Morning in Your Arms
It had been a long time since I'd had such a pleasant day.
Lying on the auxiliary bed was a little uncomfortable, but the fact that I was sleeping under the same roof as Eun-woo made me incredibly happy.
At the same time, I was also afraid.
Once I was discharged, I'd have to sleep alone in that huge house again.
Even hugging Kuma and imagining Eun-woo couldn't compare to how much warmer his actual arms felt.
Trrrring.
The alarm went off.
I'd set it because I absolutely didn't want Eun-woo to see me without makeup, so my eyes snapped open despite being a heavy sleeper.
The moment I opened them, Eun-woo's face filled my vision, and my heart nearly stopped.
"Huh…?"
I couldn't process what was happening.
Had my desire for him grown so strong that I'd unconsciously pounced on him in my sleep?
No, that couldn't be it.
If something like that had happened, Eun-woo would definitely have woken up.
So the only explanation for why I was in this bed was…
Ah, Eun-woo must have carried me here himself…
The realization made my face burn.
"…I hope I wasn't too heavy."
The one silver lining was that I'd lost a bit of weight from all the mana expenditure and irregular meals while staying in the Tower.
If I'd known this would happen, I shouldn't have eaten that red bean bun Kim Ha-rin gave me… I scolded myself with a deep sigh.
Just then, Eun-woo's arm draped over my waist.
"Hik!?"
The sound escaped before I could cover my mouth.
I glanced up to check if he'd woken.
Thankfully, he still seemed asleep.
It would be such a waste if he woke up before I could fully enjoy this…
Who knew when I'd get another chance like this.
I pushed all other thoughts aside and carefully rolled into his embrace.
At the same time, his scent tickled my nose and made my head spin.
If someone bottled Eun-woo's scent as perfume, it would definitely be a bestseller.
Of course, I had no intention of selling it.
I wasn't the kind of woman who'd share something this good with anyone else.
If anything, I was a bad woman.
Because I couldn't resist the urge to touch more than just hug him.
Press.
I carefully poked his abs with my fingertip.
"Our Eun-woo's body has gotten so firm…"
Of course, I liked his old, slender frame too… but this well-defined muscle felt much more satisfying to touch.
He seemed to have gained a more masculine charm…
The desire to explore every inch of him bubbled up uncontrollably.
Just as my hand started slipping under his T-shirt—
Whoosh.
Eun-woo pulled me tightly into his arms.
"Hek!?"
"Why does your hand keep trying to go inside…"
"……"
I had no idea what to say in my defense.
Saying I'd just wanted to touch him after so long would make me sound like a total pervert.
Wait a second…
If I was trying to touch my childhood friend's bare skin while he was asleep, didn't that make me a pervert?
If the situation were reversed and some guy who wasn't even my boyfriend tried to slip his hand under my shirt while I was sleeping, I'd have punched him immediately.
Of course, if it were Eun-woo doing it, I'd have gladly taken my shirt off and welcomed it—but from his perspective, it might have been creepy.
"Sorry. I did it without thinking…"
"Pfft, it's fine. You've put on some muscle compared to before, huh?"
If he's saying that, he wasn't too bothered, right?
I let out a relieved sigh and calmed my racing heart.
"Y-yeah…!"
"I go to the gym whenever I have time and work out consistently."
"I-I thought so."
At his casual "Want to touch?" I swallowed hard.
There was no reason to refuse when he was offering.
Nod nod.
When I bobbed my head, Eun-woo smirked and flicked my forehead.
"Hik!"
"Pfft, touch what? You've turned into a total pervert while I wasn't looking, Ye-na."
"……"
I was so embarrassed I wanted to crawl into a hole.
But there were no holes here… so the only place I could escape to was Eun-woo's arms.
"Won't it get hot if we stay like this?"
"I-it probably will…"
"Well, if you don't mind the heat, we can stay like this until breakfast…"
"Mmm… I'd like that…"
People really were selfish creatures… Even in this happy moment, there was one thing I wanted.
The kiss he used to give me whenever I acted spoiled in his arms.
Wanting that too would be greedy.
We were still just childhood friends, after all…
**
Ye-na had become much more spoiled while we were apart.
