Swallow One’s Breath -R19 - Chapter 6

On Monday morning, the people who caught sight of Do-won as he arrived at work, exchanged glances in disbelief.

Was that a real smile on President Kang Do-won’s lips? It was unbelievable that the president’s expression, which had been full of displeasure the past few months, had changed in an instant.

Among them, the person with the most doubt was Do-won’s secretary, Jeong Jung-woo, who had been working with Do-won for four years. As soon as Do-won arrived, Secretary Jeong immediately followed him into the president’s office and began to interrogate him about his activities over the weekend.

“What the hell happened to you?! I haven’t been able to contact you since Friday night…”

“Why? Did something happen?” Do-won asked cheekily, but when he saw Secretary Jeong’s darkened expression, he leaned back in his chair vand sighed.

“Did my mother contact you, Secretary Jeong?”

“Isn’t that obvious? How could you dump the daughter of Geumgang Construction’s president at a hotel bar on Friday night and just disappear!?”

“I had an urgent business to attend to.”

“Was it urgent enough for you to even turn off your cell phone?”

“Yeah.”

“President….”

“Did anything else happen?”

“············”.

Ironically, Secretary Jeong’s lips were closed tightly with the casual question.

“You must have had a hard time with Mrs. Han pestering you over the weekend. I’m sorry, I will take care of her, so you don’t have to worry”

“…………..”

“And if you’re tired, you can go home and rest today. Just tell me the schedule.”

The stressed secretary Jeong stood silent for a moment with an expression on his face that seemed to say, ‘If I wasn’t the only secretary!’

A few minutes later, Secretary Jeong finally opened his mouth.

“I’ll take a break and come back after lunch.”

“Okay.”

However, before Secretary Jeong could turn around, the door suddenly swung open and a woman walked in. Secretary Jeong flinched, then without a single word, bowed his head, and walked out of the office with a quick pace.

‘Damn, you must have suffered a lot over the weekend.’

“You! Where the hell have you been?!” Mrs. Han demanded in a voice full of annoyance as she approached the desk. “Where the hell did you go after abandoning Geumgang Construction’s first daughter at a hotel bar?”

“I left because something urgent came up.”

“Then you should have said something instead of turning off your cell phone for the entire weekend! How could something like this happen?!”

“I will personally call and apologize to the President of Geumgang Construction.”

“You say that now…!”

Mrs. Han was speechless, the outrage became apparent on her face.

“Why are you so shameless? Do you know why I arranged the meeting?

“I never asked you to arrange such a meeting. I’m sure I told you before that I definitely don’t care about getting married anymore.”

“How can you say that?! Do you think I can stay still when my son still isn’t married at thirty-five?”

A weary sigh escaped from Do-Won’s mouth.

“For the past 35 years, did you even remember you had a son?”

“….What does that mean? How can you say such a thing?!”

“Am I wrong?”

Mrs. Han’s lips trembled at Do-won’s cold gaze.

“There’s no need to be interested in me now. I don’t want to be the target of my mother’s boredom at this age. If you’re done talking, please go back. You’re interfering with my work.”

Mrs.Han was shaking as if she couldn’t control her anger, but she didn’t say more. She glared at Do-won for a long time, and then she left, slamming the door behind her. He sighed once again as he looked at the closed door.

Do-won did not believe he needed things like a strong family bond or love from his parents. This is because neither his mother nor his father had ever shown any proper interest in him.

Born as the youngest daughter of the Shinhwa group, his mother met his father, who was a painter at the age of 23, and fell in love, then got married. However, their love grew cold as quickly as it burned, and since then, for 30 years, the two have continued to change lovers.

It was his maternal grandfather who took care of the neglected Do-won, but Chairman Han was not only a strict person but also a very busy person. Moreover, Chairman Han raised his grandson by focusing on education and duty rather than affection.

Thanks to this, Do-won grew up to be a cold-hearted person, and now he doesn’t feel the need to deal with his parents’ interest. He met the daughter of the president of Geumgang Construction for a business relationship, not as a courtesy for his mother.

