A Fluttering Heart and a Rainy Night Feast
The ingredients were simple: pancake mix, green onions, eggs… I was pretty sure we were out of soy sauce at home, so I grabbed a bottle of that too. But for some reason, Sua started loading the cart with things we wouldn’t even need for scallion pancakes—rice, kimchi, onions, all sorts of stuff.
“Hey. Why are you getting that? We don’t need any of this for pancakes.”
“You and Suho can’t keep ordering delivery every day. You should cook proper meals sometimes. You know how to cook, Oppa.”
Yeah, I knew how to cook. The problem was how much of a hassle it was. And even if I did bother to make something, I barely had time to eat it myself—why the hell would I cook for that useless sack of shit too? Absolutely not.
“Are you seriously dissing delivery right now? The stuff they bring these days is actually pretty good.”
“Ugh, that’s not what I meant. If you cook at home it’s cheaper, you can store leftovers in the fridge and eat them for days. Plus, stop feeding Suho all that instant junk and make him some healthy side dishes like seasoned greens—”
“Okay, okay, I get it. Sigh… here comes the nagging again.”
“Hey, where are you going?! I wasn’t finished—”
I pushed the cart quickly and made my escape. Once Sua’s voice faded, I heard rapid footsteps behind me, and then Jeong Sua lightly bumped into my back with her body.
“Running away because you hate being nagged is so childish, Oppa.”
“If I’m a kid, does that mean you’ll give me milk?”
“What are you even saying…! That’s gross…”
Sua gave my shoulder a light shove. Still, the smile never left her face. She must really enjoy shopping with me.
“Pick out some makgeolli for yourself.”
“Hmm… I don’t know what any of these are. You pick for me, Oppa.”
“Weren’t you the one who said you’d choose?”
“Then you can recommend one and I’ll pick that.”
“Isn’t that the same as me choosing?”
When I looked at her in disbelief, Sua just beamed at me. This girl was getting cheekier by the day.
I tossed a bottle of strawberry makgeolli into the cart, and Sua couldn’t take her eyes off it. She seemed to really like it. I added two more bottles of makgeolli and three cans of beer. It was the perfect amount to drink while watching TV together in the living room after eating the pancakes.
“Next customer.”
At the store clerk’s voice, I started placing items one by one on the conveyor belt. I noticed Sua’s gaze drifting toward the display stand beside the register. It was filled with all kinds of condoms.
She was an adult woman; of course she knew what they were. And she definitely understood that having sex without one came with the risk of pregnancy. Since she’d be sleeping with me regularly from now on, she knew we needed contraception. But she couldn’t quite bring herself to reach for them. She was probably embarrassed, and with so many types, she had no idea which one to pick.
“Just get this one.”
I pointed at a familiar box with my fingertip, and Sua’s face went blank.
“…Huh…?”
“Weren’t you going to buy some?”
“Ah… um… well…”
With people lined up behind us and the clerk watching, the fact that I’d said it so openly made Sua’s face turn beet red.
“Y-you should be the one buying it…! Why are you telling me to do it…!”
“I prefer doing it raw, though?”
Condoms were something she was buying for birth control. Sure, there were all kinds of fancy functional ones you could get online, but from a guy’s perspective, there was nothing better than fucking raw without anything in the way.
“You want to buy them, right? Should I ring them up?”
“…Y-yeah…”
“I can’t hear you. Did you say yes?”
“Aigoo. The young lady already said yes, just quietly. Stop teasing the pretty girl and hurry up and pay for it, young man.”
At the meddlesome clerk’s comment, I placed the condom box on the counter. While Sua stood there still blushing, I thoughtfully gathered the rest of the items myself. But when I saw her reaching for her wallet, I frowned.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“You always pay for everything whenever we’re together. This time I’ll—”
“Most of this stuff is for me anyway. You think I’d make you pay? Put your wallet away and stay out of it.”
“But still…”
A kid who still got allowance from her parents had no business trying to pay. Her kind heart really was a problem sometimes. Even after I told her not to, she still wouldn’t put her wallet away, so I leaned in close to her face.
Then I whispered into her ear.
“If you want to use up every single one of those condoms in a single day, keep trying to pay.”
If she still insisted after a threat like that, I’d turn her pussy into an absolute wreck. I’d make her squirt out everything she had until she couldn’t even close her legs properly and wouldn’t be able to wear a skirt. Sua flinched when she saw the sincerity in my eyes, then obediently nodded.
“O-okay… Oppa can pay…”
“Good girl.”
I gently stroked her hair, then handed her the heavy plastic bag containing the condom box.
“Why are you giving this to me?”
