**Prologue**

“Do you really like that guy so much?”

There was a faint trace of laughter in Ha Si-hyun’s question, as if he didn’t care in the slightest about her feelings for someone else.

“Yes, I do.”

Gyul responded as if she were stubbornly defending her feelings. Her long-standing unrequited love for her childhood friend Joo Min-jae had become a habit over time. Even if he didn’t notice her feelings or dated other women, her affection remained a constant part of her everyday life.

Si-hyun’s soft smile gradually faded as he listened to her resolute answer.

“Why?”

“Huh?”

“Why do you like him?”

“He’s kind, gentle… he’s been cool ever since we were kids… and…”

Gyul awkwardly trailed off, avoiding Si-hyun’s gaze. Her foolish, unreciprocated feelings had persisted for 17 years like inertia, until the man before her, Ha Si-hyun, had suddenly reappeared in her life.

Mustering courage, she met Si-hyun’s gaze again.

“Sometimes you just like someone for no particular reason.”

She felt a surge of frustration. She wasn’t committing a crime, so why was she being made to feel this way? Why should her one-sided love be a source of shame?

“My dear Gyul… you have terrible taste in men.”

Si-hyun murmured to himself with a slight, mischievous tilt to his pretty eyes. At the same time, his hand, which had simply rested on her waist, slipped underneath the fabric. His large, warm palm brushed her waist, making her shoulders tense with surprise.

“You think Joo Min-jae is kind? Gentle?”

His hand moved up her back, rubbing her bare skin, and Gyul answered breathlessly in shock.

“Yes… he’s nicer than you. He speaks more kindly than you….”

Si-hyun’s fingers moved slowly and delicately toward the strap of her bra, adding an unmistakable intimacy.

“And is that really something you should be saying when you’re sitting on my lap?”

Gyul’s body weakened under his touch, and with his other hand, he pulled her closer, her body pressed tightly against his.

“So heartless, Dan Gyul.”

He chuckled softly, leaving a quick, warm kiss by her ear. As a shiver ran down her spine, she tensed her shoulders. Si-hyun chuckled and pressed more teasing kisses to her ear.

“Wait… hold on….”

Gyul pushed against Si-hyun’s shoulder, his hot breath tickling her skin, making it hard to keep her composure.

“What do you mean, hold on? You’re the one who climbed on top of me because you wanted to.”

Just as he said, Gyul was seated on Si-hyun’s thigh. She wanted to move away, but his firm hand on her back kept her from escaping.

Si-hyun lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck as he pulled her hips closer, bringing their lower bodies together. A jolt of shock shot through her as she clung to his neck, feeling warmth pulse through her.

The heat between their bodies, with only fabric separating them, made her acutely aware of his arousal pressing into her.

“But, Gyul…”

Si-hyun slowly rocked her hips against his, whispering lazily into her ear.

“I’m the one making you wet right now. Not him.”