Impossible Romance - Chapter 37

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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37.

“I’m sorry.”
Now that I thought about it, I seemed to have said something entirely unsuitable for my position. As collateral, no—before that, as a subordinate employee, my words might have sounded like an excessive command to my superior. I apologized immediately.
“I’m not looking for an apology.”
He tilted his head slightly, regarding me with those dark eyes.
“Yes, I understand.”
I pressed my lips together, holding back whatever words threatened to spill out.
“I want you to do what you want to do. Don’t worry about what others think. Rather, don’t have reason to worry.”
“….”
“Do whatever you wish, freely.”
I didn’t know what to say in response. It was always like this. Kwon Seok-ha had entered my unprepared heart entirely on his own terms.
“Jun-hee, I’m going to do that for you.”
Beneath the soft lighting, he lifted the corners of his mouth gently. His smile rose so smoothly it seemed adorned with glittering golden wings.
‘If I had those golden wings, could I rise too?’
I stared at Kwon Seok-ha with a dazed expression.
He looked tremendously pleased. His face held the confidence of someone who could accomplish anything, and after finishing dinner, a deep desire anticipating what would come next.
Beyond the windows of the lounge with its excellent view, brilliant neon signs filled the landscape. Yet far away, above the mountain slope shrouded in darkness, a single star hung lonely in the sky.
“If there’s no need for that?”
I asked quietly. I didn’t want to burden Kwon Seok-ha with such trouble. I knew all too well that our relationship was one that could never work.
If I needed his help for everything and had to live under his shadow, I wanted to refuse. No, refusing was the right thing to do.
“Jun-hee, don’t misunderstand.”
Kwon Seok-ha’s eyes sank as deep as the night sky. The man who had been boyishly excited moments before now found his true age, becoming grave and serious.
“Misunderstand…what?”
“I never asked for your opinion. I’m saying I’ll do it. You just need to follow along. If you don’t like it, then I’ll drag you along by force.”
The man, born and raised as an aristocrat to his very core, revealed his original arrogance without filter. I, remembering the nature I had forgotten, looked at him directly.
“I want to go home. Of course, not to my apartment, but to Kwon Seok-ha’s house. I’ve lost my appetite.”
As I reached for my bag and tried to stand, he spoke.
“Can’t you just lose to me? Can’t you just pretend not to know and say you understand?”
He held me back with a heavy voice.
I was the one actually angry, so I couldn’t understand why he was upset.
“When has the Executive Director ever lost to me? If anything, I lose to you every single day. Didn’t you know that?”
I was so angry my head throbbed with heat.
“Then lose to me today too. You haven’t lost anything today yet, after all.”
Kwon Seok-ha was looking at me without smiling this time. His words were thrown out like a joke, but they didn’t feel like one.
“Has my older brother contacted you?”
I asked suddenly. If my older brother Jun-young hadn’t borrowed money in the first place, none of this would have happened. I was determined that once the problem with my brother was resolved, I would quit this job and leave this house immediately. At least, that’s what my heart wanted now.
“Since he hasn’t, I’m holding you as collateral. Even if he contacts me, you remain my collateral until the debt is repaid. You agreed to this on the condition that I don’t contact your father.”
Kwon Seok-ha countered without yielding a single word.
It was precisely because everything he said was technically correct that Jun-hee couldn’t muster a retort, only glaring at him.
“Your appetizer has arrived.”
The door opened and a Restaurant Staff Member entered carrying the food. After placing the appetizer salad and soup before Jun-hee and Kwon Seok-ha, the staff member turned to address them both.
“How would you like your steaks prepared?”
The staff member’s courtesy was second nature.
Kwon Seok-ha gestured toward the silent Jun-hee with his eyes—a signal for her to speak first. Jun-hee was indeed angry, but she couldn’t simply storm out of this situation.
“Medium, please.”
When she answered in a quiet voice, Kwon Seok-ha’s lips curved upward with satisfaction.
“The same for me. And bring the wine first. You should have the details from when I made the reservation.”
“Understood. I’ll prepare that right away.”
The staff member bowed respectfully and left.
