A Madman in Love-Chapter 82

“Ch-Chairwoman.”

Jin Sukyung’s pupils dilated in shock.

“D-Do you mean… as in in-laws…?”

She could hardly believe what she had just heard.

As if regretting letting such a word slip from her lips, she clamped them shut, pressing her lower lip inward.

“Yes. Let’s have our kids get married.”

Woo Ilhwa spoke as she warmly clasped Jin Sukyung’s stiff hands, a knowing smile playing on her lips.

“At this rate, my grandmother will become a great-grandmother before they make it official.”

“Chairwoman…”

Jin Sukyung couldn’t bring herself to laugh.

Her heart pounded so intensely that her eyes welled up with unshed tears.

“You’re really… accepting my Suin?”

“What’s there for me to accept? Suin needs to accept me.”

As Jin Sukyung’s lips trembled, trying to hold back her emotions, Woo Ilhwa calmly reassured her.

“Madam Jin, I don’t need anything else. Just give Suin to Jaehee.”

“……”

“Let’s not overcomplicate things. We’ll let them do as they wish and just sit in the parents’ seats when the day comes.”

“Chairwoman…”

A choked sob finally escaped from Jin Sukyung’s lips.

The guilt of watching her daughter waste her youth paying off her parents’ debt surged all at once.

She had never been able to properly comfort her daughter when she cried like a rain-drenched rose.

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All she could do was hold her and hope that time would heal her wounds.

“I know I have no right to ask this, but…”

Jin Sukyung didn’t even bother to wipe away the tears dripping onto the table. Her hands trembled like a leaf in the wind as she grasped Woo Ilhwa’s hands and earnestly pleaded,

“Please take good care of my Suin.”

“There’s nothing to ‘take care’ of. She’s always been wonderful, so how could I suddenly dislike her?”

Woo Ilhwa scolded lightly.

“Besides, wasn’t I always fonder of Suin than Jaehee? Not that Jaehee wouldn’t be hurt to hear that.”

With an effortless, lighthearted joke, she openly expressed her fondness for Suin. Then, reaching out, she gently wiped away Jin Sukyung’s tear-stained cheeks.

“So, in return, you have to adore Jaehee on my behalf, alright?”

Jin Sukyung nodded vigorously, unable to speak.

Woo Ilhwa smiled, pleased, before giving a firm pat to the back of her hand.

“Now, stop crying! Enough!”

***

“Whew, finally done.”

After saving her last document, Suin stretched her arms with a satisfied sigh.

She had to be at Incheon Airport in five hours.

But she had spent the late hours meticulously organizing everything to ensure that the Chairwoman’s duties wouldn’t be disrupted during her two-week absence.

She simply couldn’t rest until her work was done perfectly.

It was a good thing she had packed her suitcase in advance, anticipating this.

“I’ll just head out straight from here.”

Leaning back into her chair, she gazed blankly at the clock on the wall.

By now, Seo Jaehee should have arrived home at Hyesung Mansion.

Given his long business trip and the exhausting flight, she decided not to call him.

And it seemed he had the same thought, as there was no call from him either.

Yawn.

“I should sleep for a bit.”

Suin let out a long yawn and shut her eyes.

Just then, her phone buzzed with an incoming message.

It was from Jongin.

—Chief, I assumed you’d be asleep, so I’m leaving you a text.

—Executive Director Seo has returned safely, but he had to stop by the office for an urgent approval matter. Since you have an early flight, he said he’ll contact you afterward.

—Have a safe trip, Chief.

He went to the office?

The moment she processed the words, she called Jongin instead of replying.

[“Yes, Chief. Did I wake you?”]

“No. What’s this urgent approval about?”

[“It’s a proposal from the Regional Development Team that requires his approval. The client moved the meeting up to tomorrow morning.”]

“Ah……”

Her heart was already racing toward the Vice President’s office, but she held herself back.

Jongin was with him.

Swallowing her disappointment, she simply said,

“Make sure he gets home safely.”

[“He went alone. I’m actually on my way home for my mother’s birthday.”]

Really?

Suin’s eyes shot open.

Her body instinctively rose from the chair.

“Good job today, Intern Kwon.”

Whether Jongin noticed or not, she hurriedly ended the call.

Her voice was practically floating with excitement.

***

Thud.

Jaehee closed the binder after signing off on the last document and leaned back into his chair, stretching out his heavy body.

Loosening his tie and unbuttoning the top few buttons of his shirt, he exhaled.

He had worked tirelessly in New York to ensure the project’s success, then boarded the flight back immediately after wrapping things up, leaving him utterly drained.

