43. Time for Two (1)
43. Time for Two (1)
The place So-jeong had reserved was a hotel near the amusement park.
The hotel, in contrast to the amusement park, exuded a quiet and calm atmosphere.
The tension So-jeong was feeling probably wasn't solely due to that atmosphere.
On the way to the hotel, So-jeong and Baek-seol barely spoke. Just looking into each other's eyes felt like it would make their heads spin, so they slightly turned their heads away from each other and mechanically moved their legs.
Even so, they didn't let go of each other's hands.
Their hands, gently holding onto something precious, occasionally wiggled their fingers, feeling the soft touch.
That touch, and the warmth felt through their skin, spoke more than words ever could.
Woo-woong—
The elevator sound seemed unusually loud. During that short time, So-jeong asked herself over and over if she was dreaming.
Confessing that she liked Baek-seol as more than a friend was probably the biggest resolve of So-jeong's life.
But the fact that Baek-seol also loved her, and had loved her for much longer than she had, was something she never expected.
And the fact that they were now holding hands not as friends, but as lovers, was also unbelievable.
Just as that fact hit her heart with a thud, the elevator reached its destination and stopped.
As they opened the room door and stepped inside, a silence so thick you could grab it pressed down on them like a cushion.
"......Hmm."
Baek-seol tried to push the silence away by making a sound, but her voice didn't form into words and was quickly buried.
So-jeong gulped dryly.
She had mustered up the courage to confess her feelings, and she had finally started dating Baek-seol.
If this awkward atmosphere continued, it seemed like their relationship would become even stranger than before the confession.
Not wanting that to happen before she could even properly savor the joy of a successful confession, So-jeong stiffened her body and opened her mouth.
"H-hey hee!"
But the voice that came out suddenly didn't properly exit her mouth and instead came out as a strangely cracked sound.
"Uuu......"
Seeing So-jeong, her face bright red with embarrassment, firmly closing her mouth, Baek-seol burst out laughing.
"Pfft, hahahaat."
"D-don't laaugh......"
"Ahahaat, sorry."
As So-jeong looked up at Baek-seol with a tearful voice, Baek-seol immediately apologized.
It was a completely unintended, short conversation, but perhaps it dissipated some of the awkward atmosphere between them, as Baek-seol looked around the room with a slightly more relaxed demeanor than before.
"Nice room. Did you find this place yourself too, So-jeong?"
"Ah, yeah. It took a really long time to find though...... Baek-seol, have you been doing this kind of thing alone all this time?"
"Once you get used to it, it's nothing special."
Baek-seol said lightly and sat on the bed in the middle of the room. So-jeong hesitated for a moment, then followed her and sat beside her.
Silence fell between them again. It was the same kind of silence that tickled the heart with a strange sensation, but the two no longer worried about what to say.
All they needed was just a little bit of courage to put those words into their mouths.
"I'll... go shower first."
Baek-seol was the one who spoke first.
"Ah! Uhh, yeah!"
So-jeong nodded her head with a start, and Baek-seol got up from the bed and headed to the shower.
As soon as the sound of swooosh— water came from beyond the door, So-jeong's heart started pounding like it was broken.
"C-calm down......"
She tried to console herself and say that, but it was meaningless.
Beyond that door, Baek-seol was there.
She would have revealed her beautiful, snow-white body entirely, with transparent streams of water forming droplets and flowing down her graceful curves.
She had seen that body many times. No, beyond seeing it, she had even felt how good that body felt.
But right now, waiting for Baek-seol to finish showering, she was more nervous than ever.
It was probably because there were no more excuses like 'helping to deal with sexual desires' or 'repaying her for all the help so far.'
Facing her honest feelings was such a heart-fluttering and overwhelming thing.
So-jeong thought about what she should do after Baek-seol finished showering and came out.
"First... I should shower too... since we've been out all day."
Trying to organize her thoughts, she muttered to herself and folded one finger.
But So-jeong stopped at the next finger.
"After showering... a k-kiss first? Or, uh, uhh, some romantic words?"
She thought of the books and dramas she'd seen and tried to come up with a way to navigate this situation well, but she couldn't imagine herself doing any of them skillfully.
"Uuuu......"
While she was flustered, not knowing what to do, the sound of water from the shower stopped, and soon after, Baek-seol clicked the door open and came out.
"The water's warm. You should shower quickly too."
The single bath towel wrapped around her body couldn't hide Baek-seol's slender legs and smooth shoulder line. As her face, slightly flushed from the warm water, turned towards her, So-jeong unconsciously bowed her head deeply.
"Uhh, yeah! Got it."
So-jeong passed by Baek-seol and quickly went into the shower.
Baek-seol watched the shower door where So-jeong had disappeared for a moment, then went and sat on the bed.
It was a moment when she desperately craved a sip of alcohol.
