Once Love Begins - Chapter 3. Part 2

Chapter 3. Part 2

She ignored his blinking and closed her mouth tightly. The memory of that day made her blush, but she didn’t let it show. She looked straight ahead and brushed a lock of hair back with her hand in annoyance.

“Whatever.”

“Anyway, thanks for yesterday.”

He quickly turned and walked back into the room, not wanting her to realize he was acting. She sighed and crouched down in front of the door.

She drew her knees up and buried her face in them. She couldn’t remember who had drunk too much and held him. She pouted her red lips and hugged her knees tightly.

“…….”    

On the last day of their honeymoon, he returned drunk. They had not shared a meal or even had a conversation throughout the entire trip. When he came back, she tried to argue with him about the impossibility of sharing a meal during their honeymoon.

Despite feeling sleepy, she patiently waited for him until he showed up after 2 a.m. in a completely drunk state. Without getting angry, she helped him to bed and, feeling frustrated, undressed him.

She could have left, but instead she sat on the bed with her knees up, watching his face as he slept. He was drunk and asleep, so she figured she could stare for a while.

He suddenly opened his eyes, and they stared at each other. His eyes were wild, and he tried to stand up. His lips were swollen as he moved. He mistakenly hugged her, mistaking her for his ex-girlfriend.

She bit her lip until it bled. She remembered how he had kissed her with excitement and thrown his arms around her impatiently.

He did not cum because he collapsed and fell asleep in the middle of it, but she shakily removed all traces of penetration with her hands.

She felt pain down there for days after they returned from their honeymoon and had to walk with a strange limp. Even if he had returned in his right mind, she wouldn’t have been able to ask him how he could have missed a single meal with her.

In reality, she was simply lonely, eagerly awaiting the sight of his face. They didn’t feel at ease sharing a meal, and despite being legally married, they felt more distant from each other than anyone else.

She laughed briefly and dryly. At first, she couldn’t believe she was having s*x with someone she could never be with, and then she regretted wasting her first time on him.

She was bedridden and helpless for a while. She never imagined that her first s*x would be in vain. Additionally, neither of them remembered the s*x*al encounter, and the thought of it now makes her sigh.

She wondered why she hadn’t resisted more forcefully. If she had wanted to, she could have pushed him away and walked off. However, she found herself being held by a man who didn’t know who he was holding, and she realized it was her own choice.

After the honeymoon, he became even colder, which made it all the more pathetic. Before they got married, they were able to engage in small talk. However, after the honeymoon, he wouldn’t let her talk to him.

She felt unwell and tired after practicing with the band. Today, she decided to take a quick shower and go to bed.

* * *

The following day, she sat in front of Jae-ho and Hana, feeling guilty. She had used the excuse of feeling unwell to avoid them yesterday, but today she had no excuse.

“Slut. Bad girl. Isn’t it nice that you’re always the one with the good looks?” Hana said.

“Swallow what’s in your mouth,” Yeon-woo said. chewing on her pork cutlet and nodding in understanding.

“So, how does it feel to live with a handsome husband?”

“Do you believe that it feels like walking on thin ice every day?”

“Good.”

“He’s in great shape; does he work out?”

“Yeah.”

She doesn’t know if he works out or not. Come to think of it, she doesn’t know much about him. Her mood plummets.

“Are you upset?” Jae-ho asks, and she looks up.

“I haven’t eaten,” she said, forcing a smile at his concern.

“I had a full breakfast, so I am not hungry.”

This, too, was a lie. She hadn’t eaten breakfast for fear of running into him.

“Eat anyway. You haven’t been eating much lately.”

“…Yeah.”

Would she have acted differently if she didn’t have a crush on Cha Kang-Jae? She can’t say for sure since she’s never had feelings for anyone else. She ate the side salad with her fork, savoring each bite.

“Call him.”

“Huh?” She squinted, confused by the words.

“Call your husband. Let’s hear his voice.”

“He’s a busy man.”

She exclaimed in frustration and disappointment, wondering why his wife couldn’t spare a minute to call him. He had promised to buy something delicious that day.

She was unsure when he made this promise. If she had asked him to buy something, she was sure he would have agreed. However, she wondered why she was making this request to her husband while she was drunk.

She wanted to express her frustration and suggest making an appointment instead of relying on a promise to buy food that may be forgotten.

“He doesn’t mind when you meet him; just ask him to let you know when he’s free,” she suggested. Jae-ho remained silent, chewing on pork cutlets and offering no support.

“He’s working, so he won’t answer the phone. I’ll ask him when he gets home today.”

She is not afraid that he will not answer the phone; she is afraid that he will. The idea of her friends listening to the conversation sends shivers down her spine.

By talking to him, it would be clear that he and Yeon-woo are not friends. Therefore, she stubbornly refuses to take her phone out of her bag.

“He’s just really busy. I’ll buy you a meal.”

“Who needs a meal? He’s my friend’s husband; I just want to see him.”

“…….”

“No matter how busy you are, if your wife, who is eight years younger than you, asks you to come out, you should do so immediately. This is especially true when you are in the company of a pretty girl like yourself!”

