MHD - 46

Episode 46. You Like Me Too, Right?

Waves of pleasure, like a storm, washed over her entire body.

Jae-hyuk’s movements, stirring Hee-soo’s body, were unbearably fast and rough. He widened and dug into the narrowing gap, driven by excitement, pushing deeper inside.

Whenever Jae-hyuk lost control of his strength and pressed down on her, Hee-soo felt as though her mind was completely blank. It felt as if everything she had ever known or thought was shattering into pieces. The things she had hidden and suppressed were breaking and bending, merging her with the man before her.

Even in the darkness, Hee-soo could see the glint in Jae-hyuk’s eyes. He, too, was staring intently at her. Amid the blurry, swaying vision, the look in his eyes was strangely vivid and clear.

“Hee-soo.”

His desperate voice called out to her. Jae-hyuk began to pick up speed. Sharp shocks followed, and Hee-soo’s brow furrowed involuntarily.

As his firm body shook her relentlessly, Hee-soo clung to Jae-hyuk. The pain that had once made her want to flee had now disappeared, and her entire body was drenched in sweat.

“Hee-soo.”

Jae-hyuk, with his face lowered and his body pressed tightly against hers, whispered into her ear.

“You like me too, right?”

“……”

What should she say? If she admitted she liked him, what would happen? She felt so insignificant compared to him, as if she had nothing to offer.

Hee-soo’s shoulders carried too much weight to naively dream of love.

“You do like me, don’t you? Say it.”

As if demanding an answer to his question, Jae-hyuk’s body surged forward. His increasing pace made Hee-soo’s body sway uncontrollably.

Was it necessary to ask these questions? Did they have to define their relationship?

Hee-soo wanted to make a selfish request. She felt that the moment they defined their relationship, something overwhelming would happen. She was terrified of Lee Jeongcheol. The memory of being kicked out of her home made her fearful.

She had already lost over ten years of her life to ballet—what else could she lose? She couldn’t even begin to guess.

Could she handle all of that?

Her thoughts tangled, and Hee-soo ultimately couldn’t answer Jae-hyuk. Instead, she tightly closed her eyes and bit her lip.

“I’m right, aren’t I? I’ll take it as that.”

Jae-hyuk, moving above her, spoke. His persistent gaze chased hers, as if daring her to correct him if he was wrong. But Hee-soo still couldn’t say anything.

Neither affirmation nor denial.

A cool expression masked his face, but his eyes burned with contradiction.

A fragment of an old memory flew into her mind, but the man before her no longer had the eyes Hee-soo remembered.

The youthful eyes that once whispered love were now covered with hatred born from misunderstanding.

Like a beast intoxicated by the desire to conquer, Jae-hyuk toyed with Hee-soo’s body as he pleased. He allowed no resistance, and Hee-soo could only helplessly wait for it all to end, her eyes closed.

A hand slowly trailed up her body from her stomach. A tingling sensation erupted from the tip of her breast as it was grasped in his hand.

The sensation, enough to curl her toes, made her back arch involuntarily, pressing her body against Jae-hyuk’s.

After lightly kissing her collarbone, Jae-hyuk bit her neck as if tearing into her flesh. The spot where his damp lips touched burned as if branded.

His tongue slid along her jawline and invaded her mouth once more.

So deeply, as if devouring everything she had.

If only she could stop feeling. As she was played by Jae-hyuk’s touch, Hee-soo couldn’t meet his eyes and turned her head away.

Ridiculously, her body, which only Jae-hyuk knew, grew wet with each touch, stirring familiar yet unfamiliar sensations.

“……I hate this.”

A sob slipped through her moans.

Hee-soo hated the memories that surfaced against her will, and the emotions they evoked.

How hard had she worked to forget them? To pretend they didn’t exist?

Ah, why did you leave me alone back then? Why did I have to bear it all by myself?

And why do I still falter when I’m in front of you?

“You hate it? Why?”

The man dominating her body asked slowly. His other hand, moving mockingly, continued to touch her somewhere.

The sounds of arousal filled the space, shamefully loud.

“Give me a reason. A valid reason for me to stop.”

“Hng……”

Her sobs turned into whimpers, and then into pitiful moans, but Hee-soo couldn’t give any answer or put up any proper resistance.

Her body wanted Jae-hyuk too much, while her heart denied it.

“You choose. Even now, I can stop anytime.”

Contrary to his words, Jae-hyuk’s presence was unmistakably evident.

If he stopped.

The thought flashed through her mind for a brief moment. In that instant of hesitation, Jae-hyuk seemed to lose interest and began to pull away.

“If you’re not ready to enjoy it, let’s stop.”

But Hee-soo grabbed Jae-hyuk’s wrist as he tried to withdraw his hand. Without hesitation, she said:

“Keep going.”

