Although Reckless

Chapter 4

Serin was stunned by his words. Her gaze wavered for a moment before managing to settle on Yihan’s face. His smile was gentle, but the heat in his eyes was extremely intense.

As their gazes slowly intertwined, a suffocating tension enveloped them.

“Are you still thinking about your answer?” he asked in his velvety voice, shifting in his seat as his gaze intensified even further.

When she didn’t respond, he removed the jacket from his three-piece suit and hung it on the chair, indicating that she could take as much time as she needed.

Serin’s eyes were irresistibly drawn to him. Although she had assumed as much, the body under his suit was godlike. His dress shirt and vest must have been altered for ample room across the chest, but it still seemed as though the slightest movement could send either one bursting open.

She perused his body with her eyes, lingering along his wide shoulders, sliding along his strong arm, and landing on his hand holding his glass. When she checked that his ring finger was empty, she heaved a sigh of relief.

Her relieved mind began to let her imagination run wild.

She pictured Yihan's finger, what it might taste like. That vision reminded her of their first encounter in the elevator, when his coat had brushed her leg, and the electrifying sensation that ran through her entire body for a split second. With that scene as a catalyst, her mind completely derailed from its typical track.

Although she knew she had to step back from a man who was obviously trying to sway her, she chose to set foot into the domain of desire.

“You don’t have a girlfriend or fiancée, do you?” The question was intended to earn Serin’s final confirmation.

“And if I don’t?” Yihan replied casually.

“Then I’ll tell you how to maintain my full attention,” she promised.

“How?” Yihan gave Serin a ‘let’s hear it then’ look while interlacing his fingers.

“You can sleep with me,” she said bluntly.

Yihan’s eyes widened at her provocation. For the first time since they’d met, his impenetrable expression had cracked.

“I couldn’t help looking at you all night if we were rolling around in bed,” Serin added, thrilled to see that she’d gotten under his skin.

Yihan allowed a perplexed sigh to escape his lips. He leaned back and crossed his arms as a mocking smile overtook his face. “That was cute, but too provocative for a joke.”

“I’m serious,” Serin insisted, emptying her glass and looking directly into his eyes.

His smile faded, and they stared at each other in silence for a moment.

“I was just planning to look at you, and then disappear quietly,” Yihan murmured. He tilted his head forward as if to kiss her. “You’ve just made me an easy bastard, unable to resist.”

Her body trembled as she caught a whiff of his scent mixed with alcohol.

He maintained an easy smile while pressing her lower lip with his finger. As her mouth parted slightly, he responded. The tip of his finger stroked her lips, lightly grazing her front teeth.

That suggestive act made her eyes roll back. It was exactly the scene she’d imagined seconds ago come to life.

“Now that you’ve given me clear instructions, I’ll gladly follow them.” He removed his finger and whispered in her ear, “And the consequences are on you.”

Her eyes twitched at the word ‘consequences.’ That was clearly... a warning.

***

Serin slowly opened her eyes to the sound of even breathing.

Her gaze meandered across the dark ceiling for a while before sliding down to the view outside the window. The dawning sky was still a deep blue, like ink dissolved in water.

“Whew...” She took a deep breath, exhausted, then sat up in bed to keep herself awake. She let out a groan at the sore, dull pain that met her careful movements as she lifted the sheet covering her body.

Her skin was tinged red all over, like autumn mountains. Her chest was sore to the slightest touch.

It wasn’t just her body that was affected. Her voice was also gone from plenty of vocal encouragement. He warned me, and it wasn’t a bluff.

With a low, bitter chuckle, she ran a hand through her unkempt hair and looked down at the man fast asleep next to her. I must’ve been out of my mind yesterday to have a one-night stand.

She didn’t have much experience in dating, but she wasn’t prudish in bed either. However, this was her first one-night stand. She couldn’t believe she’d acted so recklessly, but she also didn’t regret it. It had been her own choice, and Yihan was attractive enough for her to give in to the impulse.

The sun came up gradually, casting a light onto his sleeping figure. His upper body was exposed, and the bedsheet precariously covered his waist. Serin appreciated his handsome, muscular physique. The marks she’d left on his skin the night before were clear and visible.

