Limits of Paradise

Now, Tae-eun eagerly awaited Ji Hyun-ho to appear in her dreams when she fell asleep. Despite the tension of worrying that her brain might conjure up another lewd scene, she couldn’t help but feel excited, as if it were a different kind of encounter from seeing him in the café in the morning.

After finishing her first day of work, the man she saw in her dream sat next to her on a bench, gazing out at the gently rolling waves on the beach. She listened to the sound of the waves, stealing glances at his sharp profile.

The next day in her dream, they lay side by side, gazing up at the night sky dotted with stars. Looking around, it seemed vaguely like his room.

She was startled at the thought of lying in the same bed with him, but her body wouldn’t obey when she tried to get up. Rather than feeling as if she was pressed down by something, she felt like a soaked sponge, so heavy she could not muster the strength to get up. She gave up and lay quietly. The man never touched her, and just kept gazing up at the sky.

After waking up, she felt strange all day.

It felt as if she had actually done all those things with him, and when she woke up, her heart raced as if it had been true. Then she found herself flushing and needing to splash her face several times with cold water in the middle of winter.

Now, she felt disappointed if he didn’t appear in her dreams. She started to look forward to bedtime, lying down on her bed in the dim room.

Today’s dream took place around the orchard where they had walked the dog together before. This time, they were walking alone together.

“Haah…”

A puff of breath came out and vaporized into a white cloud, but it definitely felt dreamlike, as she didn’t feel cold at all.

So she openly admired his handsome face unlike usual. Although his appearance always caught her eye, she often felt burdened by his bright eyes when they met directly.

From Ji Hyun-ho’s straight forehead to his high nose bridge, she drew a line with her eyes and then stared fixedly at his vivid lips.

They were soft, moist, and warm lips.

Unknowingly, Tae-eun swallowed a dry gulp. For a moment, it sounded like a stifled laugh. The corners of the man’s mouth twitched before maintaining his usual expression again.

She walked a little faster and blocked his path. He stopped walking. His gaze, which had been facing forward, slowly lowered.

Their eyes met.

A man she had been close to since childhood, but had no memory of. Suddenly appearing and effortlessly saving her. The man who visited her dreams every night.

Song Tae-eun became curious about Ji Hyun-ho.

So, for the first time, she decided to take action. Although it was her dream, she reached out for the first time after always just remaining as the observer.

Her fingertips lightly touched his. His hand jerked. The man’s eyes widened as he looked at her.

Around them, the leaves fluttered in the strong wind, but in the space where they were, time seemed to stand still. In the midst of it all, she cautiously spoke up.

“Can I hold your hand?”

The man let out a deep breath. The white cloud vanished before reaching her face. He nodded slightly.

Tae-eun gently took his trembling hand. His hand spread out as if welcoming her. Her fingers traced between his fingers.

Though she still didn’t feel the cold, the warmth between their fingertips was distinct.

“Fascinating,” she said, tilting her head up at him. Even his ears were slightly flushed. His chest rose and fell rapidly.

The Ji Hyun-ho in her dream felt as real as the living Ji Hyun-ho. It seemed as if the both of them were cut out from a fake background, two living beings in a surreal dream.

The man took a step closer to her. The tips of their shoes were almost touching.

A strong scent wafted through the air as his scent surrounded her. Another strange thing was that she hadn’t found his scent overwhelming lately. She took in a deep breath.

Hyun-ho raised his other hand to stroke her cheek. His thumb moved gently along her rounded cheekbone. His previously stiff lips had softened.

Tae-eun wanted to recoil from the ticklish feeling his hand caused. But at the same time, she wanted to press her cheek harder against his palm.

As she hesitated, his face drew closer. She couldn’t tear her gaze away from his red lips. Pressure increased in her cupped hands, and moisture gathered between their palms.

Crunch, crunch.

And then, there came a sound that made her spine stiffen.

Crunch, crunch. Crunch, crunch.

Her frozen gaze slowly turned to the left where the sound was coming from.

Manager Ha Sung-joo stood there, once again eating hair. Black strands were stuck between his yellowed teeth. Ha Sung-joo struggled to swallow the hair, evident by his jaw moving vigorously.

Crunch, crunch. Crunch, crunch.

Then she realized belatedly. The hair Ha Sung-joo was eating now belonged to her.

Tae-eun woke up gasping for breath. Shapes in the darkened room came into view, but she pulled the blanket over her head and regulated her breathing.

