#52
While Secretary Jeong was staring intently at the road ahead, I scanned all the buildings lining the street. I wondered what the building I would own would be like, and thoughts of the building soon brought Han Jinheon to mind.
As soon as Han Jinheon was on the chopping block of my consciousness, the first thing that came to mind was the worry I had heard from Kim Yujin earlier. 'Should I not be receiving pheromones from him?' I even signed a contract, this is… I’d rather just receive them if possible.
There’s no way Han Jinheon would have intentionally done it knowing it would cause problems for me. That perfect Alpha must have at least one thing he doesn’t know. I’ll pretend to overlook that and get the pheromones…
Kiss him…
“…Secretary Jeong.”
“Yes? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”
“That’s not it… Can I ask you something?”
At his words to ask anything, I wet my lips with my tongue. Then I ran my fingers along the seatbelt that was slung diagonally across my chest, pulled it taut, and asked.
“Secretary Jeong, have you ever kissed someone?”
Secretary Jeong’s eyes widened like saucers. Even though he was driving, he looked momentarily dazed, which was dangerous.
“I’m sorry. That was a bit of a weird question.”
'Forget it.' I apologized with an awkward smile and turned my gaze back to the window.
There’s something that has been inseparable from Han Jinheon these past few days. It’s our kisses, not just a simple meeting of lips, but a kiss where we shared our breath and saliva.
From the weekend until this morning, Han Jinheon and I have been rubbing our lips together under the pretext of pheromones. If we met in passing, it would end with a simple kiss, but if we spent a little more time together, I would find myself being kissed by Han Jinheon at some point. Only when we were kissing were we complete strangers.
And because I had boasted that I was good at kissing, from the third kiss onwards, I had no choice but to be bold, even if it meant being treated like a fool. Did studying on my phone have some effect? Han Jinheon no longer made a fuss about kissing and simply immersed himself in our kisses.
Two pairs of lips roughly pressed together. A tongue that deeply penetrated and intertwined. The gap filled with our moist breath and saliva…
The sound of the kiss we shared last night replays clearly in my ears. The bottom of my chest tickled, and I ended up letting out a “Pfft!” sound and collapsing sideways on the back seat.
“Han Sol-ssi! Are you okay?!”
“Yes… I’m sorry…”
'I must have disturbed your driving.' I apologized immediately, but I couldn’t get up. Still lying on the seat, I bit my lip hard and shook my clenched fist.
Whether it was my first kiss, whether the other person was Han Jinheon, whatever this man was thinking, I no longer cared. It was pointless to weigh my situation and analyze it. Instead, I had a pure and simple question. Is kissing something that makes you want to do it again and again?
Maybe kissing isn’t the goal.
‘Can you please stop being so cute?’
When Han Jinheon kisses, he cups my cheeks with his hands. He sometimes strokes my skin with his thumb or caresses my earlobe. At the end of a kiss, he likes to bite my lower lip and enjoys watching me catch my breath after being lost in the kiss. Yesterday, he teased me, saying that our noses, which had bumped into each other, were small and round.
At this point, it’s certain. I wanted to be found even more cute by him.
***
Inside the dimly lit conference room, Han Jinheon was looking at a miniature model of the new city apartment complex on the screen installed on one wall. Around him sat the key figures from each department.
The main feature of this new city construction was the premium high-rise apartment that HANQ Construction was launching for the first time. The plan for a large-scale apartment complex of the HANQ brand to be built in the center of the new city had attracted a lot of attention.
At first, there were great concerns. At the time of Han Sol’s incident, public opinion against HANQ was strong, so there were many worries about whether it was okay to try launching a new brand. However, the upper management of HANQ Construction, including Han Jinheon, knew that the public’s anger would not last long. Their anger was temporary.
Starting with the HANQ Group chairman’s public apology, people gradually lost interest in Han Sol, who was a hot potato, as he disappeared from the media without a trace. Furthermore, as the apartment brand launched by HANQ Construction became widely known through news and word of mouth, and received a series of positive reviews from those who had already inquired about pre-sales, Han Sol was completely forgotten.
As the tide turned, the atmosphere shifted back in HANQ’s favor. Even though the contract had been broken once, Han Jinheon consistently met with and treated the officials. It was called treating, but in reality, it was nothing more than a gentle pressure backed by the group, the parent company of HANQ Construction. There were no legitimate methods in business. Even if it was dirty and cowardly, there were many things that had to be done to achieve what one wanted.
When the bidding started again, HANQ Construction jumped in with a huge deposit and won the bid again. Although they had lost the overseas development to Suseong Construction, Kim Gyuyoung’s family’s company, they could not lose the new city development. It was an opportunity for HANQ Construction to establish a large-scale presence in the new city development.
