Now... You Understand?
Now... you understand, right?
I was momentarily at a loss for words. It felt like I could hear her heartbeat echoing from behind me.
Even though I knew it was pointless, I tried to keep up the act until the very end.
“What are you talking about? I’ve been...”
Swish.
The pair of hands that had been wrapped around my waist. Her right hand loosened its grip and slid toward my right arm.
Then, ever so gently, she clasped it.
“Ah...!”
I flinched without thinking and spun around. A pathetic groan slipped out like a reflex.
When I turned, my eyes met Kim Soyeon’s. She was so close she looked like she might fall straight into my arms.
Her long black hair, darkened and heavy with moisture. The plain white t-shirt I’d given her was too big on her; the collar had slipped, revealing the pale line of her collarbone.
And there was Kim Soyeon, wearing an expression that looked just a little sulky.
Like a child quietly resenting me for keeping a secret from her alone.
She stared straight into my eyes and spoke.
“This arm. It’s been trembling the whole time.”
“...”
“And... the smell of that pain relief patch has been really strong.”
A calm, methodical presentation of evidence. The trembling in my right arm and the scent of the patch I’d tried so hard to hide.
Meeting her unwavering gaze, I finally let out a small laugh.
“Haa.”
I’d gone through all that trouble just to protect her pride. Was it all just pointless, pathetic effort? Or had I simply been clumsy? Either way, I quietly admitted it had been in vain.
“...Sorry.”
Kim Soyeon’s brows furrowed slightly. I couldn’t tell if she was dumbfounded or upset. She narrowed her eyes and gave me a sidelong glare.
“Why are you sorry?”
“...Well, because it would hurt your pride—never mind.”
“Do I look like the kind of person who cares about something like that?”
Her voice carried a faint trace of resentment. Is that how you saw me? Did I seem like a woman who would flaunt such petty pride?
For some reason, I felt even sorrier.
“And I saw it.”
“...Huh?”
When I tilted my head in confusion, Kim Soyeon fidgeted with her lips, her flushed cheeks still visible, before she continued.
“Oppa. Up on the mountain.”
“...”
“I saw you.”
From that vast distance—where even I could barely make anything out with the naked eye—she claimed she had seen me. The moment I collapsed. The sensation I’d felt when our eyes seemed to meet. It hadn’t been my imagination after all.
I let out a small breath and smiled, full of resignation.
“I had a feeling. Guess I was right.”
My smile carried a hint of regret. Why did I feel that way? Because the secret I’d tried to hide had been discovered? Honestly, I didn’t know. I couldn’t even understand the source of that regret myself.
But one thing was certain: Soyeon’s eyes had never looked warmer or more full of emotion than they did right then.
That was when it happened.
“Ah.”
A tiny sigh escaped her. Kim Soyeon suddenly pressed her upper body close. The small distance she had kept vanished as she came right up against me, as if falling into my arms.
Our noses were nearly touching. A dizzying proximity where we seemed to breathe each other’s air.
I was looking up at her in a dazed, half-crouched stance. A droplet of water fell from the ends of her wet hair and landed on my collarbone. At the same time, the warm, cozy scent of her freshly showered skin tormented my senses.
“I clearly told you... not to look back.”
Her low, sticky murmur. Her eyes were dyed with embarrassment, yet they refused to look away. Instead, they stared at me as if they would devour me—seductive, captivating.
For a second, my mind went completely blank. Maybe that was why I answered with a dazed expression.
“Sorry.”
The moment the apology left my lips, Soyeon’s eyes curved beautifully. She gave me a smile that was nothing like her usual one—an utterly bewitching smile.
My breath caught against my will. She tilted her head slightly, bringing her lips so close they were almost touching mine. Then she whispered in a voice so mesmerizing it could steal a person’s soul.
“So... this is all Oppa’s fault for not listening.”
Before I could fully process her words, an incredibly soft sensation covered my lips.
“...!”
Was it blame? An excuse? Or seduction? It didn’t matter. The only thing I registered was that her lips had completely overlapped with mine.
The touch against my lips was hotter and softer than any sensation I had ever felt in my life. When I parted them slightly to breathe, Soyeon’s hot breath rushed in.
Chup. Slurp.
Was it water from her wet hair? Or the liquid passing from her mouth to mine? Saliva mixed with saliva, filling my mouth with sticky sweetness.
Clumsy but bold, she held my lips, lightly biting them as if trying to brand herself into me. I lowered my wandering hands and wrapped them around her slender waist, clearly visible beneath the damp t-shirt.
“Eut...”