The time that followed unfolded similarly. They exchanged glares and engaged in a battle of wills, only to soften when food arrived. Yet maintaining complete silence throughout the meal was torturous.
Still, this time Jun-hee was determined not to yield, so she simply stared at her plate in silence. Even when the staff member entered the heavy quiet to pour wine, the atmosphere remained oppressive. But when the steaks arrived, her resolve evaporated into thin air.
“There’s a reason it’s famous.”
Kwon Seok-ha spoke as he took a bite.
“There certainly is.”
Jun-hee accepted the olive branch he extended without hesitation.
Even though Kwon Seok-ha infuriated her, even though she sometimes wanted to hit him, even though she thought she should leave—a few words were enough to crumble her defenses. Just like now.
Though she spoke less than usual, the tower of emotions that had accumulated since childhood proved far more resilient than expected. Whether it was resentment or affection hardly mattered.
Jun-hee kept telling herself that she hated Kwon Seok-ha, steeling her heart, yet she remained nothing more than a small sandcastle rising and falling within that tower of emotion.
After finishing even the dessert ice cream, Jun-hee looked at Kwon Seok-ha. The glance meant they were done and should leave, but the fact that even leaving would still place her in his palm felt somewhat pathetic.
Then he leaned in close to her, tilting his head.
Realizing his intent, Jun-hee quickly wiped her lips with a napkin. Sure enough, a trace of ice cream remained.
“You really don’t give me an opening, do you? I wanted to lick it off.”
Kwon Seok-ha gazed down at her with a look of regret.
The phrasing sounded suggestive, and Jun-hee’s ears flushed crimson.
“If ice cream gets on my lips, just tell me. Don’t think about using your own lips to wipe them clean.”
Even though her emotions were nothing but a sandcastle, Jun-hee’s anger hadn’t fully subsided, and she shot the words at him pointedly.
“Wipe them clean with my lips? Wow, Ahn Joon-hee, I didn’t know you were like that. How naughty.”
“What?”
“When did I say I’d wipe your lips with mine? Or is that what you were hoping for? I came to check if there was ice cream left. If there was, I planned to lick it off myself.”
Kwon Seok-ha laughed with such brazen confidence, his lips curving upward before her.
“Let’s go home.”
Annoyed by him, Jun-hee shot him one more glare before standing up.
“That’s what I want too.”
He stepped closer and took her hand.
“Are you holding it as collateral?”
Jun-hee wanted to express her feelings, even in this way. She was afraid of growing closer in a relationship with such a predictable ending. Perhaps it was instinct—a preemptive defense against the emptiness that would follow his disappearance.
“If that’s easier for you, think of it that way.”
Kwon Seok-ha, as if indifferent, only tightened his grip on her hand.
After finishing their meal, the two of them naturally made their way outside and headed home. The Driver, who had been waiting, comfortably escorted them to Jun-hee’s Apartment.

***

They remained hand in hand from the moment they stepped out of the Elevator until they crossed the threshold into the Apartment.
Click.
The instant the door opened and closed, Kwon Seok-ha released her hand and gently tilted Jun-hee’s chin upward. Both of their eyes, warmed by the wine, glistened with moisture.
His mind screamed at him to pull away, yet somehow he found himself drawing closer to her face. His deep, masculine scent enveloped her softly.
This time, Jun-hee could not push him away. Too many emotions had already surged within her. She closed her eyes slightly, as if to suppress the wild hammering of her heart.
She felt Kwon Seok-ha drawing near, his face descending slowly toward hers. In an instant, warmth touched her lips. His full lips pressed against hers, tasting and caressing before parting them gently.
Though it was far from their first kiss, each one from Kwon Seok-ha felt entirely different. Hot and intense, his kiss explored her lips without restraint.
“Haah, haah….”
Jun-hee’s breath escaped in the brief moment he allowed her. The rich, lingering notes of the wine they had drunk moments before mingled with their breathing. She felt as though she could become intoxicated from his kiss alone.
Her legs weakened and she stumbled, but his strong hand wrapped around her waist. As if he had anticipated it, he drew her into his embrace and guided her toward the Bedroom.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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