A Madman in Love

"Ugh."

Jaehee let out a pained groan as Suin’s powerful blow sent him staggering.

The chair he was leaning on tipped over, taking him down to the floor with it.

"Serves you right."

Suin stormed out of the hideout, seething with anger. She didn’t even glance back, treating his cries of pain as deserved punishment.

"Haah."

Her frustration refused to subside.

Even after returning to her room, the anger lingered, hovering like a stubborn cloud.

When she tried to focus on her studies, opening her books to distract herself, the words on the page seemed to taunt her.

It stood.

It stood.

Shaking as if struck by a taser, Suin eventually grabbed the dictionary wedged between her textbooks and yanked it out.

Verb: 서다 (Seoda)

1. For a person or animal to place their feet on the ground and straighten their legs, standing upright.
   Example: Stand at attention.

2. For something drooping to become upright and straight.
   Example: A rabbit’s ears stand erect.

Given the context, it was clearly the second definition...

But that standing wasn’t referring to ears.

"Ah, this is infuriating!"

Suin exploded again, throwing herself onto the bed and yanking the blanket over her head. She began angrily kicking the covers, thrashing in frustration.

Even that wasn’t enough to release her pent-up rage. She followed it up by pounding her fists into the blanket.

"Crazy bastard!"

Seo Jaehee was a lunatic.

***

11:00 PM.

Suin stepped out to head home after work.

While she occasionally drove herself, she usually relied on public transportation since she often had to run errands. Today was no exception as she made her way toward the subway station.

She was utterly drained.

Meeting that lunatic had taken a toll on her.

Anonymous chat threads:
Did you see him? Hyesung Group’s Number Two, Director Seo Jaehee.

That man never failed to make his presence known.@@novelbin@@

Despite spending barely an hour at Hyesung Group headquarters, the entire company was buzzing.

Anonymous forums, group chats among female employees—everything was ablaze. Photos of Seo Jaehee, taken without his knowledge, had spread like wildfire, traveling as far as branch offices and partner companies.

Saw him in the lobby myself.
Proper eye candy.
Can anyone share a photo of the Second-In-Command? A kind-hearted soul, perhaps?
Good things are meant to be shared.

"This is Suin Lee."

It wasn’t until Suin boarded the subway that she fully realized the gravity of the situation. She immediately called Mo Sehun, the head of the Owner Risk Team.

"I just finished handing off some work, so I’m only seeing this now. Posts and photos of Director Seo Jaehee are spreading rapidly within the company. Are you already addressing this?"

[Yes, we’re in the process of requesting deletions. It’s taking some time to block further distribution, so we ask for your understanding.]

Mo Sehun’s voice was hurried, a hint of defensiveness betraying the delay in their response.

Suin kept her words brief, knowing he was already swamped.

"Please also issue a stern warning to employees against discussing the Director carelessly."

[Understood. Don’t worry about it.]

"Let me know once it’s resolved."

She was about to end the call but decided to add a touch of authority.

"I won’t report this to the Chairwoman separately."

[Thank you, Chief.]

"Good work."

[Take care.]

There was a slight chuckle of relief in his voice as the call ended.

After efficiently wrapping up the conversation, Suin didn’t put her phone down.

For reasons she couldn’t quite explain, she found herself staring at one of the undeleleted photos of Seo Jaehee.

The first image was of him walking through the lobby—a moment she had secretly observed from the second floor.

One word defined the shot: Dominance.

"No wonder the female employees are losing their minds."

She twisted her lips into a dissatisfied frown, but her eyes stayed glued to the photo.

Even in a frozen image, he appeared flawless, without a single imperfection. It was... impressive.

"What am I doing?"

Realizing she had instinctively zoomed in on his face, Suin snapped out of it and quickly pulled her hands away.

At that exact moment, a pop-up appeared on the screen:

*This post has been deleted.*

"It's six of one, half a dozen of the other."

Suin muttered self-deprecatingly as she closed the anonymous forum, realizing her behavior wasn’t much different from the other employees. At that moment, a message from her friend Gam Miju popped up.

Miju: I heard Seo Jaehee is back in Korea?

