II - 31

Startled, I-ryeong crossed her arms to cover her chest.

But that gesture only made her seem more alluring to him. It intensified his desire to explore her crumpled chest even more.

“I don’t mind either way. Your expression is quite appealing, after all.”

He smiled, clearly satisfied.

I-ryeong tried to figure out what that smile meant, but she quickly gave up.

“And either way, I like both.”

Once again, he had disarmed her.

It was as if he knew exactly how to make her surrender everything to him so easily, without a hint of resistance.

“It felt strange when you looked at other men too. It was quite uncomfortable here.”

Her arms, which had been shielding her like a fortress, collapsed under his touch, and her chest rose prominently.

In an instant, I-jun’s gaze turned fierce, like a predator ready to pounce on its prey.

But he didn’t rush.

His probing fingers carefully traced around her perked-up chest. As his touch brushed past her sensitive peak, she felt as if her body was melting, and I-ryeong instinctively grabbed his waist.

She found herself wishing he would become just as drenched as she was.

“Ah…”

Finally, a moan escaped I-ryeong’s lips, one she couldn’t hold back.

As if he had been waiting for that reaction, I-jun pounced on her eagerly.

“It was the same when I touched the trinket.”

She was pulled into his embrace. The hand that had been gripping his waist now tangled in his hair before wrapping around his neck. She clung to him like a child who didn’t want to let go.

“Your actions were quite stimulating, you know.”

His low, deep voice reverberated around them.

Did he know? That his voice was even more stimulating.

I-ryeong swallowed the moan rising in her throat and focused her gaze. She stared intently at her reflection in I-jun’s eyes.

A woman filled with desire stared back.

“That stimulation turned my switch on too.”

Something hard pressed against her buttocks, poking her insistently.

His desire-laden senses captivated her.

“Luckily, it seems your switch is on too.”

She didn’t dislike his teasing. In fact, it made her forget all the negative feelings she had harbored toward him yesterday and today.

“Don’t hold back. This is our space alone. There’s no reason to hold back.”

Seeing him tempt her so sweetly, it felt as if he shared the same feelings. Even if this was just an illusion she created, she wanted to indulge in this sensation.

“If you don’t like it, tell me to stop now.”

She didn’t respond to his words.

She felt that holding onto him and not letting go was answer enough.

“If you open the door, I’ll take it as your permission to proceed my way.”

Before she knew it, they had arrived at the couple’s bedroom, and I-ryeong pulled him in, pressing her lips against his.

With a thud, the bedroom door closed. The world outside was bright, but the bedroom was as dark as pitch.

However, light didn’t matter to the couple, who were now fully focused on each other.

Driven by instinct, they began to crave only each other, and the sound of their lips mingling and sucking on each other’s saliva filled the room.

In the bedroom, where no one else’s gaze or judgment mattered, both of them became beasts.

Their hanboks were roughly torn off in their haste, and they collapsed onto the bed.

He pushed between her knees, spreading her legs wide, revealing her damp panties, soaked with arousal.

I-ryeong instinctively covered herself with both hands.

“Ha, ha…”

In the end, I-ryeong was the first to gasp for breath.

The heat of their excitement made the air sticky, like the oppressive humidity of a midsummer night.

“I can’t comfort you gently.”

Just like in Greece, he was the same in Korea.

Even though he couldn’t be any gentler, he denied being gentle.

Was it because his instinctual switch had been flipped, as he said? I-ryeong felt emboldened by the unlit atmosphere.

“That’s not enough. It’s not comforting.”

She wrapped her legs around him, trapping him between her thighs. He was now caught in the snare she had created.

“Comfort me harder this time.”

This time, she took the initiative. She had decided to punish him for denying her until the end.

The warmth from their pressed lips spread gently.

Unlike their frantic hands clinging to each other, their lips didn’t rush. They kissed slowly and deeply, as if savoring every sensation.

Their hot breaths and saliva mingled as they exchanged heated kisses.

I-ryeong clung to him tightly, as if she didn’t want to let go. Unaware that her nails were leaving marks, she dug them deep into his skin.

“…!”

He lifted I-ryeong into his arms. The excitement radiating from her buttocks, which he held firmly, was palpable.

His heat, so intense it felt like she might melt, clung to her palms.

I-ryeong wrapped her arms around his neck and tangled her fingers in his hair.

Even as she did so, their lips never parted. Their tongues, sharp and eager, locked together as if glued.

“…Ah!”

I-ryeong was the first to break the kiss, letting out a moan. She could no longer hold back her overwhelmed breath from the strange sensations he was giving her.

“Ha, really.”