And she looked into Jae-hyuk’s eyes.

Was it time to say goodbye?

Yes, hold me until there’s no lingering attachment left. If we keep repeating this, someday we’ll grow tired of each other. We’ll get bored of this tedious relationship and drift apart.

Right, this must be the kind of farewell that suits us.

Once we’ve dragged each other down to something insignificant, our past will fade too.

Hee-soo repeated it to herself, as if making a vow.

She was confident in her acting.

‘It’s not a big deal. Just give him the smile he wants, say the words he wants to hear, and act.’

This is just another stage, another set. If she thought of it that way, it would be fine. He would just become one of those men who desired her.

She slowly guided his hand back to her body. This time, she didn’t tremble at all.

It was fine if it was just pointless pride. She could never bring herself to recount the humiliating and miserable past in detail. If she didn’t talk about it, she would remain nothing more than an object of hatred to Jae-hyuk.

‘It doesn’t matter.’

Her heart hadn’t raced before she met Jae-hyuk anyway. If he was the one who had given her that feeling, then he could be the one to take it away.

Hee-soo looked at Jae-hyuk with a different expression in her eyes. She tilted her face slightly and gazed up at him with a provocative look.

As if sensing the change in her gaze, Jae-hyuk’s expression shifted as well.

“Good.”

Jae-hyuk, gripping Hee-soo’s shoulders, lowered his waist. His shadow completely enveloped Hee-soo’s body.

After the night with Jae-hyuk, Hee-soo couldn’t escape the memories of that night for days.

The marks he left on her body were undeniable. She couldn’t even go out casually.

The tingling sensations that had spread throughout her body. The explosive pleasure. Everything he had given her was tangled inside her, refusing to fade.

Day and night, Jae-hyuk’s lingering presence haunted her.

Like someone trapped in a spider’s web, she had been the one who clung to him, crying and pleading.

It was a night where she had lost herself so deeply in their shared movements that she could no longer distinguish where the acting ended and reality began.

If she let her guard down, the man from her memories would unconsciously devour her again. Hee-soo shook her head vigorously as she climbed the stairs one by one.

When she reached the top of the five-story building, she stood in front of the door and took a deep breath.

Today was finally the day she had a meeting with Kang Jae-min. Standing in front of Director Kang’s studio, which she hadn’t visited in a long time, Hee-soo shook off her wandering thoughts once more.

Creak.

As she opened the iron door and stepped inside, the bookshelves covering the entire wall overwhelmed her sight. On the large wooden table in front of them, stacks of papers, scripts, and books were piled high.

“It’s been a while, Director.”

“Hee-soo, you’ve become even more beautiful.”

“You haven’t changed at all, Director.”

Director Kang, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time, truly hadn’t changed at all.

His thin, gaunt frame and the careless way he wore his shabby jeans were exactly the same as when they had filmed The Fall of Paradise years ago.

Even when they first met, his androgynous appearance had made her think he was a man, but as he aged, his aura had grown even more mysterious.

“You don’t see my gray hair?”

“Not at all, Director.”

The two stood silently for a moment, smiling at each other.

Jae-min’s graying hair revealed the passage of time, but his sharp eyes remained the same. Jae-min patted Hee-soo’s shoulder, saying she looked well, and gestured for her to sit at the large table in front of them.

“What would you like to drink? Tea? Coffee?”

“Just water, please. Or I can get it myself.”

“No, no. You’re a guest, why would you do that?”

While Jae-min prepared the tea, Hee-soo walked over to the study and sat down.

The workspace, filled with the scent of books, resembled a small library. On one side of the table sat a workstation with three monitors, and nearby was a cozy-looking sofa.

As Hee-soo’s gaze wandered around the room, it eventually returned to the table, where she noticed a stack of ballet books. 

While flipping through one of the books, Jae-min appeared, carrying two steaming cups of chrysanthemum tea.

"Do you still like this? I remember you used to drink it often on set."

"Ah, yes."

As she gazed at her reflection in the golden tea, old memories began to resurface.

Hee-soo, then a newly debuted actress, had been scolded harshly by Jae-min during filming. 

His reprimands were so intense that they brought tears to her eyes, and the sympathetic gazes from the crew made her feel even worse. Hee-soo, with her prideful nature, hated being pitied.

So, on those days, she would stay up for nights practicing the scenes until she perfected them.

"…Thank you for reaching out to me again."

Before she could finish expressing her gratitude, Kang Jae-min set his teacup down and asked,

"But are you sure this is okay?"

"What do you mean?"

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Hee-soo tilted her head, unsure of what he meant. All she had heard from Cha Joo-won was that the meeting date had been set.

"Jin Yuna is also going to be in it. I think I heard rumors that the two of you don’t get along well."

"Jin Yuna?"

Hee-soo slowly lowered the teacup she had been holding.