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“I’d say Judge Im’s wife was a bit... conspicuous.”
Park Se-yeon said, rubbing the ring on her finger. The carat seemed significant, but it appeared to be a habit, not an intention to show off. Even without the ring, the luxurious detached house demonstrated her wealth as the wife of a successful law firm’s CEO.
“In what way did she seem that way?”
Seo-gyeong asked. Yeon-woo, who was sitting with her on the sofa, was quietly sipping the tea she had been served.
Yoon-hwan’s father, Im Seong-gon, ran a legal precedent research group at the court, where he socialized with fellow judges. The wives also formed their own club, and Yoon-hwan’s mother, Yang Mi-ae, was a member of that group. They were visiting Se-yeon, one of the wives’ club members, to investigate Yoon-hwan’s family background.
“She seemed a bit giddy about everything, or maybe you could say naive. Mi-ae was also much younger than the rest of us.”
“She was twenty-three when she married Im Seong-gon, wasn’t she?”
“I think so. We all got married late after studying and going abroad, but Mi-ae was a bit early. There was a big age gap between her and Judge Im as well.”
The term “we” felt like it was separating themselves from Yang Mi-ae. Most of the wives’ club members were daughters of wealthy families or high-ranking officials. However, Yang Mi-ae’s only qualification was a diploma from a vocational college she had just graduated from.
That’s why the wives’ club’s discomfort was evident in their assessment of Yang Mi-ae as being “conspicuous.” In short, they meant she was an outlier.
“How did she seem giddy?”
“Well... our husbands were public officials, so the atmosphere was for everyone to be careful. People were watching us.”
“In what way?”
“With things like clothes, watches, and jewelry. Well, all women like those things. Anyway, Mi-ae would come to every meeting dressed lavishly from head to toe. The rest of us had put away the things we wore when we were single... but now my husband isn’t a public official, he’s a private citizen, so I’m...”
Se-yeon’s voice trailed off as she smiled. Yeon-woo carefully placed down her gilt-edged, openwork teacup with a botanical illustration. Even without hearing the rest, the teacup Yeon-woo was using suggested she enjoyed a life of luxury.
“Still, Mi-ae was young and so beautiful that they were a good match. Even my husband said she was someone Judge Im would fall head over heels for.”
“Was it a marriage that Judge Im actively pursued?”
“That’s what I heard. Judge Im was so handsome and had such a good character that he had many good prospects for marriage. I even offered to set him up with someone once, but he refused, then suddenly announced he was getting married, and I was shocked. I thought he must be a romantic at heart after seeing Mi-ae.”
Seo-gyeong asked again as her tone became vague.
“In what way?”
“Her family was a bit...”
Se-yeon said, her eyes crinkling as if in distress.
“I don’t think people necessarily have to marry into similar families. But... my husband hinted to me once. He said that Mi-ae’s father was an habitual offender for assault and had been in prison for a long time before he died. My husband knew about it, so it’s not like Judge Im wouldn’t have known.”
Only then did Seo-gyeong understand the wives’ club’s open exclusion of Yang Mi-ae. It wasn’t just a difference in snobbery; it was a strong aversion to a family of a criminal.
“How did their married life seem?”
“Mi-ae must have been happy. Judge Im was so devoted. He always brought Mi-ae with him to every gathering... But behind her back, he would make a joke, saying he might have to quit being a judge and open his own law practice because of his wife. A judge is still a public servant. The salary isn’t nearly enough to support that lifestyle. Seeing the way Mi-ae dressed, it made sense.”
After leaving Se-yeon’s house and getting into the car, Seo-gyeong looked at Yeon-woo, who was sitting in the passenger seat.
They had visited other members of the former wives’ club, but the assessment of Yang Mi-ae was consistently the same: extravagant, beautiful, young, and immature. Yeon-woo had listened to their stories in silence.
“I know that feeling well.”
“Pardon?”
Seo-gyeong spoke to Yeon-woo as she started the car.
“When you hear bad things about someone you know, especially if it’s about their family, it can be quite distressing.”
“Ah... yes...”
Yeon-woo’s face, which had been downcast the whole time, broke into a faint smile.
“Do you have any memories related to Yoon-hwan’s mother?”
After her husband died in an accident, Yang Mi-ae was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and didn’t live for more than half a year. She inherited a fortune, but she wouldn’t have had time to enjoy the luxuries she was so fond of.
“...Before my oppa’s mother passed away, my grandmother took me to the hospital. I was very young, so I don’t remember the details, but I do remember she was very emaciated.”
‘You’re Yeon-woo,’ she had said, looking at her with a face that Yeon-woo thought was as white as a canvas. The hand that stroked her hair was as thin as a bare winter branch.
“Do you remember what Yang Mi-ae and Yoon-hwan talked about then?”
“Oh, no... My grandmother and I went alone.”
Only then did Yeon-woo think it was a bit strange. Why hadn’t her grandmother taken Yoon-hwan with her that day?
Fragmented, disconnected memories swirled in her head. The sight of Yoon-hwan’s back, a young boy in a pitch-black mourning suit, staring blankly at his mother’s portrait. The strange smile he would give instead of an answer whenever she asked about his parents...
Last night, after discovering Jin-mok’s camera, Yeon-woo had been up all night thinking.
The moment she saw the scratch on the screen, her heart sank, but she couldn’t bring herself to think that Yoon-hwan might have harmed Jin-mok. However, the thought that Jin-mok’s words about being threatened by Yoon-hwan could be true had crossed her mind.
And... Yoon-hwan’s voice on a phone call she had overheard by chance a few days ago had made Yeon-woo accompany Seo-gyeong.
‘Ryu Ji-woo, don’t do something you’ll regret.’
Seo-gyeong had told Yeon-woo about the case of Ryu Ji-woo’s disappearance. Since Yoon-hwan himself knew he was a suspect, there was no need to hide it from Yeon-woo.
