TEOTW - 18

The office on the 5th floor of the Haeshin Hotel was quiet. The walls of the modern, beige-toned office were packed with specialized books on management and marketing. Upon entering the office, a large walnut desk was visible straight ahead, with a small library-like collection of books and ceramics behind it and to the left. To the right, the entire hotel’s scenery unfolded beyond a large window.

The warm sunlight streamed in through the window. It was the first time Yiseo had been in Jinhwan’s space, and it felt cozy and reflected his static image perfectly. The space’s props and flow gave off a comfortable feeling.

“I apologize for having to call you to the hotel after so long. Have some tea.”

Yiseo’s gaze, which was somewhat uncomfortable, quietly fell upon Jinhwan, who was gently offering her tea.

Jinhwan, who greeted Yiseo, had a smooth face without any signs of fatigue despite the days of intense work. While he was away, work had proceeded smoothly. The engagement ceremony, now only three days away, was flawlessly prepared by experts.

Although they would be engaged in a few days and would soon become husband and wife, Yiseo still felt unfamiliar in moments with Jinhwan.

An awkward silence was palpable. With the tea table between them, the two were comfortable in their own silence, like oil and water that had separated into layers.

His cautious gaze crossed the boundary and swept over Yiseo. It was a gentle yet serious look. The end of his gaze, which was carefully taking in Yiseo, was sharper than usual, but Yiseo, who wasn’t making eye contact, had no way of knowing that.

Her usual composed appearance. Those things bothered Jinhwan. The overly prim Yiseo was the Yoon Yiseo he had come to know, but something about her was not to his liking today. It would be understandable if hiding her true feelings was in her nature, but today, a sudden urge arose to peel back a layer of her shell.

Something he had to confirm, even if it meant doing that.

What was it? The doubt that he had felt since the moment they met at the hotel entrance hadn’t disappeared. At that moment, Jinhwan noticed that the ring was gone from Yiseo’s finger. The ring he had carefully chosen was not in its rightful place. Similarly, her slender wrist, which he had casually glanced at, was bare.

“How have you been?”

When he cautiously began the conversation, Yiseo looked up. Her gaze, which met his, was as calm as ever.

“Like usual.”

“What is ‘like usual’?”

As they respected each other through general pleasantries, they had never invaded each other’s privacy. Since they had never allowed themselves the time or the emotional space to share deep stories, it felt natural to maintain a proper distance.

However, Jinhwan’s attitude, which was unusually attentive today, was different from usual. Yiseo’s lips turned slightly in embarrassment.

“I mainly work. In my free time, I read books and things like that.”

“What about the engagement preparations?”

“The executive director was considerate of my time.”

Although they couldn’t choose the venue together or get their wedding clothes fitted together, Jinhwan had handled all the preparations so that Yiseo wouldn’t have to worry about anything.

“Thanks to you, it was easy for me.”

“Still, it seems you must have been busy with various things.”

“It’s not comparable to how busy the executive director is.”

“Did you like the dress?”

“Yes.”

Yiseo nodded and carefully put down her teacup. Her fingers were subtly bothering him all the time.

And as the silence continued, Jinhwan let out a self-deprecating laugh without even realizing it.

“Is that all?”

As if to ask what kind of answer he wanted, a question appeared in Yiseo’s eyes.

“Don’t people usually get excited? About the brand of the dress, which designer made it, what the concept of the wedding is, how many flowers will be used. These are the things most brides-to-be are interested in.”

These were the things that a bride-to-be would meticulously choose. However, Yiseo had no such small joys or expectations. That was probably because she had no hope for this engagement.

“I guess I should have gone with you. I’m sorry. I didn’t think of that.”

“You’re busy.”

Because it was a political marriage, different from a normal situation, and it was proceeding quickly, everything had been left to the hands of experts. But looking back, the two of them hadn’t done anything together. They were not like other people preparing for a future. Political marriage. It was something both of them had overlooked, as if they were only being faithful to that duty.

The current situation was the same. Even at a moment when it was appropriate to express her disappointment, Yiseo only resigned herself. Watching Yiseo, who had reined in all her emotions, he only now realized how important the steps they had skipped were.

On the day he decided to share his future with Yiseo, she had dreamed of marrying someone who would make her their everything. However, Jinhwan couldn’t be that person for Yiseo. He knew that he could never be Yiseo’s everything.

Even if it was possible to come to love her with time and effort, it was uncertain whether he could ever be her everything.

When she was getting her dress fitted, meeting his mother, and in the small and large moments of her life, work had always come first for him.

There was nothing Jinhwan could prioritize over work. That was probably something that wouldn’t change in his lifetime. Could this woman endure those things?

Jinhwan’s gaze deepened.

“There really isn’t much time left, is there?”

In three days, the two of them would be engaged at the guesthouse that unfolded beyond the window. He was confident that he could be perfect on that day. But the more he looked at Yiseo, the more his confidence cracked.

“Is there something you want to say?”

“...”

“That’s the look on your face. If you have something to say, say it. Don’t keep it to yourself.”

“I...”

Yiseo, who had been hesitating, finally parted her lips.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said, that everything would be okay. I’m not sure if I can do a good job.”

“Don’t try to do a good job. Just let it flow; you don’t have to try so hard. You’ll get tired quickly if you do.”

“...”

Jinhwan fell into thought, seeing that Yiseo was still unsure about the engagement.

“I think being a source of comfort for someone is a very wonderful thing. Your partner should be able to trust you and lean on you for everything. To do that, you need deep trust. It will take time.”

Perhaps that time itself would be pointless. Jinhwan, half-believing and half-doubting the dissonance he instinctively felt, deliberately took a different approach.

If she was still conflicted three days before the engagement, it was a problem that needed to be reevaluated. It felt a little late to ruin things now that all the preparations were complete, but looking further ahead, this might be their last chance.

