Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Gukhyun stifled a laugh and lightly licked the curve of Heeju’s ear. His arm tightened around her slender waist.

“Your ears are cold. Same sea, different view. Let’s go back to the car.”

“Just a little longer.”

“You like the ocean that much? Enough to want to throw yourself in again?”

Heeju gave a faint smile and kept her eyes on the white waves breaking against the pier.

“I used to come here every Christmas.”

She didn’t bother to say it was also her sister’s birthday. Being treated like some lunatic obsessed with a dead sibling was already more than enough.

Every year, Christmas and her sister’s birthday were spent together. They’d start Christmas Eve watching endless movies, eating everything they could get their hands on, chatting about nothing until they passed out, then wake up late the next day and come here, to this sea.

“My mom and dad used to bring us here too. I was too young to remember, but that’s what they said.”

Gukhyun kept his head buried against her neck, listening quietly.

“My dad liked fishing. He’d cast a line off the pier, catch fish, sometimes crabs. Over there, he’d even pick up little shellfish.”

“…”

“I don’t remember it, but when I come here, it kinda feels like I do. I used to feel happy when I came. Like I could still think of them. Even if it was all just imagination.”

But that sea was gone forever now. All that was left were things that reminded her of Ko Heejin. The paths they walked together, the wind and the waves they felt, the damp air, even the cold, pale sky.

“I don’t think I’ll come back anymore.”

“Why? Because it reminds you of your sister?”

He was frighteningly quick to catch on. Instead of answering, Heeju leaned against his solid chest and looked up. The sky was heavy, dark clouds thick and low.

“…You really are just a baby.”

Gukhyun wrapped both arms around Heeju, enclosing her in warmth. Inside his coat, not even a breath of wind could slip through. His lips brushed close to her ear as he asked softly,

“What does it feel like… to have something precious?”

When Heeju turned to look at him, Gukhyun met her eyes, one corner of his gaze narrowing slightly.

“I don’t have anything you’d call family, so I wonder. Watching you miss yours for months after they’re gone is kind of fascinating.”

Heeju looked up at him quietly. The wind tossed her hair across her smooth forehead.

Maybe she really had lost her mind, because lately, this man kept looking… lonely.

“You might not have family, but you do have something precious.”

“Me?”

From inside his coat, Heeju moved her hand, slipping it up to rest gently on the strong arm locked around her waist. Gukhyun’s lips curved into a lazy smile.

“I don’t have anything like that.”

“You do. Think about it.”

“I’ve thought about it. Still nothing.”

“Then why did you go save Kang Sungang?”

“…”

“You knew you could get hurt… Or worse.”

He let out a short, sighing laugh.

“I went because I knew I wouldn’t die.”

His calm voice mixed with the sound of the wind, brushing softly against her ear.

“If I thought I’d die, I wouldn’t have gone. I wouldn’t get to see you again.”

“No… I think you would’ve gone anyway. You would’ve.”

“I said I wouldn’t. Stop arguing.”

“Executive Director, you’re the one who—mmp…!”

Gukhyun pulled Heeju’s chin toward him and caught her lips between his. Caught off guard, she gave in for a moment, then tilted her head back. Their barely touching lips parted with a soft, wet sound.

“You’re covering my mouth because you don’t want to admit it, aren’t you?”

“No. Because I want to taste you.”

Gukhyun turned her body so she was facing him directly.

“What did you eat to grow up this pretty? Your sister must’ve worked hard raising you.”

“You talk like you’ve known me forever.”

“Bet you were f~***ing adorable back then too.”

He pinched her soft cheeks without hurting her, stretching them like sticky rice cakes as he kneaded them playfully.

“Stick your tongue out. I’ll suck it.”

He even managed to make an invitation to kiss sound filthy. Heeju obediently stuck out her tongue and wrapped her arms around his neck.

The moment she held him tight, feeling his broad, solid back that could block even a raging storm, their tongues tangled and he drew hers deep into his mouth.

“Mmh… ah…”

Gukhyun devoured her lips like a man starved, lifting her slender waist in his arms. Overhead, the dark clouds swirled into strange shapes.