And the name Ryu Ji-woo had come from Yoon-hwan’s mouth. The memory of that voice made Yeon-woo’s heart freeze. Even so... a seed of doubt did not sprout. No, she couldn’t let it. If she had even the slightest suspicion, she would have grabbed Yoon-hwan and asked him.
“Now, I’ll follow your directions, Yeon-woo.”
Seo-gyeong tapped the navigation screen as if telling her to give the address.
“32-gil, Bomun-ro, Seongbuk-gu...”
Yeon-woo slowly read out the address, matching the movement of Seo-gyeong’s finger.
Contrary to her expectation that they would go to find Jin-mok first, Seo-gyeong suggested they look into Yoon-hwan’s parents. When asked what the connection was, Seo-gyeong asked if she knew how Yoon-hwan’s parents had died. When Yeon-woo replied that she knew his father died in an accident and his mother from an illness, Seo-gyeong paused without a word. After a long moment, she decided based on what Yeon-woo had seen and heard, and told her to hear it directly from Yoon-hwan.
Yeon-woo felt like she had been hit on the head. She realized that she had never once heard a proper story about his parents from Yoon-hwan.
Her grandmother, Yoon-hwan, and herself. These three were Yeon-woo’s family, so it didn’t seem particularly strange that Yoon-hwan didn’t talk about his parents.
Yeon-woo admitted that she was missing a lot about Yoon-hwan.
She acknowledged that there was another side to Yoon-hwan that she didn’t know. And that Yoon-hwan would never show that side. And... that Seo-gyeong knew a Yoon-hwan that she didn’t.
The self-loathing and emptiness that came from knowing less about Yoon-hwan than Seo-gyeong despite their long time together, and the jealousy that began to stir... made her accompany Seo-gyeong.
Pressing the “find route” button, Seo-gyeong stepped on the accelerator and drove onto the road.
________________________________________
The car Seo-gyeong was driving crossed the Han River and drove for 40 minutes.
The navigation announced their arrival in front of a renovated tiled-roof house with a sign for a rice cake shop. It was the address Yeon-woo had entered.
“Oh my, Yeon-woo. How are you?”
A white-haired, wrinkled old woman greeted Yeon-woo. It was Heo Jeong-rae, who had come up to the city from the countryside with Yeon-woo’s grandmother, Go Yeong-shin. She was younger than Yeong-shin, so she hadn’t yet passed her 70th birthday, but the deep wrinkles made her look five years older, a sign of her hard life. Still, her expression as she smiled and welcomed Yeon-woo was bright.
“I’m good, Grandma. I’m sorry I haven’t visited in so long.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t been able to take care of you. But... who is this?”
When the grandmother asked about Seo-gyeong, Yeon-woo said she was a close older sister. Inside the renovated tiled-roof house, there was a surprisingly modest courtyard that was filled with sunlight. When they sat on the wooden porch that opened to the courtyard, Jeong-rae brought out a tray full of rice cakes and barley tea, despite Yeon-woo’s attempts to stop her.
“But you said you wanted to ask me something?”
“Yes... I heard that my grandmother started working at Yoon-hwan oppa’s house after you introduced her.”
Jeong-rae looked into the distance at the courtyard as if recalling a very old memory.
“It’s true that I introduced your grandmother. I didn’t work there as long as she did, just for about three months. I quit soon after because I found this shop spot I’d been watching for a good price.”
“Then you must know about Yoon-hwan oppa’s parents as well?”
“I didn’t work there long, so I don’t know much, but...”
Jeong-rae mumbled, her voice trailing off. At Yeon-woo’s urging for her to speak comfortably, Jeong-rae opened her mouth again.
“The boss was a very meticulous person. Whether it was cleaning or cooking, nothing was ever approved the first time. Well... that’s a common thing when you work at a rich person’s house. That’s why when I quit, I introduced your grandmother to them, since she was so good with her hands. They would have paid extra to keep her at any other place. So, no one worked at that house for more than half a year, but your grandmother worked there for over ten years. Yoon-hwan’s mother even thanked me several times for the introduction.”
Seo-gyeong took note of the fact that Jeong-rae referred to Im Seong-gon as “the boss” but Yang Mi-ae as “Yoon-hwan’s mother.” The choice of titles implied a relationship and intimacy. This was the opposite of how Park Se-yeon, whom they had just met, had referred to Im Seong-gon familiarly and Yang Mi-ae with distance.
“What was Yoon-hwan oppa’s mother like?”
“She was a born lady. Pretty and gentle. She was always beautifully dressed at home, so at first, I thought she was an actress or someone who worked in that field.”
Seo-gyeong nodded. This was consistent with Se-yeon’s assessment that she enjoyed a life of luxury.
“So I thought she was born and raised in a good family like the boss, but then I heard she had suffered a lot in her life. I thought her life was finally looking up after marrying well, but...”
“...But what?”
“One time, she spilled water and quickly took off her watch... and there were a lot of bad marks there...”
“What... kind of marks?”
Jeong-rae mumbled to herself if she should say it, then continued, saying that they were all gone now anyway.
“Marks that looked like they were made with a knife. When I was surprised, Yoon-hwan’s mother quickly covered it with her sleeve...”
“......”
“There were also scabs, so it seemed like some of the wounds were recent... That’s when I thought what you see isn’t everything.”
Putting together what she had just heard with Park Se-yeon’s words, it meant there were signs of self-harm under the expensive watch she always wore.
With such completely different descriptions depending on the perspective, Yeon-woo felt a sense of thirst. She looked beside her and saw that Seo-gyeong was also drinking her barley tea with a grim expression.
“Still, when I heard she got pregnant with Yoon-hwan after I left, I thought they were doing well again. The woman who took over for me didn’t say much either way.”
“...I see.”
“Is Yoon-hwan doing well? I only ever heard about him from your grandma, but I saw him for the first time at the funeral, and he was the spitting image of his father. They say you can steal anything but a man’s seed, so I was surprised to feel like I was seeing the boss all over again.”
Yeon-woo bit her lip and could only nod her head.
The two left the tiled-roof house. In their hands were plastic bags. The bags were heavy with rice cakes that Jeong-rae had insisted on giving them.
