Into the Tiger's Den
As soon as I stepped into the study, my uncle-in-law closed the door and sat down in his chair. The air around us already felt like it had frozen solid. What exactly was I supposed to say in here?
“Have a seat.”
“Ah, yes.”
“I’m relieved it’s you that Chae-yeon is dating.”
“R-really?”
“Of course. You’re far better than any other guy. I can trust you completely.”
Trust me completely. Those were some very nice words to hear.
But if he trusted me so much, why was he looking at me with that expression…?
“Chae-yeon used to seem like such a tomboy that I didn’t pay much attention, but at some point she started giving off a real young lady vibe.”
“Ah, yes. I noticed that too.”
“You must have been shocked when you saw her again after so long, right?”
“A little. She was so different from the Chae-yeon I remembered that I was completely thrown off.”
“That’s perfectly understandable. Even I get surprised sometimes, so I can only imagine how you felt.”
Luckily, the conversation flowed naturally even in that frozen atmosphere. If it could stay like this the whole time, I’d have nothing to complain about, but of course that wasn’t going to happen.
“Jung-woo.”
“Yes!!”
“What do you like about Chae-yeon?”
“I like how she never gets scared and just does what she wants. I also like how she understands me. And she’s beautiful.”
“Haha. You answered without hesitation at all? I was going to sit here and worry with you if you needed time to think.”
No matter what kind of worrying that might involve, I had a feeling it was something that should never happen. He might end up debating whether to devour me or not.
“Even if Chae-yeon still gives off that tomboyish feeling, she’s a girl.”
“Yes, I’m fully aware of that.”
“And since this is your first relationship, it seems like Chae-yeon is expecting a lot from it.”
“I’ll do everything I can to meet those expectations.”
“By the way, is Chae-yeon your first girlfriend?”
Uh… um… What answer would keep me from getting eaten here?
If I hid the truth and answered, I could probably get through this moment safely. But I’d already told Chae-yeon that I’d dated before, so if it ever came out, I’d be finished. On the other hand, telling the truth felt like it would get me devoured too. Still, I figured the truth was better than a lie.
“I dated once back in middle school.”
“Really? I thought this was your first time too, but I guess not.”
“I haven’t dated anyone since then. I haven’t even liked anyone else.”
That last part was a lie. But since I hadn’t told Chae-yeon about it either, it seemed like a harmless enough fib to get through this situation lightly.
“Hmm. Chae-yeon might be clumsy at this. Are you aware of that?”
“Yes, of course. I’ve been plenty clumsy myself while spending time with her.”
“I believe a relationship means covering for each other’s shortcomings and understanding one another.”
“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”
“And… I’d rather not see Chae-yeon cry. No parent wants to watch their only daughter cry, you know?”
“O-of course!! That will never happen!!”
In that brief moment, I saw it clearly. A tiger baring its fangs with a rabbit right in front of it. Obviously I had no intention of making Chae-yeon cry, but if it ever happened… I would die.
“Good. Since it’s you, I’ll trust you with her.”
“Yes!!”
“Let’s head back out.”
When we returned to the living room and I sat down next to Chae-yeon, she immediately grabbed my face and started inspecting it. Did she think I’d been through something terrible?
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No!! We just talked, that’s all.”
“Chae-yeon, do you really think your dad would eat Jung-woo alive?”
“You suddenly dragged him away, so of course I thought that.”
“We just had a man-to-man conversation. Right, Jung-woo?”
“Yes, that’s right. We really didn’t talk about anything special.”
“Then that’s a relief.”
After surviving the one-on-one interview with my uncle-in-law, the conversation shifted back to focusing on us. My aunt seemed to have a lot of questions and just kept firing them off.
“Jung-woo, is there anything you want to do with Chae-yeon?”
“Just being together like this is already enough to make me happy, so I haven’t really thought about anything specific.”
“Is that so? Then what about you, Chae-yeon?”
“I… do have something…”
“Really?! What do you want to do with Jung-woo?”
“I want to go on a trip with him during winter break.”
The moment Chae-yeon said those words, the air froze solid again. Excuse me, Miss Chae-yeon. With your dad sitting right here, are you basically telling him to just go ahead and eat me?
I swallowed once and glanced at my uncle-in-law’s expression. The fork in his hand was slowly tilting. Then it bent straight to a perfect ninety-degree angle.
“You want to… go on a trip? Ah, you mean with Jung-woo’s parents and us, right?”
“No. Just the two of us.”
Yep. I’m screwed. Looks like I won’t be able to see Chae-yeon anymore. Chae-yeon, thank you for everything. I loved you.
“J-just the two of you? W-well. You’re both adults now, so that’s… perfectly reasonable.”
