Chapter 59: Our Evidence
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 59: Our Evidence
Leaving the smoldering embers of the bonfire behind, the two stepped away from the terrace.
Thud.
Eun-seong and Yeon-ju’s feet hit the floor almost in unison as they opened the door connecting the terrace to the second floor. Their lips remained locked. As if to shut out the cold night air, Eun-seong quickly slid the door closed, his other hand tightening around her waist.
A passionate, feverish kiss followed. As if a switch had been flipped that they couldn't turn off, they explored the depths of each other’s mouths. Every time their tongues clashed and tangled, their breaths grew helplessly ragged.
When Yeon-ju’s back hit the arm of the sofa, causing her to stumble, Eun-seong pulled her flush against him. He pressed forward, guiding her backward with the force of his body. Having lost all sense of direction, she could only cling to his neck and let him lead.
Her hip bumped the corner of the kitchen island, and Yeon-ju finally broke the kiss. With her lips already swollen and flushed, she placed her hands on his chest, a silent plea for him to slow down, to put some distance between them.
“Stop. Stop… That’s enough…”
But he didn’t budge. Instead, he pressed even closer, capturing her lips once more. Far from satisfied, his eyes burned with an insatiable hunger as he delved deep into her mouth again.
With every step Eun-seong took, Yeon-ju was forced one step back. They moved like this, step by step, until they reached the bedroom. Devouring her lips as if they belonged to him, Eun-seong only stopped when they finally reached the bed.
For a moment, he simply looked down at her, their eyes meeting. Her face, tense yet yielding under his gaze, was unbearably lovely.
Is she waiting for what’s next? Without even knowing what I’m going to do.
The moment Eun-seong moved, a startled Yeon-ju fell back onto the bed. He followed, crawling onto the mattress on his knees. She instinctively scooted back toward the pillows to match his advance.
One by one, he began undoing the buttons of her cardigan.
“I—I have something to say.”
“What is it?”
As the cardigan fell open, the thin knit top beneath clung to her curves. He stripped the garment from her shoulders with a swift movement, then pressed his lips to her exposed collarbone and neck. His tongue traced her skin with possessive ease, leaving Yeon-ju completely dazed.
Everywhere his lips touched flared with a heat that felt like fire. It was as if every cell in her body, long dormant and breathless, was finally waking up and crying out.
“I have… something to say…”
“Go on. I’m listening.”
Perhaps her breathless voice had convinced him, because Eun-seong pulled back slightly, raising his upper body. Yeon-ju, who had been trying to catch her breath, froze again. Ah. He wasn’t planning on listening at all. With his chin tilted slightly, Eun-seong’s hands moved to his belt buckle.
Kneeling over her as he undid his belt, he looked devastatingly sexy. Her pulse raced so erratically that she felt lightheaded, forgetting what she had even wanted to say.
“If you don’t say it now, you won’t get another chance.”
“Oh, well, you see…”
The fact that she forgot so easily probably meant it wasn’t important anyway. She had likely just wanted to buy a little time, to stop her heart from bursting out of her chest.
“Nothing?”
“Ah… well…”
It was impossible. No words could soothe the dark desire clouding his eyes. While Yeon-ju’s mind went blank and she could only stammer, Eun-seong leaned back down.
He kissed her until she was breathless. In the midst of it, the clothes between them vanished. A soft gasp escaped her lips as Eun-seong’s hands began to roam without limit.
Another low whimper slipped out.
Even her whimpers sounded demure, a sign of how desperately she was clinging to the last, fraying thread of her sanity.
Go Yeon-ju’s voice. The voice that drives me mad, that makes me burn with this desperate longing.
Eun-seong breathed heavily, inhaling the sweet scent of her skin. Intoxicated, his tongue traced her damp flesh, sending them both spiraling deeper into ecstasy with every touch.
Finally, they became one.
“Ah…!” With a sharp gasp, Yeon-ju accepted his heat as it flooded her.
Eun-seong looked down at her, his brow furrowed in intense pleasure.
She looked completely overwhelmed, unable to utter a single word. The flicker of pain in her eyes made him want to stop, but her contradictory, yielding response drove him to the brink of madness, paralyzing his senses.
A steady rhythm took over. Swept up in a wave of tremors and ecstasy, Yeon-ju began to move with him, matching his breath. This was no longer a world she recognized; she was no longer the person she used to be.
Struggling against the deep, complex emotion, Yeon-ju finally gave up trying to hold on to herself. Eun-seong refused to let her remain the perfectly composed woman she had always been.
Not a single moment was quiet. He moved with a rougher, more demanding rhythm. It was arrogant, as if he knew exactly what she wanted—and he wasn’t wrong.