The alley was crowded with female students who had poured out of a nearby women’s university for lunch. As the bright noise passed, Yeon-woo, who had stepped back to make way, stumbled for a moment. Seo-gyeong grabbed Yeon-woo’s arm.
“Yeon-woo, are you okay?”
“Yes...”
Seo-gyeong looked at Yeon-woo, who had bowed her head in thanks, and then asked, “Which story do you think is right, Yeon-woo?”
“Pardon? Oh...”
Yeon-woo hung the bag handle on her wrist and said, “I think... given the marks on her wrist... maybe my oppa’s mother went through something so painful she wanted to die.”
“That could be. But self-harm isn’t always connected to death.”
As Yeon-woo blinked and looked at her, Seo-gyeong murmured, “When it comes to self-harm, you have to distinguish between suicide attempts and non-suicidal self-injury. Sometimes, people self-harm to relieve stress and tension without the intention of dying. And...”
“...”
“There are also cases where people do it to make the other person feel guilty and move them in the direction they want. When the perpetrator is physically weaker, they sometimes choose that method. I’m not saying that Yang Mi-ae definitely did that, but there are various possibilities.”
Seo-gyeong did not want to make a premature judgment. Given that Im Seong-gon had complained to people that he was having a hard time because of his wife, the last hypothesis also seemed plausible.
“...Doesn’t it get hard for you, Prosecutor Ju?”
At Yeon-woo’s unexpected question, Seo-gyeong pressed the smart car key and turned around.
“Maybe because I’ve been clueless since I was a kid... I’ve often been told I’m simple.”
Seo-gyeong gave a wry smile as she opened the car door.
“You mean it’s hard to be constantly suspicious?”
“Oh, no! It’s not so much suspicion as...”
“It’s a familiar process for me because of my job, but if it’s hard for you, you don’t have to come with me. If you tell me the information about the people involved like today, I’ll go meet them.”
“...”
While it was a familiar process for Seo-gyeong, it seemed overwhelming for Yeon-woo. What was needed was Yeon-woo’s information about Yoon-hwan, so there was no reason for her to insist on them going together.
Yeon-woo, who had been sitting in the passenger seat in silence and fastening her seatbelt, suddenly pointed to the parking lot wall.
“Since it’s summer, there are trumpet flowers blooming everywhere.”
“Huh? Oh, is that what that flower is called, a trumpet flower?”
Yeon-woo smiled softly and nodded, and Seo-gyeong thought she seemed a bit out of place.
“They’re a beautiful and vibrant flower, and their vines grow well, so they’re often planted on walls.”
“Now that you mention it, I think I’ve seen them a lot on the street.”
“But there’s an old saying that you shouldn’t stand in the wind under a trumpet flower. They say the pollen is poisonous and can blind you if it gets in your eyes.”
“...That’s strange. To plant a flower like that so commonly.”
Seo-gyeong, who had little interest in trumpet flowers, looked away and started the car.
“There were a lot of reports requesting them to be removed for that reason. So they tested them at the National Arboretum to see if they were really poisonous, and it turned out they weren’t. They had been given a bad reputation for no reason.”
Seo-gyeong’s foot, which was about to press the accelerator, hesitated.
“...Are you talking about the flower right now? Or are you trying to say that I’ve gotten the wrong idea?”
Yeon-woo shook her head.
“When I was a child and heard that story from my grandmother, I used to close my eyes whenever the wind blew under a trumpet flower.”
“...”
“But this time, I’m going to open my eyes properly. No matter what comes out, I won’t close them until the very end.”
Innocent eyes were looking at Seo-gyeong.
Seo-gyeong silently rolled down the car window a little. The suffocating indoor air, which had been heated by the scorching sun while they were parked, mixed with the incoming breeze through the window. It felt a little easier to breathe. Just like the car that had started to move, the heat of summer was heading toward its climax.
Suddenly, the last scene of her short relationship came to mind.
‘Im Yoon-hwan, if this is how it was going to be, why... did you ask me to go out with you?’
Yoon-hwan paused for a moment and then answered in a voice devoid of emotion.
‘Because I didn’t think you’d cry.’
She also remembered the red streaks left on her cheeks from being slapped a couple of times. The sight of herself huffing and puffing, and the indifferent look in Yoon-hwan’s eyes as he stared down at her without an excuse, even at that moment.
Seo-gyeong glanced at Yeon-woo, who was looking far out the car window, and muttered under her breath.
“It doesn’t seem like she’ll cry much...”
“Pardon?”
Seo-gyeong thought that although Yeon-woo seemed soft and fragile, her faith in Yoon-hwan was similar to this season. A pure and fervent belief that was heading toward a climax without even a hint of its end. Seo-gyeong had also had such a belief once. Until she was betrayed like an unexpected, chilling frost.
Seo-gyeong, who answered that it was just a thought, lowered her sun visor.
________________________________________
At two in the morning, Yeon-woo was tossing and turning in her sleep.
The low voice saying the name “Ryu Ji-woo” kept repeating in her head. That night, Yoon-hwan had left the house in the early morning, claiming he had a backlog of investigation records. Was Yoon-hwan really involved in Ryu Ji-woo’s case? In the past? Or even now?
Thud. The sound of the front door opening announced his return, and Yeon-woo got out of bed. She opened her door and made eye contact with Yoon-hwan. His eyes, which were deeply sunken from fatigue, softened when he saw Yeon-woo.
“Why are you not sleeping? Oh... did I wake you up?”
“Who... are you coming from meeting?”
“Hmm? Just working late.”
Yoon-hwan sat on the living room sofa and swept back the hair that had fallen onto his forehead.
Yeon-woo knew from Seo-gyeong that the Northern District Court where Yoon-hwan worked was on summer recess. Where had he gone, pretending to go to work?
Yeon-woo sat on the floor below the sofa and looked up at Yoon-hwan. He tilted his head, asking, “Why?”
“You look really tired, oppa...”
“You’re the one who’s been sick all summer. How’s your throat?”
