Chapter 7

The first thing to come out of Jihee’s mouth as soon as she sat herself in the passenger’s seat was an assertive question.

“I guess you’re not enough of a gentleman to get out and hold the door for me?”

“You’re not the type to expect that kind of frivolous thing. I know how to cater to my audience.”

It felt like a twisted play on Jihee’s statement about how she changes her approach depending on the men she’s with - flirtatious and coy with men she’s serious about, or complete seduction with men she wants to sleep with.

“I think you’ve mistaken me for a cool little feminist. But, on the contrary! I highly value a man’s hospitality and good manners.”

“Always so candid. Alright then, spit it out.”

“Spit what out?”

Seo Kang grabbed a hold of her head rest then pulled himself toward her.

They were but a palm’s distance apart. The light aroma from his body washed over her, and his breath touched her lips.

Someone needs to call foul on this man.

He is way too sexy to be getting this close to me. I see his net right in front of me, and more and more, I want to let myself get caught. It’s driving me crazy. This is against the rules.

“Do you want me to put on your seat belt for you?”

It was Seo Kang’s sarcasm and humor disguised as gentlemanly manners.

Jihee let out a short laugh, but it wasn’t because of his joke. She couldn’t help it because her heart was about to beat out of her chest from excitement.

“Nope.”

Jihee pushed Seo Kang away then pulled her own seat belt on. She then spoke with Seo Kang’s gaze on her.

“I want something sweeter.”

Contrary to how bold her words were, her heart was beating faster and faster, stronger and stronger. She even started to feel a little embarrassment from how big a fuss her heart was making. And it was all because of his sensual gaze.

So, she decided to think of it another way. She would let herself enjoy this excitement, just for today.

It had been a while since her heart had felt so alive.

A smile appeared across Seo Kang’s face, as if he liked what Jihee had just said. He then started the car.

“We’re going to Yangpyeong.”

“Sure. I’m down for wherever.”

Wasn’t the standard response ‘What’s in Yangpyeong?’ Seo Kang didn’t hesitate to throw her another question based on her surprisingly chill response.

“Aren’t you curious where you will be spending the night?”

If it was a hotel, a villa, a resort, or even a tent that they were headed to.

“I’m sure it’s a dark and secluded place.”

Dark and secluded was standard for a man and a woman to secretly share the night, wasn’t it?

“Haha. Stop it. It turns me on.”

Excuse me? Who’s turning who on?

Just when my heart finds a moment to calm down, you end up shaking me up like an earthquake all over again.

“You stop it. You’re the one who’s trying to turn me on.”

Jihee’s body swayed as they turned onto a big road. Perhaps that was why her heart felt like it was swaying, too, swaying back and forth in the sweet spring breeze.

Get it together Jihee. It’s the dead of winter.

And don’t forget, Seo Kang is as cold as ice. Don’t be fooled by his sweet, flowery words.

And Seo Kang is surely keen on sniffing out a fake spring aroma.

“If you keep this up… men will go limp in all four limbs. You know exactly what you’re doing to men when you say things like that.”

You’ve got it all figured out. Are you making sure you leave every stone unturned? You got me. Sure, that was a line I had used many times before. But I also really meant it.

But the fact that you aren’t letting it get to you... that you aren’t playing along… means…

“So, you’re saying you aren’t that kind of man.”

You aren’t a man to go limp in all four limbs, you know better than to fall for the fake smell of spring.

“Are you sure about that?”

“How can I be sure of anything about you?”

“You know men well. You’re a pro.”

A pro? Says the master.

“Seo Kang is calling me a pro? Those are big shoes to fill. I know men but... not all men.”

“So... you mean to say you don’t know me? I sort of like that.”

You’re right, Seo Kang. I have no idea what to make of you. You are the world’s most difficult math equation that I’m being forced to solve. And math was my worst subject!

“So... do you know women?”

“I wasn’t quite sure if I had it figured out or not. That is, you, Yoo Jihee. But I think I have a good idea now.”

Being found out didn’t feel good. And being figured out by the master was the absolute worst.

It meant that he could pick her up and plop her in the palm of his hand, and any which way her hands, feet, body, and heart would go, he’d be able to look at them in plain sight and do with them as he may please.

“You think I’m a pro? Then you’re a master.”

“Which is why I said what I said. I confessed to you, remember? I said, ‘sort of.’ Don’t act like you didn’t understand, it isn’t like you.”

Oh. ‘Sort of a player’? Of course. No way I didn’t understand that loud and clear.

How are we so open with each other? We’re only at the starting line and we’ve laid all our cards out on the table.

That is, almost all of them. There was one secret card left. A card that was disguised as ‘honesty,’ a card that would be kept hidden away until the very end: ‘truth.’

Even more so because this was a one-night rendezvous, the tug-of-war would ensue with this last card at all costs.

People played tug-of-war at all levels, whether they were a newbie or a pro.

“Before it was an assessment. But now, I feel it in my gut. You’re a pro.”

“But ‘pro’ is a bit lame… isn’t it? Doesn’t feel right. It’s not like I arbitrarily hit on everyone. I’m just a man who likes women, just like you said you like men. I may just be a tiny bit more interested than the average guy. Although… the tabloids have painted me like some sort of hooligan. But that’s just the name of the game they play - crude and cheap.”

“Don’t play it down because it’s about you. Or glorify it, even. From what I’ve seen, you are one ‘son-of-a-bitch.’”

Son-of-a-bitch to hooligan is indeed a downgrade.