“You’re the one who needs them. Whether we use them or not is up to you. You keep them and decide.”
We’d already had raw sex twice, so it felt a bit meaningless now, but having the condoms there would probably give her some psychological peace of mind. I chuckled as I watched her shyly tuck the box into her bag, then picked up our bags and headed back to the car.
* * *
Sua said she needed to stop by her house, so I dropped her off and returned home alone. When I asked why, she said she wanted to pack a few things like a toothbrush and some clothes. I could understand the toothbrush since we’d be brushing after dinner… but clothes too? So she’d already figured it out.
She knew that just drinking at my place wasn’t going to be the end of the night. She was preparing for the possibility that she’d end up sleeping over.
“Fuck, it’s pouring out there. Kang Suho! Get out here and help me carry this stuff to the living room.”
I wiped the rain from my hair and cursed as I called out to Suho, who was hiding in his room.
“Hyung? What’s all that?”
“We’re having scallion pancakes and makgeolli tonight. The kid’s coming over soon too.”
“Sua’s coming? For real?”
A smile bloomed on Kang Suho’s face the moment he heard Sua was coming. Even after getting rejected when he confessed, he still hadn’t given up. Of course. The protagonist wouldn’t give up that easily.
“Would I lie? Hurry up and move this. If you want free booze, at least do this much.”
After changing out of my wet clothes, I stood in the kitchen with the ingredients. Ding-dong—!
While I was prepping the food, the doorbell rang. From the sound of hurried footsteps, it seemed Suho had gone to open the door for me instead. Soon Sua came straight into the kitchen and asked,
“Oppa. Are you cooking?”
“Yeah. I’m about to start frying them.”
“Then should I set the table?”
“Sure, that’d be grea—huh?”
I flinched and turned around. She had wrapped her arms tightly around my waist from behind. I wondered what had gotten into her, but then I realized Suho wasn’t around. The rain had probably made her feel lazy and affectionate, so she wanted some skinship. Still, I was surprised she’d do something this bold while he wasn’t looking. What if we got caught? Or maybe she was actually enjoying the risk.
“I’m trying to cook. This is dangerous.”
“You didn’t seem that surprised, though.”
“I was very surprised. Why are you suddenly like this?”
“I just… saw you cooking and… felt like hugging you from behind…”
Sua rubbed her face against my back. Hearing that shy little voice while she did something so cute nearly drove me crazy with how adorable she was.
“What if Suho sees you doing this?”
“He said he was going to change into comfortable clothes, so he’s in his room right now.”
“Hurry up and set the table. He’ll see us at this rate.”
“Okay~ Hehe.”
With a cheerful voice, Sua spread out the dining table in the middle of the living room. It felt strangely domestic, like she was my girlfriend who had moved in with me.
“Sua, are you setting the table? I’ll help too.”
“Yeah, sure.”
If only that damn worm Kang Suho wasn’t here, everything would be perfect… but there was nothing I could do about it.
Before long, the pancakes and a dish of soy sauce for dipping were arranged on the table.
“Hyung. Doesn’t this feel a little empty somehow?”
“S-Suho, this is plenty. Oppa, it looks delicious. Thank you for the meal.”
“Eat a lot. If it’s not enough I’ll make more.”
The sound of rain drifted in through the slightly open window. With only one light on, creating a soft, intimate atmosphere, we poured drinks for each other. It really felt like a newlywed couple unwinding with a drink after a long day.
Was Sua thinking the same thing?
“What’s wrong…?”
She dipped a piece of pancake in soy sauce and brought it to her mouth. The shy tone in her voice made it clear she was having similar thoughts.
“It’s nothing. Have you tried makgeolli before?”
“I’ll try it now.”
With a determined look on her face, she held the cup with both hands. Gulp. She drank it carefully, one small sip at a time. Then she kept drinking without stopping until she let out a modest little “Huu…” sound. It seemed like she was fine.
“It’s a little bitter but fizzy and sweet… It’s actually pretty good?”
“Really? I’m glad it suits your taste. Still, don’t drink too much…”
I trailed off and glanced at Kang Suho. This was probably his first time with makgeolli too; his face looked a bit tense before he drank. But after he downed the whole cup in one go, it seemed like he liked it more than expected.
“This is my first time too, but it’s actually really good, Hyung.”
“It’s tastier than beer or soju, yeah. But pace yourself. You’ll get drunk if you keep drinking like that.”
Sua still had some makgeolli left in her cup, so she sipped it slowly. Meanwhile, Suho had already emptied his in one shot. I kept hoping he’d drink himself into a coma. I filled his cup with makgeolli again.