“...It’s a lot better.”
“Don’t forget your cardigan. Don’t get a fever again after being in the air conditioning all day.”
Yoon-hwan put his palm on Yeon-woo’s forehead. When he didn’t feel any heat, he gently stroked her forehead with his thumb. The affectionate gaze looking down at her was the same as the day he appeared holding her grandmother’s hand. Her throat felt tight.
“I had a dream about Grandma.”
“So you woke up.”
“...What kind of people were your parents?”
The hand stroking her forehead stopped.
“I don’t know, they passed away when I was little, so I don’t have many memories of them.”
“...”
It was impossible for Yoon-hwan to have forgotten. When she was organizing her grandmother’s belongings, she had seen that Yoon-hwan remembered specific details of the things he had done with his grandmother when he was a child.
And above all, those eyes. He was smiling faintly, but he seemed strangely unfamiliar.
When he lies... he has that kind of look...
Yeon-woo’s heart beat violently as she felt a crack appear in the daily life she had taken for granted.
“Today, I met your grandmother’s friend from your hometown.”
“Who?”
“Grandma Jeong-rae. She came to our grandmother’s funeral. She even cried at the funeral...”
Ah... As if he knew who she was talking about, Yoon-hwan’s slightly parted lips pressed into a firm line. His subtly smiling eyes flattened, making his expression unreadable.
“So that’s why you’re suddenly asking about my parents. I heard she was the one who worked at our house before my grandmother started working there.”
“Yes. She said my grandmother went to your house through her introduction.”
“What did she tell you?”
By her.
The thumb that was stroking her forehead again applied a subtle pressure. The breeze from the old fan whirred and made her hair stand on end.
Just like when your reflection in the mirror suddenly seems like a stranger, the face of the kind Yoon-hwan she had always known now looked different.
“She said that you... look a lot like your father. She said she was surprised at the funeral because she thought she was seeing your father again.”
“...”
“So... that a man’s seed cannot be stolen...”
“It can’t be stolen, a man’s seed.”
As if he found that funny, the corners of Yoon-hwan’s lips twisted up. Yeon-woo thought it was a sneer.
“And what else?”
“...She said that your mother was a born lady. That she was very beautiful.”
And the look he was giving her now was one of suspicion.
Yeon-woo clenched her fists to resist the urge to look away. This was the first time she had seen Yoon-hwan’s eyes stare at her so penetratingly. The pressure from his black pupils under his long, horizontal eyelids was like that of a beast before it pounces on its prey. She suddenly thought that the Yoon-hwan in court would be similar to this.
“Where does she live?”
“...Why?”
“I was so distraught at the funeral that I didn’t get a chance to greet her properly. I should go pay my respects properly.”
Yoon-hwan let out a long sigh and ran a hand over his face.
“Go get me a glass of water. And bring a cotton swab.”
Yoon-hwan lay down, resting his head on the armrest of the sofa. He waved his hand and smiled, and Yeon-woo saw that he had already returned to being the kind oppa she knew. For some reason, that made Yeon-woo feel a sense of thirst. She swallowed, and her throat hurt as if it were being scraped by a thorn.
Yeon-woo went to the kitchen and filled a glass with water. When she returned to the living room, Yoon-hwan was pressing his palm against his forehead. When Yeon-woo approached, he held out his hand without looking. When she stood still with the cup in her hand, Yoon-hwan removed his hand and looked up at her.
“Oppa... are you hiding anything from me?”
“What’s wrong with you today? You’ve been acting weird since earlier.”
“Did you... meet Senior Jin-mok and... scold him?”
Yoon-hwan shot up into a sitting position. His raised voice was filled with annoyance.
“You’re acting up towards me because of that bastard?”
Haa, Yoon-hwan let out a breath and roughly wiped his face with his hands.
“Do you even know what kind of things that guy does behind everyone’s backs?”
“I... don’t. Because you don’t tell me anything...”
“I told you already. Don’t hang out with a guy like that.”
“You always treat it like a joke... so you don’t tell me anything important.”
Yoon-hwan’s bloodshot eyes closed for a moment and then opened again. He continued to speak slowly in a tone that pretended to be affectionate but seemed to be suppressing something.
“Yeon-woo, guys like that... act like gentle lambs on the outside. They have to hide their true colors to blend in with the flock. But in reality, they’re just beasts crawling in to find prey.”
Yeon-woo’s hand tightened around the glass.
“Those beasts have a very good sense of smell. They have to pick out who their prey will be. Especially...”
Guys like you. Yoon-hwan’s finger pointed at Yeon-woo as if to stab her.
“The sweeter the prey is to those guys, the more they have a vile patience to wait. It’s a hunter’s virtue. Then they wait for the most opportune moment. And when the time comes, they will surely show their disgusting true nature. They have to, Yeon-woo. There are no exceptions for a beast, it’s their instinct.”
His voice, which was rising higher and higher, echoed through the living room. Yeon-woo’s skin tingled as if she could feel the anger Yoon-hwan was spewing.
“...Oppa.”
“Look even now. In the end, you’ll struggle, you’ll wail, and you’ll look for me and call out my name. Because that’s all you’re capable of doing!”
“...”
“I can’t stand the thought of me not being by your side at that moment. I can’t stand it because it’s disgusting, Yeon-woo.”
In the momentary silence, the breeze from the fan ruffled Yoon-hwan’s hair.
The pressure Yoon-hwan was giving off, which was enough to make her spine tingle just by facing him, made her think that the rumor that he could make people cry in court might be true. And she also thought that what Jin-mok had received was a proper threat. Why hadn’t she noticed it at all before? It was baffling.
‘Let’s put aside Yeon-woo’s unconditional, boundless trust and get to know the person Im Yoon-hwan is.’
Seo-gyeong knew. As a prosecutor, or as a former lover. At that fact, Yeon-woo’s fingertips tightened around the glass. In this situation, she was absurdly feeling jealous.
“Don’t worry about Choi Jin-mok, that bastard. If he ever calls, don’t answer.”
“...”
