The Irresistible Pull of Cheap Motels
The vast underground parking lot was packed with hundreds of luxury cars.
Unluckily, my car wasn’t among them.
‘Damn… this is a total mess.’
I sighed deeply, and Lee Ji-yeon, watching my face, suddenly burst into laughter.
“Hihihi~ You’re getting cuter by the second, baby manager. Get in my car.”
“Y-yes, of course.”
Damn it… I needed to maintain control for the deal, but this rookie looked exactly like a wide-eyed social debutant.
Still, I had no choice. At twenty-six I was an old man in body and soul, yet my social status was still that of a fresh-from-the-military newbie with zero cash. Driving a fancy sports car or sleek sedan would have looked stranger coming from me.
So I sulked and followed her toward a premium black sedan.
“You drive. I’m just a manager—can’t possibly know how.”
—Whish!
She tossed me the keys and slid straight into the passenger seat.
‘Haha… thanks to this damn regression, I’m basically her personal driver now.’
Actually, it didn’t feel bad at all.
After all, I was twenty-six and she was twenty-nine, a rich older sister with an incredibly sexy figure.
‘I heard her family is pretty well-off…’
That explained why she cruised around in such a high-end vehicle. Past fame aside, the car itself was already luxurious.
‘Was this woman always this sensual type?’
Back in the old days she’d been hot-tempered and arrogant. Now her personality felt strangely sticky and clingy.
‘What the hell is going on here?’
Was this some regression side effect?
Unlike Si-a noona, who I wanted to protect and shield, Ji-yeon reporter made my body react the same way hers did to me.
Her tight white shirt clung to a body ready to burst, paired with a short red skirt that looked like it would snap any second. Her shiny black stockings hugged long legs that made my neck tingle with desire.
“Drive carefully! You’re going to cause an accident, right?”
She playfully crossed and uncrossed her legs, clearly enjoying my reaction.
Embarrassing. In both my past and present lives, this was the first time a woman had teased me like this.
Si-a noona sometimes cuddled me playfully, but this felt different—someone was openly flirting.
I fussed with my tie, trying to focus on the wheel, but her eyes staring at me cutely sent cold sweat trickling down my back.
“Hey… you’re really cute. Got a girlfriend?”
“Y-yes?”
“A girlfriend?”
“N-no… I’ve never even dated anyone.”
“Really~?”
Damn… the fact that I’d never dated a woman sounded hilarious to her.
Her satisfied smile made my pride sting.
In the past, my overweight body had kept every woman away.
In this life, hospital bills for my mother had done the same.
Tragically, Kang Min-hyuk’s life had never had a single woman in it—except the ones I paid for.
“We’re here. Whisky, is that okay?”
“A broke guy like you drinking at a place like this?”
Thinking about it, something felt off.
A seemingly penniless newcomer bringing a woman to this upscale bar.
I quickly came up with a plausible excuse and led her to the VIP area.
“This is the first time I’ve ever been here.”
“Lee Jong-seok CEO? I thought he was the laid-back type who didn’t even have hobbies like this.”
“I heard he only comes here occasionally. I thought the reporter might like it better.”
“Oh~ So sweet and classy too. You’re really getting on my good side!”
“Haha, thank you for the praise.”
—Swish…
I stepped out of the driver’s seat to open her door for a proper escort.
She reached out and rubbed her soft chest against my arm, slipping her arm through mine.
‘This… this won’t do…’
At twenty-six my body was burning, reacting faster than I could control.
Her breasts felt impossibly soft and plush against me.
—Stop…
I froze for a second, and she smiled knowingly, tightening her hold.
“What are you doing? Not coming in?”
“W-we should… no, you go ahead!”
Damn it… would I even finish the deal with my mind right after this?
I could feel her chest pressing against me, dizzying me.
*
*
*
This bar’s best feature was that, although it looked like a normal lounge, it also had a secret room perfect for people like us who wanted to talk privately.
Especially when meeting women reporters in a place that wasn’t quite a club.
“This place has a great vibe. A secret room too—I have to come more often.”
The wooden table, the expensive velvet sofas, every detail polished to perfection. Not a single spot looked out of place.
She clearly enjoyed the luxurious atmosphere.
“I’m glad you like it.”
“Then what do you want to drink? I’m a whisky guy…”
“I ordered Macallan anyway. I thought you’d like it.”
After all, that was the whisky I used to drink.
Damn… a single bottle cost tens of thousands. This was going to hurt.
If it were the old me, I would have downed several bottles, but my wallet was tight these days.
“Our baby manager… you really have amazing taste. How did you know my preferences?”
“It’s classy and smooth. It fits a reporter like you perfectly.”
“Oh my, you even talk so sweetly~”
“Thank you. Then shall we have a toast?”
