Her Past

Tae-seok lay on her bed.

Unlike the intense moments just before, his breathing had now slowed and settled. Her body, completely drained of strength, rested limply in his arms.

Gazing down lovingly at Kim Eun-jung as she breathed evenly in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his embrace, he felt an indescribable emotion.

It was more than simple satisfaction.

It felt closer. As if something had sunk a little deeper into him.

'Maybe... this is what love feels like...'

Her affection and devotion toward him. The way she poured everything she had into helping him rejoin the world. None of it felt light.

Her face was peaceful.

There was none of the caution or hesitation from when they first met.

Now it was simply the face of someone who trusted him.

That was when it happened.

Tae-seok's gaze naturally drifted into the air.

He checked the Status Window.

Emotion Level 72.

The number felt less like mere data and more like the mark he had left on her moments earlier.

'This must mean I satisfied her quite thoroughly.'

Recalling Kim Eun-jung moaning endlessly beneath him, her body trembling, Tae-seok smiled with satisfaction.

And below that.

Dominance 62.

It had risen again since last time.

Repeated sex clearly increased her Dominance stat.

Yet what it truly meant remained a mystery.

'This... I still don't really understand.'

Unlike Emotion Level, the Dominance value offered no clear sensation. He could tell it was rising, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly what changed.

His thoughts lingered for a moment before a small laugh escaped him.

'Do I even need to know?'

Kim Eun-jung already accepted him without hesitation whenever he wanted. This was enough.

Tae-seok's gaze naturally drifted downward.

The [Special Notes] section.

It looked the same as usual, yet somehow felt subtly longer.

'...Huh?'

He narrowed his eyes and slowly reread the contents.

A new line had definitely been added—one that hadn't been there before.

It felt like a new entry unlocked once Dominance exceeded 60.

Tae-seok's eyes stopped on the final line.

For a long while, he couldn't move.

At first, he wasn't even sure he had read it correctly.

So he slowly lowered his gaze again and read the same sentence.

[• Guilt from affair with Park Su-young (Tae-seok's father)]

'Park Su-young... my dad? Auntie was... having an affair with my dad?!!!'

The moment the thought surfaced, something that had been flowing steadily in his mind snapped.

It wasn't mere surprise—it felt closer to the sensation of a carefully built structure of perception cracking apart.

Without realizing it, Tae-seok swallowed hard and looked back at Kim Eun-jung.

The woman who had cared for him so tenderly.

The woman who was growing emotionally closer to him.

The woman ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who now felt like love.

That only made the anger surge hotter.

'Is this... real?'

The Status Window was still not a fully understood concept to him, but he could no longer deny that it had never been wrong so far.

"...Fuck."

The curse slipped out naturally.

Tae-seok quietly got off the bed.

Feeling him leave her arms, Kim Eun-jung slowly opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Why? Are you going back to your place?"

Her voice was thick with disappointment.

But Tae-seok didn't meet her eyes as he answered shortly.

"Yeah..."

"Stay and sleep here..."

"No... I'll sleep in my room tonight."

Tae-seok stood with his back against the rooftop railing.

A thin wisp of smoke rose from the cigarette between his fingers, drifting away on the wind as he stared blankly after it.

"Ha... Could it be real? Kim Eun-jung and... my father."

The moment that combination surfaced in his mind, a sickening feeling rose like his stomach was turning inside out.

Images of her tangled with his father flashed naturally, overlapping with the sight of her trembling in orgasm in his own arms.

Then older memories surfaced.

The way she had writhed in his embrace, desperately trying not to cross the final line even as pleasure overwhelmed her.

He had thought it was just because of the distance between them.

The age gap, or the burden of her relationship with his mother.

Those reasons had seemed acceptable.

But now that he realized the real reason might have been the guilt of being with her former lover's son, anger surged again.

"...Fuck. If you weren't going to cross it, you should've held the line to the end."

The tangled emotions began shifting direction one by one.

Moments once remembered with excitement now twisted uncomfortably. Scenes he had accepted with affection now felt repulsive.

"Then I..."

His words trailed off as Tae-seok gave a short laugh.

It sounded less like laughter and more like something broken.

"I guess I like my dad's woman."

Thud.

The cigarette fell from his fingers and hit the ground. He ground it out roughly with his foot.

The tightening sensation in his chest grew stronger.

Should he ask her directly?

No—could he even ask?

Just imagining the words leaving his mouth made it hard to breathe.

Imagining the expression she would make, or what her answer might be, was already too much.

In the end, Tae-seok shook his head.

Leaning further against the railing, he tilted his head back. The cold air sank deep into his lungs.

His mind felt a little clearer, but the complicated knot of emotions refused to untangle.

"...What the hell is this, really."

The muttered words scattered into the wind and disappeared.

For the first time in a while, Tae-seok's phone rang.

The name on the screen was his college classmate, Kim Jung-hoon.

They had once been quite close.

They used to drink together, stay up all night gaming.

If it had been the old Tae-seok, he wouldn't have answered this time either.

Answering would mean exchanging pleasantries, and that process felt too uncomfortable.

But lately, thanks to Kim Eun-jung's help, he had begun facing the world again, so his finger hovered over the call button, hesitating.

'Still... am I slowly moving back into the world?'

After a brief moment of thought, Tae-seok pressed the button.

"Hello."

"Whoa~ Tae-seok! You finally picked up."

"Yeah... It's been a while."

"I... I called so many times... I was really hurt you didn't answer."

"I see..."

"Are you... feeling better now?"

In that moment, Tae-seok finally understood why he had avoided calls for so long.

It was because he didn't want to hear exactly this.

That single phrase, "Are you okay?", felt like it was poking at a still-painful wound.

But it was something he had to hear eventually.

These people might genuinely be worried about him...

And getting used to such words might be the only way he could truly return to normal life.

"Yeah... Well... It's been quite a while now..."

"I was passing by your old place and suddenly thought of you... Remember when we used to grill meat on the rooftop of your rooftop room? That was really nice..."

'Really? Did I ever grill meat with Jung-hoon at my place?'

He couldn't remember.

But it was possible, he supposed.

"Think we could meet up? Like old times... Grill some meat and have a drink."

'Would that be okay? I...'

Tae-seok closed his eyes for a moment and steadied his breathing.

"If you're coming here... and you're buying the meat."

"Really? Got it. I'll head over. You're still living in that rooftop room, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Alright. It's five minutes away. Wait, buying meat might take a bit longer. Anyway, see you soon."

"Do whatever you want."

After hanging up, he stared at his phone for a long time.

Could he really laugh and chat with an old friend like before?

He still wasn't confident.

But it was something he had to start.

Tae-seok let out a small breath and waited for Jung-hoon to arrive.

Tae-seok and Jung-hoon sat on the rooftop room's wooden platform, grilling meat and catching up.

At first the reunion felt awkward, but after a few drinks and bites of meat, the conversation flowed more naturally, just like old times.

Funny stories from college, military tales, recent updates.

Tae-seok was surprised at how quickly he melted into the atmosphere.

Then light footsteps echoed from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the stairs.

It was Kim Eun-jung.

As always, the Status Window appeared.

'Fuck... Every time I see her, it pops up. I can't even forget.'