“What do you want to do, Yiseo?”

“Pardon?”

Yiseo blinked her eyes in confusion at the question, which was impossible to understand his intent.

“I thought we could be good partners. But that’s only possible if our hearts are in it, too.”

The question, asked again in a calm tone, was the last chance he was giving Yiseo.

“Tell me what you really think.”

At what might be the last moment to change the situation, Yiseo’s shoulders trembled.

“The truth is...”

Just then, Jinhwan’s phone rang. Jinhwan, who had been listening intently to her story, checked the caller ID, asked for her understanding, and answered the phone. His face, which had been silently listening to the report on the other end of the line, gradually became serious.

“Is he badly hurt? No, has he finished the treatment? Yes, I understand. Please call me as soon as you get any other news.”

Even after hanging up, Jinhwan was silent for a while. However, the look in his eyes as he looked at Yiseo was filled with things that were different from before and impossible to read. At the end of his gaze, which was mixed with a bit of confusion and conflict, he let out a low sigh.

“What happened?”

“Ah, I heard there was an accident.”

“You should go. I’ll get going now, too.”

Seeing Yiseo, who was getting up to leave without telling him what was on her mind, Jinhwan spoke up.

“I’m told the situation has been handled, but Taejo got hurt.”

Yiseo, who had been packing her handbag, suddenly froze. Yiseo, who had been putting off the moment when she had to say what was on her mind and being considerate as if nothing was wrong, stood stiff and still.

“Is he... badly hurt?”

“Yes.”

At the deliberately false answer, her slowly blinking eyes began to waver, and she became agitated. The face that had stumbled to open her mouth turned pale. Yiseo’s hands, which were trying to swallow her breath, were trembling faintly. Jinhwan carefully observed the trembling Yiseo. She was a woman who was starting to get agitated, and her agitation was causing her to waver. Only now did he realize what the doubt that had been making him uncomfortable was.

“Yiseo.”

He wondered if he would ever see Yoon Yiseo make such a face for him in his lifetime.

No, that would never happen.

At that moment, Jinhwan realized. If he married this woman, he could live a mundane life, but he would be unhappy. He hadn’t chosen to marry Yiseo in order to be unhappy together.

The truth was, it didn’t matter who the other person was, just as it hadn’t mattered when the engagement with Song Hyeonjin was being arranged, because he hadn’t met someone he valued enough to prioritize love.

And now, seeing Yiseo who looked like she was about to fall apart, Jinhwan decided to make the right decision before it was too late.

“I see where your mind has been all this time.”

Jinhwan sighed and muttered, then wrote something on a memo pad on the table and handed it to Yiseo.

“Take this.”

“What is this?”

“It’s a place where Taejo sometimes hides away.”

The address on the memo was somewhere in Gangneung. It was the villa in Gangneung where Taejo would hide whenever something happened or he wanted to be alone. Of course, it was also where he was now after leaving the hospital.

As soon as she received it, Yiseo got up from her seat. Yiseo, who was rushing out of the office like someone possessed, suddenly stopped at the door and turned back.

Her pale face, looking at Jinhwan, was fragile, as if it would fall apart at any moment. Even from a distance, her staggering was clear. Yiseo, who watched Jinhwan watch her as if he knew everything, gathered her last bit of courage.

“I... With a relationship like this, with feelings like this, it just... won’t work. I’m really sorry, Jinhwan. Let’s...”

When Yiseo hesitated and finally managed to voice her true feelings, Jinhwan got up from his seat and walked up to her. He already understood the emotions Yiseo was feeling—the guilt, all of it—and gave a bitter smile.

“I’ll do it. Let’s break off the engagement.”

Yiseo’s lips trembled violently. Her eyes filled with tears. Jinhwan, who was calmly looking at Yiseo as she trembled like a poplar tree, took out a handkerchief and put it in her hand.

“The truth is, I was going to tell you to end everything today. Actually, I knew you were going to break up with me, so I preemptively did it.”

He added with a slight curve of his lips.

“Still, I’m glad you were quick, Yiseo.”

“...I’m sorry.”

“I’ve already made my decision, and I believe my decision won’t be wrong. So, I hope your decision won’t be wrong either, Yiseo.”

Jinhwan took Yiseo’s shoulders and turned her around. He opened the door, gently pushed Yiseo out, and said,

“Go.”

Yiseo, who had turned her head to look at him in confusion for a moment, soon turned her back and ran away.

Jinhwan didn’t regret his lie. A woman who could make such a broken face and run with all her might for someone else. When Taejo’s face suddenly came to mind, he felt a little hollow thinking about all his efforts until now.

“I hate playing matchmaker.”

He rubbed his forehead and gave a bitter smile.

Even though he had done the thing he hated, he hoped that she would now properly resolve things, for better or for worse.

Jinhwan wasn’t sure what choice the arrogant Ryu Taejo, who had lived his life believing in his pride alone, would make. He just hoped that the woman who was already in love with Taejo wouldn’t be hurt too much by that arrogance.

Ignoring the reality that would soon come crashing down, he looked down at the guesthouse where the sunlight fell, feeling a sense of relief.

________________________________________

From a distance, the sound of waves could be heard faintly. When the car stopped at a private property after driving along the rainy coastal road, everything finally became clear.

She had come all the way to where Ryu Taejo was.

Yiseo raised her calm eyes and looked up at the villa, which was covered in a dense forest of pine trees. The huge traditional Korean-style house built on the lonely land was shrouded in sea fog. In the hazy sea fog, a faint halo of light spread out from beyond the walls of the lit house.

He must be in there.

As she walked toward the doorbell, the raindrops silently soaked her body. Confirming that he was okay would have been enough with a phone call. But the fact that she was here meant that all her previous avoidance had been for nothing.

