Once Love Begins - Chapter 6. Part 2

Chapter 6. Part 2

* * *

He looked at Ha-yeon-woo, who was fast asleep on the pure white bed. His eyes repeatedly stare at her skin, which is even whiter than the sheets.

He could see the blood in her veins because her skin was so clear. Her face was whiter than usual due to the pain, which made his mouth water.

He enjoyed it before he knew her taste and scent, but now that he’s experienced the smell and taste of her, when he sinks his teeth into her neck, he grits his teeth.

He takes a deep breath. Her scent penetrates his nostrils. She’s not dripping with pheromones, but he can’t help but smell her sweet scent.

He felt like a sniffing dog. He wipes the sweat from her forehead, but now her whole body is drenched in sweat, and her clothes are soaked through.

He carefully removes the hairs that have stuck to the nape of her neck. The front of his trousers is bulging. He bends his head down and looks between his legs. 

F*ck. He gasped at the hardness of his c*ck, ready to burst at any moment. This is why he shouldn’t have come near her.

His patience would run out over a child. He loses his composure. This had never happened to him before.

He’s never seen anything like it. He was disgusted with himself, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Ha Yeon-woo. His eyes sank deeply.

He decided to change her clothes because she was sweating profusely, and he couldn’t leave her alone. He glared at her as she slept soundly, as if she hadn’t slept at all last night.

Just yesterday. He went to buy a condom and just came back. He went to a convenience store, bought cigarettes, lit two in a row, and returned home. Ha Yeon-woo had disappeared, leaving only one text.

At first, he was embarrassed, then felt ridiculous.

Then he realized she was lying to get away from him. She can be so mean at times like that.

She’s usually so stupid and frustrating, and I am wondering where she went and what she did last night.

She said she was sleeping over at a friend’s house, but suddenly he remembered that guy who had confessed his feelings to her.

He shook his head. She was right; he shouldn’t pry into her private life. As he peeled off her clothes, he could see her skin was as smooth as a peach’s skin.

Her jaw dropped as if he were holding a peach. Saliva pooled in his mouth, and his throat rattled. He reminded himself not to touch her, as she was just a child, not a lady.

As he undressed, she shivered in the cold. He grabbed a towel and wiped off the sweat, but her soaked bra got caught in it.

He had no choice but to remove it.  Her pink n*pples stood out in the middle of her firm br**sts. He realized that her n*pples were erect in her sleep.

He wanted to take it in his mouth and s*ck it right now. He shook his head vigorously.

He realized he’d been having inappropriate thoughts while she slept soundly, unaware of what he was thinking.

Will he be able to convey through his gaze that he reciprocates her feelings, even though he is aware of her affection for him?

He didn’t want to be that kind of person, so he wiped her down with the lightest touch possible.

After wiping off everything under her chest, armpits, back, and inner thighs, her body is not covered in sweat this time.

After wiping away the sweat, her shivering became less pronounced. He tucked her in and got up to go to her room, where he pulled out a yellow nightgown.

It was the one with the chick on it that she had tried to put on the day she was picked up drunk. It’s hard to believe she’s 23 years old when she’s wearing a bright yellow nightgown.

No matter how many times he looks at her, she looks like she’s 18. He felt so ashamed that he had lusted after this girl, and he woke up vowing not to make the same mistake with Ha Yeon-woo again.

The next day, he got to work a little late and was sitting at the kitchen table eating when she approached him hesitantly.

“Why?”

“Oh, your clothes…”

He thinks she is criticizing him for wearing her pajamas. He carefully wiped off the sweat and changed her clothes, but he was confused by the bitter expression on her face.

She’d be looking at him like he was a thief.

She gave him a suspicious look, as if he were having s*x with her while she was asleep.

She expressed gratitude for the previous day, saying, “Thank you.” Then, she urged him to eat with the simple phrase, “Please eat.”

He removed the clothes from the previous day, and to his surprise, he noticed how slender she was. While he had thought she was thin, he hadn’t realized just how skinny she was.

His phone rang on the kitchen table.

“Yeah.”

-“Will you be working late today?”

“Uh, a little.”

-“Is something wrong?”

“No. Why?”

-“Just grab a sandwich on your way home. We haven’t had breakfast.”

He set down his chopsticks. Sensing her gaze on him, he raised his eyebrows and inquired about what was bothering her. However, she opened her mouth as if to say something, then turned away without speaking.

He observed her depart from the kitchen; her shoulders slumped, and then he took a sip of water.

“Okay.”

-“The usual, you know?”

“Bye.”    

He ended the call and continued with his meal. Seated on the couch, he was engrossed in watching the news on his tablet when she emerged and came to a stop.

She was on the verge of questioning why he hadn’t gone to work yet, but she abruptly sealed her lips and walked through the living room toward the front door.

He smiled at the scene. It felt as though he had done something awful to a child, and his conscience was pricking him with guilt. 

His eyebrows wiggled in response to her evident evasion. It wasn’t the first instance of her doing this, and initially, he dismissed it during the first few days, considering it something not worth bothering about. However, he had become increasingly irritated by her consistent avoidance every time he saw her.

That wasn’t the only source of irritation for him; her clothing seemed to be progressively getting shorter.