“It’s late. Go inside and sleep.”
Yeon-woo held out the glass in her hand toward him, who was wiping his face with both hands. But when Yoon-hwan held out his hand, she pulled it back. Yoon-hwan’s eyebrows, which had loosened a little, tightened again.
“Seo Yeon-woo.”
“Try to drink it.”
And then Yeon-woo put the cup to her lips. Soon, a coldness filled her mouth. The empty cup spun in her hand.
Yeon-woo held the water in her mouth and looked down at Yoon-hwan.
Seo-gyeong, whom she had been with all day, was charming even in the eyes of another woman. Rational, proactive, with a strong sense of self... Yeon-woo thought she was similar to Yoon-hwan. A completely different charm from her own. Was that what Yoon-hwan was attracted to? The two people who were so alike, kissing, hugging, their bodies touching... Could she never do that?
Yoon-hwan’s words about not saying anything disgusting again scratched Yeon-woo’s heart. Her friends used to scold her for not wearing feminine clothes or makeup. Every time, Yeon-woo would say she wasn’t interested, but in reality, she was afraid. Afraid of being rejected by Yoon-hwan as a woman. She thought it was enough to be able to stay by Yoon-hwan’s side as his younger sister.
But jealousy had destroyed her self-deception. It wasn’t Yoon-hwan’s self-deception. It was her own deception, where she had tried to convince herself that it was okay to be a sister or a pseudo-family member.
She was sick of waiting anxiously for the day Yoon-hwan would get a lover and leave this house, as if it were a death sentence. She didn’t want to just keep circling around the line Yoon-hwan had drawn. Just like the side of Yoon-hwan that had just been revealed, she wanted to know Yoon-hwan as a man.
A drop of water trickled down Yeon-woo’s lip and dripped onto her chin. Yoon-hwan’s gaze, which had been fixed on the drop of water on the floor, slowly lifted. When their eyes met, Yeon-woo’s heart tingled.
A non-existent double eyelid had formed in the deep hollow of Yoon-hwan’s right eye. As the double eyelid folded in, his black pupil was revealed a little more, making his impression completely different from his left eye.
After being the one to provoke him, Yeon-woo felt suffocated by the tension. The cold water in her mouth slipped down her throat.
“You can’t drink it...”
“...”
“Because someone like me is disgusting. I can’t possibly... Ugh!”
Yeon-woo’s head swam with the momentary stop in her breathing. The glass she had let go of fell to the floor with a loud crash. It took her a moment to realize that she and Yoon-hwan were kissing. Her eyes closed on their own as if a light had been turned off.
“Ugh... Mmm...”
Yeon-woo’s closed lips were held in Yoon-hwan’s mouth and sucked in strongly. Yoon-hwan’s lips, which were touching hers without a gap, were hot. The temperature and texture were unfamiliar. Only the familiar scent clinging to her mucous membranes told her that the person kissing her was Yoon-hwan.
In an instant, a thick mass of flesh crossed the boundary of her lips. As the thick tongue swept across the inner membrane of her cheek, a tingling sensation like electricity ran through her, and Yeon-woo let out a breath she had forgotten to hold. Then her tongue was sucked in so hard that it felt like it would be pulled out, and her jaw dropped open. Her body swayed backward from the pressure, but a strong arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her close. Feeling like she was falling off a cliff, Yeon-woo instinctively wrapped her arms around Yoon-hwan’s back. She was defenseless and accepted the intruder who was rummaging inside her with her mouth open.
“Haa... ha...”
When their lips separated, Yeon-woo gasped for air. With his nose still touching hers, Yoon-hwan asked, “I told you... that even if I show my true nature, there’s nothing you can do.”
Yoon-hwan’s words lingered muffled in Yeon-woo’s ears, which were still lost in the afterglow of the kiss.
Yoon-hwan had blamed Jin-mok... but at some point, the subject had changed to Yoon-hwan. Her jumbled consciousness was throbbing as if it was about to touch something very important.
“...Oppa.”
“Why?” Yoon-hwan asked, stroking Yeon-woo’s cheek with his finger.
“...You said it yourself, oppa. All I can do is... call out for you.”
The left corner of Yoon-hwan’s mouth twisted in a strange way. And the kiss that followed. Her consciousness, which had been flickering as if it were about to touch something important, floated in the air and became hazy again.
When she realized that the hard thing pressing against her solar plexus was Yoon-hwan’s center, Yeon-woo’s cheeks flushed red.
It would be a lie to say she wasn’t scared by the clearly felt desire. The unfamiliar side of Yoon-hwan that she was seeing for the first time was pressuring Yeon-woo as a man. Yoon-hwan’s tongue, which had been licking her lips and chin, slid down to her neck.
“Ugh...”
Yoon-hwan’s teeth lightly bit Yeon-woo’s neck. It was at the moment when Yeon-woo’s body went limp as if a vital point had been pierced.
“Hold on.”
Like a signal, Yoon-hwan breathed into her ear. When she wrapped her arms around his neck as if in a trance, Yoon-hwan’s hands supported her hips and lifted her up.
Yoon-hwan carried Yeon-woo and strode forward. Thump, Yeon-woo realized she had been laid on Yoon-hwan’s bed only after she fell onto it. As she sank into the soft mattress, Yoon-hwan’s scent filled the space, making her head spin.
Yoon-hwan unbuttoned the linen dress she was wearing as pajamas. He sucked hard on her exposed collarbone, and the tingling sensation made Yeon-woo squirm her legs. Then Yoon-hwan’s hand burrowed into her thigh and swept the hem of her skirt upward. The bottom of her dress was pulled up to her navel, and a sense of emptiness filled her crotch.
“Ah... no, this is...”
Yeon-woo, who realized what Yoon-hwan was about to do, desperately grabbed the hem of her dress and pulled it back down. Yoon-hwan’s mouth, which had been gnawing on her upper chest, stopped for a moment. With a hot breath, Yoon-hwan let out a sigh, and her chest felt hot as if it had been branded with a hot iron.
