ADT 10

Chapter 10

The Cold-Hearted Woman

After going down to the underground parking lot, Hushin drove his midsize sedan out of the building. As he entered the city streets, where traffic congestion had already begun, he let out a short sigh.

“Whew… This is hopeless.”

He could not believe his own impulsive behavior, which had not been part of his plans at all. Yet his body had already been heading toward her.

He called Yuri through his phone connected to the car’s Bluetooth, but she did not answer even after the long ringing stopped.

Hushin found the address he had saved in her contact information and immediately entered it into the navigation.

He thought that it would be good if she contacted him while he was on his way. Otherwise, he had developed a strange stubborn determination to see her face even if he had to go all the way to her home.

As he drove leisurely, he recalled what had happened between them the previous night.

The woman who had boldly tried to seduce him had been awkward once they were in bed. Yet Hushin became even more excited seeing her trying hard not to show it, deliberately pretending that she was fine.

It was the first time he had ever held a woman in his arms and still felt thirsty for more.

Even without her saying anything, he could tell from the feeling that it had been her first time. Because of that, his desire to conquer her had grown even stronger, and unlike his usual self, he had even pushed her somewhat urgently.

The urge to keep teasing her as she struggled became so strong that it was difficult for him to restrain himself. Because of that, it seemed to have taken quite a long time before they finally became one.

When the sensations of their entwined bodies reached their peak and they finally reached the highest point, Yuri lost consciousness.

Part of the reason was that Yuri’s stamina could no longer keep up with his. But looking back, Hushin also felt sorry because he thought that his own inability to control himself and the way he had pushed her so quickly had been the bigger reason.

He had been terribly disappointed that their passionate union had ended after only once.

However, he could not satisfy his own desire any further with the woman who had collapsed and was making painful little sounds.

He held the exhausted woman in his arms and gently patted her, trying to force himself to sleep.

Honestly, he did not think he would be able to sleep properly.

Suppressing his burning desire, Hushin tried to fall asleep while taking comfort in the faint scent of her skin. Unfortunately, without knowing how he felt, Yuri never woke up even once.

Regardless of what time he went to bed, Hushin always woke up naturally at six in the morning without an alarm.

Today was no different. After opening his eyes, Hushin stared at Yuri’s sleeping face in his arms before carefully slipping out of bed.

He did not want to wake her. She was sleeping so peacefully, looking almost like an innocent child.

After taking a shower, Hushin was about to leave for work when he suddenly remembered how thin her body was, and it bothered him.

So he personally prepared breakfast for her, even though he usually did not bother to take care of breakfast for himself, and then left.

But now that he thought about how he had even prepared food for her as an act of consideration that did not suit him at all, he felt strangely disappointed.

“I was worried about sending you home on an empty stomach, so I prepared breakfast for you. And you didn’t even contact me. What a cold-hearted woman.”

Hushin had never felt even these kinds of emotions with the women he had met before. Most of the time, he only saw them once or twice and almost never met them again.

It was the same whether it was a blind date or someone he was getting to know romantically. The woman was always the one who contacted him first.

Maybe it was because a few women had bothered him so much that they had practically become stalkers. He hated that kind of clinginess, so he had never met any woman more than twice until now.

But Yuri had not even contacted him, let alone thanked him.

Screech.

Hushin suddenly hit the brakes at a red light. His dissatisfied voice escaped his lips.

“Ha! Come to think of it, I went out of my way to save her back then, and she ran off without even thanking me. Isn’t this a habitual offense?”

Hushin remembered the time ten years ago when he had saved Yuri from nearly being assaulted by her stepbrother, Baek Youngsoo, at Seola’s birthday party.

He could understand that she had been too shocked and confused to think clearly. But even afterward, she had never said a single word about what had happened.

Come to think of it, it was Yuri’s indifferent attitude that had hurt Hushin’s pride after that day and had become the reason he started keeping an eye on her.

Rrrrr.

While recalling the past he had shared with Yuri, Hushin heard the ringing sound from the Bluetooth-connected phone and immediately shifted his gaze to the monitor.

[Secretary Jin Yuri]

After checking the caller’s name, one corner of Hushin’s mouth lifted slightly. He cleared his throat a few times before pressing the call button, deliberately saying nothing.

“……”

—Vice President, did you call me?

“Can’t you tell from the missed call?”

—What? Yes. What is it…?

Wow. Jin Yuri really has no manners.

They had built the Great Wall together all night, and the first thing she could say was, “What is it?”

Hushin was gradually becoming not only annoyed but also offended.

It was not as if he had simply eaten her and disappeared after one night. He began to wonder if his existence meant so little to Jin Yuri.

“Before asking what the matter is, isn’t it basic manners to at least say that you had a good breakfast?”

Honestly, he had not prepared the food to brag about it. But because Yuri had shown such an extreme lack of reaction, Hushin eventually revealed his childish feelings.

