Chapter 1 — The Female Employee, Her

Was this my first job after military service? After years as a freelancer, age creeping up and marriage looming, I sought stability and joined a company with which I'd long had close business ties.

Of course, as a parachuted-in executive, I was handed a mid-level managerial position. Out of deference to existing hierarchies, they gave me the title of team leader.

The company was a publishing house—aside from the sales department, everyone else was a woman.

And the department I oversaw handled China trade. At the time, diplomatic relations with China were just being established, so we held a public recruitment for female college graduates majoring in Chinese studies.

Naturally, I was put in charge of the hiring.

I wasn't particularly thrilled, but in urgent need, I selected two female employees.

Their first day would be next week. So I delivered the outcome of the executive meeting directly to the candidates.

It was Friday afternoon. I had just wrapped up the chaotic recruitment process and was about to leave the office when the phone rang.

It could've been an international call, so I rushed over.

“Um… Is the new employee interview over?”

“Ah. Yes. It's finished.”

“Okay. I understand.”

Click.

What an idiot. The document submission deadline was yesterday. I turned to leave again when the phone rang with that same peculiar tone.

“Hello? This is the person who just called.”

“Yes. What is it?”

“I couldn't submit my documents because I was returning from a trip to China. Could you please give me one chance?”

“…………”

“I really, truly want to join your company. That's why I rushed back from my business trip to China. Didn't you say the deadline was this Saturday? So please, just one opportunity. Please? I'll repay your kindness—deeply.”

“well… I don't really have that kind of authority, you know?”

“You're Team Leader David Kim, right? I know. You're the real power here. Just once, please make it happen? Please? I'm begging you.”

“Huh. Well… This is quite a predicament…”

“Even if I end up officially rejected, just let me have the chance. I abandoned my work overseas to come back—this would be such a waste~”

“Alright then, miss. Come to the office early tomorrow. I'll try to put in a word with the president.”

Miss Lee. Her name in Chinese: Ha Ni. Age 25. Graduated from a prestigious university, majoring in Chinese studies. Studied in Beijing. Height 160 cm, weight 49 kg. Long straight hair, an elegant long neck.

(She astonishingly resembled my mother.)

That was how she and I first met. And the president, captivated by her beauty and competence, sighed deeply—already regretting his decision to hire the first two.

But since the announcement had already been made, there was no turning back. The first two hires were assigned as trainees to the editing department, while Ha Ni was placed in the planning department—directly under me.

“Planning department” sounded official, but in a small-to-mid-sized company, it meant handling everything around the president: trade, secretarial work, entertaining guests. So the two of us always faced each other at our desks, busy until the president left the office.

But the moment he stepped out, the space became ours alone—an intimate quiet settled between us.

Naturally, we talked a lot. By the time a book project neared completion, we'd even volunteered to help in the editing room.

Both Ha Ni and I had strong classical Chinese skills, so we often assisted in final proofreading.

Only around two in the morning would we finally finish the day's work—and then came the issue of the female employees going home.

This was the era when human trafficking and kidnappings of women were rampant.

Even sending them home by taxi late at night felt unreliable, so the president gave me a special order:

“I'll leave my car. You, as team leader, personally see the female employees home.”

Sometimes I'd load up all five women from the editing department and drive in a full loop around Seoul.

But Ha Ni was always my final stop—leaving us alone, just the two of us, in the car.

From now on, I'll shorten Ha Ni's name to Hani. I loved the nuance of that name.

When I called, “Hani,” she'd respond, “Yes, Team Leader,” and come trotting over.

Among the coworkers, I could faintly hear the whispers sparked by our small gestures.

“Miss Lee… Do you think she's dating the team leader?”

“Don't be silly~~ He's married, remember? He even brought his kid to the company picnic…”

There was plenty of gossip, but I kept calling her Hani—playfully, insistently.

Since I didn't speak Chinese, I rarely attended meetings or dinner invitations with Chinese clients.

We had an ethnic Korean Chinese woman who served as the official interpreter, so my role was mostly to occasionally educate her on basic Korean common knowledge or current affairs.

Through that, I inevitably picked up a few essential Chinese phrases.

Ni hao ma? — Hello?
Wo shi Jin xian sheng. — I'm Mr. Kim.
Zhe shi wo de ming pian. — Here's my business card.
Xie xie. — Thank you.
Ren shi ni hen gao xing. — Pleased to meet you.
Dui bu qi. — I'm very sorry.
Hai ke yi. — Yes, quite good.
Bu ke neng. — Absolutely not.
Dui dui. — Exactly, exactly.
Zai jian. — Goodbye.

I memorized these ten phrases and whenever a Chinese client came, I'd loudly shout, “Ni hao ma?”
Then hand over my card saying, “Zhe shi wo de ming pian,” stay silent through the meeting, and at the end, wave and say, “Zai jian.”

Later, I heard the Chinese guest thought I was extremely high-ranking because I carried myself so solemnly.

I also learned that China was so vast that dialects varied wildly—go to Beijing claiming you're from Nanjing, or go to Nanjing saying you're from Harbin, and people would still believe you were Chinese.

