IDTE 16

Chapter – 16

The next day, after work, I found an unwrinkled document envelope placed on the living room table.

It contained the various documents necessary for the compulsory execution Do Ihyun had mentioned yesterday.

The crisp, perfectly aligned edges somehow resembled their owner.

To the faint sound of raindrops brushing against the window, I flipped through the papers one by one, an uneasy feeling creeping in. The slight stickiness of the paper against my fingertips felt unpleasant.

Loan agreement.
Mortgage establishment certificate.
Certified copy of the real estate register.

Reviewing a thick stack of documents had always been my job, so the volume itself wasn’t a burden.

And yet, something unpleasant seemed to cling to every corner of the pages. That sensation slowly pushed me into an indescribable mood.

—

Shin Jongseo

The three syllables of the party who had signed the loan agreement with Sungjin Capital.

For some reason, I felt like offering that name a small comfort.

—

Seoul, XX-gu, XX-dong 17-5, 1st floor

The fact that the property was located not far from the law firm where I worked unsettled me even more.

As the rain thickened into something almost like muffled sobbing and my thoughts drifted somewhere I couldn’t quite grasp, my phone’s vibration finally snapped me back.

—Did you receive the documents well?

It was Do Ihyun. The fact that he contacted me first felt suspicious in itself.

—I’ll contact you again after reviewing them.

I let out a small sigh. It couldn’t be helped. Since it had come to this, I might as well examine everything thoroughly.

As the rain outside grew more insistent, my phone vibrated again.

—Good work.

Uneasy. He was absolutely not the type to send a message like that.

When I let my gaze drift toward the far corner of the room, it almost felt as though someone was standing there—someone screaming soundlessly without a mouth.

A strange weight on my shoulder made me open my eyes slightly. A thick coat had been draped over me.

The garment carried the cold air of early winter.

“Is it a habit of yours to sleep out here?”

A dark silhouette sat at the dining table in the distance.

“Do Ihyun?”

I jolted upright.

“What brings you here?”

When I checked the time, it was already past five in the morning.

I must have fallen asleep here while reviewing the documents late into the night.

Neither of us answered the other’s question. Several seconds of silence passed between us.

“Come here.”

His low voice calling me made my heart lurch.

Is this another strange dream?

“Why do you look like that? Have some coffee or something.”

Only then did I notice the cup in his hand.

Suppressing my flustered feelings, I slowly walked over to him.

Do Ihyun handed me the cup with practiced ease.

“…Thank you. I’ll drink it.”

“Your half-asleep face isn’t much to look at.”

I glanced up at him with a flicker of annoyance but quickly gave up responding.

When did this man even sleep? Sitting there at dawn in a perfectly pressed white shirt, not a wrinkle in sight—he was infuriatingly immaculate.

“Do you have something to say?”

“I was just wondering… when do you sleep?”

“That kind of interest is burdensome.”

Right. I didn’t even have the energy to retort, so I simply inhaled the scent of the coffee.

It was heavy and deep—very much like him.

Beyond the window, only the faint sound of rain brushing the ground could be heard.

“Did you finish reviewing them?”

“Yes. I was planning to contact you this morning.”

“So? What’s your opinion?”

“There are… no issues.”

There were none.

Even the fact that the enforceable title was a notarized deed bearing the debtor’s signature rather than a finalized court judgment—it was very much Sungjin Capital’s style.

“It’s strange how flawless the documents are.”

That was the problem—they were perfect.

Like a crime scene wiped clean without a single drop of blood left behind.

“That’s good news.”

As he gave a small whistle, I was reminded of the first day we met—how he had looked at me like an ant struggling on the floor.

“With Attorney Yoo Minha giving the final review, I feel reassured.”

I didn’t like the way he sneered.

“It almost feels like you’re deliberately showing me only the perfect documents. I’m curious why.”

“Weren’t you the one who showed interest in our work first?”

He tilted his head slightly, his eyes gleaming faintly in the dim light.

“I make it a habit to be suspicious.”

“Attorney Yoo Minha, you’re not popular with men, are you?”

His sudden question nearly made me drop the cup.

“I just thought you might want to fix that habit.”

“You’re becoming more and more rude, Mr. Do.”

“This is nothing.”

“I’ll go upstairs. I’ll organize the documents and leave them on the table later.”

As I hurriedly turned away, his low voice wrapped around my ears.

“I’ll be asking for your help often from now on, Attorney Yoo Minha.”

Something about his twisted tone sparked an inexplicable stubbornness in me.

“Anytime. And—”

I turned back to face him. The rising sunlight outside the window illuminated his refined features.

“Thank you for the unnecessary concern, but I’m quite popular with men.”

For the first time, his expression seemed to shift ever so slightly.

“That’s truly unnecessary information.”

“Weren’t you the one who showed interest first, Mr. Do?”

If his expression had wrinkled even a little, that alone was enough to satisfy me.

After that, bundles of documents continued to be delivered under the pretext of requesting a final review before compulsory execution.

There was nothing difficult about it. As expected, the paperwork was legally flawless.

All it cost me was my personal time after work. There was no risk or burden for me.

In fact, it gradually gave me more excuses to contact and talk to Do Ihyun.

That was the problem.

I couldn’t read his intentions.

—

“I’m curious how long your pathetic, fake passion will last.”

—

I often found myself replaying those words he had thrown at me.

Fake passion. He had already seen through my true motive for wanting to work for Sungjin Capital.

If so, why was he deliberately testing that lie?

On nights when I couldn’t reach an easy conclusion and fell asleep exhausted, Do Ihyun inevitably appeared in my dreams.

The beginning was always the same.

In his bedroom, our bodies tangled together, slick and heated.

With each recurring dream, his actions grew bolder.

His hand, once resting on my thigh, now traced deeper along my most sensitive places.

Before I even fully realized it, the thick press of his fingers inside me—though I wasn’t quite ready—had become a familiar sensation.

Heightened beyond reason, I let out a breathy moan mixed with a sigh, even knowing it was only a dream.

Tight with tension and arousal, I felt myself clench around him.

“More… just a little more…”

I needed more. Something bigger. I couldn’t end it here.

Without even registering what I was doing, my hand moved instinctively, gripping him at his center.

The desire to take him fully into my mouth surged uncontrollably.

What would happen if I did? I couldn’t hold back.

At some point, I had pushed him onto the bed and found myself kneeling carefully before him.

Right now, I needed something to fill my mouth completely.

Slowly parting my lips, I looked straight at him—then brought him into my mouth.

“Ah… ha…”

Even in a dream, the fullness of him made my jaw ache.

Still, little by little, I began to take him deeper.

He grew wetter with my saliva.

The quiet room filled with soft, slick sounds and shallow breaths.

“Wait… ah…”

When the ache became too much, I pulled back briefly.

Heat and thick, indescribable desire filled the air.

But before long, his large hand gripped my face again, guiding me back.

I had no time to resist.

His hand wrapped around my head, moving with more deliberate rhythm than before.

“Mmh… nn…”

Matching his pace, my mouth moved faster, coating him more thoroughly.

Come to think of it, had I ever heard him moan in this dream?

It didn’t matter.

This absurdly explicit, sticky, maddening dream wasn’t real anyway.