A Madman in Love-Chapter 48

The phrase stuck in Baek Ihyeon's mind, a vulgar expression Yoo Ahjin had carelessly thrown out. Normally, he would have left the table in disgust, showing clear displeasure. But now...

It felt like he’d been struck on the back of the head.

He couldn’t deny the unsettling thought creeping into his mind.

Yes, when feelings between a man and a woman develop, it’s natural for them to become intimate. Yet, imagining Suin entwined with another man, both bare and vulnerable, made his chest ache.

And if that man was Seo Jaehee...

"Oppa, you’re a grown man, aren’t you?" Ahjin said, her words laced with mockery.

Pathetic.

Even Ihyeon knew he wasn’t yearning for just platonic love.

"Are you going to let her slip away in front of your eyes?"

“...”

"Are you going to congratulate them, then?"

Her words were sharp and taunting, but Ihyeon didn’t argue back.

He tried to wash away the bitterness in his chest with the dark beer, but the alcohol only fanned the flames of frustration. His insides churned, his emotions boiling over.

"Oppa, don’t you think it’s a waste? All that time you’ve spent loving her?"

It was.

More than his long one-sided love being wasted, it was Lee Suin herself that he didn’t want to see wasted.

Even if the two were together now, could they truly have a happy ending?

Seo Jaehee wasn’t an ordinary person.

As someone destined to lead the Hyesung Group, his marriage would be a matter of calculated strategy and careful planning.

Wouldn’t his obsession with Suin simply stem from a thirst for something unattainable? And once that thirst was quenched, wouldn’t he move on, following the flow of convenience?

And if that happened, what would become of Suin?

‘I have to stop this. I can’t let Suin get hurt.’

Thud.

“So, what’s your plan?” Ihyeon finally asked, after taking his time to weigh his options.

Ahjin couldn’t help but feel triumphant, though she hid the grin tugging at her lips. Instead, she leaned in slightly, her tone turning serious.

“Oppa, you need to become Suin’s lover.”

“That’s it?”

“Don’t act ambiguous. You need to openly claim her, make it official. Don’t let it be some groundless rumor—establish a public relationship.”

“And do you think people will believe it if I say it alone? Jaehee certainly won’t.”

“Make them believe it,” Ahjin said firmly.

She leaned forward even more, her elbow resting on the table as she lowered her voice to a conspiratorial tone.

“All you need to do is create the right image. Set the scene.”

“Set the scene? What, are you suggesting we stage some kind of photo manipulation?”

“Something like that.”

“Ahjin, no matter how much, this kind of thing... Suin hasn’t even agreed to it—”

“Oppa!” Her voice grew louder, cutting him off. “The best strategy is to strike while the iron is hot.”

She pressed on, her words fast and deliberate.

“Seo Jaehee is an executive. If a scandal about you and Lee Suin being a couple spreads throughout the Hyesung Group, all the eyes on them will stop Jaehee from approaching her recklessly. Isn’t that right?”

“Well, technically...”

“We just need to drive a wedge between them and claim the space for ourselves,” she said, her voice tinged with excitement.

“You’re devious.”

“But am I wrong?”

Ihyeon let out a short, bitter laugh, raising his beer glass. Ahjin, with a sly smile, clinked her glass against his. The metallic sound of their toast resonated.

***

Regardless of the underhanded schemes Ahjin and Ihyeon were plotting, Seo Jaehee and Lee Suin were worlds away, lost in their own realm of passion.

Suin had been completely knocked out by their second round. Having utterly dominated her, Jaehee held her in his arms as she drifted into an exhausted sleep.

When she finally woke up, it was already midnight.

‘I burned it all to ash...’

Even as her tired eyes blinked open in his warm embrace, the memories of their intense intimacy felt almost dreamlike.

From meeting Seo Jaehee as a mischievous ten-year-old to parting ways with him at eighteen, she had never once dreamed of such a thing.

Who could have imagined?

That she and Seo Jaehee would one day strip bare and merge their bodies together like this.

‘This doesn’t seem like him.’

Her thoughts drifted back to the seventeen-year-old Seo Jaehee, who had once cheekily declared, "I’m hard for you."

Suin’s gaze shifted upward to the now peaceful face of the man who had given her his arm as a pillow.

He looked like a lamb while sleeping.

But earlier, he’d been a beast.

Silently, Suin carefully extricated herself from his arms, making sure not to disturb him.

Even after enduring two rounds of feverish passion, Jaehee remained fast asleep.

‘What a mess.’

She glanced around the room, spotting her discarded underwear and blouse scattered haphazardly. Quietly picking them up, she slipped out of the bedroom.

Closing the door behind her, Suin found her pants in the living room. Her skin felt strangely clean and comfortable, as if someone had wiped her down.

It must’ve been Jaehee while she was asleep.