“Damn, that was annoying,” he muttered, thinking about a woman whose face and name he had already forgotten.

To be honest, the moment he saw Se-eun on Friday night, or more precisely, the moment he saw another man approaching Se-eun, the existence of the woman next to him was completely erased from his mind.

The only one thing on his mind was that he could no longer stand to see other men around her.

And the result was very satisfactory.

From Friday night until dawn this morning, he had as much sex as he liked. Of course, it was not enough to resolve all of his needs and dissatisfaction, but he was able to sate his desires to some extent, so Do-won was in a very good mood now. To the point where he could put up with his mother coming to work in the morning without being annoyed.

‘Honestly, I feel like I can laugh off most of these annoyances if I monopolize Jeong Se-eun’s body in the future.’

Do-won spent the morning working through a stack of documents and then he called the president of Geumgang Construction when the time came. The president of Geumgang Construction was furious, saying “Do you know how embarrassed my daughter was?”, but after Do-won apologized several times, the president was willing to reconcile on the condition that he met his daughter again.

However, Do-won rejected the meeting as he decided to accept Se-eun’s rule of seeing one person at a time. At the same time,it was bothersome to even look at other women in this situation.

After the call with the president of Geumgang Construction was finished, Do-won sent a text message to Se-eun without delay.

[What’s today’s schedule?]

He waited for 30 minutes and no answer came, this time he called directly. As soon as she picked up, she simply stated, ‘I’ll call you back,’ and ended the call. He looked at his cell phone with puzzled eyes, then smiled and opened another document.

Just because she hangs up the phone immediately, doesn’t mean she couldn’t be reached. He knew exactly where Se-eun was working. Fortunately, there was nowhere she could hide in this situation now.

 

 

Se-Eun ended the call and stared at her cell phone for a moment, then turned off the power. She wondered if Kang Do-won had suddenly lost his mind because he’s been texting and calling since morning.

She was embarrassed with herself. Dazed, she looked around for no particular reason, and made eye contact with Joo-hyun, who had just lifted her head. When Se-eun averted her eyes, pretending to not notice her expression, she could still feel the heavy gaze.

Joo-Hyun had called several times over the weekend, but since Se-eun didn’t answer, she seemed even more worried. When they met this morning, Joo-hyun’s complexion was pale and her eyes had dark circles underneath.

When Joo-hyun asked if anything had happened after leaving with CEO Kang, Se-eun felt sick with a guilty conscience. If she admitted that she had been rolling around in bed with CEO Kang all weekend, Joo-Hyun might feel a sense of betrayal.

Se-eun couldn’t stand Joo-hyun’s stinging gaze, so she got up from her seat for a glass of water. Even as she walked that short distance to the breakroom, she could feel the soreness on every inch of her body.

The places Do-won’s lips and hands had touched, especially the areas between her chest and thighs, were so tender, that the soft fabric of her clothing chafed as it rubbed against her skin.

‘You’re crazy, Jeong Se-eun.’

Se-eun still couldn’t account for all the time she spent at Do-won’s house over the past three days. Somehow, the two coveted each other’s bodies as if they were animals. After sex, she fell asleep with his body overlapping hers, and when she opened her eyes, they tangled up again. Seriously, it couldn’t have happened without both of them going crazy.

‘You have to work. Get a hold of yourself.’

Se-eun slapped herself on the cheeks with both hands and then came out of the breakroom. She felt sorry for Joo-Hyun, but she had no intention of revealing what kind of relationship she had with Do-won.

However, after an hour or so, Se-eun found herself sitting across from Joo-hyun and Myeong-ah with her head bowed. She thought that if it was only Joo-hyun, she would be able to get over it, but when Myeong-ah joined, she couldn’t stand it.

Sure enough, Myeong-ah smirked and questioned her, while Se-eun awkwardly avoided her gaze.

“Did you have a good time with that guy?”

“…It’s not the kind of relationship you’re thinking of…”

Myeong-ah’s brows rose sharply after hearing the clumsy explanation.

