OCB Special Story 4

This one is especially long at almost 23k words so give yourself some time before reading.

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Hoping to get married in the blooming month of April, Hyerin had set the date for the 4th, but in reality, she had been living at Jaeyoon’s house to the extent that it could be considered a newlywed life. The belongings she had gradually moved in had piled up in the corner of the bedroom, and her clothes filled the closet.

At first, she informed her parents, “I’m going to sleep at oppa’s house tonight and go to work from there!” but recently, she didn’t even need to contact them; they would just assume she was at Jaeyoon’s house.

A few days ago, when she finally returned home after work, there was no place set for her at the dinner table, making her feel like she was no different from a married child who had moved out.

The vanity in Jaeyoon’s bedroom had almost become Hyerin’s territory. Dressed in a robe, she finished her skincare routine by gently patting her face and leisurely dried her hair. The sounds of Jaeyoon washing up in the bathroom mixed cheerfully with Hyerin’s humming, filling the bedroom with a lively atmosphere.

Once Hyerin had finished getting ready, she pulled a small box from her bag and jumped onto the bed. The springs bounced her up and down lightly.

With a flutter of excitement, she opened the box, which contained a wedding invitation along with several cosmetics. The gift was from Seongchan’s girlfriend, Haeyoung. As she took out the invitation, a small card revealed itself.

[Hyerin, Seongchan told me this is a brand you often use, but he’s not very good at this kind of thing, so I’m not sure if it’s right. I didn’t know what color you liked, so I bought lipsticks in various shades…! Thank you so much for always helping me with this and that! Let’s have a meal together once things settle down! I’ll treat you to something delicious*^^*]

A pleasant smile naturally spread across her face at the kind words and cute handwriting.

The wedding invitation featured a printed photo of Seongchan and Haeyoung, both smiling brightly at each other, with their names engraved in gold beneath it.

Perhaps it was because she knew of his long-standing unrequited love, or maybe it was because she had once suffered a similar pain; either way, she felt a lump in her throat as if she were sending off a son she had raised, and her heart swelled as if she had just witnessed the happy ending of a lengthy novel.

After wiping away the tears from the touching story, she briefly checked the gifts with a face full of smiles. The new products she had wanted to try were beautifully wrapped one by one. It was a gift that contrasted with Seongchan’s casualness, reflecting Haeyoung’s meticulousness.

Haerin flinched at the sight of a lipstick in a light pink hue. Unlike the bold colors of other lipsticks that showed off their true shades, this one had a clear, translucent quality. In other words, if I were to wear it, my complexion would turn pale enough to raise questions about whether I was feeling unwell.

Haerin applied the lipstick to the back of her hand and pondered. Someone who could pull off such a color must be nearby…

“What are you doing?”

At that moment, Jaeyoon approached, drying his wet hair with a towel. The heat made his fair, clear skin flush with a rosy hue, reminiscent of a peach. Haerin’s eyes sparkled for an instant.

“Oppa! Come sit here.”

Haerin patted the space in front of her. Jaeyoon sat down in the spot she designated, glancing at the cosmetics in the box.

“What’s all this? There’s a lot.”

“It’s a gift I received.”

“A gift? From whom?”

Jaeyoon’s gaze landed on the partially opened invitation. Haerin hurriedly stuffed the note and invitation into her work bag, awkwardly smiling.

Jaeyoon still thought that Seongchan was her ex-boyfriend. She had no intention of revealing that it was all an act to stir jealousy, and likely, she would keep it that way for life.

“What are you hiding? Is it someone I shouldn’t know about?”

Jaeyoon’s perceptive attitude turned slightly defensive.

“A guy?”

The more he learned, the more persistent he became. Haerin immediately shook her head vigorously in denial.

“No, it’s from a unni who’s getting married this time. It’s her personal matter, so I didn’t want to show it to others.”

“Who’s the unni you know?” 

Although Jaeyoon asked more gently at the mention of a woman, his persistence remained unchanged. 

However, she couldn’t bring up Haeyoung’s existence. Since Hyungwon was a fan of Haeyoung, it was obvious that if the truth came out, he would dig into how she found out. The only lie was that she was dating Seongchan, but one lie was giving birth to another. 

“Just… an unni from the same company. We became close after going through tough times together.” 

“But your team is all guys.” 

“The sales team….” 

“Aren’t sales and development natural enemies?” 

“Friendship can bloom even on the battlefield.” 

“Isn’t it love?” 

With Jaeyoon’s relentless questioning, which went on for a full seven rounds instead of just two, Hyerin suppressed her irritation with a smile and muttered, “This is how we’ll argue as a couple.” 

“I just wish there were no secrets between us… Are you mad?” 

“Huh? I just felt a bit like you really weren’t Joo Hyungwon’s friend for no reason.”

“You’re really mad.” 

As Jaeyoon flashed a playful smile, the charming curve of his eyes drew a beautiful line. The anger that had risen to the level of a fingernail melted away completely at that sight. 

Jaeyoon leaned forward, narrowing the distance, and pouted his plump lips, murmuring, “Makeup kiss.” 

After three months of dating, he was somewhere between a cute husband and a boyfriend. Hyerin grabbed his white cheek and pressed down. As a result, his pouted lips stuck out even more, resembling a fish’s mouth. That face was so cute that she burst into laughter. 

“Okay, I’m no longer mad.”

As soon as she withdrew her hand, Jaeyoon grasped her wrist. For a moment, his gaze, which had briefly touched the box, naturally returned to her.

“Show me.”

He murmured, staring intently with his deeply sunken eyes. The atmosphere shifted in an instant, and she unconsciously swallowed. This was something she had learned recently, but he had a stubbornness that wouldn’t let him back down until he got what he wanted. Hyerin pressed their lips together and asked, leaving a kiss as requested.

“Did you check?”

Instead of answering, he stepped back with a satisfied smile. He had been a bit chilly earlier, but now he looked just like a child.

Since Jaeyoon, who had been a kind older brother’s friend for 20 years, became her boyfriend, he had shown her various sides of himself. Every day was filled with new excitement as she peeled back the layers of his unfamiliarity like an onion. Sometimes her heart would race, but she thought of it as a kind of thrill.

Hyerin picked up the lipstick she had placed on the bed and gestured to Jaeyoon. Understanding her intention, he leaned in closer. Hyerin cupped his cheek with one hand. His skin felt moist against her palm, even without lotion.

“Why?”

“Oppa, say ‘eh’.”

“Eh?”

“Yeah, a bit longer.”

“Ehh….”

Jaeyoon elongated the sound with a puzzled expression. Hyerin carefully applied pink lipstick to his lips, which had lost their wrinkles. It seemed he realized what she was trying to do, as he smiled and leaned in closer, offering his face. Just like when they played with dolls as children, he willingly participated in her game.

“Try saying ‘um-mom-ma.”

“Um-mom-ma?”

As Hyerin pressed her upper and lower lips together to demonstrate, he followed along quite well. The pale pink of his lips blended beautifully with his fair skin. Hyerin couldn’t help but admire his watercolor-like beauty as she turned his face this way and that, smiling with satisfaction.

“Ah… you’re really pretty.”

With long eyelashes, fair skin, and pink lips, he was just like the princess from her childhood imagination. As Hyerin giggled, Jaeyoon chuckled softly and blinked slowly. His straight eyelashes fluttered gracefully like a peacock’s feathers.

“Pretty?”

“Yeah.”

“But, are you just going to look?”

He slightly pouted his lips, just enough for her to notice. At his cute temptation, Hyerin chuckled and gave him a quick kiss. However, as if that wasn’t enough, he pulled her hand, which was resting on his cheek, and pressed his lips against hers, drawing her closer to feel the weight of his body beneath the gown.

“I’m pretty here too.”

For some reason, he felt a bit heated and firmer. The flesh beneath her hand throbbed and squirmed as if it were alive, causing Hyerin’s smile to fade.

“…That’s scary.”

With a subtle smile, Jaeyoon held her hand and guided it from the base to the tip of his member. The flesh that rubbed against her palm grew hotter and began to awaken.

“I’ve been waiting for you since morning; give this a little love too.”

His sultry voice quickly raised the temperature in the bedroom. As a dark red member emerged from the loose gown, Hyerin felt her cheeks flush.

As her hand, which had been aimlessly wandering, tightened slightly, he released her hand and pressed his lips against hers. As she willingly opened her mouth, his tongue surged in as if it had been waiting, exploring every corner.

The slippery tongue slithered inside her mouth, gradually blinding her reason and shame. Following his lead, Hyerin moved her tongue and caressed Jaeyoon’s member up and down.

As if to praise her, he gently stroked her hair and softly pulled the back of her head. The deeper the kiss became, the slower her movements grew until they eventually came to a complete stop. It was because his insatiable greed was overwhelming, even as she inhaled deeply.

She placed her hands on his thick arms as if pleading. However, he only released her after he was short of breath and his vision blurred. A thin strand of saliva stretched between their lips, and at the same time, their damp and rough breaths intertwined in a dissonant rhythm.

“It’s all over.”

Jaeyoon gently rubbed his thumb over Hyerin’s lips and lifted the corners of his mouth. It seemed that the pink hue that spread beyond the boundary of his lips had transferred to hers as well. Hyerin, lost in the sensation of his touch, asked.

“Doesn’t it look mismatched?”

“No… you’re so beautiful.”

As if to prove the sincerity of his words, he tightened his grip on her cheeks. His pale face, with eyes narrowed, drew closer again.

The warmth of their breaths, body heat, and the softness of their lips made her feel a ticklish sensation where his gaze landed. Her heart, intoxicated with anticipation, raced even faster than before.

In the warm atmosphere that enveloped her body, Hyerin found herself instinctively sticking out her tongue to brush against his. Each time their lips met, a faint fruity scent wafted through the air. The fragrant stimulation gradually brought a dreamy haze over her.

With practiced ease, Jaeyoon tilted his head and delved deeper, pushing aside the box and cosmetics with just the sensation of his hands, laying her down. Then, with a creak and a springy sound, a great heat enveloped her body.

He playfully bit his lower lip and pulled away from her lips. When she slowly lifted her heavy eyelids, she saw Jaeyoon’s body revealed between the loosened robe. Beneath his large frame, the muscles were beautifully defined, and the sight of his rugged physique standing tall seemed to pierce the sky.

As if aware that her gaze had landed there, it swelled as if to flaunt its existence. The owner of that body, too, seemed conscious of her stare and whispered in her ear.

“Am I that beautiful?”

“…….”

“I want to see you too, the pretty one.”

As his thick fingers tugged at the knot of her belt, the fabric that had wrapped around her body lost its strength and sagged. He leisurely untied the robe with an intrigued expression, as if unwrapping a gift.

Jaeyoon’s gaze softly traced the curves from her nape to her chest, waist, lower abdomen, hips, and thighs. The blatant gaze made her body twist in embarrassment, and she felt shy about the nakedness she had revealed several times until now.

“Turn off the light….”

“I don’t want to; I’m not done admiring yet.”

“Ah…”

As she covered her face with her hand out of embarrassment, a low laugh was heard, as if he enjoyed her reaction.

A large hand lifted her breast and kneaded it as if checking its volume, causing her chest to ripple like waves. The five fingers repeatedly dug into and squeezed her breast, but it wasn’t painful. Rather, the slightly brushing nipple tingled pleasantly.

As Hyerin bit her lip, Jaeyoon seemed to notice something and pinched the nipple between his fingers, kneading her breast. The protruding flesh was repeatedly pressed and brushed.

“Hmm…”

“You’re beautiful, really.”

As Hyerin, who had been twisting her body, unconsciously spread her legs slightly, he seized the opportunity and wedged his right leg between them to hold her in place. Before she could even grasp the movement, he began to grasp and caress her nipple. With a light flick and roll of his fingertips, a sound imbued with sweetness escaped her, regardless of her will.

“Ah… Ugh, haa…”

With a skillful balance of pain and tickling, he drew moans from Hyerin’s mouth. The stimulated nipple was more swollen than before, and her lower abdomen grew hotter, becoming wet.

She tried to close her legs as her untouched crotch itched, but his leg, which had already settled between hers, blocked her.

“Do you feel good? Where else would you like me to touch?”

He asked mischievously, as if he had guessed Hyerin’s desire. The cool air touching between her legs tickled her half-warmed body, making her uncomfortable. She murmured, slightly setting aside her pride.

“There…”

“There? Here?”

Jaeyoon pinched her nipple as if he hadn’t heard her properly.

“Ugh…”

“Or here?”

He pressed down on her tense lower abdomen and asked.

As her abdominal muscles tensed, the lukewarm fluid flowing from her vulva tickled the surrounding area that had been aching. Her toes trembled, and a surge of frustration welled up inside her.

Finally, with her face flushed bright red, Hyerin uttered the blunt and explicit word he wanted to hear.

“Pussy…”

Jaeyoon’s eyes, which had subtly sparkled, gradually darkened.

“Ah… You wanted me to touch your pussy.”

The hand that had been resting on her lower abdomen moved down between her legs, slowly pushing apart the tightly closed flesh.

“Ah… Ahh.”

Even as his hand descended, she shook her head with a pitiful sigh. He gently rubbed his finger into the cleft as if inserting it. The smoothly gliding finger made her realize that her lower parts were already sufficiently wet. The opening below, repeatedly opening and closing, was teased by his thick finger, exuding a sticky fluid.

Just as he had only given slight stimulation to her nipple, this time he only teased around her clitoris, making Hyerin anxious. The inadequate friction, which seemed like it would ignite but didn’t, made her groan, and she murmured with her hands covering her face.

“Clit…”

Upon her more specific request, a low voice was heard behind a faint laugh.

“Ah, you mean here?”

Jaeyoon lightly pinched her clit with his fingertip. A tingling sensation like an electric current spread along her spine. An unexpected pleasure ran through her body. Her long legs stretched out straight, and her toes tensed.

“Ugh! Ha… Ugh… Ahh…”

“Hyerin feels good here, when touched like this.”

He scraped the edge with his nail and then strongly pulled the small protruding tip.

“Hah… Ugh, Kugh… Haa…”

As she twisted her body, she urgently reached out and hugged his neck. It was a plea for him to stop teasing her. A large hand stroked her long, still slightly wet black hair.

“Do you want it inside now?”

“Yes…”

Glancing down, she saw Jaeyoon’s fully erect member. His ruggedly angled cock, slightly moist at the tip, was pointing straight at her.

He positioned himself between Hyerin’s legs and aimed the tip of his pillar at her pussy. The glans touching her vulva was so large and hard that she might mistake it for a fist if she closed her eyes. As the glans pushed deep into the flesh, the vaginal opening, struggling to accommodate its overwhelming mass, twisted.

“Hah…”

Even at the entrance, the strong pressure made her break out in a cold sweat and her breathing quickened. Ah, I should have asked him to loosen me up inside too. She regretted urging him, thinking she was wet enough. The excessive burden made her reflexively close her legs, and Jaeyoon, feeling considerable pressure, furrowed his brow and let out a hot breath.

