A Madman in Love

Damn this fragile heart.

Those two short, powerful words from him shook Suin harder than any physical impact ever could.

Her heartbeat sped up uncontrollably.

"What... did you say?"

She couldn’t hide it.

Not the trembling in her voice, not the ripples in her pupils.

"I’m saying, what I want... is you, Lee Suin."

"Why?"

"Why? Isn’t it obvious?"

"Obvious?"

Jaehee chuckled, as if her very question amused him.

Though his laughter was clear and pleasing to the ear, it only made Suin more annoyed.

"What’s so obvious?"

Why was he so resolute, so unwavering, without any sense of context or consequence?

Was it arrogance?

Naivety?

"We’re meeting after eleven years. In all that time, we didn’t exchange even a single message. Not even a period. And now, all of a sudden, you say you want me?"

"Sudden? Nothing’s changed."

Or was he simply a grown man in appearance, still carrying the heart of a reckless teenager?

Maybe reality had left him untouched, allowing him to retain his childish simplicity.

"No one stays the same."

"Then maybe I’m not human. Am I a beast?"

Such pure words could only come from someone like him.

Though, his body—his body certainly was beastly.

"Ha... Seo Jaehee..."

Suin, in contrast, was firmly grounded in reality.

From the moment she encountered "Young Master Seo Jaehee" in the Hyesung household, their relationship had been predetermined. That belief hadn’t changed even now, as she stood at thirty years of age.

Moreover, her life’s motto was to avoid unnecessary conflict and pain. She didn’t want to hurt others, nor be hurt by anyone.

"Let’s stop this."

Suin twisted her body, trying to end the uncomfortable conversation.

More than anything, she wanted to free her vision from the overwhelming presence of his muscular form.

"Stop what? Why do you always reject my confessions?"

He had no intention of letting her go.

"Then, now as before, I’ve always wanted you."

His voice was sharp, almost painfully so.

The intensity of his gaze, deep and dark as crimson, locked onto hers with unrelenting determination.

He was genuinely upset.

"You must’ve felt it too. From the moment we met again."

"..."

"Why are you pretending not to notice, when you’re such a smart person?"

As the realization hit her, an unfamiliar pressure gripped her heart, leaving it trembling in response.

Her vision blurred as if the weight on her chest was pulling her into a fog.

It felt as though she was being drawn into Jaehee’s overwhelming presence.

"What is it you want? For me to disappear from your sight?"

Yes.

That’s what she needed to say.

But...

Why couldn’t the words leave her lips?

The truth was...

She didn’t know.

Did she truly want Seo Jaehee gone?

"Should I go back to America?"

"...Would you, if I told you to?"

She managed to ask with great difficulty.

And without a moment of hesitation, he answered.

"No."

Her glare sharpened, her expression demanding to know why he’d even bothered to ask.

Just then, a high-pitched alert interrupted the tension.

Beep! Beep!

It was the alarm for the upcoming department head meeting.

"...I’ll bring you a shirt," Suin said, seizing the opportunity to escape.@@novelbin@@

She avoided meeting his gaze and quickly left the executive office.

The excuse of fetching a shirt was a welcome lifeline, allowing her to flee his suffocating presence.

"Chief, good morning!"

"Good morning, Assistant Manager. Keep up the good work."

Suin walked straight down the executive-level corridor, her posture as graceful and composed as ever.

The only sign of her internal turmoil was the hand gripping her phone so tightly that the veins on her pale skin bulged.

***

In the end, Seo Jaehee went straight into the department head meeting without eating. With the half-year report and planning sessions scheduled back-to-back, he had no time to spare.

It was a tremendous relief.

[Chief, Executive Director Seo is in a meeting, right? Will it end at 6 p.m.?]

"Yes, Director."

[The Chairwoman is planning to have dinner with Vice Chairman Kim Suncheol and would like the Executive Director to join them.]

"Understood."

[The Chairwoman has instructed you to leave for the day. I will escort the Executive Director after the meeting.]

It felt like a stroke of luck that Woo Ilhwa had released Suin from Jaehee’s grip through Oh Daehwi.

Perhaps it was a gesture of consideration from the Chairwoman—a reward for enduring her first day of torment from Jaehee.

“First she gives me the disease, then the cure,” Suin muttered.

Despite her grumbling, she let out a light laugh, grateful for the reprieve.

Her entire body ached as if she’d spent the whole day locked in a tug-of-war with Jaehee.

