#9. Stealthy Intruders

By the end of March, the air outside the window remained cold and cynical, yet the office interior vibrated with a strange heat generated by the busy white-collar workers.

Amidst the rustle of paper stacks and the clatter of keyboards, Hyeon-sin's voice blended naturally into the noise.

"I’ve finished copying the proposal, Assistant Manager Choi!"

"Hey, part-timer! Check for typos over here."

"Yes, coming right now!"

Hyeon-sin moved her feet mechanically.

The baggy shirt she wore and her temporary alias served as a perfect shell to conceal her true identity. Sitting at her desk in the corner, she flipped through the thick bundles of paper produced by the corporate elites. Reviewing dry strings of numbers and text was a skill she had mastered during her grueling training as an agent, so she handled the tasks with ease.

Right then—

"Ugh."

A sharp sting flashed across the tip of her index finger.

The edge of a crisp sheet of paper had sliced deeply into her defenseless flesh. Terrified that a red crimson streak might ruin the blank white page, she quickly pulled her hand back. Hyeon-sin clicked her tongue inwardly. It was a careless mistake, entirely unbefitting an agent with beast-like reflexes.

She instinctively put the injured finger into her mouth, sucking the wound.

The metallic taste of iron flooded her senses, instantly sharpening her focus.

"Hey, why are you sucking your finger like a baby? It looks provocatively sweet."

A low, deeply settled voice scraped against her eardrums.

Hyeon-sin's shoulders stiffened visibly. What on earth was provocative about a paper cut?

"What are you, a ghost?"

As she raised her startled eyes, Kim Gang-mu was looking down at her, his gaze uncomfortably intense. She had not even heard him approach.

He was a doctor and the childhood friend of Han Gyoo-ryeon, the owner of this company. Without making a single sound, he had stepped right into Hyeon-sin's private space.

"A ghost? No. You're just too slow."

"I didn't realize you were standing there."

"Beautiful."

This man. Why was his gaze always so piercingly sharp?

"Pardon?"

"Your hands. They're exceptionally fair and slender, almost like a girl's."

Though delivered with a casual smile, a strange, calculating curiosity lurked behind his words.

Hyeon-sin nonchalantly turned her gaze away. The spine-chilling thrill of almost having her identity exposed the day she ran into Gye-yeong and these men at the burned orphanage still seemed to course down her spine.

Even so, stepping straight into the heart of their territory was an instinctive choice.

The bigger the player, the closer you had to keep them to read their cards.

Offering five days a week, flexible four-hour shifts, with accommodation and snacks provided, plus two million won per month, this extraordinary arrangement provided Hyeon-sin with a perfect temporary sanctuary.

However, there was an uncalculated variable. It was the persistent and blatant attention from these men, who frequented the CEO's office as if it were their own living room.

"Part-timer, I told you your hands are pretty. Let me see."

"I won't die from a scratch like this, Dr. Gang-mu."

Hyeon-sin replied dryly and twisted her body away, but Gang-mu was relentless.

His gaze lingered on her lips before traveling slowly down to her injured finger.

"Playing hard to get only makes me want to touch you more. Come here, let me treat it."

Gang-mu’s large hand suddenly snatched Hyeon-sin's slender wrist.

A faint twitch appeared between her brows as she suppressed her instincts as an agent. Right now, she was merely a penniless part-timer with nowhere else to go. Ultimately letting the tension drain from her body, she allowed herself to be led toward the lobby.

= = =

At the far end of the lobby, on a soft leather sofa where the afternoon afterglow poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows, Gang-mu took a seat first.

He patted the spot beside him, gesturing for Hyeon-sin to sit. Then, he brought her hand over his knee and inspected it carefully.

"What exactly do you two think you're doing here?"

A low voice, laced with enough gravity to make the air grow instantly taut, echoed across the open space.

Hyeon-sin's heart stopped beating for a split second.

The master of the shadow striding toward them was Gye-yeong. Dressed in a flawlessly tailored black suit, he knew exactly how to dominate a room through his sheer presence alone.

Paying no heed, Gang-mu continued to examine Hyeon-sin's finger as he replied.

"Gye-yeong, you're here? Our precious part-timer got hurt, so I'm giving him a special medical consultation."

An injury? Feeling embarrassed, Hyeon-sin glanced at Gang-mu before shifting her gaze, only to lock eyes with Gye-yeong.

His fierce eyes swept down her body.

His gaze was persistent and hot, as if trying to carve out the hidden truth beneath her layers of oversized clothing. Hyeon-sin deliberately stared into the distance to avoid that burning scrutiny.

"What are you doing with the kid?"

Gye-yeong’s gaze soon shifted to Gang-mu’s hand, which was busy touching her finger.

"He cut his finger and was sucking on it. Do you know how stimulating that looked? It made me want to do it for him instead."

"Stop joking around."

The mere sound of Gang-mu’s typical, unsettling humor caused goosebumps to break out across Hyeon-sin's back.

"I believe I told you that constitutes a crime," Gye-yeong growled back, but the sound of Gang-mu’s soft laughter only scattered through the air like light static.

Hyeon-sin felt disgusted by the situation, being treated like a toy between them.

What a mess.

Whenever she was surrounded by these powerful men, her shoulders automatically shrank back. Just then, as Gye-yeong drew closer, the rich, woody scent radiating from him made her mind go slightly hazy. It felt as though an overwhelming masculinity was closing in on her from all sides.

"What are you guys doing out here instead of coming to the office? Are you picking on our part-timer again?"

This time, Han Gyoo-ryeon joined the fray.

Before she knew it, Hyeon-sin found herself completely encircled by the three men. Making a fuss, Gyoo-ryeon casually snatched Hyeon-sin's other wrist.

"Why is a guy's wrist so incredibly slender? It feels like it'll snap. Gang-mu, look at his hands."

Hyeon-sin let out a deep internal sigh.

With Gang-mu on her left and Gyoo-ryeon on her right, both hands were taken captive, leaving her with nowhere to look. These brilliant men were inspecting her as if tending to a fragile pet.

"Don't work too hard. I hate seeing you get hurt."

Stripped of his playful demeanor, Gang-mu’s gentle words tickled her ears.

Hyeon-sin lowered her head instead of answering. Right then, the tips of Gye-yeong’s polished leather shoes appeared right before her nose.

He slowly leaned his upper body down.

His hot breath drew close enough to almost touch the crown of her head. The surrounding office noise faded into the background, leaving only the distinct, heavy sound of Gye-yeong’s breathing.

"Look up."

At his commanding tone, Hyeon-sin slowly raised her eyes to meet his.

Within Gye-yeong’s dark eyes, a strange thirst and an unresolved suspicion swirled violently. He extended his large hand, gently lifting the edge of her chin.

A jolt akin to electric sparks erupted across the touching skin.

"Did you commit a crime? Why can't you look me in the eye?"

Gye-yeong’s thumb slowly traced the outline of her lower lip.

Terrified that he might notice the slight trembling of her throat hidden beneath her disguise, she curled herself in even deeper.

The distance between them had narrowed dangerously close, close enough to share the same breath.