BT 08

Chapter 08

The Handsome Collarbone

When Eun-chae opened her eyes, she was startled to realize that she had fallen asleep at Do-hyeok’s house again.

For a moment, she was caught in the illusion that she was back in that night when she had seen Do-hyeok’s body.

“Oh, right. Kwon Do-hyeok went on a business trip yesterday.”

In the end, it seemed Do-hyeok had not returned last night, because the house was completely quiet. It would be nice if she could just take over this house for herself.

Eun-chae got up groggily and pulled her hoodie over her head.

She was hungry, so she figured she should go to the nearby supermarket and buy something to eat. In this house, which had practically everything imaginable, the one thing it didn’t have was food.

“Yaaawn.”

Yawning lazily, Eun-chae wandered around Tower Palace. There had to be a supermarket nearby.

As she walked around looking for one, Eun-chae suddenly noticed her shadow and was startled.

A tall man’s shadow was overlapping hers.

But when she stopped, the man’s shadow stopped too.

Even after she waited for him to walk ahead, the man standing behind her didn’t move.

Apparently, he had been deliberately following her.

What a pervert. And he’s ridiculously diligent this early in the morning.

Eun-chae whipped around and glared at him, only for her eyes to widen immediately.

“When did you get back?”

It was Do-hyeok.

Seeing him dressed in training clothes rather than a suit, she figured he must have gone out for a morning jog rather than on a business trip.

“Don’t tell me you came back last night?”

If that were true, then he would have known that she had been illegally staying at his house.

But she had slept perfectly well and woken up without a problem, so perhaps that wasn’t the case either. It was a very confusing situation.

Do-hyeok silently watched her expression change from one moment to the next before finally speaking.

“I just got back from my business trip. Why are you out so early?”

“You went on a business trip wearing training clothes?”

She stared at him with an expression that clearly said, Are you out of your mind?

Do-hyeok wondered if he really had to go this far and lie to her.

But then he remembered how soundly she had slept on his sofa last night, and in the end, he continued the lie.

“I can wear whatever I want. What about you? Where are you going dressed like that?”

Eun-chae blinked as she looked at Do-hyeok.

There was a huge word stamped across his forehead:

Moneybags.

Besides, if there was food, he would eat it too, so there was no reason to bother distinguishing between her money and his.

“Want to come with me?”

When Eun-chae casually suggested that they go together, Do-hyeok was a little surprised.

He had never imagined that the word together would come out of her mouth first.

---

Although it was morning, the supermarket was crowded with people doing their grocery shopping.

Most of them were women.

There was a wide variety, from young women living on their own to veteran housewives.

But perhaps all those women’s tastes in men were surprisingly similar, because the moment Do-hyeok appeared in the supermarket like a jaguar, everyone’s eyes turned toward him.

Do-hyeok ignored all those gazes and continued walking slowly through the supermarket in his own world.

Actually, considering what Do-hyeok was normally like, the fact that he had followed Eun-chae all the way inside instead of turning around at the entrance was quite remarkable.

It was Do-hyeok’s first time ever visiting a supermarket.

He had only ever seen food after it had already been prepared. Seeing all the raw ingredients gathered together like this, a supermarket seemed less like a store and more like a warehouse full of food from his perspective.

“Ah! The meat’s on sale!”

The moment Eun-chae spotted the word sale, she left Do-hyeok standing there and hurriedly ran toward the meat section while pushing a cart.

Do-hyeok, who couldn’t understand the mindset of ordinary people who were willing to go through all kinds of trouble just to get discounted products, merely clicked his tongue.

Just then, the middle-aged employee grilling dumplings held out a piece of dumpling on a toothpick toward him.

“Hey, young man. These dumplings are delicious. Try one.”

Do-hyeok recoiled as if the woman were offering him poison and took a step backward, eyeing her warily.

But as soon as the dumpling lady offered him her dumpling, the woman grilling sausages beside her approached him and held out a sausage.

“People these days prefer sausages to dumplings. These are German-made, so they’re really good. Give it a try.”

“If you only eat sausage, it’ll make you thirsty. Have some of this drink too!”

Suddenly, even the young woman at the beverage stand joined in.

From Do-hyeok’s perspective, they didn’t look like people anymore.

They looked like supermarket products advancing toward him.

Do-hyeok rejected everything, turned around, and hurried toward the direction Eun-chae had gone.

The only familiar thing in this supermarket was Eun-chae.

All he could think about was finding her quickly and getting out of here.

From now on, whenever Eun-chae asks me to go somewhere with her, I need to check where we’re going first.

Following her blindly had been far too careless of him.

---

Sizzle, sizzle—.