I-jun looked down at her with wide eyes.

The hot breath spilling over the nape of her neck made her feel dizzy.

“I-jun! Ah!”

The hand supporting her buttocks pushed aside her damp underwear and parted her secret folds.

The hardened object poked insistently at her entrance, as if eager to enter the wet opening.

Then, I-jun lifted her and sat her in his lap.

“You do it.”

He guided her hand to his arousal. She could feel the veins pulsing with excitement.

She gently stroked his thick, hot length.

The thought of something so heated moving inside her made her hair stand on end and sent shivers down her spine.

“Ha…”

A moan, whose owner was unclear, escaped.

I-ryeong lifted her hips and guided his length into her. Slowly, she took him in completely and began to move her hips.

---

I-jun woke up first.

Not a single ray of light seeped through the long-drawn blinds, making it impossible to guess the exact time.

As he rolled his dry eyes around, he reached out for his phone. It was already past noon.

After turning off his phone again, he searched for her delicate silhouette. She was fast asleep, having reached her peak.

Joon found the blanket and covered her bare back that was exposed.

‘Stroke me harder.’

He fell deep into thought, ruminating over her words.

He hadn’t anticipated that I-ryeong would get hurt because of his family. It was clearly his mistake.

He had regarded marriage merely as a tool to escape his mother’s pressure to wed.

‘Throw these pieces of trash away right now. Surely you’re not planning to serve this on the dining table?’

His sister-in-law’s outrageous behavior made bile rise in his throat. If he was shocked, how much worse must she have felt?

Though he had told her to cover her ears with her hands, she must have heard everything.

Joon closed his eyes and tried to recall the expression she wore while enduring the situation.

‘If you treat me well, your sister-in-law will be comfortable too.’

However, only the sneering face of his sister-in-law came sharply into his mind.

His chest churned with anger, and bitterness rose again.

He felt sorry for I-ryeong because she wouldn’t have experienced such a situation if she hadn’t married him.

“…Hah.”

In the end, he let out a sigh.

It was a moment when his emotions were still tangled, feeling guilty for hurting her.

I-ryeong had just woken up and brushed away the strands of hair tickling her face.

“Awake?”

His subdued voice reached her from behind.

“When did you wake up?”

“Just now.”

For someone who had supposedly just woken up, his voice sounded surprisingly clear.

The thought that he had gotten up before her and watched her sleep made her feel strange.

“You should’ve woken me up too.”

I-ryeong grumbled as she turned over.

He was resting his head on his hand.

“You looked so tired; I didn’t have the heart to wake you.”

The room was cloaked in darkness, making it hard to gauge his expression.

But between his blunt words, there seemed to be a faint trace of a smile, as though he truly cared.

“Still…”

“How are you feeling? Are you okay?”

She nodded in response to his question about her mood.

The crinkling sound from the fluffy pillow somehow made her feel better.

“Do you think you can get up?”

What did he mean by that?

Was he asking because of the intense encounter they had as soon as they entered the annex?

“…”

Unable to discern his intentions, she chose silence.

Thump thump. As he also fell silent, the only thing she could hear was the loud pounding of her heart.

In the tense atmosphere where even swallowing saliva felt inappropriate, she followed the gleam of his eyes shining even in the dark.

The couple’s bedroom was quiet. It seemed like Madam Choi wasn’t around either, as the entire annex was silent.

I-ryeong enjoyed this moment when they could focus solely on each other.

Her wildly beating heart gradually calmed down with the atmosphere, fully absorbing him in that fleeting moment.

“If we prepare now, we can leave soon.”

“Prepare? What do you mean?”

I-ryeong shook her head, genuinely puzzled.

Once again, the rustling sounds of the pillow and blanket surrounded her ears.

“Marriage registration.”

At his curt reply, her movements faltered for a moment.

She had assumed they would live together as a married couple in name only.

“We agreed to register our marriage once we returned to Korea. Surely you didn’t forget?”

“It’s not that.”

She truly hadn’t expected him to go through with the marriage registration. 

She had heard that even ordinary couples often delayed registering their marriage. For instance, she had come across news about couples enjoying their honeymoon, planning a pregnancy, and then registering the marriage around the time of childbirth. 

Because of this, she had dismissed his mention of registering their marriage in Greece as just empty words. 

Assuming he would quickly forget about it, she ended up forgetting as well. 

“Are you having second thoughts? Is that it?” 

Her thoughts swirled, delaying her response. She wanted to think simply, but time slipped by as she tried to gauge his intentions. 

“Do you really regret it or something?” 

The absence of an immediate response from her caused I-jun’s voice to rise.