Chapter 1.1

Smash! Smash!

As the racket swung harder, the ball rebounded off the wall even faster. The man caught the ball in his hand as it bounced off the corner. His forehead was dripping with sweat.

His tennis shoes squeaked against the wooden floor. His panting breaths were heated, almost as if he was forcing his body beyond its limits. The man hadn’t let go of his racket for 45 minutes. Only when his timer alarm went off did he stride out of the high-ceilinged room.

“Wow. You must have a lot of stress.”

The man had been wiping his sweat with a towel. he turned his head towards the person speaking to him. A woman with her hair slicked back into a long ponytail clapped her hands as she spoke. She seemed quite excited.

“I’m sorry if I’m being rude. It’s just that your play was so amazing. I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”

The man didn’t reply and merely drank his water as he stared at her. He had long eyes. His dark eyebrows were slightly furrowed. The faint wrinkles between his brows suggested that he often frowned like this. All this seemed to be proof of his prickly personality.

“There are only two reasons why I’d be working out at the crack of dawn.”

When EunHa had first seen him in a photograph, the first thought she had was that he had an incredible figure. However, after seeing him in person, the man’s features were even more amazing. It was as if he had been cut from stone. His facial features seemed to enhance this impression. However, that wasn’t what she noticed first. His incredibly fit physique gave off an intimidating aura that drew the eyes of every person there. He was definitely going to be a difficult target.

“……”

The man continued to stare at EunHa as he drank the rest of the water in his water bottle. He didn’t even seem to blink.

He looked unusually calm for someone who had just finished an intense workout, and his face wasn’t flushed. It actually looked rather pale. EunHa flashed her white teeth and gave him a pretty smile.

“Either I feel frustrated because a lot of stress has piled up, or I’m really nervous about something. I feel so tense that I want to let out some sweat.”

As she chatted with a stranger, she didn’t give off a dangerous vibe. Wearing a short, white athletic outfit, she looked like a young, bubbly college student. Seeing that the man in front of her wasn’t responding, she gave a small shrug.

“I only asked because I was a bit curious. You were hitting that ball so violently.”

“There’s a lot piled up.”

After finishing his water, KyungHyun spoke for the first time. His baritone voice wasn’t loud, but it dominated the entire room. His calm way of speaking also seemed to suit him. SungHo had a thin voice that didn’t seem to suit someone like him. He managed to cover it up and make it huskier by smoking cigarettes, but it still sounded funny whenever he spoke. She didn’t have to worry about that with this man, though. At this thought, EunHa nodded.

“Aah, like I thought. It was stress after all.”

“…I guess you can call it that.”

He was still staring at her. His gaze made EunHa feel awkward. Since she’d only seen him in secretly-taken photographs, meeting him in person was a lot more intense than she expected. She thought that she had gotten used to the gazes of men, but her palms were currently damp with sweat.

“You must have a stressful job.”

“Is that the case for you?”

He slightly tilted his head as his long eyes looked at her. She felt as if he was looking at her like a predator would look at its prey.

“I believe I’m the one who asked you first.”

She hid her confusion and grinned at him. He watched her for a little while longer before slowly opening his mouth.

“…It’s not just because of work.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s been a while since I’d last had sex.”

As his rich voice said those words, EunHa’s well-groomed eyebrows slightly lifted. Would you look at that? At KyungHyun’s bold words, EunHa couldn’t hide the interest in her eyes.

“I thought that it would feel better if I just sweat it out, but thanks to somebody’s piercing gaze, I think it had the opposite effect instead.”

Underneath his sharp nose, his perfectly symmetrical lips twisted into a sexy smile. His languid voice flowed out of his lips. EunHa thought she saw his eyes get darker.

“Is this a good enough answer for the very curious lady?”

“……”

EunHa’s natural, pale face flushed. KyungHyun laughed.

“It seems that it is.”

KyungHyun finally took his eyes off her and began to prepare to leave. He picked up his gym bag and was just about to pass her when EunHa’s clear voice asked him a question.

“Then do you want to do it with me?”

KyungHyun’s intense gaze returned to her face. Just a glance from those eyes were enough to intimidate anyone. With a body built like an athlete, she couldn’t deny that he exuded sex appeal.

“I don’t do that with young kids.”

“Is age really that important? Just because you’re older doesn’t mean you’re better at it. At least, not in my experience.”

KyungHyun tilted his head as he looked at her with interest. His relaxed gaze was watching her as if she were a kitten having a bit of fun.

“You’re not my type. I like glamorous women. Not a fluffy little rookie.”

His slightly hoarse voice tickled EunHa’s ears. Her plump lips pouted.

“You’re quite picky, aren’t you?”

“And it looks like you’re not.”

“Of course. If you’re willing to do it with me, it would be my honor, wouldn’t it?”