Her tightly closed eyelids trembled. The person who had tortured her relentlessly until just before she quit was now appearing in her dreams, making it impossible for her to sleep.

She reached out, gently feeling the top and back of her head. She was afraid she might find a gaping hole, but fortunately, it was just a dream.

Reaching out past the blanket, she grabbed her phone on the bedside table. Checking the time, it was still deep in the night. A message notification was displayed below the clock.

The message icon looked unfamiliar, so she stared at it for a while. She mainly communicated with her family by phone, and since the incident, she had distanced herself from everyone around her, so she had virtually no one to message her.

Then, when the screen automatically dimmed, she finally opened the messaging app. She blinked for a moment.

2:23 AM [Ji Hyun-ho sent a photo.]

It was a message from Hyun-ho two minutes ago. Instead of wondering why he sent a message at this hour, she was more surprised that he sent a message for the first time.

But then more messages popped up. Brief contents flashed quickly through the preview.

[Photo of the night sky from my room.]

[Can you see the stars well?]

[I woke up and took a picture.]

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

[I’ll take a look later when I get up.]

[Sleep well, Noona.]

Tae-eun hurriedly opened the conversation window. The man’s message started with a photo of the ceiling window. The bright sky was filled with white stars.

It was a sight he wanted to brag about to someone out of the blue. She pushed aside the recent nightmare and carefully read the messages he sent.

It reminded her of the dream she had just had. Even in that dream, they were looking at the night sky like this. Seeing it in a photo in reality left her flustered.

After taking a deep breath, she emerged from the blanket, breathed in the cool air, and pressed the keypad firmly.

[It’s beautiful. Thank you for showing me. Sleep well.]

As soon as she sent the message, a notification indicated that he had read it immediately. Her heart beat a little faster. There were no more follow-up messages, but knowing he was secretly waiting for her reply made her feel oddly happy.

Tae-eun looked at the photo again and imagined what his room might look like. Her thoughts soon led to the dream where she had seen him for the first time.

“Stop it, please…”

She flipped the blanket over her head again and tightly closed her eyes.

***

“Noona, what are you doing after work?”

Tae-eun pondered for a moment as she wiped the mugs at the café, which once again had no customers.

It felt like she was robbing Ji Hyun-ho’s money every time she received the 160,000 won without doing anything. She thought about saying she would work overtime, even though there didn’t seem to be any work that required overtime.

“I don’t have anything planned.”

“What time are you taking Dodam for an afternoon walk?”

“Probably around four.”

“Do you want to have lunch in my room and then leave?”

At the strange suggestion, she put down the mug and turned to look at the man. He was sorting out cookies that were nearing their expiration date.

“In your room?”

“Yeah, upstairs.”

He pointed upstairs with his finger. Her gaze followed.

“You live on the second floor?”

“Yeah, I’ve been living here alone since I opened the café.”

This place was originally an abandoned house. A haunted house where people couldn’t live for even a year because ghosts appeared and scared them away. But Ji Hyun-ho had remodeled it, using the first floor as a café and even living on the second floor.

“Aren’t you scared?”

“Of what? Living alone?”

Tae-eun closed her mouth with a click. Even though business wasn’t going well, it was impolite to complain to someone who put in effort to decorate and live there.

“Yeah. How is it living alone?”

“It’s nice. I’ve always wanted to try living alone.”

She forced a smile as she looked at him. It was fortunate that he was satisfied. Strong people are said to overcome ghosts, maybe he was one of them.

“You’re going to eat with me before you leave, right?”

“I’d be grateful if you give me food.”

He looked at her with a strange expression. She stared at the silent man with round eyes.

“Sometimes, Noona…”

Ji Hyun-ho slowly uttered the sentence. The man who was clearly four years younger than her suddenly looked much more grown up.

“You lack a sense of crisis too much.”

Before Tae-eun could find words to say and opened her mouth, Oh Min-woo came out of the break room after changing his clothes. The boss, who quickly changed his expression, smiled and allowed her to leave work.

“Come out after changing.”

Feeling flustered, she changed her clothes. As she came out of the break room, Ji Hyun-ho was standing next to the supply room, entering the password. She stood still and looked inside as soon as the door opened.

And then she stopped breathing. The first thing she saw was the wooden staircase, which was too familiar.

 

 

🍉🍉🍉