Chapter 118: A Strange Man [R-18]

Leaning over his desk, Rio pulled the tissue box Seojin was so desperately looking for toward her.

“You’re just getting more and more spoiled.”

When she looked up, startled, Rio met her gaze and smiled, ever so slowly.

An embarrassed face, anxious eyes. And yet, within them was a trace of relief, a desire to lean on him for comfort.

He whispered playfully, and then… snap.

His hand, the same one that had tugged at her underwear, fumbled along her inner thigh. Then he ripped out the device that had just undone her—the rotor clipped to her panties.

“…Hngh!”

Seojin clamped a hand over her mouth at the fleeting tremor. He glanced at the rotor nonchalantly before casually dropping it into the pocket that held the remote.

“So,” he said, his tone quiet, but it carried a heavy, slow-burning tension.

“What team did you say it was again?”

About to wipe herself clean, Seojin froze, unable to answer. As he went about his business, covering for her mistake, he seemed almost unnervingly normal.

Rio took a step closer. The tips of his dress shoes came to a halt right next to her knees, where she was still crouched on the floor.

“I’m talking about the schedule.”

His tone, like he was just catching up on overdue work, held not a direct reprimand but a soft, somber playfulness.

“…The Audit Team. I told them to wait in the lounge…”

Seojin finally managed to speak, her voice barely a whisper, her hand still clutching the tissue.

Rio raised an eyebrow. Then, as if her mistake had just occurred to him, he put on an innocent face and playfully stretched her deflated cheeks.

“I guess I’d better go be on my best behavior, then.”

“I’m sowwy…”

Her gaze darted around, unable to meet his, and with the corners of her mouth pulled wide, she couldn’t even get the words out clearly.

Watching her ridiculous display, Rio grinned.

“Want to come with?”

Seojin’s eyes widened. “Huh…?” Even though she knew he was only teasing, she flinched.

“Kidding.”

He started to straighten up, then bent back down to meet her gaze. Tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, he spoke softly.

“Don’t forget next time.”

Seojin nodded again and again. The thought of her mistake made her body flush with heat all over again.

With that, he gave her a casual wave and headed for the lounge where the Audit Team was waiting.

“Hi.”

His stride was unhurried. One hand in his pocket, Rio sauntered toward the lounge sofas. His voice held no hint of apology for his tardiness, none of the awkwardness of someone who had kept another waiting. Just a light, casual tone, as if nothing were amiss.

Lee Woo-chan, who had been waiting in a corner of the lounge, looked up from his book and slowly rose to his feet. A few other employees were relaxing nearby, so, mindful of the setting, he offered a formal nod of his head.

“A little late, aren’t I?”

“Not at all. When have I ever known our Junior Director to be on time for anything?”

It was a simple greeting, but a subtle tension rippled between them.

Recruited for the regular audit, he was a new hire who’d been with the company for barely a week, yet Woo-chan’s polite words were already laced with a subtle disapproval. And it wasn’t just because he was on the Audit Team, a department that answered to no one.

“I’m a busy man.”

Rio’s expression remained leisurely, while Woo-chan’s eyes showed no immediate reaction to the jest.

“I heard you were in a meeting until just now.”

Woo-chan trailed off, glancing around the lounge. Even for an unscheduled meeting, surely a conference room could have been arranged.

“Well, let’s not waste any more time. Where to, Junior Director?”

Rio gave a light laugh, shrugging with his hand still in his pocket.

“Ah, a meeting room? I wish I had one of those.”

“…”

“It’s a new affiliate. So new you could probably get through the ledgers in a day, right? And as you know, they haven’t even given me my own office here.”

He approached Woo-chan, still smiling serenely. He was the one who had insisted on an open-plan office, claiming he didn’t need a private space, but now he feigned helplessness. The truth was, Seojin had forgotten to book a room. Rio was simply using his reputation to cover for his cute pet’s blunder.

Woo-chan was smiling too, but his eyes narrowed as he watched Rio.

“They’re treating you pretty poorly.”

“What? Should I have booked a hotel room for a couple of guys to sit down in?”

He said it loud enough for a few employees in the corner to turn their heads.

“…Haha.” Woo-chan let out a disbelieving laugh. Then, more quietly, “The Junior Director title hasn’t changed you one bit. You still poison the air the moment you open your mouth.”

“It’s my specialty.”

Rio chuckled heartily and clapped Woo-chan on the shoulder.

