Chapter 5
“Kang Taeoh. Can we talk about the wedding over dinner…?”
“Speak to my secretary.”
From that day on, Kang Taeoh’s demeanor changed completely.
“Kang Taeoh. I think it’s better if we pay for the room. It doesn’t feel right to keep staying here for free.”
“Do whatever you want.”
He was never particularly warm, but now he had become downright cold.
She had always thought of their relationship as purely contractual, but perhaps, without realizing it, she had grown a little close to him.
She felt a sting of hurt when Kang Taeoh wouldn’t even glance her way.
Eventually, Soyu had no choice but to visit his office herself.
With the wedding so close, it was getting harder to communicate through his secretary.
She knew it hadn’t been appropriate to behave the way she had, so she intended to apologize properly.
And if possible, she wanted things to go back to how they were before.
“There’s already someone waiting inside.”
But someone had gotten to Kang Taeoh’s office before her.
Holding the wedding documents close to her chest, Soyu sat on the sofa.
“Your tie’s crooked. Come here.”
A sweet, sultry voice came from inside.
Startled, Soyu stood up.
Through the slightly open door, she met Kang Taeoh’s intense gaze.
He was staring straight at her as he leaned in toward the woman in front of him.
The woman, standing close, lovingly fixed his tie.
Thud.
The documents in Soyu’s hands slipped and fell to the floor.
Kang Taeoh gave a smile that didn’t look amused at all.
A strange feeling washed over her.
Soyu’s face froze.
As Kang Taeoh touched the tie—now adjusted by another woman—he opened the door wide.
“What are you doing here?”
The woman followed him out, her light brown hair flowing behind her.
Peeking out and giving Soyu a once-over, she was striking—gorgeous and flashy.
From head to toe, she was dressed in designer brands.
She was probably just as wealthy as Kang Taeoh.
“Oh, you’re the girl marrying Taeoh?”
Seriously? A girl like you with someone like Kang Taeoh?
Her tone was laced with clear mockery.
Soyu, ignoring the rude woman who casually spoke down to her, picked up the papers from the floor.
She quietly set them on the table.
“Please take a look and let me know what works best for you.”
She wasn’t in the mood for heartfelt apologies or meaningful conversations.
Lowering her head, Soyu walked out slowly and quietly.
As she watched the elevator rise from the first floor, tears began to sting her eyes.
“You could’ve stayed. We still have a lot to go over,” Kang Taeoh said casually, following her out.
Soyu bit her inner cheek and answered:
“You seemed to be enjoying your time with the guest who arrived before me.”
She hadn’t meant to sound so sharp, but the words came out that way anyway.
It felt like her emotions were being taken over by someone else.
“I wouldn’t want to get in the way.”
Leaning against the wall, Kang Taeoh looked at her and echoed back something she had said to him just days ago.
“Then why are you so angry?”
She could now understand how he must have felt hearing those same words—but it still made her furious.
“People might think I actually like you.”
It was strange.
She had never felt this kind of intense anger—not even with Yeonok or Dahae.
It was a new kind of emotion—raw and unfamiliar.
Her stomach churned. Her head felt like it was about to explode.
They were slowly getting pulled into each other’s emotional orbit.
* * *
[Jaehyun says he’s done with me. Please, do something!]
Since Soyu wasn’t answering her calls, Dahae had started sending text after text.
The same Dahae who once told her not to get the wrong idea was now begging for help to fix things.
Soyu let out a deep sigh at her friend’s inconsistency.
She was already upset over her falling out with Kang Taeoh.
So, she decided to do something she wasn’t used to.
“Just enough to get a little tipsy.”
Knowing she couldn’t hold her liquor well, Soyu stepped into a bar—something she’d never done before.
It was located in the basement of the Kanghwa Hotel. Somehow, that gave her the reckless confidence that she could still make it back to her room.
There was no way she’d be able to sleep sober on a night like this anyway.
Soft jazz music played in the background.
In the dim, stylish space, people sat in groups, laughing and drinking—except for Soyu, who was alone.
Naturally, her drink disappeared far more slowly than anyone else’s.
While others ordered rounds of new cocktails, Soyu’s glass had barely gone down.
“Why is it always me?”
Still, it seemed like just the right amount for her to start getting tipsy.
Her face turned red, and she pouted without realizing it as she rested her chin in her hand.
Kang Taeoh, who had tried to find her room and failed, got a call from his secretary and was heading down to the basement.
“Dahae, Jaehyun… they all blame me for everything.”
She was clearly drunk.
Her body swayed gently, her voice low and emotional.
“And Kang Taeoh, too.”
“……”
Hearing his name come out of her mouth like that, Kang Taeoh froze for a moment.
“Funny how you only need me when it’s convenient.”
Kang Taeoh, who had been watching silently, casually dropped the wedding preparation documents Soyu had left earlier onto the table.
Only then did Soyu’s half-closed eyes clear as she looked up at him.
“Someone who can’t even handle alcohol—what are you doing here?”
“So now I need permission to drink too?”
She pouted as she muttered the words under her breath, perhaps not bold enough to say them outright—but loud enough for Kang Taeoh to hear clearly.
As he sat down, the bartender smoothly placed a glass of whiskey in front of him and walked away.