“Hahah, wow. You just dissed me in front of my face. You weren’t trying to be a rapper or anything, right? You’re a woman with conviction. God, I like it. Stop trying to turn me on.”

Should I turn on the sex, then?

Whether he’s laughing or expressionless, he’s just so handsome. Makes me wanna…

Unable to take her eyes off his face, Jihee asked Seo Kang another question.

“So... why did you offer to pick me up instead of just giving me an address? Did you think I didn’t have a car? Do I look like I don’t have much? Do I have that vibe? Or was it out of courtesy?”

“Do you have a car?”

“No.”

“That’s why.”

“So, I look poor?”

“On the contrary. You seem like you would have a car. Among other things.”

“Then why?”

“Well, if it’s between the two then it must be ‘courtesy,’ right?”

Whether it was truly out of courtesy, or if he had just made a selection out of the choices he was given, Jihee felt like she would never know. She could never figure out his motivation.

But those words were so sweet that Jihee had to change the subject. She had to avoid anything laced with sugar. She needed this meeting to be as tasteless and bland as possible.

“I used to have a car. But I got rid of it.”

“...”

“Are you gonna ask me why?”

“You probably got rid of it for a day like this.”

I suppose. Here I am riding in a Lamborghini that Seo Kang personally picked me up in. When else would I be getting this kind of treatment?

Jihee chuckled.

“You always know the right words to say, don’t you? You’re right. If you have a car, there’s no room for romance. This is top secret, but having a car took away a lot of opportunities to hit on guys. ‘Come pick me up, I can’t go home tonight’ - stuff like that. Excuses that leave men weak in the knees… so I got rid of it once and for all.”

Jihee wanted to make men thirsty for her - ‘It isn’t easy to see her, she’s a tough one, and it’s driving me nuts.’ When she had a car, there were men who saw her as a convenient girl to date. Every now and then she would also run into douchebags who would ask her to pick them up.

But above everything else, she didn’t want to lose the thrill of being able to say, ‘I missed the last train.’

Yoo Jihee loved men and loved dating men. That was why her car had to be cut out of her life.

Seo Kang glanced briefly at Jihee’s face.

“It’s OK for you to tell me your little secret?”

“It’s not like I will be seeing you after tonight.”

There she was again. Pruning. Cold-heartedly pulling the plant from its roots so it had no chance to sprout, and therefore piquing his curiosity even more.

“Do you know how heartless you are? You have no mercy, and it almost makes me hate you a little.”

“Do you realize how great a woman I am for that? I’m making it easy for you to let go of any feelings you may have for me after we’re done with tonight.”

Or, I can light the whole thing on fire. I know you know, Yoo Jihee. You can push me away so hard that I lose interest after a night, but if you push me away with a touch as memorable as yours, then I can start a fire that will eat up the entire mountain instead.

Although as someone who is fully aware of these tactics, I have the ability to choose the one I want.

“So, what’s in Yangpyeong?”

Finally, she asks. She was supposed to ask when I first said the word ‘Yangpyeong.’

“A secret hideout. Belongs to my manager.”

“So… you mean to say that it’s your place that you bought and put under your manager’s name.”

“Precisely. I borrowed his name to buy this villa.”

It was a villa he would go to escape vicious reporters and get some air. His name would easily be found with a search through the real estate market, so he used manager’s name - he was actually planning on handing it over to his manager eventually anyway.

“Seo Kang’s secret property? Is it OK for you to reveal your private life like this to me?”

“I’d say you are the most secret thing in my private life right now, wouldn’t you agree?”

If a secret hideout was an appetizer for the media, a one-night stand with Yoo Jihee would be the scrumptious main dish. Yoo Jihee, you really need to check yourself before criticizing others.

At that moment, the realization hit Jihee. She was more top secret than any secret property. Even if it was just a passing encounter, a relationship that would last but one night.

Jihee couldn’t tell if it was the heater blasting in her face, or if it was the heated seat firing up her ass, but she just couldn’t stop fanning herself to try and cool off.

Regardless, it just got hotter and hotter.

***

Seo Kang’s secret hideout was neither dark nor hidden. It was a beautifully built villa that looked like it had been brought over from the Mediterranean. For a moment, one would be transported out of Yangpyeong and onto the Mediterranean shore.

Jihee almost tripped on her way up the stone steps, but Seo Kang, who had been following her from behind, caught her by the waist.

“Careful.”

His hand retreated as soon as it had done what it had to do. Gentlemanly.

Stepping through the front door, the entirety of the two-story house was visible at once: a living room right in front of their eyes, a kitchen, and a steel staircase leading to the 2nd floor where there were two doors.

There were three doors on the first floor. One must be the bathroom, and one of the other two must have a bed in it.

All around, the interior was modern, luxurious, and warm.

But why am I so tempted to make a snarky remark in such a warm home?

“Seeing this house makes me think being a celebrity is a great job. You have this crazy expensive looking house under a secret alias, as if you are the son of a conglomerate family.”

“You keep emphasizing ‘secret’ and ‘alias’ but I had no choice if I wanted a place where I can completely relax. And the person who lent me his name will soon become the actual owner. I’m going to pass it on to him eventually.”

As Jihee plopped herself on the couch, her eyes widened with curiosity.

“Wow. How surprisingly down-to-earth of you. You must be great friends.”

Seo Kang let out a little snort with a smirk as he made his way to the kitchen.

“Why? Do you see me as some nasty, dirty guy? One that’s dying to sleep with a girl?”