My Brother's Friend Wasn't a Guy - Chapter 40

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

40.

Kang Hyeon exhaled sharply, then spoke.
“Because of you.”
“Because of me?”
Lee Jin couldn’t fathom how he’d kept his identity as a Chaebol hidden all this time because of her.
“To be more precise—because of you and Lee Hwan both. Your whole family.”
As a crease formed between Lee Jin’s brows, Kang Hyeon sighed again, brief and sharp.
“If you’d known I was a Chaebol, would you and your brother have stayed close to me?”
…….
To that question, Lee Jin found it impossible to say no.
“So Lee Hwan really had no idea either?”
“Not at first. That’s why he was able to befriend me so naturally. But keeping secrets from your closest friend turns out to be harder than you’d think. So I told him eventually.”
Lee Jin blinked, her expression one of complete bewilderment.
“Be honest with me. If I’d revealed who I was from the start, could you have treated me the way you do now—without prejudice?”
“That’s…….”
No. It would have been impossible. She would have decided he was from a different world entirely and kept her distance.
“But why are you telling me this now?”
Lee Jin’s voice caught, as though her throat had tightened, and she managed only fractured words.
Then her eyes met his—and she saw his gaze had grown darker than usual.
“Because you already know everything, but you’re pretending not to.”
Her heart plummeted violently. His eyes held no hesitation—as though he could see straight through her. Kang Hyeon’s gaze was sharp and relentless, cutting across every corner of her face.
He was certain she knew the full truth yet was choosing to hide it—his look was piercing, almost predatory in its intensity.
“W-what are you talking about?”
Her stammering startled her, and Kang Hyeon closed the distance between them.
“Does staying silent while knowing everything mean this is fine as it is? Or do you have something else in mind?”
His eyes, reading into her secrets, were dark and viscous with something unnameable.
Obsession—mad obsession—always found its way out, no matter how carefully buried, revealing itself at unexpected moments.
In that brief span, Lee Jin deliberated on how to respond. She understood perfectly that he’d hidden his identity for her sake. She had no regrets about that.
But about this relationship itself, she remained skeptical.
Eventually he’d have to marry someone of his own station, wouldn’t he? And if that were true, continuing this would be meaningless.
The distance she’d felt in front of Jin Ae.
The distance she felt even now, in this Officetel.
That distance gave her a very clear answer.
This is where you belong. Go any further and you’ll only hurt yourself.
Already suffocating, already struggling—she had no desire to endure or bear anything more.
So just one month.
One month of pretending it’s mine, and then I’ll give it back. That’s why Lee Jin spoke words she didn’t mean.
“I don’t know. Even hearing all that, you’re still the same Kang Hyeon to me. I didn’t feel like anything had changed, so there was nothing really to say about it. And if you didn’t tell me, you must’ve had your reasons not to tell him either, so I figured I’d leave it alone.”
Kang Hyeon’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t believe a word she said.
As he leaned forward to probe deeper, the space between them—already charged with breath—grew even smaller.
In an instant, thick, dense air enclosed them both. Like sword and shield, his searching gaze and her concealing gaze clashed, raw and pointed.
And yet, curiously, the hunger between them didn’t diminish. Wrapped in that tense, peculiar atmosphere, they stared at each other.
In that moment, Lee Jin calculated that if time stretched any longer, she’d lose the advantage. So she acted on impulse.
She kissed Kang Hyeon first.
Kang Hyeon felt her soft lips brush against his and quickly retreat, and he let out a low laugh. It was the first time she’d initiated a kiss.
He knew there had to be intent behind it, but that clumsy seduction clouded his judgment.
Even as he recognized the calculated maneuvering, he lost all reason, helpless.
He pulled the withdrawing Lee Jin back toward him, gripping her chin, and kissed her deeply. His control frayed; the kiss grew rough.
Their tongues tangled as he sought to shake her to her core, yet no amount of devouring her soft flesh could quell his ravenous hunger.
“Ah, ah…….”
Bestial sounds escaped him. When Lee Jin didn’t resist but instead responded, something in Kang Hyeon’s composure snapped.
The sucking and biting grew more fervent by degrees.
His hands moved as if possessed, stripping away her clothes, while his lips never ceased their greedy exploration of her skin. He marked her pale, tender neck and exposed flesh with deep red bruises.
As he did, a single refrain echoed through his mind:
Mine.
My woman.
My possession.
His eyes, now unhinged, fixed on Lee Jin with obsessive madness.
Each time their bodies intertwined, he clung to her as though branding her with ownership, his hunger for her relentless and bitter.
“Ah, mm…….”
Strange gasps and wet sounds drove her forward as if they were the only exit from the complicated world.
“Ah, not there…….”
Though she writhed to withhold the most intimate places, he pressed deeper still, forcing her to the peak of pleasure.
Past the threshold, she trembled violently. He even licked away the tears that spilled reflexively from her eyes.
Drenched in sweat and fluids, Kang Hyeon showed no sign of stopping.
“I’m sorry, but that’s just who I am.”
Selfish as I am, if I want something, I’ll do it even if it kills me.
As he withdrew and plunged deep again in rhythm, Lee Jin’s voice rose into a keening cry.
So whatever you’ve decided, I won’t let you go. Not even if I have to die.
Dizzying pleasure crashed over her like a summer typhoon.
As the typhoon that shook her and the flood that sought to swallow her whole, the man sensed that he too had been caught in that same tempest.
He found himself smiling even as he held her and sank.
I’m a real bastard, aren’t I. And yet I can’t let you go.
His resolve was absolute. He would commit even greater deceptions to keep her by his side. It never once occurred to him that it was wrong.
Her resolve was equally firm. Since they could never truly be together, she would part from him beautifully.
She had only a month’s grace period. It was a granted indulgence, so it would be all right.
With such different intentions, their intimate moments deepened.
Ironically, their misaligned hearts only drove them to crave each other more, and with each passing night, their passion stretched longer and more relentlessly on.

