Episode 7

 

Gye Wonho gazed steadily at Sohee’s pale face, then lightly tapped her cheek as he continued speaking. The small touch startled her, making her eyes widen in surprise.

“Make sure you save my number properly. I don’t like it when people don’t pick up my calls.”

Though his tone was playful, Sohee instinctively understood that he wouldn’t tolerate a second mistake.

“…Yes.”

It was at that moment when he handed her phone back to her. The phone vibrated, and a new message preview popped up on the screen.

– Hemi Unnie: Sohee! Big news! If you come over to our place, the manager said he’ll let you take care of a VVIP customer right away♡

It was a message from Hemi, who had dropped by the nightclub earlier in the evening.

Hadn’t she already made it clear that she wasn’t interested in that kind of work? They had just talked about this.

Of all times, why now…

Sohee, caught off guard by the unexpected message, bit her lip and quickly covered the screen with her hand before shoving the phone into her coat pocket. She could feel the warmth of the device, which had heated up in that brief moment.

Even though the notification had only flashed on the screen for a second before disappearing, her heart raced with worry that he might have seen the contents.

Gye Wonho had no way of knowing what Hemi’s job was or what the message meant, yet the possibility made Sohee anxious.

Fortunately, Gye Wonho didn’t seem to notice the message notification, or if he did, he didn’t react. Instead, he casually made his way into the house while Sohee hesitated for a moment.

“Um…”

She reached out, but then quickly lowered her hand and gripped the rusty doorknob tightly.

She quickly realized that she had no right to tell him not to enter, especially since he held the keys. After all, the man who had the keys to her home was also her creditor, holding a significant amount of debt over her head.

Her thin, trembling hand soon turned white from the force of her grip. The fact that someone had been staying in her home felt strange, and Sohee hesitated for a moment before reluctantly following him inside.

As she closed the flimsy front door, which had been rattling noisily in the harsh wind, the small one-room apartment was suddenly enveloped in silence. The ticking of the clock on the wall was the only sound, and the air was thick with the scent of Gye Wonho’s cologne.

It occurred to her that he might have been waiting in her home for a long time, possibly even before he started calling her. The thought made her head spin and her stomach churn. Perhaps it wasn’t the cold but rather the unfamiliar warmth in the room that made her feel so uneasy.

What struck her as almost ironic was that the room, now brightly lit, seemed more shabby and worn out than it did when she lived in darkness without electricity. The discolored and peeling wallpaper, the flooring that had come loose in places, and the fact that anything of value had been sold off—leaving her with nothing that could be considered household items—all of it felt even more pitiful in the light.

Sohee swallowed dryly and raised her head, her gaze landing on the black oxford shoes by the entrance. Surprisingly, the room didn’t show any signs of being rummaged through; everything was just as she had left it before going to work.

So what had he been doing here? Had he really just been waiting for her in an empty house, keeping the lights on for so long? But why…

Sohee’s eyes, filled with unanswerable questions, followed Gye Wonho. He was slightly hunched over, his tall frame forced to bend due to the low ceiling, as he casually flipped through the tutoring materials she had left on the desk.

As she watched his broad, well-built back, she suddenly felt a strange, almost painful throb in her chest. Startled, Sohee hurriedly tried to take off her worn-out sneakers but lost her balance and stumbled.

“…Ah.”

Before she realized it, Gye Wonho had quickly stepped over to the entrance and caught hold of Sohee’s left forearm, steadying her. Even though she regained her balance, he didn’t release his grip. Sohee looked up at him, still awkwardly draped in her oversized coat, which had slipped halfway off.

“What were you doing that made you so weak and unsteady?” he asked.

“I’m sorry. I just lost my footing,” Sohee replied.

Gye Wonho’s gaze shifted downward as he held onto her forearm. Something familiar was sticking out of her pants pocket, barely visible outside the fabric.

Without a word, he furrowed his brows and reached out, his large hand slipping into Sohee’s pocket and pulling something out.

“What… what are you doing?”

Sohee’s voice rose in surprise at his sudden action.