Suddenly, Yoon-hwan moved away. He rested a knee beside Yeon-woo’s waist and raised his upper body.
That kind of... look.
Yeon-woo bit her lip at the unfamiliar gaze looking down at her in the dark. Her lips, which had swollen from the previous kiss, felt alien as if they belonged to someone else. Although she had no experience, her instincts told her that the man on top of her had an explosive sexual desire. Goosebumps ran down her spine.
Tuk, tuduk. Yoon-hwan’s hand ran across the center of his shirt. The buttons were unfastened quickly. The sight of his muscles revealed through the open shirt created a tension that was more than just sexual excitement. She could feel the enormous volume of his lustful groin that was touching her pelvic bone.
This can’t be...
Yeon-woo sympathized with the feeling of a prey about to be devoured. Her usually hazy consciousness was overly focused on Yoon-hwan. As she took in the sharp excitement Yoon-hwan was giving off, her body stiffened. She felt as if she was about to be buried in the landslide of Yoon-hwan. She kept swallowing, but she didn’t have the luxury of feeling any pain.
Yoon-hwan, who was looking down at her, twisted his lips into a smirk. “Yeon-woo,” he said in a voice that was as affectionate as usual, and her shoulders flinched.
“If you were going to make a face like that, you shouldn’t have let your guard down.”
Huh? he asked, and kissed her on the forehead. As soon as his lips, which had lightly touched her, came off, Yoon-hwan also got off the bed.
Yoon-hwan hung his shirt on the back of a chair and went into the bathroom. Yeon-woo barely managed to sit up on her elbows. She stared blankly at Yoon-hwan’s back as he walked away.
The sound of running water could be heard, and in the vanity mirror facing the room, she saw Yoon-hwan holding onto the sink with one hand and using the other to wet his face with water. His face, tilted with his eyes closed, looked cool, unlike his fiercely developed back muscles.
Is this it?
The tension in her muscles loosened as if a taut rubber band had been released.
And at the same time... she felt a thirst to turn back the back of Yoon-hwan, who had completely crossed the line, or rather, had shaken it, stirred everything up, and then returned to his original place as if nothing had happened.
She felt like she was about to touch something important... If she just closed her eyes again, she could just rely on the peace Yoon-hwan provided.
“I didn’t let my guard down...”
The sound of the water stopped as the faucet was turned off.
“You’re the one who... let your guard down, oppa.”
Nevertheless, Yeon-woo threw one more stone. She wanted to create even a small ripple between them, who had lived as an affectionate brother and sister. She wanted to create a ripple that would spread and touch every part of Yoon-hwan. She wanted to know everything about Yoon-hwan. Just as Yoon-hwan was at the foundation of everything she was.
“Seo Yeon-woo.”
“Ah!”
In an instant, a wet hand pressed down on her neck and collarbone, causing the back of her head to be pushed into the mattress. It didn’t hurt, but the stinging sensation made her unable to think straight.
“I don’t recall raising you to be this impertinent.”
Yoon-hwan said, nibbling on the outer part of her ear. Yeon-woo grabbed Yoon-hwan’s shoulder with a force that was a mix of pushing and pulling.
“You’re treating me like a... a child again...”
“You should have stopped when I was treating you like a child.”
This time, Yoon-hwan’s hand immediately moved from Yeon-woo’s thigh all the way up to her shoulder. Only when her view was blocked did she realize that the dress caught in Yoon-hwan’s hand was being taken off in one swift motion.
The exposed skin was embarrassing. The plain bra was even more mortifying. When she tried to cover her underwear with her hands, his hand snuck under her back and unhooked it, as if to mock the fact that she still had the presence of mind to do so.
Her perky breasts were exposed. The pale skin, where blue veins were visible, turned red as it was kneaded in Yoon-hwan’s hands. This time, the man’s center, which was firmly pressing down on her pelvis, pushed down on Yeon-woo as if to stamp on her.
Her breasts, which were spread out in his large hands, were gathered and lifted. Yoon-hwan put the pointy tip, which had sprung up between his palms, into his mouth. The feeling of being strongly sucked by his hot mucous membranes made her let out a moan instead of being able to call out his name. As Yoon-hwan twisted his head and inhaled, the fire that had been lit on her chest spread all over her body in an instant.
“Ah. Haa...”
“Tell me. Where, and how should I do it?”
Yoon-hwan asked as if he were offering her a piece of candy.
“I, I don’t... I don’t know...”
“This is why I have no choice but to treat you like a child.”
Yoon-hwan moved his mouth to her other breast and hooked his hand behind Yeon-woo’s knee to lift it up. As her knee was raised to her chest, he repeatedly swept his palm stickily down her thigh and back up. His hand then moved up to her shoulder blade, swept down her back, and tickled her side. Everywhere Yoon-hwan’s hand touched, a heat rash bloomed.
Yoon-hwan, who had hooked his finger into her panties that were making his movements cumbersome, slid them down. At the unfamiliar sensation of her private parts being exposed defenselessly, Yeon-woo squeezed her thighs together. At that, Yoon-hwan’s knee burrowed between Yeon-woo’s legs. He spread them wide apart and then took his mouth off her breast.
Yoon-hwan held Yeon-woo’s thighs apart with his knees and lifted his upper body. Yeon-woo’s entire body was placed nakedly in Yoon-hwan’s line of sight. Yoon-hwan’s dark, lowered eyes scrutinized her entire body as if he were looking at a prey. His gaze, which had traveled all over her body, stopped between her thighs. When she tried to cover her lower body with the sheet out of unbearable shame, he grabbed her wrist and lifted it over her head.
A thick finger entered her mouth. Yoon-hwan’s index and middle fingers entered Yeon-woo’s mouth and slowly made a piston-like motion. Mmmm. Yeon-woo’s moans clung to his fingers as they moved in and out.
“Haa, ha...”
As his fingers came out, a long string of saliva stretched out like a spider web. Yoon-hwan brought those fingers to Yeon-woo’s wide-open soft flesh. When he put the tip of his wet finger on the plump, swollen bud, Yeon-woo’s hips bounced up.
