Chapter 24: Chapter 24: The Lesson in Relaxation
Madam Seo didn't waste time.
She draped her designer bag over the back of a chair, then slowly unbuttoned her pale blue blouse. One button, two, three—exposing creamy skin and a delicate lace bra. Her skirt followed next, slipping down her thighs in a graceful sweep. She folded her clothes neatly on the side table, her jewelry clinking softly as she removed her earrings, bracelet, watch.
Harin stood off to the side behind the reception desk, hands clasped tight, heart pounding. She hadn't expected to see this. Not so soon. Not… like this.
Madam Seo met her eyes, her lips curling in a small smirk—one that said: Get used to it.
Then she stepped up onto the massage bed, lay face down on the fresh white sheet, and let out a long, measured sigh. The subtle scent of her perfume mixed with the faint floral oils already warmed in the small diffuser by the headrest.
🖤 Tension and Secrets
Joon-ho approached the bed with the same calm confidence Harin had come to find so maddening. He poured a small measure of warm oil into his hands, rubbing it between his palms until it glistened, then rested them on Madam Seo's bare back.
She shivered.
"Still so tense," he murmured. His thumbs pressed gently at the base of her neck, rolling small circles into her traps.
"It's the same spots, isn't it?" she breathed, voice muffled into the face cradle.
"Your shoulders and waist. Even worse than last time."
"Mmm. My husband's been a complete idiot again. Pouring more money into his private investments… and those little secretaries." She let out a tired laugh. "Do you know how pathetic it is to be the wealthy wife who still gets embarrassed by lipstick stains on your husband's collar?"
Joon-ho didn't answer with words.He simply moved lower, hands pressing firmly along her spine, working into the knots at her lower back.Her breathing hitched.
Harin's eyes widened. She couldn't tear herself away. Watching Madam Seo's elegant composure start to crack under Joon-ho's slow, precise kneading—it was like seeing a statue soften into warm flesh.
💧 A Special Request
"Today…" Madam Seo's voice was husky, almost fragile. "I don't want anything complicated."
"Mm?" Joon-ho leaned closer, his thumbs pressing in deep at the sides of her waist. Madam Seo let out a small, helpless moan.
"No discipline. No pushing me until I cry. I just… want to relax. Forget for a little while."
"You trust me with that?"
She smiled, eyes still closed. "Of course I do. That's why I come to you."
Joon-ho's hands slid along her ribs, slow, sure, smoothing out the last stubborn tension in her flanks. Madam Seo's entire body gave a shudder—then finally melted into the table, shoulders dropping, breath slowing.
From across the room, Harin felt her own throat tighten.It was more intimate than any naked embrace.A woman baring her burdens, letting them be worked away by a man who knew exactly how far to go and when to stop.
Harin's thighs pressed together unconsciously.
Joon-ho glanced over, eyes finding Harin.
"You're learning something important today," he murmured, hands still gliding over Madam Seo's waist.
"What's that?" Harin whispered back.
"That even the strongest, most polished people come here for the same reason. To break… just a little. And trust someone else to hold the pieces."
Madam Seo let out a soft sigh, drifting on the edge of sleep, hips shifting almost imperceptibly under his palms.
Harin swallowed hard.
She wasn't sure who she was more jealous of—Madam Seo, for receiving this touch… or Joon-ho, for being the one trusted to give it.