Limits of Paradise

Tae-eun’s lips slowly parted open. After entering the second floor, it had been a series of astonishing events, but the recent revelation from him hit her like a blow to the back of her head.

Memories of the dreams she had been having until now flashed before her eyes. Dazed, she didn’t even notice his thumb gently caressing the back of her hand.

“So lately, when I see you…”

Hyun-ho’s voice lowered further. His eyes sparkled with a high intensity under the sunlight streaming in through the large window.

“I feel strange.”

It was she who felt strange. The peculiar air surrounding them prickled her skin. Their gazes were intricately entangled.

What if she told him she had the same dreams? Wouldn’t he think she’s crazy if she said she even saw this room before?

“How did I act in your dreams?”

She carefully asked, and a sheepish smile appeared on his lips.

“There were times when we looked at the sea together, and we went for a walk in the orchard.”

Her heart sank with a heavy thud. Her breath got stuck around her throat, unable to reach her lungs.

“There were also times when you came to visit me at work.”

The contents of the dream were remarkably similar. Hyun-ho, who had been looking at her directly, lowered his eyes. Then, he hesitantly continued, “I even had a dream where we kissed at the playground.”

Tae-eun burst into a hasty coughing. Her face flushed bright red as she covered her lips with the back of her hand. The man got up from his seat and brought her a cup of warm barley tea.

“Uh, thank you.”

She moistened her parched mouth, deeply pondering. But her hesitation didn’t last long.

The sense of kinship in sharing the same dreams quickly reassured her. At the same time, she was glad that someone had appeared who could help her make sense of the confusing dreams that had been troubling her since moving to Hajung-ri. She wanted to pour out this nonsensical phenomenon and share her worries.

“Actually, me too.”

The man, who had been shyly avoiding her gaze, lifted his head. She scooted closer to him and recounted the dreams in which he had appeared, excluding the one where she had visited this room.

Hyun-ho’s face flushed with surprise. She was slightly excited, speaking faster and with a slightly higher volume than usual.

“Did I sing ‘Du-kkop-ah, Du-kkop-ah’ for you at the playground?”

“That’s a song you used to sing for me a lot when we were young, and you did sing it in that dream too.”

“Do you remember what was next to the bench when we looked at the sea together?”

“A stone statue wearing sunglasses.”

Tae-eun took a deep breath, covering her mouth with both hands. At this point, it would be fair to say that they had been having identical dreams.

There was one more thing she wanted to ask. Had Hyun-ho also seen Director Ha Sung-joo, who had appeared in her dream last night?

However, she didn’t really want to talk about that person. Just thinking of his name made her heart unpleasantly pound.

“How did you feel, Noona?”

His deep, rough voice broke through her thoughts. Hyun-ho was looking at her with a serious expression from a close distance.

“After doing those things in the dream, how did you feel?”

She blinked blankly, not having thought about that question before. At first, she felt flustered and couldn’t face him. Then…

“Did it make you feel disgusted?”

“What? No!”

She vehemently denied his grim expression. Why would she feel disgusted? If anything, he should be the one feeling disgusted if he knew what she was hiding.

“I liked it too.”

Hyun-ho’s lips curved into a smile. She was unable to grasp the conversation that was veering in an unexpected direction. His smile distracted her, leaving no room to point out the ambiguous nature of his response.

“I’m glad it was you, Noona.”

He slowly wiped the smile off his face. The flow of the air had subtly changed. The excitement of finding a kindred spirit had settled, and a tranquil warmth began to build in its place.

Tae-eun suddenly realized how close they were to each other. Unable to withdraw conspicuously, she could only swallow her dry saliva.

“It’s strange, isn’t it? Do other people have experiences like this too? How did we end up having the same dreams?”

She blurted out any words to dispel the awkward atmosphere. The man, who had been listening quietly, let out a light chuckle, as if he knew her hidden intentions.

“Wanna try out some of the things we did in the dreams?”

“What?”

Hyun-ho suggested, as if he was merely asking her to have a cup of coffee.

“Shall we recreate what we did in the dreams, here in reality?”

Tae-eun’s eyes widened in shock. She quickly retreated to the edge of the sofa, no longer caring about his reaction.

“Are you going to devour me?”

He burst out laughing in disbelief. Unable to hide her wavering gaze, she turned her head towards the white wall across the room.

“Let’s save watching me work at the cafe for tomorrow, and we can go see the night sea when the weather gets warmer.”

