Chapter 72: A Date [R-18]

Before it was even 5 p.m., Rio briefly tore his eyes from the monitor and glanced at the clock on his desk. 4:42.

It wasn’t that he’d been particularly focused, but… how to put it?

He was bored.

Bored of the people, the screen, the needlessly tidy atmosphere.

“Let’s call it a day.”

At the words that fell into the room without any warning, several people sitting in the office lifted their heads at once.

“Sir?”

“Right now?”

He didn’t bother repeating himself. Instead, he added another comment as he rose from his seat.

“Don’t you want to leave early when there’s nothing to do? Don’t stand around thinking, ‘He told us to go, so we’re actually going.’ Just go.”

I’ll leave when my car is ready. The moment he finished, the sound of typing stopped, one by one. The hum of the copier and the sound of the conference room door opening and closing gradually faded.

“Good work, everyone—”

“You all worked hard today!”

Long before the official end of the workday, the employees began packing their things one by one. With no urgent deadlines, no one was in a position to object.

Instead, they wondered privately if this was really how a major corporation was run. The salary was right, but this part was… odd.

They briefly questioned what whim had possessed him this time, but the order was like a welcome rain for the office workers. Even the last person to glance in Rio’s direction before leaving failed to remember where Seojin was.

All they saw was Rio’s placid face as he swiped through his tablet.

Classical jazz, chosen to his taste, flowed from the speakers, subtly altering the air of the incongruous office.

From above, it looked like he was doing some ordinary shopping. But one of his hands was moving, resting somewhere beneath the desk.

“—Yes. Good girl.”

In the darkness under the chair, Seojin gripped his thigh and quietly caught her breath. Her black hair fell naturally against the dark navy fabric, not standing out at all.

Milky-white semen had already been poured around her mouth. Before it could drip from her parted lips to the floor, Seojin closed her mouth and swallowed it down.

“…Hah.”

“I sent everyone home early because I thought you’d be too embarrassed to come out. Aren’t I thoughtful?”

Without even lifting her head, Seojin smacked his thigh, a small act of retaliation for making her do such a thing.

“I’m… not doing anything more in here today. Let me go, too.”

Already subjected to too many thrills, Seojin was exhausted. Rio reached down, grabbed Seojin by the torso, and pulled her up.

“I’ll let you off.”

Seojin rose weakly, slowly, into Rio’s arms. But as she leaned against him, Rio subtly twisted her waist, pulling her closer. She frowned.

“Your actions don’t match your words.”

At her glare, Rio flashed a wicked dimpled smile.

“Oops.”

Seojin rested in his arms for a moment longer, then looked around the now-empty office. It felt strange, once again, to find herself in a situation like this.

After taking a moment to compose herself, she tapped her ID card one last time to clear security, then walked toward Rio, who was already waiting by the elevator.

“Let’s go.”

Inside the elevator, now occupied by just the two of them, Rio stood silently, seemingly lost in thought.

In the underground garage, a car that was always on standby pulled up before them. Seojin habitually moved to get into the passenger seat, but blinked when he opened the door for her himself.

“…What’s this?”

“Playing lovers?”

“Ugh…”

Soon, the car exited the garage and merged onto the road. A lover of looking outside, she began to identify the familiar streets one by one.

But then…

“…This isn’t the way home, is it?”

Rio nodded nonchalantly.

“Nope. The weather’s nice, and we finished work early today.”

At his words, Seojin immediately turned to look at his profile. Her eyes were filled with suspicion.

“So… are we going to some other weird place?”

“I don’t know what you mean by ‘weird place,’” he said, smiling as he smoothly turned the steering wheel, “but this time, at least it’s not illegal.”

“…I don’t trust you one bit.”

“Then see for yourself. We’ll be there soon.”

Seojin looked out the window. A familiar riverside road, a sky redder than it was a moment ago.

The scenery of the road ahead, a route she always sped past on her way to work, seemed to move slowly today for some reason.

Perhaps because of the early dismissal, the traffic wasn’t too heavy. After passing through a few signals, the car quietly parked.

“…The Han River?”

With the setting sun at his back, Rio grinned.

“Did we really… just come here?”

“Yep.”

Rio got out of the car first, then slowly walked around to open the passenger door. Even in the simple act of pulling the handle, his movements were steeped in leisure.

Seojin looked up at him with a bewildered expression. Just a little while ago, she had been huddled under his desk… This felt truly strange.

Leaving her bag full of brochures behind, she slowly stepped out. A breeze, cooler than the air in the car, brushed past her shoulders, and she instinctively hunched over, perhaps due to the unfamiliar atmosphere.

“Not cold?”

“No, I’m fine.”

The breeze was cool, and the twilight sky was beautifully colored.

She thought it would have been better if she’d worn sneakers instead of heels, but as Rio slowed his pace to match hers, she began to think that this might be a nice evening after all. And then, a thought struck her.

It’s… like a date.

A normal date, not like all the other extraordinary memories.

As the thought crossed her mind, Seojin secretly glanced up at him.

As they walked, Rio hummed a song she didn’t know, his eyes fixed ahead. But she could tell he was listening for her footsteps, about a step and a half behind him.

The sun sank lower, and the water rippled gently, cradling a golden light.

As if folding and unfolding her heart, Seojin clenched and unclenched her fingers before cautiously reaching out her hand.

She didn’t take his whole hand, just gently wrapped her own around a few of his fingers. Unlike Seojin, whose palm was growing sweaty, his hand was dry. As she tightened her grip, Rio turned his head.

“…”

Unable to meet his gaze, Seojin pressed her lips together, her face flushing bright red as she stood there, staring at his heels.

