The Secret of the Body
Leehyun carefully laid her head down on my lap.
The thin, silky strands of her hair brushed against my bare skin, tickling my thighs.
“Noona, relax.”
“Yeah… Whew… I was just worried I’d be too heavy for you.”
Even through the fabric, I could feel the heat radiating from her soft cheeks against my thigh. I placed a hand gently on her head and drew her closer to my body.
“Come on, I told you to loosen up. It’s hard to put it in if you’re like this.”
“Huh?”
“You’re curled up so tight right now. Just let your shoulders drop.”
She was lying on her side, facing outward into the room. I twirled the bamboo ear pick lightly in front of her eyes, and only then did the tension finally drain from her shoulders.
“How is it? Are you comfortable?”
“Mm… it feels nice.”
“Then don’t move from here on out. Clear your mind and relax. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“Okay…”
I had deliberately chosen phrasing laden with suggestive ambiguity. Whatever wild thoughts my words had conjured in her mind, she couldn't manage another syllable and simply squeezed her eyes shut.
First, I brushed the stray locks of hair away from her ear, the tips of my fingers grazing her soft skin. Then, steadying my hand, I carefully began to clean her ear.
“There isn't even anything to clean. Other side.”
“Already?”
“Yes, my dear customer. Please turn over.”
Though she asked if it was already over, quite a bit of time had actually passed. With an unmistakable pout of disappointment at being rushed, she rolled onto her other side.
“By the way, what’s that over there?”
“Ah, that speaker? Want to hear how it sounds?”
“Sure.”
Leehyun reached over for her phone. Moments later, gentle, resonant classical music began to drift into the room.
“It sounds incredible. It feels like the music is coming from all around us.”
“Mm-hmm, that’s right. There are rear satellite speakers set up behind the sofa as well. If you ever need a setup like this, just say the word, Jeongseo. Noona will order one for you.”
“I’m fine. I don’t usually listen to music all that much. Now, turn back toward me.”
“Okay.”
Setting her phone down, she rolled over completely to face me. The hem of her loose, airy dress rode up along her thighs in the process. After settling into place, her hand drifted down instinctively to tug the fabric back in order.
I caught her wrist, holding it still.
“Just leave it.”
“Huh? Ah… okay. I will.”
She blinked in surprise, considered my words for a brief second, and then obediently yielded to my grip. I loved how pliable and eager to please she was.
“All right. Let’s bring you a little closer.”
Guiding her head with both hands, I repositioned her until her face was nearly buried against my stomach. Her crown brushed directly against the swollen bulge in my shorts.
“Mmh… haah…”
Like a newborn animal following the primal scent of its mother's milk, she took a long, shuddering breath, inhaling my scent deep into her lungs.
“This side is spotless too.”
“Jeongseo… it just feels so good… Can’t you keep doing it a little longer?”
“Hmm… alright. I’ll be gentle.”
When I started to pull the ear pick away, she pleaded in a meek, bashful whimper. Even though there wasn’t a speck of wax left to remove, I indulged her by lightly scraping the contours of her ear canal for a bit before setting the tool aside. Then, using bare fingers, I delicately kneaded the burning warmth of her earlobe.
“Ah-nngh…”
“Does it tickle? Should I stop?”
“N-No… I love it.”
“Lie flat on your back for me.”
She rolled onto her back to gaze up at the ceiling. The moment our eyes met, she flushed crimson and hastily shut them again.
With my right hand, I gently combed through her silken hair, while my left traced the soft, pale curve of her neck. From there, my fingers drifted lower, kneading the tension from her shoulders before caressing her collarbones and the swelling slope of her upper chest. I stroked her with the patient, rhythmic deliberation of foreplay. Her skin was wonderfully supple, dewy and firm to the touch.
“Maybe it’s because of the rain, but the air feels a little humid.”
“Ah, hold on a second.”
She reached for her phone on the coffee table once more. Within seconds, an appliance in the corner whirred to life with a low, smooth hum.
“A dehumidifier?”
“Yeah. It has a built-in air purifier too.”
“You can control that from your phone as well?”
“Mhm. Almost every appliance in my apartment is smart-linked to my phone.”
As we chatted, I kept rhythmically stroking her hair while resting my other palm squarely over her breast. A blissful, contented smile blossomed across her face, clearly savoring the weight and warmth of my touch.
“Technology really makes life convenient these days.”
“Doesn’t it? Oh… do you happen to need a dehumidifier?”
“No, we have plenty back at my house.”
“Your house is so large, though. You might need an extra unit…”
Had the modest gift I brought her today truly moved her that deeply? Ever since earlier, she had been ready to shower me with expensive purchases at the faintest mention of any object.
“I don’t need small stuff like that… What I’d really love is a whole building like this one.”
“Huh?”
It was a pure, offhand jest, but Leehyun went quiet, her brows knitting as she pondered the idea with utter gravity.
“Well… if you really need a building… The gift tax on transferring commercial real estate like this is quite steep, though…”
“Noona, I was joking. You’re going to get yourself into serious trouble if you’re this gullible.”
I had tried cracking a rare joke, but clearly, someone who rarely makes jokes shouldn't try. It had fallen completely flat.
“If you ever truly need it, Jeongseo… Are you short on money? Or is there something else…”
“Noona, stop. I was just teasing.”
Though the joke was a bust, seeing her unwavering, dead-serious willingness to hand over entire properties made her sincerity crystal clear. What on earth was I supposed to do with a woman this hopelessly devoted?
I knew full well that Leehyun viewed our relationship with profound gravity.
That was precisely why I found myself being even more cautious around her. Just as she had once described me as the most intimidating, untouchable person in the world, I felt a similar cautious reverence toward her.