She felt a sense of childish satisfaction, knowing that her body wasn’t the only one that had wound up messy.

Then she returned to studying his face. A peacefully sleeping Yihan looked completely different from the man who’d relentlessly explored and indulged her body all night long.

Rather, he looked innocent, like a child.

“Innocent...” She giggled at the image of him that she’d just pictured. If he had been ‘innocent’ one more time, I don’t know if I could’ve handled it.

She knit her brows, still detecting a dull, throbbing ache.

Then something caught her eye. There was what looked like a surgical scar on his left shoulder. By the size of it, it must’ve been a serious injury.

How did I not notice this last night?

She suddenly felt sorry for him. Before she knew it, she reached out toward the scar. Then Yihan stirred a little and rolled onto his other side.

Serin’s arm froze in the air. She drew her arm back and watched him carefully to see if he’d woken up. Thankfully, he was still in a deep sleep.

“Whew...” she sighed in relief.

Two strangers facing each other in the morning after spending a hot night together. How uncomfortable and awkward is that? she thought.

She reached her hand toward Yihan again and pulled the sheet up to his neck. Then she got out of bed, picked up her clothes from the floor, and put them on piece by piece.

The activities that had begun on the bed had continued in the bathroom, and then the powder room, then on the bed again.

“Why did he have to rip my stockings?” Serin tsked, examining her tattered nylons. Yihan’s strong hands had ripped them apart with a single move. At the thought of his fierceness from the night before, she felt her body heat up somewhere inside.

“When did I get so wild about intimacy?” she mocked herself, rolling her torn stockings into a ball and tossing them into the trash.

She was surprised at how enthusiastically and aggressively she had clung onto him. Afterward, she found herself turned on by his slightest touch.

“Unbelievable,” she mumbled.

She threw on her clothes and, right before leaving the room, she removed her wallet from her purse, pulled out a wad of bills, and placed them on the bedside table. He didn’t seem strapped for cash in the least, but he’d booked the expensive suite at her suggestion, after all. So, she decided to cover the room as a gesture of good manners.

Serin glanced back at his sleeping face one last time before stepping out of the room. It was time to return to her reality.

***

It was raining in Seoul, leaving the city gloomy and gray. Because of the late-winter rain, the air was cold and damp.

“I’m already feeling blue, and this weather doesn’t help at all,” Serin mumbled.

With a cynical smile on her face, she walked into the Jungin Foundation. The administrative staff who followed her didn’t look thrilled either. Why would they, when the ceramic piece that was supposed to be auctioned off to them had gone to someone else?

The bigger problem was that only Jungin International, the subsidiary that Serin led, had made any significant achievements during the business trip. She had not only secured the sales license of a niche perfume—a new, rising force in the fashion industry—but she had also signed contracts with two luxury brands that had yet to expand into the Korean market.

To that end, Serin had been working around the clock, even forgoing a fair amount of sleep, and her efforts had finally paid off. Jungin Trading was greatly encouraged by the success, but her family, who should’ve been the happiest for her, were not at all. They were green with envy.

“Did you have a good trip, Miss Han?” asked Minsik Choi, Madam Song’s secretary, when Serin stepped into the Chief Director’s office.

“I did. Have you been well, Mr. Choi?” she responded.

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you.”

“Please send out the administrative staff,” she requested.

“No problem, Miss Han,” replied Minsik Choi. Since he, too, was very well aware of what was soon to come, he did as he was asked.

Only then did she take a deep breath and close her eyes for a few seconds. As soon as she’d landed in Korea after an over-fourteen-hour flight, she’d come straight to the Jungin Foundation. Her body felt heavy, and severe sleep deprivation had given her a splitting headache.

She lifted her chin and took another long breath before exhaling in an effort to psych herself up. Then she finally knocked on the Chief Director’s door.

“Come in!” a sharp voice answered.

Serin threw her shoulders back and entered the room. “Grandmother, I’m ba—”

Before Serin could finish her greeting, an enraged voice echoed through the room, and a crystal nameplate flew by, just missing her as it smashed onto the floor.

“What the hell have you done?!”