Yiseo swallowed the empty laugh that escaped her lips along with the rainwater.

She was afraid of what would happen when she met him. And yet, her heart was pounding with a faint sense of expectation; she felt like she was going crazy.

This place, where nothing could be heard but the sound of rain, wind, and waves, felt like the end of the world.

If it’s a place like this, where no one’s footsteps or eyes can easily reach, no one will know, right? A brief visit won’t leave a trace. The cunningness that calculated that in an instant was terrifying.

The news of the broken engagement would soon reach the family, and it was only a matter of time before everything turned upside down. Since she had overturned the carefully arranged marriage, she would not be able to avoid criticism from her parents and everyone around her.

And yet, the moment she heard that Taejo was hurt, none of it mattered anymore.

The choice that had distorted her future would be a weakness for her for a long time, but her mind was completely focused on the thought that she had to see him.

She suppressed the sense of hopelessness and tension she had felt when she heard he was hurt, and brought her hand to the doorbell, wondering what kind of expression Taejo would have when he saw her, who had come all the way here to find him.

Just then, with a clank, the door opened from the inside.

________________________________________

The sound of the wind chime hanging from the eaves was grating on his nerves every time the wind blew. Raindrops were falling from the eaves, which stretched out in a sharp and magnificent line. Amidst the hazy sea fog, which the ocean had brought in, a red flower was sadly swaying in a corner of the lit garden.

The first thing the caretaker did after he arrived at the villa was to light the fireplace. It had been a long time since the caretaker had made him tea and left, saying it would get chilly as the sun set near the sea.

Taejo stood on the terrace with a cigarette in his mouth. The villa, which was built on a sloping hill with a path carved into the winding forest, had high ceilings and was open on all sides, giving a panoramic view of the natural scenery.

The endless horizon beyond the window was like a spoil of war for this place. He stood with one hand in his pocket, smoking a cigarette, and silently looking outside when a car driving along the path caught his eye.

He had asked Junwon to bring his car on his way from the hospital. He had no intention of being stuck in a boring, tedious place for several days. Even so, he had willingly gotten into Director Park’s car to make a show of going along with Taehan’s plan. This was based on the judgment that it would be easier to be out of sight this way.

However, the car that quickly passed the entrance was not Junwon’s car. His sharp eyebrows went up.

“...Yoon Yiseo.”

At that moment, his body moved on its own.

He went down the stairs, across the large garden, and even further down.

His steps toward the front door were faster than he could have imagined. When he opened the door, Yiseo was there. Yiseo, who had been about to press the doorbell, froze and found Taejo, who was breathing heavily, and she flinched.

“Why are you here?”

At his urgent voice, Yiseo, who had been frozen in the rain, blinked slowly. As if she wasn’t ready, Yiseo opened her mouth in a daze.

“I heard there was an accident...”

For that to be the case, he looked perfectly fine. Her confused gaze swept over him and stopped at his bandaged wrist. Unlike Jinhwan’s words that he was badly hurt, the injury was minor.

Yiseo’s eyes wavered in confusion again.

“Of course. If you were badly hurt, you would have been in the hospital...”

Late to the fact, Yiseo noticed the gap in the accident story that she had clumsily skipped over and let out a dry laugh. At that moment, Yiseo’s body was pulled inside the gate. Taejo grabbed her wrist and began to walk quickly through the rain.

“Ryu Taejo.”

She called his name several times, following his hurried footsteps that made her short of breath, but he seemed not to hear her. He went through the garden and into the house, and only then did he let go of Yiseo.

“What are you...”

The question of ‘what are you doing?’ subsided when she saw Taejo’s face, which was composed yet seemed as if it would run to the end. As always, Taejo’s eyes, which didn’t care about anything, were frighteningly single-minded. She felt a chill.

As she quietly met his gaze, he seemed to be bothered by her clothes, which were wet from the rain and clinging to her body. He frowned and came out with a towel from somewhere.

“Wipe yourself off first, then we’ll talk.”

A large towel was placed on Yiseo’s head with a thud. The thick towel quickly absorbed the moisture. Her trembling body gradually calmed down. Taejo, who was sitting across from her and silently watching her slowly dry herself, opened his mouth.

“Do you want to shower?”

“No. I’m not staying long.”

Even though Yiseo’s expression subtly crumpled, he sat with his long legs crossed, acting as if it meant nothing. He looked much more stable than when they had encountered each other at the art center for the last time. While she felt a sense of relief, something in her heart felt strange.

“You look better than I thought. How long will you have that cast on your wrist?”

“I don’t know. Probably for about a month.”

Taejo, who was recalling the doctor’s words not to strain it, suddenly stopped talking. Yiseo’s forehead, which had been trying to be composed, couldn’t hold it back any longer and wrinkled. At that expression, in those eyes, he felt something snap inside, something he had been calmly suppressing.

Taejo’s eyes turned sharper than before. Honestly, it was ridiculous to be exchanging pleasantries as if nothing had happened.

“You didn’t come all this way just to ask that, did you?”

“...”

“There must be a reason why you’re making a face like that three days before your engagement.”

There was no time to be having such trivial conversations. Taejo waited for an answer. As the silence grew longer, he got up and put more firewood into the fireplace. Flames roared in the fireplace. His patience was burning away like the firewood in the deepening silence.

Enduring the silence was, in a way, a difficult thing. In the midst of it, their gazes, which were meticulously observing each other, slashed through the air like a razor blade.

“Why did you come?”

His desire to wait and not ask any questions had run out. He finally opened his mouth. Yiseo’s eyes trembled at the impatient voice that had escaped him.

“Because I was worried.”

“Why would you worry about me?”

“...I know.”

He felt resentful, cruel, and desperate toward Yiseo, who had suddenly appeared in this moment after so cruelly ignoring him when he went to see her and called her.