Her body trembled delicately as she pressed even deeper into my embrace. Our lips tangled, our breaths mingled. Wet, sticky sounds filled my ears. A faint sweetness lingered in my mouth. Before I knew it, the corners of my lips were soaked.
Her arms wrapped around my neck. I pulled her waist harder, pressing our bodies flush together.
“Haa, mmh...”
She must have run out of breath. She lightly pushed my shoulder and pulled her lips away. The thin strand of saliva that had connected us snapped.
Her chest heaved violently against mine. The feeling of it pressing against me was incredible. And when I looked up at her face while still holding her waist...
She looked insanely seductive, captivating, and lovable. Her face was flushed crimson all the way to her ears. Her eyes, wet with what might have been tears or heat, were hazy and unfocused. Her red lips glistened with saliva.
She avoided my gaze as if embarrassed, yet she made no move to leave my arms. Instead, her small hands clutched my shirt tightly, clearly saying she wanted more.
To that blatant demand, I had zero intention of stopping. I gently cupped her cheek and leaned in once more to taste her lips. Kim Soyeon closed her eyes.
- KYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
- Puhaha! Breathe! I need air!
- I almost died holding my breath for real!
- Absolutely splendid! Soyeon! This lady is truly moved!
- Ooh...
The translucent blue chat window I had completely forgotten about. The heroines were reacting with wild enthusiasm.
They must not have been able to interrupt while we were kissing. Now that a small gap had appeared, they were flooding the chat.
But I didn’t pay much attention to it. Every ounce of my focus was locked solely on the woman in my arms.
How long did we stay tangled? Our lips finally parted with careful reluctance.
“Haa...”
Kim Soyeon looked at me with hot breath spilling from her lips. Her expression was confident and radiant with happiness. It was the face of someone who had made me hers. A face full of absolute conviction.
“Now... you understand, right?”
She rubbed her forehead against my chest and mumbled.
“Why I kept acting so defenseless around you.”
“...”
“Why I deliberately...”
“Yeah.”
“What kind of person Oppa is to me.”
She confessed in a low voice. That she hadn’t been defenseless out of ignorance. That she had done it on purpose. As if she had been aiming for me from the very beginning.
When had it started? From the first time we met in front of the tower? From the alley shop? Or in front of the pet shop? I had no idea. If she didn’t tell me, there was no way I could know.
What was certain was that she had acted defenseless toward me ever since the day she brought Neukgu. On purpose.
Thinking about it that way only made it harder to understand. Had I targeted her, or had she targeted me? But in the end, it all came down to one thing: whether she had done it or I had, we had succeeded.
As if the pain had been forgotten, I wrapped my right arm around her waist and lightly kissed her forehead. Then I answered quietly.
“Yeah. Now I understand.”
“...Mmm.”
“So from now on, you only act that way in front of me.”
I said it with sly possessiveness. Only in front of me.
Kim Soyeon couldn’t hold back whatever she found so cute and burst into a clear, bright laugh.
Then she buried her face in my chest and nodded repeatedly.
“Yeah. I’ll only be like that in front of you, Oppa.”
Looking at her bathed in moonlight, I had the childish thought that it would be nice if time could stop right here. I let out a wry laugh at myself for thinking something so silly and pulled her a little tighter into my arms.
That was when it happened.
Viiiibr— Viiiibr—
A vibration that shattered our private moment.
“...Haa.”
Vibr— Vibr— Viiiibr—
The vibration kept ringing persistently.
“Seriously, they have the worst timing.”
When I grumbled irritably, Kim Soyeon’s shoulders shook slightly in my arms.
“Pfft.”
She lifted her head, looked at me, and let out a small laugh. Her cheeks were still faintly flushed, her face glowing. A pretty, bright smile spread across it.
The moment I saw that smile, the irritation that had been rising inside me vanished like a lie. Ah, thank goodness. I’m so glad I didn’t lose this smile. If I had fallen into misanthropy and lost it... I might never have gotten to see it again.
Soyeon lightly tapped my chest and spoke in a gentle voice.
“Answer it. A call at this hour must be something really urgent.”
“...”
It was a shame the mood had been broken. Yet here she was, worrying about the person who had called me. I was truly relieved that her kind, pure nature hadn’t been tainted.
But.
“No.”
I shook my head firmly.
“No matter what Lee Chaeyeon wants, I’m not answering right now.”
Whatever it was, it didn’t matter. Nothing could possibly be more important than Kim Soyeon in my arms.
I picked up the smartphone with one hand and, without the slightest hesitation, pressed and held the power button, shutting the device off completely.
Click.