SURRENDERING TO TEMPTATION

CHAPTER NINE: THE END OF AFTER HOUR

I didn’t expect the knock on my office door that late in the day. Most of the staff had already cleared out, the usual hum of conversations and clacking keyboards long gone. I was savoring the rare silence, sinking into it with a cup of lukewarm coffee, until that soft knock tapped against the quiet like a warning.

“Come in,” I said, not looking up.

I heard the door open and close, the soft shuffle of shoes on the floor. When I raised my eyes, it wasn’t Jae-min like I expected—it was a woman.

She was pretty. Slim, delicate features, soft curls that framed her face like a magazine ad. She clutched a little gift bag and wore a smile that was too sincere, too sweet. The kind of smile that made me sit up a little straighter.

“Hi,” she said, bowing slightly. “You must be Ms. Eun-mi. I’m So-ra.”

I nodded slowly. “Yes. And you are?”

She beamed. “Jae-min’s girlfriend. I’ve been meaning to come by and thank you personally. He always talks about how understanding and kind you are. I just wanted to show my appreciation.”

Girlfriend. The word clanged against my ribcage like metal hitting stone.

I smiled. Politely. Too politely. “How sweet of you,” I said, even though my throat burned.

She placed the gift bag on my desk—some kind of fancy tea, I think—and bowed again. “Anyway, I won’t take more of your time. I just really wanted to say thank you.”

She left before I could say anything else.

I stared at the gift bag for a long time. My hands stayed perfectly still on the desk, but inside me, something sharp began to shift. The silence was louder now. It pulsed in my ears.

I didn’t cry. I didn’t even blink hard. I just stood up, walked to the window, and watched the street below until the sky turned a darker shade of blue.

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Jae-min came to my office later that night.

I was already packing up, locking drawers and slipping on my blazer like armor. He stepped in with that crooked grin that used to make my breath catch. Not tonight.

He had no idea.

“Hey,” he said, slipping in like he always did. Like he had the right.

“Close the door.” My voice was flat.

He blinked but obeyed. “Something wrong?”

I turned slowly, deliberately, letting the silence speak for me. His brows furrowed.

“She came by,” I said.

He blinked again. “Who?”

“Your girlfriend.” I watched his face, every twitch of surprise, every flicker of panic.

“Eun-mi, I—”

I held up a hand. “Don’t. Don’t lie to me.”

He looked like he wanted to say something—an apology, an excuse, maybe a plea—but I was already past it.

“I’m done,” I said. “Whatever we had—it ends here. Tonight. No more late nights. No more after-hours meetings. No more anything.”

His jaw clenched. “It didn’t mean anything. She and I… it’s complicated.”

“Don’t insult me.”

I was calm. Too calm. The kind of calm that only comes when your heart has frozen over the hurt.

“I let this go on because I thought I could control it. You gave me moments—heat, closeness, pleasure—but you never gave me anything real. And I pretended that was enough. I won’t pretend anymore.”

He stepped closer. “Eun-mi, please…”

“No,” I said. “This time, I mean it.”

He stared at me, his eyes glassy, lips parted like he wanted to protest. But I didn’t wait. I brushed past him, grabbed my bag, and left him standing there in my office, surrounded by everything he’d just lost.

The elevator ride down felt eternal. My chest was tight, my pulse erratic, but I didn’t cry.

I wouldn’t cry over a man who couldn’t tell the truth.

I stepped out into the cool night and breathed.

For the first time in weeks, the air didn’t feel so heavy.