“Still—one must always show the proper respect for the Audit Team, right? I’ll take us somewhere nice, don’t you worry.”

“I certainly hope your definition of ‘a nice place’ aligns with mine, Junior Director Ryu.”

His words were polite, but the implication was clear.

Dim lighting, heavy curtains, a room with an atmosphere completely unrelated to business—he wanted no part of a place like that.

He’d grown distant from that side of him lately, but Rio was still Rio. Sex, vulgarity, perfume, freedom, desire. He would gravitate toward a space filled with those things.

Rio’s lips curved into a slight smile at that.

“Oh, of course. Bright, smoke-free… We can even have brunch.”

He then raised a hand, wiggling his fingers playfully as he spoke.

“Let’s meet at Jonnyhill.”

Woo-chan drew a short breath, his eyes narrowing. His gaze wasn’t just on Rio’s hand, but on the sheer frivolity of the gesture itself.

“…Understood.”

Rio went straight back to the office. It was an open-plan space. On her desk, his schedule was displayed on the monitor as if she were trying to memorize it. She was typing away, staring at the screen with a sullen expression.

“We’re going out.”

The short notice.

“…What?” Seojin turned her head in surprise. “You’re going out now?”

“Yep. With the Audit Team. We’ll have lunch, too.”

Rio said, without so much as a glance at the schedule on her desk.

“We’ll eat while we’re out. Should take an hour or two.”

Seojin’s eyes darted to the schedule on her screen. A meeting with the Audit Team… He was sure to be unprepared, with insufficient materials for the accounting review.

A wave of guilt washed over her.

“Then… I’ll organize the rest of the schedule while you’re gone.”

“—You’re coming too.”

Smiling, Rio pressed down on the mouse she was holding. Her schedule window clicked to the next page.

The brush of his fingers felt cool against her skin.

“I’ll buy you something tasty. Get up.”

Jonnyhill Hotel.

At the valet stand, Seojin unbuckled her seatbelt to get out, but flinched when his hand moved toward her.

“Baby.”

Rio gently caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. His eyes were dark and heavy-lidded, his lips whispering.

“The thing is, the guy upstairs is a real pain in the ass. You can help me with that, can’t you?”

Then, he tugged open a button on her suit jacket. Pop. The silk blouse underneath was subtly revealed.

“Mmm…”

“You’ll need to be a little more… exposed upstairs.”

Seojin blushed, staring at him for a moment before closing her parted lips.

Rio’s words always sounded more like suggestions than commands, but out of a habit she couldn’t break, she pressed her lips together firmly and nodded.

He pressed a brief kiss to her hair.

“Good girl. So pretty.”

The sound of footsteps approached the private dining room, located past the main hall. Lee Woo-chan, who had arrived first, looked up.

He paid little mind to Rio, who strolled in leisurely. It was the young woman beside him who caught his attention. She seemed far too young, exuding a personal air that suggested she was deeply uncomfortable in such a setting.

The same personal property from before. Woo-chan’s eyes narrowed fractionally. Still, he said nothing and simply offered a greeting.

“You’re here sooner than I thought.”

“My secretary is a master at hurrying me along.”

Rio laughed, then placed a hand on Seojin’s slender waist for all to see.

“You might have seen her already. Her name is Kang Seojin. Isn’t she cute?”

Woo-chan watched the display, holding his breath at Rio’s audacity—dragging someone so personal into a business meeting. Then, as if he were simply being introduced to an acquaintance’s girlfriend, he gave a clean nod.

“We met briefly at the company.”

He rose from his seat and extended a hand, his smile polite but not overly familiar.

“Lee Woo-chan.”

The moment she saw the outstretched hand, Seojin glanced at Rio.

The tension coiling around her didn’t ease. But when Rio showed no reaction, Seojin cautiously took the offered hand.

“I’m Kang Seojin…”

She wasn’t sure if she should use both hands, and her free hand hovered awkwardly near his larger one.

Woo-chan gave her hand a firm, proper shake before releasing it cleanly—not too long, not too forceful.

“You must have your hands full.”

His words were proper, but the implication was clear.

Rio, who had already taken a seat, let his smile deepen.

“As you can see, she’s very generous.”

Seojin hesitated, standing between the seated Rio and the still-standing Woo-chan. The expressions of the one who understood the hidden meaning and the one who didn’t were worlds apart.

At Rio’s vulgar joke, Woo-chan offered a faint smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“—Please, have a seat.”

Translated By: Meher (RaidenTL)

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