Still, she opted for a quick shower to freshen up.

‘Where’s my phone...?’

After dressing, she searched for her phone, eventually finding it lying abandoned beneath the dining table.

‘Guess I really lost my mind earlier...’

She noticed two missed calls and a message waiting for her.

Both were from Gam Miju.

--------

Messages from Gam Miju:

― Lee Suin! Why aren’t you picking up your phone?

― I was determined to grab drinks with you today. Are you with Seo Jaehee?

--------

The sweetness of the moment wasn’t just a metaphorical sweetness, it was a tangible sensation, like the feeling of sugar melting on the tongue.

Every single time Seo Jaehee managed to catch her off guard like this...

Suin felt a shiver run down her spine as she brushed the goosebumps rising on her arms.

And then—

Bang.

The bedroom door burst open violently.

“Ah!”

Her heart skipped a beat as she whipped around to look. Seo Jaehee strode in with confident steps, not even bothering with a bathrobe or a scrap of fabric to cover himself. His powerful figure radiated a commanding presence.

“Round two,” he declared with a smirk.

“What the hell are you talking about? I have to go!”

Suin tried to move quickly, but it was already too late.

“Ah!”

In one swift motion, he grabbed her and slung her over his shoulder like a sack of cargo.

“Put me down!”

She kicked her legs in the air and smacked his back, but it was like hitting a brick wall. Ignoring her protests, he carried her straight back to the bed.

“Stop! Let me go!”

Her protests dissolved into an undignified yelp as she realized resistance was futile.

***

Soft kisses trailed down Suin’s back, making her shiver again. Jaehee didn’t seem satisfied, even after the second round, pressing delicate kisses along her spine as if savoring every inch of her skin.

Suin lay there catching her breath. The second round had been intense, leaving her floating in a haze of euphoria. But as her breathing steadied, her curiosity surfaced.

“...Why was it your first time?”

Jaehee’s lips didn’t stop moving, gently tracing the curve of her ear and down her neck. His tongue brushed against the ridge of her cartilage, eliciting a soft gasp from her.

“I already told you. I was saving myself for you,” he murmured, his voice low and full of conviction. “Plenty of women wanted me, but I never gave in.”

“But why?”

Sleep was tugging at her, her exhaustion taking over.

“Because I decided.”

“Decided what?”

“That my first time would only ever be with Lee Suin. And that I’d only ever be with you.”

“When did you decide that?”

“Back in high school, whenever I saw you,” he said, his voice playful yet utterly sincere.

She let out a soft laugh. “What a reckless decision.”

His tone didn’t waver. There was no trace of exaggeration or insincerity in his words.

A faint smile played on her lips as she allowed her heavy eyelids to close. Her body felt too languid to move, too content to care.

She should go home, but... she didn’t want to.

“I’ll ask you, then,” Jaehee’s voice broke through her sleepy haze.

“Hmm?”

“Why was it your first time, too?”

His lips traveled down to her waist, leaving her tingling in their wake. The question caught her off guard, and her lips parted, hesitant.

“I... never thought about it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah...” she mumbled. “I guess I never needed to.”

Her drowsiness made her words more honest, thoughts slipping out before she could stop them.

“What didn’t you need?”

“Men...”

That was the truth. Men had never been a priority in Suin’s life.

She had always been goal-oriented, focused on academics in her school years. During college, her objectives shifted to earning tuition and graduating on her own terms. Even when she started working under Chairwoman Woo Ilhwa, her pride pushed her to pay off her student loans as quickly as possible.

After the loans were gone... what had her next goal been?

Her thoughts became muddled as sleep threatened to claim her.

“Not even one guy?”

“Mm,” she murmured in agreement, her voice barely audible.

“So it’s just Seo Jaehee, huh?”

That was presumptuous.

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

Instead of responding, Suin let out a faint laugh.

Interpreting her silence as confirmation, Jaehee pulled back slightly, his lips finally leaving her skin. She could feel his gaze lingering on her as her mind drifted further into the warm embrace of sleep.

But just as she was about to fall into complete darkness—

A sharp, hot sensation on her side jolted her awake.

“Ah!”

He’d bitten her. Hard.

The sudden, intense tickle made her squirm, like a fish caught on a hook, flailing helplessly.

Before she could recover, Jaehee shifted, parting her legs with an unrelenting grip.

And just like that, he was inside her again.

“Ah! What are you doing!”

“You should’ve answered properly,” he growled, his voice thick with possessiveness.

Seo Jaehee was still burning with heat, his stamina unrelenting as he claimed her over and over again. His hands gripped her slender waist firmly as he moved with reckless abandon.

Suin clung to the sheets, her fingers curling tightly as she gritted her teeth.

“You... lunatic!”

She had made a mistake.

She should’ve never loosened his reins.