Chapter 28: Feelings 2

Nathan found it refreshing to tease Kim Eunji. Though in their previous encounters, the woman would always had this tough facade, he found it amusing every time Kim Eunji would retort or argue back to him as no one had done that in his new life.

He was already used to women begging for his attention ever since he became the secret Chairman of Net International and now the new Chairman of Bai Corp. He thought that since he now had a higher status in the circle, all women would want him.

Surprisingly this woman was not one of them.

Which made him curious to see more side of her. And he's more than happy to crack open her tough shell and help her reveal her true self to him.

Is he interested in her?

'Am I?' He thought. He might not admit it immediately but deep inside, this woman had already carved her way into his frozen heart little by little.

What made him be interested in her was the fact that Kim Eunji's eyes though they were beautiful, there aren't any sparks in them.

He had seen these similar set of eyes. To be exact, had seen his mother having these similar sad eyes. But Kim Eunji's was more of like being lost and empty. This intrigued him even more.

Just like Kim Eunji, he himself was only wearing his mighty CEO facade. Behind the facade was his own share of old and ugly wounds that made him who he was today.

Contrary to every one's thoughts about him, he was not raised to run a multi-billion dollar company nor be the next head of a family or a clan when he was a child.

He was raised by his beautiful mother together with his grandmother with a simple life full of love in Osaka. A kind of life which was far from these luxuries and privileges that he's experiencing now.

He had interacted with a lot of people in every walks of life and had been mindful with his every actions as his mother, Mei Johnson would always remind him to be gentle, polite and kind and be mindful with his words. Therefore, he's quite sensitive to other people's feelings in the past.

As for his father, he had no respect for the man at all. He will never be his father in his eyes. Not in the past nor in the future.

He ruined his mother to the point that she wanted to end her life but decided not to when she found out she already have him inside her womb.

Of course there's no way her mother had personally told him about it.

He heard it one time when his mother's close friend happened to visit her in their home one time. He happened to eavesdrop in their conversation and he could not believe what he had found out.

He was a product of **** not of love and he hated himself for that.

To make amends, he made sure to never let her down. He wanted her to be proud of him. He wanted her to not regret having him. He wanted to make sure that his existence in this world was not a failure. He wanted to show that he's worthy to be her son.

He had suffered humiliation and bullying by his peers and he knew that his mother had suffered double or triple of that.

Therefore his heart ache when he secretly watched his mom crying herself alone at night 'till she fell asleep.

But now everything had changed. He was no longer the weakling that would let everyone bully him just because he didn't want to cause more trouble.

He was more than capable to protect his mother and himself. He's more than capable to make her happy but still he could not understand why even if his mother was smiling and had been insisting that she's happy but her eyes was not sparkling. This fact disappointed him.

He thought if he could understand Kim Eunji, he could also understood his mother.

***

After Nathan left, Kim Eunji got out of the bed and the first thing she looked for was her suitcase and duffle bag.

She had to leave immediately or else she would go crazy if she would stay in this house.

His shamelessness was beyond her imagination.

Also, she was not someone who would abuse someone's kindness by overstaying.

She heaved a sigh when she found it resting below the bed.

She immediately checked them and she immediately face palmed herself when she saw what was inside her suitcase and duffle bag.

She inwardly blamed Alice for this. She trusted her to pack her usual clothes but Alice packed her summer dresses instead.

Well, it's not Alice's fault though. Kelly told her to do so. There were times when Kelly would pack her luggage and sometimes would ask Alice to do the task for her.

"Otoke?" (What should I do?)

Well, she had no choice but to wear them.

She immediately borrowed the shower and freshen up.

She then changed into this off shoulder chiffon printed floral knee-length dress and made her hair into loose braids.

She looked enchanting like a fairy.

She then carried her luggage out of the room.

As she walked through the hallway, the servants who happened to meet her would bowed down their heads as they greeted her.

Nathan's place was more like that of an Modern Western style manor wiith a touch of Japanese based on the paintings and wall decorations in it. It was full of elegance and somehow had a royalty vibe.

Kim Eunji was almost near the living room when a sound of a man's voice echoed from her back.

"Where do you think you're going?" Nathan asked in a slight angry tone.

