II - 20

It was like watching a disgustingly well-matched pair of cockroaches. 

“Haha, ha...” 

I-ryeong couldn’t help but burst into laughter. 

Dong-hwa and Ari stared at her, their faces twisted in irritation. 

“You two... you really haven’t changed at all.” 

I-ryeong set down her glass and looked at them both simultaneously. 

“Are you drunk?” 

“Getting drunk on just wine? I’m perfectly fine, so stop jumping to conclusions.” 

I-ryeong had already finished her third glass of wine. 

Tonight, she wanted to lean into its mesmerizing aroma. 

“You two really are a perfect match. You suit each other well.” 

Then, intoxicated by the dizzying fragrance, her mouth moved on its own, and she smirked faintly. 

“Hey, Chae I-ryeong! Have you lost your mind?” 

“Are you drunk? What nonsense is this!” 

Dong-hwa and Ari erupted in anger at the same time. 

Still, I-ryeong didn’t forget why she had come here and maintained her composure. 

“Cho Dong-hwa, you’ve always been rude. Even breakups have etiquette, yet you treated me like trash. What? You never even gave me one last go?” 

I-ryeong’s eyes grew languid as she gazed at Dong-hwa for a long moment. 

“How could I give something when there was nothing worth giving?” 

She covered her mouth and laughed heartily, then shot a sharp glare at Ari. 

“So, did you step in as my replacement?” 

“Re-replacement? Are you done talking nonsense?” 

Ari clenched her fists and trembled with rage. 

Why did she look so pathetic? 

With her eyes lowered, I-ryeong muttered quietly, 

“You’re like dogs in heat.” 

“Dogs? Are you talking about us right now?” 

“Cho Dong-hwa, didn’t I tell you to lower your voice? Oh, are you barking like a dog because I called you one? Well, there’s nothing I can do about that.” 

This time, she glared sharply at Dong-hwa. 

He was seething, trying hard to swallow his anger. 

“This is unbelievable!” 

Ari shouted and drained her glass of wine, leaving not a single drop behind. 

I-ryeong watched her curiously. 

“Aren’t you pregnant? Is it okay for you to be drinking?” 

She directed her gaze toward Ari’s stomach. 

Startled, Ari quickly covered her belly with both hands. 

“You’ve always been like that. You only feel satisfied when you take what I have. Did you steal Dong-hwa from me too? No, wait—birds of a feather flock together, right?” 

At this point, I-ryeong didn’t even care to question whether Ari was truly pregnant or not. 

All she desperately wanted was to get rid of this pair of cockroaches as soon as possible. 

“Here’s my wedding invitation.”

She pulled a white envelope from her handbag and casually extended it toward them. 

“Forget the gift money—just come and have a meal with us.” 

“Are you really getting married? Don’t tell me you’re having an affair?” 

Dong-hwa erupted in anger after seeing the wedding invitation. 

The sight of him losing his temper, as if they had once been lovers, amused I-ryeong, and she smirked derisively. 

“You’ve already forgotten? That’s something you two did.” 

“We’re in love, but you’re just seeking revenge, aren’t you?” 

Dong-hwa continued to twist things to fit his narrative, but I-ryeong no longer had the energy to deal with him. 

She wanted nothing more than to erase every memory of ever being connected to someone like him. 

“Whether it’s love or revenge, think whatever you want.” 

I-ryeong gathered her handbag and shook her head slightly. 

At that moment, as she lifted her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear— 

“…A ring?” 

Ari suddenly flinched upon noticing I-ryeong’s ring. She seemed to recognize the expensive proposal ring I-jun had given her. 

“Are you really marrying into a chaebol family?” 

Her curiosity overflowed, boiling over. 

I-ryeong tried to suppress her rising emotions as she looked at the two of them, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of how vulgar they were. 

She hated them—once her friends, once her lover. Every memory of the past now felt like regret and wasted time. 

“I guess you don’t need the invitation after all.” 

I-ryeong pulled the neatly placed wedding invitation back toward herself. 

“It’s good this way—I didn’t have enough anyway.” 

“…You, you’re unbelievable!” 

Dong-hwa ground his teeth in anger and glared at her, but I-ryeong paid no mind as she tucked the invitation back into her bag. 

“The two of you—stop snooping around my social media.” 

As she stood up in a hurry, I-ryeong issued one last warning. 

“I never gave you permission to spy on me. And, Ari—” 

“A-Ari?” 

Ari looked visibly flustered at being addressed so formally. 

“Thank you.” 

“Are you crazy? Are you out of your mind?!” 

I-ryeong was tired of seeing Ari’s bloodshot eyes, inflamed with agitation. 

“Not at all. I’m perfectly sane.” 

She responded politely, using formal speech to clearly draw a line between herself and them. 

“Thank you for helping me clean up the trash. Thanks to you, Ari, I’m about to marry a good person.” 

She felt a mix of relief and lingering frustration—but decided then and there to shake off this discomfort entirely by the end of today. 

Just then— 

“Are you done here?” 

Amidst the noise, a familiar voice pierced her ears. 

It was the owner of the sweet, melodic voice that harmonized with the restaurant’s ambiance—and perhaps the only man in the world who mattered to her.

“I-jun? When did you arrive?” 

I-jun approached her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. 

“I came to pick up my wife.” 

She melted perfectly into his warm, comforting embrace. 

“Shall we go now?” 

“Yes.” 

