episode_0155

“Oh, Seo. Aren’t you supposed to be on air right now? Or is it your break?”

It was nearing ten at night, and Kang Minah was sitting in a secluded corner of a neighborhood cafe instead of being at home.

“Yeah. I’m out with Mom. She’s meeting someone and wants to chat for a bit before heading home. Alright, do your best on your broadcast.”

After ending the call with her daughter, she waited for her appointment to arrive.

The reason she was here at this hour was due to a phone call she’d received yesterday.

On Monday evening, after a blissful weekend with Han Jihoon, she was relaxing at home when she got a call from someone she knew.

They asked if she could meet with a friend of a friend who wanted to get some counseling and just listen to their story.

Kang Minah had agreed, contacted the person seeking counseling directly, and made arrangements to meet at this cafe today.

“Kang Minah? Hello, it’s nice to meet you.”

The person who appeared at the meeting place greeted her.

It was none other than An Chaerin.

Of course, Kang Yiseo wasn’t one to brag about her workplace, so Kang Minah had no idea that the person she was meeting was the CEO of her daughter’s company.

“Yes, hello. Please, have a seat.”

“I’m sorry for asking to meet at this hour. This was the only time I could squeeze in between work.”

If she was working, did that mean she had to go back to work after this?

From Kang Minah’s perspective, An Chaerin seemed busy but didn’t come across as a bad person.

The brief conversation and her demeanor conveyed both a confident personality and a polite attitude.

“It’s alright, I’m just a housewife anyway. Don’t worry about it.”

“Yes…”

An Chaerin, sitting across from Kang Minah, bowed her head once more.

“Thank you so much for coming out today. I know it’s rude to bother someone who’s resting, but I really wanted to seek your advice…”

“I figured you must be desperate to reach out to me. Now that we’re here, let’s talk it out, shall we?”

“Actually… Could I ask why you left the counseling center?”

“Ahaha, well…”

Kang Minah smiled lightly, as if embarrassed, and continued.

“It seems I’ve become quite well-known, so people seeking counseling were only looking for me at the center. The other counselors are excellent, but since the attention was focused solely on me, I felt like I was holding the center back, so I decided to leave.”

“Ah…”

“Well, I’m taking a break now, even if it’s earlier than most, since I’ve been working non-stop.”

Stopping her career for the sake of others was difficult for a workaholic like An Chaerin to understand.

However, knowing that there were all sorts of people in the world, she respected Kang Minah’s decision.

For the record, An Chaerin had previously seen the name Minah in Han Jihoon’s group chat.

But the name Minah was relatively common, and she couldn’t even imagine that a celebrity who appeared on TV would be Han Jihoon’s third lover.

“Shall we order some coffee now that you’re here?”

At Kang Minah’s suggestion, the two headed to the counter together.

A short while later, they returned to the table with coffee in hand.

“So now, let’s hear about your concerns, Chaerin. I want to help you resolve your problem, and anything we discuss today will stay between us, so feel free to speak comfortably.”

“Thank you. Well… um… ha…”

The client seemed too embarrassed to get to the point easily.

However, dragging things out wouldn’t be polite to the person who had taken the time to meet, so she mustered her courage and spoke again.

“I want to… reduce my sexual desires.”

“You’re worried because you have too much desire?”

“Not so much because I have too much… well, I do have a lot these days, but more than that…”

“You don’t have to be embarrassed. Sexual desire is natural for people, and it’s a problem that many people struggle with.”

“Ah… Actually, I’ve been intentionally avoiding men because I’m busy with work. So I didn’t know about racy thoughts or anything like that, but at some point, suddenly…”

An Chaerin’s cautiously revealed problem didn’t feel like someone else’s story to Kang Minah.

She, too, had been busy and unaware of men until Han Jihoon opened her eyes to the joys of sex.

If that was the case, Kang Minah thought, wouldn’t there be some trigger that sparked the other person’s sexual desire?

“Could there be a trigger? Have you been feeling lonely lately, or…”

“I… had a relationship with a man.”

“A man… are you not in a romantic relationship?”

“No. It wasn’t forced, we both agreed to do it a few times, but since then, I can’t stop thinking about it.”

From Kang Minah’s perspective, there were many things about this story that made her curious, but the important thing was that the relationship wasn’t forced.

“So, you didn’t know until you had a few experiences with him, and now you keep thinking about it? Is it affecting your daily life?”

“That’s right. I run a company, so there are times when I have to work without sleep, but I keep thinking about it and my body won’t calm down, it’s really difficult.”

“I see… Does meeting him and relieving your desires not solve the problem in your daily life?”

“I do meet that man occasionally because of my circumstances, but I don’t really want to. I hate that I feel like a pervert, but I can’t help but relieve myself, and then my body gets weird again, it’s driving me crazy.”

Kang Minah, listening intently with a sympathetic expression, asked,

“Emotionally, you don’t want it, but once you have a relationship with him, is your desire fully satisfied?”

