Once Love Begins - Chapter 10. Part 1

Chapter 10. Part 1

“It was her birthday?”

He watched silently as she left, closing the door behind her. His mother and sister were calling, but he ignored them, used to their reminders to treat Yeon-woo well.

They must have called her multiple times for her birthday. He remembered her holding flowers and a bag he didn’t recognize. It hit him: it was her birthday.

He had never celebrated her birthday before or after marriage. He couldn’t even remember when it was. It was something he had never cared about.

Something stirred inside him. He realized that her past birthdays were important to her, even though she was no longer a child.

He sighed and leaned back on the couch, closing his eyes. He was grappling with this newfound understanding.

The past few days were chaotic. The company he was supposed to contract with encountered an issue.

Fortunately, he resolved it before it escalated. It had the potential to be a significant problem.

After taking care of the urgent matter, he rubbed his tired eyes, feeling the strain of the past few days. He knew he needed the sleep he had been deprived of.

He stood up to leave for his room. But he couldn’t resist glancing at the one he had been avoiding. He grimaced as he remembered himself asking about the flowers she was holding. However, they were a birthday present from her friends.

Feeling unwell the following day, he postponed his trip to work. Although he was handling most of his urgent tasks from home, someone walking back and forth in front of him disturbed his concentration.

“What time is the movie, huh? Yeah. Really?” Ha Yeon-woo caught his attention as she walked by, engrossed in a phone conversation. She was dressed in a white turtleneck and black tights. She quickly went into her room, as if she had forgotten something.

Even though the dress was short, it was excessively so, and he was concerned it might cause her to catch another cold.

Upon emerging from her room, she pauses at the sight of him standing in the living room. He feels guilty and wonders why she is staring at him.

It’s a clear expression of dislike. One moment she’s all smiles, the next she seems to be saying, “I can’t stand the sight of you.” How many men are drawn to your innocent face?

He looks at her legs, which reveal more than half of her thighs. His throat tightens as he remembers the color of her slender legs covered by her black stockings.

Ha-yeon-woo is wearing a white turtleneck, but his attention is drawn to her legs. She is such an annoying woman.

Suddenly, he feels a lump in his throat. She noticed his look and asked him, with eyes as black as grated flesh, “What’s wrong?” she asked,

“Are you going out in that?” he replied.

“December is unfamiliar to you?”

Her expression stiffens when he comments on her attire.

He can’t believe she would present herself like this in front of someone who cares about her. He can’t let her go out like this; if she catches a cold, he’ll be the one who is troubled.

“Everyone else is dressed like this,” she retorts, tucking her long, tousled hair behind her ear.

“What if you catch a cold in the middle of winter?”

“I’ll handle it,” she replies curtly. “Don’t worry about it.” He dismisses her response.

He stays in place and watches her walk out the door, with her backside exposed with every step she takes.

* * *

She had dinner with Jaeho, Hana, and Joo-chan after watching a movie. On the way to the bar, her grandfather called her, even though he had already wished her a happy birthday the day before. She answered, wondering why he was calling again.

“Hello?”

-“Where are you? Why are you still not here? How long are you going to keep me waiting?”

“Me? Are you waiting for me?”

-“Yes, even your busy husband arrived early and is waiting for you. What are you doing?”

For a moment, she was confused by his words, so she blinked slowly, trying to comprehend. She shook her head, saying it was nothing, and she mouthed a question.

“…Is my husband there?”

-“Yes. Come quickly.”

She replied with an “okay” and ended the call. She felt embarrassed that he had gone to his grandfather’s house without informing her.

It was a new experience for her. He always made sure to inform her whenever he went to her grandfather’s house. This time, however, was different.

After apologizing multiple times to Hana, Jaeho, and Joo-chan, she hailed a taxi. She nervously bit her nails, feeling uneasy about his criticism of her outfit, which left her feeling even colder. She wondered what was happening.

Upon arriving at her grandfather’s house, she dashed inside and ran through her favorite manicured garden. She spotted him sitting on the couch, playing Go with her grandfather, who smiled and nodded at him.

“Hey,” he said, turning his head to look at her with affection. His eyes widened as they met hers.

“You! You!”

She looked at her grandfather, who was scolding her as if he might collapse at any moment. His fingers moved up and down, examining her from head to toe, making her involuntarily shrink back.

“That skirt is quite short. As a married woman, it may be inappropriate to wear such clothing.”

