The Final Act of Deception
Kim Eunju dragged her heavy body out of bed. The memory of the conversation she’d had with Lee Han at the management office yesterday was painfully vivid. Turning to face the mirror, she saw a face ravaged by exhaustion and filled with despair. The tear tracks from the night before were still clearly etched around her eyes.
'What have I done... This is all my fault.'
Regret and self-reproach surged endlessly within her. Thinking that she couldn't go on like this, she forced herself to stand. She had to prepare breakfast for her husband and son as she always did. Her footsteps as she walked to the living room were weak and listless.
Meanwhile, Lee Hyunwoo was preparing for work with a spirited demeanor. His face was full of optimism and hope for life. Adjusting his messy tie, he approached his wife with his usual warm smile.
"Is the preparation for your return to work next month going well?"
Kim Eunju barely managed to lift the corners of her mouth into a smile. She had to answer her husband’s concerned question.
"Yes, I’ve already been in contact with them."
With that short reply, she quickly turned her head and fixed her gaze on the dining table.
However, Lee Hyunwoo placed a hand affectionately on her shoulder and squeezed her hand tightly. Looking at her with soft eyes, as if trying to convey his warmth, he said,
"You’ll do great. I’ll try to get off work as early as possible today. Let’s have dinner together. It’s been a while since we spent some time together."
Kim Eunju barely managed to nod, forcing another smile.
With the sound of the front door closing, Lee Hyunwoo left the house. Kim Eunju trudged over to the living room sofa and slumped down.
'Hyunwoo trusts me... But I...'
With a deep sigh, feelings of despair and frustration began to well up from the depths of her heart. Faced with the reality that she could not undo the mistakes of last night, she felt incredibly pathetic and worthless. Tears began to well up in her eyes again.
Under the scorching midday sun, Kim Eunju pushed her stroller toward the apartment management office. Her face was a mixture of determination and clear anxiety. As she opened the door and stepped inside, Lee Han looked up at her.
"Lee Han, please... forgive me. Can’t we just end this now?"
As if she could no longer hold it in, a sob burst from Kim Eunju’s lips. She stood before Lee Han, weeping and pouring out apologies.
Lee Han stared at her with an expressionless face. It was as if he couldn't hear her desperate cries at all.
"Kim Eunju, why are you acting like this all of a sudden? Did something happen?"
At Lee Han’s cold inquiry, Kim Eunju sobbed even harder.
"I’ve made too many mistakes. I don’t want to deceive Hyunwoo anymore."
Kim Eunju pleaded, looking at Lee Han with desperate eyes. But there was no change in his expression.
After a moment of silence, Lee Han opened his mouth.
"Eunju, didn't you make the choice yourself? Why are you suddenly asking to end it like this? Are you thinking of confessing to Hyunwoo?"
At his question, Kim Eunju’s pupils wavered.
"No, I couldn't... I just want to go back to how things were."
As she muttered weakly, Lee Han grabbed her hand tightly.
"If you’re afraid to tell the truth yourself, I’ll tell Hyunwoo for you."
"No. That’s..."
Kim Eunju cut him off in a panic. A cynical smile played on Lee Han’s lips.
"Do you just want it to be buried quietly? You seem to be getting a little too greedy."
Then, suddenly, Lee Han picked up the child from the stroller. Jinwoo looked at Lee Han’s face and laughed brightly.
"If you just accept it quietly, everything can be buried. If you don't like that, you can face the truth and leave him... though I wonder if Jinwoo might resent his mother."
At Lee Han’s words, Kim Eunju burst into the tears she had been holding back. The sight of Lee Han holding her son and smiling looked like a demon.
'What should I do... This is all my fault...'
Gripped by fear and despair, Kim Eunju stumbled out of the management office, pushing the stroller. Behind her, Lee Han bid her farewell in a relaxed voice.
"Take care, Eunju. Come back whenever you’ve made up your mind."
The walk home was long and arduous. Clutching Jinwoo tightly with trembling hands, Kim Eunju moved forward, barely suppressing her bursting heart. Emotions tangled with fear and despair were clawing at her insides like a storm.
In the suffocating heat of noon, the door to Han Sujin’s house opened and Lee Han appeared. He entered with his usual confident smile. Conversely, Han Sujin stood in the entryway with a cold expression. A strange tension flowed between the two.
"You’ve worked hard all this time."
Lee Han greeted her in a sweet voice. However, Han Sujin still could not hide her wariness.
"You’ll keep your promise, right?"
Her voice was a mixture of anxiety and suspicion.
Lee Han nodded without losing his smile. He stepped closer and gently took Han Sujin’s hand.
"Of course. As of today, our contract is over."
At his words, Han Sujin closed her eyes for a moment and let out a deep breath. She seemed to loosen up a little.
Han Sujin hesitated before sliding into Lee Han’s arms. Their lips met. At first, they kissed slowly and cautiously, as if exploring each other, but soon it turned into a deep, burning kiss. The desires she had hidden away were exploding in this moment.
Lukewarm sighs became entangled, and the sensation of his tongue sweeping against the roof of her mouth became increasingly vivid. Han Sujin buried her face in Lee Han’s neck, inhaling his scent and the smell of his sweat deeply. Han Sujin was imprinting onto her entire body that this was a fleeting trace, a desire that had broken a taboo.
