Chapter 4. I'm Sorry, But I Wasn't Honest. (Part 3)
Mmm. Kang-jun twisted his head with a deep furrow between his brows. Dim light spilled in through the window. The dawn sun was rising. He groped instinctively and found soft skin under his fingers—Hye-mi’s silky flesh. He cupped one of her fully exposed breasts, squeezed once, then let go. After being wrung dry all night, she was still lost in dreamland.
Kang-jun quietly pushed himself up. He woke the phone he’d left by the pillow. 6:10 a.m. Strangely, his eyes always snapped open around this hour, as if he’d heard a military reveille bugle. The human body really was a mysterious thing. He sat on the edge of the bed with both legs dangling, slumped for a moment. Even after everything they’d done the night before, his cock still stood proudly at attention, begging for somewhere to bury itself.
He tugged Hye-mi’s blanket aside. Between her splayed legs her private place came into view. He stroked and teased her there, coaxing her body awake. Even half-asleep she seemed to heat up; she stirred, then opened her eyes.
“Se…nior?”
“You awake?”
How could anyone sleep through that kind of fondling? Still, his hands were skilled enough that Hye-mi’s breathing soon turned sweet. Barely into her early twenties, her body answered the stimulation with fresh, vivid eagerness.
After working her just enough, Kang-jun climbed on top of her. They joined again. Where last night had been a savage, animal mating, now he stirred her insides with slow, deliberate care. Hye-mi gripped his solid forearms. He found every ticklish, sensitive spot and scratched it deliciously for her—yet he never fixated on one place alone. He mapped every corner of her.
Hye-mi sank into the raw pleasure before she realized it. The sensation he gave her felt too good. She had never dreamed that sex between a man and a woman could feel like this. From the stories her old friends used to tell, it hadn’t always been that way…
“Turn over.”
She moved exactly as Kang-jun ordered, flipping onto her stomach and thrusting her pale ass up. He drove his thick length straight into her tight heat. This time it was far more intense—as if everything before had only been a warm-up.
Hye-mi was already whimpering. Ever since their secret relationship began, her nerves had grown sharper by the day. Her breath soon came in ragged gasps and soft moans slipped free.
“Feel good?”
Kang-jun whispered against her ear with a wicked little smile. That ticklish breath made Hye-mi answer with pure honesty.
“Yes. Yeees. Too… too good, Senior…”
He pressed her completely flat and thrust down into her as if pinning her to the mattress. Hye-mi surrendered utterly. The sensation of him scraping over her bladder made her cry out and lift her head before burying her face in the pillow again. With her legs closed, his cock dragged hard against her walls. She squeezed her eyes shut. The final sprint began.
The moment Kang-jun felt himself tip over the edge he pulled out and painted thick ropes across her pale back. Her clenched muscles suddenly loosened. Her back rose and fell as she dragged in huge breaths.
“You can sleep more. Free day today.”
He pulled a few tissues and wiped the mess from her waist clean. Then his palm cracked once against her ass—sharp and satisfying. There. Done. She rolled onto her back again.
“What about you, Senior?”
“I’ve got a little errand.”
“An errand?”
“Yeah. Don’t worry about it. Just sleep in.”
Kang-jun got out of bed. His heavy cock hung soft now. He could have gotten it hard again if he wanted, but one load in the morning was enough.
He pulled on his pants and stepped into the living room. Last night’s frenzy hadn’t been limited to the two of them. The ogre man and the troll woman had gone at it like animals too. They still seemed dead to the world. The house was quiet. In that silence he groped for some strange sensation he couldn’t quite name. …The feeling was odd.
He downed a glass of water in one gulp and shook his head hard to clear it. Hoo. Standing at the kitchen window with the glass still in hand, Kang-jun stared outside and let his thoughts drift. He’d told Hye-mi he had an errand, but it was nothing special. He just wanted to see Zixu. He’d planted the seed; now it was time to water it.
She’s definitely pretty, no question.
Hye-mi was cute enough in her own right, but next to Zixu the difference in caliber was obvious. Zixu’s looks were on another level. An ice beauty with a burning core…
Kang-jun fired off another round of shameless flattery.
Those fucking bastards. …He’d already expected this reaction. He’d tossed the line just in case, but of course it was the same as always. Next time an opportunity like this came around he’d still rub his palms together and suck up all over again. That was the sorrow of being the underdog.
Still, once he actually fucked someone, there were always a few suckers who threw coupons at him in delight. Kang-jun was an expert at fishing for those marks. Not every god was a genius, after all.
Anyway, Kang-jun took a hot shower and left the team house. He didn’t bother dressing up. Jeans, two thick cotton tees, and a padded jacket—done.
He checked the time as he stepped out the front gate. 7:30 a.m. The world was still dark. Strangely, the east was lightening yet the brightness never quite arrived. Winter made everything slow.
He ducked into a nearby restaurant, filled his stomach properly, and came back out. The ajumma behind the counter called him a handsome young man and gave him a free yogurt. Kang-jun smiled and thanked her.
Only then did a reddish glow spread wide across the sky. The streets filled with office workers bundled tight, hurrying somewhere. Kang-jun watched people for a moment, then slipped into the crowd.
The morning subway was packed. Thick padded jackets rasped against each other. Kang-jun’s eyes met those of a female office worker by chance. She pretended nothing had happened and looked down at her phone. More people piled on at the next stop. The space between them shrank. Her perfume came close.