Originally, my plan during our afternoon alone had been to fool around—teasing her with my hands, bringing her right to the edge, and rewarding her without going all the way to full intercourse, much like when we first met. She had been repressing her primal desires with sheer willpower just to keep her promise to me. I figured giving her a taste of pleasure was a fair repayment for that devotion.
That was the entire reason I had been parading around her living room in these skimpy clothes.
‘The problem is… if I push any further, I won’t be able to hold back either.’
Leehyun would undoubtedly obey whatever I told her to do. The liability was me.
When she bared her heart with such pure, unyielding earnestness, it compelled me to become equally solemn. I couldn't just toy with her out of mischievous amusement like I had back in the clinic exam room. Her bottomless submission kept poking at my latent sense of possessiveness. If we started crossing lines into explicit intimacy, there was an alarmingly high chance my own control would snap.
“Do you really like me that much, Noona? Enough that you want to give me everything you own?”
“Yes… I do.”
Even now, my mouth got ahead of my brain, blurting out a question that was far too premature.
“Then… do you want to become mine?”
“What?”
“You heard what I said on stream, right? That I have no intention of getting into a relationship or having a girlfriend for the foreseeable future.”
“Yes… I know.”
“An equal, conventional relationship is off the table. But being mine? That’s something you can do.”
I needed to be careful with her. My rational mind was screaming that it was far too early for this conversation, yet my lips kept moving of their own accord.
“It means every single part of you belongs to me.”
“What do you mean by…”
She looked up at me, her wide eyes clouding with confusion.
“Your body, your heart—you surrender all of it to me. You don’t need to worry about anything else; you just have to be happy whenever I choose to dote on you.”
I had let my raw, unfiltered desires spill out. Like an obedient pet devoted to its master, or a slave kneeling before its owner—that was the only way she could remain by my side.
The moment the words left my tongue, regret struck me like a bucket of cold water.
I shouldn't have framed it like that. It felt as though I was losing my own grip on myself, a bizarre side effect of being in such close, suffocating proximity to her for hours. When emotions churned this violently, thinking and acting with detached rationality became nearly impossible. My greed to claim her entirely was overriding my patience.
“Jeongseo…”
“Ah, well, you kept offering to give me everything under the sun, so I was just saying.”
I forced an easy, disarming laugh to gloss over the blunder. But my superficial charm vanished into the stifling silence that suddenly blanketed the room.
The classical music on the speakers had quietly ended.
Leehyun wore an uncharacteristically chilled, impenetrable expression as she sank into thought. The flush that had painted her cheeks all afternoon was gone, and the shy, upturned curl of her lips had flattened into a firm line. Just as I had felt alienated from my own impulses a second ago, seeing that icy, solemn demeanor on her felt entirely alien.
“Doesn't that feel tight? You can take it off if you want.”
“Huh? Ah… no, it's fine. You’re right here, after all.”
Hoping to shatter the awkward tension, I applied a little pressure with the palm resting against her chest. I thought a sharp jolt of physical stimulation would snap the mood back to playful flirtation.
“I don't mind at all. My sister walks around the house completely bare every single day.”
“Ah, the thing is… it’s a big insecurity of mine. I’m just… not ready to show you yet, Jeongseo.”
As my fingers slid under the cup of her bra, Leehyun caught my wrist and stopped me cold.
Her unexpected resistance made my own expression freeze. That had definitely been the wrong move. A sudden, uncomfortable chasm widened between us.
Ding, di-ri-ri-ding, ding.
Right on cue, a cheerful electronic melody chimed from the direction of the kitchen. The washing machine cycle was finished.
The late afternoon sun was breaking through the clouds as the summer shower cleared on the drive back.
I had left her apartment dressed in clothes that were warm, crisp, and fresh out of the dryer. Leehyun had quickly wiped away that cold, distant look from earlier, but the erotic charge that had crackled between us had completely evaporated. I should have kept my hands busy with playful teasing instead of baring my domineering inner thoughts.
She hadn't gotten angry with me, nor had she treated me awkwardly afterward. We had spent the rest of our time together smiling and chatting casually. Yet beneath that polite smile, I could tell her mind had been racing a thousand miles an hour.
“Jeongseo.”
“Yes?”
We were almost at my neighborhood. It was disappointing, but spoken words couldn't be unsaid. I braced myself for the reality that cultivating a deeper intimacy with her would now take the long, winding road.
“Noona wants to do it.”
“Excuse me? Do what?”
“What you… what you mentioned earlier. Becoming yours…”
She pulled her car over to the curb in the quiet alleyway leading to my house. Putting the gear into park, she turned to face me squarely. That same cool, unblinking expression from the living room was back.
“Wait, Noona, that was just—”
“It wasn't just idle talk, was it?”
Looking closely into her eyes now, I realized she hadn't been glaring at me with cold disapproval at all. It was the face of absolute, uncompromised resolution.
“…No, it wasn't.”
Cornered by her direct gaze, I had no choice but to concede. I couldn't bring myself to lie to her. I could have made up some smooth excuse, but my instincts warned me that deceit was the one thing I could never offer Leehyun.
“Then Noona wants to belong to you.”
“Are you serious? You might have completely misunderstood what I meant by that.”
“No. I thought it through thoroughly, and this is my decision.”
I wrestled with whether I needed to spell out the brutal specifics—that I had no intention of being monogamous, and that my life would involve many other women. Or perhaps it was better to accept her submission now and unpack the heavier details later.
“You’re different from ordinary men, Jeongseo.”
“I am.”
“I don't think even you realize this, but…”
Then, from her parted lips, an astonishing revelation began to unfold.
Leehyun held the answer to a secret buried within my own body—one that I had never known myself.