Even as he tried his best to understand Yiseo’s position, he couldn’t believe that she was standing in front of him. Perhaps that was why so many things he wanted to say were boiling up inside, and the desire to hold her was welling up uncontrollably. He was impatient, feeling as if she would disappear like a mirage.

“You confirmed I’m okay, so that’s enough.”

“Who said I’m okay?”

As if to say that wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear, his voice followed, cracking with emotion.

“I’m not okay.”

Taejo bit down hard on his teeth, seeing Yiseo who was no longer agitated as she had been outside the gate. It wasn’t right to resolve the situation and her thoughts like this. He had to say something, but the thought of wanting to hold Yiseo and pour everything out kept paralyzing his mind.

In the meantime, as he suppressed his angry emotions, the air in the room changed.

Yiseo observed Taejo a little longer in the silence. His face, which was trying to act as if everything was normal, was tense. Taejo, who let out a faint sigh, was on edge, which was uncharacteristic of him. Just like she had been that morning when she broke the cup.

“I suddenly thought of you.”

“...”

“To be honest, it wasn’t sudden. It’s been like that lately.”

Like his direct gaze, he seemed to have no intention of hiding it anymore. Taejo opened his mouth again.

“Today, I was so out of it that I didn’t even know something was falling on me from behind. All I could think about was why you weren’t there when I saw all those people’s faces gathered around.”

He let out a fleeting laugh from his lips as if he found himself absurd.

“I know it’s a stupid thing to feel. But that’s how I feel.”

The sincerity contained in his well-like eyes was burning hot. The moment she realized what those hot things were that flashed within them, Yiseo felt a sudden, painful sensation, as if a ball of fire had dropped into the middle of her heart.

It was the same heart as the one that had made her run all the way here, and the same eyes as the ones she had used to worry about him.

“I’m not okay, Yoon Yiseo.”

He finally confessed his feelings.

Looking into Yiseo’s face, which was becoming paler and paler without a word, he pushed his self-deprecating gaze even deeper into her.

“Yiseo.”

“...”

“Stay here with me.”

His pitch-black eyes had long passed the boiling point. A terrible emotion that hadn’t been cut off billowed over the face of a man who had endured a persistent wait. In turn, Yiseo’s expression also wavered.

“I was going to come find you anyway once I left here.”

She couldn’t bring herself to speak at his calm confession. In the meantime, Taejo got up from his seat and came closer to her. A cool scent of the forest settled heavily. When she dropped her head because she didn’t have the courage to meet his gaze, he raised his hand and grabbed her chin.

“Thinking about holding you and hiding somewhere far away.”

He had always been thinking about how to keep her by his side.

The gleaming desire reached her over her head, which he had forced up. His clear eyes, which now seemed to say it didn’t matter what happened, tilted in his favor. At that look, Yiseo’s expression twisted, as if it was about to crumble.

“Now I don’t have to. You came here yourself.”

“...”

“You came here to make a mistake.”

His face gradually came closer. She could feel his hot breath. In the moment when their lips were about to touch with just a slight movement, Yiseo turned her head.

She was surprised by her own desire to become entangled with him, even for a moment, and her heart pounded. That even at a moment like this, her heart was thumping with anticipation.

He was definitely dangerous. She had broken off her engagement and rushed here because of her desire for him, but now that she was facing Taejo and looking into her heart, she understood. Ryu Taejo would ultimately be the most terrifying and insurmountable wave in her life, shaking and changing everything to its core.

When she came to her senses, she finally saw reality. Yiseo pushed away the hand that was gripping her cheek and spoke as if she was spitting out her breath.

“I only came to see if you were really okay.”

“You’re full of it.”

A dry laugh escaped his lips. The eyes that met hers again were violently wavering.

“Checking on me is just an excuse. You know that, too.”

The moment he saw Yiseo, who had rushed to him with a face as if the world was ending, he made a decision.

If Yiseo wouldn’t willingly stay, he would take her and keep her by his side.

“I don’t care about anything anymore.”

Seeing him, who had settled his thoughts as if he didn’t care about anything else, Yiseo finally swallowed the fact that she had broken off her engagement. She couldn’t allow her heart to be swayed by his words already. She knew that Taejo would be swayed by her every breath, so she knew that she was the only one who could keep her in check in a situation like this.

Just as Jinhwan had given her a white lie for a better future, Yiseo also decided to do the same.

He looked at her averted cheek with a mocking expression, and then turned her head again to face him.

“Weren’t you the one who wanted to play with me?”

He brought up the words she had once said, the words she had thrown back at him to hurt him, and now he was using them to hold her back.

“Do it now.”

“...”

“Let’s make a mistake, Yoon Yiseo.”

Her heart wavered painfully at his urging gaze.

He was sincere, and Yiseo’s feelings for him were also sincere.

But even if they shared their true feelings, what would be left?

Yiseo’s choice to break off her engagement was not to stand by Taejo’s side but for herself. It was because she could no longer ignore the years of oppression she had endured from the family duties that weighed on her shoulders. It wasn’t right to stand by Jinhwan’s side with such a heart, and it wasn’t right to keep hurting him like that for the rest of her life.

Of course, it was true that Taejo had a large part to play in that choice. But she wasn’t so shameless as to immediately pursue a relationship with Taejo just because she had broken off her engagement.

The news that he was hurt had made her feel as if the world had sunk underwater, but she was still feeling as suffocated as she had before. What she realized more desperately after breaking through the wall of the engagement was that if they were together like this, it would be a poison, not a gain.

As the conflict deepened, Yiseo remained silent. Taejo’s eyes, which were dark as he held Yiseo in his hands and observed her every reaction, were deeply sunken. He read her trembling eyes, her frozen expression, and finally, her wavering heart in his serious gaze and murmured persuasively.

