Chapter 19

After hearing that the transformer repairs were successfully completed, Bo Bae let out a long sigh of relief.

"I thought I was going to die."

Truthfully, a total uproar had broken out in the neighborhood last night. Bo Bae's heart, startled by the sight of Ho Rang’s naked body, hadn't easily settled down. And just like her racing heart, the electricity in the house had repeatedly flickered on and off.

She tried meditation and singing to compose herself, but as the saying goes, 'a heart startled by a turtle gets startled by a pot lid.' Having been shocked by Ho Rang’s nudity, her heart leaped again just by passing a random baseball bat.

Bo Bae’s heart, which she had barely managed to calm, began to thud even louder, and along with that pounding heart, the electricity not only in Ho Rang’s house but in the entire vicinity flickered incessantly.

While it didn't make the news, the incident trended on real-time search rankings because neighbors filmed videos and posted them on social media. Rumors swirled, 'Did aliens appear?' or 'Someone is putting on a light show for their lover', but it was ultimately concluded to be due to electrical work. It was a fact that transformer repairs had been taking place in the area yesterday.

Regardless, the transformer work was further delayed because of Bo Bae’s startled heart, and progress was only made after she finally fell asleep. Of course, no one knew that all of this had happened because of her.

"It should be okay now, right? Heart, please stop acting up."

Bo Bae placed a hand over her heart. Fortunately, it seemed to have calmed down, as it wasn't racing like yesterday. Her mind was clear, and that shocking scene didn't immediately come to mind.

"But, how did I affect the whole neighborhood like that?"

Whenever Bo Bae’s emotions were unstable, the lights in her room or other electronic devices would often flicker. However, this was the first time she had caused a commotion over such a wide area.

Did that mean her powers had improved, or...

"Was the shock just that big?"

In an instant, yesterday's scene flashed through her mind again. Startled, Bo Bae quickly closed her eyes and tried to steady herself.

"I saw a baseball bat yesterday. It was just a baseball bat, a baseball bat..."

Just then, a thunderous growl echoed from Bo Bae’s stomach.

"Ugh, I'm so hungry."

Last night, Bo Bae had gone to Ho Rang’s house to eat because she was starving. But because of that incident, she had only exhausted her body instead of getting a meal. Thanks to that, her face looked quite haggard overnight.

"No need for a diet. Ah, I really need to eat."

Getting dressed to head over to Ho Rang’s, Bo Bae tightly gripped the phone she had left on her desk. If she’d only had this last night, she wouldn't have caused such a mess.

Bo Bae sent a text to Ho Rang.

- I’m coming over.

Seeing his face right away would be embarrassing, but she couldn't avoid him forever. Since they were technically living together, there was nowhere to hide within the house anyway. She sent the text just in case, to prevent any further "surprises."

- Why?

"Geez, how rude. Are your fingers broken? All you can send is 'Why?'"

Bo Bae grumbled to herself as she sent a reply.

- Because I'm hungry!!!

After hitting send, Bo Bae headed to the main house.

The house was so quiet that it was hard to believe there had been such an uproar the night before. She thought she had spilled some ice in the kitchen, but it had been neatly cleaned up, and everything seemed to be back in order.

Bo Bae glanced up towards the second floor before quickly lowering her head. No matter how much she thought about it, the second floor was a danger zone. She vowed never to climb those stairs again!

Heading into the kitchen, Bo Bae opened the refrigerator. To her surprise, the fridge that had been completely empty yesterday was now packed with food, various side dishes, ribs, and even fresh seafood.

"Did a Secret Santa visit overnight?"

The food looked so delicious that it made her mouth water, but she couldn't bring herself to eat it yet. It would be rude to touch the food before the homeowner did. Just as she was muttering about when this 'Ho Rang' would ever come down...

"Are you planning to raid someone else's fridge since morning?"

Ho Rang’s voice rang out.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear, the old saying was never wrong.

Bo Bae quickly closed the fridge door and approached Ho Rang, checking his ankle first.

"How is your foot? Are you okay?"

"No. Not okay at all."

Ho Rang rolled up his trouser leg to show her his ankle. Even to Bo Bae’s eyes, the red, swollen ankle looked painful.

Yesterday, after seeing his body in its full glory, Bo Bae had practically thrown him into the room and fled back to her container. Because of that, she hadn't given his foot a second thought, but she hadn't expected it to swell this much.

"Can you walk?"

"Only a step or two, barely."

"What should we do?"

"What do you mean? You have to take responsibility."

"Me? I don't think I did anything that warrants taking responsibility."

Even as she said that, her eyes were full of pity as she looked at the injury.

"Leaving a person in pain like that..."

"What was I supposed to do? I saw... that side of you, Mr. Baek Ho Rang."

As the memory of yesterday resurfaced, Bo Bae’s voice trailed off, and Ho Rang cleared his throat with a "hem, hem."

To quickly change the subject, Bo Bae stepped up the stairs to grab his arm.

"Lean on me."

"You're short, so leaning on you might be uncomfortable."

"Hey!"

When Bo Bae glared at him, Ho Rang shrugged as if telling her not to get angry.

Bo Bae climbed one, no, two more steps, and draped Ho Rang’s arm over her shoulder.

"Do you only grow tall by eating? Why are you so uncomfortably big?"

"Don't people usually complain behind someone's back?"

"I'm not the type to backstab."

Ho Rang chuckled at Bo Bae’s remark before catching himself and wiping the smile from his face.

He didn't know why he kept laughing lately whenever he saw this woman. He wasn't the type to laugh easily, let alone at such trivial things.

