Chapter 429: Lateness
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 429: Lateness
A dark room.
Lying on the bed, I stare blankly up at the ceiling.
Beside me, Yoo Ah-rin is fast asleep, completely naked.
Watching her let out faint, rhythmic breaths, I give a bitter smile.
"Sleeping like a log."
She was crying like that just a moment ago, and now she’s—
"What the hell are you muttering about, you prick?"
Yoo Ah-rin opens her eyes and glares at me through half-lidded lids. The sweat still glistening on her skin is proof she had been awake until just seconds ago.
"You were pounding away until five minutes ago, so why are you suddenly acting all sentimental?"
"Ahem."
"Sigh, I’m too lazy to go wash up. Should I just sleep like this?"
Yoo Ah-rin turns her body to face me. It seems she’s waiting for me to move before she bothers getting up to wash.
I pull her into my arm, giving her a pillow. It was a signal to just sleep, and Ah-rin reflexively snuggled into my chest.
I close my eyes, ready to drift off, when she calls out to me again.
"Hey."
"What? I thought you were sleeping."
I answer with my eyes still closed. Ah-rin rests her chin on my chest, pressing down slightly as she speaks.
"When you go... don't go acting tough and getting yourself hurt."
"..."
My eyes flutter open.
I look down at her. Yoo Ah-rin is staring up at me, her eyes looking a bit red and puffy.
"Don't try too hard to be the best. Actually, don't even work hard. If it looks like you're going to get hurt, just say you can't do it and take the heat."
I wonder what kind of stuff she’s been reading online.
She’s talking as if she knows exactly how it is.
The fact that she’s being so dead serious is actually kind of funny.
"Don't try to stand out. And don't go around picking fights like you did in school."
"...I rarely ever started those fights."
"Whatever. Just stay quiet and come back. Got it? Don't get caught up in any weird incidents. I’ve seen plenty of stories where the unbelievable rumors turned out to be true."
What kind of rumors has she been looking at?
I’m curious, but seeing how worried she is, it seems better not to ask.
"They say you can use cell phones these days. If anyone mistreats you or hits you? Call me immediately. Got it?"
"And what are you going to do if I call? Come over and beat them up for me?"
"Hmm, can I do that?"
She mumbles seriously, looking so cute that I can't help but pinch her cheek.
"Ow, hey!"
"As if. Don't worry. You know I’m the type who gets along with everyone, no matter where I go."
"...You are?"
"I am."
I laugh and pull her into a hug. Ah-rin doesn't press the issue any further and lets it slide.
To be honest, I wasn't particularly worried about things like hazing or military absurdities.
'Maybe if it were the old me.'
The Kim Woo-jin who had just broken up with Yun-ji, or the one who had just started living on his own—the one who insisted on doing everything himself, struggling and twisting his body to make ends meet—was different from who I am now.
Now, I have the will to use the resources at my disposal without hesitation.
As long as it doesn't break the law, I fully intend to borrow the prestige of my family.
'I can't skip the military, but I can certainly prevent any bullshit.'
Just as it's hard to mistreat a celebrity.
Similarly, if I reveal that I am the youngest son of the Uju Group, one of South Korea's leading conglomerates, I can minimize any unfair treatment during my service.
"Don't underestimate the Uju Group."
I smile and close my eyes again.
Considering the checkout time tomorrow, I really need to sleep now.
I’ll have to wake up, wash, do a quick cleaning, and get ready—it’ll all happen in a flash.
I’m just about to drift off when...
"...What are you doing?"
Still in my arms, Yoo Ah-rin is tapping my chest with her finger. Tap, tap.
It’s distracting enough to keep me awake. When I open my eyes and look down, she avoids my gaze and mutters.
"Y-you prick. What? Just go to sleep."
Why is she the one getting cranky?
"Go to sleep, you jerk."
"I got it."
I close my eyes again, but once more, her finger taps against my chest. Tap, tap.
I try to ignore it this time, but a sudden sharp pain makes my eyes snap open.
"Ow?!"
Startled, I look down to see Yoo Ah-rin, who had just nipped my nipple, huffing and glaring at me.
"You're really going to sleep?! Just leaving me like this?"
"No, what! Tell me what you're unhappy about!"
"..."
Ah-rin seems too embarrassed to speak.
Suddenly, a thought occurs to me, and I ask cautiously.
"Do you... want to do it more?"
I thought we did it quite a bit today, though.
As I stare at her with that thought, Ah-rin ducks her head in embarrassment and mumbles.
"Well, it’s just... you were a bit more 'bland' than usual. I mean, it’s not like I hated it, but how should I put it—"
"Ah..."
I think I know what she’s trying to say.
Because Yoo Ah-rin had cried earlier in the open-air bath, I had been much gentler than our usual sessions.
Basically.
Well, to use a comparison, I had sex with her the way I usually do with Choi I-seo.
Because I-seo likes it that way.
But Yoo Ah-rin is different.
Ah-rin fidgets, rubbing her legs together. Before I know it, her legs are subtly entwined with my thighs.
'It’s damn erotic, though.'
If Seo Ye-rin does this kind of thing to intentionally seduce me, Choi I-seo is usually too shy to even try.
With Yoo Ah-rin, it’s like an instinct. It’s not intentional, but she can't help herself, and that lack of control is what makes it hot.
'Should I tease her a bit?'
Usually, it’s Ah-rin panting and saying she can't take any more.
It was rare for her to cling to me and demand more like this, so I slowly close my eyes again.
"Ah, how could I do that to the girl who cried because she was worried about me? Let's sleep. Let's sleep and do it next time."
I’m half-serious.
The reason I wasn't rough like usual was because she had cried.