“I hope you’re not going to tell us that nothing happened, because that would obviously be a lie. Even though I didn’t know the relationship between the two of you, I could clearly feel the sexual tension in the atmosphere. If you’re going to deny it though, then exactly what kind of relationship does our management team leader have with that man? Just imagine all the sort of rumors that will be spread-“

“I’ll tell you everything!”

Before Myeong-ah could finish her words, Se-eun raised the white flag. Myeong-ah was quick to pick up on these type of things. In addition, she was someone who worked with Charles all day. If rumors about Do-won spread, Charles and Jaehee would be the first ones to find out.

“Well, I dated him briefly in the past…”

“Really?”

This time, Joo-hyun widened her eyes with a surprised expression.

“But when President Kang visited the company before, you pretended not to know him!”

“I wasn’t in touch with him at the time. I didn’t think we would ever meet again.”

However, Joo-hyun’s face was already filled with a sense of betrayal.

“Team leader, you’re really so mean. Do you know how worried I was all weekend? No, do you know how terrifying that man’s expression was?”

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t in my right mind.”

However, Myeong-ah was already smirking again.

“Did you like it?”

“What?”

“Team leader Jeong, judging by the marks under your blouse, it must have felt pretty good.”

This time, Se-eun’s eyes widened. ‘Was it not covered enough?’ She didn’t see any traces when she got dressed in the morning.

Seeing her bewildered expression, Myeong-ah laughed softly.

“In any case, you’re too naive. How are you going to handle that guy in the future? Last Friday, he didn’t see anyone other than Team Leader Jeong at. There was a spark. You should hold on to a man like this. You know that, right?”

“……”

“Anyway, there will be many upset men if they find out that Team Leader Jeong is taken, that’s unfortunate.”

Se-eun, who was listening to Myeong-ah, carefully spoke.

“Hey, I have a favor to ask of you two.”

“Yes, what is it?”

“You can’t tell anyone what you saw on Friday. Got it?

Myeong-ah raised a brow.

“Why? If it were me, the moment I met such a man, I would have spread rumors all over the town.”

“That’s because we’re not sure about anything yet. Please don’t say anything. Joo-hyun, can you promise, too.?”

Myeong-ah nodded regretfullyt at Se-eun’s serious expression. After seeing Joo-hyun nod in agreement, she opened her mouth.

“Thank you both.”

Myeong-ah quickly regained her cheerful mood and said, “But if everything goes well, you have to introduce us to his friends. You know I’m really lonely these days, right? We’ll be waiting.”

“Yes, I’ll find out.”

She didn’t know how fortunate she was that Myeong-ah and Joo-hyun accepted everything without saying much. Se-eun sighed in relief that she had overcome the crisis, and began to think about how to explain Do-won to Charles and Jae-hee.

If it’s going well, Charles would definitely encourage her to do whatever she wanted while dating. But Jaehee didn’t seem like that. To put it into perspective, Charles was like an older sister, and Jaehee was like an older brother.

‘How did I get so lucky?’

However, Se-eun’s worries throughout the afternoon became completely useless when it was time to leave work. Do-won’s name flashed across her cell phone screen when she was delayed from leaving due to the work she had work left to do.

[Why aren’t you coming out?] Do-won immediately asked the moment Se-eun answered the phone.

[You didn’t leave work already, did you?]

“What are you talking about?”

[I’m in the JnC parking lot right now. Hurry up and come out.]

“What? You’re here at our company?”

[Why do you sound so surprised?]

“You must be crazy…”

[What?]

Se-eun realized that she had just spoken her thoughts out loud, and it scared her.

“Oh, nothing. But I still have work to do.”

[How much longer?]

Se-eun didn’t understand why she had to be rushed. It’s not like she had made any promises to meet. She didn’t know he showed up suddenly or why he was in such a hurry.

“It’ll take about 20 to 30 minutes.”

At her blunt answer, there was a hint of dissatisfaction in Do-won’s voice.

[Finish up and leave. I’ll be waiting.]

Se-eun looked at her phone and frowned when the call ended abruptly.

‘Who told you could come without saying a word…?’