It was probably the first time in the history of this building that someone had grilled samgyeopsal in the penthouse on the 64th floor.

It had been an impulse purchase because it was on sale, but samgyeopsal was delicious even when eaten for breakfast.

Do-hyeok sat on the sofa some distance away with his legs crossed, doing nothing but watching her grill the meat.

Since the meat had been bought with his money, Eun-chae tapped the floor with her foot.

“If you’re going to eat, come closer.”

Do-hyeok looked at the greasy fat attached to the samgyeopsal and turned his head away.

“No. I’m not hungry.”

If he genuinely wasn’t hungry, then Do-hyeok’s stomach wasn’t doing its job properly.

Instead of firing his employees, Do-hyeok should probably fire his own stomach first.

Eun-chae wrapped a piece of cooked samgyeopsal in lettuce and perilla leaf, added a clove of raw garlic, and stuffed the whole thing into her mouth.

“Mmph, so good.”

“Don’t talk while you’re eating. It’s disgusting.”

Eun-chae ignored Do-hyeok’s criticism and continued chewing enthusiastically.

“You really eat in a way that’s irritatingly satisfying.”

If something looked delicious, then it was delicious. What was there to be irritated about?

Ignoring Do-hyeok’s comment, she placed another piece of meat on a lettuce leaf.

At that moment, Do-hyeok sat down across from her.

He picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and first checked whether it was properly cooked.

Still apparently uncomfortable with simply eating it, he spoke to her.

“Bring me a knife and fork.”

“If you’re going to use the knife to cut off all the fat before eating it, then don’t eat it. It’s annoying when you eat it that way.”

Do-hyeok gave her a pointed stare, so Eun-chae held out the wrap she had made for herself.

“Try it. It’s really good.”

“Did you wash your hands?”

“Jeez! Just eat it!”

Eun-chae shoved the entire wrap straight into Do-hyeok’s mouth.

With his mouth completely stuffed with samgyeopsal and vegetables, Do-hyeok couldn’t speak.

He couldn’t even chew.

Eun-chae ordered him around.

“Chew.”

Do-hyeok closed his mouth.

For a moment, his face stiffened as though he were carefully assessing the aroma spreading through his mouth.

Then his jaw slowly began to move.

When Eun-chae saw that he was actually chewing the meat, she asked,

“It’s good, right?”

Only after swallowing everything in his mouth did Do-hyeok mutter as though he had just endured some incredibly difficult ordeal.

“Is this wartime food?”

What is he even talking about?

“Have another one.”

“No. You eat it.”

Apparently, it wasn’t to Do-hyeok’s taste.

He genuinely didn’t eat another bite.

“Then what do you usually eat?”

There wasn’t a single sign that anyone had ever cooked in this house.

It was as if Do-hyeok had issued an official decree:

Cooking is forbidden in my home.

“You eat rice, right?”

Do-hyeok shot her a look that clearly asked if she was joking.

“What about kimchi?”

Perhaps he didn’t eat that either, because he turned his head away.

“What about ham?”

“What exactly are you trying to do?”

“No, I need to know what you eat so I can buy it. I’m your housekeeper for a month, remember?”

“Forget it. Just clean. If I leave meals to you, my stomach is going to develop a hole.”

Even when someone went out of their way to prepare food for him, he didn’t know how to appreciate it.

Eun-chae picked up a chili pepper, bit into it with a loud crunch, and glared at Do-hyeok.

Seeing this, Do-hyeok warned her as well.

“Don’t eat that.”

Now he was even interfering with what she ate.

Eun-chae deliberately picked up an even bigger chili pepper and bit into it.

When she ignored him, Do-hyeok abruptly grabbed the hand holding the chili pepper and pulled it toward him.

“I told you not to eat it!”

Eun-chae looked at Do-hyeok’s frightening expression and said only one thing.

“Your breath smells like garlic.”

Do-hyeok pushed her head away at the speed of light.

You should cover your own mouth! Is my head a soccer ball?

Ding-dong, ding-dong—.

They hadn’t even finished eating the samgyeopsal when the doorbell rang.

Eun-chae was just about to put another lettuce wrap into her mouth when she froze in surprise and asked Do-hyeok,

“Is Manager Park coming over?”

Since that wasn’t the case, Do-hyeok stood up and walked toward the intercom.

Seeing his face stiffen as he looked at the screen, Eun-chae suddenly felt anxious about the samgyeopsal.

She hurriedly began gathering up the food they hadn’t finished eating.

“You don’t need to clean that up. She’s just going to leave.”

“Who is it?”

Eun-chae was able to find out as soon as Do-hyeok pressed the intercom button.

[Oppa, it’s me.]

It was a woman’s voice.