“Spread your legs a little more and relax.”

Jaeyoon firmly pressed down on her thighs and pushed his waist forward. He forced his way through the vaginal pressure that was blocking the entrance with sheer strength. The tight inside was forcibly widened by Jaeyoon’s size. The impact caused her body to naturally twist.

“Ah… Ahh! Ahh…”

“Phew… Almost there. Relax a little more.”

“What? Still not all… Ahh!”

Jaeyoon firmly held Hyerin’s pelvis with both hands to prevent her from moving and completed the insertion. As the glans touched her cervix, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and her waist floated up.

“Ugh, Ahh…”

“You’ve taken it all. Good job.”

He showered her with praise, kissing her wet forehead and cheeks. Then, he slowly moved his hips as if savoring the sensation inside her, looking down at where they were joined.

“So much fluid… and we just started…”

The sticky, clear arousal secreted inside her pussy soaked the invader that had penetrated her. Although she couldn’t see it well, the slippery sensation and the glimpse of Jaeyoon’s wet root told her that his words were true. Hyerin, covering her face, expressed her discontent at Jaeyoon’s gaze on her lower parts.

“Don’t look… Turn off the light now.”

“Don’t cover yourself. I want to see.”

Jaeyoon forcefully pulled down Hyerin’s arm, revealing her bright red face. She thrashed her limbs, but she knew she couldn’t escape until the act was over now that penetration had occurred.

As she turned her head, trying to cover herself even a little, he grabbed her chin and turned it to meet her eyes. Tears welled up in Hyerin’s eyes at the harsh treatment that allowed nothing.

“I’m embarrassed…”

“Yes, I want to see all of your embarrassment.”

Jaeyoon lightly kissed her and looked over her facial features and contours.

Her earlobes and cheeks were bright red with shame and excitement. Cheeks, nape, collarbone—everywhere he kissed left a faint pink mark. Jaeyoon traced his lip marks clearly imprinted on her white collarbone and exhaled a hot breath.

“You’re really… beautiful and sexy.”

He started moving his hips as if he couldn’t bear it any longer. Under the bright light pouring from the ceiling, everything was exposed. His eyes wet with excitement, the movement of his muscles, his expression. The heat of the flesh filling her belly burned her insides.

“Huh… Ugh, haa…”

Every time the large flesh moved back and forth in her wet insides, clear fluid was pulled out from the junction, only to be blocked at the entrance and flow down repeatedly. The explicit sound of friction, splashing and squelching, became a vortex of pleasure that tore through her mind.

Completely entwined with her, he began to move with weight, as if striking down. The glans, which had entered even deeper, pounded her cervix, making Hyerin’s waist rise powerfully. She twisted her body, shaking her head in resistance, but Jaeyoon firmly gripped her pelvis and tenaciously followed, thrusting his waist.

“Do you like it?”

Hyerin, half consumed by pleasure, barely managed to answer as her vision blurred.

“Huh, ugh… yes… I like it.”

“Does it taste good?”

Blushing deeply, Hyerin nodded her head.

“Tell me with words.”

Jaeyoon persistently demanded her answer. Then, as if urging her, he increased his speed and forcefully pushed deep inside. The impact that pounded even her mind made Hyerin scream out her answer.

“Ahh! It tastes good, ahh… it tastes good. Ah, don’t stop…”

Satisfied, he exhaled a hot breath and gently explored her insides.

“Haa… Really? Eat a lot. Hyerin, it’s all your oppa’s.”

He thrust rapidly and intensely, but also slowly and leisurely rubbed every corner of her inner folds with his glans.

With each change in his rhythm, the pleasure resonating in her lower abdomen changed. Just a moment ago, she had been panting, swept away by the fierce waves of pleasure, but now she writhed and squirmed as the persistent heat built up without exploding. Her impatient vaginal walls also wriggled and tightly gripped his penis.

“Huh, haa…”

“Ah… It’s chewing tightly. It’s cute.”

His voice carried both admiration and playfulness. It seemed he had already noticed what she wanted. Jaeyoon whispered as he laid his body over Hyerin’s.

“Since you tightened and urged me, I won’t stop even if you tell me to.”

Jaeyoon began to thrust violently, making a sound as his lower body collided with hers. Her breasts, pressed between their bodies, shook in rhythm with his hip movements.

Ruthless piston-like thrusts were poured between her increasingly spreading legs. Her white buttocks, receiving the impact, twitched and bounced on the sheet.

“Ahh, ah… slowly… yes, ugh…”

Her labia, forcibly invaded to the root and ground, rubbed against Jaeyoon’s crotch. Regardless of her will, her body trembled, secreting a thicker and sweeter fluid.

His pillar rubbed against her vaginal walls, and the deeply entering glans shook her uterus. The relentless fierce attack made her mind scatter. Amidst this, her body was dominated by a certain passion.

“Ah, huu… no more, ahh! No more… I hate it… ah…”

Hyerin stretched out her arms and clung to Jaeyoon’s neck. She wrapped her legs, spread to the limit, around his sturdy waist and fluttered her hips like a fish. Noticing that this was a prelude to her climax, he forcefully stabbed the inside of her vagina and whispered in her ear.

“Not yet, huu… you can’t. I’ll scold you if you come first.”

The low threat echoed in her head, but her eyes were already blank, and she had no strength left to respond. When Jaeyoon faced her to check her condition, she stuck out her tongue through her half-open lips and kissed him.

Hyerin was completely intoxicated by the boiling pleasure in her belly. Even if Jaeyoon slightly slowed down, she immediately twisted her body as if urging him and unconsciously shook her hips.

“Ugh… huu… ahh… tight, huu…”

“Haa… J00 Hyerin. Ah, Hyerin…”

Her waist involuntarily bounced. Her lower abdomen, holding the penis, tensed, and her legs wrapped around Jaeyoon’s waist convulsed. She tightly hugged his neck to keep from flying away due to the sensation of her whole body floating.

The hot pleasure that started from the part penetrated by him became a wave and swept through her entire body. A flash exploded in front of her eyes, turning everything white, and a current ran to her twitching toes. Like a leaf caught in a violent storm, she was helplessly swept away by the violent pleasure.

“Ah, damn… so tight, haa…”

“Ugh, huu…”

“…Joo Hyerin, you came first again.”

Jaeyoon held her face to meet her eyes as if to hold her accountable. But Hyerin’s blurred gaze did not reflect him. Staring at her dazed eyes and trembling jaw, he thrust his tongue into her mouth, drooling.

The deeply inserted flesh stirred her depths, but she showed no reaction, like a broken doll. At that moment, she couldn’t tell who she was or which way was up or down. All she knew was that she was in the midst of incredible pleasure.

After a long kiss, as her vision slowly cleared, she saw Jaeyoon’s face. She looked over his features with a dazed gaze, as if she had returned from a long journey.

His reddened eyes and smudged pink lipstick were beautiful. It was like looking at a masterpiece painted with red paint. The words “You’re pretty” almost slipped out reflexively, but her voice wouldn’t come. She was too busy breathing heavily, as if she had just finished a marathon.

Jaeyoon was also panting heavily. Unlike Hyerin, who felt a sense of release, his breath carried an unquenched heat.

“Hyerin, you’re dripping both up and down… You’re so damn cute, really.”

Hyerin suddenly noticed the heat still filling her belly and shuddered. He hadn’t climaxed yet. As this fact became clear, the road ahead seemed endless.

“Damn, look at the fluid. I’m trying to pound, but you’re so wet it’s just turning into a mess. Does it really taste good? Drooling this much…”

The saliva he mentioned wasn’t from her mouth but from below. As her face reddened at the vulgar remark, he thrust his hips again as if urging her to respond. Even the slightest friction ignited her belly with the afterglow of climax. Hyerin shook her head wildly and pushed against his chest.

“Ugh, ah, stop now…”

“Don’t be shy, take it. There’s still a lot.”

The hole, still hot, was penetrated again. The sensation of her nerve endings being tightly pulled made Hyerin’s eyes water as she moaned hoarsely. Her breathing, which had just settled, became a mess again.

Jaeyoon grabbed her slender waist and thrust his hips deeply, driving himself into her. Each time he scraped her highly sensitive vaginal walls, Hyerin whimpered in a half-hoarse voice and trembled.

“Ah, oppa… haa… st, stop… no more… huu…”

She reflexively tightened around the male inside her and twisted her hips. Her pussy, already softened by one climax, secreted a large amount of love juice, soaking his crotch. A splashing sound followed each thrust.

Jaeyoon savored the sensation of the soft flesh melting and wrapping around his member, repeatedly tapping the spot that made her feel good with the tip of his glans. After repeating this several times, Hyerin, who seemed to have been reignited, began to moan pleasantly. The way she clung to him, so different from how she had told him to stop just moments ago, was pitiful.

“Ah, hmm… haa… ah, it feels good…”

Jaeyoon gently stroked Hyerin’s lower abdomen as she desperately clung to his manhood.

“Haa… Sometimes, it seems like you love my cock more than you love me.”

With her eyes closed and lost in pleasure, she shook her head and murmured,

“Ah, no… uh, hmm… ah… I love both.”

Hearing an unexpected answer, Jaeyoon’s lips twitched, then curved crookedly.

“Ah… Really? You prefer this guy, whom you’ve only known for a short time, over me, whom you’ve known for 21 years? I’m jealous.”

At the teasing, sulky words, Hyerin acted spoiled like a child, wriggling her body. Excited by her cute movements, he lifted her thighs and thrust his hips violently, pounding hard. Stimulated deep inside, Hyerin felt another climax approaching.

Panting as if suffering from a fever, she suddenly noticed a gaze fixed on her face.

She was aware that her face was slack with pleasure, and she could feel the lukewarm temperature of the saliva dripping from the corner of her mouth. But her mind was too dizzy to do anything about it or even think about what to do.

“Haa… If I take a picture of this and set it as my wallpaper, will you get mad?”

Although his eyes were steady, not playful, Hyerin had no time to think about it as she reached her climax.

“Ugh… ha, haa…!”

Her long legs stretched out and tightly wrapped around his waist, her back arching deeply. The second wave of intense pleasure washed over her, turning her consciousness white. It felt like her soul was burning.

She thought that if she experienced this stimulation once more, she would surely lose consciousness. As she barely held onto her consciousness, she heard a discontented voice in her ear when she went limp.

“I told you… not to come first.”

He held her unfocused face and pressed his lips against hers. The still-hard presence inside her continued to stir her convulsing insides.

‘Huh… why is it still…’

After that, her memory was hazy, and she couldn’t recall clearly.

* * *

As soon as she woke up, she twisted her body like a fish pulled out of water.

“Ung…”

A warm sensation crawling around her groin, the soft touch of hair against her thighs. Even in her half-asleep state, she clearly realized that someone was burying their face between her legs and licking her.

Before her already dull mind could regain its senses, she was swept away by the waves of pleasure. Having just finished her period the day before, she was still feeling uneasy, but he, knowing this, seemed to have no hesitation as he delved deeper inside her, sucking up her fluids.

“…Stop… please…”

Hyerin, half-asleep, tried to stop him, but her voice barely came out. As she reached out to push him away, he took her hand as if he had been waiting for it and intertwined their fingers.

He made his tongue firm and penetrated deeply, then wriggled it softly like a snake, stirring her insides. It was a different kind of pleasure than widening her with fingers or a penis.

His tongue went unbelievably deep, kneading her insides mercilessly. Adding to that, he gently scratched her clitoris with his fingernail, making Hyerin moan hoarsely and twist her lower body.

The violent stimulation of scratching her clitoris and the ticklish sensation of stirring her vaginal entrance created a dissonance, confusing her senses. She turned her head to the side, burying her face halfway into the pillow, and shivered.

“Hng, ah! Ugh, no…”

As Hyerin struggled, he firmly held her thighs in place while caressing their intertwined hands. Just as she was about to feel better, the tongue inside her wriggled fiercely, demanding an orgasm. She tried to escape the harsh pleasure, but her just-awakened body had no strength.

Just as she was about to tremble helplessly at the approaching climax, he released their intertwined hands and pulled out his deeply inserted tongue. The sensation that had been boiling in her lower abdomen was put on hold, and Hyerin trembled at the unresolved tickle.

Jaeyoon, who had only shown the top of his head, emerged from between her legs. Wiping his mouth, soaked with her fluids, with the back of his hand, he climbed onto her body.

“Don’t be selfish and come alone again.”

Smiling softly, he gave her a quick kiss and swiftly aligned the thick tip of his penis with her vaginal entrance. Even before she woke up, the place he had tormented with his tongue was already dripping with fluids. It was so soft that when Jaeyoon slightly pushed his hips forward, the hole gently accepted the large glans.

“Ugh… Haa…”

“It’s so warm…”

As the sensation of her lower abdomen filling up made the hairs on her body stand on end and her cheeks flush, she let out a sweet breath and gripped the sheet. The invigorated invader thrust all the way to the root in one go.

A huge presence rushed up to her chin, making it hard to breathe. The thick penis moved in and out of her well-loosened vaginal entrance, ruthlessly stirring her insides.

The fierce friction ignited a fire, burning her nerves. Every time he thrust inside her, her vision flashed as if her consciousness was shattering.

“Ah! Please… just… a moment, ah, ah…”

Overwhelmed by the fear of losing consciousness, she pounded on his shoulders, but he didn’t slow down the rhythm of his thrusts at all and grabbed her chest.

“Ah… Do you want to feel even better?”

Jaeyoon nodded as if answering his own question and twisted her erect nipple hard. As the flesh was squeezed, a sharp pain and intense pleasure rushed over her.

“No, haa, ah, aah! D-don’t…”

“Hmm? More than this? You like it when it hurts, don’t you, Hyerin?”

He was acting as if he was talking to someone else, doing the opposite of what Hyerin wanted.

With her nipples pinched mercilessly and the strong thrusts pushing her, she reached a light climax several times in just a few minutes after waking up. As if to prove it, hot and clear fluids were dripping from their joined parts.

Every time his penis stabbed deep inside her, her slender body swayed. She tried to twist her body to avoid the penetration, but it was in vain.

“Ah, don’t… Oh, oppa… Ah, uh, ah, aah…”

“Haa… Hyerin, you’re so cute.”

“It’s too much… I can’t…”

Hyerin reached out wildly to push him away, but Jaeyoon was already focused on burying himself in her softened flesh, their bodies pressed tightly together. His rough breathing signaled that his climax was near.

At that moment, a clear warning bell rang in Hyerin’s mind. She had to at least prevent him from ejaculating inside her. She had to work overtime today and couldn’t spend the whole day feeling uncomfortable. Just the other day, she had nervously checked her teammates’ reactions, worried that they might smell something.

“It’s not okay inside… Huh, ah… ah… ah, uh… It’s too much…”

She pleaded with a desperate voice, but he only burrowed deeper into her nape, offering no response. That clearly indicated his reluctance. Hyerin quickly thought of another alternative that might entice him.