Voices of discontent arose from the companies that had participated together, but they quieted down on their own. They knew that in this industry, this game was the same as that game.
While listening to the well-organized presentation about the new apartment complex that would be built in the center of the new city, Han Jinheon shifted his gaze to his phone.
Han Sol
[Bungeoppang on your way back]
[Hyung, you’ll find it delicious too, right?] 03:31 PM
'What is this…'
Han Jinheon looked up from his phone and back at the screen. The presenter, seeing his attention return, tensed up again and put more force into his voice.
Han Jinheon tried to focus on the presentation out of courtesy, but his eyes acted on their own, defying his will. His gaze moved from the screen to the wall, then across the long conference table, and finally back to his phone, which made his hand move.
'I’m just curious.'
[What’s with the sudden bungeoppang?] 03:35 PM
Han Sol
[(Photo)]
[I saw it on TV]
[It looked so delicious]
[Hehehehe] 03:35 PM
[If you want to eat it, I’ll buy it on my way]
[Did you go to the hospital?]
[I told you to call me] 03:36 PM
Han Sol
[I was going to call you when I got home, but I fell asleep as soon as I arrived…]
[I guess I was tired (crying)] 03:36 PM
'If you’re tired, you should sleep.' He wouldn’t be able to ignore the fatigue his body was experiencing due to the pheromones. While Han Jinheon was taking a break from replying, Han Sol sent another message.
Han Sol
[The sushi I ate at the company before looks delicious too]
[Should we have sushi for dinner tonight?]
[Please get some takeout on your way] 03:36 PM
Han Sol even sent a playful emoticon, appealing to eat sushi. Han Jinheon unknowingly curled up the corners of his mouth and replied. He was only looking at his phone, not the screen, and he didn’t pay any attention to the people who were watching him to see if they should continue with the meeting.
[Okay]
[I’ll buy something good]
[Bungeoppang and sushi, right?] 03:37 PM
Han Sol
[Hyung-nim]
[Your younger brother is moved to tears by your grace (sobbing)] 03:37 PM
'Again. Talking with unnecessary politeness.'
Letting out a soft laugh, Han Jinheon inadvertently looked up and his expression hardened. He felt pathetic for forgetting that he was in a meeting for a moment. Furthermore, his mood soured when he saw the executives sitting right next to him smiling awkwardly at him. He gathered his wits even more.
Soon after, as Han Jinheon left the meeting room, Secretary Song approached him. He asked with a business-like face that showed no hesitation.
“During the meeting, you weren’t able to concentrate. Did you receive an urgent call? Should I change the upcoming schedule?”
“It wasn’t urgent. I was just slacking off.”
“You don’t usually slack off. Especially during meetings.”
But these days, you’ve been chuckling to yourself during meetings. And secretly using your phone like a student. Your unusual lack of concentration is noticeable. Secretary Song pointed out that it wouldn’t matter if only he knew, but it was a problem because others knew too.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Han Jinheon didn’t want to argue, as it was something Secretary Song could say. He had no intention of doing so anyway, as he admitted that he wasn’t concentrating, even though he wasn’t completely ignoring the meeting.
“Secretary Song. I’d like you to reserve a sushi takeout for me around closing time.”
“Should I prepare two, including one for Han Sol-ssi? Was the one you had before okay?”
“Not that place, somewhere else. The one before, It seemed like he was just picking at it, so it didn’t seem to be to his taste.”
“I’ll look for another place.”
Secretary Song stopped at the desk right in front of the executive director’s office. It was Secretary Song’s personal workspace. Han Jinheon grabbed the doorknob to enter the executive director’s office but didn’t turn it. There was something he was hesitating to say.
After a moment of contemplation, he casually spoke to Secretary Song, who was preparing to sit down once he entered. He had never thought he would ask something like this. He didn’t think it was something he couldn’t ask, but he felt embarrassed for some reason.
“Do you happen to know a place that sells bungeoppang near the company or the mansion? Or any place that you know of, Secretary Song.”
“…Bungeoppang?”
Secretary Song showed a dazed reaction that was unlike him. Just as Han Jinheon had not expected to be asked, Secretary Song had not expected it either. However, he was able to deduce it without difficulty. It wasn’t Han Jinheon who was looking for bungeoppang, but the person he was living with.
'To think the day would come when he would buy bungeoppang because Han Sol wanted to eat it.' He was slowly feeling the change in Han Jinheon’s attitude towards Han Sol.
___________
(t/n : unlock more chapters on my Ko-Fi^^)
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