A Madman in Love

Her vision blurred.

Before she could react, his lips crashed onto hers. The suddenness of it startled her, but what shocked her even more was the sensation.

Softer than she could have ever imagined.

A softness that sent shivers cascading through her entire body.

Her instincts to resist froze, leaving her entirely at his mercy.

“Mm.”

His hand gripped her slender neck tightly as his lips devoured hers with an unrelenting hunger.

“……!”

Suin belatedly raised her hands.

She tried to shove his forearm away with all her strength, but even that was restrained as he grabbed her wrist. His firm grasp on both her wrist and neck left her completely immobile. He spun her around and pressed her against the desk.

The force of the movement wedged her body between him and the desk, her lips parting involuntarily.

“Ha.”

Seo Jaehee, with impeccable timing, seized the moment. Without hesitation, he deepened the kiss, his tongue diving in as though it were a hook capturing its prey. Instantly, he ensnared her tongue.

What followed was a relentless assault.

His tongue pulled, twisted, and sucked at hers, nibbling and pressing with merciless intensity.

It was not mere passion—it was desperation.

Years of suppressed longing erupted in that moment, spilling forth like an uncontrollable flood. For more than a decade, he had restrained this desire, and now his fervent kiss tore through every corner of her mouth with a hunger so overwhelming it felt almost despairing.

It wasn’t dominance—it was yearning.

It wasn’t control—it was pure, aching need.

At first, Suin resisted.

Her fingers clutched tightly onto her bag, holding it as if it were a lifeline in the raging torrent. She tried to push him away, but…

She crumbled.

Every nerve in her body, every fragment of heat, seemed to converge on her tongue, which his tongue relentlessly pursued.

Like wildfire spreading, her entire body was consumed by waves of searing intensity. The overwhelming sensation fogged her mind, leaving her powerless.

The heat subdued her.

It was a sensation beyond reason, impossible to suppress.

It was maddening.

Before long, her tongue began to follow the movements of his, seemingly of its own accord.

As his saliva filled her mouth, she swallowed it reflexively, responding to his kiss with the same fervor he displayed.

Perhaps she had wanted this all along.

Perhaps she had been holding herself back, too.

“Ha.”

As she responded to his kiss, he pulled her closer.

It was as if he had been tortured by the thought of not holding her. His large hands encircled her waist, pulling her in tightly, almost crushing her against him.

“Ha…”

The more he explored her, the deeper his thirst seemed to grow. No matter how much he kissed her, it was never enough. Seo Jaehee’s lips and tongue lingered on hers, as though trying to absorb every bit of her, his kiss long and unrelenting.

***

“Mm.”

With a sweet, sticky sound, Jaehee’s lips slowly parted from hers.

His hand, which had been tenderly running through her hair, moved to cradle her cheek with delicate care.

“Lee Suin…”

Suin was dizzy.

Her strength had drained away entirely, leaving her slumped and half-conscious.

Her vision blurred, fragments of light scattering across her gaze. Beyond the haze, she saw Seo Jaehee’s figure, blurred but unmistakable.

“Ha.”

He let out a quiet sigh as he gazed at her with a look of intensity that made her breath catch.

Then, as if unable to hold himself back any longer, he wrapped her small body tightly in his arms.

“Suin.”

His voice, rough and hoarse, trembled with emotion.

“You can’t even imagine…”

He pressed his lips to the nape of her neck, inhaling deeply as though he wanted to fully absorb her scent and warmth.

“…how long I’ve been holding back.”

His low, sultry voice mixed with the sound of his heated breath, brushing against her ear. The sensation made her shudder faintly.

Feeling her tremble, a faint, teasing smile crossed his lips as he whispered playfully, almost mockingly.

“It’s been over fifteen years…”

Her dazed mind replayed his words, trying to make sense of them.

Fifteen years…

We’re thirty now…

Fifteen years ago… that would make us fifteen years old—middle school sophomores…

What on earth was he holding back at fifteen?

“Ah.”

The realization struck her suddenly, and she shoved his chest with all her strength.

Jaehee, who had been holding her tenderly, stumbled back in surprise as she swung her bag at him with all her might.

“You perverted bastard!”

Wham!

The bag flew through the air and struck him squarely on the temple.

“Ugh.”

Caught off guard, Jaehee staggered, momentarily defenseless.

“If you follow me, I’ll kill you!”

Suin hurled the threat at him venomously before storming out of the executive office.