“No one’s coming here anyway.”

Taejo sequentially turned off Yiseo’s and his own cell phones, which were on the table.

“No one will know you’re here.”

It was a calculation he had made in advance, intending to leave once Junwon brought the car. According to that calculation, there would be no news until at least dinner time. Taejo whispered into Yiseo’s ear, as if to coax her.

“Do whatever your heart tells you to. If you can’t, I will.”

The voice that said it would have ended up like this no matter how much she struggled made her mind hazy. In the moment she was swayed by his irresistibly sweet words and fleeting breath, their lips met.

Their lips parted and intertwined. Taejo skillfully shifted his weight onto Yiseo’s body. He trapped her between the sofa and his large body and lowered his head even deeper.

Their overlapping lips were faintly trembling. The sensation was surprisingly soft and terrifyingly good. It had always been like this. The moment they intertwined, everything about Yoon Yiseo was sweet enough that nothing else mattered. This was it. This was how good it felt. Taejo bit into her lips and recalled a time when they had been passionately entangled.

The memories that had popped into his mind and tormented him when he couldn’t reach Yiseo. The moments that had been filled with regret as if to mock him, disappeared like snow melting in the warmth that heated his mouth.

He swore he would never let her go again.

The tip of his tongue, which was tracing the gaps between her teeth as if to engrave his fierce and violent desire, was desperate. His tongue, which roughly penetrated her mouth to the point of taking her breath away, softly licked the mucous membrane and bit her lower lip again. Her lips, which were being chewed and bitten, swelled up, numb.

The pain was both excruciating and thrilling, and Yiseo squeezed her eyes shut. When she bit down with a force she didn’t know she had, he pressed on her chin and opened her mouth again.

The flesh of his tongue pushed in without hesitation along with his hot saliva. Yiseo, who was weakly accepting him, seemed both resigned and swept away.

The careful and gentle kiss continued for a long time.

In the intense movements, the pain was erased.

In the sweet breaths, the memories faded. All that was left was a fantastical desire.

He slowly held her lips and then let go, rubbing her cheek. At the same time, his other arm, which had made its way to her waist, pulled her into his embrace. Taejo’s lower half, which was in close contact with her, was hard and erect.

But he was in no hurry. As if to deeply engrave this one mistake, he only bit and swallowed her softly and sweetly, and then they were stickily entangled.

“Hah...”

His short breaths broke at the tip of his nose, and his chest heaved. After the breathless kiss, he lifted his head and met her eyes again. His pitch-black eyes were in a state of great excitement. With those eyes, he stared at Yiseo for a long time.

It was a look that seemed to say he wouldn’t ask anything anymore and had no intention of finding a reason. It was the same feeling as Yiseo’s, who had let go of the last bit of sanity she had been holding onto in an instant.

“I love you.”

He whispered as he pressed his lips to her forehead, as if to engrave the sincerity he had put off until now. His lips slowly marked her nose, crossed over to her cheek, pecked her, and continued to trace a line. As he left short, bird-like kisses on various parts of her face as if to leave a mark, he finally licked her lips again.

“I’m in love with you.”

His heart flowed between their intertwined lips.

“You are, too, aren’t you?”

“...”

Yiseo’s eyes, which met his gaze, trembled helplessly. A brief silence. In the space where only faint breathing could be heard, he turned his head as if he didn’t need to hear an answer. His sharp nose grazed Yiseo’s cheek, and he bit her lower lip again.

Yes. Me, too.

I’m in love with you.

She couldn’t push him away anymore.

Yiseo decided to fully admit the stubborn feelings that had been compressed inside her. When she reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck, Taejo’s languidly relaxed eyes lifted slightly. In his eyes, where a short but clear light flashed, both of their hearts thumped.

At the same time, he hugged Yiseo and kissed her passionately.

It felt like something that had been precariously held together snapped inside.

“Hmph...”

They shared an intense kiss that left her breathless, and then Taejo slowly explored her body with his hands. He kissed her white neck and carved red marks along the slender line.

Yiseo’s body gave off the sweet scent he had been longing for. He breathed it in deeply as if to engrave the smell in his memory, then slowly exhaled and sucked on her skin. The tip of her flesh that was crushed in his mouth was sweet. When he squeezed her full breast with one hand, Yiseo, who had been holding her breath, let out a faint moan.

“...Ah!”

He licked the valley between her breasts with his tongue and rolled up her skirt with one hand. Below the skirt, a warm sensation was palpable. He parted her legs and buried his head between them. His hot breath gradually pushed in deeper from her inner thighs. He mixed his breath into the warmth that had gathered and buried his lips over her wet underwear.

“...Ah, Taejo.”

His hot breath pushed in through the thin fabric. Yiseo gasped for air and writhed her body. At that moment, Taejo gripped the back of her thighs as if to restrain them and put his lips between her legs. He used his teeth to push up her underwear and rubbed her hidden skin with his lips.

Her secretly wet vulva glistened with honey-like fluid. Taejo’s expression as he looked at it was already that of a person who had lost his mind. With his sinisterly shining eyes, he blankly stared at the crimson flesh that flared with every twitch and then buried his nose and held the flesh in his mouth.

When he licked her with the tip of his erect tongue, Yiseo trembled and groaned faintly.

“Hah...”

Her rigid thighs were tense the entire time his tongue touched them, and when he took his lips away, they relaxed along with him. As she succumbed to the pleasure, Yiseo’s body became more and more moist. Sticky sweat beaded on every heated part of her body.

“Don’t think about anything else, Yiseo.”

He murmured as if breathing in her ears and then opened his mouth again, biting down on her bottom. Her flesh was completely in his mouth. He sucked and swallowed with a smack, and when he rolled his tongue around, Yiseo lost her balance.