She played with her cup, unsure of what to say. She said, “When I first saw you, I thought you were a doll. I was surprised when you spoke!”

Her friend’s biased story almost made her spit out the water she was holding back. Although she had heard the doll story before, it still made the hairs on her arms stand up.

Despite being told not to bring it up, she did.

“Go ahead.”

“…….”

“Huh?”

She shouldn’t resist any longer, so she pulled her phone out of her bag. It was now all or nothing. It was up to him to answer the call or not. 

She sat in front of the phone and pressed the call button. She waited nervously, ignoring the twinkle in her eye, and heard a beep. She gripped the phone tightly.

“No answer?”

“Yeah. See, I told you he was busy.”

“Try one more time. What if he picks up this time?”

She hesitated for a moment, but she pressed the call button again because Hana wanted her to try.

Swallowing hard, she wiped the cold sweat from her palms onto her thighs without her friends’ knowledge.

“He’s not answering. I’ll go home and talk to him today.”

“What a waste.”

“Yeon-woo said she would discuss it at home. Stop obsessing,” Jae-ho replied to Hana.

“I’m not obsessed,” Hana responded.

She glanced at the two people arguing and then looked down. Her nails were pale from gripping the phone tightly.

She put her phone in her bag. Then, she took a sip of water. Although he was reluctant to answer the call, he felt obligated. She was uncertain about how well she conveyed her emotions through facial expressions. She thought about the consequences of initiating a falsehood. Reflecting on the situation, she considered the pitfalls of starting a lie. A chain of untruths that ultimately leads to deception.

The burden of telling a lie weighs heavily on the liar, whether or not they acknowledge it.

“Did you two argue that?”

“No.”

She stated that disagreements should be approached sincerely. They were not having a quarrel, but bitterness lingered.

Upon returning home from singing practice, she neglected to lift her sinking spirits. As she opened the front door with her shoulders slumped, darkness greeted her.

She noticed he hadn’t returned yet because his shoes were missing. She walked through the unlit house, illuminating the living room and kitchen by turning on the lights. Then, she quickly washed up and sat down on the couch to watch TV.

She continuously changed the channels by pressing the buttons on the remote. Suddenly, she remembered someone mentioning cutting up peaches and placing them in the fridge earlier in the day. With that in mind, she hurried to the refrigerator.

When she was in a bad mood, she would often take a bath and indulge in something sweet. She grabbed a plate and fork and settled down on the couch with the peaches. She savored each chew as she popped the last peach of the year into her mouth.

Despite the rainy summer, she did not expect the peaches to be sweet. However, to her surprise, they were. The unexpected sweetness caught her off guard, and as the juice trickled down her chin, she reached for a tissue to wipe it away.

She enjoyed a few peaches, but only one remained. Her mouth drooped slightly as she dipped her fork into the peach and popped it into her mouth. She instinctively swallowed the peach as she heard the door open.

She finished the peach without hesitation, not even considering wasting it. The sound of his footsteps stopped as he entered the house. He stared at her with a fork in his hand, his brow furrowed.

She thought about asking him why he always looked at her that way, especially after doing something she had warned him against. She wanted to know if he didn’t get her phone call.

Yet, there was only one response.

“You’re here,” she declared, leaving her unanswered question hanging in the air. She rose from her seat and moved to put away her empty plate and fork, but he beat her to the kitchen.

Although the air was filled with the scent of alcohol, he walked steadily. She intentionally slowed her steps to avoid trailing behind him. She retrieved a glass of water from the fridge, set her plate in the sink, and purposefully steered clear of him.

She turned around as the back of her head stung. He glared at her, and she realized he had consumed more alcohol than she initially thought. He couldn’t sustain such a prolonged stare if he hadn’t.

“Why?”

“What?”

“It’s nothing.”

As she walked past him, she avoided a lengthy conversation. Her eyes inadvertently fell on his chest and she noticed a scarlet lipstick mark distinctly on the collar of his crisp white t-shirt.

She didn’t need to ask to whom it belonged; the faint smell of cologne was all too familiar. Walking past him, she positioned herself in front of him. 

“If you’re meeting her in public, you might as well live with her,” she said. Her anger flared suddenly. “What does my grandfather have to do with it?” she asked, her frustration evident in her tone.

The thought of him being with her without answering a single phone call made her frustrated. She acted on impulse.

She grabbed his jaw and lifted her heel as high as she could. She was unable to stop herself as she watched his eyes widen. Their lips collided, and she could feel him freeze in panic.

She released her hold and quickly threw her arms around his neck. She licked her lips lightly, savoring the unexpected moment.

“Ha-yeon-woo!”

Simultaneously, he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her roughly away.

“What are you doing?” she asked, unafraid of his growing anger. She wondered why she had been afraid of him all this time. Was it because she thought he would hate her? She glared at the bright red lipstick on his collar and spoke as bluntly as possible.

“We should sleep together tonight,” she said.

“What?”

“Let’s sleep.”