Her toes lifted off the ground as the kiss deepened. The crash of the waves against the pier grew faint, distant, fading away at that very moment.

“What room number did you say?”

Click. Seokchan lit his lighter as he spoke.

“VIP ward, room 201.”

“Wow. A VIP room, huh? Guess Kang Sungang finally made it big.”

Seokchan let out a short laugh and lit his cigarette. He rolled down the heavily tinted car window, drew in a deep drag, then exhaled a long stream of smoke.

“Director, Lee Cheolhyun’s going in.”

The man in the passenger seat spoke respectfully, relaying the report from one of their men stationed at the hospital entrance. Seokchan bit down on the cigarette filter and gave a slow nod.

“The two of them sure are close. Don’t they ever get tired of sticking together?”

“There’s a woman with them.”

“A woman?”

Seokchan took the cigarette from his lips and held it between his fingers.

“Yes, it seems Executive Director Kwon Gukhyun went in with his personal doctor.”

“Ah… that woman. Who else would it be.”

Seokchan let out a low sigh and leaned back in his seat, recalling the woman he’d seen at the company pool not long ago.

Pretty clear she’d been sleeping with Gukhyun.

He ground the cigarette filter between his teeth, thinking fast. The chairman’s words from the fishing spot still echoed in his head: My offer still stands.

The old man clearly intended to make Kwon Gukhyun his son-in-law. He couldn’t sleep at night, terrified that the very dog he’d raised would end up devouring him whole. And the brilliant plan that cunning old serpent had come up with? Selling off another daughter to tie the bloodline closer.

That old man really couldn’t let go of family ties.

So, what would Kwon Gukhyun do?

This was the same man who’d clawed his way up to the brink of the CEO’s seat by doing every filthy job imaginable without hesitation. With the goal right in front of him, why would he say no?

Maybe he’d pretend to refuse once or twice, but not for real. It would just be a battle of nerves. He would drag it out to squeeze a little more out of the chairman. Seokchan knew that game well; he’d played it himself.

If Kwon Suah married Gukhyun, Seokchan’s own standing would shrink overnight. The old man’s love and hate for Gukhyun were already intense enough. And if they became family by marriage? Seokchan didn’t even want to imagine what it’d look like once that hate dissolved.

Sure, his own wife, Kwon Joo-ah, was the eldest daughter, but to Chairman Kwon, the order of his daughters meant nothing. Just sitting back and watching would make him no better than a dog chasing chickens.

No. He’d have to ruin the marriage the chairman was scheming, no matter what it took. And if that proved impossible, then he’d need to find something powerful enough to secure his position once and for all.

In this situation, the appearance of a woman who was sleeping with Kwon Gukhyun was an opportunity Seokchan couldn’t afford to miss—and a rare bit of good news. And to top it off, she turned out to be Go Hee-jin’s younger sister.

Seokchan flicked his cigarette butt out the car window and lit a new one.

Maybe I can take care of both of them at once.

He stared up at the hospital building, lost in thought. Outside, the overcast sky had started to scatter snowflakes.

—

“Miss Ko Heeju, you go in first.”

Chulhyun stretched out an arm like a gentleman letting a lady go ahead, gesturing for Heeju to enter.

“Huh? Why?”

“Because I think it’ll be more fun that way.”

He slid open the hospital room door with a clack and gave Heeju a light push on the back. Caught off guard, she stumbled inside.

Sitting slanted against the window-side bed, Kang Sungang lifted his head instinctively. He’d been tapping away at a game on his phone, both hands gripping it eagerly, but the moment he saw Heeju, his face scrunched up.

“…What the hell. What are you doing here?”

Sungang set his phone down and pushed himself up from the pillow. Pretending to scratch his head, he subtly covered his injured ear. Then, spotting Chulhyun entering behind her, his eyes narrowed sharply.

“You brought her here? F!*. You think this is a freak show or something?”

“Freak show? What’s with the attitude? We came all the way here to visit, and this is the thanks we get, huh, our dear Gang-ah?”