#33.

Park Min-ah was falling deeper and deeper into her relationship with Lee Han. At first, she felt repulsed by his demands, but now she would do anything he said. It wasn’t enough to meet secretly in the management office; now, she was losing her inhibitions about having secret encounters in the dark corners of the apartment complex.

One night, Lee Han called Park Min-ah to the small park behind the apartment. He led her to the slightly open men’s restroom in the complex, and kissed her roughly. At first, Park Min-ah looked around, embarrassed, but soon gave herself up to Lee Han’s intense caresses. Leaning against the cold wall, receiving his touch and kisses, Park Min-ah felt her whole body heating up.

,I can’t do it here… I’m worried someone will see.”

“Shh, no one will know.”

At Lee Han’s sweet whisper, Park Min-ah soon forgot her fear and gave herself to him. The pounding of her heart, the sticky sound of kisses, and the sound of the bathroom stall shaking echoed secretly in the darkness. Lost in the joy of love, Park Min-ah closed her eyes and murmured.

“I love you… I love you so much.”

Park Min-ah whispered to herself and vowed that all of this was because of Lee Han’s love, and that was why she couldn’t refuse Lee Han. She had no choice but to follow Lee Han’s demands, anywhere. Park Min-ah hypnotized herself that it was the way to satisfy the desires of the one she loved.

—

Park Min-ah took out the newly received business card with trembling hands. The words ‘Park Min-ah, Assistant Manager’ were engraved in a deep black color. She slowly rubbed the name with her finger.

Being converted to a permanent employee should have been a happy and proud thing. But a bitter feeling filled Park Min-ah’s heart. The permanent position was given to her to cover up an unsavory incident that had occurred within the company. A position accepted in exchange for condoning her boss’s sexual harassment.

Park Min-ah’s eyes turned red. Her hands trembled with injustice and anger, but she gritted her teeth and suppressed her emotions. She consoled herself that it was an unavoidable choice, that it was to survive.

Her footsteps towards the restroom were heavy. Entering the narrow stall, Park Min-ah locked the door with trembling hands and sat down on the toilet. She was breathless trying to hold back her bursting tears. She couldn’t hold back the tears any longer. The sorrow that she had been holding back for so long finally poured out like rain. As her body shook with sobs, the business card in her hand became increasingly wet. Staggering as if she was about to collapse, she sniffled and sobbed.

With a flushed face, biting her trembling lips, Park Min-ah finally burst into a wail. She resented the world where no one understood her pain. Clenching her fists tightly, she was overwhelmed with frustration. When would she be able to escape this pain? Looking at the tear-soaked business card, Park Min-ah felt like she was collapsing.

Park Min-ah moved her feet aimlessly and headed to the management office. As if unconsciously drawn, she arrived in front of that familiar door. She stared at the door silently for a while. The cold doorknob felt like a silent comfort. Slowly, she opened the door and entered the office. Lee Han was sitting at his desk and looked up at the sound of the door. Seeing Park Min-ah enter, he got up from his seat. Sadness and despair were dripping from her face.

Lee Han, who had been looking at her without a word, slowly approached and carefully embraced her. As if waiting for that moment, Park Min-ah snuggled into Lee Han’s arms. Her frozen heart melted little by little in the warm warmth. The tears she had been holding back burst out. Her sobs shook her whole body. Burying her face in Lee Han’s firm chest, she wept bitterly.

Lee Han silently hugged her trembling shoulders tightly. Time passed as they hugged each other like that for a while. Holding Park Min-ah, who was sobbing in his arms, Lee Han was feeling her pain. Suffering and comforting together. His gentle touch stroked her trembling back.

“Min-ah-ssi, it’s okay. Everything will be alright now.”

At Lee Han’s choked whisper, Park Min-ah nodded. Even in her sobs, she gained strength from Lee Han’s warm body temperature and his sincere words. Even if the world turned its back on her, she felt like she could endure it because there was this person who embraced her. Even if that comfort was a futile illusion, she wanted to rely on him completely for now.

Lee Han carried Park Min-ah, who had fallen asleep from crying, to her house and carefully laid her down on the bed. He wiped the tear stains from her face and tucked her in tightly. After listening to her peaceful breathing for a while, Lee Han cautiously opened the front door and went outside. He slowly pressed down on the doorknob so that the sound of the door closing wouldn’t be too loud. Lee Han, who came out into the hallway, leaned against the door and sighed. A bitter smile came out on its own. Park Min-ah’s pain felt like his own.