Just as her body swayed, he lifted her legs onto his shoulders. Her completely exposed body was now more easily accessible to him.

Taejo buried his head deeply between her legs and took a deep breath. His heart pounded at Yiseo’s scent, which was arousing his lust. His pants were stretched tight with the urge to tear into her flesh, push his body down, and get entangled messily.

However, he was determined to take his time with every moment today. As if not to waste a single moment, he held the skin where transparent fluid was flowing.

It was the moment Yiseo bit her lip, trying to somehow endure the electrifying pleasure that was swelling like a balloon.

“Mmm... Hmph...”

“Don’t hold back.”

He whispered, gripping and letting go of her thighs as if to comfort her. Immediately, a desperate, sobbing moan came from Yiseo’s throat. Taejo slowly rolled the flesh in his mouth with his tongue as if it were a lollipop and sucked it. As the gap became more and more sticky, he inserted his fingers and stirred inside her.

“Aah... Hmph...”

Yiseo’s body, which had easily accepted his fingers, soon swallowed one more finger. In the deep pleasure that seemed to wipe out her mind, Yiseo became aroused. In the brief moment when her sanity thinned, she unconsciously pushed her hands into Taejo’s hair, which was buried in her thighs.

At her hand, which was gently gripping his hair, he also became aroused and breathed heavily.

Without stopping his lips from moving, he lifted his gaze and looked at Yiseo. Yiseo’s breasts, which had risen with every flick of his tongue, swayed dizzily.

“...Hmph, stop it. If you keep going, I...”

In the flash-like pleasure that made her head ring, Yiseo finally couldn’t hold back and pushed him away. But Taejo was determined, pushed her hands away, and began to finger her.

“Aah, hmph, stop... mmm... ugh!”

Her breathing became ragged, and finally, Yiseo began to twitch like a broken doll. The inside of her vagina, which was holding his fingers, tightened. The wet inside of her body that he felt with his fingertips was so hot that it felt like it was melting.

“You like it that much?”

With a low question, he stroked the swollen inner wall, and Yiseo’s inside tightened again as she urgently cried out.

“Aah, stop, please stop...”

Yiseo barely let out short breaths and squeezed her legs shut. The sheer amount of excitement was evident from the way the milky fluid dripped from their close-contact part. Her legs, which had lost all their strength, parted without any shame. He still leisurely pulled her hips toward him and gave a sinister laugh.

“Not yet.”

His voice, which whispered as if to say it was too soon to climax, was like a devil’s. Then he grabbed her two legs as if to bind them and began to finger her with determination. The insertion was deep. At the feeling of him penetrating and scraping her inside without hesitation, Yiseo’s eyes opened.

Every time his long fingers went in and out, the heat that was about to explode swelled up in her head and abdomen. The stimulation was far, far too much. Yiseo groaned with a face that looked like it was about to cry and pleaded with him.

“Hah... Ah, Taejo... Hah.”

Her voice was boiling, her cheeks were flushed. Her reddened face and the bulging veins in her neck were mottled with pleasure. If he went on for a little longer, she would reach her climax. At that moment, Taejo suddenly pulled the fingers that were stirring inside out. Yiseo gasped in the sudden emptiness and stared at him blankly.

“I told you, not yet.”

He rubbed his fingers, which were soaked in fluid, and as if to say that was not an option, he held Yiseo in his arms. He moved to the bedroom, gently laid Yiseo, who was still hot, down on the bed, and unbuttoned his shirt.

Following his fingertips, the buttons of his shirt came undone one by one from the collar down. His well-defined body with a balanced curve below his angular shoulders was soon revealed. At the same time, Yiseo’s stomach rumbled with a sense of anticipation.

He calmly took off his clothes and climbed onto the bed. He quickly climbed onto Yiseo’s body, which was lying on her back, and unbuckled his belt without taking his eyes off her.

His erect cock, which looked like it would burst through the open front of his pants, was rising above the waistband of his shorts. In a quick and concise motion, he took off Yiseo’s clothes, which she had not completely undressed yet, just as he had taken off his own.

A gentle and long exploration continued, like lovers starting from the beginning.

They looked at each other naked for a long time, and just as she thought that his pitch-black eyes were not just black but had the color of a dense forest at dawn, Yiseo’s ankle was pulled. Taejo’s lower body pushed up against her hips with a solid force.

He then fell onto Yiseo’s body and bit her breast. The breasts he carefully gathered with both hands were crushed in Taejo’s hands. When she let out a moan, he swallowed the sound by kissing her.

He stirred inside her mouth, then began to bite and suck on her breasts again. In the deep caress, her knees opened without her realizing it. Taejo, who had pushed into the space between her legs, deliberately prodded her. But he didn’t stop leaving marks on Yiseo’s body.

His movements were gentle, contrary to his rough momentum. The lips that had been sucking on her firm, erect nipples soon left red marks around them.

“Hah, if you do that, if you do that...”

“I know you don’t like me leaving marks.”

He said he knew, then he took his lips away and mumbled as he bit the spot he had just sucked on even more tenaciously.

“But what do I do? I like leaving my mark on your body.”

Because then you’re mine. He chewed on Yiseo’s flesh for a very long time, until it was not just red, but bruised blue.

“Does your brother know? That you’re panting like this in my arms.”

Yiseo’s body briefly stiffened at the unexpected mention of Jinhwan. But then, seeing Yiseo wrap herself around him again, a hot jealousy ignited in Taejo’s heart. The feelings that were just a gentle ripple, as if they would just pass by like the wind, grew as violent as a storm. A wild emotion surged in his eyes as he looked at Yiseo.

He pressed his heavily swollen cock against Yiseo’s twitching lower body and chewed on her nipple. He felt like he was going blind with jealousy. He couldn’t accept that there was someone else besides him by Yiseo’s side.

