Once Love Begins - Chapter 4. Part 2

Chapter 4. Part 2

Her eyes lost focus. The hand that had been caressing her br**sts and waist reached for the buckle of her trousers. She felt her body turn to stone.

She knew how ruthless he could be during s*x because he’d done it before. She was nervous and frightened, but there was a hint of anticipation and excitement at the back of her mind.

She was surprised when his hand reached for her trousers. The first time she had been drunk, she had been distracted. She doesn’t even know when he took her trousers off.

But now that she’s pinned underneath him in the bright light, it’s hard for her to breathe.

Her vision goes white as he bites and s*cks greedily on her n*pple. She can’t believe the strange sounds coming out of her mouth, so she covers her mouth with her hands as he bites down hard on her n*pple.

“Ha… ouch!”

“Don’t cover your mouth.”

Her br**sts throbbed at the ease with which he pulled down her trousers. She’s dying of embarrassment, but he seems so used to it. His eyes sparkle when he sees her in her underwear.

She took a step back in terror. He grabbed her ankles with his mouth and pulled her up. She looked up at him, her legs spread and trembling. His hot gaze landed on the center of her underwear.

She winced and tried to pull her legs apart, but it was no use. He grabbed her thighs, which he kept trying to pull together, and spread them apart.

“Now, wait… shhh!” he gasped as his fingertips pressed firmly into the center of her panties. Her eyes fluttered open. She couldn’t swallow for fear that his finger would be in her h*le at any moment.

This time, his fingers pushed a little further up. Her eyes widened. The first time they had s*x there had been no stroking, just straight penetration, so this was new to her.

She didn’t know where to look, so she turned her head, and he pressed her clit from side to side, overlapping her upper body. Her lower stomach clenched. Her p*ssy was engulfed in heat.

“What? Weren’t you forthcoming about this?”

“……. “

She found it difficult to admit that he was her husband. He appeared offended.

‘Why? Was it because he didn’t want to embrace a woman he didn’t love? Shouldn’t he have done so?’

She looked up at him; her eyes narrowed, and she unintentionally forgot to blink as something prodded at her lower belly.

“What’s so surprising? Oh, that you enjoy it?”

He thinks she’s a s*x-crazed woman. Well, he may think she only wants to sleep with a random guy.

She felt a little sad, and tears were about to fall. She bit her lip to hold them back. He stopped s*cking on the back of her neck and looked up at her tearful eyes.

“But.”

“…….”

“Not every man can hold a woman he doesn’t love; don’t get me wrong.”    

He speaks in a cold tone and sits upright. His eyes shift uneasily, like a twig in the wind. This implies that he would not be able to have s*x with her if it were not for the woman he loves.

She was wearing only her panties and couldn’t move as she watched him walk away coldly.

Even after she vanished into the bathroom, she remained immobile and had to lie there for a long time.  

When she woke up, her n*pples were sore where he’d bitten them. It doesn’t hurt, but it hurts. 

She grabbed some clothes and hurried to her room. As soon as she closed the door, she sank to the floor.

“Don’t cry. Don’t shed tears for something that barely happened. Don’t cry at all.” She wiped away her tears before they could come. She didn’t bother to freshen up and went to bed.

Her sadness intensified when she was alone. Why did she love a man like that? What could she do?

She glanced at her phone, and it was after midnight. A man who didn’t even realize it was their wedding anniversary.

* * *

After class and singing practice, dinner had already passed. She thought about going home to eat, but the idea of dining alone didn’t appeal to her. Instead, she decided to join Hana and Jaeho for a meal.

They talked for a long time. When she got home, it was already past 11 pm. She took a long bath for almost an hour and felt good afterwards.

“Ah… ugh.”

She was getting dressed, and it hurt as if her bottom was about to fall out. It felt like someone was pinching her stomach from the inside. No way. She checked, and there was blood down there.

She forgot the date of her period due to being busy. Since then, she has been living in a half-hearted state of mind. Someone even asked her what was going on.

She bit her lip and reached for the painkillers in her dresser drawer, and when she looked in the mirror, her face was so pale she thought she might collapse at any moment.

“Ugh.” She walked to the kitchen to get some water, but the pain in her back stopped her in her tracks. She put her hands on the floor and took a deep breath.

She’s going to be in a lot of pain this month. Every few months, she gets sick to the point where her medication doesn’t work, and today was one of those days.

Her breathing became ragged. If she had felt a little sick the day before, or even a few hours before, she would have taken her medication or prepared herself, but it just came out of nowhere.

She found out later that the other woman didn’t. She tried Chinese medicine, but it didn’t help. In the end, she swallowed the pills without water, and she was already scared because she knew it wouldn’t get better.

The last month was tolerable, but then she faced a more significant problem. She searched for sanitary napkins but couldn’t find any. It finally dawned on her that she had used them up last month.

‘Ugh,’ she thought to herself, ‘I’ll just put on my cardigan and go to the convenience store to buy some sanitary napkins.’

But she couldn’t move a step. Her legs gave out on her. It was almost midnight, and she couldn’t even call the helper and ask for a sanitary pad. 