“Ah, um, please give me your cock…”

As expected, whether it was the vulgar words or the unfamiliar honorifics that caught his attention, he lifted his head, which had been resting on top of hers, and looked down at her. Seizing the opportunity, Hyerin persuaded him.

“Hmm, somewhere else….”

“Haah…. Where?”

“Hng, haa… On my face… In my mouth…”

She chose the part that would be most stimulating to him. Hyerin slightly opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue.

Watching her panting with her red tongue out, Jaeyoon pushed two fingers into her mouth. As he pressed her wet tongue and stirred her mouth, Hyerin tightly closed her eyes. Jaeyoon’s forehead also wrinkled more and more.

He took the fingers out of her mouth and put them in his own mouth to lick off the saliva. Then he pulled her close and murmured,

“Ah, damn… You’re so cute I could crush your pussy.”

The answer that came back was as stimulating as her suggestion. The expectation that she had succeeded in persuading him was shattered by the voice that followed.

“I’ll cum in the deepest part.”

“Ah, no… Shit, hng, uh, ah, hng…”

He grabbed Hyerin’s writhing waist and started pounding quickly. The cervix hit by the glans was crushed, and the vagina contracted from the impact, squeezing the penis.

Jaeyoon’s breath stopped for a moment, and the flesh twitched in the deepest part. At the same time, Hyerin, who had reached her climax, trembled as she dug her nails into Jaeyoon’s shoulders.

“Hng, ah…”

“Ugh… Ah… Fuck… Haa…”

He twitched his lower body with his eyebrows furrowed as if in pain. His intense moan ringing in her ears caressed Hyerin’s eardrums.

The white-blurred vision gradually regained focus, and she saw a face with a soft smile. His eyes, still filled with the afterglow of sex, were half-lidded, and his cheeks were red. He showered kisses on Hyerin’s face, drenched in sweat, and greeted her with a good morning.

“Did you sleep well?”

It was a casual greeting as if nothing had happened. It was so shameless that she almost thought everything that had happened was a dream. Hyerin, trembling from the lingering afterglow, glared at him.

“Ugh, Jung Jaeyoon, really… I told you not to cum inside…”

As she expressed her dissatisfaction, he slowly approached her, forehead to forehead, and murmured.

“Yeah, keep it in all day. I’ll check when you come back. Even at work, stay wet and think only of me. Got it?”

His sharp eyes seemed to hypnotize her.

Only then did she realize what he was worried about. This was also a disaster caused by her lies. He was still very concerned and wary of the ‘handsome ex-boyfriend’ Seongchan, who was on the same team.

The days when she had enjoyed his jealousy passed by. Hyerin decided to silently accept her karma. Even if she felt uncomfortable all day, she just had to think of it as having her period for one more day. The sight of Jaeyoon looking anxious in front of her was quite cute…

“Hurry and answer me.”

As he moved his waist slightly to demand an answer, the sensitive vaginal entrance reacted, and the urge to urinate surged. Feeling the crisis, Hyerin hurriedly nodded, and only then did the large piece of flesh that had filled her come out. Following that, thick and dense white turbid liquid gushed out from the open hole.

Jaeyoon watched the scene intently and then wiped away the traces of sex as if he were used to it. Even as the cold wet towel touched her, her mind was only hazy as if fogged.

“The more I do it with you… I feel like my brain is getting dumber.”

She was so dull that she suspected that the pleasure had burned away her intelligence. Jaeyoon, who laughed softly at the sentiment filled with the afterglow of sex, kissed Hyerin’s lower abdomen and murmured.

“I hope you get so dumb that you quit your job.”

“… “

“I hope you become unable to go anywhere without me.”

“… “

“I’ll have to work hard until then.”

His answer revealed his true intentions. After coming to his own conclusion, he left new clothes and sanitary pads in front of the bathroom and returned to kiss Hyerin’s forehead.

“Wash up and come out. I’ll prepare breakfast.”

His soft and gentle smile, contrasting with his firm abs visible through his open pajamas, brightly lit up the room. Hyerin, who had been gazing at him as if mesmerized, confirmed that Jaeyoon was leaving the room and hesitantly touched her chest. Sure enough, a noisy percussion performance was in full swing.

‘Cute, sexy… really, there’s no answer to this.’ 

Living with him, she had a feeling she wouldn’t have to worry about her blood circulation.

‘Jung Jaeyoon… your pajamas are cute. Breakfast is delicious. Your cooking is getting better and better… what if you become so perfect that I ascend to heaven….’ 

The flow of thoughts, absentmindedly replaying the events of the morning, finally reached the heated intimacy they shared.

‘Stay wet and think only of me.’

As those eyes soaked in pleasure came to mind, she felt an inexplicable dampness below and her whole body itched. The vulgar language that slipped out of him during their intimate moments made her wonder if it was a necessary flaw to distinguish between angels and humans.

“Hey.”

Hyerin flinched at the sudden voice. Almost jumping out of her chair, her reaction made Seongchan frown.

“Were you daydreaming?”

“No! I wasn’t! I was thinking of a great variable name! Clear intention, easy to pronounce, classic yet sophisticated…”

“So, what did you come up with?”

Seongchan cut off her rambling. Pierced by his sharp gaze, Hyerin quickly confessed.

“…Jung Jaeyoon.”

“I knew it.”

“How did you know?”

“Your face looks perverted.”

“Pot calling the kettle black… When you get a text from unni, your expression is even more perverted.”

Seongchan ignored Hyerin’s words with a cold face. Seeing his face melt when he received a text from Haeyoung made her feel like she was witnessing the evolution of mankind. He, who had habitually ignored her, suddenly brought up the main point.

“It seems we won’t have to work late today.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, they said there are no bugs.”

Hyerin asked suspiciously.

“Why not?”

Of course, whether there were bugs or not, the answer was “Why?”

Seong-chan agreed with a worried look.

“Yeah… why aren’t there any?”

If there were, it would have been “Why are there?”

“Anyway, I owe you guys for my birthday. Want to go out for dinner today?”

There was a time when Seongchan’s birthday coincided with overtime work. The team members, knowing this, made him go home first and stayed to finish the work. It seemed he still felt guilty about it. Hyerin thought for a moment, then glanced at a message from Jaeyoon and nodded.

[Are you working late today? I have a friend’s wedding today and I’m going out to eat with the guys.]

Friends, huh. She imagined the lively Joo Hyungwon and his friends. It was a good time for them to get together and have fun. She didn’t want to eat alone at home without Jaeyoon, nor did she want to ask him to leave his gathering early because of her.

[I was going to, but the work finished early, so I’m going out for a team dinner! See you at home later♡]

After replying to Jaeyoon, she showed her fist to Seongchan.

“Awesome, let’s eat a lot! Are you buying beef?”

After work, Seongchan took them to a high-end meat restaurant that only served reservation customers. The structure allowed them to use an entire room, so they could be as loud as they wanted. Their bodies melted into the warm floor, and the well-marbled meat melted on their tongues.

“You look good these days. We all worked late together, but only your face is glowing.”

The envious words made Seongchan’s already broad shoulders seem even bigger.

“Well, I’m happy.”

His mind was probably full of Haeyoung.

The slightly raised corner of his mouth was quite a sight. Seeing that, Junsoo, who had been looking at him disapprovingly, turned to Hyerin and asked.

“You’re in the same situation as him, so why do you look like us? Aren’t you happy?”

Hyerin traced the dark circles under her eyes with a resigned smile. It seemed the aftermath of staying late at work and getting caught up with Jaeyoon that morning had hit her hard.

“Being happy doesn’t change the fact that my stamina isn’t keeping up. I am happy right now.”

When Hyerin lifted her dry lips into a smile, Seongchan tilted his annoyingly flawless face toward her.

“That’s not good at your age. You should exercise.”

The man was a monster who could stay up three nights straight and still go on a date with Haeyoung that same night.

“That’s because you’re a monster! I have pretty good stamina too, okay?”

Looking indignant, Hyerin rolled up her sleeves to her elbows and flexed her arm.

Seongchan glanced nonchalantly at her arm, which showed no signs of muscular definition, and clicked his tongue. The other team members joined in mocking the meek, timid-looking muscles that didn’t match her fiery claim. Hyerin, pretending nothing happened, calmly rolled her sleeves down and took a shot of soju.

Was the struggle she had in bed with Jaeyoon really because of stamina? Thinking back, he’d been active since he was a kid, always running around with Joo Hyungwon, while she hadn’t done anything remotely athletic since she started working. Maybe it wasn’t that Jaeyoon was too much—maybe she was the one who couldn’t keep up. The thought made her feel a little guilty.

[Are you still at the team dinner?]

Just then, Hyerin noticed a message from Jaeyoon and replied:

[Yeah, we’re still eating! Beef!]

The moment she hit send, another message came through almost instantly, as if he’d been waiting.

[Are you drinking too?]

[Just a little. Don’t worry, I’m not overdoing it.]

[When do you think you’ll be done?]

[Probably before the buses stop running. I’ll probably get home before you.]

[Should I come pick you up? I haven’t had any drinks yet.]

Was he worried about her? Or was he just conscious of Sungchan being with her? It felt strange—having someone who actually cared about her being at a team dinner with heavy drinkers.

[Nah, don’t worry about me. Have fun. See you at home later!]

As Hyerin tapped her screen with a soft grin, Sungchan’s gaze landed on her.

“Jaeyoon?”

“Yeah. I think he’s worried about me drinking. Cute, right? Isn’t it so cute?”

After one drunken rant, there wasn’t a single teammate who didn’t know the name Jung Jaeyoon. Once she got going, her boyfriend-bragging had no brakes, so they took Hyerin’s phone and pushed it out of reach.

“Hey, cut it out and drink. Being single’s hard enough already.”

“Seriously. Must be nice to have someone worrying about you. Some of us go home to nobody.”

“Tell him not to worry. The only people here are the comrades who’ve survived overtime together.”

With envy and teasing mixed in, Hyerin chuckled and accepted another drink. Just as they clinked glasses a few more times—

“Yo, no way. Breaking news—‘Revenge of the Isekai Beauty, Season 3’ is gonna be produced by KUNZ.”

With Junsoo’s sudden announcement, the conversation took a sharp turn into uncharted geek territory.

“Ooh, then the action scenes are gonna be insane. I’m already looking forward to the transformation sequence.”

“You guys like KUNZ? I hate how they go all in on the action but completely butcher the slice-of-life scenes.”

“Yeah, the quality can be hit or miss. They mess up the drawings a lot.”

As the ‘hardcore fans’’ debate dragged on longer than expected, Seongchan—the token “normal person”—began zoning out. Hyerin, who was also sidelined by the conversation, noticed his drifting gaze and gently brought him back.

“Seongchan sunbae.”

“What.”

“You’re still my ex-boyfriend, you know.”

Slightly tipsy, Hyerin poured him another drink and confessed something that had been weighing on her. At the very least, the person whose face and name had been borrowed should be in the loop.

“What?”

“We dated briefly, and I broke up with you first. Got it?”

Even after suddenly being demoted to “dumped ex,” he calmly searched his memory. Then, as if something finally clicked, he tilted his head with recognition.

“Ohhh, so you’re still riding the wave from back then, huh?”

Smart or just sharp—he seemed to catch on that Jaeyoon still hadn’t let go of the whole “kiss performance” incident, even though they’d never talked about what really happened that day.

Seongchan squinted subtly, a knowing glint in his eyes. Hyerin twitched the corners of her mouth, then let out a soft laugh and squirmed playfully in her seat.

“I’m never telling him. It’s so thrilling to make him jealous.”

That made Seongchan smile too, something lighting up in his memory.

“Yeah… it did feel pretty good.”

“Oooh, you speak from experience~”

“Still, tell him eventually. Working with your ex at the same company? If Haeyoung told me something like that… I’d probably set the place on fire.”

He seemed momentarily lost in his own little world, gripping his glass so tightly it looked like it might shatter.

“Anyway, don’t torture him too much. You know what it’s like. It’s hard… being stuck in that kind of anxiety.”

“Mmm… hmm… you’re not wrong. But I guess it’s like… a need for closure, you know? I was hurting a lot while he was happily dating someone else. This jealousy—it kind of feels like it balances the scales.”

“So it’s like, ‘I suffered, now you suffer’?”

“Ugh, don’t reduce my complex emotions to something so petty. It’s just… sometimes I still can’t believe that the person who ignored me for twenty years is now finally looking right at me. And jealousy—it’s the most visible proof that I’m being seen not as a little sister, but as a woman. It’s not revenge. It’s… it’s this complicated sense of fulfillment.”

Seongchan gave a small, amused smile and held out his glass. Hyerin clinked it with hers, catching his cue, and took a sip. The long-forgotten taste of alcohol coated her tongue and slid smoothly down her throat.

“Have you ever heard the saying that men don’t get jealous—they get angry?”

“Angry?”

“Yeah. Not just feeling hurt or annoyed—they actually get mad. Look, I get that playing with fire can be fun, but don’t push it. You’ll pee yourself.”

“Come on, sunbae. You just don’t know Jaeyoon well enough. He’s never gotten angry in his whole life.”

“Maybe I don’t know him, or maybe you don’t.”

“How would you know, you’ve never even met him—”

Hyerin reached out toward her phone, which Junsoo had snatched and tossed far away earlier. But the distance was hopeless. Seongchan, with his long arms, fetched it and placed it in her hand.

“See, smooth as always… Wait, huh?”

“What?”

“Why’s it off?”

She tapped the screen repeatedly, but the phone didn’t respond.

“Maybe the battery’s dead?”

“But it had enough to get me home….”

“Maybe it’s time to replace it? Old ones just conk out like that.”

“Hey, mine’s actually pretty new, okay?!”

“Well, you should’ve gone for function over looks. If it’s dying this fast, maybe it’s worse than you thought—”

“I said no! It was perfectly fine earlier!”

Hyerin fiercely defended her baby from Seongchan’s harsh judgment. It was a sleek, smart model she’d pre-ordered before release—classic but stylish, sharp as a whip, and with superb screen quality.

Then Seongchan noticed that her phone was the same model as his and promptly changed his tune.

“Or maybe… something caused it to shut off.”

“Like what?”

“Like constant vibrations or something.”

“There was nothing that would make it vibrate….”

“You don’t carry a power bank?”

Hyerin quickly shook her head. Even back in school, she hated carrying anything bulky—she used to get by with just a single pen in her bag. Today’s bag only had lipstick and a work notebook.

“Do you have one, sunbae?”

“Have you ever seen me carry a bag?”

Seongchan replied curtly, clearly also empty-handed. Now that she thought about it, everyone on their team came to work with just a phone in their pocket.

She stared in amazement, wondering how such minimalists had all gathered in one place, then set her dark phone down again. Even without asking around, she could already hear what the others would say.

She pointed her chin at a perfectly grilled piece of meat in front of her and picked up her chopsticks.