***

Time passed faster than she’d expected. Lee Jin gazed at the finished ceramics and steadied her troubled heart.
Of the promised month, only a week remained. Today was the day she would complete the seven ceramic pieces contracted with Kang Hyeon and send them to Chung Juk Jae.
The ceramics that had been made at Chung Juk Jae during that time were brought to the studio, their glazes and finishing work already complete.
Among them, only the finest pieces were carefully selected—seven ceramics to be sent to Chung Juk Jae.
Two Maebyeong vessels, one Pyeonho, one Bamboo Shoot-shaped Teapot, one Melon-shaped Flower Vase, one Large Bowl, and one irregularly shaped piece that Lee Jin had created herself.

All seven pieces in total were works that had demanded tremendous care and devotion.
Worried that the ceramics might break or be damaged during transport, Kang Hyeon had hired a professional moving company. The studio was in disarray as they packed the pieces.
Lee Jin, watching from the side, noticed a message had arrived and opened her phone.

―A new competition just opened up, and I thought you should know about it.

It was a message from Kim Eun Byul, her university classmate. She sent over the competition poster and guidelines in sequence before asking:

―The prize money’s bigger than expected, so lots of people seem interested. Want to give it a shot?
―Yeah, thanks. I’ll think about it.

In the past, she would have just laughed it off, but for some reason her eyes lingered on the competition poster.
Perhaps it was because she couldn’t take on anything else until the second half of the year due to her contract with Kang Hyeon. Having finished the work ahead of schedule, she had time on her hands.

―You’re sharp. You never say yes right away. Well, it’d be nice if I had fewer competitors.

After telling Kim Eun Byul she’d let her know soon whether she’d become a rival or a helper, the movers started to make their final preparations.
“Don’t worry too much. We’ll take good care of everything.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Lee Jin remained standing in her farewell posture for a while. Sending the completed ceramics meant her time with Kang Hyeon was drawing to an end.
She’d only sent the ceramics from the studio, yet somehow her heart felt like it was crumbling and falling away.

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