“…….”

Sweat beaded on her forehead. She couldn’t think because she was in pain. She could only think of one person.

Taking a deep breath, she called him. Her heart raced as she heard the beep. “Would he pick up the phone? Please, he had to answer it.” The tone lengthened, and she jumped. It was then.

-“Yes,” she heard a low voice.

She had been avoiding him ever since. When he finally picked up the phone, she couldn’t get her mouth to open.

She couldn’t care less about his cold tone. Her lower stomach hurt so much. It felt like she was being stabbed with an awl.

“I… yes,” she replied.

-“I know,” he responded coldly, as if he didn’t know.

-“Where are you now?”

-“Why?”

-“Are you at home?”

She picked at the dead skin on her lips. She knew he was waiting, but she couldn’t speak.

“It’s me. I’m so sorry, ugh,” she said.

-“What’s wrong?”

Sweat poured down her face. Sometimes, when she’s this sick, she wants to rip her uterus out.

“Can you buy me something?”

-” Something?”

“I’ll text you.”

-” Just say it.”

“I’ll text you.”

Ugh. She didn’t know if she should be asking him to do that, but she didn’t have a choice. She hesitated a few times before sending the text.

She lay down on the floor and curled up, not daring to climb into bed. After what seemed like an eternity, she lifted her head in pretense; he was here. A knock on the door made her sit up.

She winced and said that she wasn’t wearing a sanitary pad. She opened the door slightly and looked at him. He held out a black bag.

“Thanks.”

She almost burst out laughing at the sight of him in a black suit, holding a black bag. She bit her tongue and barely kept from laughing.

His eyebrows wiggled as she thanked him in a dying voice.

“Next time, buy it in advance.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry.”

Her face flushed red. She realized now that she had done a crazy thing by sending Cha Kang-Jae on a sanitary napkin errand.

He had a rough day at work, and his expression was not good. As he calmly walked away, she could see the anger in his eyes.

She took out the sanitary napkin and saw that he had made no mistake. She felt sorry for him, but why did the corner of her mouth turn up? Maybe it’s because there’s a painkiller in the bag?

Her stomach, which had been aching like a tornado, felt less painful. It’s times like these that she needs to move. She grabbed a sanitary napkin and went into the bathroom.

She’s not supposed to be moved by this. However, she was, too, severely. 

***He glared at his phone.

“She wants me to buy this? She must have sent it to the wrong person,” so he double-checked.

‘Two large sanitary napkins and two overnight.’

His eyes narrowed again. He glared at the text for a while, but nothing changed. In a dying voice, she asked for a favor and then sighed.

He’d like to think she was in some kind of hurry if she asked him to do it, but he knew it wasn’t. It was too late to just go home.

It didn’t take him long to realize that she wasn’t going to be able to go out and buy it. He knew she was having a bad period.

Once inside the convenience store, he pretended to be shopping because he couldn’t bring himself to go in front of the sanitary napkins. Steel wool as sanitary napkins. It’s crazy.

The part-time worker stared at him as he walked around the convenience store without buying anything. He let out a long sigh and stood in front of the sanitary napkins.

He lifted the sanitary napkin, feeling good, while checking the text she sent him. ‘But it’s not large; it’s a medium.’ He clenched his molars together.

There was a large one right next to the medium. He should have brought a basket. He grabbed the two large ones and found the overnight ones.

He put the four sanitary napkins in his arms and placed them on the counter, and the part-time worker smiled.

Of course, he was laughing secretly. He’s getting old because of Ha Yeon-woo. While paying, he suddenly remembered that her period pain was severe, so he bought painkillers.

He bowed his head slightly to the part-timer, who held out two black bags, and said, “Come back again.”

He realized he didn’t have any cigarettes when he walked out, but he couldn’t go back in, so he gave up.

He decided to quit smoking after some thought, but even that attempt failed. The day after Ha Yeon-woo asked him to sleep with her, he unknowingly smoked a cigarette again.

Ha. Really. He opens the front door, and the house is silent. It’s as if no one is there, even though he’s sure Ha Yeon-woo is. The bag in his hand rustles as he walks.

He knocked on the door, but it was quiet. He knocked again, but there was no answer. Wondering if she had fallen, he opened the door, but there was no one there.

He went to the furthest room, knocked on the door, listened, and heard a muffled sound from inside. He opened the door and peeked in.

He was a little surprised to see that she was so pale, like she was about to collapse. Shouldn’t he go to the hospital? He didn’t know what kind of pain she was in, so he couldn’t help her.

Instead, he handed her a black bag. She took it; her cheeks flushed red.

“Thank you.” Her voice sounded lifeless.

He looked at her cheeks and then lowered his gaze slightly. A strand of hair stuck to the nape of her sweaty neck.

Without thinking, he reached out and almost pulled it away.

He said, “Next time, buy it in advance.”

“Yeah,” she replied, deliberately cold, and turned away.

The sound of the door closing made him stop and turn around.

“……. “

It was a night that he cried out for a drink.