Her twenties. She was too young to live solely under the title of “mother.” In the midst of this raging passion, she felt as though she were reuniting with Go Yeon-ju, the woman she had abandoned during those hard years. A sudden wave of sorrow washed over her.
Yielding to his arrogant pace, she wrapped her legs around his waist and swallowed the tears rising in her throat. As his movements grew more intense, her mind blurred. She looked up at him with dazed, unfocused eyes, biting her lip hard, terrified that the overwhelming pleasure would spill from her mouth as a scream.
It felt utterly surreal. To think this place was only a four-hour drive from Seoul.
“It’s okay.”
It felt as though they were on the other side of the world.
“Don’t hold back. Let it out.”
It was a complete escape.
* * *
The next day.
It was past ten in the morning, but Yeon-ju hadn’t woken up. The heavy blackout curtains blocked every trace of sunlight, leaving her fast asleep.
The distant chirping of birds echoed outside, but she couldn’t bring herself to open her eyes. It might have been fatigue from the long drive, but more likely, it was the price of refusing to let go of each other until the early hours of the morning.
She had been reluctant to fall asleep, knowing that morning meant returning to Seoul. But exhaustion had eventually won, and her eyes had closed on their own. Wrapped in his arms, her weary body had relaxed so completely that she hadn’t tossed or turned once.
Having finally slept her fill, her eyelids fluttered open. Though the room was pitch-black, she could tell instinctively that it was late. Yeon-ju reached for her phone to check the time, then rolled over and pulled the duvet up to her chin.
“Are you awake?”
It was his voice—the man who had held her all night.
“Yes. Just now.”
Suddenly conscious of her nakedness, Yeon-ju turned away from him, creating a little space between them.
Seeing this, Eun-seong pressed a button on a remote. With a low whir, the curtains parted, and a brilliant torrent of morning sunlight poured mercilessly into the room.
Squinting against the sudden glare, Yeon-ju shielded her eyes. Just like the living room, the bedroom featured floor-to-ceiling windows that revealed a cinematic panorama.
It was the same view she had seen yesterday, yet it was still breathtaking. The maple grove blanketed the entire mountain in shades of crimson and gold, with no two trees sharing the exact same hue. The vibrant, mottled tapestry was nothing short of a masterpiece.
Gazing into the distance, Yeon-ju blinked sleepily. The sunlight reflecting off the pristine glass felt incredibly peaceful. Was this what mornings were supposed to feel like? For her, mornings had always been a frantic rush—waking up for work, getting her child ready for school, treating the start of the day as a checklist of chores.
There had been times she didn't know why she had to open her eyes, why she had to get out of bed, why she was even alive. She had rarely ever welcomed the morning.
“That mountain is beautiful in the morning, too.”
If this was the view I woke up to every day, would I have looked forward to it?
“It’s so gorgeous, I can’t take my eyes off it.”
No. Even if she were staying in a paradise so perfect it made one forget the outside world—
She wouldn’t have known joy. She wouldn’t have known happiness.
She knew all too well that this peace was only possible because of the man lying behind her.
Yeon-ju let out a long, quiet sigh. Ever since she had sobbed her heart out at the park, her emotions had been close to the surface. It was as if, having cried once, her tears now knew the way out, threatening to spill at any moment. She’d lost count of how many times she had forced them back yesterday.
Now, even the simple sight of the autumn leaves brought tears to her eyes. Why did her heart ache with such overwhelming emotion? Feeling her eyes grow hot, Yeon-ju blinked rapidly, squeezing them shut and opening them again so Eun-seong wouldn’t notice.
We have a child.
Should I tell him? Should I say the words?
The thought alone left a bitter taste in her mouth. Feeling a lump form in her throat, Yeon-ju quickly spoke to break the silence.
“I’ve been wondering… what is it like to live as a star?”
Eun-seong let out a soft chuckle, clearly surprised by the sudden question. A moment later, he slid closer, pressing his chest to her back and wrapping his arms around her waist.
“It’s nothing special. You just speak and move according to a script someone else wrote.”
“Weren’t there any good parts? Like a sense of pride, or something?”
“Pride? Well, if I had to name one, I suppose it’s the pride of having made it this far without any major scandals or noise.”
Scandals. Noise.
“I don’t know how much longer I can act, but I’d like to bow out while people are still applauding.”
“Yes. You’ll do better than anyone, just like you always have. Without any scandals, without any noise,” Yeon-ju murmured, nodding slowly.
His voice, accompanied by a gentle kiss on her shoulder and a soft caress of her breast, seemed to slow the passage of time. She kept her eyes fixed on the view outside for a long, quiet moment.
He would never know just how many times she had to blink away tears as she stared out at the mountains.