The man let out a laugh and licked his dry lips. Even though his expression seemed to say that this situation was laughable and ridiculous, he couldn’t hide the excitement rising up his body. He took one step toward her. His voice sounded dangerous as he spoke.

“Are you serious?”

He’d called her bluff. EunHa shrugged her shoulders playfully and laughed.

“I was only asking if you were up for a game of squash. Do you really need to ask me whether I’m serious or not?”

At EunHa’s daring reply, KyungHyun frowned as he stared at her.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d have thought you were talking about sex. Ah, that is to say, I’m sure you’re quite amazing in that aspect as well.”

After gazing at her for a while, he suddenly burst out laughing. As he continued to laugh, revealing his white teeth, EunHa thought that his laughter sounded a lot better than she expected. But seeing his furrowed brow, she could tell that he was still worked up.

KyungHyun took one step closer to her. They were now only about 30 centimeters apart. EunHa looked up at him, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

“What’s your name?”

The man brushed his finger across her chin as he asked softly. His adam’s apple jutted out as he spoke.

“It’s Lee HaEun.”

With this, she had succeeded in catching his interest. Because SungHo had kept her overseas all this time, her position in Serim was kept in the dark. Her true identity as Lee EunHa had vanished and, thanks to SungHo’s identity laundering, she had lived as Lee HaEun instead. In order to keep her records clean, she had only been been allowed back in Korea a handful of times.

“Shouldn’t you tell me your name now?”

“Do you really want to know?”

KyungHyun gazed at her as he spoke softly. They were the only two people in the squash courts this early in the morning. No one would notice if they did something. EunHa gave him a meaningful smile.

“Well, you can just tell me once we’re on friendlier terms.”

She confidently offered him her hand for a handshake. Sometimes a physical touch was more effective than ten words. He glanced at her thin, outstretched fingers before making eye contact with her.

“I’m not the type that becomes friendly with women.”

“Why not?”

“I can’t really get to know them very well until we’ve sweat it out at least ten times.”

EunHa silently smiled as thoughts filled her mind. As if he could read her mind, he spoke up once more.

“In case you might misunderstand, I’ll be more clear. I’m talking about sex. When I make the effort to get to know a woman, I do it in bed.”

“…You strike me as a man who is talented in all things, so I’m looking forward to it.”

“Are you usually this brazen?”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

At her unfazed reply, KyungHyun chuckled.

“Are you really not interested in playing a match with me?”

He frowned and gave her a strange smile as he stared at her. Then he turned his head away from her.

“Why don’t we do that next time we meet. I’m a bit too busy at the moment to be entertaining a child.”

EunHa’s heart was still racing inside her chest. He was definitely attracted to her, but he continued to treat her like a child. She didn’t want to lose to this man.

“I can’t really trust someone who lies, but since you’re busy, I’ll stop bothering you.”

“…Lies?”

He stopped in his tracks.

“Yes.”

“What did I lie about?”

KyungHyun furrowed his brow. EunHa threw her racket bag over her shoulder and whispered as she passed by him.

“For someone who isn’t attracted to a rookie like me, isn’t your body’s reaction a bit excessive?”

Her cat-like eyes traveled down KyungHyun’s body. They lingered on the obvious bulge pushing up against his dark gray sweatpants before gliding back up to his eyes. She raised an eyebrow. She didn’t even give him a chance to respond and brushed past him as she walked away.

“Haa…”

KyungHyun let out a breath as he laughed.

She walked over to a squash court. Then she took out her racket and held it with both hands before bending down to stretch.

KyungHyun was unable to take his eyes off her and continued to look into the room. When their eyes met, EunHa lips stretched into an innocent smile.

Smash!

She swung the racket with ease. Her play was good, almost as if to prove to him that she had the skills to play a match with him. She quickly ran as the ball recoiled off the wall and hit it harder.

As her shirt rode up with her movements, her slender waist peeked through. KyungHyun’s mouth went dry. He began to rummage through his bag as he searched for some water when he remembered that he’d drunk it all a moment ago. He chuckled.

While he had been playing his game, he knew that somebody was watching him. But he didn’t pay it any mind. However, when he left the court and opened the door, he was faced with an eye-catching beauty. And like any man, all the blood in his body rushed to his cock. The woman joked around like a chirping baby chick, but if she was only a bit older, he would have wanted to take her right then and there.

He tried to dampen her spirits, but what he got instead was her glistening, bold eyes. Just thinking about her reaction made his erection stiffen even more. Even though she was young, she was quite persistent. The woman continued to chase after the ball. However, her racket missed the ball by a hair’s breadth. She looked at the ball on the ground as she panted.

Her flushed face turned around and she met his eyes. She frowned as if she was having some difficulty. As he gazed at her natural face, he felt a sense of déjà vu. But that was ridiculous. He would have remembered seeing a beauty like her before. How strange.

It must really have been a while since he’d last had a woman.

KyungHyun smiled bitterly and turned his head. He was going to have to extend his workout time.

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