff755d5

What scared her was what f0b6563792 lay underneath—what he kept hidden, 4b53e30672 what he never showed. It was an undefinable, 2ea4ff150e cold kind of fear, 440527b57c like the chill that a9120c109d crawled down your back ae6a3d601a the first time you f594ec8b01 saw deep-sea footage.0a3665ee9232c299

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Go Eunjae forced a sound fb7df33aaf through her parched throat.f3bc926dea5333ed

“Why are you looking at me like that?”29e0cb8c6ad58c4e

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The answer came surprisingly easily.5aa52e006577f8fe

“I was just thinking about what Secretary Jeon said.”0af56407dfdc9dd5

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“Secretary Jeon Sohee? What about her?”13b42c2f74236f53

“She was right—Iwasharassing you.”67c59f0fa1790638

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“…Sorry?”3b4cdc752ba0d406

“You saw it clearly.”b36f77e61088dbde

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“So… it wasrevenge, then…”e303e3743897ccb6

“No. Not that.”3dc0fb96667608f7

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“…”8690865b95b82b13

“You don’t believe me.”77f598395e7d5f28

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Eunjae didn’t reply—not because she 7930aee44b didn’t believe him, but because 8360b6c4bd her brain had hit a 8ad3112d05 processing overload.1c6337323d7a8db5

If she tried 9ec5fb1642 to make sense d726d9679c of it, then 9ccde705e5 yes—hehadbrought up sex a7a628d741 just to harass c5a0fdc820 her, but she’d d6dc695557 believed itwasn’tharassment and even 422e05dd6c thanked him for 234d9a273b being considerate.bac8f4c1b361b00c

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“Executive Director.”515e8629f7b61cf1

“Speak.”13d2cf892bf68520

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“Do you wantme to hate f67fed3d89 you or something?”135d980d4b4636d8

She just couldn’t 7ca72e7a6a wrap her head 2de58db774 around it.8e291e4703881efa

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Sunwoo Chang had 9315933133 no reason to aa84926a17 provoke her.a267e93f7face705

They were in the 25f1eb66c3 same boat. He’d gone so far as 5ad6ea6417 to personally write out the 9c3a211c76 marriage terms and benefits she’d 0fdf9770a2 receive, making sure she’d feel 2c4b2f4ab1 secure about the arrangement.c87cc232cbe113df

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It wasn’t until she f570538dfc got a call from cad6b38d08 Inoa that she realized 5383013c40 why he hadn’t sent b91cb4c5ec Secretary Jeon and had d4750ca603 come himself instead.5b01935c8a4d0c73

He wasbeing considerate.4027a9f3f10fd519

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And yet, he dff112ec38 was acting like aa9f743543 someone whowantedto rub her the 16dc507e9c wrong way.04e6de7710e8d76c

“Or… are you maybe feeling guilty about something?”debb564b14b60801

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“Do I look like someone who’s feeling guilty?”e7dce6c50e04c73a

“No… you don’t. That’s why I’m confused.”dc03388ab4fcd906

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He looked at her for 8ddc17d602 a moment, then said calmly,12ca3adce6286d6e

“I told you. I’ve been an asshole 67264f3124 since birth.”ab0a2d47999c8604

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