7. You Liked Me First.
Episode 7. Because You Liked Me First.
Creak.
The door opened.
Eun-ju stepped inside carrying a tray of fruit and drinks. The moment she crossed the threshold, the density of the air against her skin changed. The cramped room was thick with a stifling, sticky heat that hit her in waves.
The expressions of the two people sitting side by side at the desk were peculiar.
Na-eun, who had whipped her head around, had cheeks flushed so red they looked ready to burst. Her pupils darted aimlessly through the air like lost fish. Beside her, Jin-hyeok kept his head bowed deeply, avoiding Eun-ju's gaze. Even the thick nape of his neck was tinged with color.
Eun-ju realized instantly what had been happening in this enclosed space just moments before.
But she didn't stop walking. Calmly, she approached the desk and set the tray down on the empty space.
"Have a snack before you continue."
"Th-thanks, Mom."
"Thank you."
Their nervous voices tangled together. Eun-ju curled the corners of her lips into a bright smile as she slowly scanned the room.
The crumpled bedsheet. The tangled blanket and the pillow shoved to one side.
In an instant, wild, chaotic images exploded in her mind. How the two of them must have been pressed together, entangled on that narrow bed just moments ago.
What kind of gaze Jin-hyeok had as he swallowed Na-eun's lips, exhaling rough breaths.
Her stomach twisted violently. Even though she knew, as a mother, she shouldn't be feeling this, a revolting heat surged up from her lower abdomen. Clenching her fists, Eun-ju turned her head toward Jin-hyeok.
"So, Jin-hyeok, how's Na-eun doing with her studies?"
"Ah, yes. It looks like her mock exam scores will improve quite a bit this time."
"Really? To me, it always looks like she's just playing around."
Her sharp voice hung in the air.
She regretted it immediately. The words had come out laced with thorns she hadn't been able to hide. Startled at herself, Eun-ju's eyelids trembled slightly. With effort, she forced her stiff facial muscles upward, pretending it had been a teasing joke as she smoothed things over with a playful glance.
"That's why I need you to keep a tight grip on her and make sure she stays on track."
"Mom...!"
Na-eun pouted her lips as if resentful, but the heat spreading across her prominent cheekbones and the tips of her ears showed no signs of fading. Even as she pretended to sulk, she couldn't hide the look of a girl who had just been loved.
Facing that radiant face made it hard to breathe. Eun-ju quickly turned away.
She fled the room as if escaping.
Rushing down the hallway, she threw herself into the living room bathroom. Click—she locked the door and braced herself against the sink. With a rough twist, she turned on the faucet.
Splash—
A stream of cold water gushed out. Cupping her hands, she caught the icy water and splashed it recklessly over her flushed face.
Cold droplets rolled down her cheeks before dripping off her chin.
Head bowed low, she exhaled harshly before slowly lifting her gaze.
The woman in the mirror stared back at her. Drenched, with eyes red and burning.
She was jealous. Of her own daughter, barely twenty and brimming with youth. Of Na-eun, helplessly young and fresh—she was consumed with envy, driven by the instinct of a female craving a male.
It was ugly.
In the first place, it had been Na-eun who had held Jin-hyeok close to her heart. Since childhood, she had followed him around, declaring she would be his bride one day. That blind, innocent crush—Eun-ju, as her mother, knew it better than anyone in the world. And yet, despite knowing, she had been the one to covet that young man, to kiss him and pull him into her embrace.
Plink, plink.
Cold water dripped from the ends of her hair, hitting the sink. Eun-ju couldn't tear her eyes away from the horrifying reflection staring back at her.
Last night, she had whispered into Jin-hyeok's ear, entrusting Na-eun to him. Clutching his rough hands, she had told him he was the only man she could trust. And yet, here she was, fleeing to the bathroom because the atmosphere between the two of them had twisted her insides with rage.
She knew how disgustingly selfish she was being. And yet...
The mere thought of handing Jin-hyeok over to someone else—even if that someone was her own flesh and blood—made her skin crawl. Especially because it was her own daughter, who had inherited her youth in full. She didn't want to yield an inch. The moment she thought of Jin-hyeok, the cold emptiness in her lower abdomen clenched tight.
The sensations from last night in the empty living room clung to her, refusing to fade. That overwhelming heat filling her palms. The violent hardness, swollen to the point where her fingers couldn't even wrap around it fully. The thick, musky scent of a male so potent it stung her nostrils and numbed her mind.
That monstrous length, shoved so deep into her mouth it threatened to tear her throat.
Just once more...
"Ah."
A ragged breath escaped her as her head jerked up. Her shoulders stiffened as she faced the mirror.
In the reflection, beyond the sink, was a female who had lost all reason. Eyes glazed with lust, lips parted halfway as she exhaled hot breaths, cheeks flushed red despite the cold water. It was the same face that had been twisted with jealousy toward her own daughter.
You crazy bitch.
Eun-ju spat the words at herself in her mind.