Clothes were stripped off one by one and scattered on the floor. Lee Han ravaged Han Sujin’s body roughly. His lips, moving from her neck to her collarbone and down to her breasts, left sparks on her skin and triggered sharp pleasure. His hands roamed over Han Sujin’s lower abdomen and thighs, touching more intimate places. That place was already craving Lee Han.
His touch and his lips were persistent, so persistent. As if this moment were the last, he dug deep, as if to leave his mark inside her. Han Sujin spread her legs to welcome him, and he invaded her roughly. The ecstasy caused by his movements, which she had already become accustomed to, dominated Han Sujin from head to toe.
Lee Han moved his hips, stabbing at the deep, familiar weak points inside her. The shelf at the head of the bed shook and the bed frame creaked. A moan leaked from Han Sujin’s lips, and this served as a signal to Lee Han to possess her even more deeply and forcefully.
Han Sujin was also accepting all of this. As if the dark and complex emotions she had built up for so long had vanished for this moment, she surrendered her body only to the ecstatic pleasure. Their movements began to follow a single rhythm. In the vortex of pleasure that was rushing toward a climax, Han Sujin gritted her teeth and clung to Lee Han.
In an instant, with the sensation of her mind going completely blank, Han Sujin’s entire body convulsed. Letting out a sharp moan, she clung even deeper to Lee Han. Lee Han also held her tightly, unconsciously, and poured the semen he had been holding back into her body along with the wave of climax.
But they couldn't stop there. As if not wanting to miss the final moment, they shared another deep kiss, driven by their longing for each other. Caught in an unstoppable desire, they made love endlessly. Once, twice, three times... The flow of time became meaningless, and it felt as if they were all each other had. Every time their sweat-drenched skin touched, a thrill pierced through their entire bodies.
Outside, the sunset had already descended, but the bedroom was still filled with the lingering heat of midday and the two people’s hot breaths. On the sweat-soaked bed, they explored and explored each other. As if trying to delay the moment of parting as much as possible.
In the evening, as the sunset slowly began to hide itself, the two exhausted people lay side by side, gasping for air. Tears welled up in Han Sujin’s eyes. It was impossible to tell if they were tears of pleasure or tears of despair. Lee Han held her tightly and caught his breath. Their sweat-drenched bodies were tangled together.
"We should stop now..."
Han Sujin muttered in a small voice. Instead of answering, Lee Han held her tighter.
Outside the window, the darkness deepened. Without a word, the two began to put on their clothes. It was time for Han Sujin to return to the life she had wanted so much. After sharing one last deep kiss, Lee Han headed toward the door.
"Take care, Sujin."
Lee Han said in a low voice. Han Sujin only nodded with a cold expression, offering no reply. With the sound of the door closing, their final low end came to a close. Han Sujin collapsed onto the bed, feeling hollow. Her tears would not stop.
'It’s really... over now...'
Late at night, the front door of Han Sujin and Park Taeyoung’s house opened. As Park Taeyoung returned from work, Han Sujin greeted him with a bright smile. A bright energy, unseen for a long time, radiated from her face.
"Welcome home, honey."
Han Sujin greeted him affectionately. Park Taeyoung couldn't take his eyes off his wife and said,
"You seem to be in a good mood today. Did something happen?"
Han Sujin seemed slightly flustered, but soon answered with a bright smile.
"I’m just in a good mood because I see you."
As Park Taeyoung looked pleased at his wife’s words, Han Sujin took a bottle of wine out of the refrigerator.
"Shall we have a drink together for the first time in a while?"
The two sat side by side on the sofa, drinking wine and chatting happily. To Han Sujin, talking with her husband like this for the first time in a while felt like a dream. Regretting that she had deceived her husband due to the contract with Lee Han, she vowed to be a truly happy couple from now on.
"Honey, shall we go on a trip next week?"
Han Sujin suggested cautiously. Park Taeyoung looked at his wife as if surprised.
"Suddenly? But that sounds great. Where should we go?"
"I want to see the ocean. I want to have some time just for the two of us."
Park Taeyoung held his wife’s hand tightly.
"Yeah, that’s good. Let’s go on a trip together for the first time in a while."
After finishing the bottle of wine, it was deep into the night. Han Sujin prepared to sleep, held in Park Taeyoung’s arms. Park Taeyoung, tipsy from the alcohol, soon fell into a deep sleep, snoring.
Han Sujin was physically exhausted from her farewell with Lee Han earlier that day, but mentally, she was engulfed in a sense of happiness. She no longer doubted that her married life with Park Taeyoung would be happy.
'Everything is over now. Taeyoung and I will be happy.'
Han Sujin repeated to herself in her heart.
She looked at the sleeping Park Taeyoung with a smile. Listening to her husband’s breathing, Han Sujin felt a sense of peace. Now, hope had taken the place of guilt in her heart.
Han Sujin kissed Park Taeyoung softly. "I love you, honey," she whispered.
Moonlight flowed in through the window. Han Sujin snuggled closer to her husband and closed her eyes. Tonight, it seemed she would be able to sleep with a comfortable heart for the first time in a long while.