Now, he found her wearing skirts that barely covered half of her thighs every day, not out of choice but to avoid freezing in the daytime cold.

Today, dressed in a short skirt and black tights, she once again feigned not seeing him and headed outside.

His brow furrowed as he found himself unable to stop thinking about her pure white legs encased in those black tights. Maybe, he thought, he’s a bastard, someone who gets aroused at the sight of any girl.

* * *

“Yeon-woo, eat a lot.”

“Yes.”

“You eat a little.”

When she doesn’t answer, she pokes her in the back of the hand with her fork.

“A person who isn’t spoiled when they’re young won’t be spoiled when they’re old.”

She laughed and was about to ask if the same rule applied to her when she observed the look on her husband’s face at the table in front of her.

“She’s an energetic woman,” she mentioned. “The wine you provided tastes so good. Thank you for inviting me to come over here.”

“Yes. It’s delicious.” Her cheeks are flushed as she sips the wine.   

“It’s good that you eat so well, Yeon-woo. You’re having a lot of snacks. You need to gain weight. I have ice cream. Do you want some?”

“No, I’m full.”

“You need to eat something. Why did you lose so much weight while I was away? It makes me so upset. But…”

**Kang-Jae was about to ask her sister why she was staring at him, but somehow he knew what she was going to say, so he closed his mouth.

She’s been a party girl since she was a kid. She still throws parties a few times a month. He doesn’t think she ever gets tired of them.

When his sister called to invite him to her house, he tried to ignore her because he was busy, but she texted him.

When she told him that Ha Yeon-woo was at her sister’s house, he couldn’t help but attend the party.

At least she’s only going to drink wine tonight. He glances over at Ha-yeon-woo, who’s sipping wine with aplomb, but she ignores him. 

“The flowers are so pretty.” She glances at the flowers in the middle of the table.

“Isn’t that right?”

He may look like a bandit, but at least he’s got these.

He remembered his mother saying, “No woman doesn’t like flowers.”

The couple in front of him were in earnest. 

The drinks were flowing, and the couple in front of him were expressing their love earnestly. There was a considerable age difference between her sister and her brother-in-law.

He was 10 years younger. In reality, he was younger than him, but he kept calling him his brother-in-law.

When they met at a party, they fell in love and ran away, much to the dismay of his parents. Even his sister laughed out loud at the wedding.

What could go wrong? She was sitting next to him when she suddenly stood up. He looked up and saw that her hair was matted to the nape of her neck.

He almost reached out and touched it. again. The sweet scent stung deep into his lungs.

“Can I use that bathroom?”

“Yeah. Go.”

Smiling wryly at her sister-in-law’s words, she disappeared into the bathroom.

“You should be nice to Yeon-woo,” her sister said.

“I’ll take care of it,” Kang-Jae responded.

He has grown weary of his mother and sister because every time they see him, they consistently advise him to be kind to his wife.

“What aspect am I not good at here?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. “If you’re just nice to her, she won’t look at you like that.”

“Look what?”

“Kang-Jae, can’t you see she’s embarrassed? She’s just pouting at you. What if she encounters another guy who gives her more attention than you do? You’ll see, there are plenty of guys her age out there.”

“Do you think she’s going to look at you like that if you’ll be good to her?”

He lifted his wine glass and took a gulp.

“Who asked you to boss me around?”

“You’re living with a girl who is eight years younger than you, and you need to take care of her so that she won’t leave you.”  

“Who leaves who?” He was astonished, and it felt like the wind had been knocked out of his sails.

“If anyone was going to be abandoned, it should have been Ha Yeon-woo, not me.”

He walked over to her, staggered toward her, and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Let’s go home.” Her small shoulders sagged. She didn’t like it as it was.

“I’ll see you later, Yeon-woo,” her sister-in-law said.

“Okay. Thanks for the invite. Take care,” Yeon-woo replied.

He walked out, leaving her sister stroking Yeon-woo’s hair as if she cared for her.

As soon as he was outside, he coldly removed his arm from around her waist.

* “Thank you.”

As she steps outside, a cold wind blows across her cheeks. It brings her back to her senses. She felt him stare at her, but she deliberately kept her eyes on the floor.

He opened the car door for her, bowed his head slightly, and climbed in. When he got in, he opened the window slightly.

Maybe she had drunk too much. Somehow, it tasted good.  

Her face was as hot as Dale’s, so she opened her window. She closed her eyes against the cold wind.    

He must be drunk.

“Hello.”    

Her shoulders stiffened as he answered the phone. As usual, a familiar voice caught her attention, and she looked out the window.

She stared out at the rapidly disappearing landscape and couldn’t think of anything else. She couldn’t even see the bright lights that were hurting her eyes.

The euphoria of just a few moments ago has subsided in an instant. When they arrive at their home, She gets out of the car first.    

She walks past him as he stands in front of his car.

She hears the car door close, followed by the sound of the car driving away.

When the sound of the car faded into the distance, she turned around.

“…….”

She knew he wasn’t there, of course, but she didn’t know why her heart felt so heavy. She didn’t want to go inside the house.

She decided to take a short walk. Maybe the cold air would cheer her up a little.

“Ha Yeon-woo?”

She heard a low voice behind her and turned around to see a familiar face.

“Senior Joo Chan?”