“I’ll just eat this and head out.”

“If you’re feeling nervous, want to borrow my phone?”

“Nah, it’s fine. I’ll just go home early. It’s only nine.”

With high-grade beef stuffed into both cheeks, Hyerin grinned innocently. The meat was so tender it practically melted, and the drinks kept going down easily. Without realizing it, her pace of pouring and emptying her glass was steadily increasing.

By the time they left the restaurant, it was already close to midnight.

“Hey, sunbae, do you know what it’s called when a pig farts? Puhuhuh—”

“Just… shut up already….”

“Ton. Ka. Su! Puhaha! Isn’t that hilarious? God, that’s so funny. Hahaha…”

Hyerin, unable to contain her own laughter, stumbled as she burst into giggles. Seongchan, who had no choice but to support her, wore a grim expression. He should’ve known better than to believe her when she said she’d have “just one more drink.” Or at the very least, he should’ve sent her off when the sales team became the topic of drunken gossip…

Regrets from earlier replayed in his mind like a movie reel. But Hyerin wasn’t the only one who’d had too much.

“Ah, tonkatsu, that’s insane. Puhaha! Funniest joke I’ve ever heard. You should be a comedian!”

“Then if a pig falls from the sky, it’s a money shower, huh~”

“Oh god, money shower! Wahaha—whoosh!—I can’t breathe!”

After two hours of nonstop drinking, Seongchan was the only one left with a functioning brain. The guys? He could throw them into a motel room and call it a night, but Hyerin was the tricky one to deal with.

Leaving her temporarily with Junsoo—who was at least half-sober—Seongchan went back to the restaurant to retrieve Hyerin’s phone, which she had asked to be charged. When he returned, Hyerin was half-asleep, mumbling Jaeyoon’s name under her breath.

“Hoo… Why me…”

Burdened simply because of his high alcohol tolerance, Seongchan sighed and took her hand to unlock the phone using her fingerprint.

“Of course… this is what I mean.”

His vision briefly went dark when he saw the screen—28 missed calls and 14 unread messages. The caller names included a few from “Joo Hyungwon,” but the majority were from “Princess ♡.”

Princess. It was such an unusual nickname, Seongchan actually paused to consider whether Hyerin had a young niece. As he wavered between “Joo Hyungwon” and “Princess ♡,” the latter began calling again.

– Hello.

The moment he pressed the call button, a deep voice answered. Having expected a childlike tone—due to his own prejudiced assumptions—it felt like his eardrums had been crushed. The voice was calmer than expected for someone who had made 24 missed calls.

Seongchan looked down at the dozing Hyerin and responded flatly.

“Hello.”

He gave a short greeting, but hesitated to say anything more. What should he call her? Referring to her casually as “Joo Hyerin” felt too familiar—something that might rub her boyfriend the wrong way. After all, if he went by what Hyerin had said, he was supposedly her ex.

– Are you a coworker of Hyerin’s?

“Yes, she’s a little drunk. I think someone should come pick her up. We’re at…”

– I’m almost there.

That was odd—he hadn’t even said the location yet. And then—screech!—the sound of tires skidding harshly cut through the night. A sleek white sedan came to a sharp stop in the street just ahead.

Seongchan instinctively knew: That’s Jaeyoon.

And sure enough, a tall, well-dressed man stepped out of the car with a silhouette Seongchan vaguely recognized.

‘Princess…?’

Even from a distance, the man’s height and build were far too masculine to fit such a nickname. The dissonance was striking. Seongchan gently nudged the slumped-over Hyerin, and she slowly opened her eyes—then suddenly jumped up and ran straight to Jaeyoon. She wrapped her arms around his waist with a dopey grin.

“Wow, it’s Jung Jaeyoon, Jung Jaeyoon… Right? You’re my princess!”

Like a puppy reunited with its owner, Hyerin looked up at him and giggled. Seongchan, left playing the role of her temporary caretaker, let out a small, helpless laugh. Jaeyoon softly stroked Hyerin’s head, which was now resting against his chest, and gave Seongchan a warm smile as he approached.

“How much did she drink?”

“Just under three bottles, I think. Here’s Hyerin ssi’s phone.”

Seongchan handed Jaeyoon the phone and added an explanation.

“It was off because the battery died. I saw you called a lot—I didn’t expect we’d be out this long, so I didn’t handle it quickly.”

“No, it’s nothing Seongchan ssi should’ve been responsible for… I should be the one apologizing for the trouble.”

“Oh—you know my name?”

“Yes, well… things happened.”

Jaeyoon replied in a low tone, his gaze fixed quietly on the phone in Seongchan’s hand. Then, as if reluctant, he slowly reached out and pinched the corner of the device between his fingers—like it was something dirty.

Sensing something off in the air, Seongchan glanced up—just in time to meet Jaeyoon’s gaze. Eyes still tinged with a trace of wariness. But in the next moment, those eyes narrowed and curved into a smile.

“Our Hyerin seems to have caused trouble for her team. I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

His tone sounded less like a boyfriend’s and more like a guardian’s—like someone talking about a child… or a pet. The subtle discomfort in Jaeyoon’s voice made Seongchan shift his eyes away from the veins that stood out on the hand stroking Hyerin’s head.

“…No, I’ve actually been in Hyerin ssi’s debt more than once. It’s fine.”

“Is that so?”

Jaeyoon gently pulled Hyerin closer, now clearly starting to lose strength, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Then, with his eyes fixed on her, he murmured almost to himself:

“I should ask what kind of debt that was…”

A beat later, he smiled again and gave a slight nod.

“Well then. Take care.”

Seongchan gave a small bow in return, but before his gesture could even reach Jaeyoon, the man had already turned his back.

Watching the two disappear down the street, Seongchan was overcome by a strange feeling. Jaeyoon was similar, yet not quite the same as the image Hyerin had painted of him. He wasn’t just kind and gentle—he had a sharp edge hidden beneath his calm surface. The warning he’d quietly issued, the barely veiled hostility, felt almost like a veiled threat. If he thought Seongchan was an ex-boyfriend, the response made sense.

“You don’t know him, sunbae. Oppa’s never once gotten angry in his life.”

“…I wonder who really doesn’t know who.”

As the white sedan pulled away with Hyerin inside, Junsoo—who had been watching from a distance—walked over. Compared to the two who were slumped outside the convenience store, Junsoo looked relatively sober now.

“That guy was Jaeyoon, right? He’s way sharper-looking than what Hyerin made him out to be. Didn’t she say he was like cotton candy?”

“Yeah… definitely different from the way she described him.”

“People like that—so polite they’re razor-sharp—those types creep me out. Kinda seemed pissed, didn’t he?”

“Not kinda. A lot.”

“Oh man. Hyerin’s gonna get scolded. Guess that was our last team dinner.”

It was clear Junsoo had felt the same cold undercurrent. Seongchan, too, had made up his mind—he wasn’t going to be drinking with Hyerin again anytime soon.

‘I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again.’

For a brief moment, Seongchan felt a flicker of concern for Hyerin—but he quickly brushed it off and turned away.

It’s just her boyfriend scolding her. What’s the worst that could happen?

“Hyerin-ssi, Hyerin-ssi… Ugh. You were acting so stiff I thought you were drunk too.”

“Well, I couldn’t just go around calling her ‘Joo Hyerin’ in front of her boyfriend, could I? Hey, if you’ve sobered up, let’s each take one of these guys.”

“Ugh… I’m not totally sober yet…”

Junsoo, who had been walking just fine moments earlier, now grabbed his head and groaned. Seongchan yanked him along roughly and asked,

“Hey. If you didn’t tell me your location, but I still managed to find you—how do you think I did it?”

“What, is this a riddle?”

“Yeah. Use your brain.”

“Hmm… were you following me?”

“Nope.”

Seongchan shut that down firmly, triggering Junsoo’s competitive streak. He furrowed his brow, deep in thought.

“Oh! If your phone’s on, then GPS? A lot of people install tracking apps these days, like for kids and stuff. But I doubt I’d let you install something like that, so probably not. What’s the answer?”

“…He didn’t get here fast. He was waiting the whole time…”

“What?”

“He was watching us from the moment we stepped out of the bar…”

As the pieces fell into place, a cold chill spread through Seongchan. He rubbed the back of his tingling neck and let out a shaky laugh.

 

* * *

 

[I brought Hyerin home.]

[So don’t worry—just get some sleep.]

[She’s at our place.]

Holding Hyerin up with one arm, Jaeyoon used the other to text Hyungwon, who was surely worried after Hyerin had stopped answering calls. As expected, the reply came quickly, like he’d been waiting.

[Ugh, that idiot]

[Had everyone worried again]

[She’s probably giggling like nothing happened, huh?]

[She won’t listen to me, so give her a proper scolding]

With a face as blank as the dull mechanical voice announcing the 15th floor, Jaeyoon replied shortly:

[That’s the plan.]

Click. As soon as the two of them stepped inside, the yellow sensor lights flicked on, illuminating the entryway.

“Oppaaa… and then I was like… pfft, hehe…”

Even after getting home, Hyerin was mumbling and swaying, her body heavy with alcohol. Without a word of response, Jaeyoon had only been supporting her—but then he abruptly let her slump back and faced her.

“Hyerin.”

“Pork cu… huh?”

“Stand up straight. You’re filthy—you need to wash.”

Maybe it was his stern face, or the firm grip on her shoulders, but the smile slipped from Hyerin’s lips.

Jaeyoon slowly let his gaze travel down her figure. Images of men’s hands on her under the excuse of helping flashed through his mind, making him nauseous. His brows furrowed tightly as he stripped off all her clothes and threw them into the laundry basket. Then he gripped her slender wrist and dragged her toward the bathroom.

“If it’s too hot, say something.”

He whispered quietly as he poured water over her and silently began to wash her body. The scent of his familiar body wash, usually comforting, filled her chest with a heavy, bitter chill. Today, it smelled cold and sharp, and her nose stung.

Hyerin accepted his touch without protest, but her drowsy eyes flicked up, trying to read his mood. The lack of a smile on his face made her anxious. Even drunk, she tried to piece things together, but her alcohol-clouded brain wouldn’t move fast enough.

By the time she could even open her mouth, he had finished washing her soaked body and hair and led her out of the bathroom, gripping her wrist just like before.

As Jaeyoon released her inside the bedroom, Hyerin, who had been leaning on him, collapsed onto the bed. Her small, bare body bounced once on the soft mattress. It wasn’t rough, but his usual kindness now felt restrained, deliberate. Even through the haze of alcohol, Hyerin could tell: Jaeyoon was angry.

The bedroom was dark. Her eyes, fluttering like a mayfly facing death, finally landed on Jaeyoon’s face. He was carelessly rolling up his damp sleeves, eyes meeting hers with the same calm detachment.

“Why didn’t you answer?”

His voice, accusing and direct, stabbed through the fog of her mind.

This wasn’t a situation where “My battery died” could pass as an excuse.

Cold. The air against her bare skin made her shiver. Without realizing it, Hyerin trembled, searching for a way to defuse the tension. The silence dragged on until Jaeyoon casually unbuckled his watch and added,

“Depending on your answer, I might change my mind—so answer me quickly.”

Clink.

The silver metal landed on the nightstand with a chilling glint. The ticking of the watch’s second hand sounded faster than usual—as if she were standing before a ticking bomb. Nervous sweat formed on her back.

Desperate to do something, Hyerin began rambling out her explanation.

“My battery was dead… I couldn’t reach you. No one had a charger… I thought I’d leave soon…”

“And that’s your excuse for drinking with a bunch of guys and disappearing for three hours?”

“I just meant to drink a little more…”

“Oh, I was in agony worrying about you that whole time. But you didn’t even spare a thought for my worry, did you?”

“No, I didn’t mean to… It just kind of happened…”

“So what—you’re going to keep saying it ‘just happened’? Keep flashing that pretty smile while making me feel like this?”

“……”

“I see. To you, I’m just some guy…”

In the darkness, Jaeyoon’s eyes sank low and deep.

Hyerin’s heart began pounding with anxiety. The moment she realized—he’s disappointed in me—a wave of fear crashed over her: that Jaeyoon might once again leave her.

She pushed herself upright and crawled on her knees across the bed. When she reached the distance where she could almost touch him, she grabbed his waist and hugged him.

“No, that’s not true. You’re not just some guy to me. I messed up. You’re the most important person to me… you know that.”

“I want to believe that. But your words and your actions don’t match. How am I supposed to believe you really mean what you’re saying now?”

His voice was heavy with hurt and doubt, as if she were an unfaithful wife. She looked up quickly, guilt weighing down her brows.

“I wasn’t thinking clearly. I’m sorry, oppa.”

“…That guy was at the drinking party too. Yoon Seongchan.”

“…Huh?”

As she tried to recall whether she had ever told him that name, Jaeyoon continued.

“I saw you. You were in his arms.”

“Huh? That was just—he was helping me walk…”

“You were so drunk you couldn’t stand. And I have no idea what happened between you two inside the bar.”

A small lie struck again, piercing her right through. From Jaeyoon’s perspective, it could easily be seen as cheating.

“I—I swear—n-nothing happened, oppa.”

“Why are you stammering? Like someone who’s lying.”

“……”

“When you’re drunk, you just throw yourself into people’s arms. And you smile so sweetly. Do you even know how adorable you are when you do that? Why would you show him that?”

Despite the sharpness of his words, Jaeyoon’s downcast eyes were filled with a quiet sorrow. It wasn’t the voice of a man simply sulking—it was the voice of someone truly hurt. And it burned Hyerin’s insides.

That habit of clinging to him when drunk… had been something she reserved only for Jaeyoon. She’d faked drunkenness so many times just to get close to him. Now, that very thing had come back to bite her.

“You said he was your age, right? Like you said, he’s good-looking. About as tall as me, too. Hard to forget, huh? The ex-boyfriend you kissed before you even dated him. The one who spent my birthday with you…”

Jaeyoon mumbled bitterly, then stared straight at her. His piercing gaze wavered with a mix of irritation and anxiety.

“He was staring at you like he was on fire.”

If that were really true, it must’ve been with rage. Come Monday, she’d probably be roasted alive under that fiery gaze at work.

“I really did forget about all that.”

Jaeyoon turned his head with a deep sigh, avoiding her eyes.

“Then how does someone like that go out drinking and suddenly stop answering their phone? What—did you guys reminisce about old times? Or did you turn your phone off on purpose?”

He rubbed his face dry without even making eye contact. Even in her drunken state, Hyerin’s heart burned as she gradually realized the seriousness of the situation.

“Oppa, I’m sorry… Really, nothing happened…”

“I can’t believe anything you say.”

He kept running his hand through his hair in frustration, exhaling hot breaths. The sight of him suppressing his anger felt like a volcano that could erupt at any moment. Seeing Jaeyoon angry was something she had never experienced before, and it filled her with an indistinct fear. She needed to calm him down before he exploded.

“What can I do to make you believe me? Should I go over there and raise my hand to get punished?”