Her footsteps echoed loudly as she stormed into the hallway, her irritation palpable. From behind her, Jaehee’s voice called out.

“Lee Suin!”

Whoosh.

Suin turned and silently pointed toward the ceiling.

The hallways of the group’s building were lined with numerous CCTV cameras, and directly above Jaehee, in front of the executive office, one was firmly installed.

Jaehee had no choice but to stop in his tracks.

Suin glanced at him with an icy glare, her eyes filled with warning, before bowing slightly at the waist.

“I’ll be going now, Executive Director.”

“……”

She turned sharply and walked away from him without hesitation.

Ding—

Even as she stepped into the quickly arriving elevator, the residual heat coursing through her body showed no signs of dissipating.

Her heart felt as though it was on the verge of bursting.

Suin placed a trembling hand over her chest.

It might be better if my heart just stopped here and now.

Then it would be over.

“Ah…”

The elevator began its descent.

In a sudden burst of emotion, she pressed her forehead against the cold stainless-steel wall.

Thunk.

“Crazy.”

Thunk.

“Stupid woman.”

Her self-reproach for the contradictory kiss lasted until the elevator finally reached the first floor.

***

Dreams do come true.

Even as a young boy, Jaehee had never been able to watch the games in person, but those words, emblazoned as the slogan of the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup’s Red Devils, remained iconic, symbolizing desperate wishes that come to fruition.

That’s exactly how Jaehee felt now.

Finally, his dream had come true…

The sound of her hurried footsteps grew fainter and fainter until they disappeared entirely.

Ding—

From beyond the corner of the hallway, the faint chime of the elevator reached his ears. Soon, the dimly lit hallway was steeped in silence.

“You’re quick, Lee Suin.”

Even her swiftness was endearing to him.

With a faint smirk, Jaehee turned back into the executive office and switched off the bright lights in the secretary’s room.

Suddenly.

In the darkness, a soft blue glow emanated from one corner.@@novelbin@@

It was the light from Suin’s computer monitor.

Lee Suin, the perfectionist, had fled without even shutting down her computer. She had been too flustered to remember.

“Heh.”

Jaehee walked over to her desk and turned off the computer. As the shutdown chime sounded, a chuckle escaped his lips.

“Ha-ha-ha.”

He laughed aloud.

This was joy.

It felt like the most exhilarating moment of his life.

How could it not be? It was a dream fifteen years in the making.

It had all started when his first underarm hair began to grow, and the day he caught a glimpse of Lee Suin’s bra strap—his first wet dream.

And ever since then, he had dreamed of his first kiss with her.

Even when he went to America, he preserved his lips for that moment.

Despite his looks, which even in America drew attention, and the countless blondes and redheads who threw themselves at him, he had never wavered. Women who weren’t Lee Suin simply didn’t interest him.

So, he had let his guard down.

It was during his university days. One night, he was cramming in the library for the quarter system’s demanding coursework and had dozed off.

“Jay.”

Half-asleep, he heard someone calling his name.

Exhausted, he couldn’t muster a response, but he vaguely sensed a presence near his face.

A hand cupped his jaw, and then soft, moist lips touched his own. A tongue slipped into his mouth.

In his drowsy haze, he thought it was a dream.

A kiss with Lee Suin… the kind he had replayed countless times in his imagination.

Instinctively, he pulled the tongue into his mouth, only to be startled by its dexterity.

“Could Lee Suin really kiss this well?”

He reasoned it must be possible in a dream. Lost in the illusion, he responded to the sultry kiss, even as her small hand began caressing his firm thigh.

“Would Lee Suin really be this forward?”

The hand crept further inward.

Closer and closer…

Even in a dream…

Just as it was about to reach its destination, Jaehee woke with a start.

That’s when he realized—the woman kissing him wasn’t Lee Suin.

“Get out of here, Angela!”

He shoved Angela away with uncharacteristic roughness.

More than anything, the fact that she had stolen the kiss he had saved for Lee Suin ignited a fury in him.

“Don’t ever show your face again!”

If they hadn’t been in the university library, he might have wrung her neck on the spot.

“I’ll rip out that Medusa tongue if I ever see you again!”

Angela fled in terror, Jaehee’s threats and curses following her until she was out of sight.

He never saw her again before graduation.

Rumors began to spread that he was a psychopath, and from that point on, no other women dared approach him.

Thanks to that wretched Angela, it wasn’t technically his first kiss.

But it didn’t matter.

He had kissed Lee Suin.

Even stolen lips could bring the springtime of love.