A Thorn in My Heart
“Here. Aah.”
“Aaaah~…”
With her eyes half-closed and her mouth hanging open, I slipped the toothbrush loaded with toothpaste into Min-ah’s mouth. She gripped the brush with her small hand and moved it in lazy, half-hearted strokes.
“Min-ah. You have to do it properly. Push it all the way back so it reaches your molars.”
“Ughhh… Oppa, it’s too deep.”
She pretended to gag dramatically. I gently wiped the corners of her mouth, then playfully nudged her forehead. She wrapped her arms around my waist, flashed a bright smile, spat out the foam, and rinsed with a big gulp of water.
“Oppa, you really like it when I make those dirty jokes, don’t you?”
“What… what are you talking about?”
Min-ah gave me that signature fox-like smile, eyes curving as she stared straight at my face. Then, with a mischievous grin, she slid her hand onto my butt and gave it a few playful pats.
“Aigoo. Honestly. All men are exactly the same.”
“Stop that. You’re asking for trouble, Seo Min-ah.”
Even after my warning, she paid no attention. Instead, she boldly slipped her hand right inside my pants.
“Heung. If Oppa wants, I’d gladly take care of you even if it’s the middle of the night.”
“You were passed out on the sofa until just now. You must be exhausted, so let’s just sleep tonight.”
Despite my attempts to dissuade her, the hand stroking my ass and thighs showed no sign of stopping. I scooped the playful little troublemaker up in my arms. Grabbing her waist and lifting her lightly, I headed for the bedroom. A bright, delighted laugh burst from her lips.
“Kyahaak!”
“You can’t be late tomorrow. We’re really going to sleep now.”
When I set her down on the bed, Min-ah immediately pouted and looked up at me. Honestly, it wasn’t easy for me to hold back either. But I wondered when this spoiled girl would realize I was desperately restraining myself for her sake.
“I love you, Oppa.”
“…I love you too, Min-ah.”
Seeing her slender neck exposed under the lamplight, I wanted to crush my lips against it, but I held back and gave her only a light kiss with a soft chu sound.
“Tch.”
Realizing we truly were just going to sleep, Min-ah pushed her lips out in a full pout and clutched the blanket tightly. Even that sulky expression looked endlessly cute and lovable in my eyes. I really was a hopeless case.
I carefully pulled the blanket up to her chest. She grumbled softly but soon gave up and obediently closed her eyes.
“Oppa. You know that phrase we’re putting in the wedding invitation?”
“Hm? Oh, yeah. What about it?”
“Should we change it?”
As I stroked her stomach gently and gazed at her, Min-ah’s closed eyes slowly opened.
“It suddenly occurred to me, but it doesn’t feel quite right. Is there something better we could use?”
“Hmm… what did you have in mind?”
It seemed she didn’t actually have anything specific in mind. After groaning to herself for a long while, Min-ah yanked the blanket all the way over her face and hid.
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because getting married still doesn’t feel real to me yet?”
“We still have some time before the ceremony. Let’s take our time and think about it together.”
“Oppa, I want to use your arm as a pillow.”
From under the blanket, Min-ah wriggled out. I carefully lifted her head, slid my arm underneath, and let her rest on it. She naturally rolled halfway over and burrowed into my chest. Before long, she was breathing in soft, steady rhythms, fast asleep.
Team Leader Choi Gyeong-rok
—-
“Late, I’m late!”
Mornings in our house were always as noisy as a battlefield. We weren’t raising a child, but it felt similar.
“Min-ah. At least eat a little breakfast before you go.”
“I can’t. If I don’t leave right now, I’ll definitely be late!”
Even in her rush, I smiled quietly while watching her pat on makeup in front of the mirror. I held out a spoonful of warm white rice topped with kimchi. Without a word, she opened her mouth wide and accepted it.
I watched contentedly as her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel’s while she chewed, then quickly prepared the next spoonful.
“Oppa, I seriously don’t have time to eat. Dry my hair for me, quick!”
“You need a proper meal so you have energy to work.”