In I-ryeong’s eyes, there was only I-jun. 

“Hey, Chae I-ryeong! Don’t move! I said don’t move!” 

The angry shouts from behind her fell on deaf ears as she ignored them completely. 

I-ryeong steadied her unpleasant emotions within the arms of the man who had become her sole salvation. 

“You made yourself too beautiful to send off. It made me jealous. I was anxious waiting for you.” 

To her, his sweet whispers were the only sounds that mattered. 

They stepped into the elevator together. As the confined space enclosed them, her breathing quickened, and her heart felt like it would burst. 

I-ryeong bowed her head and bit down on her soft lips. 

She tried to calm herself, pressing down on her rapidly rising and falling chest to hide her overwhelming emotions from him. 

“…Haa.” 

Eventually, she couldn’t hold back her agitated breath and let it slip through her teeth. 

Startled by the deep, sticky sound of his breathing, I-ryeong lifted her head to look up at him. 

She wondered about the expression on his face as he stared straight ahead. 

Was he trembling like her? 

Was he as nervous as she was? 

Was he more excited than she was? 

From him, who didn’t even make a sound with his breath, no emotion was visible. 

If she said she wasn’t disappointed, it would be a lie. 

Unconsciously, I-ryeong fidgeted with the hand clasped in his, sticky with tension. 

The elevator arrived at the guest room floor, and the doors opened. 

“Stop tormenting me.” 

His voice flowed out, thick and humid—more oppressive than the summer air, and laced with urgency. 

“…What?” 

I-ryeong flinched at I-jun’s hoarse tone. 

“Stop tormenting those lips.” 

“Ah…” 

Her face flushed red as she followed him out of the elevator. 

“Are you doing this on purpose?” 

“I-jun?” 

“Were you testing how far my patience could go?” 

The grip on her hand tightened, and their pace quickened before coming to an abrupt stop. 

“Here, stop tormenting me.” 

“Haa…”

I-jun’s touch smudged her lips. 

A shallow moan spilled out, as if it had been waiting for him all along. 

“I’ll torment you all night long.” 

His eyes shimmered with raw desire, as though he might kiss her senseless at any moment. 

I-ryeong was ensnared by his humid breath, losing herself in a haze of fantasy, abandoning all rational thought. 

“I was foolish. I should have listened to you and not posted anything on social media.” 

Her heart pounded violently at the intensity of his burning gaze. 

It was jealousy—whether real or imagined, she didn’t care. This moment made her happy. The heat radiating from their clasped hands only confirmed it. 

“This won’t do.” 

Overcome with urgency, he pulled her along once more. 

And then, the guest room door opened. 

“…I-jun.” 

Just calling his name melted every ounce of her trembling emotions. 

“Hmm!” 

His parched lips crashed into hers the moment the door closed behind them. 

There was no time to question, no breath to spare—he hungrily devoured her lips as if they were the only thing that mattered. 

Their tongues tangled sharply, greedily swallowing every trace of saliva. 

The deeper he pushed, the more she felt herself soaking below. She wouldn’t last much longer like this. 

The harder he pressed, the whiter her mind went, leaving her gasping for air. 

His wet tongue scraped against her teeth and flesh, driving her wild with pleasure. 

Having waited so long for him, she clung to him even tighter, desperately seeking more. 

“Hng…” 

The sound of her watery moan signaled the fall of the jacket she had worn, now discarded on the floor. 

Strength drained from her body, starting from her toes upward. I-ryeong clung to I-jun’s shirt with all her might, pressing her body flush against his to keep from collapsing. 

The large, hard bulge straining against his pants stimulated her further. 

Unconsciously, she rubbed herself against it, revealing her desire. Her entire body begged for him to fill her narrow passage completely. 

“Ha… truly.” 

The man, blinded by lust, bit deeply into her delicate shoulders, leaving behind vivid red marks. He branded her as his own, marking her with his claim. 

“Ah, I-jun!” 

She couldn’t contain the excitement coursing through every inch of her body. 

Lost in him, consumed by the moment, her mini-dress rolled up around her waist as she wrapped her legs tightly around his. 

Her arousal peaked, and her body grew slick with heat. 

His hands, which had been supporting her hips, now reached her most intimate spot. The dull, tingling stimulation against her sensitive flesh made her writhe uncontrollably. 

“Ha, haa…” 

I-ryeong trembled her hips slightly, signaling her excitement. 

Her feverish eyes gazed down at him, silently pleading that she couldn’t hold on any longer. 

“…We haven’t even started yet.”

I-jun let out a rough, grating voice, his eyes now blood-red with arousal. 

The constant friction against his hardened length had driven his excitement to its peak. 

He wanted nothing more than to thrust himself into her tight passage and shake her wildly. 

“You’re so hot.” 

He pressed firmly against her soaked panties. 

Then, without hesitation, he slipped his hand inside, parting her sensitive folds with urgency. 

With his fingers, he pressed down on her elongated flesh, tracing it before quickly pushing a finger deep inside her opening. 

“Hnn!” 

The sensation made her feel as though he had already entered her, causing her hips to buck involuntarily. 

“Luckily for you, I love it when things get hot.” 

I-jun twisted his lips into a smirk, his gaze predatory as he devoured her once more. 

“Hng, I-jun… Ha…” 

In the blink of an eye, one finger became two, then three. His fingers moved rapidly in and out of her, drenched in her slickness.