As Hyerin tried to soothe him, Jaeyoon’s gaze slowly slid over her naked body. Just as she followed his gaze to look down at her chest, his tightly closed lips parted.

“Show me through actions, not words. Then I might be able to believe you. Because that’s real.”

“Actions…?”

“Can you be punished as much as you’ve done wrong?”

Meanwhile, Jaeyoon, with a cold face, leisurely unfastened the thin black necktie around his neck and answered.

“You just have to do as I say.”

“…As you say?”

“Yes, will you prove that your words are true?”

His proposal felt like the last chance to hold onto his trust. The moment Hyerin nodded, darkness fell. Jaeyoon’s necktie completely covered her drooping eyes from drunkenness.

Hyerin, seemingly flustered, touched her face, but he paid no attention and tightly tied the knot to secure it. After dropping her into the darkness like that, he calmly withdrew his hand. With her vision blocked, she couldn’t tell where he was or what he was doing, which made her feel stifled.

“Oppa…?”

As Hyerin tried to lower the cloth covering her eyes, a warmth that appeared from somewhere tightly restrained her wrist, limiting her actions.

“If you untie it, I’ll punish you. Do you understand what I mean?”

Startled by the voice in her ear, Hyerin trembled her shoulders and covered her ear where the moist breath had touched. The word “punishment” without the explanation of “how” brought a vague fear. As Hyerin nodded, Jaeyoon made his next demand.

“Now, play with yourself.”

“…Huh?”

As Hyerin asked back in a trembling voice, he answered a little more clearly.

“Masturbate.”

The explicit word made her face flush, and her ears turned bright red. Her body instinctively shrank, and her legs came together. As she moved defensively without thinking, Jaeyoon pressed down on her shoulders with a heavy sigh.

Until now, Jaeyoon had been teaching her about caresses and sex as a lover, comforting and soothing her shyness, but now it was different. He was not a teacher but a superior, monitoring her every move. He was in a position to punish her immediately if he didn’t like something.

“You said you would prove it. Are you not going to do it?”

At the moist voice, Hyerin’s face twisted with shame as she trembled once more. The heat gathered under the necktie was scorching.

“I’ll do it…”

“Spread your legs so I can see.”

Hyerin spread her legs little by little as he told her to.

“Hng…”

“Spread them wider.”

As she spread her legs wide at his request, she could feel the cold air touching her groin, exposing her private parts.

“Start.”

Jaeyoon commanded. His voice, devoid of emotion, was businesslike. Hyerin, feeling a bit upset, lightly touched her chest with her trembling fingertips. As her cold hand touched her nipple, a chill ran through her body, making her shiver.

She couldn’t quite picture what her body looked like now. The sensations and textures all felt unfamiliar. Trying to understand the shape, she slowly traced around her areola and then carefully rubbed the protruding nipple with her fingertip.

“Uh… hng…”

“Do it harder.”

With a desire to hide somewhere, she tightly closed her eyes, even though she was already in darkness. The voice that came out still had a hint of embarrassment, and her movements, unsure of what to do, were clumsy and awkward. Yet, with the repeated friction, the pressed flesh began to rise.

“Hng… uh…”

As her nipples became erect, a soft moan escaped her lips. Her body temperature rose, warming her up. Just as her body and mind found some stability and her fingers began to get the hang of it, she heard the sound of metal followed by the sound of a zipper being pulled down.

She vaguely realized that he was unbuckling his belt and taking off his pants. As her heightened hearing began to paint a picture in the pitch-black darkness, the darkness made another demand.

“Touch your pussy too.”

Hyerin obediently followed his command, rolling her nipple with her right hand and slowly moving her left hand down to feel her labia. As she groped to understand the shape of her female parts, she bit her lip in surprise at the slippery liquid touching her hand. She hadn’t imagined she would be wet. Was she this aroused just from touching her own chest?

Fearful that Jaeyoon might see it, she quickly placed her hand over the entrance where the slick fluid was coming out and gently rubbed it. But each time, the sound of water splashing proved that she was already wet.

“Hng, uh… haa, ah…”

Her hot breath gradually turned into a voice. The more she focused on the act, the more her body heated up, and the pleasure overcame her shame.

Every time she rubbed near her vaginal entrance, more sticky fluid flowed out, wetting her fingers. As her body warmed with excitement, her hand squeezing her nipple gradually applied more pressure. The erect flesh, now hard, began to turn red and inflamed as if screaming.

Her hardened nipples ached as if burning. It was more pain than pleasure, but she applied even more pressure. The familiar sensation reminded her of Jaeyoon’s caresses.

‘You like it when it hurts, don’t you, Hyerin?’

Remembering how he used to tease her, she moaned and writhed.

“Ung, haa… ah… uh… haung…”

Then, he spoke to her from the darkness.

“You’re quite skilled. Did you do this a lot before?”

At the word “before,” she thought of Jaeyoon and the days she had rubbed herself over her underwear. It wasn’t exactly like this, but she definitely had experience. As she bit her lip and remained silent, he delved deeper.

“Did you think of me while doing it?”

His voice was mixed with hot breath. Maybe he was excited too. Was he feeling good? Was he touching himself while watching her? Like she had done last night, imagining him?

“Uh… uh, I did…”

“… “

She never thought she would confess such things in front of him. She was so embarrassed that the bridge of her nose turned red. The heat soon turned into excitement, making Hyerin’s body even hotter. She moved her hands between her chest and legs more vigorously and continued.

“Haa… I thought of you… hng, I did.”

What would Jaeyoon think of her? Since she couldn’t see his expression, various faces came to mind. She had a bad thought that he might be disgusted by her lewdness, but she pushed it away with pleasure.

Hyerin gently massaged her heavy breasts and started rolling her clitoris with her fingertips. The small piece of flesh was hard and erect from the friction so far.

Pressing the round flesh firmly, pleasure spread through her pelvis. It was a strong stimulation that made her head dizzy, but it was different from what he did.

Recalling the caresses she had received from him, she slowly lowered her hand. The vaginal entrance touched by her fingers twitched and clung to her fingers. Her body clearly wanted more internal stimulation.

Hyerin hesitated, biting her lips, but then gently pushed her ring and middle fingers into her hole.

“Hng…”

It was the first time she had put her fingers inside herself. The inside of her vagina, felt for the first time, was full of heat that she couldn’t believe was her own body, and it was narrow. The warm vaginal walls squeezed her fingers.

If her own fingers were like this, how much tighter would Jaeyoon’s thick penis feel? As the memory of her moaning face flashed by, her fingers felt like his, and her lower body heated up. She bit her wet lips and carefully moved her fingers.

Just imagining Jaeyoon, a pleasure she couldn’t compare to the masturbation she had done before pierced her body. Thinking that his gaze was watching her whole body, her body itched, and she couldn’t stop her hand.

Like he always did, she stirred and scissored inside, widening the hole. The more vigorous her hand movements, the rougher her breathing, and sweat beaded on her white skin. She pushed her two fingers in as deep as possible and scraped the inside of her pussy, and hot liquid gushed out along her fingers.

The sound of swallowing saliva was clearly heard in the darkness. The thought that he was excited too made her more and more confident. The fierce gaze that would be touching between her widely spread legs made her body tremble slightly. It was burdensome, but she was happy to receive his gaze.

To meet his expectations, she moved her hand, which was poking between her legs, even faster. The fingers coming in and out of her vaginal entrance had already increased to three.

Every time she poked the hole in a trance, a sticky sound came out. The lukewarm liquid that seeped out from inside flowed down her tailbone and soaked into the sheet.

“Uh, hng… ha, ah… ahng…”

As the overwhelming excitement made her thrust inside quickly, she soon reached her climax. The electric current that started from her lower body spread tinglingly to her toes. She gripped her chest painfully with her other hand as if to suppress her convulsing body.

The thin, delicate neck leaning back had veins popping out, and sweet moans occasionally burst from her half-open lips. When the movement of her twitching vagina calmed down a bit, she slowly pulled her fingers out of the hole. The sticky fluid stretched like a thread and clung to her fingers.

Even after pulling her fingers out, Hyerin trembled in the afterglow of her climax. Her eyes were moist, and her blurred gaze wandered in the darkness.

“Haa… hng…”

“Hyerin, when did I say you could come alone?”

His husky voice felt fierce. Hyerin barely moved her lips trembling with excitement.

“Hng, s-sorry… haa… It felt good…”

At that moment, something large covered her body. Pressed down by the immense force on her shoulders, Hyerin was laid flat on the bed. Before she could scream, something hard and hot touched her groin. It felt like a red-hot iron rod.

A rough hand tightly gripped her pelvis, and something as thick as a forearm pierced her center.

“Haeng…! Kng… ah, hng… ah…”

It seemed her three fingers were far from enough to prepare for him. The inside, which she thought was well-loosened, struggled to accept him tightly.

Jaeyoon lifted her long legs onto his shoulders and sat down, putting his weight on her as if stamping from above. Her vaginal entrance, stretched as wide as the circumference of his penis, began to swallow his hard. The shock of her inside being forcibly expanded made her waist arch deeply.

Jaeyoon, who had pushed his penis all the way in, started pouring fierce pistons between her legs, breathing like a fierce beast.

“Haeng, ugh… it’s deep… ah, no… hng, ah… slowly… hng!”

His movements lacked the usual leisure. It was as if he was a starving carnivore, desperate to devour the female body before him.

Without a word, he pushed her with his powerful waist movements. As his penis pounded her cervix, Hyerin moaned and writhed. Every time his raised waist came down with weight, her buttocks bounced off the bed.

Every time the fierce pounding came and went, the words begging him to stop rose to her throat but didn’t come out. It was the thought that this pain was also a punishment for her actions and the fear that she might incur Jaeyoon’s displeasure.

Jaeyoon completely overpowered her. It wasn’t just about the position; he was dominating her, crushing her body and mind together.

Even with the merciless rough friction, her pussy, which had been building excitement, began to tremble slightly, signaling a climax. He, too, seemed close to cumming, breathing heavily. A low curse echoed in her ear, and the cock that had pierced her deepest spot slid out.

It was the moment she was searching for his disappeared weight and heat. He pulled her shoulders to sit her upper body up, then pushed his fully erect penis against her face and shook his waist. The sticky semen that gushed out like a fountain poured over her face, chest, and hair.

Feeling the heat, Hyerin also trembled and reached her climax.

“Hah… ah…”

“Ah… huu, ah… fuck.”

Every time the milky semen gushed out, Jaeyoon’s lower body, which was stiff, trembled slightly. The thick semen that dripped from her forehead flowed down her cheek and into her half-open lips. Even though only a little had seeped in, a bitter and fishy taste spread throughout her mouth.

He was still panting roughly, rubbing his penis against her face. Jaeyoon slowly moved his waist as if pistoning, pushing his penis into the necktie covering her eyes and shaking it.

The flesh that suddenly burrowed into the darkness rubbed against her tightly closed eyelids. The already tight space inside the necktie became even narrower, pressing and compressing her pupils. This pressure was also felt by Jaeyoon’s penis.

It seemed to be quite a satisfying stimulation, as the semen that had been flowing from the tip of the penis placed on her eyes poured out like her tears.

Huu, he took a deep breath and withdrew his penis. The necktie was looser than before because of the thick thing that had squeezed in, but she still couldn’t see anything. The thick semen he left behind stuck to her eyelashes like glue, preventing her from opening her eyes.

At some point, the distinctive fishy smell reached her nose with every breath, and her face, chest, and collarbone were sticky.

Hyerin blankly breathed heavily and swallowed the saliva that filled her throat from the bitterness. Jaeyoon had never ejaculated anywhere other than her vagina. Now that she thought about it, he didn’t speak to her during the act, didn’t kiss her, and didn’t hug her afterward. His behavior, different from usual, proved that he was still angry.

Oppa hates dirty things…

Imagining herself covered in semen, a sudden sadness washed over her. Even though it was Jaeyoon who had dirtied her, her drunk mind made her think it was all her fault. It was because she didn’t want to be hated by him.

Her nose tingled, and heat gathered in her eyes. As she tried hard to hold back her tears, Jaeyoon suddenly grabbed her waist and turned her. In the darkness, her body, which had lost its balance, unknowingly fell forward, and she had to support herself on the bed. As she lay face down, her long hair poured forward heavily.

“Lift your butt higher.”

The short command vaguely told her what he was about to do. The sensation of being penetrated from behind came to mind, making her spine tingle.

The position of being penetrated from behind was difficult because even a slight insertion poked the deep parts of her vagina. It was also a position they rarely did because she didn’t prefer it.

“Oppa, I’m s-sorry. Don’t be angry…”

“Spread your pussy with your hand.”

His excited voice cut off her plea, making her lips pout in sadness. She felt his hand stroking her back as if he noticed.

“I still can’t trust you.”

He became her sad lover again and expressed his disappointment. The voice filled with anxiety and sadness clearly engraved her guilt. It was her fault that she had driven him, who used to accept her affection with a kind face, to this point.

Hyerin eventually slowly lifted her butt and spread her labia with one hand. Cold air filled the place where heat had gathered, but she didn’t feel the cold at all because her body was already heated from one climax.

The hot flesh touched the hole that was widely open and exposed. Even though he had already ejaculated a large amount of semen, his vigor was not diminished at all. Even just being pressed against it, she could feel the heat and pulse of his penis.

He pierced her insides with his heated penis. The insertion was easy because it was already loosened from the climax. Thud, his lower abdomen forcefully hit her buttocks. The bold thing dug through the deep parts and hit her cervix.

“Agh! Deep, hng…”

He repeatedly pressed deep inside, compressing her uterus, and pulled out in one breath. The more she was subjected to the fierce nailing, the more her mind turned white. She no longer had the strength to maintain her posture and collapsed forward, her buttocks high in the air in a ridiculous position. Her head buried in the bed, and her hair poured forward.

Every time his wet penis moved in and out of the narrow gap, it made a squelching sound, and the pulled-out fluid dirtied their joined parts. As he violently shook his waist, pitiful moans overflowed from Hyerin’s mouth.

His waist movements, which had found the rhythm of thrusting, became increasingly merciless, and she endured all this with her face flushed red from the blood rush. But soon, the tears that had been quietly building up instead of the swallowed screams crumbled down.

“Hng… ah, it hurts… it hurts… ah, I… I hate it… hng, hng, ah…”

As Hyerin started to cry, Jaeyoon slowly pulled out his penis. Then he turned her limp body around, hugged her, and sat her up. As his body touched her hand, Hyerin gradually stopped crying and wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him. Jaeyoon patted her back for a long time as if comforting a crying child.

“Did it hurt?”

“Hng… yes.”

“But you endured it?”

Hyerin silently nodded and buried herself in Jaeyoon’s embrace.

“You did well. You’re cute.”

He kissed her shoulder and earlobe in turn, praising her. It proved that she was still his beloved lover.

