Chapter 48.1

Chapter 48.1

Honestly, the man couldn’t open his mouth without saying something filthy.

Did he ever get tired?

Heeju sighed in exasperation and started unbuttoning Gukhyun’s shirt. Then, her eyes caught on his wrist.

“If I want to shake you while I’m inside you, I’ll just do it anywhere I please. I’ll even water you a little while I’m at it. How’s that sound?”

“Not happening when you’ve come back looking like this.”

She took his wrist and looked closer. The marks were from a thick rope—rough pressure lines surrounded by red bruises and faint cuts.

“You said you weren’t hurt.”

When she frowned, Gukhyun leaned in and licked gently at the corner of her eye, as if to soothe her.

“You call this an injury?”

“You’re bleeding.”

“Usually I’m the one doing the tying, but today I tried being the one tied up. Gotta say, it was kind of thrilling.”

“Oh, unbelievable!”

Rolling her eyes, Heeju climbed off his lap and slid down to the floor.

“Don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t with a woman. It was with a man.”

“Right. Good for you. Congratulations. But next time, go back to doing the tying.”

As she turned away, Gukhyun caught her wrist.

“Where are you going?”

“To get the first-aid kit. Stay put.”

“This’ll heal on its own.”

“I’m your doctor, remember? What, I just get paid to sleep with you?”

“Now that’s a bit of a stretch. Fine, do what you want.”

Heeju went to her room, grabbed the medical kit, and came back to the living room. Gukhyun was still lounging on the sofa, cigarette in hand, just as she’d left him.

“Look this way.”

Heeju sat on the edge of the tea table and opened the medical kit. Gukhyun exhaled a stream of smoke to the side and turned his gaze toward her.

“……”

Maybe it was because she was suddenly aware of her own feelings. His face was as breathtakingly handsome as ever, not a trace different from usual. Yet somehow she couldn’t bring herself to look at him straight on.

Whenever their eyes met, it felt like a heavy stone pressed down on her stomach. She looked away, trying to seem casual, and pulled out the disinfectant kit.

“You’re lucky it’s not worse. Looks like it was a knife.”

“They usually don’t go for the face. They know screwing with that means they’re f***ed.”

He gave a short laugh and took a deep drag from his cigarette. She suddenly understood why he hadn’t made a sound even when she once stitched his abdomen without anesthesia. It wasn’t that he couldn’t feel pain; he had just gone numb to it after going through this kind of thing too many times to count.

“So it was someone inside, then? The ones you’re up against?”

“There are too many enemies to single one out. But yeah, more or less.”

Heeju tried to picture the people who could count as Gukhyun’s enemies. Kwon Giju. Probably Yoon Seokchan. Maybe even Chairman Kwon Jungman. And likely others beyond them.

In the end, it was all just a war to seize a bigger share of Jeongdo Construction. But for what? She couldn’t understand the kind of world where people bled and risked their lives for this.

If what they wanted was money, power, or comfort, Gukhyun already seemed to have plenty. What else could possibly be worth all this bloodshed?

After applying ointment, Heeju carefully placed a bandage over the cut. The small plaster on his cheek made him look a little like a delinquent. It was oddly funny, and she couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

Gukhyun’s brows lifted slightly.

“What’s so funny?”

“You look like a delinquent.”

He looked surprised, as if it were the first time he’d ever seen someone laugh. For a moment, his expression went blank, almost dazed.

Feeling self-conscious under his steady gaze, Heeju wiped the faint smile from her lips. She took his arm again to finish treating it, when suddenly Gukhyun called out to her.

“Baby.”

“……”

“Baby.”

“It’s kind of late to be asking this, but… why do you call me that? Anyone can see I’m a grown woman.”

At her sulky tone, Gukhyun chuckled around the cigarette between his lips.

“Was that bothering you?”

“……”

“Then should I call you darling instead?”

“That’s even weirder.”

“Alright then, baby it is.”

He stubbed out his cigarette, pulled a new one from the pack, and held it between his lips. But before lighting it, he spoke in that calm, casual tone of his.

“How about going abroad for a bit?”