MHD - 44

Chapter 44: First Experience (1)

It was the third day of his leave. 

The final night. 

Jae-hyuk slowly followed behind Hee-soo, who was walking ahead of him. 

They had eaten lunch, visited a charming café, watched a movie, and played at an arcade nearby. Before they knew it, dinner time had rolled around, so they ate that too. 

When Jae-hyuk asked if she wanted to go to another café, Hee-soo declined, saying she was full, and suggested taking a walk instead. Though part of him worried they might part ways like this, Jae-hyuk nodded and agreed. 

The streets of the bustling Saturday night were crowded with people. 

Whenever drunk passersby stumbled near Hee-soo, Jae-hyuk instinctively reached out to shield her. Each time, his eyes fell on the bouquet of flowers and the stuffed bear she was holding close to her chest. 

The bouquet was a gift he had given her earlier, and the bear was a prize she had won at the shooting gallery next to the arcade. 

Every time he saw her clutching the two items he had given her, his heart felt strange—unsettled. No, it wasn’t just the gifts. It was Seo Hee-soo herself who seemed different during this leave. 

Before enlisting, when he had confessed his feelings with all his heart, she had rejected him coldly. But now, the Hee-soo he met during his leave was unfailingly kind—so kind it almost made him question whether she felt something more. 

Had her feelings changed? 

Or perhaps… maybe after gaining independence, he seemed a little more impressive to her now. 

Amused by the fleeting thought, Jae-hyuk shrugged to himself and glanced at Hee-soo’s back as she walked ahead. 

It was childish, but he had hoped she would see him in a new light. Born as the only son of a chaebol family, he had never lacked anything in life. Yet Seo Hee-soo had burst into his world and stirred his emotions endlessly. 

From the age of fourteen, when she first caught his attention, until now, Seo Hee-soo had always been consistent—one thing hadn’t changed: she either ignored or outright dismissed his confessions. 

In the end, she had firmly rejected him. 

“Think about your parents. Do you think they’d approve of you dating someone like me?” 

When Hee-soo had said that, Jae-hyuk had been at a loss for words. He had even mentioned marriage, but as she pointed out, they were both barely twenty, and talk of studying abroad or marriage was indeed far-off. 

“So… can you wait for me? Until I sort everything out?” 

It had sounded pathetic, but pride didn’t matter to him then. 

His desperation before enlistment had consumed him, and the thought of Hee-soo meeting someone else, falling in love, and even getting married haunted him. The idea of her becoming someone else’s woman was unbearable. 

Jae-hyuk had even imagined her marrying and having children by the time he returned from the military, trembling with anxiety at the thought. 

To others, it might have seemed like an over-the-top fantasy, but Jae-hyuk was dead serious. 

Losing Hee-soo to someone else felt like losing the very essence of his life. His possessiveness burned fiercely, blinding him to everything else. 

“I want to spend my whole life with you.” 

“Your whole life?” 

“If you wait for me, I’d be happy. I don’t want to see you with anyone else.” 

“…Isn’t that too selfish? You can’t be serious, right?” 

But Hee-soo had chuckled dismissively, brushing off his words as if they were a joke. 

She clearly didn’t believe him. 

Having poured his heart out only to be treated like he was making some trivial promise—it was the cruelest form of rejection. With no other choice, Jae-hyuk resigned himself to despair, his heart torn apart as he entered the military. 

And a few months later, when he came home on leave, Hee-soo was no longer living at his house. 

Summoning his courage, he called her number. After all, his confession—that he would try harder to make her fall for him—had been sincere. 

But when Jae-hyuk told her he was on leave, the first thing Hee-soo said was, “I missed you.” 

Just thinking about that moment made his chest tingle. Jae-hyuk pressed his hand against his racing heart, trying to calm it. 

A breeze blew, gently tousling Hee-soo’s hair a step or two ahead of him. For a brief moment, the fresh scent of her shampoo wafted toward him. 

His heart pounded wildly. 

It was the last night. Did they really have to part ways like this? If he could, he wanted to sit somewhere—maybe in a park—and talk with her all night. Ask her where she lived now, how she spent her days, whether life after independence was manageable. 

No, he didn’t even need to talk. He just wanted to stay by her side all night. 

“…Um.” 

Hee-soo, who had been walking silently, suddenly stopped in her tracks. 

“Hmm?” 

Jae-hyuk, who had been staring at her back, finally looked around. 

The place where they had stopped was a motel district ablaze with garish neon signs. Heart-shaped decorations in eye-catching colors flashed everywhere. 

“My legs are a bit sore.” 

What did she mean? At first, Jae-hyuk didn’t understand. 

“Really? Do you want to go home?” 

After spending the entire day together, it made sense she might want to rest. They had been out and about since morning, so she must be tired.

"Should I take you home?" He asked, lingering with regret, and Hee-soo gave him a strange look.

"...Shall we rest here for a bit?"

Hee-soo pointed to a motel right in front of them.