Rio turned his head, and the moment he saw her, he began to laugh out loud. He gently bobbed their joined hands up and down and said playfully, “What’s this adorable little gesture?”

Just as she’d expected, Seojin wanted to run away, but she had already taken his hand and couldn’t do anything about it. Then, Rio gently pulled her captured hand toward him.

“If you’re going to hold my hand, do it properly.”

With his free thumb, he gently stroked her palm. Seojin flinched and looked up at him again.

His hand moved naturally, slowly lacing his fingers through hers. Seojin covered her face with her free hand.

Player, pervert, Casanova, deviant!

The gesture was so smooth that in that short moment, she mentally hurled all sorts of fact-based insults at him, but it was no use.

Her dangling hand was now firmly clasped with his, and still, Seojin couldn’t bring herself to look at him.

This man, who pursed his lips and made a kissing sound in the air, knew her weaknesses all too well.

“—You’re making it so obvious you like me.”

Hearing the sound from above, Seojin quickened her pace, moving to his side. Without letting go of his hand, she wrapped her other arm around his.

This way, she didn’t have to see his face. Instead, she linked her arm tightly through his and added in a whisper, “And what if I am?”

At her words, Rio slowly turned his head to look at her. Normally, he might have been captivated by the sexy curve of her breasts pressed against his arm, but right now, he found her cheeks, flushed in the sunset glow, utterly adorable.

“Haha.”

Seojin, who had been acting like she wanted to flee just moments ago, was now blushing right beside him.

“Then I’ll let you stay by my side.”

The words were too calm to be clinging, too serious to be a joke. Seojin pressed her lips together again. Seeing her silence, Rio whispered softly, “So keep making it obvious.”

This was his way—the way of a man who hated losing or being at a disadvantage—of willingly and rightfully giving Seojin everything.

The wind picked up a little. The sunset reflected off the calm river, glittering like feathers. In the space between them, Seojin spoke in a whisper.

“…I don’t want to be alone.”

At that, Rio smiled faintly again. This time, his dimples were deeper.

“Me neither.”

Just as their subtle emotions collided and mingled, the sound of her stomach growling echoed between them.

She couldn’t possibly ask him to pretend he hadn’t heard the sound of nature breaking the tender mood. Seojin glanced up and saw him already turned away, smiling. She decided it was better to be honest.

“I’m hungry…”

He let the escaping laughter paint his face completely before looking down at this adorable woman again.

“Ah, this is a problem. What am I supposed to feed you here?”

Returning to the car would be pointless; the roads around here would be completely jammed. Rio mentally scanned the area for a decent restaurant within walking distance, by his standards.

“Let’s go there.”

Without much thought, Seojin pointed to a place much closer than he’d imagined. A street stall at the corner of the park path, with smoke rising from it. It was a chicken skewer stand.

“…Here?”

“Yep.”

He was dragged along before he could even think.

In the end, the two of them each received a skewer of chicken, pressed firmly onto a wooden stick. A sweet and spicy sauce was brushed on, glistening, and the savory smell of it grilling had enveloped the area.

“Is one enough?”

“We’re having dinner later, aren’t we?”

She acted as if it were just a temporary fix to stave off hunger, but as she sat on a nearby bench and bit into the chicken skewer, Seojin looked happier than anyone.

She stuffed her mouth full and chewed, her cheeks puffed out. To his love-struck eyes, she looked like a baby squirrel.

Seojin was hungry, it was delicious, and above all, the feeling of eating something with him in a place like this was strangely exhilarating.

“Mmm—so good…”

Her words were muffled. Rio, sitting beside her, stared at her intently, wondering if he should open a chicken skewer business.

Just then, their eyes met. Seojin held up her skewer and offered it to him.

“Want a bite?”

At her words, Rio tilted his head back slightly and didn’t move.

“Uh… have you never had one before?”

“…”

Instead of answering, his eyes blinked slowly. Seojin brought the meaty part of her skewer slowly to Rio’s lips.

“Really? Your first chicken skewer?”

His eyebrow twitched slightly. At the teasing curve of her lips, Rio finally, slowly, took a bite of the chicken skewer.

“—Yeah.”

Chew, chew.

Rio chewed the chicken without a word. For someone used to fine dining, he wasn’t particularly picky. It wasn’t bad. The sweet and salty flavors were inconsistent and sharp, but the outside was slightly crispy.

Still, it didn’t seem special enough to make her look that happy, nor was it life-changing.

He chewed a few more times with an indifferent expression and swallowed quietly.

Seeing his reaction, Seojin’s eyes narrowed.

“…You don’t like it?”

“No. It’s fine.”

“That expression says, ‘I suppose it’s edible.’”

Rio shrugged and looked away. Well, he didn’t deny it. As if there was no need to say more.

But surprisingly, Seojin didn’t seem dissatisfied with his reaction. On the contrary, she grinned. The corners of her eyes softened into a gentle smile.

“You know,” she said.

“Hm?”

“So many of my firsts—the first time I did something, the first time I saw something—have been with you.”

At her words, Rio’s gaze returned to Seojin. Sitting on the bench holding a single skewer, she held back her hair as it blew in the wind and spoke slowly.

“But you… you seem like a person who doesn’t have many new things left. You’ve done it all, you can do whatever you want, so everything must seem boring.”

“So?”

“But this, right now, is a first for you, isn’t it? Because of me.”

At that, Rio’s hand paused for a fraction of a second. Seojin tapped her toes against each other and smiled mischievously.

“It’s fun, finding things like this for you.”

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Translated By: Meher (RaidenTL)

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