As Hyerin’s breathing stabilized with relief, he immediately pulled her hips down. Without knowing what was happening, Hyerin’s groin was pulled down, and the hot glans touched her. Just before being pierced by the huge, venomously erect flesh, Hyerin resisted his strength.

“O-oppa…”

“Sit down. This is your place.”

“Are you going to do more…?”

Hyerin’s legs, desperately clinging to him, trembled. Jaeyoon leisurely began to knead her quivering thighs and buttocks as he spoke.

“Aren’t you going to prove it to me?”

“I-I will….”

“Then sit down quickly. Show me through your actions how much you love me, how much you want me, and that you can’t be without me.”

“Ugh… Oppa, Oppa….”

“Yeah, I’m right here.”

Jaeyoon took Hyerin’s hand, which was holding his shoulder, and rubbed it against his cheek. Hyerin, who was desperately feeling his face, sobbed at the presence pressing her groin.

Jaeyoon slowly stroked her back as if comforting her and pulled her hips down. Unable to resist his strength, she fell down as if sitting. Then the thick penis fiercely pushed aside the inside and pierced all the way to the deepest part with a crunch.

“Ahng…! Ugh… ah… ahng…”

“Ugh, haa… move your waist.”

“Hng, ah, oppa… it’s deep…”

“Huu… quickly.”

Slap, Jaeyoon’s large hand struck her buttocks with a sharp friction sound. A sharp pain made a faint scream leak out, and her waist flinched up.

“…Hng, ah, th-that… ah!”

“Shake it more.”

In the darkness, her nerves became more sensitive due to the unexpected pain, and the sensation of the pulsating flesh inside her became even clearer. Thanks to this, every time the spanking was done, her tightened vaginal walls chewed on the penis that was fully inserted. He seemed to like this stimulation quite a bit, as he let out a satisfied breath.

“Hiiik, it hurts… stop, ah… haa, ah… ugh…”

With the uninhibited, sharp spanking repeatedly pounding in, Hyerin’s body and black hair began to slowly dance on top of him.

Her white buttocks, blotchy with red, repeated the act of swallowing and spitting out his penis. Then, Jaeyoon completely withdrew his hands from her.

As Jaeyoon stopped controlling her, Hyerin’s waist movements began to get the hang of it. Unlike before, when she was lying on the bed and being powerlessly penetrated, being able to insert and pull out as much as she wanted brought a clear sense of stability.

Her waist, which had been frozen with tension and fear, gradually began to move smoothly, and her furrowed brows relaxed. As she moved her waist back and forth like riding a horse, she heard the sound of the penis scratching and stirring the wet folds. Every time the grooved glans scraped a certain part, her waist involuntarily bounced up, and moans helplessly escaped her mouth.

“Ung, haa… ah, hng…”

To rub the pleasurable area more vigorously, she accepted his penis even deeper. Between the sounds of friction from the wet junction, her panting breaths mixed in. The overflowing fluid soaked his thighs and scrotum.

Jaeyoon, in the darkness, scooped up the glistening fluid with his fingertips and dabbed it on Hyerin’s shaking breasts. The traces of semen that had dried mixed with Hyerin’s fluid and wreaked havoc on her raised areola. He pulled on her nipples, which were standing proudly even with the slightest stimulation, and asked.

“Do you feel good even when you’re being punished, Hyerin?”

“Ah… no, hng… ah, uh… no, I… I’m not like that…”

Hyerin, without stopping her waist movements, only shook her head in denial. Fluid was still dripping from the junction. Jaeyoon grabbed her swaying breasts tightly and then struck down hard enough to make a slapping sound, interrogating her sin.

“Since when have you started lying more?”

The sharp pain that flew into an unexpected place made her body jump high and then sink. The fear of not knowing when, where, or what kind of stimulation would come dominated her mind. Then, her courage to assert herself melted away like snow, and the remaining shame turned her white cheeks red.

“I like it… I feel good…”

As she confessed, heat rushed through her body, making her skin itch. Hyerin started shaking her waist vigorously to relieve the itch.

Her short breaths became rough, and her body trembled slightly. She had already reached a small climax several times. Now, things like shame didn’t matter. She just wanted to feel even better by extracting all the pleasure from his body.

With her brain numbed by alcohol and repeated climaxes, she couldn’t think of anything else.

“Do you like it even when you’re being punished?”

“I like it… uh, haa… I think I’m going to cum again…”

As Hyerin became more honest than ever, he hugged her waist tightly and buried his face in her ample breasts.

“Haa… I’ll punish you if you cum first.”

He moistened her chest with his slightly heated, damp breath and pulled her waist down. Then, the penis was inserted so deeply that it completely disappeared. As her cervix was pressed down by her weight, a sensation that made her breath catch came over her, and she couldn’t think of anything.

Her body, on the verge of climax, was even mistaking pain for pleasure. Jaeyoon let go of the waist he was holding and made a demand.

“Make me feel good too. I like it when you put it in this deep. Do you know how to do it?”

The words “don’t cum first” meant that she had to bring him to climax quickly.

Hyerin immediately hugged him tightly, kissed him, and mixed their tongues. The intertwined saliva had a faint sweetness. Hyerin caressed his face with her lips, licking his nape and ears with her tongue as he had done to her, and shook her waist vigorously. Yet, a sharp spanking flew to her buttocks.

“More, more… shake harder. You can do more, right?”

“Hng! Ah! Haa… uh, uhng…”

As the pain was added, the surface tension of the climax, which had already reached its limit, broke, and pleasure flowed out. Hyerin trembled all over but shook her waist greedily, expecting the next big wave.

Jaeyoon intentionally left Hyerin like that. The sight of her shaking her waist to get pleasure was the most arousing. However, the stimulation was far from enough to reach a climax.

“Haa… do a little more.”

He deliberately made a sound as if he was also enduring pleasure. He was still far from ejaculation, but it was to stimulate Hyerin’s ambition.

“Your pussy chewing me up feels so good.”

At Jaeyoon’s explicit words, Hyerin’s cheeks turned red. A small joy shone beneath the shame. The fact that he was happy melted Hyerin’s anxious heart. In her mind, which had turned white with pleasure, the hope that she could be forgiven if she worked harder arose.

She repeated hugging Jaeyoon tightly and shaking her ample buttocks. She had reached climax several times, but his center was still quietly growing, standing his stout body upright.

When her stamina reached its peak and her consciousness blurred, Jaeyoon would grab her waist and pull it down, waking her brain and drawing out moans. Yet, the response in her weakly panting voice was gradually decreasing. She had been feeling small climaxes continuously since earlier, so she was close to her limit.

“You did well. It felt good.”

He praised her, stroking her head, and grabbed her pelvis, which had been swaying, and roughly hit it against his lower abdomen. As his strong force precisely pierced Hyerin’s deepest part, her raised white neck leaned back. Unable to withstand the pressure as he thrust his waist up after pushing it in to the root, Hyerin hugged his neck and took a deep breath.

“Now rest.”

He hugged her waist as it was and started lifting his waist. Hyerin, who had completely exhausted her strength, could only pant and collapse as she was pierced by the incoming pleasure.

Jaeyoon poked, scraped, and stirred Hyerin’s hole, which was twisting her body, with his huge rod. Her body shook up and down with the fierce reverse pounding of his heated penis. Every time he thrust into her, Hyerin’s buttocks bounced up into the air and then fell back to the root of his penis. Every time her fallen buttocks hit his thighs, which were dirty with her fluid, a squelching sound was heard.

“Huu, ha, ah… ahng… now, haang! Not inside, hng… st-stop, ahng… it keeps going…”

Hyerin clung to Jaeyoon and begged. She closed her eyes tightly and writhed like a child afraid of a ride.

The mature female body with swaying ample breasts and flying black long hair, and the crying voice, had a huge gap that made it hard to believe they were from the same person.

The more Hyerin clung tightly, the more he fiercely pounded her womb as if he would pierce her stomach. It was as if he would really enter her womb.

It felt as if the womb, pushed upwards, was pressing against her insides, making it hard to breathe. Yet, the pleasure that was already overflowing surged forth without warning.

“Ugh, Hyerin… do you… love me?”

Even as he drove her relentlessly, his voice still carried the same uncertainty and doubt as at the start. Despite her scattered mind, Hyerin struggled to prove her sincerity.

“Mm… y-yeah, hah, I love you, I love you… ugh!”

Her body convulsed violently as she was swept up in a massive orgasm. Jaeyoon held her waist tight, keeping her from being thrown off. Her slender body shuddered with fierce spasms, then finally went limp. Every muscle in her body relaxed, her mind going completely blank.

“Say it again. Tell me who you love.”

Jaeyoon’s voice sounded distant. The memories after that blurred and faded, coming back only in scattered fragments, as if she’d lost pieces of a puzzle. With her vision cut off, those memories were just flashes of sensation.

She remembered being tossed around on top of Jaeyoon for a long time, her breasts aching just from how hard he sucked them. Then there were flashes of being bent over the bed, taking him from behind. Each time his rough thrusts nearly knocked her off balance, his strong arms would suddenly catch her, only to pound into her even harder.

When he licked behind her ear and along her nape, whispering, “Does that feel good?” she thought she’d answered, “Yeah… it feels good.” Every time Jaeyoon’s animalistic, unbelievable breaths echoed in her ear, a shiver of excitement and pleasure shot down her spine.

“Hee, ah… n-no, ah, haang… inside… cum inside me.”

Even in her dazed, confused mind, Hyerin cried out over and over, but Jaeyoon’s next release spattered across her ass and lower back instead. It felt like an indirect answer, as if he still couldn’t forgive her, and the sting of it made her want to cry. No matter how many times he stirred her insides, he never seemed satisfied, and Hyerin kept losing consciousness, swept away by his relentless pace.

Her awareness only returned when a new, unfamiliar urge crashed over her.

“Haang…! Oh, paaah… there… n-no, not there…”

Every time his thick cock slammed into her entrance, a desperate urge to pee surged inside her. Jaeyoon, oblivious to what that meant, only hoisted one of her legs higher. With her legs spread wide, his cock plunged in deep, pressing on her bladder until her head spun. She shook her head frantically, wrapping one arm around his neck behind her, begging.

“Ah, hng… don’t… please… not there… I’m gonna… I’m gonna pee…”

“Haa… What?”

She thought he might ignore her, but instead, he sounded genuinely interested as he asked again. Hyerin squirmed, trying to push him out, but it only made him press in deeper. Then Jaeyoon started moving slowly, teasing her entrance with the head of his cock.

“Ah, ah… no, hng! Not there, ah, it’s… dangerous…”

“So, what’s so dangerous?”

Jaeyoon sucked on the nape of her neck, all the while continuing to press on her bladder. His blatant movements made it clear he’d figured out exactly what she was feeling.

“If you don’t tell me, I won’t know.”

He murmured as he pressed down firmly on her lower belly. Hyerin sobbed, her moans breaking as tears spilled down her cheeks.

“Ahhng…! Oh, I—I need to pee… I can’t hold it…”

At her raw, unfiltered confession, he let out a low chuckle. Instead of letting her go, Jaeyoon hooked his arm under her other leg and lifted it too. Now, with her pussy spread wide and her body suspended in midair, she was completely exposed.

As Jaeyoon lifted Hyerin in that position, her body rose and fell, his cock plunging deep inside her in one swift motion. Her slender neck arched back, and her limbs trembled with spasms.

“Ugh, hng, stop… ugh, don’t… kuh…”

Her mind was in shambles, driven mad by overwhelming desire.

“Come, Hyerin.”

She realized his voice sounded a little distant just as the necktie that had been slipping loose finally fell away, landing around her neck.

With the blindfold gone, a golden light stabbed into Hyerin’s delicate retinas. Her vision was hazy; below, she could see the toilet, and in the mirror, she saw herself, legs spread wide by Jaeyoon, her pussy completely exposed. If she loosened her grip even a little, she felt like she’d fall, so she clung desperately to his neck.

But even with her desperate pleas, he mercilessly bounced her up and down. The harder Hyerin clung to Jaeyoon to keep from falling, the deeper he thrust, sending shockwaves through her entire body.

Up and down, again and again. Suspended in midair, Hyerin could do nothing but writhe as the vibrations pressed against her bladder.

“Oppa, ah… I can’t… it’s coming… I can’t hold it… no, nooo…!”

Hyerin, nearly delirious, screamed as her silky hair whipped wildly around. Drool she couldn’t swallow dripped from her lips, soaking her chin as she gasped for breath.

In the mirror, she saw herself in that filthy state, taking his cock and begging, “Please, no.” The Jaeyoon reflected there grinned wickedly. Hyerin sobbed as she watched that monstrous flesh thrust in and out of her.

The obscene sight of their bodies joined burned into her eyes, and the wet, squelching sounds inside her pounded in her ears.

“Come, Hyerin. You said you were about to.”

“No… hng, it’s dirty… Oppa… p-please…”

Jaeyoon bit down on Hyerin’s flushed ear and whispered,

“It’s just the two of us here. It’s okay if I see you like this, isn’t it?”

Jaeyoon’s words were like a devil’s temptation. There was no one else here—just the two of them. The only person who could see her in this filthy state or hear her pleasure-soaked moans was Jaeyoon. The only one who would ever know about this moment of her disgrace was him.

I want to let go. I want to be free. That was the only thought left in her mind.

“Ah, ah… haah… ngh… aaah….”

Her knees trembled violently as she teetered on the edge of a climax she’d never felt before. Jaeyoon’s arms held her body tight as she floated, weightless and helpless.

“Go on, let it out….”

He gently rocked his hips, stoking the fire inside her. The head of his cock relentlessly teased her entrance, and finally, it drew everything out of her. The instant she came, something hot spurted from her urethra.

Liquid gushed from her tiny hole in a strong arc, splashing straight into the toilet. At the same time, her pussy, seized by the force of her orgasm, clenched around him tighter than ever before.

“Hng, d-don’t look… please, I’m begging you….”

Jaeyoon, watching her shamelessly piss while still impaled on his cock, let out a heated breath and came inside her. A flood of semen filled her up, spilling out and trickling down between their joined bodies.

The mess of her streaming piss mixed with his cum as it dripped down his cock, turning the toilet into a disaster. When her stream finally stopped, he lifted her higher and pulled out his now-softening cock. The semen that had filled her spilled out in thick, sticky ropes.

Jaeyoon watched the whole filthy scene to the end, then nuzzled his face into Hyerin’s neck and shoulder as she sobbed with shame, a sly smile on his lips.

“Ah… you really had to go, didn’t you, my Hyerin.”

Jaeyoon slowly set Hyerin down on the floor, but she didn’t have the strength left to stand. When she nearly collapsed, he caught her and held her upright, and she clung to him, sobbing wretchedly in his arms.

“Hic, d-don’t… please, don’t hate me…”

“Why did you think that?”

Jaeyoon gently stroked her hair as he asked, his tone casual. Here and there, his semen had dried and clumped in her silky strands.

“Hng, oppa, you… you hate dirty things, don’t you…?”