“Hah.”

His breath was shallow, his eyelids weighed down by exhaustion.

His phone sat on the desk, drawing his attention.

He wanted to call her.

He wanted to go to her right this second.

“…Damn.”

But he forced himself to endure.

“I should’ve never let the Chairwoman take her away…”

His misplaced resentment turned toward his mother, Woo Ilhwa.

If Suin were still his secretary, they would have traveled together for this business trip.

That meant he could have spent every waking and sleeping moment with her for the past two weeks.

And now, they were about to be apart again for another ten days.

A full month of separation.

“I’m going to die at this rate.”

Grumbling to himself, he turned his gaze away from the phone and let his heavy eyelids droop.

Knock knock.

A faint knocking sound disrupted his momentary rest.

Did I imagine that?

Still reclining in his chair, Jaehee only shifted his eyes toward the door.

He stared at it blankly, but then—

A slender silhouette appeared through the slightly open doorway.

“Executive Director.”

It was Suin. The very woman he had been aching to see.

“Tired?”

Leaning seductively against the doorframe, she curved her body into an S-shape, throwing him a teasing, sultry smile.

A grin immediately spread across Jaehee’s lips.

“Exhausted.”

He let his body remain slack, playing along in a helpless tone.

As if she understood, Suin’s lips curled in a playful smile. Then, she lifted a bottle of wine in her hand.

“I was going to have a glass to celebrate the end of the project…”

“Forget the wine.”

Jaehee finally lifted himself from the back of his chair.

His eyes darkened, turning languid and inviting as he beckoned her with a slow, curling gesture.

“You. Come here.”

Suin didn’t hesitate.

She stepped inside, walked straight up to him, and melted into his embrace.

Without a second’s pause, Jaehee wrapped his arms tightly around her.

Neither of them wasted time—lips parted, tongues entwined, breath stolen.

They devoured each other, deep and unrelenting.

Jaehee’s warmth was utterly intoxicating.

Feeling his body heat seep into her, Suin found herself finally at ease.

This man was the one who now filled her time completely.

The one who would be essential to her life from here on out.

Seo Jaehee.

“I missed you.”

No matter how desperately she kissed him, how urgently her hands roamed over his clothes, it wasn’t enough.

Her fingertips traced over his chest, exposed beneath his loosened shirt, and she could still feel the ache of longing.

She wanted to drown in him.

She wanted him to take her fully, completely.

Why the hell are we in the office?

“Hold tight.”

Jaehee wasn’t any different.

His need for her was uncontrollable, uncontainable. He lifted her by the hips, standing from his chair in one smooth motion.

With one hand, he reached out and flipped the office light switch off.

Suin, clinging to his neck, mumbled weakly.

“We can’t.”

The words were a refusal, but her actions said otherwise.

Jaehee didn’t even bother pretending to refuse.

“I can’t either.”

His destination was the dressing room.

With his foot, he kicked the door shut behind them and set Suin onto the storage counter.

Her skirt bunched up high on her thighs as he positioned himself between her legs.

His hands were already at his belt, fumbling to undo it as his hot breath spread across her lips.

“I’m losing my mind.”

He had already been at his limit for hours. The moment he felt her bare skin against his, his arousal surged dangerously high.

“Can I just go in?”

Suin gasped, struggling to breathe as their tongues tangled once more.

His hands were impatient, already sliding beneath her skirt, twisting the thin fabric of her underwear aside as his fingers invaded.

His palm burned against her soft skin, the heat searing through her nerves.

But honestly, there was no need for foreplay.

The moment she laid eyes on him, she had already been wet.

She moaned, her voice coming out as nothing more than a needy whimper.

“Yes… Just come in. Ah—”

The moment she uttered permission, he pushed inside.

There was no delay.

He hadn’t intended to wait for an answer to begin with.

Because he was Seo Jaehee.

“Hngh—”

As he drove in hard, Suin’s back arched, her head tilting back from the sheer intensity.

Their desires intertwined, pressing and merging into each other without restraint.

As if even this wasn’t enough, Jaehee ground his hips deeper, pushing himself in completely, leaving not a single gap between them.

And then—

Step.

From beyond the door, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed softly.

Someone was outside.

“……!”

Both Suin and Jaehee froze.

Neither could risk making a sound.

Suin’s wide eyes locked onto Jaehee’s, frantically urging him to pull out.

‘Get off.’

‘I can’t.’

The sudden tightening around him had him rooted in place, unable to move.

Step, step.

The footsteps grew closer.