It was around three in the morning when Yeonwoo finally stood up from Seongheon’s bed. The night at Domyeongjae, with the rest of the estate fast asleep, felt heavier and more shadowed than ever before.
As Yeonwoo moved with a stifled, awkward gait, reaching for her clothes, Seongheon rose as well. He watched her dress, her back turned to him, before reaching out to draw her waist firmly against his chest.
“I wish you could stay the night.”
“I can’t. I really have to go.”
“Who on earth is this night shift for? Is it for Manager Moon?”
He knew perfectly well why she had to leave, yet he dragged the unsuspecting Manager Moon into the conversation. Yeonwoo merely pulled the strings of her waist, tying them into a precise ribbon.
Though he tried to obstruct her, Yeonwoo eventually managed to pull on her uniform. Her legs felt hollow, robbed of their strength, and she stood only with significant effort.
Seongheon’s brows furrowed instinctively as he watched her. It must be difficult; every step looked like a labor.
He longed to pull her back down, to let her rest in his arms, but he knew the more he pressured her, the more he would deepen her sense of unease. Even as the master of Domyeongjae, he found the place stiflingly rigid—a cage where he couldn’t even grant a new employee a night off.
“Tell them you’re ill and rest. Tell them you’re in pain.”
“I’m fine. I don’t want to gain time off through a lie.”
“It’s not a lie. You must be hurting.”
“…….”
Struck by the truth in his words, Yeonwoo lowered her eyes and took a step. She felt the irregularity in her own gait, but she forced herself to walk as upright as possible, terrified that Seongheon might notice the toll he had taken on her.
Watching her back stiffen, Seongheon let out a shallow, frustrated sigh. When she reached for the tray she had brought from Unseondang, he stood up, tying the belt of his robe.
“I’ll be going now.”
“Are you angry?”
Her detachment bothered him—the way she avoided his gaze, her expression guarded. Just moments ago, she had been nestled in his arms with a look he suspected she had never shown another living soul, her eyes hazy with a raw, desperate desire.
“What is it? Tell me before you leave.”
Anxious, he caught her arm. Yeonwoo stopped, the tray trembling slightly in her hands.
Worried he had crossed a line, Seongheon swallowed hard. Perhaps this wasn’t pleasure for her, but a burden. To have been so intimate, only to be forced to slip away like a thief for a dawn shift—the realization must be agonizing.
Had he made her feel wretched? Had he turned her departure into a moment of loneliness?
“Ji Yeonwoo.”
“It’s… it’s nothing, really.”
At his restless, searching call, Yeonwoo’s lips parted just a fraction.
“I’m just a little embarrassed.”
“…….”
“Now that the lights are on, it’s a bit… difficult to look at you directly, Managing Director.”
“……Ah.”
A soft, ragged sound escaped Seongheon. Yeonwoo, clutching the tray and refusing to lift her eyes from the floor, turned her body slightly to bid him a final farewell. Her face was so composed, so static, that it made the memory of her falling apart in his arms feel like a fever dream.
“I’ll be going now. It’s late, so please try to get some sle—”
“Must we keep this a secret?”
Seongheon embraced her from behind.
To give her what she wanted made him feel as though he were losing his mind, and to do what he wanted felt like it would shatter her.
“I want to shout it to the world before a single day has even passed. The secrecy is driving me to the brink.”
He missed the truth behind her blank expression: her skin, from the nape of her neck down to her earlobes, was stained a deep, burning red.
“Why don’t you just confess it to Manager Moon and let us live in peace? Think of it as a favor to save a man’s life.”
*Save me, please.*
“I—I really have to go. Please, sleep well.”
Deflated by her persistence, Seongheon finally loosened his arms. Yeonwoo bowed once more and began to walk away.
It was maddening to watch her progress, her walk far from steady. He stood rooted to the spot, powerless, until Yeonwoo looked back over her shoulder.
“I…”
“Tell me.”
His breath hitched at the slightest movement from her.
“In the future, please speak comfortably to me. I think that would be better.”
“Ah, yes. Of course. I’ll do that naturally.”
“Yes. I’m going now.”
“Don’t push yourself. Okay?”
“Yes.”
“Listen to me. I mean it.”
“Yes. Sleep well.”
As Yeonwoo disappeared from Unseondang, Seongheon stared at the ceiling and let out a long, shuddering sigh. He opened the small window by his bedside, listening until the sound of her footsteps on the earth faded into the silence of the dawn.
*Whew.*
Seongheon let out a soft, dry laugh. He had no map for this—no precedent in his life for a situation that rendered him helpless even with his eyes wide open.
“This isn’t just a bog; it’s a path to madness.”
With every second, he was sinking deeper into Ji Yeonwoo. It was no different from an addiction.
*
“Are you sick?”
“Yes?”