Maybe she was still a little drunk, or maybe she was just exhausted from their long night together. Her words came out slurred and childish, her thoughts simple and sweet, and it made the corners of his mouth twitch in amusement.

“And who made you so dirty, Hyerin?”

“Hic, o-oppa…”

“Do you think I’m dirty?”

She shook her head in his arms. Jaeyoon played with the dried cum in her hair, a satisfied smile on his lips.

“Then that’s all that matters. My Hyerin isn’t dirty.”

He spoke to her like he was soothing a five-year-old, then forced her to lift her face from his chest. Her cheeks, streaked with tears and flushed red, were heartbreakingly beautiful.

“Do you love me?”

“Y-yeah…”

“More than anyone in the world?”

“Yeah, m-more than anyone…”

“You did something wrong today, didn’t you?”

“Hng… yeah… I-I did.”

“You won’t make me anxious again, will you?”

Hyerin nodded, fat tears still rolling down her cheeks, then said something he didn’t expect.

“Hng, make up… kiss.”

She looked up at Jaeyoon, lips slightly puckered. The sight made his face go rigid.

‘Camera… fuck, where’s my camera…’

He instinctively looked around for a camera, unable to believe what he was seeing. She was so adorable, it made his chest ache in the worst way.

She still had to go to work, still had to hang out with her team. There was a man on her team who loved her—Jaeyoon was sure of it. That guy would love Hyerin for the rest of his life. How could anyone ever forget someone this lovable?

That’s why, no matter how many times he’d made her say she loved him tonight, it still wasn’t enough. Jaeyoon still had secrets, and those secrets kept a knot of anxiety in his chest.

How much of himself could Hyerin really love? Even if she found out the secret he’d been hiding all this time, would she still love him? Would she still love him even if, instead of feeling sorry for her tears, he just wanted to take a picture and keep it for himself, indulging in his own base desires?

‘This is getting too dangerous…’

Jaeyoon drew a line for himself. Tonight, he had to be satisfied with this. He covered his mouth with his hand to hide the surge of lust rising inside him. Maybe she took that as a rejection, because Hyerin’s tears welled up even more.

“D-do you… hic… not want me?”

Without missing a single frame, Jaeyoon shook his head just a little. Then Hyerin pulled his hand away from his mouth and demanded,

“Prove it. Show me.”

Unable to resist the urge, Jaeyoon crushed his lips against hers. He shoved his tongue deep into her mouth, kissing her rough and wild. Even with the sudden invasion, Hyerin’s tongue tangled eagerly with his, her body pressing up against him.

As he savored the sweetness of her lips and the taste of her saliva, he realized Hyerin was gradually losing strength. He pulled away, and right in front of him, she was gasping for breath, her eyes fluttering like she might collapse at any moment. Jaeyoon kissed her cheeks, her eyes, her lips, one after another, and asked,

“Did that prove it?”

“…Yeah.”

“Should we go to sleep now?”

His gentle voice finally brought a look of relief to Hyerin’s face. But before she could answer, she slumped into his arms. Jaeyoon pressed a kiss to her hair and let out a satisfied sigh. As long as he was with her, he knew he’d be plagued by anxiety again and again, but for tonight, this was enough.

“Good night.”

* * *

“Working out?”

Jaeyoon asked as he placed a slice of apple in Hyerin’s mouth.

Crunch. The sweet juice burst as her molars crushed the bite-sized piece. As the vitamins spread through her system, the fatigue from both her hangover and the “punishment” she’d endured seemed to ease—just a little.

“…Yeah, I felt like I couldn’t keep up with you.”

Hyerin, dark circles under her eyes, rubbed her aching body as she spoke. Jaeyoon smiled faintly and popped another piece of apple into her mouth.

“Do you remember anything from last night?”

At that question, a few hazy scenes flashed through her mind like fragments of a worn film reel, and heat rushed to her face.

“Relax, shhh…”

“…No.”

Hyerin shook her head quickly, her face now beet red.

“Yeah?” Jaeyoon rested his chin in his hand and stared at her, clearly amused by her reaction.

“Want me to help you remember?”

“……”

“Don’t you need to use the bathroom?”

It was obvious Jaeyoon already knew she was lying about not remembering. Hyerin shot him a glare and buried her face in her hands, grumbling.

“You’re mean.”

“I’m mean?”

“Yeah.”

“So, you don’t love me?”

The sudden warmth of his hands lowered hers from her face. A pale face filled her vision, now just inches away. Jaeyoon placed her hand on his cheek and slowly blinked, as if to say: Don’t think. Just love me already.

This fox…

He knew exactly how to get to her. Even though she felt indignant and annoyed, her lips pouted against her will—but with that pretty, love-starved face in front of her, she couldn’t bring herself to say she didn’t like him.

“…I love you.”

When she finally confessed, his gaze drifted from her swollen eyes down to her pouty lips.

“Prove it.”

His voice was lazy—not quite teasing, not threatening either.

Hyerin gave him a quick kiss, so fast it looked like a bird pecking at seeds. Unbothered, Jaeyoon leaned in and planted another soft kiss himself, then smiled, clearly pleased.

“I love you the most, too.”

His eyes crinkled into a gentle wave, and Hyerin felt a flutter inside. Just like that, the grudge she’d held from the night before flew right out the window. Every time she tried to be upset, he turned the tables on her like this—he really was unfair.

“Let’s work out together. How about we go to the park near here after you get off work?”

“…Together?”

“Yeah. You don’t want to?”

Since they met as children, he sometimes treated her like a little kid. Like now—asking in such a simple, straightforward way whether she liked something or not.

“Of course I do! I love it!”

Just like when she was young, Hyerin answered with a bright smile.

“I love it sooo much too.”

Jaeyoon echoed her tone, fiddling with her small hands. That simple word—“love”—filled her chest to the brim. It occurred to her that maybe he asked in such a simple way just to feel that fullness. And if that were true, she felt confident she could keep him full forever.

“You have to come home early even when I’m not around, okay? No drinking with guys. Got it? Promise.”

He gently swept Hyerin’s hair aside as he held out his pinky. Hyerin linked hers with his and made a request of her own.

“You’re not allowed to flirt with anyone in England either. No matter how sexy a woman is, you can’t give her your number. Got it?” 

Jaeyoon was heading to England soon to visit his mother. It was only for about a week, but the thought of being far apart already made her miss him.

Hyerin let out a long sigh and took in his face carefully, as if storing up a week’s worth of happiness in advance.

“My mom’s really looking forward to seeing you. She says she can’t wait until the wedding.”

Hyerin recalled briefly meeting Jaeyoon’s mother when she was a child. Though she didn’t remember much, she did recall thinking: Of course a princess’ mom would be a queen—she must’ve been beautiful and elegant.

They had spoken on the phone once after the wedding date was set. From the start, his mother had warmly called her by name and repeatedly thanked her.

Hyerin, panicked at speaking to her future mother-in-law, rambled on nervously. She’d started with the classic line, “I’ll do my best to make your son happy,” and somehow ended with a grumble: “He’s too good-looking for his own good—it’s honestly stressful.”

His mother had laughed kindly, like a warm-hearted studio audience member, but Hyerin had been on the verge of tears. She’d wanted to leave a calm and graceful impression, but her runaway mouth had ruined everything.

“Really…? She didn’t mention breaking off the engagement, right? Can you tell her I’m not usually that over the top? I was just really nervous…”

“She seemed to really like you.”

“Wait, really? That’s a relief. You must’ve said really nice things about me.”

“Did I? I just told her the truth. That you’re the most lovable person in the world.”

Jaeyoon said it with a straight face. Hyerin gave him a playful nudge on the shoulder and twisted shyly in place. Just breathing made her throat tickle—it felt like flower pollen had drifted all the way inside the house.

“We had fruit and all… Want to go for a walk? Bit of exercise?”

Jaeyoon nodded toward the warm, sunny view outside the window.

“Yes! I’d love that!”

“Get dressed. I’ll clean up real quick and meet you.”

He got up with the fruit peels. Hyerin stood as well, trying to take the dish from him, but he firmly refused. After feeding her breakfast and fruit, he tapped her backside like he was shooing a puppy.

Giving up, Hyerin headed to the bedroom. It took her only two minutes to change.

As she was folding her clothes, her eyes landed on an open suitcase in the corner. She walked over. It was half-packed, a few neatly folded clothes already inside.

‘I’m planning to move abroad.’

A memory from some time ago stirred, making the tip of her nose ache. That day, Jaeyoon had once again given in to her stubborn insistence that he not go, but a trace of doubt had remained. After all, Jaeyoon’s emotions had always held something indecipherable—like a book with its middle pages torn out.

It was definitely why, at times, his love didn’t feel quite real to her.

Why now? Why like this? Why her…?

As always, Hyerin buried her piling questions and moved toward the bookshelf. Beyond the door, the sound of Jaeyoon washing dishes clinked pleasantly.

As long as it ends in a happy ending, that’s enough… right?

Locking eyes with the Mimi doll on the shelf, Hyerin gave it a faint smile. Then, overtaken by a wave of nostalgic emotion, she reached for it. As she rose onto her tiptoes to pull it out, something came tumbling down with a loud crash.

“Ugh…”

She winced and smacked her own head. These days, if she couldn’t help, the least she could do was not make more messes. She often wondered whether Jaeyoon was marrying a person or babysitting a pet.

Fortunately, it seemed Jaeyoon hadn’t heard—he continued to clatter dishes in peace. She had to clean this up fast and pretend nothing had happened.

But as she lowered her gaze, Hyerin’s eyes widened.

Huh?

Scattered across the floor were items that felt strangely familiar to her.

A crookedly written letter that read “Happy birthday, oppa. Let’s always have fun together!”, a lip balm she once gifted him, tickets to a show they had seen together… Every single item was connected to her.

Hyerin swallowed hard as she scanned the letters, gifts, and photos they had taken together. Her heart pounded like a drum. Somehow, it felt like she had stumbled upon something she wasn’t meant to see.

She needed to put everything back immediately—

As she hastily began gathering the items, her hand brushed against a notebook with one of her childhood photos tucked inside like a bookmark. It was the only unfamiliar thing among the pile.

She set down the letters she had collected and opened the notebook. Her photo slipped out and fluttered to the floor, but she didn’t even notice—her curiosity demanded satisfaction.

The date at the top, the handwriting—both were unmistakably Jaeyoon’s. His diary.

She knew she should stop.

But the moment she read the first page, she couldn’t.

Because she had found those torn-out pages.

 

[When I’m with her, a breeze the color of cherry blossoms blows even in the dead of winter. I almost forget that my birthday isn’t in spring.]

[Hyerin has strong likes and dislikes. That’s why I like her, but it’s also why I’m scared.]

[Joo Hyungwon’s way of speaking rubs off on her. She even makes her game usernames similar to his. It’s adorable.]

[Joo Hyerin. 暳(shine like a star) 潾(clear and bright). A name that suits her the more you say it. Joo Hyerin, Hyerin-ie. Hyerin-ah. It sounds so nice. I like it. I love it. I love everything.]

[Stars remind me of her. So do flowers. So does the sunset. I guess all beautiful things resemble her. If I could hold her in my hands, I’d feel like I was holding the world.]

 

With trembling hands, Hyerin flipped through the pages faster, skimming his familiar handwriting. Even a rough read stirred an urgent need to see it through to the end. In her rush, she didn’t notice the date until she was halfway through.

…That year—he would have been seventeen.

The same age when he had first rejected her confession.

‘Yeah, because when I’m with you, I’m seventeen again.’

It was also the age he often mentioned as if it held some special meaning.

 

[I shouldn’t have gone into that room. I shouldn’t have been so arrogant. I shouldn’t have trusted myself…]

 

The once-neat handwriting had started to unravel, now streaked with unease. On these changed pages was the story Hyerin had been searching for—the story of Joo Hyungwon, Jung Jaeyoon, and an oblivious Joo Hyerin.

While her fifteen-year-old self was still wandering in a dream, his seventeen-year-old self had gripped the dream too tightly—so tightly he ended up breaking it. As Hyerin read Jaeyoon’s account of that day, she unconsciously ran her fingers over her lips.

[Like Hyungwon said… is this something time will make fade? I don’t think so. No matter how much I think about it—I don’t think so. I really don’t.]

[Hyerin, what about you? How long do you think your feelings will last?]

A flush rose to Hyerin’s eyes as she peered into his heart. What he had written down mirrored her own torment during her long one-sided love.

‘Jung Jaeyoon, what brings you here? Without any warning.’

[For some reason, I miss you today.]

‘I heard Hyerin’s dating now.’

[Please, don’t fall for someone else.]

‘I’m sorry.’

[Yeah… I like you too.]

There were frantic lines scratched over the word “I like you.”

Over the countless “I’m sorry”s, the word “I like you” had been written again. That earnest confession reached across time to comfort the lonely days Hyerin had endured.

“Joo Hyerin…”

A low whisper brushed against her. Startled, she turned her head and saw Jaeyoon standing at the doorway—the protagonist of this painful love story had appeared.

With reddened eyes, he rushed forward and snatched the notebook from her. Flustered, he glanced around and down at the notebook before grabbing her hand tightly.

In her foggy vision, his unfamiliar expression came in and out of focus. A thick silence settled between them. After a long pause, Jaeyoon slowly dropped his head, picked up the scattered photos of Hyerin from the floor, and slumped his shoulders.

“…How much did you read?”

His trembling, low voice carried fear and despair. For once, the thoughts that had always seemed beyond her reach were suddenly transparent. When Hyerin didn’t respond and only looked at him, his face stiffened, drained of all color.

His secret was finally laid bare.

His panic-stricken gaze desperately sought hers.

“Do I… disgust you?”

“….”

When Hyerin frowned slightly, the tears clinging to his eyes finally fell with a soft patter, and his face came clearly into view. The despair clouding his eyes turned to tears, then crumbled. Beyond those broken eyes was a boy crying in the dark.

“…Do you hate me now?”

There was a faint tremor in the hand holding hers. She had never imagined him crying. From the moment they met, he had always been composed, mature, strong. For someone like him to tremble like this—there was no doubt it was because of her.

Hyerin interlaced their fingers and slowly stepped forward, pressing her lips to his tear-soaked ones. His eyes widened in shock and trembled fiercely. Hyerin, eyes wet with tears, whispered softly:

“You remember what it meant, don’t you?”

‘Because I was too shy to say I love you…’

His stunned gaze slowly dipped in a nod. Hearing his silent answer, Hyerin moved in again and kissed him deeper this time. She swallowed his lower lip, slid her tongue inside, and stirred it around. He flinched slightly, quietly following her lead.

The kiss tasted of tears. His tears were no different from the ones she had shed all those years.

When she finally pulled back, she saw Jaeyoon’s face with his eyes gently closed.

“You remember this too… right?”

‘Because saying I love you… wasn’t enough.’

