Once Love Begins - Chapter 7. Part 2

Chapter 7. Part 2

She looked up at him with a familiar stare.  Her eyes locked with Cha Kang-jae, who was sitting on the couch, staring at her.

Her mouth dropped open in surprise, as she hadn’t expected him to be there, but he was home early at this time of night. Her eyes darted around.

“Hey, didn’t you go to work?”

“…….”    

She approached him hesitantly. He stared at her without speaking. She sensed a dark presence behind his shoulders for some reason.

Feeling threatened by the mood, even though she hadn’t done anything wrong, she swallowed dryly. She squared her shoulders unnecessarily.

As she got closer, she could see his unkempt appearance.

“You went somewhere without telling me,” he said in a low voice that sent chills down her spine.

It was terrifying. She couldn’t answer. Her trembling eyes looked him over from head to toe.

Something was amiss with him. He wasn’t dressed in a suit, and he appeared unusually messy. His hair was falling over his forehead, and he never allowed his hair to look like that.

‘Why does he look so tired?’

‘What happened?’

Did something happen to my grandpa? ‘

She blinked and looked at him.

He kept his mouth tightly closed. She leaned closer, frustrated.

“What’s wrong?”

Yes, he was angry, but he sounded like he was holding something back. It was like the calm before the storm.

She sensed his distress from his deep sigh.

“Did anything happen to my grandfather?” she asked. What happened? She repeated it in disbelief as she stared at him.

“Don’t you even know how to call me?”

“What?”

“If you are not coming home or if something bad happens, you should at least call me.”

“…….”

“Is your finger injured and you are not capable of texting me?”

He looked at her hand coldly. She closed her fingers to hide them. She didn’t understand why he was so angry.

She looked at him, asking, “What the hell did I do wrong?”

Why was he so upset? Is it because she didn’t call him? Because she stayed out? It was strange how he wiggled his eyebrows out of disapproval.

“I thought we agreed not to interfere with each other’s personal lives,” she said.

“I don’t want you to get involved in my personal life.” She expressed her desire for privacy, clenching her jaw tightly.

“You also don’t call me when you’re out of town,” she added.

“Are you crazy?” he asked.

“No, I’m not crazy. Ha ha. I’m just tired.”

She flicked her hair back as if to tell him to stop talking. She returned his penetrating stare. This isn’t going well. She doesn’t know why.

“Where’s your cell phone?”

“I lost it. And please don’t tell me what to do, and don’t bother me. If you can go out, why can’t I?”

She didn’t intend to argue with him, but she suddenly felt a surge of irritation.

“Do students need to go out and hang around at night? I have work, so I come out late. You know, there’s a difference.”

She was speechless. Is he saying she shouldn’t go out just because she’s a student?

“I’m going out without contacting you!”

“Ha Yeon-woo.”

His cold voice sent shivers down her spine. She was determined not to back down, but he walked away, leaving her alone.

It felt like he was treating her as if she didn’t matter. She gave him a fierce look, her hands clenched into shaking fists.

“I’ve been too busy in bed with a man to bother calling you! Why?”

“Enough.”

“You said I spent the night, right?”

His face contorts like a crumpled piece of paper.

“Why? Do you not want me to stay overnight? Would it bother you if I slept with someone else?”

He has already stood up from the couch and is firmly gripping her wrists. Because of the height difference, she tilts her head to look at him.

“You are correct. It does not matter to me who you see. However, I do not want you to go out with anyone.”

“Really? Are you okay with me seeing a real man?”

“Yeah.”

She exhales sharply and glares at him. The coldness in his expression brings tears to her eyes.

“If I enjoy spending time with a guy, why don’t I go out often? I only need to do it once to have sex, unlike the men I meet.”

The hand on her wrist tightens, and he grimaces. Her heart aches more than her wrist.

“I told you not to say a word,” he said. However, the expression on his face silences her.

“Hmph!”

She struggles to breathe as he kisses her fiercely, locking his tongue in and s*cking on the side as if punishing her.

He grabbed the nape of her neck to prevent her from escaping and l*cked every inch of her mouth. She pushed against his chest, but he wouldn’t move.

She pushes his hard chest away again and again, but the more she does, the harder the kiss becomes.

Her legs feel weak and unsteady, and he guides her down onto the couch. He took advantage of the brief pause in their kiss to catch his breath. But then their lips met again.

Without hesitation, he grabbed her chest, causing her to stumble.  She opened her eyes and felt as though she was being pulled into a black hole of darkness.

“If you are staying overnight at your friend’s house, at least text me to let me know that you are there.”

She was deeply disappointed. Her face turned red with embarrassment when he revealed that she had spent the night with Hana.

She had just said that she was sleeping with a guy and emphasized that she could only do it once, expressing her dissatisfaction. She bit her lip forcefully.

She lay back on the couch and glared at him for having finally embarrassed her with his words.

She noticed the slight upturn in his mouth.

“Move.”    

She pushed him away. He didn’t budge. With one word, he slid off her body. She moved out of the way but couldn’t get up. She turned her head away, not wanting to look at him.

“I’m going to work; don’t stay out tonight.”

“…….”

“I left your phone in my room.”

