Episode 33: Park Ha-ru Is Also Nervous
Episode 33: Park Ha-ru Is Also Nervous
33 Park Haru Gets Nervous Too
Her phrasing was so explicit it made my head throb. I pressed my thumbs into my temples.
"Look, Haru."
"Yes, Oppa?"
"I'm not going to say I'm some mature adult or that you're being vulgar. I may have aged, but inside I'm basically an elementary school kid."
"Okay."
"But could you maybe... censor the vocabulary a little?"
"If I censor it, will you still get what I mean?"
"Huh?"
"Do you have any idea how many signals I've been sending? And now you ask me to hold back?"
My mind, which had been struggling to get back to normal, ground to a halt again.
According to her, that night at the team dinner—drunk as she was—when a woman clings to you like that, you're supposed to get the hint. And she claimed she'd thrown out several more signals since then, all of which I'd ignored.
"Uh... sorry."
"Fine. Let's say you were too wasted to notice at the dinner. Honestly, I was touched. But after that? Hello?!"
In the blink of an eye, I'd become the guilty party. I nearly dropped to my knees on instinct.
"Part of it's me not censoring myself, but you were absolutely clueless too, you know..."
If I had to defend myself, my head was already so scrambled by the Cha Nara situation that I had zero bandwidth to notice anyone else.
But I didn't have the guts to say that out loud.
"Sorry."
"Forget it."
"Still, how about we take things slow?"
"Slow?"
She stared at me like she genuinely couldn't understand.
"Three dates."
"What?"
"Let's do it on the third date."
It was part selfishness, part wishful thinking. If Haru had been crushing on me that long, sex couldn't be the only thing she wanted. But I also figured making her wait would be tough, so we'd do everything she'd dreamed of for three dates, and then have some very sweet sex.
"I like that idea."
Suddenly, the emotional distance between us felt like it had shrunk a great deal. I pulled her toward me—she was sitting so demurely—and hugged her.
"Sigh... that took forever."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay."
She squirmed in my arms, a little uncomfortable.
"Is it uncomfortable?"
"No... yeah... a little uncomfortable."
We were sitting on cushions. Nice cushions, but not a bed or even a sofa. Once she mentioned the discomfort, I started feeling it too.
"Should we get up?"
"No. It's not that I hate your arms. I'm just worried my makeup will get on your shirt."
"Ah..."
Cosmetics have come a long way—waterproof and all—but that just means it's a nightmare if it gets on fabric. No matter how many times you wash it, it never comes out completely.
"Sorry, but let's move over there."
I pointed toward a small bed tucked in the corner.
"Pervert... after all that about me having a one-track mind, and you said this and that..."
She grumbled when she saw where I was pointing.
"We'll do what you want later. My back hurts."
I'd assumed she was uncomfortable because I was holding her, but the awkward position was actually the problem.
She kept grumbling like she didn't believe me, so I gently eased her aside and stood up.
"Eek!"
"Oof."
I heard Park Haru's voice behind me, but I didn't look back. I stretched, more dramatically than necessary, and headed for the bed.
"Whoa..."
It didn't look like anything special from the outside, but once I sat down, the mattress was surprisingly good.
"Where's this from?"
Big, decent beds are everywhere. But tiny, high-quality ones? Nearly impossible to find unless you're willing to pay a fortune. It piqued my interest.
"What, you're interested?"
"Hm? Yeah, it's better than I expected."
"Ah... I'll ask my unni, then."
"Your unni?"
"This space is something my unni made for dates with her husband."
"So this isn't a business?"
"No, it is a business. She just doesn't take many reservations."
"Lie down."
She'd been sitting beside me and then flopped backward, patting the spot next to her.
"Careful with your hands."
I warned her so she wouldn't accidentally get one pinned under me, and then I threw myself backward too.
"Whoa..."
I'd already felt it sitting, but this was genuinely a great bed. It didn't bounce me up too much, just cradled me softly.
"My unni says sex is super comfortable here."
"Cough, cough! Hack!"
Less than a minute after I'd settled in, I shot upright again.
"It's a joke, seriously. A joke."
She patted my back and repeated it was a joke, but I was already so startled that I kept coughing.
After I'd calmed down a bit, I let myself fall back onto the bed again.
"Uncomfortable, right?"
"Nope?"
"Take your shoes off and get all the way on. I'll be right back from the bathroom."
While she stepped out for a moment, I kicked off my shoes and climbed fully onto the bed.
I wasn't particularly tired, but the bed was so comfortable it made me drowsy fast.
I was in a slightly hazy state when I felt someone settle beside me.
"Getting sleepy?"
"Not really sleepy... I think it's just 'cause it's so comfy."
"Then sleep."
"What about the date?"
"We can just do it next time. I'm sleepy too."
Park Haru let out a cute little yawn and burrowed into my arms.
"I thought you said your makeup would smear."
"I took it off. So I could sleep with you."
"Ah~"
"What? You're not even surprised anymore?"