I stood up feeling like a host and poured whisky into her glass, adding plenty of ice and only half-filling it.
“Shall we talk while we drink?”
“Sounds good! Let’s drink up, baby manager. One shot!”
—Clink!
I gulped the strong whisky down in one go and set the glass down.
“Kya~ Well done. Why did you only pour half in my glass and fill yours completely?”
“I just… prefer it this way.”
Pouring full glasses wasn’t out of any special reason.
It was simply my habit of dealing with those cheap bastards who over-poured whisky like they were paying for it.
Well… maybe it was my way of asserting dominance before they could toy with me.
“Kyu~ Hey~ You’re a real man. Getting more and more charming?”
“I’m charming…?”
“Of course! Tall, cool mask, cool overall… and you’ve never dated a woman before?”
“Haha… charm, huh. That’s what I am.”
Her eyes really were that low…
Even with my figure slimmer now, I still lacked self-confidence.
“Then… since we’ve had a drink, shall we get to the main topic?”
This older sister was starting to intrigue me… why had she come looking for our baby manager.
She’d been teasing until now, but the conversation was shifting to business.
Her gaze turned icy.
‘As expected… pros are pros. Good. Then I’ll act like a pro too.’
I adjusted my posture to match hers and pulled a document folder from my bag.
“Let’s look at this while we talk. Here…”
“Mmm? JBC director Kim… wait a second.”
Lee Ji-yeon read the documents with terrifying focus.
She was a natural at this. She smelled the scent of exclusive news.
Why wouldn’t she? With just this, she could turn me into a star reporter in one go.
Every detail was there—public outcries, power abuse, sexual harassment.
With this, the entertainment world could be flipped upside down.
“Hey… is all of this real?”
“Of course. If you dig even a little, you’ll see it’s not a lie.”
“Source?”
“My actress heard the director scream at her recently.
So the staff kept complaining to me, and a few of them overheard… here.”
I handed her the earphones. She plugged them in, eyes blazing, ready to play.
‘Our reporter is really impatient.’
I pressed play, and the director’s screams filled the room.
Her eyes widened like saucers.
“Wow… this guy is insane. They’re still letting him direct? This industry is a mess!”
“Si-a is fine, though… right?”
If it were me, I’d have slapped the director so hard his teeth would fly out.
“Our actress is really kind… different from her looks.
She just cried alone… that’s all.”
“So… you want me to handle this through the agency instead?”
“Haha, yeah, I’d like that.”
“Really? Then it’s not the agency… are you…?”
Her eyes filled with shock as she stared at me.
“Yes… haha. That’s how it turned out. So… could you investigate on your own instead of through us?”
“Wow~ baby manager, you really have guts. You didn’t get approval from the higher-ups, did you?”
“Well… the higher-ups are considering the situation. I have to endure it.
My actress cried… can I really let the manager hold it in?”
Her eyes cooled with a hint of disappointment.
She looked at me in disbelief.
“Si-a is so lucky… with a handsome manager like you, she cried once and you even went as far as revenge.”
“What revenge? If noona does everything well, this younger brother is fine. Haha.”
“Oh~ I should thank Si-a… now I know why our baby manager listens to noona. But wait.”
“Yes?”
“I’m expensive… are you sure you don’t mean literally?”
Ah… another money request from a reporter?
Even though this article had real merit, she was still greedy.
‘What do I do… I’m broke right now.’
But it wasn’t money she wanted.
—Cuddle…
She grabbed my tie and pressed her body against mine.
“I’m a really expensive woman. So I need compensation, right?”
“Y-yes! Comp… compensation… but with what…?”
Panicking. What was her hand doing on my thigh?
And that rich female scent filling the air…
“I’ll handle the payment myself. So let’s go.”
“Go…?”
“Let’s go. Here? We can’t do it here.”
Wait… what were we even going to do?
My hesitation only made her laugh cutely and lead me out. She paid the bill perfectly.
“I paid for the drinks, so you pay for the room~”
“Room…?”
“A woman paying for the motel feels cheap… or maybe we do it in the bathroom? I don’t mind either way~”
“M-motel?! Then… maybe…?”
“Don’t want to? Not coming?”
I had to go… to hide my existence from the article.
Eventually, tie in hand, I followed her into a cheap motel nearby.
Somehow the room charge was already paid.
“I sometimes like these cheap motels. You know why?”
“Why…?”
—Whoosh… the cheap motel hallway.
Her last whisper made my legs give out for a second.
“I feel like I became a cheap whore… I sometimes get hooked on that kind of cheap stuff.”
—Bang!
With that, we slammed the door of the cheap motel room open.
Shoes still on, we crashed our lips together and groped each other’s bodies.