After Hours Temptation"
337 Words
Chapter 2: After the Doors Closed
Ha-eun didn’t sleep that night.
Min-jae’s words echoed in her mind again and again.
Tomorrow… stay after hours again.
It shouldn’t have mattered. It was probably nothing more than work. Another late report. Another impossible expectation.
And yet, her chest tightened every time she remembered the way he had said her name.
---
The next evening, the office emptied as usual.
One by one, lights went dark. Chairs slid back. Voices faded into the hallway.
Ha-eun stayed.
She told herself it was habit. Responsibility. Fear of falling behind.
But when the clock struck eight and the elevator dinged again, she knew she was lying.
The doors opened.
Min-jae stepped out.
This time, he didn’t look surprised to see her.
“You stayed,” he said.
“Yes,” she replied quietly.
He nodded once, as if confirming something only he had questioned.
“Come with me.”
Her breath caught. “Sir?”
“My office.”
She hesitated only a second before following.
---
His office was dim, lit only by the city lights beyond the window. The door closed behind them with a soft click that sounded far too loud.
He loosened his cufflinks, setting them on the desk.
“Sit.”
She obeyed.
“You’re tense,” he observed.
“I’m fine.”
A lie.
He stepped closer, stopping just in front of her desk. Close enough that she could smell his cologne. Close enough that looking up felt dangerous.
“You always follow the rules,” he said.
“Do you ever wonder what happens when you don’t?”
Her fingers curled in her lap.
“I don’t think I’m allowed to wonder.”
A slow smile touched his lips—not warm, not kind.
“That,” he said softly, “is exactly why I asked you to stay.”
Silence filled the room, heavy and charged.
Outside, the city pulsed with life.
Inside, something had already crossed a line.
And neither of them stepped back.
- Writer