She could have asked him why his missing phone was in his room, but she chose not to. She stood up from the couch only when she heard him step out of the door.

She tidied up her tangled hair and felt her hands shake.

It was quite amusing.

Upon entering the room, she straightened her clothes and saw her phone on the bed. She took off her coat, lay down on the bed, and turned on her phone.

While checking her missed calls, she paused. She noticed that he had called several times. The fact that her phone was there indicated that he had met the person who had it.

She shook her head. He may have sent someone to find it, but he wouldn’t have bothered to do it himself.

She lay down on the soft bed and gradually fell asleep. Her eyes closed, and she didn’t resist; she allowed them to stay closed.

Her mother-in-law called just before dinner. She requested soup to alleviate her upset stomach. However, the phone rang just as she was about to eat.

Her mother-in-law’s mention that she would be home in 30 minutes surprised her. This was the first time her mother-in-law had visited their new home.

“30 minutes?”

She hurriedly rushed to her room, opened the door, and entered. Shame? She forgot about that.

“Your mother is coming.”

“Help me, help me!”

“What?”

“Why are you standing there? Help me quickly; your mother is coming.”

He only moved when she mentioned her mother-in-law. She handed him her clothes and laptop after grabbing them from her room.

“Put them in the master bedroom.”

He accepted without saying a word and headed for his room.

She avoided thinking about how upset her mother-in-law would be if she found out she was using the guest room. Her mother-in-law was already worried about her.

“She’s not going to be in that room,” he said.

“But you never know.”

She wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. His eyes lingered on the nape of her neck, and she felt a stranglehold on her throat.

She could barely speak when the doorbell rang.

“It’s her.”

“Yeon-woo, are you home?”

“I’m sorry I came so suddenly.”

“No, you’re not.”

Her mother-in-law had a negative expression.

“What’s the matter?”

“Work.”

“Oh, is there a problem?”

“Why are you here at this hour?” he asked.

His direct question earned him a rolled eye from the mother-in-law.

“I didn’t come to visit you, so don’t worry about me.”

“It’s awkward when you show up unexpectedly,” he replied, glaring at her this time.

“Mom, have you eaten? I’m about to have a meal,” she interjected.

“Is that so? Shall we eat together?”

“Yes.”

She took her mother-in-law’s arm and walked to the kitchen. Although she felt someone’s cold gaze on her back, she decided to ignore it.

She couldn’t understand why he was so unkind and determined to hurt her every day. It made her feel the need to break free from her shell.

After finishing their meal, they sat in the living room and ate some fruit, and her mother-in-law told her the truth about why she had come home.

She shook her head in disbelief, and she held her hand tightly.

“Don’t worry about me; just get a good night’s sleep, okay?”

“Okay.”

He entered his room early, pretending to be tired. She attempted to be as inconspicuous as possible, but her mother-in-law pushed her to go in, so she went into his room.

It was so unusual for her because they never slept together except at his grandfather’s house.

Upon entering the room, she noticed him lying on the bed. Ignoring her presence, she sat on the couch and turned on her laptop.

“Aren’t you going to sleep?”

“You sleep first. I have some work to do, and I’ll sleep on the couch.”  

“Why not sleep in the bed? When we are in your grandfather’s house, you will sleep beside me.”    

He said coldly, wondering what the problem was. Instead of answering, she glared at her laptop.   

“The light won’t let me sleep.”

Finally, she closed the laptop. Grabbing her pajamas with the yellow chick design, she headed to the bathroom, considering a slow wash.

She took her time in the bathroom and returned to find that he had already fallen asleep, creating a calm atmosphere. She breathed a sigh of relief.

She remembered feeling ashamed in front of her mother-in-law, remembered the moments when she had blabbed and lied. She was alone with her thoughts. Regret washed over her, and she felt an intense desire to pull her hair out.

She carefully crawled into bed, positioning herself with her back to him. As she pulled the blankets over her, a hand slipped inside her clothes.

“Do you like yellow?”

“Hmph.”    

He painfully cupped her bare br**st inside her bra and twisted her n*ppl* hard.

“You are not a child, but you are wearing cartoon-themed nightwear.”

She switches from being a lady to fiddling with her cartoon-themed pajamas.

“Don’t.”  

“Your mother has very sharp hearing. Be cautious of what you say as she can hear everything.”

“Hm… Ugh! Ahhh, don’t……. Ugh.”    

She shakes her head, but it only makes him squeeze her br**sts harder.

She covered her mouth to keep a moan from escaping. She bit down on her lip, fearing her mother-in-law in the next room might hear.

His lips nibbled at her earlobe. Then, they moved to the nape of her neck. The hand that was cupping her br**st moved down and slipped into her underwear, groping for her p*ssy.

She widened her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Th-that… stop… ahhh… yes.”

“Shhh.”    

He l*cked the nape of her neck, signaling for her to be quiet. Then, he firmly caressed her p*ssy.

She winced as his fingers brushed through her scraggly pubic hair. She arched her back to escape him, but he followed, pressing their bodies together.

She shook her head to tell him to stop. His finger pressed firmly on her clit. She panted like someone who had forgotten how to breathe.