“I’ll just snack on crackers at the office. Dry my hair!”
I took the hair dryer from the vanity drawer and plugged it in. Turning it on, I carefully moved it through Min-ah’s hair as it whirred.
The sweet scent of her shampoo rushed into my nose.
“Oppa, stop making that perverted face from behind and dry it faster.”
In that short time, she must have finished her simple makeup. She pulled the rice bowl I’d prepared closer and began eating with a spoon. I silently continued moving the dryer. She really was a woman who required attention in every single thing she did.
“That’s enough. It should dry the rest of the way while you run.”
“No. I haven’t finished my rice yet.”
It was a good thing I had prepared the meal in advance. For someone who ate this well, it was funny that she talked about snacking on crackers. Min-ah jumped up from the vanity and dashed to the bathroom to finish getting ready.
I carried her empty bowl and spoon to the kitchen, then glanced toward the bathroom. She was brushing her teeth so vigorously I worried she might damage her gums.
“Gently. The clock says you still have time.”
“Ungya. If I do it gently I’ll be late.”
She could have spit out the foam first before answering. I shook my head with a sigh and placed her work bag by the front door. Wallet, compact, employee ID… and the business cards for meetings. I checked that every essential item was inside.
“Seo Min-ah. Just grab your phone and come out now.”
“Waaaah. Thank you, Oppa!”
The moment she finished brushing, Min-ah came running from the living room and threw herself into my arms. The sweet scent I’d caught while drying her hair made my heart flutter again.
“Aigoo. What are you going to do in the future if you’re this scatterbrained every single morning?”
“That’s why I’m marrying Oppa, who’ll take care of me for the rest of my life.”
She rubbed her face against my chest, acting cute, then suddenly remembered how little time she had and pulled away.
“Watch out for cars on the road, don’t get scolded at work, and call me if anything happens. Got it?”
“Yes, Oppa! Thank you for taking care of me every morning. Hehe.”
She hurriedly shoved her feet into her shoes, then suddenly turned and came back to me as if she’d remembered something.
“Oppa. I love you. Kiss!”
“I love you too, Min-ah.”
After a light kiss on the lips, we smiled brightly at each other. Only after the front door closed heavily behind her could I finally let out a long breath. Mornings always drained me completely. Still, I loved these loud, chaotic moments with Min-ah.
I cleaned up the kitchen roughly and went into the study to turn on the computer. Checking my email, I was relieved there were no difficult revision requests from clients this morning. I finally relaxed a little.
I was deeply focused on the outsourced project I’d put off when a familiar notification sound rang sharply from the living room in the otherwise quiet house. That was strange. My own phone was right next to the monitor.
Puzzled, I walked out to the living room and saw Min-ah’s phone sitting alone on the sofa table, vibrating intensely.
Aigo. This girl left it behind again.
As I sighed and picked up the phone, my eyes froze on the name of the caller displayed on the screen.
I stared quietly at the name flashing across the entire screen, then pressed my temple.
In all my life, was there anyone else who forgot their phone on the way to work and made their company boss call the home number?
“…Hello?”
“Oppa!! I left my phone behind. Hueeng, what do I do?”
The whining voice coming through the receiver made me let out a helpless laugh.
“…Aren’t you with the team leader right now? Is it okay for you to talk so casually?”
At my low question, I heard Min-ah gasp on the other end of the line. She was probably watching Team Leader Choi Gyeong-rok’s reaction beside her.
At that moment, beyond Min-ah’s voice, mixed with the sharp sound of rushing wind, came a very low and relaxed male voice.
“It’s fine. Speak comfortably, Min-ah.”
It sounded like they were inside a moving car. A strange tickle stirred in my chest, and I began to feel uneasy.
Where was Min-ah going in Team Leader Choi’s car?
“Oppa. I’m on my way to an outside appointment and stopped by the house quickly. Could you bring my phone down to the basement for me?”
“Uh… okay. When should I come down?”
“In about five minutes. I’m really sorry, Oppa! Love you!”
