Prey (Lee Seohan) - Chapter 94
The place Jeonghan brought her to was the French restaurant at Hotel <DERA>, the same place where they had met before. It was the exact same room as that time.
‘Did he purposely bring me here?’
Looking at Jeonghan’s expression, he appeared as indifferent as usual.
Had he ordered the menu in advance? There was a bottle of Chablis wine along with welcome food already prepared on the table.
Suhyeon tried to act like she had been dragged here, but then realized how pointless it was, so she quietly accepted the wine he poured for her.
As she sipped the wine, the courses followed one by one. While cutting into the lamb steak for the main dish, Suhyeon suddenly asked.
“Do you remember this place?”
Jeonghan’s gaze turned toward her.
‘Why…’
Why did she ask that?
The moment she met his gaze, Suhyeon regretted it internally. She hadn’t drunk enough to be tipsy, but the curiosity that had been lingering since earlier slipped out.
“…..”
Jeonghan tilted his head slightly and looked at Suhyeon. After a moment of staring at her, he spoke.
“Did you think I brought you here without knowing?”
Jeonghan smiled with a slightly deeper expression than usual. That smiling face looked unfamiliar to Suhyeon.
Looking back, she had seen that face before. It was the same expression she’d seen when he was with Chairman Do Pil-yong.
He always had a cold expression in front of others, but in front of Chairman Do, there was often a face that looked surprisingly like a grandson.
“…..”
Suhyeon silently took another sip of wine.
It was a thought she shouldn’t have had.
The smile she had just seen, and his face at the funeral, seemed to overlap in her mind.
“That day.”
Amidst the blue light of dawn, Jeonghan’s voice echoed over his image as he smoked a cigarette.
“…Pardon?”
Suhyeon snapped back to reality and looked at him. His dark brown eyes were locked on her black ones.
“When we came here, did you leave right after I did?”
Was he asking about the day they met?
After a moment of rummaging through her memories, Suhyeon answered.
“No. I stayed to have a meal before I left. You told me to eat comfortably and go.”
“…..”
Jeonghan stared at her silently. Trying not to be aware of his gaze, Suhyeon asked.
“Why do you ask?”
Without a word, Jeonghan looked at her, then lowered his gaze and picked up his knife.
Watching him cut the lamb steak without answering, Suhyeon furrowed her brows.
“Are you testing whether I have a big appetite?”
“Do you think that’s what it was?”
Jeonghan responded, moving the knife with clean, precise motions.
“If not, why would you be curious about it?”
Jeonghan’s gaze, which had been on the plate, lifted again. Suhyeon’s suspicious eyes were pointed sharply toward him.
“Anything.”
“…Pardon?”
Suhyeon instinctively swallowed as his gaze bore into her.
Jeonghan’s composed face stared at her without a hint of a smile.
“I just want to know anything. If it’s about Seol Suhyeon.”
“…..”
Trapped by his gaze, Suhyeon lowered her eyes in an attempt to avoid him.
“Don’t say things that don’t suit you. It’s uncomfortable.”
She also spoke coldly while cutting her steak, but she could still feel his gaze, and warmth rose to her cheek beneath her long lashes.
His deep, weighted voice came again.
“Even if it’s uncomfortable, I’ll endure it.”
She froze.
At his low tone, Suhyeon’s hand holding the fork and knife stopped. Her long lashes lifted.
“Whether it suits me or not, that’s who I am.”
The two of them locked eyes, their gazes tangled in the air.
“And I have no intention of hiding it anymore.”
…What?
Jeonghan’s pupils instantly blazed with intensity. The clear desire reflected in his darkened eyes made Suhyeon’s gaze waver.
Today’s Do Jeonghan was different from usual.
Of course, he had been completely different before their marriage and after they met again, but today, he was different even from recent times.
His stare, his tone—everything was different.
There was an unmistakable firmness in Do Jeonghan, without a hint of hesitation. His gaze was filled with a kind of certainty.
The realization of this somehow made her heart beat faster. Was it because of anxiety? Or maybe tension?
Or… could it be… anticipation?
Thud.
“!”
At the sound of Jeonghan placing his knife and fork on the plate, Suhyeon flinched.
Jeonghan picked up a napkin and gently wiped his mouth, never once breaking eye contact with her.
Why is my heart…
Suhyeon’s heart was pounding erratically. Her long lashes trembled lightly.
Jeonghan, rising from his seat, walked around the large table toward Suhyeon.
During this, Suhyeon focused her eyes and watched him.
He lifted her face with one hand, locking eyes with her as he spoke.
“I’ve reserved a room.”
A room?
Suhyeon’s eyes widened as she looked at him.
With a gentle motion, Jeonghan tilted her gaze upward, looking down at her with eyes burning darkly.
“I’ll say this now—it’s not an invitation.”
The intense glare in his eyes and the pressure he exuded made Suhyeon swallow hard.
“Not an invitation… then what is it?”