There were times when he struggled to find a job too. The days when he struggled to attend countless interviews and build up his specs. The moments when he had to bow down in front of money and abandon his pride. That’s why he could understand Park Min-ah’s situation well. Lee Han chuckled bitterly and muttered.

“Me signing Chairman Park’s contract isn’t any different.”

He too had stamped his seal on that dirty contract. He threw his conscience far away and knelt before money and power. Deceiving himself that it was the way to survive. Holding his head, Lee Han sighed deeply. There was no use in regretting it. It was no use trying to go back now.

He gritted his teeth and vowed. He had to move towards the final stage. That was the way to live, and it was the only way to satisfy his desires. He would gain Chairman Park’s trust and rise to a higher position. He was determined to solidify his position by any means. Clenching his fist tightly, Lee Han vowed. He would definitely win in this dirty game. With a twisted smile, he began his final plan to bring down Park Min-ah.

—

Behind the apartment, the recycling area was thickly covered in darkness. That secluded place was burning hot with secret lust. The place where hot air was rising was spewing out the rough breaths and groans of two men and women. The cold air hit their skin, but was soon forgotten by the heat of their hot bodies.

Lee Han pushed Park Min-ah against the wall and roughly devoured her lips. The sound of their hearts pounding and the sticky crossing of their tongues filled the space suffocatingly. Soon, their clothes were taken off one by one. Lee Han grabbed Park Min-ah’s breasts tightly, and she let out a short groan and clung to him. Park Min-ah gasped for breath at the increasingly intense caresses.

The heat spreading as skin met skin. Two bodies intertwined violently as if devouring each other’s flesh. Lee Han spread Park Min-ah’s legs and inserted himself. Park Min-ah let out a groan she had been holding back at the tearing pain. She writhed at the overwhelming pleasure. Park Min-ah, leaning against the wall with her hands, shook at Lee Han’s rough movements. Their groans became more intense each time they approached climax. The sound of water from their sweaty skin clinging together, and the mixture of heavy breathing and groans echoed.

In the darkness, the entangled bodies made sticky and viscous sounds. The two people shook rhythmically as their lower bodies collided. The panting that burst out each time they reached climax was an uncontrollable instinct in itself. At that moment, when they were deeply immersed in the heated exchange of bodies, Park Min-ah detected a small sound in her ear.

The sound of people nearby coming from near the recycling area. In an instant, a fear that made her heart drop seized her. Someone was coming this way.

“Wait… just a moment… I think someone’s coming.”

Park Min-ah whispered, pushing Lee Han’s shoulder, terrified. But Lee Han, as if drunk on the lewd moans hitting his ears, ignored her restraint and moved his hips more violently. Park Min-ah, with one hand on the wall, bit her lip with a desperate expression. She clung to Lee Han’s neck, desperately holding back the moans that were about to burst out.

The approaching footsteps, the rustling of throwing away trash, became clearer and clearer. Park Min-ah’s heart was pounding like crazy. She heard a buzzing in her ears, and cold sweat was dripping from her palms. If the owner of that sound came this way… If they witnessed the shameful scene unfolding at this distance, less than 1 meter away… Park Min-ah couldn’t even breathe at that terrible thought.

Unlike Park Min-ah, who was gritting her teeth and barely swallowing her moans, Lee Han was more calm than ever. Rather, the fact that someone was approaching seemed to stimulate him. With a flushed face from excitement, he wore a bitter smile and thrust Park Min-ah’s body up so violently that the narrow space echoed. The tearing pain and pleasure, and the fear of being caught mixed together and paralyzed Park Min-ah’s reason.

All the nerves in her body were on edge, and she felt like she was sitting on a cushion of needles. While suppressing the screams that were rising to her throat, she buried her face in Lee Han’s arms and prayed desperately. Please just pass by, please pretend not to know this shameful scene…

Lee Han wrapped Park Min-ah’s legs around his waist and thrust deeply. Park Min-ah’s vision turned white at the intense stimulation that penetrated deep inside. Just as she was about to reach her climax, a clear voice pierced Park Min-ah’s ear.

“Is anyone there?”

A woman’s voice coming from the recycling area. It was Han Su-jin. A chilling coldness swept over her as if ice water had been poured over her body. She had been caught. It was a desperate crisis where she felt like she would lose everything. Park Min-ah, terrified, pushed Lee Han away and whispered.

“.. Please stop… We’ll get caught!”