How many times had she seen this moment in her dreams and imagination? But now that it was reality, the countless simulations she had run lost their meaning due to the tension.
"......"
Baek-seol went to the opposite side of the bed and opened the door of the small refrigerator. She reached for the beer stored there, then pulled her hand back.
She didn't think she could do it well sober, but she also thought it wouldn't be right to rely on alcohol.
So-jeong had also mustered courage and confessed her feelings. So she didn't want to run away just because she was nervous here.
"It'll work out somehow."
Baek-seol repeated that to herself and sat on the bed in a slightly awkward posture, waiting for So-jeong to come out.
After finishing her shower, So-jeong came out and timidly approached, sitting next to Baek-seol.
In this space for just the two of them, where no sound from the outside world could be heard, even the sound of their hands brushing against the soft mattress and the sound of their breathing was distinctly audible.
"Hey, thank you."
After a while, So-jeong said, her gaze fixed on her own knees.
"For... accepting my confession."
"No, I should be the one thanking you. I couldn't say anything all this time."
"Speaking of that, Baek-seol, why didn't you, uh, confess to me until now? For so long......"
At the question asked while glancing up at her, Baek-seol leaned back slightly.
"If I revealed my feelings like that, I was afraid So-jeong would just go along with me even if she didn't like me, unable to say no...... But maybe I was just making excuses for myself because I was scared to be honest with you."
Baek-seol's gaze, which had been looking at the ceiling, turned towards So-jeong's eyes.
"So thank you. For saying it first. For letting me know I don't have to hide these feelings anymore."
So-jeong smiled faintly.
"Maybe we were both thinking too much about each other."
Baek-seol also formed a shallow smile, following So-jeong.
"I guess so."
Silence fell again. But it was no longer an uncomfortable silence.
So-jeong and Baek-seol just looked into each other's eyes. For a short moment, or for a time that felt like eternity.
Like a gravity pulling them towards each other, their faces slowly drew closer. The faint scent of So-jeong's shampoo brushed past Baek-seol's nose.
"......You know, I'm so nervous right now I can't think of anything."
So-jeong's voice became a whisper that tickled Baek-seol's ear.
"It's amazing."
Baek-seol's voice was the same.
So-jeong's eyes, damp from the shower, looked incredibly clear.
"Me too."
And then the two kissed.
Their moist lips softly met another pair of lips.
It felt like their thoughts were expanding infinitely into the distance.
Worries, tension, and anxiety scattered like the eye of a storm, leaving only this sensation on their lips.
When their lips parted, a soft *smack* sound flowed out.
Exhaling the breath she had been holding, Baek-seol carefully looked at So-jeong's face.
So-jeong was also breathing heavily with a slightly flushed face.
Baek-seol reached out and gently stroked those adorably flushed cheeks.
So-jeong tilted her head slightly and leaned it against Baek-seol's hand.
Just like that, So-jeong gently pulled her head forward and kissed her again.
This time, more deeply, savoring each other's lips. They intertwined their tongues and mixed their saliva.
"......Hah, chup, pahaat......"
Their held-back breaths occasionally escaped urgently. Even so, So-jeong and Baek-seol didn't pull apart but instead drew each other closer.
Fingers brushed against cheeks, hair, backs, and arms. In their embracing hands, the towels wrapped around their bodies gradually became disheveled.
Baek-seol couldn't think of anything. Following the instinct awakened by the sweet sensation of the kiss, she filled herself with So-jeong.
"Haa, haa, So-jeong-ah......"
Even at Baek-seol's light gesture, So-jeong understood its meaning and slid onto the bed with a rustle. As she moved to the center of the bed, the disheveled towel slipped down from under her body, revealing her bare skin.
"......"
Baek-seol opened her eyes wide and looked down at So-jeong's body.
A breath filled with heat was rising from So-jeong's glossy lips. Below the jaw, which drew a soft line extending to the neck, shyly revealed collarbones were visible,
And below that, Baek-seol could see So-jeong's bare chest.
Between the parted towel, breasts that looked as soft as pudding slightly swelled and deflated with So-jeong's breathing. At the center of those beautifully shaped, peaked breasts, a soft pink nipple was timidly yet distinctly revealing itself.
Just seeing that made Baek-seol feel something tighten deep in her lower abdomen and a firework explode in the center of her head.
Come to think of it, was this the first time she'd seen So-jeong's bare chest? Even though they'd done such lewd things until now, it seemed she had never shown her breasts to her before.
"Baek-seol-ah, your eyes are scary."
Perhaps she had been staring with a devouring gaze without realizing it, as So-jeong said that.
"S-sorry."
"Uhh, it's okay but......"
So-jeong, shaking her head slightly, looked into Baek-seol's eyes and whispered softly.
"This is, uh, my first time as a lover...... so be gentle, okay?"
Baek-seol's rationality snapped right there.