In reality, the remaining tasks could be completed in less than 10 minutes. However, she was concerned about the people waiting in the parking lot, so her working speed gradually slowed down. After finishing, she checked the time, and saw it had been over 20 minutes.

Se-eun hurriedly looked in the mirror and got up from her seat. As she headed towards the exit, she encountered Charles in the lobby.

“Are you going home now?”

“Yes, aren’t you going home as well?”

“Yes, but I have something to finish first,” Charles replied and then suddenly smiled softly. “But, aren’t you making your lover wait too long?’

“What?”

Se-eun couldn’t hide her surprised face.

‘When the hell did Charles go to the parking lot?’

“It’s been almost an hour. Hurry up and go. Have a good date.”

As she watched Charles walking away while waving his hand, she sighed and went outside to find Do-won leaning against the car and looking her way.

“You’re crazy!”

The employees, who were leaving work late, were glancing around and looking at him. There must be some that didn’t leave because they were curious about who Do-won was waiting for.

If she approached Do-won now, rumors would likely spread in-house tomorrow morning. They would all be talking about how, “The president of Shinhwa Department Store, Kang Do-won, waited for team leader Jeong Se-eun in the parking lot for over an hour.” Se-eun slowly stepped back and went back inside. She felt sorry for him, but she didn’t want to be at the center of gossip in the company.

But Do-won had already seen her. As soon as she stepped inside, her cell phone began to ring.

[Why did you go back inside?]

“…….Did you forget about our agreement to keep this relationship a secret? What am I supposed to do if someone sees you? You just showed up here without telling me.”

[Do you want me to stay in the car for another hour?]

That wasn’t really an option either. Se-eun couldn’t answer and stood in place silently until she heard him laughing over the phone.

[Okay, just come out for now.]

“Get in the car. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

Do-won didn’t respond. Instead, he went straight into the car, and as soon as he saw that the people near him were leaving, Se-eun rushed out of the building. Do-won sat in the passenger seat and clicked his tongue as he watched her run across the street.

“You don’t exercise enough. I can’t believe you’re so out of breath just from running that far.”

“Is this surprising?”

When she answered back playfully, he smiled again.

“Let’s go get some food.”

Se-eun glanced at Do-won as he sat next to her. She hesitated whether or not to ask why he suddenly showed up at her company. The atmosphere feels like they’re dating, so her heart was pounding in a different way than last weekend.

However, after thinking about it for a while, she wondered why she was even reluctant to question him. Feeling a bit embarrassed, she asked bluntly.

“So, what’s this about?”

“What?”

“Why did you come to the company without saying a word and wait-“

“Because I have time.”

‘That’s such a stupid answer,’ Se-eun grumbled inwardly. ‘Can’t you at least come up with a good reason?’

Then she remembered that they weren’t on good terms. They are sex partners, nothing more, nothing less. She shouldn’t have expected anything outside of the time they spent in bed.

When she thought of that, her anxious heart quickly calmed down. Instead, she began to feel a hunger that she hadn’t realized until now.

After Do-won gave his reason for showing up suddenly, he felt somewhat dissatisfied with Se-eun, who was just staring out the window without saying a single word.

‘I heard that women love surprises, didn’t they?’

He had been waiting for her to be done with work all afternoon. He missed Jeong Se-eun. It would have been better if they were in bed, but if not, he wanted to be with her. He wanted her next to him, whether she was eating, talking, or just sitting there silently.

So, he wandered around his office restlessly until he couldn’t wait any longer and left. He waited in the parking lot until the end of her work shift while expecting her to be happy to see him.

However, Se-eun didn’t seem very happy to see him. Instead of being delighted, she was more concerned about what others would think if they were seen together, and told him to get in the car. Five years must have been a long time. In the past, no matter who was around, she always thought of him first

The same was true when they arrived at the Korean restaurant he had reserved. Five years ago, Se-eun would have a bright smile on her face whenever he stopped the car in the parking lot here. But now, she just opened the car door and stepped out with a sour expression on her face.

‘You must have been to plenty of good places with Charles Jung or Kim Jaehee.’

Do-won, who was offended by the bitter thought, stepped forward and spoke in a blunt voice.

