Deal Breaker - Chapter 32
“It’s fine. But then I’d have to tell you my size, wouldn’t I?”
“You think I don’t already know?”
“Pervert.”
“A tragic genius, called a pervert simply because of my keen observation and memory.”
“Luxury brand. In every color.”
“Born from self-pleasure, destroyed by self-pleasure.”
Hyeji, whose gaze had been fixed on the TV, turned toward her boss.
“…Where did you learn that phrase?”
“From Chief Yoon in the HR team.”
“Ah…”
Now it made sense. He’d learned it from an older guy, so he used it like one.
“That’s not how you use ‘the monster created by capitalism.’”
“Then when do you use it?”
“It means someone who will do anything for money. Someone who only cares about expensive things is just a materialist.”
“Ah… I’m sorry for mistaking you for a capitalist monster when you’re actually just a materialist, dear customer.”
How annoying. Hyeji glared at Kanghyeon, who was noisily slurping his cup noodles, and asked,
“Do you know what defines an ahjussi?”
(T/N: Ahjussi – ‘Mister’ / ‘Uncle’, but not necessarily a relative)
“Well, for one, I’m not one.”
Kanghyeon immediately saw through her attempt to call him an ‘old man’ and blocked the attack at its source.
“If you use trendy slang in the wrong context, that’s what makes you an ahjussi.”
“Calling me an ahjussi at thirty-two…”
For some reason, being called ‘ahjussi’ was always Kanghyeon’s Achilles’ heel. Maybe he’d once heard it from a woman he liked?
“You don’t think you’ll be this age soon, Hyeji-ssi? It’s coming up.”
“Six years is soon?”
Well, if the last six years passed in a blink, maybe so.
Hyeji gulped down her cold beer. The sharp chill slid down her throat, leaving her feeling refreshed. As expected, beer tastes the best when you drink it after teasing your boss.
“Why are you laughing to yourself?”
“Beer tastes best after a workout.”
“And when exactly did you get any exercise, Hyeji-ssi?”
An empty cup noodle container was placed on the table in an instant. She’d brought him the large size, but it still seemed like it wasn’t enough.
“My small frame can barely handle a heavyweight like you, CEO.”
Kanghyeon let out a dumbfounded laugh, then brought the beer can to his lips and muttered,
“In the beginning, you were so embarrassed you couldn’t even meet my eyes, but now you make dirty jokes with your head held high.”
“And you used to handle me like I was a raw egg, but now you toss me around like a hard-boiled one.”
“That’s because you were just a kid back then.”
“How is twenty years old still a kid?”
Suddenly feeling déjà vu, Kanghyeon looked at Hyeji for the first time since sitting down on the sofa.
Come to think of it, she’d said something just like that back then, too.
“I’m not a kid.”
* * *
Six years ago.
In the same hotel, in the same suite, twenty-year-old Noh Hyeji had said that. Sitting on the edge of the bed in a plain white blouse and a simple black pencil skirt that only rookies wore.
The fine goosebumps on her slender arms under the short blouse sleeves was clearly visible. It would have been easier to blame the overly strong air conditioning, but that would just be lying to himself to feel better. Having just come out of the bathroom with only a towel around his waist, he’d seen the goosebumps appear with his own eyes.
“Are you really okay? If you don’t want to do this, you can just go.”
He repeated what he’d said before she went in to shower.
The mission wasn’t until tomorrow anyway, so she could back out if she wanted. The only reason he’d deliberately scheduled it for today even though he didn’t really need guiding right now was that he was worried that, if he waited until the last minute tomorrow and got too close to going out of control, he might lose his mind and hurt his Guide.
“I’m not a kid.”
From the moment she came out, Hyeji had been staring at him with wide eyes, and at his repeated offer to leave if she wanted, her eyes narrowed in a pout as she answered. From before the contract was signed to the very day she fulfilled it, he’d asked her the same question in slightly different ways, over and over—no wonder she was sick of it.
“Could you please stop treating me like a child?”
She really was a kid, though. Was she just being stubborn?
“Is that so?”
Kanghyeon folded his arms and stood in front of her. His bare chest was right at her eye level, and her pale cheeks flushed red in embarrassment.
“Well then, ‘adult’ Miss Noh Hyeji, how much do you actually know about s*x?”
Hyeji rolled her big eyes, gave a little laugh, and then whispered in a nervous voice,
“Only from reading… I don’t really like porn…”
“So you have seen it, then.”
“Yes, well, I am a healthy adult, after all.”
He couldn’t figure her out at all. She answered so matter-of-factly.
“So…”
Hyeji twisted her hands atop her taut skirt, then looked up at him with a face full of determination and asked,
“…What should I do?”
What would I ask someone who doesn’t know anything to do? Kanghyeon unfolded his arms and turned to the side table as he asked,
“Have you ever m*********d?”
“No.”
“Be honest.”
“Really, never.”
“Then I’ll do it for you, if that’s okay?”
“…What?”
“If you had experience, I could just use lube and go straight to penetration.”
But this wasn’t s*x, it was guiding, so foreplay and afterplay were forbidden. Kanghyeon explained as he opened the tube of lubricant he’d prepared on the side table and peeled off the foil seal.
“Since you don’t have experience, I need to take my time. But since you can’t do it yourself…”
I’ll have to do it for you.
He added that as he looked back at her. Hyeji forced a smile and nodded, but the center of her lip, pressed inward by her teeth, looked like it hurt.