The pleasure her body remembered overpowered any half-hearted guilt. Even as she condemned herself for crossing the line, even as she gnashed her teeth at her own ugliness, she was desperate for more—dripping with arousal between her thighs, craving that young man's cock.
"Haa..."
A long, hot sigh slipped through her damp lips.
There was no going back now. The line had already been crossed. Once she had stepped into forbidden territory, there was no path left to pretend she was still a clean, virtuous mother. That bridge had burned to ashes.
Just a little longer.
Her pale fingers slowly trailed down the cold surface of the sink.
Before my body grows too old.
She was forty this year. While Jin-hyeok—young, so young—still clung to her neck. While his eyes still burned with desire for her and not Na-eun, she could indulge a little more, couldn't she?
A shadow of dark desire coiled in the depths of her reflection's gaze. A pitch-black craving she could never erase.
Eun-ju licked her dry lips as she sank deep into the living room couch.
Creak.
The firmly shut door to Na-eun's room opened. Jin-hyeok stepped out, bag slung over his shoulder. Behind him, Na-eun followed closely, twisting her body shyly. Her cheeks were still flushed, and her fingers clutched tightly at the hem of Jin-hyeok's shirt, refusing to let go.
Suppressing the heat rising inside her, Eun-ju forced her gaze toward the window.
"I should get going now."
"Hehe. Okay."
Jin-hyeok's large hand gently ruffled Na-eun's hair. At his soft words telling her to rest, Na-eun leaned into his arm as if her legs had gone weak, pressing her weight against him.
Her eyes were hazy, her lips parted in a dazed smile. The unmistakable face of a female who had just been claimed, clinging to her male.
Eun-ju shot up from her seat.
"It's gotten late. I'll drive you."
"Ah, no need. The subway's quick."
"You come all this way every time. It's the least I can do."
Jin-hyeok waved his hands in flustered refusal, but Eun-ju was unrelenting. She had no intention of backing down.
"Then I'll come too—!"
Na-eun took a step toward the entryway, eager to stick by Jin-hyeok's side for even a second longer. Her whole body practically dripped with the desire to stay close to him. Eun-ju forced a smile and blocked her path.
"You need to stay and review. You said you weren't feeling well earlier."
"No, that was just..."
Na-eun glanced furtively at Jin-hyeok before hurriedly dropping her gaze to the floor. She was practically radiating the reluctance of a girl who didn't want to part with her lover.
Eun-ju grabbed the car keys from the entryway and slipped on a light jacket.
"I'll be back."
"Okay. Be careful, Oppa."
Na-eun's longing gaze clung to Jin-hyeok until the very moment the front door closed.
The elevator doors shut.
A heavy silence pressed down inside the cramped metal box. Only the red floor numbers blinking above broke the stillness.
"I-I'm sorry."
Unable to bear the suffocating quiet, Jin-hyeok spoke in a voice that barely escaped his throat. Eun-ju stared fixedly at the closed doors as she replied coldly.
"What are you sorry for?"
"......"
Her icy tone made his lips seal shut.
Why is she acting like this all of a sudden...?
Just last night, in the living room, this same woman had taken him into her mouth, the two of them loving each other fiercely. Jin-hyeok swallowed dryly, stealing a glance at Eun-ju's profile. Her red lips were pressed tightly together, giving away nothing.
Ding.
A cheerful chime sounded as the doors opened to the underground parking lot.
Eun-ju walked briskly to the sedan and got into the driver's seat. Jin-hyeok held his breath and climbed into the passenger side. The heavy car door closed, cutting off even the cool noise of the parking lot. Only the sound of their breathing echoed in the sealed space.
Eun-ju didn't start the engine. Instead, she placed her pale hands on the leather steering wheel and exhaled the breath she had been holding.
"Haa..."
Jin-hyeok sat as if on pins and needles, unsure what to do. His thick fingers fidgeted on his knees as he waited.
"I'm sorry."
At Eun-ju's murmured words, Jin-hyeok whipped his head toward her. Her gaze, fixed on the window, trembled faintly.
"I... I was just jealous."
"Ah..."
Jin-hyeok's heart sank.
His mind went blank. She had known everything from the start. That he had kissed Na-eun behind that closed door. She wasn't scolding him as a mother who had caught him with her daughter. No—she was jealous, fiercely jealous, as a woman.
Jin-hyeok cautiously reached out. His rough, warm palm covered Eun-ju's cold hand where it gripped the steering wheel.
"Mother."
Eun-ju's wavering eyes lifted to meet his.
Jin-hyeok swallowed dryly past the tightness in his throat. Then, with suppressed desire, he slowly parted his lips.
"Eun-ju."
The name shattered the taboo. From the relationship of a child she had known since he was young—to the name of a woman he loved. That single, weighted word tore down the walls of reason, and Eun-ju's held-back breath escaped in a rough gasp.
Eun-ju lunged like a beast. Her slender arms reached over the center console, wrapping around Jin-hyeok's thick neck. Without giving him a chance to pull away, her red lips crushed against his.
Mmph—schlck.
The sound of tangled saliva, thick with unleashed pleasure, filled the sealed car.