In that state, playing into a sadistic direction felt not only like a guilty conscience but also a bit unpleasant.
As I pretend to sleep with my eyes closed, the strength in Ah-rin’s legs wrapped around my thighs increases, squeezing me.
She huffs as if she’s extremely dissatisfied, and then—
"Pathetic dick."
"What did you say, you brat?"
She successfully pushed exactly the right button.
I was planning to joke around, but my eyes snap open with a glint. I shouldn't have fallen for the provocation, but this was impossible to ignore.
"You little shit! If you're tired, just say you're tired! Fuck, how are you going to date three women when you can't even satisfy one! Just go die, you eunuch!"
"..."
"Go tell your mother to feed you something better! A man being this frail, only able to do this much—!"
"Fine, you bitch. Let's see who dies today."
I grit my teeth and throw back the covers.
The moment I sit up and lay a hand on her.
"H-ah, mmm..."
As if she had been waiting for this, a coquettish moan escapes Ah-rin’s lips, and she wears a faint, triumphant smile.
* * *
"Ye-rin, they're here."
"Huh?!"
The airport lobby.
Seo Ye-rin, who had been dozing off on a bench, snaps her head up at Choi I-seo’s call.
She had complained about how uncomfortable it was to wear a hat and mask just because she was an actress, but she had managed to fall fast asleep regardless.
"They're here?! Woo-jin?!"
Seo Ye-rin gets fussily excited, considering they’d only been apart for a day.
However, Choi I-seo didn't feel like scolding her for it.
She was holding it in, but the truth was, she was happy to see him too.
Two figures come trudging toward them.
Kim Woo-jin is walking in the lead, followed by Yoo Ah-rin, who is frowning and clutching her lower back as if walking is a struggle.
"Hey guys, we're back."
Kim Woo-jin greets them with a bright smile, and Seo Ye-rin immediately lunges at him for a hug.
"Woojinaaa!"
"Oof!"
"Ack, fuck!"
Pushed back by Seo Ye-rin’s momentum, Kim Woo-jin bumps into Yoo Ah-rin. Even that slight impact makes her tear up in pain.
"Kim... Woo-jin... you son of a—!"
"Are—are you seriously blaming me for this?!"
"You're the one who—!"
Ah-rin starts to say something but shuts her mouth. Whatever the case, this was a result she had brought upon herself.
In fact, everyone here now knows that her swearing is just a way to hide her embarrassment.
"Hehe, hehehe."
Seo Ye-rin rubs her cheek against Kim Woo-jin while clinging to him. She’s already pulled her mask down in her excitement.
"Sigh, I take it you two had a very 'fun' time?"
The expression on Choi I-seo, who followed behind, wasn't great.
It was because the two of them had missed their scheduled time.
"Ahem."
"..."
Kim Woo-jin lets out an awkward cough, and Yoo Ah-rin avoids eye contact since she has nothing to say.
Surprisingly, the two of them had missed their original flight.
There was only one reason.
"It’s because this prick went on a rampage!"
"The girl who provoked me has a lot to say!"
The two immediately start yapping and shouting at each other. The sentimental atmosphere from last night is long gone.
"This crazy bastard, I told him we had to wash up, and then he does it again in the shower!"
"What are you talking about, you're the one who kept rubbing your ass against me!"
"I dropped the soap and was trying to pick it up, you asshole!"
"It’s your fault! You were seducing me!"
"I wasn't, you animal! Hey, Choi I-seo. Listen to this. I clearly kept telling him how much time we had left. That you guys were waiting at the airport—!"
Smack.
"Eek?!"
Yoo Ah-rin’s back straightens like a rod after getting smacked on the butt, then she hunches over again.
You can't see it because of her clothes, but her entire body is aching from last night’s intense session.
"You... cowardly prick..."
Yoo Ah-rin glares at Kim Woo-jin with a single tear glistening in her eye.
Kim Woo-jin had smacked her to shut her up just as she was about to say something disadvantageous to him.
"Sigh, I’ll hear the story later. Let's just go for now."
Because they were three hours later than promised, they couldn't even eat the meal they had planned and had to leave immediately.
It was lucky there was a flight available right away; otherwise, they would have ended up coming back at dawn the next day.
Even though it was only 5 PM, the area outside the airport was dark, as it was December.
"Ugh, damn it."
"Look at that posture of a submissive female!"
"Shut up."
Seo Ye-rin supports Yoo Ah-rin as she walks.
When Ah-rin swears, Ye-rin immediately smacks her on the butt.
"Ahhk?!"
"Ehehe! Call me Unni!"
"You bit—! Gasp! U-Unni! Fuck, stop it!"
"Let's take a video! I want to film a video of Ah-rin submitting to me!"
"...Kim Woo-jin, you son of a bitch."
Kim Woo-jin looked at Yoo Ah-rin, wondering why she was swearing at him, but Choi I-seo grabbed his sleeve and pulled him forward.
"We're going straight back, right? I want to go home and sleep."
As he mumbled in exhaustion, Choi I-seo gestured with her chin toward a black sedan parked by the curb.
"The Chairman contacted me. I mean, Chairman Kim Jae-un."
"...This wasn't part of the plan."
"You wouldn't have come if I told you."
"You know me too well."
He pouted at Choi I-seo, but she linked her arm with his to make sure he couldn't run away, half-forcing him toward the car.
"I feel like this happened when we came back from Hawaii, too."
He remembered being dragged away by Choi Jin-ah’s father at the airport as soon as they returned from Hawaii.
"There’s a saying that when you return to the country, a chaebol family comes to pick you up. I really hate that saying."
Despite his grumbling, Kim Woo-jin had no choice but to get into the car.