An Unexpected Piece of News
It was very sudden news to me. We had gone to bed early and fallen asleep. Of course, we woke up in between… And no matter who it was, we pressed our bodies against each other. We… weren’t honest with each other. No, we couldn’t be honest in a situation we’d never experienced before in our lives. So the most we could do was pretend to be asleep. We couldn’t be honest unless we were pretending to sleep. So only when the other was asleep could we be a little honest, not in our right minds. Therefore, whether we were really asleep or just pretending to sleep with effort, the truth about this would only be known to the parties involved.
“……What time do we have to check out?”
“Uh… We should leave before noon….”
“We’ll have to go soon….”
“…Yeah.”
We’d slept for a long time, starting from early evening. By the clock, we’d easily spent fifteen hours in bed. Yet instead of feeling refreshed, I was only sleepy. That made sense—we’d been too busy pretending to sleep… And once Park Eun-yeong fell asleep, it was my turn.
“…Hungry?”
“…Yeah.”
“…Let’s wash up and go. We can eat something nearby first.”
“…Okay.”
A motel date. Just like any other couple, we spent time together. On the surface we’d only slept, but I’d come more than ten times. And Park Eun-yeong was the same. Fatigue showed clearly on her face.
“…I’ll shower first.”
“…Sure.”
Just yesterday she’d made such a fuss about washing up, but now Park Eun-yeong gathered her robe and towel and went inside. Through the slightly open door, her clothes flew out one by one. The scene was so ordinary that if it weren’t for the glimpse of her pale skin through the frosted glass, I might have mistaken this place for home.
“Haaah….”
My mouth felt sticky. I licked my upper lip with my tongue. Park Eun-yeong’s dried fluids mixed with saliva and turned slick again. A strong scent wafted up. My lower body, surely exhausted, stirred once more. Everything that had happened from night until dawn and morning flashed through my mind. The atmosphere, temperature, air, smell, humidity with Park Eun-yeong… Even the touch and taste remained vivid in memory. I remembered that moment. My heart pounded with excitement. My groin ached on its own. Gulp— I’d thought my tired body wouldn’t want anything more after last night. But apparently that was just my imagination.
I looked toward the bathroom. The shower stream, the hazy steam, and Park Eun-yeong’s silhouette beyond the frosted glass…
“Haa….”
My head filled with the thought of touching her one more time and coming inside her again.
*
“Haah, haaam….”
I yawned so wide my mouth nearly split. Tears welled in the corners of my eyes. I let the warm water soak my body, slowly washing away the traces of Oppa’s scent that clung to me. …Even the smell of his semen that had soaked into my hair. The fragrant shampoo erased Oppa’s scent. No, it was far too strong. Even after shampooing two or three times, it wouldn’t go away easily.
“Sniff, sniff. Ugh, shit….”
Oppa’s scent that even shampoo couldn’t hide filled my hair. I scrubbed my head irritably, but it still wouldn’t disappear. It wasn’t just my hair. Traces of Oppa covered every part of my body, all reflected in the mirror.
“Haaah….”
Especially my chest and neck—there were many marks like burns. Those marks made last night’s memories settle deep in my mind. My back was covered in handprints from Oppa. There were also scratches that looked like fingernail marks.
“Ha, haha….”
It was as if we were advertising that we’d rolled around in the same bed.
“Hoo….”
The heat filling the bathroom. And the vivid memories. It was only natural that my body grew this hot.
“Hng….”
I knew Oppa was outside. Even so, my hand slipped between my legs. The soft pubic hair, wet with water. Between them, something slick that wasn’t water. Squish, squish, squish, squish— I pushed my fingertips into the slightly parted slit.
“Hiss….”
A sharp pain. It hadn’t felt like this before… When Oppa touched me, it hadn’t felt this way. Somehow it felt like I was only ruining my appetite, so I quickly pulled my hand away. And because it felt like these memories were being overlaid on top, I hated it.
“…Crazy bitch.”
I looked a little pathetic to myself. I glared at my reflection in the mirror. Park Eun-yeong. Her skin, once pale from the heat, was now flushed red. Her face looked composed, but I knew she was forcing that expression. The Park Eun-yeong reflected in the mirror. No, I saw “Park Eun-yeong.” In the mirror, someone who wasn’t me kept overlapping with Park Eun-yeong.
*
Vrrrrrrrr— The cool wind from the hair dryer. I glanced at Park Eun-yeong in the mirror. She dropped the robe she’d been wearing to the floor with a soft thud and changed clothes as casually as if I weren’t there. Swish— swish— swish— She’d said there were no spare undergarments, so she put her clothes directly on her bare skin.
“Ah…!”
If I’d known, I should’ve bought underwear at the convenience store. I quickly continued, “Th-then, should I go buy you some?”
“…It’s fine. They probably won’t have my size anyway.”
“Ah….”
Right, 65G wasn’t exactly a common size.
“…Then how about just panties?”
“I said it’s fine. Just dry your hair already.”
“Huu….”
Park Eun-yeong frowned in embarrassment. That expression was so cute that the corners of my mouth lifted without me realizing.
“…What are you grinning about. You wanna die?”
She snapped at me to hide her embarrassment. Not wanting to provoke her, I quickly fixed my expression.
“…I’m hungry. Let’s go already.”
“Oh, just a sec.”
My hair dried quickly. I’d only been waiting for Park Eun-yeong to finish changing.
“Did you pack everything?”
“…There wasn’t anything to pack.”
“You could just say you packed everything nicely.”
“Yeah. I packed everything.”
Whether from hunger or not, she was showing maximum irritation. Of course, I was just as hungry.
“They say the seolleongtang place nearby is good.”
“…Seolleongtang? Nothing else?”