No, his expression right now did not look reasonable at all. Could he please put down that bent fork first before we continue this conversation?
“Oh my, that sounds wonderful. Maybe somewhere like Jeju Island? That would be nice.”
“Honey, you think that’s good?”
“Yeah, why not? It’d be great for them to make memories together.”
The atmosphere kept getting colder and colder. It felt like I was the only one sensing that chill. My aunt and Chae-yeon were both talking so cheerfully?
“Honey, these kids are adults now. Let go of those outdated ideas.”
“Did I do something wrong? I wasn’t even saying anything!!”
“It’s written all over your face. Jung-woo, why don’t you go hang out with Chae-yeon in her room?”
“Ah, yes. I understand, Aunt.”
Thanks to my aunt’s cover, we managed to escape the icy atmosphere. If I’d stayed any longer, I probably would’ve turned into a frozen rabbit. Chae-yeon’s room was filled entirely with her scent. I’ve always preferred a person’s natural smell over perfume—what people call their body scent. With that fragrance filling the entire room, I couldn’t help but start sniffing.
“You look like a total pervert right now.”
“Why do you always call me a pervert no matter what I do? I’m not that kind of person.”
“Anyone looking at you right now would think you are.”
While talking with Chae-yeon, I noticed the dolls decorating one side of her bed. But why were they in such bad shape?
“You kept the ones I gave you over there?”
“They’ve been doing well. But why are they all squished like that?”
“That’s because I hit them whenever I got annoyed with you. It’s your fault.”
“My fault? What exactly did I do to make Yeoni annoyed with me?”
“You really don’t remember?”
Chae-yeon approached me, radiating pure killing intent. The sight was eerily similar to her father from earlier.
“You’d be texting me and then suddenly switch to texting your friend’s little sister. When we went to the ice rink together, you kept staring at other girls!!”
“Uh… yeah, that was my bad.”
“You think that’s all?! You openly bragged about how thin your waist and legs are!!”
It seemed like I’d flipped some kind of switch, because Chae-yeon started raging like crazy. To calm her down, I gently pulled her into a hug and kissed her on the cheek.
-chu!!
“I’m sorry. I’ll make sure there’s no reason for you to hit those dolls anymore.”
“You haven’t done it since we started dating, so I’m letting it slide.”
“Yeah, I understand. I love you.”
“I… I love you too…”
Right now, we were alone together in Chae-yeon’s room. The door was shut tight, so there was no chance of any sound leaking out. Hmm, maybe I felt like teasing her a little.
“You’re not going to say it back?”
“I’ll say it later.”
“When’s later?”
“W-when I see you off.”
“But I want to hear it now. Hmm?”
At those words, Chae-yeon instinctively hid her face behind her hair. That only made me want to tease her more.
“If you cover it like that, I can’t see your pretty face.”
“Why are you being like this today!!”
“I love you, Chae-yeon.”
“…Yeah.”
“You’re really not going to say it?”
Chae-yeon let go of the hair she’d been hiding behind and let out a deep sigh. Then she came closer, pushed me down, sat on my thighs, and whispered in my ear.
“I love you.”
Whoa. I’d wanted to hear her say she loved me, but I wasn’t expecting such an aggressive version of it. The unexpected attack from Chae-yeon made my face heat up.
“You’re turning red.”
“This is totally unfair.”
“I love you, Jung-woo.”
“You’re curing me with a single blow. My heart’s about to drop.”
I wrapped my arms around Chae-yeon’s waist as she sat on my thighs and pulled her even closer. This was one of the things I’d wanted to try at least once.
“Am I not heavy?”
“Why would Yeoni be heavy? You’re super light.”
“Saying that with those skinny thighs isn’t very convincing.”
“You really are light, though?”
To prove I wasn’t struggling at all, I started bouncing my thighs up and down. Chae-yeon shook like she was riding a disco pangpang and wrapped her arms around my neck.
“See? Not heavy at all.”
“This is fun. Keep going!!”
“Like this?”
“Wow, it really feels like riding the disco pangpang!!”
Watching Chae-yeon laugh endlessly, my thighs kept moving without any sign of fatigue. Then I lost my balance and we both fell back onto the bed. Since Chae-yeon was sitting on my thighs, she naturally ended up on top of me.
“Jung-woo, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I just lost my balance for a second.”
“I knew I shouldn’t have trusted those skinny thighs.”
“That’s not the problem.”
Looking up at Chae-yeon from below was even more captivating. The conversation that had been flowing naturally suddenly stopped, and without a word, we both slowly drew closer to each other. The moment I felt that soft touch…
“Jung-woo, do you want to stay for dinner?”