The call ended. She really couldn’t do anything without me around.
I was about to head out in the same loose t-shirt I’d been wearing at home when I stopped in front of the mirror. Since I’d be facing her boss, the team leader, I didn’t want to look too sloppy and damage Min-ah’s reputation.
I quickly took out a reasonably neat shirt from the closet, changed, and went down to the basement parking lot. I paced restlessly in front of the elevator.
About five minutes later, just as Min-ah had said, a car emerged from the darkness at the entrance of the underground parking lot. It slid in smoothly, yellow emergency lights blinking.
Wait… wasn’t that a foreign car?
A black sedan with a clear German emblem. Even someone like me who didn’t know much about cars could tell it was far too luxurious and expensive for an ordinary salaryman. It wasn’t a compact import either—this was a heavy, imposing sedan.
The car came to a smooth stop. A silhouette was visible through the tinted passenger window. The moment Min-ah spotted me, she broke into a wide smile and waved through the glass.
The passenger door opened. Min-ah stepped out lightly and came running toward me.
“I’m sorry, Oppa! You didn’t wait long, did you?”
“Uh… no. I just came down. It’s fine.”
I placed the phone in her small hand. She gave me a smile that mixed apology and gratitude, then turned and headed back toward the car.
“Oppa, I’ll call you later! Thank you!”
“Yeah… be careful, Min-ah.”
My gaze drifted to the driver’s side through the clear window. I couldn’t see clearly, but I could make out the silhouette of a man leaning deep into the seat, one hand resting casually on the steering wheel.
Reading the atmosphere, I gave a small, weak wave. The black sedan purred with a smooth exhaust note as it left the underground parking lot.
Even after the car had completely disappeared from sight, I stood dazed on the cold concrete floor for a long time. My feet wouldn’t move. Perhaps it was because Min-ah sitting in the passenger seat of that expensive foreign car had looked so incredibly happy… and so disturbingly natural.
Like a small thorn had lodged itself in a corner of my heart, a subtle unease began to prick at me.
—-
“Oppa, I’m home! Ahuu… Today was really, really hard.”
Along with the sound of the door lock, the front door opened and Min-ah entered, looking exhausted.
“…You’re back?”
I rose from the living room sofa and answered in a heavy voice. I couldn’t even remember what work I’d done all day. I had sat in front of my laptop tapping at the keyboard, but my head had been filled entirely with the black foreign car and the silhouette I’d seen in the parking lot that morning.
The unpleasant feeling had not faded all day long.
“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you hugging me when I come home from work? You have to come give my butt a pat too!”
Min-ah tossed her bag onto the floor and puffed her cheeks out. She was pretending to sulk.
“Sorry, sorry. I must have been too focused on work. I spaced out for a second.”
I forced a smile and pulled her into my arms, comforting her. Even though her soft body was pressed against me, the lump in my chest refused to loosen.
“…How was work today?”
“Don’t even ask. He told me how could a sales employee leave her phone behind, and from the morning on, Team Leader chewed me out all day until my soul was gone. I thought I would die from the misery.”
Normally, hearing that Min-ah had been scolded at work would have made me angry or upset on her behalf. But strangely, at that very moment, a mysterious sense of relief quietly bloomed in a corner of my heart.
Ah, so he really is just a strict boss. I was being unnecessarily sensitive.
“The team leader was too harsh. Why would he scold our princess like that?”
At my comforting words, Min-ah rubbed her face against my chest and mumbled.
“Right? I was so upset I almost cried… but on the way to the outside meeting in the afternoon, he secretly comforted me a little inside the car.”
A perfectly ordinary remark—something that could happen in any workplace: a boss comforting his subordinate. But at that moment, my heart sank once again with an unpleasant thud.
Inside Choi Gyeong-rok’s car. In that enclosed space, the relaxed team leader in his early forties comforting Min-ah.
So I wouldn’t show anything to her, I kept her in my arms and stroked her hair even more obsessively. The tips of my fingers were trembling slightly.