Chapter 35: Overwhelmed by You
The drive back to the penthouse felt longer than usual. Min-ho stared out at the city traffic, the words of Secretary Kim echoing endlessly in his mind: "If you truly feel this strongly for Ji-soo... you should simply tell her."
But how? How was a man like him supposed to just confess his deepest vulnerabilities? He could buy her a massive bouquet of red roses and slowly explain how his heart raced whenever she was near. Or he could take her out to the most expensive, romantic dinner in Seoul. Or... a sudden, ridiculously macho thought crossed his mind: 'Ji-soo, we need to talk. Lie down.'
Min-ho groaned inwardly, gripping the steering wheel tighter. None of it felt right. He was completely out of his depth.
When he finally pulled into the underground garage, a strange uneasiness settled in his chest. The parking structure was eerily empty, save for a single commercial cleaning van. A cold shiver ran down his spine.
He took the private elevator up and stepped into the apartment, fully expecting to see her. "Ji-soo?" he called out.
Silence.
Only a dim ambient light was turned on in the living room, but there was no sign of her. He marched toward her bedroom and pushed the door open. Empty. Panic, sharp and paralyzing, instantly gripped his throat. His heart began to hammer frantically against his ribs. The stalker. What if the breach at the set was bigger than they thought? What if someone had bypassed his biometric security and taken her?
With trembling hands, he pulled out his phone and dialed her number. The subscriber you are trying to reach is currently unavailable... Her phone was turned off.
"Ji-soo! Clara!" Min-ho shouted, his voice cracking with pure terror as he ran through the massive penthouse. He was just about to dial his head of security when a faint, muffled sound caught his attention. It was coming from the master bathroom.
With rushed, heavy strides, he closed the distance. His hand shook visibly as he pressed down on the handle and burst through the door.
The sight before him made his knees go completely weak with pure, unadulterated relief.
Ji-soo was in the glass shower. The space was thick with warm steam, and she was covered in rich, white soap lather. She turned around, startled by the sudden intrusion, but Min-ho couldn't move. He just watched, mesmerized, as she began to rinse herself. His eyes traced the thick, white foam as it slowly glided down between her breasts, washing over her flawless skin.
In that split second, every ounce of his remaining self-control snapped.
Without taking off a single piece of his clothing, Min-ho stepped straight into the pouring water.
Ji-soo stared at him, her eyes wide with utter shock. "Min-ho? What's wrong? What are you doing—"
Before she could finish, he moved with fierce, desperate hunger. One of his large hands wrapped firmly around the back of her wet neck, while his other hand pressed her flat against the tiled wall.
"Ji-soo," he growled, his voice thick with a dangerous cocktail of leftover panic and overwhelming desire. "My feelings for you are completely real. Stop resisting me... because I want to love you."
Clara stared into his burning, dark eyes. The raw intensity radiating from him stole the breath right out of her lungs. She couldn't form a sentence, couldn't voice the hundreds of secrets hidden in her mind. Instead, a soft, breathless gasp escaped her lips:
"Okay."
That single word was the catalyst. Min-ho slammed his lips against hers in a hard, demanding kiss, marking her as his. It wasn't a gentle request; it was an undeniable claim.
He moved his mouth down her throat, his kisses trailing a path of fire down her body under the rushing water. He positioned himself at her center, his lips and tongue teasing, tasting, and worshiping her until Clara was completely out of her mind with agonizing pleasure. She threw her head back against the tiles, letting out a loud, uninhibited moan that drove him even wilder.
Min-ho slid back up her body to press his lips against hers again, but he didn't stop. He slipped his hand down, his fingers guiding her deeper into the sensory overload. Clara found it impossible to return his kisses now; her entire body was trembling, standing right on the precipice of a shattering release. She sobbed his name, a beautiful, breathless melody of surrender that was exactly what Min-ho needed to hear.
When she finally crashed over the edge, crying out as the climax took over, she fell weakly into his arms. Min-ho held her close, a dark, intensely proud smile touching his lips.
Only then did he quickly undo his trousers. He lifted her up, her legs wrapping instinctively around his waist, and in one smooth, powerful motion, he filled her completely. Clara's nails dug deep into the fabric of his wet shirt, anchoring herself as a whole new wave of electricity surged through her. Min-ho left absolutely no room for doubt about how much he craved her, how deeply he loved her, as he moved against her with fierce, unyielding passion.
Eventually, he carried her drenched, shivering body out of the bathroom and onto his massive bed. Tearing the wet clothes from his torso, he pulled her into his heat, joining her on the mattress where they finally found their mutual, breathless release.
Hours later, the storm had passed. Both of them lay tangled in the sheets, exhausted but profoundly happy, holding each other tightly as they finally drifted off to sleep.