“Let’s go in.”

While eating, there was no further conversation. What he was most satisfied about was finding out that Se-eun’s eating habits had not changed. Previously, whenever they ate at a restaurant, she would simply cut the steak into pieces and not eat, but today she was savoring every dish she touched with her chopsticks

However, the satisfaction was also brief. After finishing the meal, Se-eun got up from her seat as soon as she drank the crystal fruit served as dessert.

“Let’s stop here.”

It was clear that she didn’t plan to spend a fiery night at his house. Do-won drove her home without saying a word. As soon as the car stopped in front of the studio building, Se-eun opened her mouth.

“I had a good dinner.”

He felt an instant surge of bitterness.

‘Regardless of the reason we decided to enjoy each other’s bodies, is there any need to be this cold? Whenever she is with Charles Jung or Kim Jaehee, her face is always filled with laughter!’

“Aren’t you going to offer me a glass of water?”

When he asked in a sarcastic voice, Se-eun looked like she had heard something ridiculous.

“Do you really need to drink water at my house?”

“You don’t really think that water is the only thing I want, do you?”

When he leaned over to her and asked, Se-eun lowered her eyes and responded coyly.

“Not during the week. It’ll be too hard for me to wake up for work tomorrow.”

“Then, you only want to see me on weekends?”

“Isn’t that better?”

“How about I come pick you up after work on Friday?”

“No!” Se-eun raised her voice in surprise.

“Don’t come to the company. I’ll go home first, then head to your house.”

‘Would it really be that awful if people knew you were dating me? Do you hate it that much?’

When he thought of that, his heart sank.

Do-won bowed his head and said, “Then I’ll have to recharge enough to last until Friday.”

Like the weekend, her lips were sweet. No, it seemed a lot sweeter than last weekend.

He licked her mouth and kissed her as hard as he could. Then he lowered his lips and bit the soft skin on her neck, Se-eun flinched and let out a moan.

“Ah!”

Do-won gently sucked the bitten spot and then lifted his head. After seeing the red mark on her pale skin, a smile appeared on his face.

“It’ll stay there until Friday.”

Se-eun finally realized his intentions and frowned.

“I have to wear clothes that cover my neck for a while. Why would you do this again?!”

“It’s just one more week. I’ll be careful this weekend.”

She rolled her eyes with a dissatisfied expression. However, Do-won dropped her off with a mischievous smile on his face and started the car without any regrets.

“He’s acting weird.”

She went into the house, looked in the mirror and grumbled when she saw a small red blemish on her neck. Below it, the additional marks that were made on weekends were now fading.

“The weather is getting warmer and warmer. How can I go around like this?”

They clearly only agreed to a casual relationship. They also agreed to ​​keep that relationship a secret. However, no matter how much she thought about it, Do-won’s behavior today seemed more like a lover rather than a sex partner. Coming to her workplace during rush hour and waiting for her to finish work, wasn’t something Do-won would’ve ever done even five years ago.

“I don’t think this is right.”

Se-eun had washed up and was now recounting Do-won’s strange behavior as she laid in bed. She had expected to deal with the confident and cool Kang Do-won with ease. So, this time, she swore to take the initiative on her own without being dragged around by him.

However, unlike before, Do-won was showing an emotional and impulsive appearance. When they had sex, he didn’t just move to satisfy his desires, but he fully indulged himself as if he was drunk on her body. Se-eun couldn’t think of taking the lead, and she was only immersed in sharing her body with him.

‘I hope it won’t continue like this.’

If Do-won continues to behave like he is now, she wouldn’t last long. She was shaken from the moment she met him again, so it was obvious that she would fall for him again. And when it came time to part, this time she would really fall apart. She did not want to repeat such a terrible experience ever again.

“I have to keep my distance.”

Even after making another promise to herself, when she closes her eyes, only the feeling of the last kiss she shared with Do-won floated in her head. How hot and sweet it was, and how happy her heart was.

“You look stupid, Jeong Se-eun.”

She pulled the blanket over her head and closed her eyes again. Of course, it had no effect, and Se-eun ended up staying up all night.