"Ridiculous."

She unconsciously spoke aloud, prompting a nearby passenger to glance her way. Embarrassed, Suin shifted to the opposite side of the subway car while typing her reply.

Suin: News travels fast.
Miju: It’s all over our classmates’ SNS. They’re saying Jaehee showed up at Hyesung Group’s HQ.
Suin: Already? How does everyone know? Jaehee doesn’t even use social media.
Miju: Someone recognized him and posted it. The news spread instantly. He’s always been famous, you know.

‘He’s certainly making his presence known,’ Suin thought, clicking her tongue as she stepped off the subway.

While riding the escalator to ground level, another message came through.

Miju: He’s also famous as a “Soo-chin-nom.”

Soo-chin-nom?

Perplexed, Suin stopped in her tracks.

Suin: What’s that supposed to mean?
Miju: You don’t know? That’s what the kids used to call Jaehee.
Suin: Really?
Miju: It’s related to you. Don’t tell me you seriously don’t know?
Suin: Are you teasing me? What does it mean?
Miju: It’s simple. It means he was “crazy about Suin.” The 'Soo' is from your name.

Suin scoffed in disbelief.

‘What an absurd thing to say.’

***

*Seventeen Years Old Seo Jaehee*

If one word could define teenage Seo Jaehee, it would be "Soo-chin-nom"—the guy crazy about Suin.

The nickname had caught on naturally among their peers, because Jaehee was completely obsessed with her.

The reason he had avoided her throughout middle school—more accurately, the reason he had fled from her—was the relentless surge of hormones that came with growing ten centimeters taller every year. He couldn’t forgive himself for having impure thoughts about her.

"Ah, Lee Suin."

The biggest problem was his uncontrollable "reaction" whenever he encountered her, regardless of time or place.

It was so bad that even singing the national anthem didn’t help.

"Until the East Sea’s waters and Mount Baekdu run dry…"

Neither did plunging into cold water to shock his system. Nothing worked, and it was driving him mad.

After enduring two years of this turmoil, Jaehee finally reached a conclusion.

His problem was emotional.

"Jaehee, I like you."
"I’ve had a crush on you for a long time."

Confessions from others? Zero effect. Even the flirtations of sultry girls left him completely indifferent.

But—

"Lee Suin?"

Just hearing her name was enough to set him off.

"Oh? There’s Lee Suin."

Just catching a glimpse of her was enough to make his body react.

Lee Suin.

That damned Lee Suin.

"Lee Suin is so pretty."
"She’s the best at our school. Beautiful and smart."

Because he had kept his distance, he hadn’t realized how popular she was.

Thanks to her elite upbringing in the Hyesung household and her private tutoring sessions, Jaehee was oblivious to the fact that Lee Suin had been the dream girl of countless boys since middle school.

"Lee Suin has this untouchable aura about her. She’s so poised."
"Of course, she does. She’s gorgeous, and she’s always the top student."

With her strikingly beautiful features, flawless curves, and a brain that even teachers admired, it was only natural.

Jaehee hated it.

He hated hearing other boys talk about her.

It was a trigger.

The emotions he had tried to suppress—the boiling tide of possessiveness—bubbled over.

"Don’t look at Lee Suin. Unless you want your eyes gouged out."
"Don’t let her name pass through your filthy mouths."

By the time he entered high school, Jaehee was no longer just wrestling with hormones—he was physically wrestling with anyone who dared approach Suin.

If he caught a boy staring at her, he’d intimidate them. If someone confessed to her, he’d throw punches.

"Why are you bothering my girl? Do you have a death wish?"

Rage.

Possessiveness.

"Are Lee Suin and Baek Ihyun dating? They’re always together."

And jealousy.

"They’re both student council members, that’s all."
"Still, they seem close. Maybe they’re secretly dating."

No matter how hard he tried to hide it or suppress it, his feelings reacted like a chemical explosion.

Like soap bubbles meeting water, they grew uncontrollably.

Whenever he wasn’t looking at her, he wanted to. When he closed his eyes, her face appeared, driving him insane.

Ah.

Lee Suin.

Lee Suin.

Damn it, Lee Suin.