Or rather, after seven years of not being able to act spoiled with anyone, she seemed to be pouring everything onto me now.
While I was savoring the feeling of her nuzzling against my chest—
Slide.
The door opened without a knock.
Kim Ha-rin, who had come in saying "Ye-na, let's go eat breakfast…," froze the moment she saw us lying in the same bed, wrapped in each other's arms.
I was also flustered and tried to push Ye-na away to sit up.
But Ye-na, whether Kim Ha-rin was there or not, didn't want to let go. She clutched my T-shirt tightly and said,
"It's fine… The one who came in without knocking is the problem. Why should we separate?"
"Still, it's a bit much to stay like this when someone's come in…"
"Haa…"
At my words, Ye-na sighed and sat up.
The sharp look she gave Kim Ha-rin was filled with resentment.
Kim Ha-rin, perhaps feeling guilty for entering without knocking, bowed her head to me.
"I-I didn't know you were together… I'm sorry…"
"You don't have to apologize that much."
"…I'll never forgive you," Ye-na muttered, and I poked her side.
"Hik… Ah, fine. I'm forgiving you because of Eun-woo…"
"U-um… By the way, will you be having breakfast with us too, Eun-woo-ssi…?"
"Ah, yes. I should head into the office soon anyway."
"Huh…? You have to go to work today?"
I turned on my phone and showed her the missed calls.
[Kim Ga-young: 17 articles.]
[Han Hyun-woo, Deputy Section Chief: 3 articles.]
[Park Hyun-soo, Manager: 1 article.]
Ye-na's lips jutted out.
"Of course you have to go in… The Association President's briefing is today, so it'll be crazy busy… If I get you fired, are you going to make me take responsibility?"
"I could make you take responsibility…" she mumbled, and I ruffled her hair.
"Forget it. I'm hungry. Let's go eat breakfast."
"Yeah…"
#
After breakfast, I immediately called Kim Ga-young.
[Kim Ga-young: Sunbae!!!! Where the hell have you been and what have you been doing?!]
"Hey, you almost blew out my eardrum."
[Kim Ga-young: Haa, do you know how much the Manager and Deputy Section Chief teased me because you weren't there?]
"I'm really sorry. I wasn't in any state to take calls yesterday."
[Kim Ga-young: By the way, did you meet Ye-na-nim…?]
"Ah… yeah. She's right next to me right now."
[Kim Ga-young: What?! Don't tell me, Sunbae… No way?]
"We didn't do what you're thinking, so don't worry. I'll explain everything when I get back to Seoul."
[Kim Ga-young: Whew… Okay. The briefing starts at 12. Can you head straight to the Association?]
"Yeah. I'll leave now. See you there."
[Kim Ga-young: Roger!]
After hanging up, I approached Ye-na, who looked upset.
"When do you think you'll be discharged?"
"Kim Ha-rin said they'd do a few more tests today and probably discharge me tomorrow…"
"That's good. I thought you'd be hospitalized all week."
"If they made me stay all week, I would've escaped right away…"
Flick!
"Hik!"
When I lightly tapped her forehead with my finger, she let out a cute sound and rubbed it.
"If you don't get the tests done properly, I'll be mad."
"I'll get them done properly…"
Pat pat.
"Hehe, good girl. Call me when the tests are done and you're ready to leave. I'll come pick you up."
"R-really?!"
"What, have I only ever lied to you? Anyway, I need to head to work now. Are you going to stay sulking like that? I want to leave after seeing you smile…"
"……"
After thinking for a moment, Ye-na lifted the corners of her mouth as much as she could and said,
"H-have a good day…"
#
After the Association President's press conference ended, and after enduring Kim Ga-young's endless barrage of questions and writing an incident report, I finally arrived home.
"Haa, what a damn long day…"
I took a quick shower, opened a can of beer, tore into the dried pollack snacks I'd bought on the way, and turned on my tablet.
Almost every major news outlet was running articles about Ye-na.
It felt pretty good that my article had made it to the top despite all the competition from major media companies.
At the same time, it left a bitter taste.
It made me painfully aware of how little interest the general public had in the Tower.
But wherever there was light, there was shadow—and the comment sections were minefields.
"I seriously want to sue every single one of these bastards…"