Prey (Lee Seohan) - Chapter 186

“I’ll head to the villa.”

“No, to the house.”

At Jeonghan’s words, Chief Joo turned around.

“To Hannam-dong, sir?”

“Yes.”

“Understood.”

Chief Joo answered and immediately started driving.

After leaving the police headquarters, Jeonghan looked at Suhyeon and spoke.

“We’re going to my house.”

“……”

Hearing him refer to the house they had once lived in together as ‘our house,’ Suhyeon silently gazed at Jeonghan.

Suhyeon nodded.

Jeonghan gently brushed his hand across her pale face. His deep eyes lingered on the places where scars still remained. His gaze held a worry he couldn’t conceal.

“I’ll announce the press conference tomorrow, and I’ve arranged for extra bodyguards to be stationed outside the house, so there shouldn’t be too many reporters. It’ll calm down after a while.”

“…I’m okay.”

Suhyeon smiled faintly.

Though she had endured significant emotional strain because of Seol Hee-nam, she felt reassured with Jeonghan by her side.

While he was in America, she could stay quietly in the villa, free from disturbances. But without him by her side, her heart was uneasy.

She felt lonely.

The time without Do Jeonghan.

During that time, Suhyeon came to realize once again how precious he was to her.

Suyeon gazed with a sense of wonder at Jeonghan’s delicate, light brown eyes as they softly brushed over her cheek.

When did she start leaning on him like this?

She had never fully relied on anyone in her life. Her mother had always been anxious during her childhood, and all Suhyeon had thought about was growing up quickly and becoming successful to protect her.

That was why she had chosen to study abroad. But by the time she returned, her mother was no longer there.

Afterward, she married in order to care for her comatose mother, divorced, and then ended up being held onto again by Do Jeonghan…

During all that time, she realized how much she had come to depend on him.

It was a feeling she had never experienced before.

Jeonghan quietly met Suhyeon’s gaze as she stared at him.

She slowly opened her mouth to speak.

“When we got divorced.”

At the unexpected words from Suhyeon, Jeonghan’s eyebrows raised slightly.

“That day, the day the verdict came out… you deliberately went towards the reporters, didn’t you?”

“……”

“You did it to divert the reporters’ attention, didn’t you? So they wouldn’t come after me.”

“……”

He didn’t reply, but Suhyeon already knew the answer.

As she had been hidden in Jeonghan’s embrace and escorted to the car earlier, she had been recalling that moment, pushing through all the noise.

It was the same situation.

Back then, Jeonghan had pushed through the reporters to keep her from being caught.

…She hadn’t realized it until now.

Suhyeon let out a small sigh. She gently held the hand that had been brushing her cheek.

“From now on, let’s face everything together, like we did today.”

Holding his hand, she lifted her gaze and met his eyes again.

“No matter what it is.”

At her straightforward words, Jeonghan’s eyes suddenly softened.

“…Alright.”

He tilted his head and lightly brushed his lips against Suhyeon’s.

Suhyeon’s eyes widened in surprise, and she quickly glanced toward Chief Joo in embarrassment.

‘What are you doing?’

With a flushed face and furrowed brows, Suhyeon lightly hit Jeonghan’s chest.

Watching her reaction, Jeonghan gave a faint smile.

He pulled Suhyeon close again and kissed her deeply, sucking on her lips.

“!”

Suhyeon’s eyes widened as he sensually nibbled and sucked her lips before releasing her again.

“…Really.”

Suhyeon, at a loss for what to do, mouthed the words with a flustered expression, her cheeks turning even redder.

Jeonghan gently caressed her rosy cheeks, which had always captivated him since the beginning.

With a soft smile, he gazed at her face, now filled with a rosy hue that had enchanted him from the start.

* * * * *

At that moment, Seol Hana appeared at an upper-class gathering, draped in the latest fashion.

Yoo Ji-eun, Baek So-rim, and Choi Se-jin gave Seol Hana a once-over from head to toe before flashing their artificial smiles.

“Finally went shopping again? Weren’t you saying it was boring?”

“I took a little break for a while.”

Seol Hana crossed her legs as she sat down, placing her newly purchased luxury bag on the table.

“I hear Cheonkyung’s been a complete mess lately. Have you heard anything?”

Choi Se-jin asked as she poured wine.

“Nope. Poor Seol Suhyeon, though. What chaos this time?”

Seol Hana shrugged as she accepted the wine being poured for her.

Choi Se-jin looked at Seol Hana.

“Didn’t you see the article that came out today?”

“Oh, that.”

Seol Hana replied briefly, raising her wine glass.

Yoo Ji-eun and Baek So-rim spoke up.

“They’re saying it was Executive Director Do Cheol-jun’s doing.”

“Right? Turns out, making Do Jeonghan look like trash was all part of his scam to take over the company. Isn’t that hilarious?”

Baek So-rim scoffed, then glanced slyly at Seol Hana.

“Seol Hana, it looks like your dad might be involved too.”

Yoo Ji-eun and Choi Se-jin also shot quick glances at Seol Hana.

Frowning, Seol Hana, still holding her wine glass, retorted.

“Do you really believe that? It’s just Do Jeonghan’s side trying to smear us so he doesn’t get kicked out.”

“…Is that so?”

They exchanged glances among themselves and sipped their wine in silence.

Just then, all their phones simultaneously began to ring.

“Huh?”

“What’s this?”

Bzzz, bzzz. Ring, ring.

Messages and calls suddenly flooded in all at once.

Looking at each other in confusion, they picked up their phones.