“That’s… yes. It is, but I want to minimize the number of times I see that man. No, I just wish I didn’t have any desire at all. I don’t want it to interfere with my work, and I don’t want to hate myself…”

Seeing An Chaerin biting her lip, Kang Minah felt like she was looking at her past self.

The time when she trembled with pleasure from Han Jihoon’s touch, yet couldn’t shake off the guilt and struggled.

Perhaps that’s why An Chaerin felt even more pitiful, so Kang Minah held her hand tightly.

“Chaerin.”

“…Yes?”

“As I said, sexual desire is natural for people. So stop hating yourself and just continue your relationship with him comfortably. If you accept sex positively and relieve your desires, wouldn’t you work better?”

“…”

An Chaerin looked at Kang Minah with an incredulous expression.

She never expected to hear a counselor tell her to just enjoy sex.

But it was only natural.

Right now, Kang Minah wasn’t a counselor, but a woman and comrade who had experienced the same struggles, giving advice.

“Bu-but I can’t continue my relationship with that man…”

An Chaerin trailed off.

She couldn’t bring herself to say that the person was a womanizer with three lovers and a perverted tendency.

However, having a story that was difficult to tell others was another thing the two women had in common.

Kang Minah had also struggled with the illicit relationship of dating her daughter’s lover.

The difference was that Kang Minah had eventually made a choice according to her heart, and now she was living a life filled with happiness and satisfaction.

“I don’t know exactly what kind of relationship you have with him, but I want to tell you this. Even if it’s not a proper relationship, if you both feel the same way, there’s no need to care about what others think. Frankly, I only realized that recently myself.”

“…”

“Of course, it wouldn’t be right if someone was hurt as a result. But somehow, I don’t see you as that kind of person.”

Kang Minah’s warm gaze felt like genuine kindness.

From An Chaerin’s perspective, it was difficult to readily accept the advice because she didn’t know that the other person had gone through a similar experience.

“Chaerin, is there anything else you want to talk about? Since we’ve met like this, let’s talk openly.”

“No, you came out because of me, I can’t take up too much of your time. Your words were really helpful. I’ll go back and think about it carefully.”

“Oh my, are you leaving already? What a shame… Give me a call anytime you want to talk again.”

“Yes, I will. You said you wouldn’t take a consultation fee, so I’ll send a small gift to your home instead.”

“You really don’t have to…”

An Chaerin, still feeling complicated, and Kang Minah, regretting this meeting.

With those words and An Chaerin’s final greeting, their consultation came to an end.

===

“…”

An Chaerin returned to her empty office to take care of the remaining work.

Her brow was furrowed as she replayed the conversation she had with Kang Minah a while ago.

‘How can I continue my relationship with that man comfortably…’

Her relationship with Han Jihoon had to be cut off sooner or later.

If the fact that she had been intimate with him reached Kang Yiseo and Park Yuna, it was clear that they would be saddened, and in the first place, she didn’t want to have a deep relationship with a womanizer and pervert.

‘SNF needs to stabilize quickly…’

Once the clothing business she started along with the MCN business stabilized, the amount of work she had to do would decrease, and then she wouldn’t need Han Jihoon’s massages.

An Chaerin believed that if the time she spent without being intimate with him increased, her sexual desires would naturally decrease as well, even if it was frustrating for a while.

However, it was a misconception, as she didn’t know that her body had already fallen into pleasure, to the extent that it would be recorded in the encyclopedia of sex.

‘But when will that be…’

If only a miracle would happen and her work would decrease immediately.

Perhaps the co-CEO, who was busy with childcare, would be able to help her for some reason.

An Chaerin, who had bragged that she could do it alone when she started the business, was now hoping that such luck would happen.

‘Ha. It’s my fault for starting something I shouldn’t have. I have no choice but to endure until then.’

As soon as she resolved to do so, she felt a slight heat rising in her lower abdomen again.

A tiresome pattern that had been repeating several times since last weekend.

Even so, she had no choice but to comfort herself directly if she wanted to take care of the remaining work.

‘I want to refrain from that human’s help as much as possible…’

Just as she was about to enter the CEO’s office to secretly masturbate,

Her cell phone suddenly rang.

The caller was her close friend and co-CEO of SNF, who had connected her with Kang Minah.

“Yes, Unnie.”

ㅡ Chaerin. Did you meet that person? How was it?

“I met her and just got back to the company. I heard a lot of good things, thanks to you. Thank you.”

ㅡ Really? I’m glad. Actually, I called because I have something to tell you.

“What is it?”

ㅡ You know my daughter wants to be a violinist, right? So I’m sending her to the United States for an early study abroad program.

An Chaerin’s eyes widened.

“A child who hasn’t even entered elementary school yet is going to study abroad?”

ㅡ My parents are in the United States. I think they were lonely because they were living alone. They said they would take care of her if I sent her. The child really wants to go too.

“I see…”

ㅡ I was preparing for it for a while, but I couldn’t tell you until it was certain. Now it’s certain, so I’m telling you. So…

The other person stopped talking and took a breath.

Soon, An Chaerin heard a very unexpected and welcome news.

ㅡ I think I can help Chaerin with her work in about a week.