"Huh?"

As he asked back, dumbfounded, Hee-soo grabbed his wrist and opened the motel door.

Everything was ready inside the motel.

Entering the room, Jae-hyuk said to Hee-soo with a serious face.

"Look, if you want to rest, let's go to a hotel. Yeonwoonam is not far..."

Hee-soo just stood there, watching him awkwardly suggest that.

Does this motel room, which looks quite decent to me, look shabby to Jae-hyuk?

Hee-soo was a little worried, but she couldn't follow Jae-hyuk's words.

Hee-soo quietly approached Jae-hyuk and kissed him. She just tiptoed and awkwardly placed her lips on his, but she could feel Jae-hyuk's breath catch sharply.

Opening her eyes slightly, Hee-soo saw that Jae-hyuk still had his eyes closed. His closed eyelids were trembling.

Yeonwoonam...

Hee-soo never thought she would willingly enter that hotel. Who knows what trouble she would get into if she crawled into Lee Jung-chul's den.

Besides, this motel was good enough for me now. I couldn't allow myself to covet anything more. Call it pointless pride, if you will. I didn't want to make myself feel small in a grand place.

If Jae-hyuk insisted on a hotel, Hee-soo was determined to break up with him then and there and end the night.

"...I'm fine here."

As Hee-soo parted her lips slightly and spoke, Jae-hyuk slowly opened his eyes. They were dreamy, as if trying to hold onto the lingering touch of their lips.

"Hey, Hee-soo."

Jae-hyuk called her in a trembling voice.

“What are we doing here?”

“What do you mean?”

Hee-soo's voice trembled as she answered. She slowly raised her hand and unbuttoned her chest one by one.

"...I want to share this with you, Oppa. It's our first time."

Because we're adults now, and I'll be acting, and who knows what else might happen.

If the future is unpredictable, I want to engrave this time of ours, which will become the past, so we won't forget it later.

Hee-soo silently looked into Jae-hyuk's eyes, hoping her long-held feelings would be conveyed.

It had been quite a while.

If I were to have a coming-of-age ceremony, I had thought I wanted Lee Jae-hyuk to be my first.

Even though she rejected Jae-hyuk's confessions every time, strangely, that thought never changed. Because rejecting his confessions wasn't sincere.

So, when Jae-hyuk went to the army and she couldn't see him, it was natural that she missed him like crazy. Now that she’d left that house, Hae-soo realized that if she didn't contact him, they would have even less chance of meeting.

She missed him and longed for him.

Hae-soo realized that she held him in her heart as much as he held hers.

That belated realization piled up in her heart until she couldn't bear it anymore. Around the time she received Jae-hyuk's call, she had been dreaming of Jae-hyuk every night.

"...Will you accept me?"

At Hee-soo's words, Jae-hyuk's eyes changed.

"Ha."

Jae-hyuk, who had been staring intently at Hee-soo, let out a hot breath. Only then did he seem to fully understand her words.

Jae-hyuk's lips, approaching without hesitation, overlapped with Hee-soo's. His tongue, which had been timidly caressing her lips, soon began to move instinctively.

The faces of the two men and women, trying to merge with each other, were close together. Every touch sent shivers down their spines. Their bodies pressed close as their backs arched.

Jae-hyuk's body, swollen with excitement, felt unfamiliar. Every time his hardened body pressed against her, Hee-soo's knees bent inward with unfamiliar sensations.

"Ah."

A moan that didn't sound like her own voice escaped from her lips.

Hee-soo covered her mouth, embarrassed by the sound she had made. But when Jae-hyuk's hand traced her spine, she couldn't help but tilt her head back and repeat similar moans.

Jae-hyuk's breath covered her neck. His hand, gripping her waist, was as hot as a branding iron. Every place his hand brushed sent shivers down her spine.

His arms, embracing her tightly, were so strong that Hee-soo could only pant in Jae-hyuk's arms.

Even with their clumsy movements, their gestures of wanting to possess each other were so passionate that they quickly rolled onto the bed, their bodies intertwined.

"Let me take off your clothes."

Jae-hyuk spoke in a trembling voice. Though it was hard to see clearly in the darkness, every time the faint light seeping in from outside flickered, his eyes met Hee-soo's.

As cautious as his voice, Jae-hyuk moved slowly and deliberately, removing Hee-soo's clothes one by one.

Click.

The sound of the bra hook opening echoed, and when the last covering over her chest finally disappeared, Hee-soo, feeling embarrassed, wrapped her arms around herself.

Jae-hyuk spoke in a trembling voice. Though it was hard to see clearly in the darkness, every time the faint light seeping in from outside flickered, his eyes met Hee-soo's.

As cautious as his voice, Jae-hyuk moved slowly and deliberately, removing Hee-soo's clothes one by one.

Click.

The sound of the bra hook opening echoed, and when the last covering over her chest finally disappeared, Hee-soo, feeling embarrassed, wrapped her arms around herself.