She was someone who should rightfully be his. So he would covet her, take her, and ultimately make her his.

The torrent of emotions slashed through the air like a razor blade. A vague fear suddenly filled his heart. He was impatient, worried that he might lose her even after making up his mind.

He hoped that this tense flow would not be cut off. He hoped it would continue to burn, and that they would, with their contradictory feelings, eventually sink into a never-ending ripple.

This is how much I love you.

This is how much we want each other.

So he decided to surrender to love. He thought it was the right thing to do and blew away any thoughts of an ending, no matter where it might be.

His hand that was supporting Yiseo’s head was very gentle.

“I don’t regret it.”

No matter what anyone said, he didn’t regret it. For him, as long as he had Yiseo, nothing else mattered. He would live as if this was eternal, even if the world turned against them.

He embraced the resolve in his heart and their lips intertwined. At the same time, his heavy cock penetrated her, tearing through her flesh. When the head of his cock pushed into her vagina, Yiseo’s eyes faintly winced at the volume that filled her inside. The fullness of it was breathtaking. The feeling of them chewing on each other made her vision blurry with a pleasure that felt like a fantasy.

“...It hurts.”

“Relax, Yiseo.”

“...Hmph, Taejo.”

“Shh, it’ll be okay soon.”

It was only the head of his cock that had been inserted, but Yiseo was unconsciously pushing him away as if whining. However, Taejo did not back down and held her twitching hips with both hands, pulling her toward him and comforting her as he slowly widened her inside and pushed in a little at a time.

“Breathe, slowly.”

“Hah...”

“Relax.”

Even though that was impossible, Yiseo closed her eyes at the voice that kept whispering in her ear. At the voice that said it was okay, it wouldn’t hurt, and to breathe a little deeper, her body gradually lost its strength.

As the hole that was tightly clenching his cock loosened just a little, he slowly pushed his hips forward. Thump, his hot flesh was heavily tearing through her and then was stickily intertwined again.

“...Ugh.”

Yiseo’s body crumpled and wrapped around his waist. An indescribably stimulating pleasure was entangled. When his hips, which were firmly pushing down, pressed Yiseo deeper, her tight body opened and finally accepted him completely.

“It hurts. Hmph, it hurts...”

“It doesn’t feel good?”

“Hah, ugh... it feels good.”

“Good. Phew, that’s what I want to hear.”

He whispered as he pushed his cock, which was determined to fill her, to press down on her inner flesh and secure space. The veins on his forehead popped as he was careful not to break Yiseo’s body. Nevertheless, when the extreme pleasure and the feeling of ejaculation instantly sent a shiver down his spine, he finally couldn’t hold back and roughly thrust into Yiseo’s body.

“I like it, too.”

“Hmph...”

“I like it so much, I feel like I want to chew you up and swallow you.”

He mercilessly pushed down again and kissed Yiseo’s forehead and cheeks repeatedly. Their overlapping bodies swayed helplessly. Yiseo, who was about to break, clung to Taejo tightly. Between her trembling legs, bodily fluids and pleasure were all mixed up.

“Slowly. Ah... hmph... please...”

Seeing Yiseo clinging to him as if pleading, Taejo slowly pulled his hips out as she requested. He pulled the head of his cock completely out of her vagina, then crushed her thin skin and pushed it all the way in again.

“Hah, shit.”

He tried to hold back, but it was impossible from the start. A shiver went through him as his left-curved cock scraped against the vaginal wall it had pierced. He couldn’t even groan and was just holding his mouth open as his head went back, and his sanity snapped.

“How am I supposed to endure this?”

He finally couldn’t hold back and mercilessly inserted his cock all the way to her abdomen. The swollen inner walls squeezed and gushed. When he rotated his hips and pressed against the inner walls, the stimulated mucous membrane heated up, and the inside became even wetter. He couldn’t hold back and thrust up hard again.

An electrifying shiver went through his entire body. Yiseo’s body, which was holding her breath with a gasp, trembled beneath him, but he couldn’t stop. At the end of his strong thrusting and pulling out, the movements of her pleasure-crazed vagina, which was flaring, became clearer.

He blankly stared at the red flesh that was intertwined as one, which was opening and closing, swallowing and spitting out his cock. He then slowly rotated his hips as if drawing a circle.

Then, thump.

Yiseo’s entire body trembled with the force of his thrusts. Pleasure spread to her abdomen along with the skull-rattling impact. Was this what it felt like when fireworks exploded and vanished from the tips of her limbs? As his thrusts to drive her to climax became more violent, she felt as if she were floating on a cloud. It was a hazy feeling, like alcohol flowing through her veins. Her breathing became more and more rapid. She closed her eyes and let her body surrender naturally, letting him hold her when he wanted to and move her when he wanted to.

“Yoon Yiseo.”

She was fully feeling Taejo, who was sticking to her and thrusting into her, when a hot breath was poured into her ear.

“Look at me.”

At the low whisper, Yiseo slowly lifted her blurry eyes.

“Open your eyes and look at me.”

His eyes, which were only obsessed with possessing Yiseo, shone brightly in the dark. His sharp eyes, which flashed with a kind of madness, were piercing Yiseo. It was the same gaze as him rubbing and pressing the inserted cock inside her.

“Don’t take your eyes off me.”

With an expression that was heated with arousal, he added with a bit of impatience. He probably thought she was closing her eyes and thinking of someone else. The hand that gripped her cheek to make her look at him was rough. Her held chin hurt.

“...I’m sorry.”

For not being able to be honest. And for not being able to push you away. And for wanting you like this, for being so selfish.

“...I’m sorry, Taejo.”

Murmuring as if wandering in a dream, Yiseo turned her head and rubbed her cheek against his hand. Hot moisture, whether from joy or something else, welled up in her eyes.

