Chapter 164
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 164
At the dining table.
Dokyun raised his spoon to take a bite of rice, then tilted his head at the sight of Eun-ah.
A furrowed brow, eyes glaring at her own spoon, a pouting lip.
Across from him, Eun-ah was staring daggers at the table, her face a mask of dissatisfaction.
“Eun-ah, is something wrong?”
“Huh? O-oh, no…”
She answered his question before lowering her head again.
Eun-ah stared at her rice bowl for a moment, then let out a deep sigh and spoke with a sullen expression.
“I-I think it’s too salty…”
Ah, so that was the problem.
Dokyun let out a small chuckle at her answer and waved his hand dismissively.
“What are you talking about? It’s delicious.”
“B-but still…”
“I’m serious. I can’t find a single thing wrong with it.”
“Mmm…”
His reassurances did little to fix her sulky expression. A troubled look crossed Dokyun’s face as he mulled it over.
She’s such a perfectionist.
It was what you might call Eun-ah’s culinary philosophy. She could detect the most minuscule flaws in her cooking—flaws she couldn’t even taste herself—and would sometimes get stuck agonizing over them.
He could have just seen it as a sign of her passion and laughed it off, but Dokyun knew better.
He knew that once she started down this path, she would pour a war-like effort into the next meal, leaving her completely drained of energy and utterly exhausted.
To prevent that from happening, Dokyun knew he had to comfort her somehow. He wracked his brain for a solution and decided the best course of action was to change the subject.
“Ah, Eun-ah.”
“Yes…?”
Eun-ah, who had been stewing in her thoughts, looked up at him. A faint smile touched Dokyun’s lips as he spoke.
“Do you remember anything about your school days?”
This question was also a way to kill two birds with one stone—a chance to find a clue related to Eun-byeol.
Since Eun-byeol was the personality who had emerged during Eun-ah’s school years, he figured there might be a hint hidden in Eun-ah’s memories of that time.
Eun-ah’s eyes darted around as she considered his question, then she gave a small nod.
“Y-yes… A little… Now that Eun-sam’s memories are back, too…”
“Oh, really? What were you and Eun-sam like back then?”
“Umm…”
A thoughtful hum escaped Eun-ah’s lips. After a moment of contemplation, she finally spoke in a small voice.
“I… I slept a lot…”
“Hm?”
“I-I think I pretty much only slept…”
She stammered out the words. When Dokyun tilted his head in confusion, Eun-ah slowly added more.
“Ah, w-well, Eun-sam was really quiet at school…”
“…Eun-sam was?”
“Y-yeah… She didn’t have any frien—”
Flinch.
Eun-ah’s body trembled mid-sentence. It was as if she had only just realized what she’d said, her reaction laced with panic.
Listening to her, Dokyun felt a surge of pity and a faint tremor run through his own body.
“W-well, that can happen.”
“Y-yeah…”
Silence followed. A solemn mood, for lack of a better word, settled over the table.
A thought surfaced in Dokyun’s mind.
…Yeah, it’d be weirder if she did have friends.
The atmosphere had grown awkward. For Dokyun, the silence was born from not knowing what to say. For Eun-ah, it was born from the emotions of the Eun-sam of that era welling up inside her.
Clatter. Clatter. For a long while, the only sound was that of spoons against bowls. Finally, Eun-ah broke the silence.
“B-but… she’s happy now…”
All’s well that ends well, she seemed to be saying. In response, Dokyun simply gave a small nod.
*
Eun-ah thought, Mr. Honeybee is acting strange.
It was clear from his demeanor. His words and actions were as kind and energetic as ever, but every now and then, she would catch a fleeting glimpse of worry.
Eun-ah had no way of knowing the reason.
And that was only natural. It could be stress from work, or perhaps some other concern had arisen, but since he wasn’t saying anything, how could she possibly know?
The main reason she didn’t press him was because she trusted the man named Dokyun.
If it were something he needed to discuss, he would have asked for her help. He would have signaled that he wanted to work through it together.
The fact that Dokyun wasn’t doing so meant it was something he couldn’t tell her, and Eun-ah respected that.
However, that didn’t mean she was going to do nothing at all.
She might not be able to solve his problems with him, but couldn’t she at least offer some comfort and support?
Lost in thought, Eun-ah lifted her head and looked at Dokyun.
He was sitting on the sofa, arms crossed, seemingly deep in thought.
How should I comfort him?
As she watched him, pondering the question, she recalled a recent conversation she’d had with Harim.
—Oh, right, ma’am.
—Y-yes…?
—Do you have any plans for summer vacation?
—V-vacation…?
—Yeah, it’s vacation season. Man, I’m thinking of going for a nice hotel getaway this year.
Flash!
The word “hotel getaway” lodged itself firmly in Eun-ah’s mind.
A ho-hotel getaway…!
A vacation spent at a hotel.
A day spent lounging leisurely in bed.
As she imagined it, Eun-ah felt her heart begin to pound. Along with it, she felt a surge of the libido she had been suppressing for some time.
Eun-ah’s eyes grew hazy, taking on what could only be described as a lecherous glint.
