Chapter 13

Cha Gye-oh pointed at his younger brother Jae-oh and snickered.

Anyone could tell the handsome one was clearly over there, so she had no idea what part she was supposed to laugh at.

Was it funny because it made no sense.

“You’ve heard the saying that the first kid takes all the good DNA when they come out of the womb, right. Poor Jae-oh. He does look like me, but it’s kind of an unfair resemblance.”

Cha Gye-oh patted Jae-oh’s shoulder as he spoke. Chae-eun watched the absurd scene in silence, biting her lip. She had no clue how she was supposed to react.

Her head was spinning from the alcohol, and with left pervert and right old guy suddenly showing up, it felt like the floor was rotating.

“So how’s your schedule tomorrow.”

“Pardon. Tomorrow.”

“I’m asking you out. We did go on a blind date together.”

Cha Gye-oh lowered his voice for the rest, whispering close.

“It ended too blandly, so I was disappointed. How about we properly hang out tomorrow.”

Cornered, Chae-eun chose to send a silent plea for help.

She looked at Jae-oh beside her and ran through every expression she could in a few seconds.

Thankfully, Jae-oh seemed to catch the signal. He let out a short sigh and placed a hand on Cha Gye-oh’s shoulder.

“We’ve got the new product meeting tomorrow, Executive Director Cha Gye-oh.”

“Again. Last time you dragged me there out of nowhere and then ditched me without even saying much.”

“Don’t you know there’s a fire at your feet. There’s no weekend right now.”

“Seriously. How can he be this clueless.”

Chae-eun gave an awkward laugh, unsure how to play along.

“Haha…”

The clueless one wasn’t Jae-oh. It was Cha Gye-oh.

“I really need to use the restroom.”

“Go ahead. I was blocking the entrance.”

“Thanks. If possible, I’d like you to stay far away. I don’t want to ruin the illusion.”

“Okay.”

An illusion.

What a truly fantastic idea.

There was no way she wanted to hear Cha Gye-oh relieving himself. Chae-eun nodded and slowly walked down the hallway. Jae-oh stayed right beside her, tilting his head and meeting her eyes like he had something to say.

She was trying to walk straight, but her alcohol soaked steps wouldn’t cooperate.

“…Thank you.”

“Just words.”

“How else am I supposed to say thanks.”

Jae-oh narrowed his eyes, then suddenly grabbed her wrist.

“W-why.”

“Bring your bag out.”

“I don’t want to.”

At her firm refusal, Jae-oh slightly lifted one corner of his mouth.

“He backed off easily because you’re still sober enough. If you drink a bit more, he’ll start talking about after plans in front of the employees without hesitation. Can you handle that. My brother’s not very strong with alcohol.”

She’d heard before that Executive Director Cha Gye-oh was weak to alcohol. He’d even stolen her share to drink, so he might get drunk soon.

It felt like something bad was about to happen. Talking about blind dates and after plans in front of everyone would be mortifying.

She was pretty drunk already. Since the world was spinning anyway, going home didn’t sound so bad.

“…I didn’t realize you were being that considerate.”

“Not for you. For my brother’s dignity.”

“You really have a nice way with words.”

Chae-eun shook his hand off her wrist and went back into the restaurant.

“I’m going to head out first. I drank too much since it was my welcome dinner and I’m really drunk.”

“Will you be okay. Should we call you a taxi.”

“The guest of honor can’t leave first.”

“I’m sorry. My head’s spinning. Jihyun, I’m really fine so don’t worry. See you Monday.”

She carefully slipped out with her bag through the noisy crowd.

If she ran into Executive Director Cha Gye-oh, he’d definitely grab her, so she had to move fast.

Once outside, she saw Jae-oh standing under a streetlight. The soft light cast a shadow along the bridge of his tall nose.

His unique presence felt stronger like that. Even passersby turned their heads for a second look. He was so handsome that her eyes kept drifting to him too.

Chae-eun shook her head hard.