"It's good that you're here now Mr. Johnson. Thank you for letting me stay and sleep here last night. Don't worry, I would pay you for my stay here. Just give me your bank card so that I could wire it to you." She calmly said.

However, the man did not say a thing but slowly walked towards her instead. As he did this, Kim Eunji also moved backwards out of instinct.

"Miss Kim, are you really like this? Treating someone's kindness as some sort of payable? Do you really hate owing someone that much?" He asked her as he looked at her feline-shaped eyes trying to read her soul.

Kim Eunji gulped because of what he was doing. Not because she was intimidated but because she could not answer him.

Her reaction was more or like out of habit.

She never expected someone to be this kind to her. Therefore, she would always made the initiative to pay the other party with money.

Besides, she had the feeling to never owe from this man.

"Miss Kim, money? I have plenty of those. I don't need it."

He then inched closer to her and leaned forwards towards her ear as he continued.

"What I needed is a lover. Are you up for it?"

He suddenly asked.

Yes, he might be meeting the woman that would possibly be his wife next month but it was still up to him to marry her or not.

Who knows what will happen within a month.

He was sure that he could do something that would make his standing in the Johnson family be stable.

For now, there's no harm of finding himself a lover for a month.

Note. A lover and not his woman.

"What?! Are you nuts?" Kim Eunji blurted out because of both anger and surprise as she pushed his well-built body away from her. Her action caused the man to made few steps backwards as he tried to stabilized his footing.

Surprisingly, Nathan did not get angry at all. On the contrary, he smiled.

"Think all you want but I'm serious Miss Kim. To prove my sincerity, what should I do to make you my lover?"

Kim Eunji's expression did not change as she heard that.

In a serious tone she answered, "Stop playing around Mr. Johnson, will you? You're not a kid anymore. If you think that I would fall in your charms and would agree to be your woman, then think twice if you still love your life." She warned.

Nathan sighed as he knew his actions made her double her guard towards him. Then, there's one person who could help him about her.

As for Kim Eunji, she felt the need to rebuild his walls when it comes to this man and made sure that he would not be able to penetrate it.

She knew that if she would let her guard down even just a bit, she would surely be in trouble. She could not deny the fact that she had been charmed by him on their previous encounters.

Everytime he did something for her, she would always be moved by it. That's why she always made sure to brought up the topic of monetary compensation with this man.

But she never expected for the man to twist her words and used it against her.

"Then Miss Kim, I no longer love my life therefore you're more than welcome to take it away. It's yours now. And besides, the more you resist me, the more I'll pursue you." Nathan said casually as he straightened his posture and then suddenly placed one of his hands on his side pocket while the other on the wall as he tried to corner Kim Eunji again and looked at her eyes.

And for the first time, he saw ripples on those empty and sad eyes. But it was so quick that made it barely noticeable.

"Is this how you make your previous women agree with you?" She calmly asked.

Nathan chuckled as he heard her.

"Nope. It's them who proposed the idea. Who am I to decline?" He said cockily.

"Besides, I'm not looking for someone to be my woman, I'm looking for a lover." He emphasized his purpose.

"Enlighten me?" Kim Eunji asked back.

"There won't be any contract. Let's say it's close to that of a romantic relationship." He answered.

"Ah... I see. Well, there are millions of fishes in the ocean. You should try and look there." Kim Eunji retorted.

"Indeed, a million fishes but what I want is already standing in front of me. Why should I bother fishing again?" Smooth. "Quantity is useless without quality." He added.

"What if I'm not there in the ocean because I'm already a dead fish?"

"Then, I would place you in a jar to preserve you and would not let you rot in vain." Nathan answered.

Kim Eunji felt like it's useless to argue with this man. But still her stand towards him would remain the same.

"Mr. Johnson, I know you found me entertaining that's why you would do everything to pursue me. But once the heat subsides, you would eventually lose interest and would let go. So please don't. Don't...if you're not ready to take full responsibility of your actions." She explained in a way that she knew Nathan would understand.

Nathan didn't know if he should laugh or cry as he heard what she said. Who would have thought that his reputation would make him fail in his pursuit of romantic relationship?

Or was this really what he wanted from her?

Only him and time could tell.