Glancing up at the clock on the wall, she noted it was already past 5:43 p.m.

A sudden chill ran down her spine.

"Has it really only been one day?"

Emotionally, it felt like a year had passed.

Worse still...

"I have to share this space with him from now on."

The realization hit her like a freight train, and she jumped to her feet.

The executive office suddenly felt suffocating, and she wanted nothing more than to escape as quickly as possible.

Since joining Hyesung Group as Woo Ilhwa’s secretary, she had never felt like this before.

"Let’s go, let’s go."

Without looking back, Suin fled the office and headed for the subway station.

"Then, now as before, I’ve always wanted you."

His words clung to her the entire way.

They reverberated in her mind, like an enchantment she couldn’t shake.

She knew it was a trick—yet it felt real, like a spell that made her believe the impossible.

"What am I supposed to do with Seo Jaehee? I need to come up with a plan..."

Still racking her brain, Suin boarded the subway and took out her phone.

Hello, this is Lee Suin from Hyesung Group’s secretariat.

After typing a brief, direct message, she sent it and waited for a response. By the time it came, she had already arrived at her station, far from Hyesung Group.

As the physical distance grew, one problem was resolved, and with it, a sense of calm finally returned to her.

"Ugh, I’m starving."

Only then did she realize how hungry she was.

Though she’d lied to Jaehee about eating a triangle kimbap, she hadn’t had a single bite all day. She stepped into a convenience store near the station.

"Should I actually eat a triangle kimbap now?"

Picking her favorite tuna mayo flavor, she paid at the counter and stood by the window, unwrapping the packaging with practiced ease.

As she bit into the neatly wrapped triangle kimbap, she gazed at the people passing through the station.

Naturally, thoughts of Jaehee came to mind.

"Jaehee didn’t eat anything either... He must’ve gone to that dinner meeting."

Contrary to Suin’s assumption, Jaehee’s meeting with the department heads ran long due to inter-departmental disagreements. The dinner with Vice Chairman Kim Suncheol was postponed to the following day.

"Executive Director, great job today."

It wasn’t Suin waiting for him when the meeting ended but Oh Daehwi. By the end of the meeting, Jaehee, who had been looking forward to seeing Suin again, was visibly disappointed.

"The Chairwoman is waiting for you."

"I have prior plans. You can go ahead with her."

"I’ll escort you."

"That won’t be necessary."

Politely refusing Oh Daehwi’s offer, Jaehee exited Hyesung Group on foot.

He didn’t actually have any plans.

He simply didn’t want to share a ride with his mother.

"When did Lee Suin run off...?"

As he strolled leisurely through the city, muttering to himself, his eyes landed on a convenience store.

"What did you eat casually?"

"...Triangle kimbap?"

***

He had only been inside a convenience store a handful of times during his middle and high school years, and even then, he’d only bought drinks. Food items like triangle kimbap had never even crossed his mind.

Ding-dong.

Jaehee entered the store.

Barely glancing at the employee who greeted him while staring at their phone, he asked directly, "Where’s the triangle kimbap?"

"Over there," the employee replied, pointing at a shelf.

He grabbed one at random and returned to the counter, where the employee gestured vaguely.

"Insert it."

"What?"

Confused, Jaehee stared at the employee, who sighed impatiently and took his card, inserting it into the reader for him.

Jaehee silently observed the unfamiliar system before picking up his purchased triangle kimbap and moving to the standing table by the window.

"Hm."

Setting the triangle kimbap on the table, he immediately encountered a problem.

He had no idea how to eat it. Why was the seaweed wrapped so tightly in plastic?

"Oh, I get it."

After a few minutes of study, he figured it out. He unwrapped the outer plastic entirely, spread it flat on the table, and confidently placed the rice on it.

Next, he peeled off the remaining plastic and carefully laid the black sheet of seaweed over the rice.

"There."

Pleased with his success, Jaehee smiled and took a bite.

"What is this?"

His initial excitement evaporated as he almost spat it out.

Scowling, he examined the wrapper, reading the bizarre name printed on it: Sichuan Mala Carbonara.

"Why would Lee Suin like something like this? Her taste is... unique."

He considered tossing it in the trash but ended up stuffing the rest into his mouth.

"It’s disgusting."

Chewing with a grimace, he stared out at the city night.

Still... it’s something Lee Suin likes.

And somehow... that made it taste better.