And she was calling the notoriously difficult Kwon Do-hyeok Oppa so affectionately.

Even if she were his biological sister, it was surprising.

“What is it?”

[You haven’t come home in so long. I came to see how you’ve been doing.]

Since she referred to this place as home, she really was probably his younger sister.

Eun-chae’s hands moved even faster as she cleaned up the samgyeopsal.

This wouldn’t do.

She simply started shoving everything into a secret bag.

“Just go home.”

At Do-hyeok’s cold response, Eun-chae turned her head toward him.

Why is he treating his little sister like that?

[I came all the way here, and you’re telling me to just leave? At least give me some tea.]

“We don’t have anything like that in our house.”

If she were just some woman he knew, Eun-chae would have assumed he was being cold because he found her annoying.

But seeing him treat his own younger sister this way, he really was unbelievably heartless.

Unable to simply stand there listening, Eun-chae stopped cleaning and cautiously approached Do-hyeok.

The woman visible on the intercom still had a youthful face.

She looked to be in her early twenties at most.

She had the kind of beautiful face that looked like a doll.

However, she didn’t resemble Do-hyeok at all.

If she hadn’t said she was his younger sister herself, Eun-chae would never have guessed they were family.

[Why are you treating me like a stranger? Do you really think I came all the way here because I wanted some tea?]

His younger sister sounded offended, like a woman who had just been dumped by her boyfriend.

Even so, Do-hyeok didn’t seem to have any intention of opening the door.

Beep—.

A hand suddenly reached out from behind Do-hyeok and pressed the unlock button.

The door opened.

Do-hyeok turned around and shouted angrily at her.

“Lee Eun-chae!”

Eun-chae hurriedly moved back toward the center of the living room to clean up the samgyeopsal again.

She looked almost exactly like a pet wagging its tail before running away.

Do-hyeok’s younger sister entered through the door Eun-chae had opened, then stopped at the entrance and frowned.

“What is that smell?”

It was the smell of samgyeopsal.

The younger sister looked horrified by the smell.

Then she saw Eun-chae standing in the living room, and her expression became even more displeased.

“Is that the woman Gyumin Oppa was talking about?”

Gyumin Oppa?

The name was unfamiliar, but Eun-chae could think of one person who might be involved.

The purple boy she had encountered at the restaurant.

So Do-hyeok’s younger sister must have heard about her from that purple boy and immediately rushed over to her brother’s house.

It was practically the kind of surveillance a girlfriend would carry out.

The relationship between the siblings was strange enough, but Eun-chae was curious about how Do-hyeok would introduce her to his younger sister.

She stared directly at Do-hyeok.

Do-hyeok looked at Eun-chae too.

It was almost as though he was asking her what she wanted him to call her.

How did she want to be introduced?

“I’m a housekeeper who agreed to take care of this house for a month.”

In the end, Eun-chae slipped neatly into the clumsy introduction of housekeeper.

Do-hyeok couldn’t deny it either.

Well, what could he say? He doesn’t exactly have the right to complain.

“What kind of housekeeper eats at a restaurant with the homeowner? Were you using your sex appeal on him?”

As expected, blood was thicker than water.

Apparently, Eun-chae was automatically assumed to be the one who had seduced him, while her brother was viewed as nothing but an innocent, blameless man.

It was a conclusion no ordinary person could possibly reach.

How on earth did Kwon Do-hyeok look like the kind of man who would be captivated by a woman’s sex appeal?

Even if anyone was using sex appeal, it would be Kwon Do-hyeok.

“Kwon Do-yeon, enough. Go home.”

Do-hyeok finally spoke.

Do-yeon, who had been glaring sharply at Eun-chae, immediately wilted at a single word from Do-hyeok.

“Don’t use such a weird housekeeper. I’m going to tell Mom.”

“Kwon. Do. Yeon.”

When Do-hyeok said her name one syllable at a time, Do-yeon immediately shut her mouth.

Then she glared at Eun-chae.

Her eyes clearly said she intended to separate Eun-chae from her brother somehow.

Even though Eun-chae had clearly said she would only be working for a month.

Perhaps because they had too much wealth, there didn’t seem to be a single normal person in Kwon Do-hyeok’s family.

After Do-hyeok’s younger sister left without even being offered a cup of tea, the atmosphere became strangely awkward.

Even while he was with Eun-chae, Kwon Do-hyeok behaved as though he were completely alone.

“Are there only two siblings?”

“Don’t casually try to find out things about me.”

She had gone out of her way to make conversation, only to receive a cold warning in return.

And who asked about your dark secrets?

She had simply asked about his family.

She couldn’t understand it, but Do-hyeok was being so sensitive that she couldn’t ask anything else.