—I was so distracted that I forgot. I’m sorry.

Only then did Yuri remember the food he had prepared for her.

After hearing her answer, Hushin was so dumbfounded that he simply let out a short laugh.

“Forget it. I should have expected it from the right person. Where are you now?”

—What? At home.

“Why are you taking so long to answer?”

—No. It’s just that you suddenly asked me the exact same question as yesterday.

Come to think of it, Hushin had asked her the same question when they talked on the phone last night.

‘Where are you now?’

Because the same situation was repeating itself, Yuri had a strange feeling.

“Did I? Then I guess you’re still in front of your house.”

Hushin also remembered their conversation from yesterday, when Yuri had said she wanted to meet him to give him the contract.

—Ah, no. I’m at home today.

“That’s a relief. Come out to the parking lot in front of your house in fifteen minutes.”

—What do you mean all of a sudden…?

“You ran off after eating breakfast, so I should at least buy you dinner. Isn’t that basic manners?”

—No, Vice President. I don’t think I can today.

Yuri could not help but be flustered by Hushin’s sudden call.

Her entire body was aching here and there from the aftermath of the previous night with him. On top of that, her head was still throbbing because of Seola, who had barged into her home a few hours ago and caused a huge scene.

“If you feel even a little sorry toward me, come out.”

—I don’t think I can—

Before Yuri could finish her sentence, Hushin hung up.

She wondered if he had been the only one who had enjoyed holding her last night. His pride was hurt by her indifferent attitude, yet at the same time, he wanted to see her quickly.

“I would have let you off if you had just answered properly, but if I leave without seeing you today, I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep properly. So I can’t let it go.”

After muttering to himself, Hushin finally seemed to feel a little better, and the corners of his lips naturally lifted.

＊＊＊

Yuri called Hushin several times after he unilaterally hung up on her, but he never answered.

With no other choice, Yuri had to put on her coat.

There was no way to force him to turn back when he was already on his way. For now, she decided to go downstairs, at least see his face, and talk to him.

Yuri went outside at the time Hushin had told her to come down.

After spotting Yuri waiting for him in the distance, Hushin stopped his car right in front of her and lowered the passenger-side window.

“Get in.”

“Vice President, I’m sorry, but I’m really not in a condition to meet anyone today…”

“I’m not asking you to do anything. I just want to have a meal with you.”

“I don’t feel like having dinner.”

“There is something I absolutely need to check, so get in for now.”

“What? Yes…”

At his firm voice, Yuri had no choice but to open the door and sit in the passenger seat.

Strangely, there was a force in his tone that made it impossible to refuse him.

Just like last night.

She had a feeling that even if she resisted any longer, she would eventually have no choice but to obediently follow his words.

Only after Yuri fastened her seat belt did Hushin start the car.

Hushin glanced at Yuri, who was sitting upright beside him and staring straight ahead. Suddenly, his lips felt dry and his throat became thirsty.

He had remembered the scenes of the two of them rolling around frantically on the bed the previous night.

Even while working in the office all day, memories of their intimacy kept flashing into his mind, making his lower body ache to the point of driving him crazy.

He wanted to see again the pale face that had been beneath him, trying to hold back her moans while tears welled up in her eyes.

In the end, he had impulsively driven all the way here.

Hushin opened the bottle of water sitting in the cup holder and gulped it down.

As Yuri secretly watched his throat bob as he swallowed, listening to the sound of him drinking, her own mouth went dry from nervousness, and she quietly swallowed.

An awkward silence filled the car.

Hushin was the first to speak.

“Are you feeling okay?”

Startled by the unexpected question, Yuri answered instinctively.

“…Yes. I’m fine.”

It was a lie.

Fine? She wanted to crawl into bed right away and stay there without moving at all…

“Did you eat all the food I made for you?”

In the end, unable to stand the uncertainty any longer, Hushin asked first.

“Ah… Thank you. Thanks to you, I ate it all and enjoyed it. I’m sorry I didn’t thank you earlier.”

“As long as you know now, that’s enough. Good job.”

What was this?

Could the thing he absolutely needed to check really be this?

Yuri turned her head and briefly looked at his profile.

He was a man whose true intentions were impossible to understand.

He suddenly called her and asked her to let him buy her dinner. And as if that were not enough, it was suspicious that he was personally checking whether she had eaten the breakfast he had prepared for her.

Surely he was not deliberately doing all this because he was upset that she had not thanked him.

Yuri even wondered if Hushin was conducting some kind of behind-the-scenes test to test her.

The more confused she became trying to figure out what was going on in his mind, the more her head hurt.

As if seeing Hushin had not already been enough to make her remember everything that happened last night and feel embarrassed to death, now she had to have this unexpected meeting with him inside such a confined space.

It was extremely uncomfortable.

Unaware of what Yuri was thinking, Hushin was speeding up toward somewhere.