WAK 31

Chapter 31

“What are you doing, not eating?”

“I’m eating.”

Flustered, Hana picked up her chopsticks. She kept stealing glances at him as she ate her galbi.

The moment the meat entered her mouth, it melted away. It tasted so much better than she expected that an exclamation slipped out before she could stop it.

“Wow!”

“Is it good?”

“Yes. They really know how to make Korean food here.”

He chuckled again. That smile of his made her nervous.

“Why do you keep laughing?”

“Me?”

He put on a straight face, acting as though he had done no such thing.

“Never mind. Just eat.”

Hana ducked her head completely and focused solely on eating. As her stomach filled up, her mood lightened. With a satisfied expression, she set down her cutlery and took a sip of water. To Jeonghan, that sight looked unbearably cute.

Drawn like a magnet, he stepped closer to her.

Seeing him suddenly stand up and approach, she looked up at him with wide, startled eyes. Beneath the large sunglasses, her round eyes were fully visible.

Jeonghan braced one hand on the table and the other on the back of her chair, lowering his torso. He knew she hated skinship when she looked like this, but right at that moment, he simply couldn’t resist pressing his lips against her soft ones.

Jeonghan pulled back. The sunglasses shielding her eyes slipped downward, exposing her wide, startled expression unfiltered. Seeing those round eyes, the corners of his mouth curved into a smile.

“This wasn’t because of any bet. It’s a prize for Kang Hana, who is pushing through even when she must be hurting.”

He reached out and pushed her sunglasses straight again.

“These sunglasses are way too big.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the sunglasses slid down again. This time too, he used his index finger to nudge the bridge of the glasses back up. Throughout it all, Hana sat frozen, staring blankly at him without even blinking.

“Recover quickly.”

Hana’s pupils trembled slightly. Her tightly pressed lips parted just a fraction, but she didn’t say a word.

“That way, you can fully focus on me.”

With an overtly seductive, smiling gaze, his words made Hana’s heart race wildly.

“Who gave you permission to hand out prizes?” Hana muttered in a tiny voice.

“My own free will.”

Jeonghan walked back to where he had been sitting earlier. The moment he turned away, Hana pressed a hand to her chest and breathed heavily, as if trying to calm her frantic heart.

The two of them sat facing each other once more.

Enduring his gaze was tough—not because it was uncomfortable, but because her heart was pounding so hard she couldn’t handle it. Even though he acted completely casual, she was still hyper-aware of her own appearance.

“Um… I think I’ll head to bed now,” Hana said, pushing her chair back. “I took a bath for way too long, and now I’m super sleepy…”

In her own mind, she strongly insisted she wasn’t running away. It was simply that soaking in the tub for three hours had worn her out, and as he said, getting plenty of rest was the fastest way to recover. That was the only reason she was heading to the bedroom early in the evening.

“Hana.”

Just as she opened the bedroom door, he called out. She had no choice but to turn back.

“Sleep well.”

“Yeah. You sleep well too, Senior.”

Scrambling into the bedroom, Hana shut the door behind her and pressed her hand against her chest. The hammering thrill of her pounding heart felt electric.

Heading straight to the bed, Hana slid under the covers. Only after pulling the blanket all the way over her head did she finally let out the giggles bubbling up inside her.

“Oh gosh. My heart is beating so fast.”

Pulling her sunglasses out from under the blanket, Hana curled up like a shrimp. That little kiss just now made her heart pound even harder than a deep, passionate kiss involving tangled tongues.

She touched her lips, bringing back the exact sensation of Jeonghan pressing firmly against them. They said he was born with a natural talent for seducing women, and it seemed that rumor wasn’t wrong at all.

Hana had to kick her feet under the covers, soothing her fluttering heart all by herself. Though she had gone in claiming she was going to sleep, it looked like she wouldn’t be closing her eyes anytime soon.

Being healthy, Hana had a strong constitution. Between the good food and proper rest at the hotel, her bruises faded much faster than expected after two or three days.

A couple of days ago, she even had a meeting with the detective in charge of the breach of trust case. The detectives seemed to think the break-in was just a routine robbery, and she figured it was best to play along with that assumption.