Kang-jun considered speaking, then dropped the idea. The office crowd poured out at Zone 28. The woman left with them.
The car emptied so completely it was hard to believe it had been a packed hell-train moments earlier. Kang-jun took a seat. The woman across from him kept stealing glances.
He rode a full hour and a half. At last he reached Zone 11 and stretched his stiff body. It was already a little past nine. The cold wind whistling down the street made everything look somehow lonely. Everyone’s eyes seemed to be waiting for the spring that would soon arrive.
Kang-jun walked steadily. He entered a café near the cram school where Zixu worked. Almost no one was inside. He took a seat by the window and sipped through a straw.
Just yesterday he’d been stuck in a freezer of a labyrinth chewing dried meat. Now he was sitting leisurely in a café sipping coffee… Sometimes Kang-jun couldn’t tell whether this was reality or a dream. In some movie people spun a top to check if they were dreaming. He sometimes wished he carried something like that so he could give it a spin whenever he got confused.
He scrolled through his phone. Zixu’s number hovered in front of his eyes. He hesitated a second over whether to call right now. Then—
…A man goes straight.
—he jabbed the call button. The ringtone purred. Twice, three times, and on the fourth click it connected.
“Hello?”
“Ah, Zixu. It’s me, Kang-jun.”
“Ah, yes. …What is it?”
“I was wondering if you had any plans today…”
“Plans? …No, I don’t.”
“Taking the day off? …Did I call for nothing?”
Silence stretched on the other end for a moment.
“It’s fine. What is it?”
“Just wondering if we could meet once. Talk about this and that.”
“Talk about what?”
Why was this woman suddenly so talkative?
“Just… this and that.”
“All right. …Should I come to you?”
“No. I’m already here.”
“…What?”
“I’m in Zone 11 right now. Drinking coffee.”
“What? Zone 11?”
“Ah, I just came to hang out. Wanted to enjoy some free time myself.”
Zixu didn’t answer right away. Kang-jun waited stubbornly until a reply came. The silence stretched long.
“I’ll get ready and head out right now.”
“No need to rush. I just got here myself. Take your time. This isn’t work, so don’t think of it so stiffly, okay?”
“Yes. Understood. See you in a bit then. …Oh, where are you right now?”
“Me? The café across from your cram school. …Know it?”
“Ah, yes. I think I know it. See you soon, Team Leader.”
“Yeah.”
The call ended. Beep. Beep. Kang-jun pressed the end button, set the phone face-down on the table, and leaned back into the chair. He watched people come and go beyond the window.
What would he talk about once Zixu arrived? …Kang-jun let pleasant fantasies unfurl.
Zixu sat bolt upright and tucked the hair tickling her cheek behind her ear. She thought hard for a moment about what had just happened. …Kang-jun-ssi was here? Her mind snapped fully awake.
She hurried into the bathroom and showered first. After pressing her freshly glowing cheeks, she paused while choosing underwear. Then she picked out a set as scarlet as her lips and put it on. Strange, heated images rose unbidden.
She pulled out every outfit she owned and held them against her chest again and again. Finally she settled on a matching top and bottom and slipped on low heels. Her heart pounded. The harder it beat, the stiffer her expression grew. That was her habit when she was bad at showing feelings.
What kind of mess is this?
She was clicking along in her heels when she suddenly realized how ridiculous she looked. She couldn’t even take care of herself properly yet, and already she was getting worked up over romance. It was laughable.
No, this isn’t even romance. …I might just be fantasizing alone.
She chewed her lower lip. One by one she began erasing the wild little daydreams breeding in her head. …How stupid. What am I even doing?
Then Zixu saw Kang-jun sitting by the window and her breath stopped for a second. The heart she’d just calmed started hammering again. She spun around and dashed back the way she’d come. In a corner where he couldn’t see her she pressed a hand to her chest and tried to settle herself. Oddly, her knees felt weak.
Zixu took several deep breaths and started walking again with a composed face. Click, click. Plenty of eyes landed on the good-looking woman, but she saw none of them. Only Kang-jun, absorbed in reading, filled her vision.
Ding-a-ling. The little bell rang as she opened the café door. She walked slowly to Kang-jun’s table. He lifted his head. Zixu gave a light bow.
“Did you wait long?”
“Ah, you got here fast. …Hope I didn’t rush you for nothing.”
“Not at all. I really took my time.”
“Have you eaten breakfast?”
“Ah… yes.”
She hadn’t, but she glossed over it. She’d had a yogurt, after all.
“Then want a cup of coffee?”
“I’ll get it.”
Zixu quickly ordered, brought back a cup, and sat across from Kang-jun. She felt even more nervous than the first time they’d met. Awkward air hung between them.
“So… what brings you…?”
“I didn’t come with any particular purpose. Just figured I’d stop by and see your face while I was at it. …Did I make you uncomfortable?”
“No. It’s nothing like that.”
Zixu’s face went rigid. A stranger would have called the look cold. Of course the woman whose insides were a mess had no idea what her own expression looked like.
Kang-jun smiled gently. The smile suited him well. He uncrossed his legs.
“Got time today?”
“Yes, I do.”
Zixu answered. Kang-jun gave a small nod and continued.
“Then… want to hang out with me today?”