“It’s still lunchtime. There probably isn’t anything around here except hangover soup.”
“Haa, somewhere else… Never mind. Fine. Just seolleongtang then.”
Park Eun-yeong wasn’t particularly picky with food. That said, she did have things she wouldn’t eat. In short, she could be unnecessarily fussy.
“Tell them to leave out the intestines for me.”
“They don’t usually put them in, do they?”
“Sometimes they do. Just tell them in advance.”
“Ah, got it. Let’s go.”
Our atmosphere was the same as usual. Even though we were in a motel and had done so much last night and this morning, nothing particularly noteworthy happened now.
“Hoo….”
“…Why the sigh.”
“No, it’s just….”
But in the elevator, alone together, my breath caught in my throat. My heart pounded with excitement I couldn’t hide. What’s more, when I checked Park Eun-yeong’s expression, it seemed like I was the only one feeling this way, which made the embarrassment worse.
Ding—
“…Not going?”
“Ah, yeah. Let’s go.”
I dropped the key card into the collection box and hurried after Park Eun-yeong.
“I, I think it’s to the left when we go out.”
“…The seolleongtang place?”
“Yeah.”
The outside air was fresh, and the sunlight was warm. We walked side by side, matching our steps.
“…….”
“…….”
Strolling through the motel district with Park Eun-yeong felt strangely indescribable. What was certain was that I kept glancing around. I felt like someone might notice us.
“…Hey, stay still. You’re making me nervous.”
“Ah, okay.”
I suddenly realized there wasn’t much resemblance between us. And I wondered, just a little, how we looked to other people.
“…Over there?”
“Uh… Yeah. That’s it.”
A twenty-four-hour seolleongtang place came into view. It was rare these days, but they had a large pot set up outside, boiling away.
“Ah… Smells good. Hey, let’s hurry inside, okay?”
Her steps quickened, probably because she was quite hungry. She started walking ahead of me.
“Hey, wait for me.”
“You hurry up then!”
She couldn’t even order by herself and would just wait anyway. I chuckled from behind. The inside of the restaurant was more crowded than expected. Most of the customers were couples. …They all looked like couples who’d spent the night having sex.
“Oppa, over here. Hurry!”
Park Eun-yeong, who had already found a seat and was rummaging through the utensil container, waved at me. An older woman approached our table carrying a water pitcher and cups.
“Two bowls of pork seolleongtang, please. Um, does it come with intestines inside?”
“No, you have to order the intestines separately.”
“Ah, then two bowls with pork, please.”
“Yes. Please wait a moment.”
The woman made a note somewhere and disappeared into the kitchen.
“Hey, I want soda.”
“You should’ve said so earlier.”
“Soda.”
“Got it. I’ll tell her when she comes.”
“Soda.”
Park Eun-yeong stared at me without yielding. That meant she wanted me to get up and bring it.
“…Hey.”
“Soda.”
“You really want soda that badly?”
“Yeah.”
“Then, you know….”
I wiggled my fingers. With an annoyed expression, Park Eun-yeong leaned her face closer.
“…If you let me touch your chest, I’ll bring it for you.”
“…….”
I thought she’d yell or at least get angry and throw a punch. But she just kept looking at my face with the same expression as before.
“…Okay.”
“…What?”
“I said okay. So hurry up and get the soda.”
“…….”
Her reaction was so unexpected that I was left speechless.
“Not going?”
“Ah, r-right, okay.”
Scrape—
“Ah, get up slowly.”
“Ugh, yeah. Sorry.”
I’d meant to tease her, but somehow it felt like I was the one being teased.
“He-here, I’ll take the soda!”
I called toward the kitchen. The woman peeked out and nodded. I grabbed the soda and cups and returned to our table.
“It’s a can, why the cup.”
“No, I just… thought we might use it….”
“Whatever.”
Park Eun-yeong opened the soda can and brought it straight to her mouth. Gulp— gulp— gulp—
“Kuh… Ah, that’s refreshing. What are you looking at. You drink too.”
At her words, I reached out my hand.
“No, your drink is right there. Drink your own, not mine.”
“…I want to drink that one.”
I snatched the soda can from Park Eun-yeong’s hand and drank from it conspicuously.
“Gulp, gulp… Haa….”
“…Why are you making a fuss over my drink when you have your own….”
Our eyes met in midair. And in the tense atmosphere, stretched like a taut thread, the food we’d been waiting for arrived.
“Enjoy your meal.”
“…Thank you.”
“…Let’s eat.”
It was nothing special, but the atmosphere from earlier reminded me of last night. And with our hunger at its peak, we began eating in silence.
“…….”
“…….”
The noisy restaurant felt as if no one else were there. The only thing in my sight was Park Eun-yeong. I snuck glances at her three times before our eyes met.
“…Ah!”
Then came Park Eun-yeong’s exclamation while she was eating well.
“…Hey, there’s something I forgot….”
“…What is it?”
I was puzzled by the suddenly serious look on her face.
“Ah….”
“…What is it? Stop dragging it out.”
I had no idea what she was about to say.
“…I got a call last week….”
“From who?”
“…Mother.”
“……Ah, uh, why?”
I was surprised to hear “Mother” come out of Park Eun-yeong’s mouth. I really hadn’t expected it at all.
“She said she’d be coming this week….”
“Ah…… Really?”
I stirred my seolleongtang for no reason. I didn’t really have anything to add.
“…That’s nice. Send her my regards.”
She was like a stranger to me. Maybe even less than that. All I felt was guilt. So Park Eun-yeong rarely brought her up either.
“…Actually, she said she’d be coming to the house…?”
“Ah, th-that… to our house…?”
“U-uh….”
“Ah…….”
That was a very sudden piece of news to me.