Ho Rang looked down at Bo Bae supporting him. Seeing her small body straining to hold him up was pitiable, yet incredibly cute. Her face, covered in fine peach fuzz, was cute, and the stray hairs tucked behind her ear were cute too.

Watching her quietly, Ho Rang thought to himself.

'Wait, was this woman always this pretty?'

He had thought her smile was pretty before, but he’d never thought her face itself was beautiful. He’d just considered her a 'female person' with eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Perhaps his standards were high because he had only ever seen exceptionally beautiful and successful people.

But today, Bo Bae looked unusually pretty. Her skin, so pale it was almost transparent, was lovely. Her delicate features were charming, and her rounded forehead was beautiful.

Ho Rang shook his head vigorously after staring at her for a long time.

'Have I lost my mind? What's so pretty about this woman...'

But his denial was short-lived as she caught his eyes again.

The fine hairs near her ears looked as soft as a baby’s down, and her white nape looked so sensual that he felt the urge to kiss it right then and there. Moreover, this scent, a fragrance that stimulated him like crazy, was wafting from her. It felt as though his senses from yesterday were reawakening.

"You're going to fall at this rate. Lean on me properly."

Unaware of the dangerous state Ho Rang was in, Bo Bae pulled him closer to her as he leaned away awkwardly.

"This is fine."

When he stubbornly refused to move closer, Bo Bae frowned and looked up at him.

"I know very well that you'd hate leaning on me more than death itself. But, just do it for now if you don't want to fall."

'What do you know? You don't know a thing.'

"Ehey, I told you to lean on me."

"I am leaning enough."

"Come closer, like this. Tight."

As Bo Bae grabbed his waist and pressed him against her body, Ho Rang was forced to lean into her. Only Ho Rang knew that his face and even his neck had turned bright red.

"Here, sit here."

Bo Bae pulled out a chair for Ho Rang, and he sat down cautiously.

"Wait a moment. Let me get some ice for that."

"There should be an ice pack in the first drawer."

"Found it."

Bo Bae filled the pack with ice and returned to Ho Rang’s side. When she propped his injured leg on a chair and applied the ice pack, Ho Rang furrowed his brows slightly.

"Does it hurt? Should we go to the hospital instead of doing this?"

"It's not that bad. It'll get better if I rest."

"What about work?"

"I have to go..."

There was so much work piled up at the office. How could he not go just because of a minor injury like this? Of course he had to go. Even if it hurt, he had to go.

Just as he was about to say that,

"If you don't go to work, call me. Today is my day off, so I can at least help you move around."

At her offer to support him, his words about going to the office vanished instantly.

"But, can you even drive with that foot?"

"No. I don't think I can. It's probably better to rest today."

When he answered in a rapid-fire burst, Bo Bae nodded and said,

"Right. It's better to rest when you're hurt."

'Of course, of course. It’s even better if you nurse me.'

"Should we eat?"

"That sounds good. I'm hungry since I didn't even have dinner."

"Wait here a second."

While Bo Bae went to the kitchen, Ho Rang quickly took out his phone and texted Secretary Yoon.

[Taking a sick leave today. Email only urgent documents.]

"You seemed busy preparing for the shopping center, so I'm glad you can get some rest."

"Yeah. It's a relief."

'That I get to be with you all day today.'

Ho Rang suppressed the corners of his lips that were trying to curl upwards and watched Bo Bae busily moving back and forth.

"By the way, is there a Secret Santa in this house?"

'A Secret Santa? Out of nowhere?'

When Ho Rang stared at her as if he didn't understand, Bo Bae opened the fridge and said.

"There wasn't a single thing in the fridge until yesterday, but now it's full of side dishes. And the house is clean, too."

Only then did Ho Rang nod in realization.

"A housekeeper comes by twice a week."

"Ah. No wonder."

'So that's why the house was always so spotless.'

"Then I can eat this, right?"

When Bo Bae pointed to the food in the fridge, Ho Rang nodded as if she were stating the obvious.

Bo Bae arranged the food from the fridge into bowls and set the table. Three types of seasoned vegetables, jap-chae, ribs, and even beef radish soup. A delicious meal was prepared in no time. Although Bo Bae hadn't cooked the food herself, she felt proud looking at the well-set table.

"Oh? I forgot the silverware. Hold on."

Bo Bae stood up and headed for the kitchen. In the process, her hair brushed against Ho Rang’s arm, and her scent reached the tip of his nose.

Ho Rang was flustered as the sensations from yesterday seemed to revive.

Truthfully, last night, Ho Rang felt like he wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it if he could. How could his body react like that just from this woman briefly brushing against him?

Ho Rang was a man who had never wavered, no matter who tried to seduce him. There were even women who had openly booked hotel rooms and thrown themselves at him. But Ho Rang hadn't so much as blinked, let alone reacted. No woman had been able to excite him.

But this woman, this 'kiss-maniac,' had turned him on. And with just a brief graze.

In the shock of it all, forgetting even the pain in his ankle, Ho Rang had returned to his room to soothe his raging desire, but once aroused, he couldn't easily calm down.

"Damn... I've completely lost it."

Muttering to himself, he had stared blankly at the light that flickered on and off all night. The blinking light should have been annoying, but for some reason, it made Ho Rang feel more at ease.

'I'm not the only one losing my mind. The lights have gone crazy too. It would be great if Na Bo Bae lost her mind as well. If she were losing her grip on reality just like me.'

He thought he had fallen asleep with those thoughts.

And this morning, while he was worrying about how to face her, Bo Bae had contacted him first. As if nothing had happened, just like usual.

So Ho Rang had treated her bluntly, as he always did. He thought that would be more comfortable for both of them.

But it was happening again. Again, something about this woman was stimulating him.