As she stared at Dokyun with those eyes, she suddenly realized that she had forgotten her original purpose—comforting Dokyun—and was instead fantasizing about a night spent at a hotel. She shuddered.
Is this right? she wondered for a moment. The correct course of action would have been to steer her thoughts in a different direction, but unfortunately for her, Eun-ah was a person whose libido often won out over her reason.
Her thoughts began to weave the two elements—the hotel getaway and Dokyun’s comfort—into a tapestry of self-justification.
Y-yes…! Comfort… on the bed…!
Of course, it would be comfort from down there, but soothing his heart was still a form of comfort, wasn’t it?
There was no better way.
It was a win-win. Dokyun would get his comfort, and Eun-ah would get to satisfy her desires.
Gulp.
A lump of saliva slid down Eun-ah’s throat.
It’s… it’s a vacation, after all…!
Maybe she could plan a trip for two nights and three days, and during that time, she could offer him some merciless comfort!
Twisting her legs at the emerging fantasy, Eun-ah stole a glance at Dokyun.
How should I bring it up? The question lingered.
And so, a plan fierce enough to be called a hunting strategy began to rapidly take shape in her mind. Soon, her lips parted.
“H-Honeybee…!”
Her call was laced with hot breath. At the sound, Dokyun, who had been lost in thought, turned his gaze toward her.
“Ah, yes?”
Seeing him reply with a slight smile, Eun-ah felt her head spin as she continued.
“Va-vacation…! Hotel getaway…!”
The subject was missing, the words tumbling out in a rush, thick with desire.
When Dokyun tilted his head slightly, a sense of urgency washed over Eun-ah. She scurried over to him, hugged him tightly, and repeated herself.
“S-summer vacation… so… a ho-hotel getaway…!”
“Ah, you’re talking about vacation plans?”
“Y-yeah…!”
His knack for understanding her perfectly, even when she spoke nonsense. This was another one of the reasons Eun-ah liked Dokyun.
Dokyun’s eyes met hers.
Her eyes, sparkling with anticipation, filled his vision.
Looking at her face, he finally realized it was vacation season and let out a soft laugh.
“A hotel getaway sounds nice. Why, do you want to go?”
“Yes, yes…!”
Squeeze. Eun-ah hugged Dokyun even tighter.
Her face was beaming with delight.
Dokyun chuckled at the sight and then nodded.
“Alright, then.”
“O-okay…!”
At Dokyun’s reply, Eun-ah began to nod her head, feeling her heart pound. She buried her face in his chest.
Meanwhile.
Ah, I’m wet.
Her body had begun to react in anticipation.
All thoughts of comforting Dokyun had long since vanished from Eun-ah’s mind.
*
A week later, on Dokyun’s vacation.
Dokyun was in the middle of packing when he turned his head to look at Eun-ah, who was packing her own things.
She was humming a tune as she shoved items into her suitcase. It was a sight he had seen for the entire past week.
Feeling a contagious sense of excitement, Dokyun stood up and walked over to her.
Just then.
“Eun-ah, are you packing well—?”
Thud.
Dokyun stopped in his tracks when he saw what Eun-ah was packing.
His eyes narrowed into slits.
What Eun-ah was putting into her suitcase was…
“Eun-ah, what is that?”
“H-huh…?”
It was her treasured collection of adult toys, her constant companions.
In her hand, Eun-ah held a plug-in cat tail, a bright, innocent expression on her face as she answered Dokyun’s question.
“T-toys…!”
Dokyun finally understood why Eun-ah had seemed so happy for the past week.
He also understood why it had to be a hotel getaway.
From the very beginning…
So this was her goal.
Dokyun replayed the vacation itinerary in his mind.
He had booked a hotel by the West Sea for two nights and three days.
The reasoning had been that a hotel with an ocean view would be nice.
He had naturally assumed the plan was to relax and enjoy the sea view, but…
“Are you planning to only do that for two nights and three days?”
“Hehe…”
Seeing her silly, beaming smile, it seemed Dokyun’s assumption had been way off.
With the cat tail plug in one hand and cat ears in the other, Eun-ah held them up to her body, her face alight with excitement as she spoke.
“Meow~.”
Her intentions were crystal clear.
Dokyun let out a sharp, humorless laugh, then gently stroked Eun-ah’s head.
“Since it’s a vacation, let’s save that for the night. We should go out and walk around during the day, too.”
“O-of course…!”
She answered while furtively avoiding his gaze. And yet, the corners of her mouth kept twitching.
Dokyun realized.
She has no intention of listening.
For two nights and three days, he was going to be relentlessly wrung dry by this lust-crazed Eun-ah.
…Hmm.
Dokyun’s gaze returned to Eun-ah.
She was tossing her adult toys into the suitcase first, as if determined not to leave a single one behind, while daily necessities were an afterthought.
She won’t even be able to use them all.
Judging from past experience, she would probably pass out by the time they used three of them.
Having reached that conclusion, Dokyun came up with a plan of his own, one quite different from Eun-ah’s.
I’ll go on an all-out offensive at night so we can rest during the day.
It was a vacation, after all. They couldn’t just stay cooped up in the hotel room.
Dokyun wanted to see the sunlight.