The one who called Yeeun was Manager Kim Jungjoo.

Manager Kim Jungjoo, who said it was on his way after dropping Cha Doha off at the hotel, left with a bright face, leaving a word of appreciation.

Watching him disappear from her sight, Yeeun just smiled bitterly.

“Take care.”

What does Manager Kim Jungjoo think of her role?

Just an image trainer?

You know it’s not that.

Still, he says, “Take care.”

Looking at the hotel key card and the bag of coffee in her hand, Yeeun hesitated for a while.

Then, she slowly stepped into the hotel.

Earlier in the day, she received a call from her regular doctor.

As Sojeong was moved to the special room, the attending physician changed to the head of the department.

[-The head is an authoritative figure, and surgery follows the head’s schedule.] [Has the surgery date been set?] [-The schedule is so backlogged that it’s not immediate, but it should be arranged soon. Since the head prioritizes the head’s patients.] [Lucky.] [-Yes. Besides, your mother’s condition is much more stable. There are many life-support devices in the VIP ward that are not used in regular rooms, so it should help with treatment.]

She left a thank you and hung up, but Yeeun’s heart was complicated.

She was told that Sojeong would be moved to a special room, but Cha Hyun moved her to the VIP ward.

Considering her situation, being in the VIP ward was bitter, but she was also desperate enough for tears to well up.

Sojeong, who was moved to the VIP ward through Cha Hyun’s consideration, had reduced the risk factor.

The problem is that Yeeun has to respond to Cha Hyun’s consideration.

In the elevator, Yeeun swiped her card on the scanner and pressed the P button.

The elevator, slightly floating, quickly added floors. When the door opened, Yeeun suppressed her tension and took a step forward.

Even though the thick-colored carpet reduced the sound of footsteps, a heavy sound resonated in her ears.

Whether it was the sound of footsteps, heartbeat, or simply the outcry of complex emotions, nothing was properly distinguishable.

Arriving in front of Cha Doha’s room, she hesitated for a long time.

Hotel room key and bag of coffee.

What did they mean to her, and what did they mean to Cha Doha?

And what meaning did they have for Cha Hyun and Chairman Cha Jisub, and Jin Yoohee, who visited her today?

Lastly, her mom.

“Mom.”

Yeeun, who called her mom in a gentle voice, chuckled at the fact that her voice was trembling badly.

She came all the way here without fear, opened the door wide, and now, she finds Cha Doha scary.

It was a contradiction.

“Stop doing foolish things, Seo Yeeun.”

With a determined heart, she quietly opened the door of the penthouse.

The time she returned to the hotel was around 9:05 PM.

Wondering if Yeeun came first, she entered the room with anticipation, but the dark room was only silent.
The surging disappointment revealed how much he had anticipated that woman.

“Crazy.”

Uttering a curse, he walked into the bedroom and threw his jacket onto the bed.

He also tossed the tie, pulled off with his fingers, onto the jacket.

Nevertheless, feeling choked, he unbuttoned a couple of shirt buttons and walked back to the living room.

Pouring wine into the glass he took from the wine fridge, the one he had drunk yesterday, he checked the time again.

It was past 9:05 PM.

“Late?”

A laugh escaped him.

At lunch today, after finishing the meal and handing her the hotel room key, he remembered Yeeun’s expression.

He wasn’t ignorant of what it meant—blush gently coloring her white and translucent skin.

The slow-spreading red energy felt sensually provocative, causing blood to rush downward.

White hands delicately lifting the proffered key, slender legs rising as she stood.

When she bent to pick up her handbag, her waist bending forward, her upper body shifting forward.

If it weren’t for social decency and basic human morality, he would have taken her right there.

That’s how much he, Seo Yeeun, was affecting him.

Calling such a woman to the hotel at this late hour and anxiously waiting was not like him at all.

His tongue felt parched, and his throat was dry as if gasping for air.

Even though he had filled the glass halfway, the thirst didn’t easily subside.

Seeing her in this state, what would he do is quite predictable.

He was thoroughly wicked, and she was overflowing with desperation; they might not be able to restrain each other.

Even for the sake of that pitiful woman, he thought he should send a message today, saying not to come because he’s tired, and to come tomorrow morning.

For a brief moment, a fleeting thought crossed his feeble conscience.

Having emptied the remaining wine, Doha refilled the glass.

Swoosh, the sound of the front door lock being released echoed.

For an instant, a sharp something scratched and passed somewhere in his chest.

Doha, who had strengthened his fist with an unfamiliar sensation, looked towards the lit entrance.

After a while, the presence that had bothered him all day revealed itself before him.