But Lee Han didn’t even listen. Unlike her, who was terrified by death-like fear, he slammed his hips down with crazy eyes. The narrow space echoed with Lee Han’s hip movements. The sound of viscous water bursting out, the sound of flesh hitting flesh mixed with the sound of Han Su-jin’s footsteps. Park Min-ah struggled to push Lee Han away with desperate hands. But Lee Han, who had firmly suppressed her, was senselessly rushing in. The sound of shoes hitting the cold concrete floor. If she took just one more step, she would face this terrible scene. Park Min-ah, who was in a terrible state, gritted her teeth and held back her moans. Despairingly lowering her head, she cried quietly.

“Please… please stop…”

But Lee Han seemed to accept even that desperate appearance as pleasure. So deeply and strongly that her vision became blurred, he pushed even the last remaining reason into her rugged body. Park Min-ah, who was struggling in a whirlpool of pleasure, pain, and humiliation, finally reached her climax.

“Huuu…”

Lee Han pushed even the last remaining reason to the end. As he violently stabbed deep inside Park Min-ah, he felt the urge to ejaculate. As hot semen poured into her body, Park Min-ah was also swept up in an intense climax.

“Uuu… Haa… Ah!”

Biting her tongue tightly as if it would pop out, Park Min-ah shuddered. A burning pleasure from head to toe blazed like a fire. Her vision flickered and she felt dizzy. At the same time, the extreme fear that Han Su-jin might catch her pressed down on her. She felt like she was going to die.

“Huu… Please… don’t do it…”

Park Min-ah muttered, struggling to push Lee Han away. But her hips, still shaking from the afterglow of the climax, were still entangled with Lee Han. Her genitals, congested from the intense sex, shone with a bewitching light and convulsed. The sound of shoes slowly approaching this recycling area. Han Su-jin was getting closer and closer. This shameful scene was about to unfold nakedly with just one curtain between them.

“Is anyone there?”

The voice was heard right in front of her nose. Park Min-ah felt like her heart would stop. Holding her breath and sticking close to the wall, she barely swallowed her moans. In the tension, one beat, two beats of time passed painfully. Fortunately, Han Su-jin didn’t seem to be coming any closer and stopped. The sound of shoes pacing around, then the sound of footsteps moving away… It was a moment when she narrowly avoided being caught and escaped the crisis.

“Haa… Haa…”

Park Min-ah, holding her shaking chest, took a deep breath. Her sweat-soaked hair was tangled on her face. Only then did she shed tears of relief.

“Heuk… Huu…”

She burst into tears and collapsed. She collapsed to the floor and cried out loud. She barely saved her life, but her shattered pride seemed difficult to recover. A sense of self-loathing washed over her like a tsunami. Why couldn’t she get out of this miserable and dirty relationship? She was disgusted with herself for being addicted to sex like an animal. In front of her trampled self-image, Park Min-ah was overwhelmed with deep despair.

“Why… why do I have to be in this state…”

Park Min-ah asked herself, sobbing loudly. Her face was a mess of tears and bodily fluids. She cried even more at her pathetic and miserable appearance. It felt like she was falling into an irreversible abyss. Park Min-ah’s appearance, collapsing on the concrete floor and sobbing, looked so miserable and pathetic. Unbearable pain and shame were swallowing her up.

—

A cold silence filled the management office. The air, still with the remnants of passion, was heavy and awkward. Park Min-ah, who had barely managed to fix her disheveled clothes, carefully opened her mouth towards Lee Han. Her eyes were red and congested, and her voice trembled thinly.

“Manager-nim… I can’t do it anymore… Not like this…”

What was shaking in her eyes was agitation, guilt, and despair. A sneer lingered on Lee Han’s lips as he keenly observed Park Min-ah. He stared at her with cold eyes and answered quietly.

“Okay. Min-ah-ssi… It was fun while it lasted.”

His tone was indifferent and cold. Even a sense of unwavering calmness was felt. Park Min-ah’s pride was miserably trampled by his indifferent tone, as if he was treating the sex they had been running towards together as a trivial prank.

“I… Is this how it ends?…”

Park Min-ah was stammering, but when she met Lee Han’s cold eyes, her throat became blocked. As if she had lost her words to the coldness swirling in his empty pupils. Lee Han, taking away his merciless gaze towards her, spat out. Lee Han came and took off the choker hanging around Park Min-ah’s neck.

“It’s Min-ah-ssi’s choice.”

At that final blow, Park Min-ah’s shoulders slumped. Her body slowly collapsed to the floor in misery and futility. Lee Han looked down at her collapsing as if she was pathetic. That cold farewell ended, leaving cold air in the management office. Park Min-ah groped her empty neck and walked out of the management office with her head down.