As she rubbed her cheek against his hand to feel his warmth, she impulsively kissed the inside of his wrist. At that moment, Taejo’s large body completely froze. He stopped his movements and watched Yiseo, who was burying herself in his hand, with unreadable eyes.

“...Why?”

When she looked up at him, who was still, and asked the question, his bewildered eyes gradually sharpened.

“Now you’re really... shit.”

He didn’t just rummage through, he stirred. A thought suddenly came to him, I wonder if she acts like this with someone else, and a cold sense of betrayal ran down his spine. Even though it was just a fleeting thought in his mind, the thought that someone else might see this side of Yiseo, that she would show this expression to someone else, that she would wrap herself around someone else like this...

He didn’t even want to imagine it. He drove into Yiseo’s body without mercy, his face turning cold. He felt like he was going blind with jealousy, and his mind was going crazy.

Thud. A large vibration and a pleasure that felt like pain ran through her spine.

All I want is you.

He must be punished by God for taking his cousin’s woman. He would be unforgivable. But as long as they were together, it didn’t matter. Now, there would be no one else in his life but her.

He reiterated his resolve and hugged Yiseo tightly. Her small body struggled beneath his large frame, but he didn’t let her go until her deeply buried body finally convulsed in climax.

A chilly pleasure ignited a fire, and the heated Yiseo felt it as if in a seizure. Even after she had climaxed, his thrusts continued without stopping. They clung to each other until she was on the verge of tears from climaxing again.

“Stop, ah, aah!”

“Keep feeling it.”

With every climax, a greater joy consumed them.

The heat didn’t subside from her face and body, which were completely exhausted. Wet hair clung to her sweaty forehead and neck. The situation between her legs, which was messy with the whitish fluid, was no different.

Her drowsy face was so pretty.

Yiseo, who was shuddering in the pleasure he gave her, was so dazzlingly beautiful that he just stared at her until her trembling, which was like a sob, subsided.

Yiseo, who slowly lifted her eyelids, struggled to meet his eyes, which were still filled with pleasure, and whispered.

“Kiss me.”

Her cracked voice stumbled out from between her dry lips. With a silent puck, his lips seemed to form a line and then gently fell on hers. He could do something like that for her as much as she wanted. He could do anything else, too.

The kiss that had started lightly deepened. The sex that had stopped also resumed. Taejo bit and swallowed her lips as he reconnected with her body.

Yiseo’s hands, which were tightly wrapped around his large back, made his large body, which was pressing down on her small one, twitch. He pulled his cock out and then thrust his blunt head into her again, scraping her inner flesh with a slow and powerful motion.

“Ugh, hmph...”

He pushed his arm, where the blue veins were bulging, behind Yiseo’s knees and thrust in deeper, breathing heavily as he pressed down on her body.

“Let’s fall into hell together.”

“...”

“I am your hell, and I am your paradise.”

He would taint every deep part of her with himself.

And they would be together, no matter where it was.

In her desperate struggle, her last remaining hope bloomed.

________________________________________

By the time she reached her third climax, she had no strength left to move her body. Taejo, who had not been able to resist the languid sensation, lay behind Yiseo’s back again. Come to think of it, since Taejo had arrived here, he had never been more than three steps away from Yiseo.

Just as the thought that she might dry up and die from the hot body temperature touching her back flashed through her mind, Yiseo’s hips were suddenly lifted into the air.

“...I want to sleep.”

“Sleep. It’s okay to sleep.”

Even though he said that, he grabbed Yiseo’s hips and pulled them up, then positioned himself behind her. Her white hips were held and parted in his hands. The semen he had ejaculated came flowing out of her parted vagina. A raw, fishy smell mixed with the air.

He stared at it, then immediately blocked the entrance again. When the head of his cock parted the thin flesh and pushed in, Yiseo’s now-familiar inner walls twitched and wrapped around him. The sensitivity of her swollen inner walls was even more acute.

He still held his non-subsided cock in his hand and pushed the semen he had wiped from the head of his cock into Yiseo’s body. When Yiseo, whose legs had lost their strength, lost her balance and was about to sit down, he pressed his lower body even closer to her hips.

“Ugh... hmph...”

“Just stay still.”

He whispered in her ear as if to soothe a child and pressed his body against hers without a gap. As he rubbed against her, a sticky heat was felt below them, where they were tightly pressed together. Saliva gathered in her mouth. She didn’t have the energy to feel anything anymore, but as if to mock that thought, even his slow thrusts made her breathe heavily.

“I’m tired. Stop now...”

“You say stop, but why are you still squeezing me?”

The more he gripped and parted her hips, the clearer the sensation of her squeezing his cock and stimulating it became. Taejo then picked up Yiseo and laid her back down on the bed, and from above, he looked down at her and fully inserted his cock, from the head to the base.

“Aah, ah!”

His firm hips, pressing down on her climax, were completely in close contact. When he thrust down in a missionary position and lowered his face closer, her expression, which was feeling every single one of his bulging veins, was trembling.

“It went all the way in.”

Taejo smiled faintly as he stroked the area below Yiseo’s belly button, which was tight and hard.

“...I can’t breathe.”

“I’m not done yet.”

“You sound crazy.”

“That’s what I think, too.”

He agreed with Yiseo’s words, which she let out randomly, and he thrust his hips forward again. With a feeling as if she was catching fire, her exhausted body heated up again. Her stomach instantly became hot, and the cock that had entered her body swelled up even more. The sensation of him heavily occupying her body was once again about to shake them both.

It won’t end like this.

We will go on forever.

He stared at Yiseo’s eyes, which looked like she was about to lose consciousness, as if to possess them, and lowered his lips. When the pleasure that had gone out in Yiseo’s unfocused eyes reignited like a spark, he buried himself deeply in her again and ejaculated.