“What do we have here?”

What he pulled out from her pocket were three condoms from a budget brand and a business card from a nightclub. It took Sohee a moment to recognize what they were, as she had forgotten about them. She remembered that Hemi had stuffed them into her pocket back in the kitchen earlier.

A look of dismay crossed Sohee’s face as Gye Wonho held the condoms between his index and middle fingers. His expression had turned cold and impassive, the smile that had once played on his lips completely gone.

“This doesn’t seem like something a young girl like you should be carrying around.”

The harsh fluorescent light shattered into pale shards over Sohee’s tense face. Her lips moved slightly, trying to find the right words. She didn’t want him to get the wrong idea, but her mind was tangled, and she couldn’t figure out what to say.

“That’s…”

Her lips, which had been about to offer an explanation, closed again. She wondered how she must have looked to him, walking around with condoms in her pocket after a late-night shift. She didn’t even know where to start explaining, and she questioned whether she even needed to explain herself to him. After all, weren’t they just creditor and debtor?

But despite that, an inexplicable urge surged within Sohee—she didn’t want him to misunderstand her.

As she hesitated, her eyes widened in shock as she saw Gye Wonho tear open the condom wrapper with his teeth.

The sound of the packaging being peeled away was followed by a faint whiff of latex, mixed with an artificial scent. He pulled out the ivory-colored, lubricated condom, a strange expression crossing his face.

“Hmm.” He murmured.

 

Gye Wonho rubbed the tip of the condom, the lubricated latex making a sticky sound as it slid between his fingers.

“What is this?”

His displeasure was evident as he raised an eyebrow and pulled at the tip of the condom with his thumb and forefinger. The thin, opaque latex stretched into the shape of a penis at his fingertips. There was a hint of irritation in his voice as he spoke again.

“It’s so damn small.”

He looked at the sagging condom with obvious disapproval before his gaze shifted to Sohee’s flat lower abdomen.

His intense, suggestive stare lingered, refusing to relent. Slowly, his eyes traveled further down. Tilting his chin to the side, Gye Wonho licked his lower lip slowly.

“…Why?”

Sohee’s eyes widened as she realized where his gaze was fixed. Her round ears flushed a deep crimson, as if they had been set on fire. Flustered, Sohee snatched the condom from his hand.

Just seeing the object made her feel embarrassed and unclean. She clumsily gripped it and tossed it into the trash can beside the desk.

It wasn’t hers to begin with, and she would have gotten rid of it even if he hadn’t found it.

What kind of joke is this? Where does his teasing end and seriousness begin? The lingering smell of latex tickled her nose.

Sohee’s heart was still pounding, unsettled. Just seeing and touching a condom in front of someone else was enough to leave her in shock.

As she hurriedly wiped the lubricant off her fingers with a wet tissue and turned around, she noticed that Gye Wonho was intently examining a stiff, rectangular piece of paper.

That’s…

Sohee’s eyes widened in alarm as she realized what he was looking at. It was Hemi’s business card, which had been in her pocket along with the condoms.

“Give that to me!”

She quickly approached him, reaching out, but Gye Wonho raised the card out of her reach. Given the significant height difference, she couldn’t take it from him.

Gye Wonho looked down at Sohee, whose lips were trembling, her face bright red. His deep voice penetrated her ears.

“You begged me so earnestly, asking me to wait, pleading with me in such a pitiful voice.”

He paused for a moment, his brow slightly furrowed.

“And now I find out that you ignore my calls because you’re busy with this at night?”

The mocking laugh that followed his words made Sohee stiffen. She could guess what misunderstanding he was having, and her anxious voice spilled out.

“No, it’s not what you think. That’s not mine, and…”

Her words were cut off by his icy voice.

“You really have no fear, do you?”

“…What?”

“In places like this, you should be using a fake name, shouldn’t you?”

With a flick of his wrist, Gye Wonho let the black business card drop carelessly to the floor. Printed on it was the name “Yoon Sohee”—the name Hemi had borrowed to use as a charm.