“It’s just because I’m drunk.”

It had to be the alcohol making it feel stronger.

She’d followed his instruction and brought her bag out, but she had no idea what the next step was.

She slowly walked up to him.

“I’m here.”

“Perfect timing. A taxi just arrived. Let’s get in.”

A taxi with the word reserved lit up stopped by the road. Before she could think, Chae-eun got in.

Only after did it occur to her that she hadn’t even thanked him, but telling the driver the address came first.

“Samsung dong I Apartment please…”

As soon as she said it, Jae-oh got into the seat beside her. The door closed, and the taxi started moving while she sat there with a blank look.

“You didn’t call it for me. You called it so you could ride too.”

“I called it to ride together. You were walking unsteadily. I couldn’t just send you off alone.”

An awkward silence settled in. The taxi had already left, and Chae-eun was exhausted from being drunk.

How many minutes passed without a word. The aftershock of the alcohol washed over her and her vision blurred.

She thought she’d just close her eyes for a moment, and her memory cut off.

Chae-eun dozed off in the taxi, making soft breathing sounds without realizing her head was bent painfully to the side.

* * *

Watching the sleeping Chae-eun, Jae-oh let out a quiet breath through his nose, clearly dissatisfied.

If she’d leaned this way, he could’ve offered his shoulder. With her head bent the other way, he couldn’t even see her face properly.

After thirty minutes, the taxi stopped in front of her apartment.

“We’re here. Wake up.”

“Mm…”

He couldn’t tell if she was responding or just mumbling. Her eyes stayed closed. He opened the door and pulled her arm, supporting her as she got out.

Half asleep, Chae-eun’s legs gave out the moment she stepped down.

Startled, Jae-oh wrapped an arm around her waist and caught her.

He straightened her up like a wet towel and asked for the details.

“This is just the entrance. You need to tell me the building and unit number.”

“…”

No answer came. Her joints went slack again, like she’d fallen into deeper sleep. At this rate, she’d definitely end up with ugly bruises on her knees. With how small she was, there was even a chance she’d get hurt badly.

With no other option, Jae-oh hoisted her onto his back and walked into the apartment complex.

“Which building. At least tell me that.”

Instead of an answer, all he heard was her sleepy breathing.

He circled the complex with her on his back, but nothing came out of her.

He’d hoped some homing instinct would kick in when they got close, but she stayed fast asleep, busy soaking his shoulder with drool.

If it were anyone else, he would’ve shaken them off immediately. Somehow, with Chae-eun, everything became an exception.

Honestly, even this side of her felt cute.

The fact that she was showing this defenseless state on his back instead of another man’s made him feel strangely good.

Still, getting her home was the priority.

As she kept slipping, he adjusted his grip and headed back toward the entrance.

He flagged down an empty taxi passing by and carefully put her inside.

“Cheongdam-dong.”

While he gave the address, Chae-eun shifted around and leaned her head against his shoulder. That position seemed to suit her perfectly, because she burrowed in a little more, then stopped moving.

His heart started pounding wildly. Maybe she had a habit of hugging pillows when she slept, because her hand came up.

Ha, f*ck…

Since they weren’t lying down, the hand that had risen dropped limply.

The problem was that it landed on his thigh.

Her hand overlapped right over the cock he’d tucked to the left.

Thanks to the nonstop drinking while sitting around, Jae-oh wasn’t exactly sober either.

His dick hardened helplessly.

Countless thoughts flashed through his head in a short time. Since it was late, there was no traffic, so they arrived quickly.

He tried waking her again, but she didn’t budge.

Right. She was like this that night too. Once she passed out drunk, nothing woke her.

She’d slept through him rubbing himself all over her hand, her breasts, her stomach, spilling over her without a clue.

The vivid memory only made the arousal worse.

He got out and lifted her onto his back again. Being jostled annoyed her in her deep sleep, and she let out a small complaining sound.

“No one’s doing this because they like it. You should’ve woken up when I said I’d send you home nicely.”