The man got up from his seat and approached her. Her eyes, which had been wandering aimlessly on the empty wall, looked up. Their eyes met as he gazed down at her.

“And we can skip the walk in the orchard since we’ve already done that.”

Her heart felt like it might burst at any moment. Unable to watch the movement of his lips closing and opening, she tightly shut her eyes.

“All that’s left is the kiss.”

Tae-eun abruptly stood up. She backpedaled, putting distance between them. She saw one of his eyebrows raise in dissatisfaction.

“Why, why do we have to test it out? Can’t we just… leave it as a dream?”

“I’m curious,” he said, standing crookedly with his hands in his pockets, his voice also askew.

“Aren’t you curious about why we’re having the same dreams? To find out the reason, we have to try everything.”

She shook her head frantically. She tried to pull up the corners of her mouth, but it didn’t seem very effective.

“Ah, now that I think about it, I’m not that curious.”

“I told you, Noona, you’re a really bad liar.”

But unlike her, Hyun-ho seemed relaxed as he chuckled. His attitude was bright, despite his ominous words.

“And I’m really curious too.”

He passed her and opened the bathroom door next to the bookshelf. Her gaze followed the broad expanse of his back numbly.

“I’ll be right back after brushing my teeth. Wait for me.”

Tae-eun sank weakly onto the sofa. She often felt overwhelmed when she was with him, but she had never felt as drained as she did now.

Did he even realize what he said? The idea of actually putting the dream into practice was simply absurd. Dreams were just dreams.

An even bigger problem was that she, too, was curious. Maybe because she had already experienced it vividly in the dream. Instead of feeling averse, the curiosity of whether it would feel as good in reality came to her first. And she was now shocked by the fact that she was even thinking such a thing.

She must be going crazy. That’s how she diagnosed her own state. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have the urge to go along with this ridiculous suggestion.

The sound of the door opening echoed like thunder. She abruptly stood up again, assuming a stiff posture. As the man approached, her heart raced like a high-speed train with faulty brakes.

“Are you going to do it standing up? Your neck might hurt.”

When Hyun-ho spoke, the same toothpaste scent as hers wafted over. Her fingertips and toes had already curled inward.

“Uh, then…”

“Sit here.”

Tae-eun sat down on the sofa, keeping her back straight as he instructed. As he sat next to her, she felt the cushion sink slightly.

“Look at me, Noona.”

“Ah, yes, okay.”

Her head turned stiffly. He naturally cupped her right cheek, gently rubbing her cheekbone with his thumb, just as he had in the dream she had that morning.

The difference was that his other hand had also trapped her left cheek. The man enveloped her face in his large hands, tilting his head.

Her breathing became increasingly rapid. Trembling breaths escaped through her slightly parted lips. Unable to decide whether to close her eyes or keep them open, her eyelids blinked repeatedly.

In her downcast vision, his red lips gradually drew nearer. The scent of peppermint and fragrance mingled. She could feel her own breath reach his lips first.

“Don’t tremble.”

Just before their lips met, Hyun-ho whispered, his eyes wide open. As if spellbound by his bright eyes, she numbly nodded. Without breaking eye contact, he captured her lower lip and sucked on it.

The room was then filled with the sound of their lips kissing.

Even in dreams, she had felt the vividness acutely, but it was nothing compared to reality. The moment his lips touched hers, Tae-eun could no longer keep her eyes open.

The sensations pouring into every nerve felt overwhelmingly forceful, to the point of being violent. Unlike in the dream, she had to tightly shut her eyes to block out the visual stimuli.

But the remaining senses intensified even more. The moist sound created where their mucous membranes met pierced her ears sharply. The mingling of their breaths filled her lungs with his scent.

She had never realized just how sensitive the skin of her lips was. All other areas seemed to have gone numb, leaving only his alternating suction on her upper and lower lips which seemed to awaken her senses.

It felt so good.

Even before she could register the goodness, waves of pleasant sensations kept rushing in. With no prior experience to compare it to, she didn’t know if kissing was naturally this enjoyable. Somewhere along the way, she had forgotten her tension and focused solely on the sensation of their lips sliding against each other.

However, a strange new sensation soon surfaced, prompting her to open her eyes. Brows furrowed, Hyun-ho had his eyes closed as he slid his tongue into her mouth.

 

 

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T/N: I updated the tags to add the Mature and Smut tag, I translated a few chapters in advance and…I think those tags are necessary. Just look forward to it. XD