By now, I'd simply gotten used to it. I really shouldn't be getting used to this stuff.
"Boring."
Something had shifted, and now I wanted to tease her.
I pulled her closer, adjusted, and flipped us over.
"Hic! Department Manager?"
She was so startled she called me by my title instead of Oppa.
I carefully brushed the strands of hair from her face and gently traced the back of my fingers from her cheek down to her jawline.
"If you keep teasing me like that, you're gonna get it."
"..."
I heard her swallow hard—whether from nerves or surprise, it was unmistakable.
I considered stopping there, but instead, I carefully eased the tension in my arms and lowered myself.
"Mwah!"
She said she'd taken her makeup off, but apparently, her lipstick remained. I planted a light kiss on her orange-tinted lips.
It was just a peck to me, but for her, it clearly wasn't. When I pulled back, her eyes were squeezed shut.
I stayed still, and her eyes crept open again. I leaned in and kissed her a second time.
"Mwah!"
Even on the second kiss, she was still wound tight. Her hands were balled into fists, and she was holding her breath, her whole body rigid with tension.
I raised my upper body, took hold of her clenched fists, and gently uncurled them.
"Hm?"
"I mean, you get this nervous over a little kiss, so how on earth did you manage to say stuff like 'screw me' and whatever else?"
"Heuheung~"
Park Haru pulled her hands away from mine and hid her face. I watched her adorable reaction for a long moment, then lay down beside her.
"Phew~"
The tension drained, and she let out her breath. She turned her head to look at me blankly, then sat up.
After a shrug of her shoulders, she turned and lay down with her weight across my stomach.
"Oppa."
"Yeah."
"I don't want that kind of kiss. I want a grown-up kiss."
"Oh, for..."
She's a fox. No, a temptress. One that would send Ji Eunhwi packing. That much was clear. But I couldn't resist.
I extended my arms, and she came into them, gently settling on top of me.
"I can hear your heartbeat, Oppa."
I leisurely stroked her hair as she listened to my heart, then gently gathered her in my arms and sat up.
I met her eyes—she was seated on me—and slowly leaned in to touch my forehead to hers.
"Haru-ssi."
"Haru."
"Sorry. It's not sticking yet. I'll try to get used to it."
"Okay."
"Mwah. Mwah. Mwah. Mwah. Mwah."
I leaned in slowly and gave her a series of pecks, waiting for her nerves to uncoil.
When her lips finally parted a little—enough tension released—I covered her mouth with mine and softly traced her lower lip with my tongue.
"Oppa..."
"Yeah, Haru."
"Heehee..."
Just me saying her name was apparently enough to make her smile.
I took the opening and slipped my tongue inside her mouth.
"Mmph!"
She was so startled she nearly clamped her mouth shut, but she quickly recovered and didn't bite down on my tongue.
I'd been so alarmed that goosebumps prickled down my back, but the moment her tongue touched mine, that chill vanished.
"Slurp... smack."
I gently coaxed her tongue forward and sucked on it softly with my lips.
"Hahh..."
Park Haru tried to mirror me, but it must not have been easy. Her tongue movements were a little stiff.
"Slurp, slick, schlrrp."
"Haa... haa..."
What felt like an incredibly long first kiss ended. I pulled back a bit to let us catch our breath.
"Hah... haa... heh... haa."
Park Haru was completely out of breath. She clung to the nape of my neck, panting heavily.
I slowly rubbed her back, waiting for her breathing to steady.
"Oppa."
"Yeah."
Once she'd caught her breath, she looked down at me with a soft smile.
"That was my first kiss."
"What?"
"You have to take responsibility, okay?"
The third "first" of my life... or was it? If you count pecks, it was my fourth first kiss.
"Mwah! Mwah! Slurp!"
She gently pushed me onto my back and then climbed on top, kissing me. As she kissed, she rubbed her body against mine, and the stimulation was so strong that the most dangerous moment nearly arrived. I grabbed her and rolled us back over so I was on top.
"Eek!"
After that, we ditched the whole date itinerary. We skipped dinner, too. All we did was kiss for two hours straight.
"Goodnight."
"Yeah, head inside."
"Oh, wait a sec. Your lips are chapped."
As she was about to get out of the car, she dug a lip gloss from her bag, applied it to my lips gently, gave me one more kiss, and then got out.
"Goodnight!"
Probably embarrassed, the moment she was out of the car, she darted straight into her house.
"Good grief..."
Her body was fully grown, but inside, it felt like watching an adolescent girl. Although, her actions were anything but adolescent. They were all adult—a very, very experienced adult.
On the way home, I pulled the car over to the side of the road for a moment.
"Haa..."
I leaned my head back against the headrest, closed my eyes, and sorted through things in my mind.
"Things with Haru seem to have wrapped up well... and with Nara too... I should make things clear."
"I need to talk about Sieun-nuna, too..."
Things felt like they'd suddenly accelerated at warp speed, but it also felt like things had been settled decently. That was a relief.
"No way. Surely no one else is going to pull something like that, right?"