Taeoh took the glass and drank more than half of the strong liquor in one go. Tonight was one of those nights when he, too, needed a drink.
“How long has it been?”
After a long silence, he spoke to Soyu, who had her back turned to him.
“What has?”
Since the last time, Taeoh had noticed that Soyu, when drunk, became overly honest—and perhaps overly cute.
“With that guy.”
“That guy? Oh… that guy.”
Realizing he meant Jaehyun, Soyu straightened up.
“You’re seriously misunderstanding everything.”
Kang Taeoh swirled the whiskey in his glass.
“Did you like him that much? Or did you love him?”
“We weren’t… like that.”
“Should I back out now, then?”
“Why do you even ask questions if you don’t wait for the answers?”
“……”
No one had ever called him out so directly before. A brief silence followed.
“Did I do that?”
“Yes. You totally did.”
Soyu nodded dramatically.
She would probably regret this whole conversation once she sobered up tomorrow.
That thought, for some reason, amused Taeoh.
“I don’t know what kind of person you think I am, but I’m not someone who just uses people and tosses them aside. I’m not that heartless.”
As she spoke, Taeoh took another sip of his whiskey.
The ice had melted a little, so the drink wasn’t as harsh now.
“And you’re not stupid enough to fall for something that obvious, either.”
It might have been the most Soyu had ever spoken to him in one sitting.
She poured her words out like she was rapping.
“And I love my dad a lot. I want to protect him. Someone like me—how could I ever even think about betraying you?”
It was clear now: she hadn’t just said she’d do anything for her father—she meant it.
Taeoh looked at her quietly and said in a low voice:
“Then why did that bastard—sorry, that guy—why was he so sure your feelings would change?”
“I don’t know. I don’t care, either.”
Hearing her say she didn’t care made Taeoh glance at her again.
His lips curved ever so slightly upward—so subtle that no one would’ve noticed.
“He’s my sister’s boyfriend. I don’t know why he said what he said, but what I do know is that my feelings won’t change. I’m going to marry you, Kang Taeoh.”
Taeoh reached for Soyu’s drink and took a sip.
It was lukewarm and watered down—but not terrible, in its own way.
“What do I have to do to make you believe me?”
Just as she said that, Soyu swayed. She had finally hit her limit.
Taeoh was about to suggest taking her back to her room—when it happened.
She collapsed toward the floor.
Without thinking, Taeoh threw himself forward and caught her.
He hit the hard floor himself, but Soyu was unhurt.
“Uh…”
But something even more awkward happened.
Soyu, unable to support herself, collapsed fully into his arms—right on top of him.
Their lips brushed—just for a moment.
Soft and fragrant, her lips touched his like fruit, then parted.
Kang Taeoh’s hands, still holding Soyu’s shoulders, grew warm—and Soyu instantly sobered up.
A heat, whose source neither of them could quite place, seemed to fill the space between them.
“Ha… seriously.”
He muttered in a low voice.
In that moment, it felt like they were the only two people left in the world, their eyes fixed on no one but each other.
Soyu could feel her breath growing faster, shallower.
“I-I’m sorry…”
“Are you testing my patience right now?”
“N-No! I mean… I think I made a mistake. I’m kind of really drunk right now…”
Soyu’s face turned bright red, like someone who’d forgotten how to breathe.
Taeoh’s instincts were flaring—he wanted her badly.
She hadn’t made a single seductive move, yet somehow everything about her felt like temptation.
He tilted his head forward, closing the distance between them.
Their lips were once again just a breath apart.
What drove him crazy was that Soyu, wide-eyed and frozen, didn’t pull away.
“Vice President, are you alright?”
If it weren’t for the concerned voice and the murmuring people nearby, he would’ve kissed her—without hesitation.
He’d always prided himself on being a rational man.
But maybe, just maybe, her drunkenness had rubbed off on him.
“I’m fine,”
he finally said, forcing his desire back down.
Then he stood and gently picked up the limp Soyu in his arms.
As if afraid of slipping out of his hold, she clung tightly to his neck.
Maybe she sensed the shift between them, because she didn’t resist—she simply let herself be carried.
When they reached her room, he carefully laid her down on the bed.
Soyu wriggled under the covers, burrowing in.
Taeoh gave a short, incredulous laugh.
“Don’t drink when I’m not around.”
“Okaaay…”
came a tiny voice from under the blanket, as if she were peeking out from a mouse hole.
Taeoh glanced briefly at the round shape under the comforter, then turned and walked out of the room without looking back.
Only after the door shut behind him did Soyu slowly poke her head out of the blanket.
She took in a deep breath—trying to fill her lungs again—and thought:
What was that just now?
Sure, they were lips… human lips, obviously…
“They were… really soft.”
Mortified by her own words, she pulled the blanket over her face again.
Tonight was just strange.
Him. Her. Everything.
“Wait… was he really about to kiss me back there?”
It had been that kind of night.
A night where both of them were intoxicated—by something.
A night that made the heart race and then suddenly fall quiet again.
“This is bad. How am I supposed to face him tomorrow…”
* * *
“Idiot.”
Kang Taeoh, riding down in the elevator, was hardly in a better state than Soyu.