 When Hyerin asked, Jaeyoon slowly lifted his eyelids and met her gaze. His dazed expression resembled that of a princess awakened from a long curse by a kiss. Hyerin gently wiped away his tears and caressed his cheek. He leaned into her touch, brushing his face against her palm like he was clinging to it, and finally parted his lips, still damp with saliva.

“…You don’t hate me?”

There was still a trace of unease in his voice. Hyerin shook her head with a faint smile.

“Why would I hate you, oppa?”

Reassured by her confident answer, he visibly relaxed his shoulders, though his eyes still flickered with doubt.

“You… really read all of it?”

She had a vague idea of what he had been trying to hide. It wasn’t about his feelings—but something that had happened. And only now did she finally know it all. What happened that day. What promise he made with Hyungwon because of it.

“Yeah.”

“…I’m sorry. I was just so scared. That you’d be disappointed in me… and leave…”

As if trying to prove how scared he had been, Jaeyoon kept his eyes on the floor and let the words tumble out in a rush.

“I’m sorry too, for snooping. But right now… I’m just really, really happy.”

Hyerin grinned widely, her shoulders trembling as if to release her pent-up emotions. Jaeyoon quickly glanced around, trying to make sense of what was happening.

“I’m sorry I found comfort in your insecurity. Honestly, I’m kind of a terrible person.”

She took a deep breath, then grabbed his confused face with both hands and asked:

“I have something to be forgiven for, too. Will you forgive me?”

“…What is it?”

“Just say you’ll forgive me first.”

Caught off guard by her demand for pre-forgiveness, Jaeyoon reluctantly nodded. Having secured her one-time forgiveness pass, she inhaled deeply and blurted out the secret she’d kept hidden.

“Actually… I never dated that sunbae. He’s marrying the woman he’s been in love with for 14 years. That wedding invitation I hid? It was his.”

“What…? But, back then—”

“I just pretended to kiss him. Why? Because I thought you might get jealous. He said if you liked me, you’d react somehow. And why did I hide it until now? Because… I liked it when you got jealous. Because it was hard to believe you suddenly loved me. Because I was scared. I’m really sorry I used that to comfort myself. And… I’m confessing now because I’m not scared anymore.”

“……”

“Oppa, you really, really like me, don’t you? You were scared, too. You… fell asleep thinking about me, didn’t you? I always wondered what went on in that head of yours, Jung Jaeyoon.”

“……”

As she declared her love—even for the parts of him he had hidden—Jaeyoon’s shaky breathing began to settle, slowly falling into rhythm.

“You always made me cry, oppa. You’re really the worst.”

Hyerin’s eyes curved gently as she let go of the heavy tears she had carried for so long.

“But I still liked you all along. And now I like you even more. I like you so much it scares me. You… know what I mean, don’t you?”

Jaeyoon pulled her hands to his lips and pressed them there.

“Yeah, I know… I’m scared too. Even now.”

Soft kisses landed on her palm, and the tender warmth of his lips made her whole body flutter with a sweet ache.

“I’m a coward. More than Joo Hyungwon, I wanted to hide this truth. I didn’t want you to hate me because of it. At some point, I started to feel like I had no worth if I wasn’t the version of me you liked. I know what kind of person the ‘Jung Jaeyoon’ you like is. And the guy trembling in front of you right now is probably very different. I’m greedy, I lack self-control, and I’m weak by nature. The complete opposite of Joo Hyungwon.”

“What? What are you even talking about…?”

“Joo Hyungwon knows too. That I’m shady, sneaky, dark… someone who isn’t good for you. Just like how light stands out in darkness, darkness also stands out in light. I’m not like you guys. I survive here by feeding off your sympathy. And I plan to keep doing that. I’m…”

Hyerin furrowed her brow tightly and pulled on both of Jaeyoon’s cheeks. His pale skin stretched like rice cake, forming a funny shape.

“Of course you’re different from me and Hyungwon. I like you, Jung Jaeyoon! The one who’s bad for my heart, who always makes me cry, who I can never tell what he’s thinking—that Jung Jaeyoon, got it?”

“……”

Hyerin gently let go of his cheeks and clasped his hand.

“And seriously, who isn’t shady or sneaky in front of the person they love? Even I…”

After taking a deep breath, Hyerin squeezed her eyes shut and shouted:

“I also… kissed your photo and stuff!”

Jaeyoon tilted his head slightly, repeating her dramatic confession in his head like she had just admitted to a terrible crime.

…That’s not exactly on the same level, though.

He stared intently at Hyerin, who now blushed deeply and glanced up at him with nervous eyes. Who would’ve thought the day this “incident” got brought up would be so sweet? Jaeyoon decided to go ahead and devour the judge who had just flopped on her back.

“Where’d you kiss it?”

“Uh… th-the lips…”

“Really? So that’s why you asked me for my ID photo, huh?”

Now that he’d wiped away all his tears, Jaeyoon was back to his usual calm self, and Hyerin cried out in protest.

“W-Where did you even get that photo?”

She shoved an old childhood photo—used like a bookmark—into his face and interrogated him. The photo was taken before they had even met, so there was no way he should have had it. Jaeyoon looked a bit flustered at first but then gently took her hand.

“When we were in elementary school, we had to bring a childhood photo for art class. Hyung-won cut out only his own and threw away the rest. I just… happened to pick it up.”

“……”

“So technically, I didn’t steal it. Right?”

His eyes searched hers for agreement, and he slowly tightened his grip on her hand. The explanation sounded convincing enough, and Hyerin, as if hypnotized, nodded. Only then did Jaeyoon smile softly.

One secret was down, but there were still many items scattered on the floor waiting to be explained. As Jaeyoon was about to talk about his hoarding tendencies, Hyerin, who had glanced over the spread, spoke first.

“I… kept everything you ever gave me too. Even the boxes and wrapping. I couldn’t throw any of it away. I even laminated your photos. Honestly, I think you should’ve given me three copies of your ID photos. One for collecting, one for admiring, and one for bragging…”

“……”

“Wanna come see my treasure stash later? Admission fee: five of your childhood photos.”

Jaeyoon stared at her blankly for a moment before letting out a quiet laugh.

“If it’s too much… I can lower it to three…”

“It’s really a good thing that Hyungwon was between us.”

Jaeyoon planted his hand on the floor and leaned in, closing the distance between them. Hyerin instinctively backed away.

Despite all the nights they’d spent together, the two of them were still frozen at ages fifteen and seventeen—her always a shy girl in front of this boy, and him, a boy aching for the girl.

If she didn’t push him away, he wouldn’t be able to stop. Honestly… even if she did, he wasn’t sure he could.

Jaeyoon closed his eyes for a moment, lost in a dizzying thought, then rested his forehead against hers.

“Neither of us has any brakes. If we’d crossed the line, we probably would’ve gone way too far. Way too fast.”

“Gone too far”—Hyerin now knew what that meant in his hazy eyes.

“…Yeah. I wouldn’t have pushed you away.”

Like that day, Jaeyoon laced his fingers through hers. Her small, slender hand still fit tightly, almost stiffly, against his larger fingers. The pounding of his heart surged through their interlocked hands, and her vision began to flush red.

Jaeyoon still had no brakes.

He kissed her lips like that day, and with her dazed expression, he softly asked:

“Wanna work out at home?”

Hyerin pulled him closer and kissed him again—that was her answer.

They didn’t need brakes anymore.

 

Even after an intense workout from day to night, Jaeyoon woke up on time and got ready for his flight like clockwork. Hyerin, who had been half-dead in bed, stumbled out, still dazed, and stood by the front door like a puppy to see him off as he kissed her goodbye.

“I told you you didn’t need to come see me off.”

He kissed her puffy eyes and gently curved his arm around her waist.

“You have to go to work. Are you feeling okay?”

“…No. Not okay.”

“Guess we worked out too hard. Let’s take it easy next time—you might hurt your back.”

With shamelessly drooping eyebrows, he acted all concerned about her sore muscles. Hyerin let out a breathless laugh in disbelief. After all, this was the same trainer who had ignored every “stop” from her last night like it was nothing.

Even as she lightly pushed him away, she still asked sweetly:

“Didn’t forget anything, right?”

“Oh—there’s one thing.”

“What is it? I’ll bring it to you.”

As Hyerin turned around in place of Jaeyoon, who already had his shoes on, the hand that had been resting casually on her waist slipped up under the long, dress-like T-shirt she was wearing. She felt his fingers snake under the waistband of her underwear, and then cool air swept over her now-bare lower half. Hyerin squeezed her eyes shut and yelled.

“Kyaa! Oppa! You’re gonna miss your flight…!”

She cracked one eye open, expecting his touch to continue—only to find him standing there, twirling her underwear between his fingers with a mischievous glint in his eye.

“This. This is what I forgot. You seemed like you were expecting something else.”

Hyerin stared at him in a daze and asked blankly,

“Why do you even…?”

Jaeyoon looked off to the side and shrugged.

“Well… we’re not gonna see each other for a while.”

“So why does that mean you take my—”

Still holding eye contact, he brought the fabric to his face and inhaled deeply. His narrowed eyes held a flicker of something close to ecstasy.

“Who knows? Why do I need it…?”

As Hyerin’s face flushed from the charged tension, he gave a satisfied smile and stuffed the underwear into the pocket of his coat. Then, leaning in, he gave her a gentle peck on the lips.

“I’ll be back.”

His ordinary farewell made her smile tenderly. The idea of him returning made his trip to England feel less frightening.

He would come back—

Because Joo Hyerin would be here, waiting.

“Okay. Travel safe.”

As she sent him off, he called out one last teasing goodbye just before stepping out.

“When I come back, we’ll do what you thought I was about to do.”

Hyerin’s shoulders flinched. He had known exactly what kind of misunderstanding she’d had.

“Wait—what? I didn’t—”

He cut her off just before the door closed.

“In the entryway.”

It was a farewell so suggestive and bold that any trace of sleep vanished from her eyes.

“…The entryway?”

* * * 

It was the fifth day since Jaeyoon had left.

[I miss you.]

The message that had been coming in since day one once again filled the screen.

“Is that Jung Jaeyoon?”

Hyerin, who had been grinning like a fool while tapping at her phone, gave the suddenly intruding face a cold glare. Hyungwon’s expression stiffened in response, and just like that, an unplanned staring contest began. Their silent battle continued until both of them were nearly tearing up from the strain. Finally, Hyungwon shut his eyes tight and shouted,

“Ugh, if you have a problem, just say it already!”

Now that she knew Hyungwon had always been the wall standing between her and Jaeyoon, Hyerin was seething inside. But because Jaeyoon had asked her not to confront him, she couldn’t bring herself to demand an explanation.

“I don’t know! Why do you look so damn annoying? No wonder you don’t have a girlfriend. You should take this chance to get your face remodeled or something.”

“You’re insulting your own face right now. You know we look exactly the same, right?”

“How?! What part of me looks like you? I don’t look like a half-burnt, charred sweet potato!”

“You’d look exactly like me if you tanned and cut your hair. You’re just bulky like—ow!”

When Hyerin smacked his back hard, Hyungwon—who was carrying food containers in both hands—squirmed helplessly, stung by the slap.

“Ugh, are you crazy?! I’m letting you off easy here—!”

“What! Go ahead, try it! Hit me!”

“If it weren’t for these banchan, I swear…!”

While Jaeyoon was away, Hyerin had been eating dinner at her parents’ house and sleeping at his place. Since almost all her belongings had moved in with Jaeyoon, staying there was the most convenient.

As she practically lived in his house, the amount of food her mother packed for her had doubled. Today’s portion was light enough for her to carry alone, but Hyungwon had insisted on coming with her.

“I’m only letting this go because of the fish cakes.”

He puffed out a breath toward his stinging back and walked silently beside her.

“I told you I could go alone. It’s not even that much.”

When Hyerin reached for the containers, Hyungwon swatted her hand away in annoyance.

“It’s night, okay?! Don’t you know how many drunk idiots hang around here?”

“…”

“If you’re so annoyed, walk ahead. Why are you always picking a fight, you orange sweet potato!”

Even as he snapped at her, Hyungwon kept pace beside her. Just then, a reply from Jaeyoon arrived, as if to smooth things over.

[Hyungwon really cares about you]

[He worries a lot]

[When you like someone, you try to control things]

She’d wanted to vent about Hyungwon behind his back, but oddly, she didn’t seem to resent him anymore. Still, she grumbled back, trying to channel her leftover frustration:

“If I’m an orange sweet potato, then you’re a brown sweet potato!”

“So now you admit we look alike?”

“What are you talking about? Pumpkin ones taste way better, okay? The sweetness level is on another tier.”

“A sweet potato’s a sweet potato.”

With a scoffing glance, Hyungwon clicked his tongue and shoved the food containers into her arms.

“Hold this for a sec.”

“What the—? You said you’d carry them! Changing your mind now?”

“Just hold it, alright?”

Before she could protest more, he crouched down in front of her. Hyungwon began tying the laces of her loosened sneakers, grumbling the whole time.

“I told you to tie them from the inside. They’ll come undone like this. You always end up stepping on them and tripping over yourself. For someone your age, you really don’t listen to anything, do you?”

“…Ugh, just leave me alone. I don’t care if I fall.”

“Then don’t make it so obvious.”

Hyungwon, who had retied the other sneaker lace as well, suddenly noticed something. He lifted up her pants and saw a green bruise above her ankle.

Hyungwon’s eyes widened, and he quickly jumped to his feet, pulling up her wrist to examine it. Just like her ankle, there was another green bruise.

“What the hell are you doing? Are you crazy?”

Hyerin shot him a glare, her eyes narrowing at his sudden action. Hyungwon shut his eyes tight and placed a hand on his forehead, asking quietly,

“Hey… you’re not being hit by Jung Jaeyoon, are you?”

“…What?”

“Did you two fight? You need to be honest with me.”

Hyungwon’s face was unusually serious. Hyerin blinked in confusion, and when her gaze landed on the bruise on her wrist, she furrowed her brows. The bruises had come from when her wrist and ankle had been tied briefly. She had struggled too much.

“Are you out of your mind? Why would Jung Jaeyoon hit me?”

“…So, you’re saying it’s not true?”

“Of course it’s not true. And these are from making up, not fighting…”

Hyerin was getting worked up over his absurd comment, but she suddenly stopped mid-sentence. Biting her lip, she cautiously raised her eyes and noticed Hyungwon’s face, which had grown colder than before.

His focus seemed to fade, his eyes becoming cloudy, almost as though he had shut down every thought and sense within him. He stood there for a long while before suddenly slapping his head with a loud smack and growling out,

“Hey, you need to get married quickly and move out.”

“What?”

“Just get out of my sight. You’re distracting me!”

Hyungwon grabbed the food containers with a rough motion and stomped off, walking away quickly.

“Ugh, I was going to anyway! It’s our parents’ house, not yours! Why are you telling me to leave?!”

Left standing alone under the streetlight, Hyerin hurriedly chased after him.

 

“Damn it…! Wait up! Joo Hyungwon!”