TVS 10

Chapter 10

Seo-ah had no regrets about accepting Se-yeon’s plan. If anything, she only resented herself for being unable to remain composed in a situation like this.

Seo-ah buried her face in her long, wavy hair.

Watching her awkward every move, the man scratched his eyebrow as though something about her bothered him.

“Hmm…”

After letting out a quiet sigh, he stared intently at Seo-ah. Then, as if he had made up his mind, he casually said,

“Come in.”

At his voice breaking the silence, Seo-ah flinched and raised her head. Unlike before, the door was now wide open.

“Ah…”

She hesitated in front of the open door, unable to bring herself to step inside.

Seeing this, Tae-kyung leaned his back against the open door and added irritably,

“Or do you want to just leave? That’s not a bad option either.”

“Oh, no.”

“You’re pretty… slow, aren’t you?”

Tae-kyung deliberately dragged out the words. It was as though he was openly expressing his dissatisfaction with how slow and awkward Seo-ah was being.

Realizing this, she hurriedly replied,

“I’m sorry. I’ll come in.”

She could not delay any longer. Before his mind changed, Seo-ah quickly stepped into the hotel suite.

When she hurried inside and stood in the entranceway, her eyes widened.

The suite occupying the entire twentieth floor was an extravagant space with a living room, bedroom, and office area all separated from one another. There was even a swimming pool on the terrace.

Seo-ah unconsciously swallowed.

A customer who could afford to stay in a room like this for just one night…

Only now did she truly grasp who she was dealing with.

“Sit down.”

Tae-kyung passed by her and sat down on the sofa first, gesturing for her to sit across from him.

However, Seo-ah remained standing in front of the sofa table and looked over its contents.

A bottle of whiskey, an ice bucket, and two crystal glasses that looked expensive at a glance had been neatly arranged side by side.

“Are you more comfortable standing? I don’t really care either way.”

“What? Ah, no. I just thought that if I’m here to serve you drinks, I’m supposed to sit beside you, Director.”

Tae-kyung let out an unmistakable scoff, his sharp gaze piercing into her.

“You’re being proactive, but I’m not really into drinking alcohol that someone else pours for me.”

Seo-ah froze without saying a word.

She had not expected that from a man she had been told was crazy about women.

Because his reaction was completely unexpected, she awkwardly stood in front of the sofa opposite him. Then she carefully grabbed the hem of her short skirt and sat down.

In the meantime, Tae-kyung’s gaze fell upon her fingers.

Seo-ah’s movements were cautious, and her eyes were anxious. The way her fingers nervously clutched her short skirt made it especially obvious.

Could this really be the first time she’s ever worn something like that?

Even someone else looking at her would have had the same thought. Everything about her was painfully unnatural.

“Who sent you?”

“Yes? What?”

Seo-ah’s heart sank.

Wasn’t it part of the arrangement for a girl from Edge to be sent here?

“I asked who sent you. The owner of Edge wouldn’t have sent Miss Rin here for no reason. Was it Director Seo? An executive from Dong-ha Motors?”

“……!”

Simply hearing the company’s name sent a storm through her heart.

From the moment Se-yeon had shown her the photograph of her father-in-law with someone from Taeyu, they had become her absolute enemies.

Seo-ah calmly suppressed her boiling anger and hardened her gaze.

“Yes. It was Director Seo.”

“Hah.”

As though he had expected that answer, Tae-kyung gave a hollow laugh.

He rubbed the deep crease between his brows several times before twisting his lips.

Fucking…

Swallowing a quiet curse, Tae-kyung reached for the bottle of alcohol in front of him, seemingly intending to drink out of irritation.

But before he could, Seo-ah grabbed the bottle.

“You may not like it, but I’ll pour you a drink anyway.”

Tae-kyung stared at her silently for a moment, his expression stiff.

Then, with an unreadable expression, he lifted his glass.

“All right.”

Seo-ah slowly poured the whiskey, holding the bottle tightly with both hands as she filled his glass.

The drops of alcohol fell one by one, sluggishly, as though expressing the heaviness weighing down her heart.

Finally, unable to control her trembling hands, Seo-ah set down the bottle. It struck the glass tabletop with a loud clatter.