Anyway, since I often tossed around a few half-understood phrases, no one batted an eye when I called Miss Lee “Hani”—after all, it was just her name pronounced in Chinese.

But secretly, I was thinking of the English word honey—a term of endearment between lovers, like “honey” or “darling” in Korean.

And so, from the moment she joined, Ha Ni already felt indebted to me—and every time I called her “Hani, Hani,” her heart leaned a little more toward me.

There were only two people in the planning department anyway.

Under the guise of “team bonding” or “after-work gatherings,” Ha Ni and I met every evening after work at a nearby coffee shop, chatting away the hours.

We'd share a beer or two, deepening our camaraderie.

Then one day, the female employees threw Ha Ni a birthday party at the office.

I quietly checked Ha Ni's personnel file and, just for fun, ran a compatibility test between us.

The result was astonishing. If I had been single, we would've been a perfect match—ideal in every way.

But I was married.

I printed out the result and handed it to her as a birthday gift.

With a casual remark:
“This was just a work compatibility check, so don't misunderstand. Anyone else want to test their work chemistry with me?”

I printed two more for the other female employees.

That evening, I took Ha Ni to a pub, saying I needed to buy her a birthday drink.

She was in high spirits and drank several glasses.

Time passed eleven. The buses had stopped running. I said I'd walk her to the bus stop, turning into a narrow alley—when suddenly, Ha Ni swayed, unsteady.

I slipped my arm around her, supporting her as we reached the stop.

It was dark now. Under the faint glow of a streetlight, I sat her on the bench at the deserted midnight bus stop.

I sat beside her, gazing at her face—when suddenly, she blurted out:

“I… I like you, Team Leader. But you're married…”

“Hani~ Happy birthday. This is my gift to you. Mwah.”

I gently kissed her pouting lips. I truly wanted to give her a birthday present—one she'd remember for life.

I became the first man to kiss her.

At the moment of the kiss, Ha Ni softly closed her eyes and seemed to savor the taste of my mouth.

For a while, we stayed like that—my chest burning with heat.

Instinctively, I glanced around.

Not far away, a red neon sign swayed in the wind.

[Rose Women's Inn]

I couldn't throw away her purity in some shabby place like that. I pulled her tightly into my arms.

My hand brushed against her back—her bra clasp caught my fingers.

A fierce urge surged to snap it open.

I barely restrained myself, pulling her even closer.

Thump. Her chest pressed against mine—warm, alive. I leaned in, pressing my upper body against her.

Unable to bear my weight, Ha Ni fell back onto the bench.

I lowered myself over her, and this time, I pushed my tongue deep into her mouth—a long, intense, soulful kiss.

Her lower abdomen tensed—she twitched, shuddering.

My own arousal responded, rising hard and firm beneath my pants.

I adjusted myself through the fabric, straightening my cock, still trapped in my underwear, throbbing with need.

I pressed it against the mound of her pussy.

Did she feel it? Her sex quivered, trembling in response.

Lifting my upper body slightly, I cupped both of her breasts in my hands, enclosing them gently.

A sharp cry of pleasure escaped Ha Ni's lips.

“Ah… Team… Leader…”

Her breath grew ragged. Now her arms wrapped around me, clinging tightly, refusing to let go.

Stimulated by her passionate movements, and still half-drunk, my cock could no longer hold back—thick, hot precum oozed out.

A massive release soaked my underwear.

Normally, I'd ejaculate about 3cc—but this time, I'm sure it was closer to 30cc.

The semen soaked through my underwear and seeped into the front of my pants.

It even stained the fabric of Ha Ni's pants where we pressed together.

“Ah~~~”

What an intensely arousing moment.

She had been ready to give herself to me completely tonight.

And I—foolishly unprepared—had firmly promised my wife I'd come home early.

I didn't even have enough cash in my pocket to pay for a motel, let alone a guesthouse.

Credit cards weren't common back then.

I stayed on top of her, clinging to her body, for about fifteen minutes—until the cold night air sobered me.

Maybe it was the cooling sweat from our embrace.

Without a word, Ha Ni fixed her clothes and sat quietly, waiting for the bus.

We had been so lost in each other that several village buses had already passed.

Now, the last one was due.

Her eyes clearly begged me to stop her, to hold her back.

But I was too foolish to see it.

All I could think about was: the last bus home had already left, I had no taxi fare, and walking back would take over an hour.

Ah… A poor married salaryman—unable to do anything, even when a young woman sends him clear signals.

I merely helped her onto the bus. As I turned to leave, I suddenly jumped on too.

I made sure she was seated, worried that if she walked up the steep alley drunk, she might run into thugs.

So I rode with her all the way, dropping her off right in front of her house.

Then I trudged slowly down that hill—the hill that might one day have led to my in-laws' home.

Ha Ni's place was close to the office.

About thirty minutes later, I returned to the office and went to the restroom.

There, I saw it—my semen, spilled in that moment over Ha Ni, now dried and tangled in the hair around my cock.

My underwear had hardened like it was soaked in starch.

Ah… This should've been inside her.

No—better to be grateful. Today, I gave her her first kiss.

The feel of her lips, her tongue—so soft, so sweet.

The most memorable kiss of my life.