“Ah, ah. No. That’s... weird... Mmm.”
Yeon-woo didn’t know that such an explosive sensation was hidden in such a small area.
Yeon-woo’s stomach shot up and then sank into the mattress, and her pelvis lifted from the recoil. She grabbed Yoon-hwan’s elbow, pleading for him to stop, but his finger just gently massaged her clitoris. She reflexively tried to bring her knees together, but Yoon-hwan’s thigh blocked her like an iron wall, so her innocent crotch was just shaking toward Yoon-hwan.
At that sight, Yoon-hwan’s jaw clenched. The feeling of a foreign object invading her open soft flesh was instantaneous. As his fingers moved in and out of her insides, a splashing sound like someone running in shallow water could be heard. In the meantime, a different tingling sensation from the foreign object flowed down Yoon-hwan’s fingers. As it continuously surged and filled her pelvis to the point of bursting, Yeon-woo covered her eyes with the back of her hand and moaned as if sobbing.
“Haa... huh... ugh...”
His fingers pulled out. And at the unfamiliar, hard sensation that touched her vulva instead of his fingers, Yeon-woo narrowed her eyes. And upon seeing Yoon-hwan’s center, she immediately regretted the resistance she had just made for the first time.
“Ah. That. No way, ugh...”
“You’re right. It’s no way, Seo Yeon-woo. To try to back out now.”
Yoon-hwan twisted his lips into a smile. The breath he exhaled with his smile ruffled the hair that had fallen onto his forehead. At that sight, Yeon-woo’s consciousness, which had been momentarily stolen, was urgently brought back to reality by the pressing sensation in the open gap.
The swollen tip was lined up with the open gap. Yeon-woo’s open mouth trembled with the fear of being penetrated at any moment. But as if to soothe her, the tip didn’t immediately burrow into the open gap but just gently swept over it. It slowly moved up and down, rubbing against it.
It was like being toyed with by a beast before it bit down. A mixture of fear and pleasure made Yeon-woo’s body tremble. Yoon-hwan played with their parts as if they were toys, tapping her bud with his shaft, rubbing it, and even inserting his shaft into the gap to move it. In the meantime, the sensation that had become familiar was starting to become desperate for a bigger stimulation.
The pleasure points, which had now opened their eyes to pleasure, were seething, hoping for some kind of conclusion. The tingling pleasure spreading from where they touched was filling up to her fingertips. Not knowing what to do, Yeon-woo grabbed Yoon-hwan’s arm. At that moment, their eyes met, and Yoon-hwan burrowed into the parted gap.
“Aah!”
Sparks flew in her eyes, and her nails left marks on Yoon-hwan’s arm.
“Shh, good girl. Yeon-woo. Breathe deeply. It’s okay.”
Yoon-hwan whispered to her as if he were soothing a young Yeon-woo.
Ah. Ugh. Oppa, this is too much. Stop. When she spoke without coherence, Yoon-hwan cupped her head with his large hand and patted her. In the meantime, the tight entry continued. Her lower abdomen felt like it was boiling and about to burst.
“Haa... ugh...”
When he was in all the way to the root, Yoon-hwan held Yeon-woo just like that for a moment. Yeon-woo lifted her wet eyelids. Yoon-hwan’s face, which was so close that their noses were touching, was looking at her. His deep-set eyebrows and temples were wet with sweat. His dark eyes were filled with lust.
“Hmph.”
With a single thrust of his hips, a new sensation pushed away the pain that had already become familiar. It felt like it was catching fire. Yoon-hwan came in slowly and deeply. He went out long and came in deeply again. He repeated that. Every time Yoon-hwan came in below, where they were fitted together like a puzzle, her pelvis was lifted high and then dropped. With the dizzying feeling of falling, Yeon-woo wrapped her legs around Yoon-hwan’s waist. She wrapped her arms around his back and hugged him as if she were clinging to him. She was tossed about like she was being pushed by an angry wave while clinging to Yoon-hwan.
She suddenly remembered a time in her childhood when she woke up from a dream and was crying for no reason. At those times, Yoon-hwan would come and hug her and rock her back and forth. She remembered the sensation of being rocked like a comfortable swing. The affectionate Yoon-hwan and the unfamiliar man were mixed together and flowed into her without distinction.
“Oppa, ugh... ah...”
Just as Yoon-hwan had said, she couldn’t do anything but call out to him.
________________________________________
A vibration from a phone woke up Yeon-woo’s hazy consciousness. Twice, three times, four times... The vibration, which had been ringing for a long time before stopping, started again. Only then did Yoon-hwan’s body, which had been on top of Yeon-woo all night, pull away.
Yeon-woo couldn’t hear the voice of the person on the other end of the line. Yoon-hwan, who was holding the phone to his ear, looked out the dark window. Soon, he let out a single word in a subdued voice, “I’m coming, wait for me.”
The text that said ‘Unknown Caller’ on the screen, and the hands of the wall clock that were past three in the morning. Yoon-hwan’s gaze, which had returned to normal and was looking at the screen with cold eyes. Everything made Yeon-woo uneasy.
“Who is it?”
When she grabbed Yoon-hwan’s arm, the look in his eyes softened as he looked at Yeon-woo.
“I’ll be back. Be a good girl and wait for me.”
“Now? It’s the middle of the night... Don’t go. Okay?”
“Don’t touch the broken cup in the living room. I’ll clean it up when I get back.”
Yoon-hwan tapped Yeon-woo’s forehead with the back of his hand, then got dressed and left the room. The sound of the front door opening and closing could be heard from outside the bedroom door, which Yoon-hwan had firmly closed.
And the sound of a car starting from the quiet window, and the sound of the engine getting farther and farther away. Yeon-woo lay on Yoon-hwan’s bed, chasing the disappearing sound of the car with her ears.
Who was the person Yoon-hwan had told to wait... and what was it that they had crossed all night while exploring each other...