Perhaps the sound had gotten on Tae-kyung’s nerves.

The brow of the man holding the half-filled glass furrowed slightly.

“Just as I thought. You’re not my type.”

He tilted his head and set the glass down on the table without drinking it.

“……!”

The color drained from Seo-ah’s face.

What if he doesn’t like me and throws me out? What if he realizes I’m a fake?

Anxiety quickly swallowed her whole.

“I don’t know what Director Seo told you, but I don’t like drinking with women hanging around me.”

That couldn’t be true.

Seo-ah, who had trusted Se-yeon completely, could not believe his words.

“Do you… not like me?”

Perhaps this was simply an excuse to get rid of someone he suspected.

Or perhaps she really was not his type.

Could it be one of those two things?

“If I say that’s the case, will you leave?”

Seo-ah was confused.

It was not because she was confident in her appearance.

It was because she believed the Kang Tae-kyung Se-yeon had described.

But when she thought about the man she had encountered at the funeral, she simply could not believe the two men were the same person.

In fact, none of Se-yeon’s descriptions seemed to fit him at all.

What should I do?

Seo-ah desperately tried to hold on to her wavering resolve.

Kang Tae-kyung is only one person, after all.

The trash Se-yeon had described and the benefactor who had helped her at the funeral were both this man.

When she thought about it, everyone had two sides to them.

She convinced herself that she had simply witnessed two different sides of the same person.

At that moment, Seo-ah’s cracked voice slipped between her dry lips, trembling from nervousness.

“What do I have to do to make you like me, Director?”

She did not care if he thought she was shamelessly clinging to him without any pride.

If she could win his favor, she was willing to do anything.

However, contrary to Seo-ah’s expectations, Kang Tae-kyung’s expression, which had been scoffing moments ago, only hardened further, his intentions impossible to read.

His deep eyes felt so cold that they seemed to pierce straight through her.

What am I supposed to do?

His gaze seemed to be telling her, It’s not you.

How am I supposed to seduce a man like this?

For someone who had never even experienced a proper romantic relationship, it was an impossibly difficult question.

On top of that, with her heavy makeup that was practically a disguise and her revealing hostess outfit that barely covered her most important areas, she looked exactly like what people would call a working girl.

Even if he really is crazy about women, he wouldn’t like someone dressed like this… would he?

Just as Seo-ah, who had been prepared to do anything, began sinking into self-loathing, the man who had been silently watching her finally spoke in a cold voice.

“What do you mean, what do you have to do? Can you really make someone’s feelings change just by trying? And who are you that I should have to explain something like that to you?”

“……”

Seo-ah could not say anything.

Yet despite the man’s attitude being as cold as ice, both in his tone and his gaze, she somehow felt her resolve growing even stronger.

Was it really easy to accept a plan that required her to sleep with a man who might be her enemy?

Accepting Se-yeon’s dangerous and shocking plan had been a choice she had made because she had no other option.

This was the only way she could uncover the truth.

Seo-ah gathered her courage once again and decided to plead with him one more time.

“Of course, I’m nothing to you. But… I want you to like me, Director.”

Perhaps those words, which she had arrived at after much thought, had irritated him yet again.

Tae-kyung gave another hollow laugh, and his voice sank even lower.

Perhaps he disliked how someone who was obviously a complete novice was pathetically clinging to him.

“Do you need money?”

“……What?”

“Why do you keep asking me to repeat myself? It’s exhausting. I asked if you need money.”

Money?

For a moment, Seo-ah’s mind went completely blank.

Unable to properly understand what he meant, she merely moved her puzzled eyes.

“Is my question really that difficult? Should I ask again after naming an amount?”

The man’s attitude was clearly different from how he had acted in front of the hotel room.

The playful teasing that had seemed to toy with her, along with the slightly curious and flirtatious attitude he had shown earlier, had already disappeared.

“Oh, no. It’s just that this is my first time doing something like this, so I’m awkward and a little flustered. I’m sorry. And yes, I do need money.”

At Seo-ah’s answer, Tae-kyung nodded and picked up the jacket he had tossed over the armrest of the sofa.

“For a complete novice, you’re pretty persistent. You must have at least one killer move up your sleeve. Let’s see it. Right now.”