Hana applied her makeup and checked her reflection in the mirror. Modern cosmetics had incredible coverage; not a single mark was visible.

“Alright, I’m ready to go back to work.”

She muttered to herself, snapping her compact shut.

During her recovery, she had worked from home under the excuse of still being sore. But whenever she absolutely had to appear at the court, she traveled using the driver Jeonghan arranged for her.

Whenever she went to the courthouse, she wore the oversized sunglasses Jeonghan had bought her, which stayed firmly in place without slipping. Courthouse staff gave her odd looks for keeping the shades on indoors, but she stubbornly refused to take them off.

The only exception was when she stood before the judge; upon seeing the bruises that even makeup couldn’t fully hide, the judge kindly gave her permission to put the sunglasses back on.

As Hana finished getting ready and stepped out of the bedroom, Jeonghan looked up from his coffee. He stared at her in surprise.

“You’re going to work already?”

“I have way too much work piled up.”

Instead of looking into Jeonghan’s eyes, she answered while staring at the bridge of his nose or his temples. Ever since that lingering kiss pressed onto her lips, making eye contact with him had somehow become much harder—not because he intimidated her, but because she felt too shy.

“I’ll drop you off on my way.”

“No thanks!”

Hana waved her hands frantically as she turned him down.

“It’s right on my way, though?”

“Well, leaving the hotel together is one thing… and there are way too many people outside my office building…”

No matter how little Hana cared about what others thought, she didn’t think an unmarried man and woman openly cohabiting in a luxury hotel was something to broadcast. Besides, the legal community was a tiny world; one wrong rumor could latch onto her and cause endless trouble.

“And besides, I think I really need to head back to my own place today.”

“Your place? Why?”

He narrowed his brow and repeated the question.

“It’s been a few days since the incident, and I can’t just keep living in a hotel forever.”

Jeonghan stared straight into her face.

“Are you uncomfortable because it’s a hotel, or are you uncomfortable because of me?”

“Because it’s a hotel!”

Her answer came half a beat too fast, drawing a smirk from him.

“So it is me. Am I making you that self-conscious?”

“I told you, it’s because it’s a hotel!”

“Right, sure. Let’s go with that. Anyway.”

He stepped closer to her, straightening out the folded collar of her blouse as he continued.

“Don’t go home yet.”

“Why do you keep telling me not to go?”

“I told you, not until the culprit is caught. How many times do I have to say it?”

“What are the odds a burglar hits the exact same house twice?”

“No way. Criminals always return to the scene of the crime, ever heard of that?”

Jeonghan was absolute. Hana gave a half-hearted nod and waved a dismissive hand. Arguing any further seemed pointless.

“I’m heading out first. Enjoy the rest of your coffee.”

“Oh, by the way, I’m going to be late today.”

He set his coffee cup down as he spoke. Hearing those words triggered a strange, unfamiliar emotion inside her. Weren’t those the kind of things married couples said to each other?

“Do you have overtime?”

“No, I have a memorial rite.”

“Ah…”

“Make sure you eat properly, even if you’re alone.”

“I’ll probably end up working late myself.”

He shot her a disapproving look. Even if she looked fine on the outside, she wasn’t fully recovered yet.

“You’re going to work even if I tell you not to, right?”

“Naturally.”

He let out a long sigh.

“You need to stay healthy so you can give me a healthy baby later on.”

“Oh, seriously…”

Hana gave Jeonghan’s arm a sharp whack. He chuckled softly and asked her again,

“Shall I send a car for you, then?”

“I’ll pass.”

She didn’t want to draw any unnecessary attention anywhere she went.

“I’m really leaving now.”

With a bright smile, she turned around.

Jeonghan pushed his chair back, stood up, and strode right over to her. Catching her by the arm and spinning her around, he caught her off guard and planted a quick kiss right on her lips.

Hana hurried to shove him away, slapping a hand over her mouth. Just like that, she successfully defended against his surprise attack.

“You’ve recovered a lot more than I thought. Look at you blocking that when I caught you off guard.”

“You’re sneaky. Do you want to win that bet that badly?”

“I told you. I want to make a baby.”

Shaking her head in disbelief, Hana turned and practically marched toward the door.