The situation was a complete mess. She felt more angry than when she ran away from home as a child because she didn’t like it. She was concerned that the pressure might cause him to collapse.

She felt overwhelmed and could only bow her head in apology. She kept tugging at the hem of her skirt with her hand.

“Mr. Chairman, everyone dresses like this these days, please understand,” Kang-Jae said.

“I can hardly bear to look at you. You’ve spoiled her too much,” her grandfather’s response.

“It’s alright, I quite like Yeonwoo like this,” Kang-Jae interjected.

That’s just how it was.  She despised him for realizing that he had probably created this situation on purpose.

Behind her grandfather’s back, she shot him a fierce glare and forced a smile. She bit down hard on her lip to suppress her anger. He intensified his gaze on her lips, but some of her anger softened as he spoke.

“You should go upstairs and rest.”

She saw through his fake concern and stared at him, but nodded anyway, unable to resist his gaze. She overheard his conversation with her grandfather as she ascended to the second floor.

The chairman asked, “Should both of you go home?”

She heard him reply, “We’re staying the night here, so take your time.” Pausing, she turned back.

She wondered if she should go to bed and gave him a stern look.

“Why? Do you have something to say?” he retorted.

“…Nothing,” she muttered, turning away and continuing upstairs.

As she climbed the stairs, anger weighed heavily on her steps. It seemed like no one cared about her feelings. All she could hear was her grandfather’s laughter echoing through the house.

She went to the balcony without changing her clothes, avoiding her room. If he joined her, she planned to tell him she wanted to go home.

She sat on the balcony chair and closed her eyes. When she opened them, he stood beside her.

“…….”

“…….”    

They stared at each other for a while.

“Let’s leave,” she spoke up first, despising the silence.

He replied, “I just told your grandfather we were staying home tonight, didn’t you hear?”, acknowledging that she had heard something, but ultimately leaving the decision up to him.

“Are you busy? You seem busy.”

He smiles, encouraging her to speak before she stops abruptly. His eyes gleam with encouragement, silently urging her to continue. Gradually, his eyes lower, and she follows suit, lowering her face to his.

As she sat in the chair, she noticed her skirt riding up. Her face turned bright red, and she hastily jumped to her feet. She glared at him while tugging at her skirt’s hem. Despite her embarrassment, flushing her cheeks to the nape of her neck, he appeared unmoved.

“Are you going to freshen up?” he asks.

“I was going to stay a bit longer. What, what!” she exclaimed as he suddenly grabbed her wrist and stormed off. She tries to shake her hand off as he drags her towards his room. He refuses to let go and pulls her into her room.

She sits on her bed. He finally releases her wrist. She glares at him fiercely.

She demands, “What do you think you’re doing?” Her skirt has already ridden up, and she knows his eyes are wide as he stares at her thighs. However, her anger overrides any sense of shame she might have felt.

“Do you want to wash together?”

“No!”

She sat up in bed. She instinctively backed away as he drew nearer. His expression became increasingly animalistic. She recognized that look and remembered it vividly.

It was the same face he had when he returned from his business trip. He had spent the entire night biting, s*cking, and l*cking every inch of her body as if he were going to devour every bone.

She stood up to leave, thinking she wouldn’t find anything to argue about, but he was already there, pushing her onto the bed. He quickly climbed on top of her, smiling lazily.

She felt as though her heart might burst. He looked at her black stockings with his hot eyes. He swallowed hard and stared at the muzzle. He remained silent, like an animal crouching before a hunt.

She knew he was hiding something. In frustration, she glances up at him and runs her hand through her hair.    

“What do you think the other boys thought when they saw your legs?”

“What do you think?”

She struggled to comprehend his words. Despite her efforts to persuade him to come down, he remained motionless.  

“I know. You act so innocent as if you don’t know. This is how you live.

“…….”

“I’ll tell you what they were thinking when they looked at your legs.”

She bit her lip and glared at him.

“They may be m*st*rbating right now, fantasizing about your white legs.”

“Don’t say that!” she exclaimed, punching him hard in the forearm. However, it was as if she had hit a rock with an egg.

He smiled as if her lack of strength tickled his biceps. Then she forced his thighs wide apart and settled them between his legs.

He ripped her stocking open when she flailed her legs, as if to punish her. Her face turned a deep shade of blue, and she was embarrassed as he continued to tear her stockings.