Instead, she simply cleaned up the place where they had eaten the samgyeopsal.

Rrrrrrrrrr—. Rrrrrrrrr—.

When she took out her phone, she saw that the call was from her brother-in-law, Jinwoo.

Eun-chae glanced at Do-hyeok, then carried her phone into the dressing room.

[They say you fought with your father and left home. Where are you staying right now?]

Apparently, her father had put pressure on him.

He must have told Jinwoo to call her and find out where she was.

That was probably why Eun-chae wasn’t particularly happy to receive her brother-in-law’s call today.

She answered casually.

“I’m staying at a friend’s place. You wouldn’t know them anyway. I’m doing fine, so don’t worry.”

She was actually planning to sleep at Dong-woo’s place tonight, but she didn’t particularly want to tell Jinwoo that.

For now, she couldn’t even trust her brother-in-law.

[How can I not worry? The world is so dangerous for women these days. Especially a pretty woman like you, my sister-in-law.]

She didn’t dislike being called pretty, but Jinwoo probably considered her less pretty than her older sister.

“I’m doing an event in Myeongdong on Monday. Do you want to come see me, Brother-in-law?”

He would feel relieved after seeing her face, so Eun-chae invited Jinwoo to the event.

That way, Jinwoo would naturally refrain from telling her father.

She knew exactly what kind of chaos would erupt if her father showed up at the event.

[Really? There must be tons of people in Myeongdong.]

“Yeah. The event manager personally called to recruit me. I guess I’m finally getting a little recognition.”

[Wow. That’s amazing, sister-in-law.]

Even if it was only something he said to make her feel better, Eun-chae was happy whenever Jinwoo praised her.

It was as though those few words made everything all right.

Being scolded by her father.

Failing to succeed as a singer.

All the things that had upset her.

All the things that had made her angry.

For a moment, everything was okay.

Do-hyeok, who had overheard Eun-chae proudly bragging to Jinwoo from outside the door, gave a dry laugh.

If Eun-chae found out who had gotten her that event, it was obvious she would immediately get angry and say she wasn’t going to do it.

If she really wanted to succeed as a singer, she needed to flatter Do-hyeok.

After all, he possessed every quality necessary to be a sponsor.

But whether she was stupid or simply didn’t have much ambition to succeed as a singer, Lee Eun-chae continued to treat him poorly.

It was supposed to be a strategy, but the sincerity with which she had been mistreating him lately made it impossible to see it that way.

Eun-chae might not need him.

But he needed her.

No matter how much he looked around, Lee Eun-chae was the only person who offered even the slightest possibility of shaking his father.

He only needed one opportunity.

Regardless of how his father knew Lee Eun-chae, or whatever she was hiding from him, if Lee Eun-chae could become his bullet at the decisive moment, his father would never be able to defeat him.

This engagement wasn’t really about business anyway.

It was about justification.

And Lee Eun-chae was enough to damage that justification.

Therefore, he couldn’t allow the contract to end according to Lee Eun-chae’s wishes.

If he did, he would never get another opportunity to use her.

The problem was that the contract he had initially thought would be trivial was turning out to be much more troublesome than expected.

Lee Eun-chae showed absolutely no sign of falling for him.

If he got her drunk, she did nothing but sing, making conversation impossible.

If he spent money on her, she called it wasteful spending.

Whenever he said anything, it somehow turned into a battle of wills.

And she didn’t even seem to understand how frightening it was to be on the losing side of their arrangement.

If his father and he were complete opposites, then Lee Eun-chae and he were much the same.

Do-hyeok thought deeply about how he could change this incompatible relationship.

It had been impossible with his father, but that didn’t mean it would be impossible with Lee Eun-chae.

Unlike his father, she and he were in a subtle relationship between a man and a woman.

If he really made an effort to win her favor, things would be different from now.

He was an attractive man even without his money.

Who would dare deny that?

Do-hyeok looked at his face in the mirror directly in front of him.

Objectively speaking, he was handsome.

In an era when the world was overflowing with handsome men and beautiful women who all looked alike after plastic surgery, it was difficult to find a face as uniquely handsome as his.

On top of that, he had broad shoulders and was tall in a distinctly masculine way.

Look at this.

Even his collarbone was handsome.

“What are you doing?”

Eun-chae had apparently finished her phone call and come out without him noticing.

She was staring at Do-hyeok like he was a pervert as he pulled down his shirt to examine his collarbone.

But Do-hyeok didn’t become flustered in the slightest.

Instead, he pulled his shirt down even farther, exposing more of his collarbone.

“What’s wrong with me looking at my own collarbone in my own house?”

What kind of crazy man is this?

Thinking that, Eun-chae leaned backward to get away from him.