When she pulled back the blanket, the marks Yoon-hwan had left behind were all over her body. She was wandering around, trying to find a clue to her consciousness that was on the verge of touching something important. The words Yoon-hwan had thrown at her in a voice full of anger were chasing each other, swirling in Yeon-woo’s head.
‘Guys like that... act like gentle lambs on the outside. They have to hide their true colors to blend in with the flock.’
‘And when the time comes, they will surely show their disgusting true nature. When that moment comes, what will you be able to do?’
And... the words he had let out in a low voice like a sigh after they had kissed.
‘I told you... that even if I show my true nature, there’s nothing you can do.’
The moment she recalled that voice, a thought suddenly came to Yeon-woo and made her get out of bed.
‘Don’t say such disgusting things.’
Yoon-hwan’s response to Yeon-woo’s confession, and the look of disgust he had given her along with those words.
Was the object of that disgust really herself?
If so, would it have been possible for him to fill the refrigerator with side dishes he wouldn’t even eat, call her whenever he had a chance, rest his head on her lap, let her listen to his ears, and open her door and stare at her for a long time when he came home from work in the middle of the night?
And the traces of how sweetly Yoon-hwan had explored her as a woman after crossing the line were all over her body.
If so... if the reason Yoon-hwan had shuddered in disgust was not because of her...
If Yoon-hwan was blaming himself...
Why on earth...
Yeon-woo walked over to the window. Outside the window, where the sound of the engine had already disappeared, was covered in darkness, and she couldn’t see anything. Tuk, tuduk. Swaa. The rain she couldn’t see began to fall with a sound. It was the monsoon rain that the news had been predicting for a few days.
________________________________________
Yoon-hwan entered the location Ryu Ji-woo had told him into his navigation system. Tuk, tuduk. The sound of rain hitting the car window made him turn on the wipers. Soon, a heavy downpour obscured his view.
After driving on the empty 새벽 road for a while, the navigation system announced that he was close to his destination. As the tunnel, his destination, appeared on the map, Yoon-hwan parked his car a good distance away. His shoulder got wet as he opened the car door and unfurled his umbrella.
Outside the black umbrella, it was difficult to distinguish shapes because of the darkness and the pouring rain. Right next to him, the stream, whose current had become faster, was swelling up. The smell of washed-away dirt and the smell of the sewer mixed together, creating a foul odor.
Yoon-hwan, who had entered under the tunnel, closed his umbrella. He took out the latex gloves he had prepared beforehand from his pocket and put them on both hands. He turned on the flashlight function on his phone and shone the light ahead. The light flew erratically through the black, bottomless pit of a tunnel.
“Ryu Ji-woo.”
Yoon-hwan’s voice echoed like an echo. There was no sound in return.
“Answer me. You brought Lee Sa-hyun and Kim Min-ah, right?”
Yoon-hwan took out the folding knife he had tucked into the waistband of his slacks. When he pressed the button, the well-sharpened blade sprang out of the handle. Yoon-hwan adjusted the angle so that the handle of the knife fit into his latex-gloved palm and held it tightly.
Yoon-hwan’s feet, which had been moving forward, stopped for a moment.
It was because of a familiar smell. Although it was faint because it was mixed with rainwater, what was clinging to his nasal mucous membrane was clearly the smell of blood. It was as if blood was being washed away by the water, giving off a fishy, watery smell.
When he took a deep breath, the smell of blood was sucked deep into his lungs. The pulse below his temples became rough with excitement. Suddenly, the words of the old woman Yeon-woo had met flashed through Yoon-hwan’s mind.
‘Oppa... looks a lot like his father. She said she was surprised at the funeral because she thought she was seeing your father again. That a man’s seed cannot be stolen...’
“That old woman has a good memory, for no good reason.”
Yoon-hwan smirked with one side of his mouth.
He thought the old woman’s words were right. A man’s seed cannot be stolen. A beast is bound to give birth to a beast. The memory of his first hunt, which was slowly raising its head after smelling the blood, was proof of that.
That’s why he had promised his grandmother, who resented him. He had been born with the seed of a beast, so he would not invade her lovely granddaughter.
And yet, when Yeon-woo noticed his true nature, he immediately pounced on her. He had taken Yeon-woo’s body all night long so that she couldn’t even take a step back.
‘And when the time comes, they will surely show their disgusting true nature. They have to, Yeon-woo. There are no exceptions for a beast, it’s their instinct.’
Yoon-hwan laughed ironically at the words he had proven himself.
The oath he had made not to cross the line as an oppa was not for Yeon-woo. It was a deception he had drawn so that Yeon-woo, who would come to know his true nature, would not be able to leave. As proof of that, the faint regret that had been pushed aside by pleasure was now hard to find any trace of.
The sweet pleasure he had gained by breaking his promise was clinging to his body like a piece of wet clothing. Even the knife in his hand felt sweet. Yoon-hwan laughed self-deprecatingly and licked his lower lip with his tongue.
At that moment, a familiar shape caught in the column of light. Yoon-hwan’s hand froze. He saw wide eyes staring at the light. It was Lee Sa-hyun.
As he walked toward him, Yoon-hwan gently rubbed the inner membrane of his cheek with his tongue. Yeon-woo’s moans from his mouth were still lingering sweetly. When he recalled Yeon-woo looking down at him with her mouth full of water, his heart rate quickened.
The excitement that had risen from smelling the blood and the lust for Yeon-woo were all jumbled together in a chaotic mix. Yoon-hwan laughed, thinking that one’s nature really couldn’t be hidden.
He knew he shouldn’t have touched her and had promised he wouldn’t, but once he had had a taste, Yoon-hwan instinctively knew that he couldn’t go back to how things were before.
It was like hunting. A beast that has tasted blood will never forget that taste.
“Lee Sa-hyun.”
Looking at the foolish and vile beast, Yoon-hwan adjusted his grip on the knife so that the blade was pointing down.
The familiarity revealed itself. He had called out to his prey just like this when he had succeeded in his first hunt.
‘Father.’
The memory of the day he hunted his father rushed back into Yoon-hwan’s mind like a fast-flowing current.
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