Morning dawned. Eun-ja, arriving for her shift, scanned the dazed Yeonwoo and immediately sensed something amiss.
Startled, Yeonwoo shook her head vigorously. Satisfied, Eun-ja turned away with indifference, murmuring that as long as she wasn’t ill, it was fine.
“What is this?”
Eun-ja turned back, frowning at Yeonwoo.
“What’s that on your neck? Did you get hurt?”
“Ah, this?”
Yeonwoo fidgeted with the bandage. She had only discovered the mark he’d left behind that morning, having been too rushed to notice it in the dark of Unseondang. She had panicked, frantically finding a bandage to hide it, and shuddered to think how close she had come to being exposed.
“I, I was bitten by a bug. It was itchy.”
“My, there are so many bugs here compared to Seoul. They’re everywhere—don’t leave the doors open whenever you please.”
“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Eun-ja, easily satisfied by the excuse, turned back to her duties.
*Phew.* As Yeonwoo let out a breath of relief, she hurried to work. Seongheon, finished with his morning routine, entered the main building, and their eyes locked immediately.
“You’ve arrived, Managing Director.”
As Eun-ja greeted him, Yeonwoo followed with a shallow bow. Seongheon averted his gaze, setting his briefcase down with a sharp click.
“You must eat. I’ve set the table.”
“Yes.”
Seongheon followed Eun-ja into the dining room. He had no appetite, but to see Yeonwoo’s face for even a second longer, he would endure the formality of the meal.
He sat with a face colder than ice, and Eun-ja placed a steaming bowl of soup before him.
“The clams are plump today. The broth turned out quite milky.”
Eun-ja chatted, but her words didn’t register. Seongheon, his focus entirely pinned on Yeonwoo, lifted his spoon purely for show.
As he ate with agonizing slowness, Eun-ja and Yeonwoo stood together. With Manager Moon away, Eun-ja, who detested silence, began to press Yeonwoo again.
To Seongheon, it was a blessing.
“Doesn’t your neck itch?”
“Yes? My neck?” Yeonwoo asked, startled.
Eun-ja pointed at her bandage. Seongheon’s eyes darted toward them.
“You said you were bitten. Did you apply medicine? Mountain bugs are poisonous; they get infected so easily.”
“Ah, yes. I did.”
“It needs air to heal. Stifling it under a bandage like that won’t help it recover.”
Seongheon glanced at Yeonwoo again. Eun-ja gestured toward him as if explaining the triviality of their conversation.
“She says she was bitten, Managing Director. I was just giving her some advice. Don’t mind us; please, enjoy your meal.”
“Did you get bitten by a bug?” Seongheon asked, his voice casual.
Yeonwoo opened her mouth, then hesitated. He knew. He looked as if he knew everything.
“It doesn’t sting?”
“No. Just… so-so…”
As Seongheon pressed, her voice trailed off. Eun-ja nudged her arm, scolding her gently.
“The Managing Director is asking you a question, why are you being so vague? Answer properly. Tell him, ‘Yes, I applied the medicine and bandaged it well.'”
As Eun-ja lectured, Yeonwoo nodded, promising to do so next time. She simply prayed for this agonizingly awkward performance to end.
Seongheon smirked at the scene. He wondered how shocked she must have been to find the mark in the mirror, how much she must have cursed under her breath as she applied the bandage to hide it.
Next time, he decided, he would leave a mark somewhere she couldn’t hide. Where would be the best spot?
“Oh, Managing Director, you’ve begun your meal.”
It was then that Manager Moon, finishing a phone call, approached with quick, efficient steps. As she tucked her phone into her apron, her face grew serious.
“Managing Director. I just received a call from the main house.”
The main house. It meant the home of his aunt, Chairwoman Nam Yoon-young.
Seongheon set his spoon down and looked up. Manager Moon checked her watch.
“The Chairwoman said she’s coming to Domyeongjae today.”
“Today?”
“Yes.”
“For what reason?”
“I don’t know the specifics.”
Seongheon looked at Manager Moon, then his gaze drifted to Yeonwoo standing behind her. He held his stare for a beat before lowering his eyes back to the table.
“I see. Very well.”
“Yes, Managing Director.”
He finished his meal in silence. The visit of his aunt, Nam Yoon-young, with no prior notice, was unprecedented.
“Managing Director, won’t you eat a little more?”
“I have no appetite. Thank you for the meal.”
Seongheon stood up. He knew why his aunt was coming; he didn’t need to be told.
“Contact Hyun-wook and tell him to come into Domyeongjae. Tell him to be here before the Chairwoman arrives.”
“Yes, Managing Director.”
Leaving behind Yeonwoo—his secret, his lover of three days—Seongheon walked out to face the storm.
A few hours later, a black sedan carrying Chairwoman Nam Yoon-young pulled into the gates of Domyeongjae.